socalfunplaces Page 234
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"Crack!" The elbow struck the joint of the other robot arm with precision, and the entire arm snapped off.
Her fighting style is calm and deadly, like the most sophisticated killing machine.
Lin Ye falls somewhere in between. He doesn't unleash his power as recklessly as Vegeta, nor does he rely entirely on technology and skill like Android 18. He utilizes solid Saiyan fighting techniques, combined with the combat instincts and analytical abilities granted to him by the system, to maneuver through a hail of bullets.
He ducked, dodging three crisscrossing energy beams, and slid into the arms of a mech soldier. His hand flashed like lightning, precisely striking the vulnerable pipe connection in its neck. The mech soldier froze, the red light in its eyes flickering a few times before extinguishing. Then, without turning his head, he unleashed a blast of energy, sending another mech rushing towards him backward several steps, its chest armor charred black.
“These things have very high defensive capabilities,” Lin Ye quickly assessed during the intense exchange. “The joints and head sensors are their weaknesses! Ordinary ki blasts are generally ineffective!”
"Trunks!" Lin Yege parried a particle blade that slashed at him, twisting off the mechanical soldier's arm in the process, and shouted, "Find their command signal source or energy core! We can't afford to waste time with them!"
“Understood! I’m trying!” Trunks, hiding behind a half-collapsed metal control panel, flew across the laptop, data scrolling across the screen like a waterfall. “Their communication signals are chaotic… not centralized command, more like multiple independent nodes working together… wait!” He suddenly looked up at the floor in the center of the hall. “Underground! There’s an unusually strong energy reaction at the bottom of the hall! Very concentrated! It could be their power supply system, or… their control center!”
As if to confirm his words, the floor in the center of the hall suddenly groaned, and several neat square gaps burst open! Immediately afterwards, more large, heavily armored mechanical soldiers crawled out. These new models were equipped with disc-shaped energy shield generators on their shoulders; the pale blue shields instantly deployed, and their weapons had been replaced with larger-caliber heavy energy cannons.
"Damn it! This is never going to end!" Vegeta smashed a regular Scavenger with a punch, then roared in frustration at the newly appeared heavy unit. The continuous high-intensity battle had noticeably accelerated the depletion of his aura, and even his deep blue flames seemed to have dimmed slightly.
"We can't be tied up here!" Lin Ye's eyes narrowed, and he made a decision instantly. "Trunks, keep disrupting them and cover me! Vegeta, Android 18, clear a path for me! We're going down there to take out that core!"
"Alright!" Number 18 replied succinctly, instantly adjusting the firing mode. The energy gun muzzle condensed an even brighter light, and dense firepower poured down like a torrential rain on the shields of the heavily armored mechanical soldiers, causing ripples to spread across the shields and temporarily suppressing their movements.
"We should have done this a long time ago!" Vegeta roared, his hands clasped together at his waist, and blinding blue-white light gathered wildly. "Get out of my way! Ultimate... Flash!!"
boom...!!!
A powerful torrent of energy, like a roaring dragon, slammed directly into the newly opened crack in the floor in the center of the hall! The violent explosion sent several heavily armored mechs flying, and a hole several meters in diameter was blasted into the solid metal floor, the edges of which were molten and emitted a dark red glow. Below the hole, complex mechanical structures, thick energy pipes, and even deeper, a core device emitting an unstable, intense light could be vaguely seen!
"That's it!" Trunks shouted, pointing to the cave entrance.
Lin Ye's body erupted with golden flames, no longer holding back, transforming into a golden beam like a sharp arrow that shot straight towards the cave entrance!
"Trying to run? Not so easy!" Mirror Lin Ye's voice, tinged with annoyance at being disobeyed, suddenly rang out in the hall.
Almost simultaneously, two concealed cannon muzzles quietly slid open on either side of the ceiling, and two scarlet high-energy lasers shot out silently at extremely high speed, heading straight for Lin Ye's unsuspecting back!
"Lin Ye! Watch out!" Number 18's perception system was the first to detect the energy fluctuations. She reacted almost instinctively, lunging forward and forcefully pushing Lin Ye away!
"laugh...!"
Lin Ye was pushed and staggered, narrowly avoiding the laser. However, Number 18's arm was badly grazed by the edge of one of the laser beams! The artificial skin and the bionic tissue underneath instantly vaporized, revealing a silver-gray metal skeleton inside that was flashing with electric sparks, and several broken cables could even be seen crackling.
Number 18 let out a muffled groan. The intense pain caused cold sweat to instantly bead on her forehead (simulating a physiological reaction), but her strong combat skills allowed her to move without stopping. Using the momentum of her forward charge, she rolled on the spot, raised her intact right hand to raise the energy gun, and fired a shot without even looking!
"Bang!" The laser cannon in the ceiling exploded.
Lin Ye turned around and saw Number 18's injured arm and the molten metal debris on the ground. His heart tightened: "Number 18! You..."
"I'm fine!" Number 18 interrupted him, his voice slightly hoarse from the pain, but his eyes remained sharp. "Get down! Don't waste time!"
Without further hesitation, Lin Ye gave her a deep look, keeping this affection in his heart, and then turned and jumped into the steaming hole below without hesitation.
Below was a massive server room, even more spacious than the main hall above. Countless thick energy pipes, like giant pythons, coiled and crisscrossed, emitting a low hum, and the air was thick with the smell of ozone and coolant. In the center of the server room, a blue energy core, secured by multiple layers of energy restraints, was pulsating violently, each beat releasing a burst of violent energy—it was providing power to all the "Scavengers." Around the core, four exceptionally well-designed, streamlined melee robots, wielding double-edged high-frequency blades, stood guard. Their optical sensors simultaneously lit up with a scarlet glow the moment Lin Ye landed.
"Kill him!" Mirror Lin Ye's icy voice echoed in the empty server room, carrying a hint of command.
The four elite guards activated instantly, their feet briefly spewing out propulsion flames. From four completely different directions, with speeds far exceeding any previous mechanical soldier, they transformed into four afterimages and attacked Lin Ye! The blades sliced through the air, emitting a piercing shriek.
The pressure has increased dramatically!
Lin Ye took a deep breath, knowing he could no longer hold back. A glint flashed in his eyes, and he let out a low shout: "Haa—!"
An even more dazzling golden aura erupted from his body, causing the surrounding air to tremble! His hair visibly transformed from gold to brilliant silver-white, and his pupils contracted, turning into a clear turquoise—Super Saiyan God Mode, descended!
His strength and speed instantly soared to another level! The world seemed to slow down in his eyes.
Facing the combined attack of four elite guards, Lin Ye's figure became blurred. As if he had foreseen the future, he slightly turned his body, and two high-frequency blades slashed across his clothes. He then used his fingers together like knives to precisely and swiftly slice through the energy lines connecting the arms and bodies of the two mechanical soldiers!
"Sizzle!" Sparks flew as the arms of the two mechanical soldiers drooped down instantly, their weapons falling to the ground.
At the same time, the attacks from the other two guards were already upon him, their blades aimed directly at his vital points!
This time, Lin Ye didn't dodge. The power of the Super Saiyan God gave him absolute confidence. He threw out both fists simultaneously, his fists enveloped in a highly refined emerald green divine aura. His attack, though delayed, struck first, slamming into the chest armor of the two mechanical soldiers!
"Bang! Bang!"
Two muffled explosions! The thick armor was easily pierced as if it were made of paper! The force of the punch passed through the body, directly destroying the internal mechanical structure and energy core! The red light in the eyes of the two elite guards instantly went out, and they froze for a moment in their forward-charging posture before crashing to the ground, turning into two piles of scrap metal.
From start to finish, it only took a few seconds, and all four elite guards were wiped out!
Lin Ye calmed the surging energy within him and walked to the still violently pulsating energy core. He could clearly feel the vast yet chaotic energy contained within it, like a heart that could explode at any moment.
"It's useless, Lin Ye." Mirror Lin Ye's voice rang out again, carrying a hint of condescending mockery. "Even if you destroy this core, it will only paralyze the 'cleaners' of this area for a few minutes. My manufacturing plant is hidden deep inside the Ark; I have as many 'toys' as I want. Your struggles are futile and laughable."
Lin Ye ignored his trash talk and stared at the energy core, a thought suddenly occurring to him. He tried to mobilize the power of the fragment of the Key of Creation within his body. A gentle yet supreme energy flowed slowly down his arm and into the raging blue core.
The miracle happened!
The blue energy, which had been galloping and roaring like a wild horse, was gently smoothed out the moment it came into contact with the fragmented energy, as if by an invisible hand. The energy's pulse quickly slowed down and became regular, and the dazzling light softened. Finally, after a few faint flashes, it completely fell silent, turning into a huge, dark blue crystal that no longer emitted light.
The roar of the entire server room abruptly ceased, and the previously buzzing energy pipes fell silent, with only the coolant still flowing slowly. In the hall above, all the "Scavenger" mechs that had been engaged in fierce combat, whether ordinary or heavily armored, seemed to have their power cut off simultaneously. Their movements froze instantly, the red light in their eyes went out in unison, and then they collapsed to the ground with a series of crackling sounds, turning into piles of real scrap metal.
In the hall, Vegeta was bracing himself for the heavy artillery fire of a heavily armored mech soldier when the cannon suddenly shut down, its heavy barrel crashing to the ground. He missed his target, stared blankly at the pile of "corpses," paused for a moment, then spat in annoyance, "Tch! How boring! I wasn't even warmed up yet!"
Number 18, clutching her injured arm, walked to the edge of the hole and looked down at the figure standing in the server room below. A complex emotion, barely perceptible, flashed in her eyes. She could sense that Lin Ye's power and methods were increasingly beyond her comprehension.
Trunks breathed a sigh of relief and wiped the sweat from his brow: "Success... Lin Ye used the power of the fragments not to destroy, but to forcibly 'shut down' the energy core. His control over the fragments is even stronger now."
Lin Ye leaped back into the hall through the hole, deactivated his Super Saiyan God form, and breathed slightly. Looking at the paralyzed mechanical soldiers scattered on the ground, he gained a deeper understanding of his own and the fragments' power. This Key of Creation seemed to possess some kind of natural "authority" over these creations based on system technology.
“Brilliant, truly brilliant.” Mirror Lin Ye’s voice rang out again, this time with less sarcasm and a hint of barely perceptible seriousness. “It seems your understanding and control of the fragments has improved once more. A truly astonishing rate of growth… I’m increasingly looking forward to our ‘reunion,’ my brother. Keep going, I’ll be waiting for you at the very core of the Ark… I hope you won’t disappoint me too much.”
The sound completely disappeared, and the hall fell into a deathly silence, with only the heavy breathing of the crowd and the smell of burning in the air.
Lin Ye walked to the energy cage where Night Owl was imprisoned and tried to condense a small energy wave to hit the energy field. The cage did not move at all, and the energy field did not even ripple.
“It’s no use, Lin Ye…” Night Owl leaned weakly against the inner wall of the cage and shook his head. “This is a high-density energy field. If I attack it forcibly, the energy backlash might kill me first.”
Number 18 walked over, glanced at the structure of the cage, extended her intact right hand, and flicked out an extremely thin data interface cable from her fingertips: "Leave it to me." She inserted the interface cable into a hidden port on the cage's control panel, and data streams flashed rapidly in her eyes. A few minutes later, the cage's energy field emitted a soft "hum," flickered a few times, and then completely dissipated.
Lin Ye immediately opened the cage door and helped the somewhat exhausted owl: "Can you still walk?"
With his help, Night Owl straightened up. Though pale, his eyes regained their resolve: "No problem! I can handle this minor injury. Thank you... if it weren't for you..."
"Stop talking nonsense," Vegeta interrupted impatiently. "If you can leave, hurry up and don't waste time!"
Lin Ye patted Night Owl on the shoulder, everything understood without words. He turned to look at the dark passage leading deeper into the Ark, "guided" by the mirror image of Lin Ye, feeling the increasingly clear heat and pull emanating from the fragments and breakpoint generator in his pocket.
"Let's go." Lin Ye's voice was calm yet carried an undeniable determination. "We're getting closer to the Void Rift, closer to the finish line."
Chapter 500: The Edge of the Rift
The passageway of abandoned modules seemed endless, with only their hurried footsteps echoing through the empty metal structure, accompanied by heavy breathing. An increasingly strong, strange odor, a mixture of ozone and metallic corrosion, filled the air, making one's nose itch. The emergency lights on the passageway walls flickered, casting swaying shadows that added to the unease.
Finally, a faint, eerie light, unlike any artificial light source, appeared ahead. The passage had come to an end.
With each step taken, everyone instinctively stopped in their tracks, as if blocked by an invisible barrier. Even their breath seemed to freeze at that moment.
They stood on a platform that was far larger than they could have imagined, and beyond the edge of the platform... was "nothingness".
That is not darkness. Darkness exists; it is the opposite of light. But this "nothingness" before my eyes is an absolute emptiness where even the concept of "existence" itself is being denied and swallowed up. It has no color, no shape, no depth, and not even a tangible sense of "boundaries." Just standing there, one feels a cold, sinking dizziness rising from the depths of their soul, as if the meaning of one's existence is being slowly sucked and stripped away by that invisible, gigantic maw.
This is—the void rift.
Its edges weren't smooth; instead, they resembled the jagged edges of a shattered mirror, shimmering with a distorted, eerie halo that seemed to emanate from another dimension. These halos shifted in indescribable colors, and prolonged viewing could even induce nausea and mental confusion. Occasionally, a tiny speck of cosmic dust or a fragment of metal, seemingly appearing from nowhere, would be drawn by an unseen force to the edge of the fissure. There was no sound, no explosion; upon contact with the distorted halo, it vanished completely, like a drop of water merging into the ocean, leaving not even the most basic particles behind, as if it had never existed.
“This…this is…” Trunks’ voice was dry, like sandpaper scraping. The numbers on the screen of the portable detector in his hand jumped wildly, finally settling on “ERROR” and emitting a piercing overload alarm. “Energy reading…unpredictable! It…it’s extracting energy from the rift! This scale of extraction…it’s insane!”
Above this all-consuming void, hovers a colossal object that makes everyone's heart clench.
Origin Ark.
It wasn't any known geometric shape; rather, it was a gigantic, irregular entity forcibly fused and proliferated from countless dark metallic blocks, its entire surface a matte black that devoured light. On its surface, countless eerie blue energy lines pulsed and flowed slowly like the veins of a living creature, radiating a cold and malevolent glow. It had no aesthetic considerations whatsoever, only pure, suffocating functionality and a sense of oppression. Most unsettlingly, from its rough, uneven base extended countless incredibly thick energy pipes, like monstrous tentacles, deeply and greedily plunging into the void below, visibly and distorted energy being continuously drawn up and injected into the ark's interior.
It hung there silently, like a monstrous beast lurking in its lair, feeding on nothingness, waiting for the moment it would be awakened.
“That is… the Ark of Origin…” Lin Ye repeated the name in a low voice, feeling the fragment of the Key of Genesis and the breakpoint generator in his pocket become scorching hot, especially the breakpoint generator. The silver light spots on the dial flowed wildly at an unprecedented speed, crashing against the crystal wall, pointing firmly towards the core of the Ark, conveying an almost anxious warning.
"The Observer...that bastard is inside that iron lump?" Vegeta narrowed his eyes, his Saiyan blood boiling, an irresistible urge to destroy this creation before him. But even he felt a chill run down his spine as he faced this colossal entity connected to "nothingness." This thing was completely different from the planets he had shattered and the enemies he had defeated.
"We have to go in." Lin Ye's voice was resolute, breaking the heavy silence. There was no hesitation, no other choice.
"How do we get in?" Number 18 asked calmly, her sharp gaze sweeping over the Ark's seamless, cold outer shell, covered in energy patterns. "This thing doesn't even look like it has a crack. If we try to attack it by force, we'll probably be instantly vaporized by its defense system before we even touch the shell." Her injured arm trembled slightly, a reminder of the danger of the previous battle.
As if in response to her question...
"Buzz!"
A solid and stable beam of pure white light shot out without warning from a node at the bottom of the ark, landing precisely on the edge of the platform where they were standing. It extended and solidified, forming a staircase of light that sloped upwards, leading directly to an entrance on the ark's outer shell that had suddenly and silently slid open. The entrance was pitch black inside, like the gaping mouth of a giant beast.
At the end of the light staircase, the figure of Lin Ye in the mirror image quietly appeared. He was still wearing that spotless silver-white uniform, his mechanical prosthetic eye in his left eye flashing a scarlet light, and his face wore that extremely repulsive smile that mixed mockery, pity, and absolute control.
"Welcome to my stage, my dedicated actors." He bowed slightly, his movements elegant yet insincere, and made an exaggerated "please" gesture. "The final bell has rung. How can you, as the protagonists, be absent? Please, my dear 'brothers,' and... those who have voluntarily come to be buried with me."
"Damn it! I'm going to go up there right now and tear that metal suit off you!" Vegeta's anger was instantly ignited, and his deep blue flames exploded with a "boom," as he prepared to rush up the light ladder.
"Calm down, Vegeta!" Lin Ye grabbed his shoulder tightly, the force so great that Vegeta paused for a moment. Lin Ye's gaze remained fixed on the mirror image of Lin Ye, his eyes sharp as knives. "He's deliberately provoking us. He knows we'll come, and he knows we have no choice but to go in. All of this is within his calculations, or rather, within the calculations of the 'system' behind him."
"Calculation? Plan?" Mirror Lin Ye's smile remained unchanged, as if he were watching a drama whose ending he already knew. "No, you're wrong, my dear brother. This isn't calculation; this is 'fate,' the optimal solution for a new era deduced by the system. All your struggles, all your resistance, even the 'calmness' you're displaying while holding down this raging beast, are all within the system's variable model. Come on, Lin Ye, let's end this long and tedious foreplay." His mechanical eyes flashed red, his tone laced with provocation, "Or... are you afraid of the final answer?"
Lin Ye didn't respond to the provocation with words. He simply took a deep breath of the cold, ethereal air at the edge of the platform, and then, under the watchful eyes of all his companions, took the first step, steadily ascending the pure white staircase of light. A solid sensation under his feet confirmed that the staircase was not an illusion.
"Lin Ye!" Trunks called out anxiously, holding the detector that had just regained some signal and was trying to scan the optical ladder structure.
"We have no way out, Trunks." Lin Ye didn't turn his head, his voice calm yet carrying immense power, clearly reaching everyone's ears, "Either go in and fight to the death to stop him, or stay here and watch helplessly as everything we know, including ourselves, is completely rebooted and reduced to nothingness."
Vegeta spat out a curse, but toned down his arrogance somewhat and strode after him, muttering, "When I see that bastard later, I have to be the one to land the first punch!"
Number 18 helped the still-wounded but determined-looking Night Owl up the light staircase in silence. Trunks took a deep breath, put away his detector, gripped the hilt of his sword, and followed closely behind.
As the last person's feet left the platform and stepped onto the light staircase, the entrance behind them closed silently and seamlessly, as if it had never existed.
Inside the ark was an extremely wide yet incredibly oppressive metal passage. The walls, ceiling, and floor were all made of that dark metal, with a ghostly blue energy flowing across its surface, like the pulse of living blood vessels, emitting a low, humming sound like a heartbeat. The air was icy, carrying a heavy, burnt smell of metal and energy overload.
Lin Ye stood at the end of the passage, his figure beginning to blur and become transparent, like a holographic projection with a poor signal.
"See you in the core control room, Lin Ye." His voice carried a hint of electronic noise, and his smile grew increasingly sinister. "If you and your companions manage to get there... oh, right, I forgot to remind you." His gaze swept over the group, filled with undisguised malice. "To keep the journey from being too boring, I've specially prepared some 'old friends' for you to catch up with. I hope you... enjoy your chat."
Before he finished speaking, his figure vanished completely at the end of the passage, as if erased from memory.
Almost at the same time he disappeared...
"Crack! Crack! Crack!"
The smooth, seamless metal walls on both sides of the passage suddenly cracked with neat vertical seams, then slid open to reveal rows of neatly arranged cylindrical culture tanks filled with a dark green, viscous liquid! Inside the tanks, blurry figures floated in the liquid.
"Gululu..."