In Dragon Ball: A brutal beating of Frieza at the start

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“The second node is in the central control tower of the ecological cultivation area. The path provided by ‘Radiance of Annihilation’ requires passing through the core cultivation area.” Lin Ye shared the updated structural diagram with Li Sha and the holographic projection of the Sentinel. “The route is more complex, and… according to these incomplete records, the Whisper Corruption there may manifest differently than here, leaning more towards… the biological side.”

“The biological side?” Li Sha shuddered. “You mean, those ‘tumors’ on the walls might turn into something that moves?”

“Very likely.” Lin Ye nodded, raising the fragment of the Key of Creation. After purifying the first node, the fragment's light seemed more concentrated, and its suppression of the residual whispering pollution in the surrounding environment was more pronounced. “Stay alert, especially watch your step and the area above you. Sentinels, increase the priority of environmental scanning, focusing on detecting life forms and anomalous organic matter.”

"Understood. Scan parameters have been adjusted."

The three left the first control node room and stepped back into the corridor filled with withered proliferators and the remains of aberrant creatures. The putrid smell in the air had faded somewhat, but it hadn't completely disappeared; instead, it mixed with the smell of molten metal and ozone, creating a new and unsettling atmosphere.

Following the updated map, they turned into a narrower auxiliary passage. The damage here was even greater; the ground was covered with a thick, unidentified black, viscous substance that felt soft and spongy underfoot. The walls were no longer covered only with dark red growths; large patches of dark green, moss-like or fungal carpet-like coverings began to appear, wriggling slightly, their oozing slime emitting a sour, putrid odor.

"An increase in the concentration of airborne organic degradation products, containing a weakly acidic component, has been detected. It is advised to avoid direct skin contact with any unidentified biomass," the sentinel warned, its scanning beam carefully sweeping across the fungal carpet.

Suddenly, the sentinel's scanning beam locked onto a cluster of grayish-white growths resembling giant mushrooms at the top of the passage ahead. "Weak energy detected... Caution!"

Before the words were finished, the cluster of "mushrooms" suddenly trembled, the center of the cap split open, and a thick, pungent, sour green liquid spurted out!

"Get out of the way!" Lin Ye grabbed Li Sha and quickly retreated.

laugh--!

The green liquid was poured onto the spot where they had just stood, and the metal floor was immediately corroded, creating pits and billowing white smoke.

"This thing can attack!" Li Sha exclaimed with lingering fear, raising her gun to aim at the cluster of "mushrooms".

“It’s a defense mechanism, or a predation mechanism.” Lin Ye’s eyes sharpened. “It seems the ‘ecology’ here has indeed ‘come back to life.’ Don’t touch anything that looks like a living thing.”

They advanced more cautiously, not only guarding against the aberrant creatures that might leap from the darkness, but also constantly watching out for the seemingly still, yet potentially volatile, lurking organisms on the walls, ceiling, and floor. The light from the fragments of the Key of Creation had some repelling effect on these organisms, but not as noticeably on the dark red energy proliferators.

The passage began to slope downwards, the humidity in the air increased significantly, and the temperature rose somewhat, becoming unbearably hot and stuffy. The fungal carpet on the surrounding walls grew thicker and its colors became more vibrant, with some sporangia even emitting a ghostly blue or pale green fluorescence.

“It seems we’re entering… its 'guts',” Lisa whispered, her psionic senses fully activated as she tried to discern any hidden threats in this vibrant yet malevolent environment.

“The density of life signals has increased significantly,” the sentinel continued to report. “Most of these are low-intensity, scattered signals that blend into the surrounding biomass environment. A few high-intensity, clustered signal sources exist, which are suspected to be large aberration nests.”

After walking for about half an hour, they finally arrived at the entrance to the "ecological cultivation area" marked on the map. A huge doorway, which should have been a transparent observation window, was now completely sealed off by a thick biofilm, as if interwoven with flesh and vines. The surface of the biofilm was covered with blood vessels and was still undulating slightly, as if breathing. At the edge of the doorway, thick, dark red vines with sharp thorns coiled around it like giant pythons, locking the door tightly.

“How… do we get in?” Li Sha looked at the “living” door and felt nauseous.

“The conventional method probably won’t work.” Lin Ye observed the pulsation pattern of the biomembrane, trying to find a weakness. “Sentinel, try cutting it.”

The sentry stepped forward, and the high-frequency vibrating particle claws mounted on his arm shot out, tearing through the air with a sharp shriek as they slashed fiercely at the entangled vines.

puff!

Surprisingly, the seemingly resilient vines were easily severed by the particle claws, like a hot knife through butter, with dark red, fishy-smelling sap gushing from the cuts. The severed vines writhed violently like wounded snakes, but more vines immediately crawled from deep within the biomembrane to replenish them, and the cuts healed at a visible speed!

"Regeneration is extremely fast. Physical cutting is inefficient," the sentinel concluded.

“Let me do it.” Lin Ye raised the fragment of the Key of Creation again. He focused the light on the central area of ​​the biomembrane.

"hiss--!"

As if scorched by the high temperature, the biofilm convulsed violently, with fine bubbles and white smoke rising from its surface. The areas directly exposed to the light quickly turned black and withered. The entwined vines also retracted as if electrocuted.

It works! But it's very slow. This biological portal is far thicker and more active than the previous metal door.

Just as Lin Ye was concentrating on purifying the portal, a sudden change occurred!

The thick fungal carpet on both sides of the passage behind them suddenly tore open, and dozens of dark figures emerged like ghosts!

These monsters were completely different from the mutated machines we had encountered before! Their bodies could be vaguely discerned as humanoid skeletons or the skeletons of some kind of crew creature, but their entire bodies were covered with thick, black biological armor that dripped slime constantly. Their limbs were twisted and mutated; some had arms that had turned into huge bone scythes, and some had legs that had fused into thick, anti-jointed hooves. Their heads often consisted of only a mouthpart that opened and closed constantly and was covered with sharp teeth, or a few compound eyes that were randomly embedded in the flesh and blood and flashed red light.

They didn't utter any roars, but silently, with a cold hunting instinct, they surrounded the three from all sides at an astonishing speed!

"It's a biological aberration! Watch out!" Li Sha fired immediately, the energy beam hitting the chest of the foremost bone sickle aberration, bursting into a cloud of slime. But the monster only staggered slightly, the charred wound on its chest quickly filled with new fleshy buds, and it continued to charge forward with almost no reduction in speed!

"Their regenerative abilities are incredible!" Li Sha exclaimed, fighting and retreating as she tried to distance herself from these silent hunters.

The sentinel swung its particle claws, severing two hoofed aberrations that lunged from the side in half, but more aberrations surged forward, stepping over the remains of their companions. Their attack methods were even more bizarre: some spewed acid, some launched out barbed tongues, and some could even briefly merge into the surrounding fungal carpet before launching a sneak attack from an unexpected angle!

Lin Ye had to abandon the purification of the portal and turn to join the battle. The light from the fragments was clearly effective against these aberrant creatures; those exposed to the white light became stiff, and their bio-armor quickly lost its activity. However, there were too many aberrant creatures, and they seemed to know how to avoid the areas with the brightest light, attacking from the shadows.

"This won't do! We're being held up!" Lisa's energy rifle ammunition was running out quickly. These bio-abnormalities were difficult to aim at, and it often took multiple shots to completely incapacitate them.

The Sentinel's data stream flashed rapidly: "Analyzing target regeneration pattern... Recommendation to prioritize destroying the energy core or nervous system nodes... typically located in the chest cavity or head..."

"Easier said than done!" Lisa dodged a spray of acid with a side roll, then retaliated by shooting the mouthparts of a mutant that was trying to pounce from the ceiling. "They're too fast!"

While using fragmented light to repel the approaching mutants, Lin Ye anxiously looked at the slowly recovering bio-portal. He had to open the entrance as soon as possible, or they would be worn down and die here.

Just then, he noticed a relatively thin, less pulsating area above the bio-portal, near the top of the passage, where several major energy transport "blood vessels" seemed to be connected.

"Sentinel! Lisa! Cover me!" Lin Ye shouted, suddenly raising the light of the Key of Creation fragment to its limit, like a dazzling white ball of light, temporarily forcing back all the surrounding aberrations.

Taking advantage of this opening, he raised his arm and shot a highly condensed energy of order towards the weak point above the portal like a javelin!

"puff--!"

Like puncturing a pus-filled air sac, the weak point burst open, gushing out a large amount of dark red fluid and ruptured blood vessels! The entire biological portal seemed to have its backbone removed, convulsing and shrinking violently. The central area quickly dried up and cracked, revealing a gap large enough for one person to pass through!

"The gate is open! Get in quickly!" Lin Ye shouted.

Li Sha and the sentries immediately retreated while fighting, moving towards the breach. Lin Ye maintained his light, covering the rear and blocking the pursuers.

The three of them rushed through the gap that was still dripping with viscous liquid and entered the real "ecological cultivation zone".

The sight before them was so shocking and disgusting that even those who were used to ruins and eeriness felt it like never before.

This is no longer a lifeless metal corridor, but a gigantic, completely alienated ecological dome. The dome is hundreds of meters high, and the artificial sky that was originally simulated is now covered by a thick, pulsating biofilm, with countless viscous, umbilical-like tentacles hanging down.

Below, most of the once neatly arranged culture tanks were broken, no longer containing plants, but huge chunks of flesh and organ tissues that rolled, wriggled, and fused together. These chunks of flesh were a sickly pink, dark purple, or pale green, their surfaces covered with blood vessels and nerve bundles. Some were pulsating erratically, while others had grown structures resembling eyeballs or mouthparts, emitting faint, chilling sucking or groaning sounds.

The air was thick with an intense, foul stench, like a mixture of a slaughterhouse and a garbage dump, almost seeping through the respirator. The ground was covered with a thick, sticky carpet of fungi, making each step a struggle, and in some places, it had even formed a rotten swamp emitting bubbles of marsh gas.

In the center of this hellish scene stood a towering structure—their target, the central control tower of the ecological cultivation zone. But the lower half of the tower was tightly entwined and wrapped by countless thick, pulsating fleshy vines, as if it had become part of this rotting hotbed.

“This place… is a nightmare…” Li Sha gagged, her face pale.

The sentinel's scanning beam swept across the entire dome: "Ultra-high intensity biomass reaction source detected, located inside the central tower, coinciding with the location of the second control node. Environmental threat level: Extremely high. Numerous latent life signals exist, scattered throughout the cultivation area."

Lin Ye suppressed his discomfort and observed his surroundings. The path leading to the central tower was almost completely blocked by various disgusting biological tissues, with only a few routes that appeared to be the main energy transport "blood vessels" extending in a relatively "clean" manner.

“We’ll follow those main ‘blood vessels,’ which may be directly connected to the control tower’s energy system.” Lin Ye pointed to a dark red pipe that was the closest to them, more than three meters in diameter, and pulsating across the ground like a giant intestine. “Be careful to avoid those tumors and swamps.”

He glanced back at the gap behind him. The mutated creatures hadn't chased after him; they were just lingering at the gap, emitting threatening growls, seemingly wary of this core area.

But this does not mean it is safe.

Just as they stepped onto the massive "blood vessel" pipe, preparing to head towards the central tower, several slippery, pale white tentacles with suckers at their tips suddenly and silently emerged from a seemingly calm, sludge-filled, rotting swamp beside the pipe, and coiled around the mechanical feet of the last sentry!

Chapter 561 Living Abyss

"Sentinel, watch out!" Lisa's psionic senses caught the silent attack at the last second, and she screamed a warning.

Almost at the same moment Lisa spoke, the Sentinel's sensors detected an unusual pressure change from below. Its mechanical body suddenly lunged forward, its reaction speed leaving a trail of afterimages.

*Pfft!* Several pale white tentacles grazed the sentinel's metal ankles, and the suckers slammed heavily onto the spot where it had just been standing. The viscous liquid splattered everywhere, corroding the fungal carpet and leaving sizzling marks.

The sentry twisted its body in mid-air, and its particle claws swung backward without hesitation!

"Shh!"

Like cutting off an overripe fruit, several tentacles snapped off, gushing out large amounts of murky, foul-smelling grayish-white sap from the cuts. The severed tentacles writhed wildly on the fungal carpet, while a muffled, angry hiss came from the depths of the swamp, and more bubbles rose from the bottom of the swamp.

"Thanks!" The sentry landed smoothly, his mechanical eye coldly sweeping across the now "calm" swamp. "Target cleared. Threat assessment: Lurking predator present in the environment, with camouflage and ambush capabilities."

Lin Ye, still shaken, focused more of the light from the fragments of the Key of Creation onto the ground and the surrounding suspicious areas. "Be careful, everyone. This place is a giant bear trap. Li Sha, your psionic senses are crucial; report any anomalies immediately."

Lisa took a deep breath, trying to calm her wildly beating heart. "Understood. The psionic background here is even more chaotic, filled with... hunger and greedy emotions. It's hard to pinpoint the exact source, but I'll do my best."

The three dared not delay any longer and cautiously advanced towards the central tower along the enormous, pulsating "blood vessel" of the pipe. The surface of the pipe was warm and slippery, causing them to slip frequently and requiring them to concentrate fully to maintain their balance. On both sides of the pipe were even more unsettling sights: mountains of half-melted organic debris; huge, slowly writhing tumors with porous surfaces, from which tiny tentacles occasionally peeked out, sensing the outside world; and even some mechanical debris partially encased in biological tissue, not yet completely dissolved, their metal shells corroded and pitted, occasionally twitching nervously.

The stench permeating the air was almost tangible, and the filtration system of the breathing mask seemed to have reached its limit, with that rotten, sweet, and fishy smell stubbornly penetrating the nasal cavity.

"A sustained increase in the concentration of toxins in the air has been detected, containing hallucinogenic components and potent degrading enzymes," Sentinel warned again. "Prolonged exposure may cause damage to the nervous system and protective equipment."

"Speed ​​up!" Lin Ye urged. The light from the fragments cleared a path ahead, and wherever it passed, the tiny tentacles and buds that were too close to the pipe and tried to reach out withered and shrank.

Suddenly, a series of dense sounds, like countless slippery objects rubbing together, came from ahead.

"Something's coming! A lot of it!" Li Sha's expression changed. In her psionic perception, a chaotic and hungry consciousness was rapidly approaching.

From behind the clusters of fleshy growths and piles of debris on both sides of the pipe, a large number of bizarrely shaped creatures emerged. They varied in size, from as small as hunting dogs to as large as bulls, and their forms were incredibly diverse: some resembled slugs magnified a thousand times, dragging sticky trails, their heads split into four pieces, revealing ring-shaped sharp teeth; others looked like failed arthropods, with a dozen or so asymmetrical, barbed legs, their backs covered with a carapace that constantly secreted mucus; still others were simply rolling clumps of protoplasmic flesh filled with eyeballs…

Their only commonality is their undisguised, greedy desire for vibrant life (or energy).

"They're native mutant creatures from the breeding area! They've been attracted by us!" Lin Ye immediately assessed the situation. These monsters weren't as organized as the previous mutant creatures, but they were more numerous and more frenzied.

"Fire! Don't let them get close!" Lin Ye shouted, sweeping out fragments of light like a fan. The monsters that were hit by the light squeaked in pain, their movements became noticeably slower, and white smoke rose from their bodies.

Lisa and the Sentinels immediately unleashed their full firepower. The tearing sounds of energy beams and particle claws echoed through the massive dome. Lisa focused her fire on the fastest, smaller individuals that attempted to leap and pounce, while the Sentinels, like a rock, precisely and efficiently cleared out the larger monsters near the pipes, splattering viscous fluids and severed limbs everywhere.

However, these monsters also possess astonishing regenerative abilities. Unless completely shattered or their core destroyed, they can struggle to continue crawling even with half their bodies torn off. Moreover, they seem inexhaustible; killing one batch immediately gives rise to many more, surging forth like a tide from their rotting cradle.

"No! There are too many! We'll be worn down here!" Li Sha had emptied a magazine; she couldn't reload at the speed at which the monsters were surging forward. A shelled monster broke through the barrage of fire and lunged at her, its foul-smelling maw aimed straight for her face!

"boom!"

Lin Ye arrived just in time, slamming his arm armor, which was covered in fragmented light, into the monster's head, shattering its carapace and sending it flying backward. "Don't stop! Charge along the pipes! The tower is just ahead!"

He realized that staying meant death. He had to take advantage of the relatively "clean" nature of the pipes to quickly break through this living abyss.

"Charge with me!" Lin Ye held the fragment in front of him, unleashing its full power, like a burning white light sword, which pierced fiercely into the monster horde. Wherever it passed, the mutated creatures retreated and withered as if encountering their nemesis.

Lisa and the sentry followed closely behind, the three forming a wedge formation. Along the pulsating pipe, they struggled to fend off the constant attacks from the sides and rear while striving to reach the central tower.

The monster's hiss, the roar of energy, and the splattering of slime blended together, creating a symphony of death. Lisa's breathing grew more and more rapid, and the Sentinel's body was covered in a viscous, corrosive fluid, emitting a soft hissing sound.

Less than 100 meters from the tower!

At this moment, another change occurred!

The enormous "blood vessels" beneath their feet suddenly began to throb violently! The frequency was astonishing, as if something had been disturbed and was awakening inside the vessels!

"Watch out for the pipes!" Lin Ye had just warned—

"Boom!!"

A section of pipe in front of them suddenly burst open! A viscous, dark red energy slurry shot into the sky like a volcanic eruption, accompanied by countless fragments of shattered biological tissue!

An enormous shadow slowly raised its "head" from the depths of the shattered pipe.

What a monster it was!

Its main body appears to be part of the pipe itself, so thick that it takes several people to encircle it. Its surface is covered with thick, rough, tree-bark-like bio-armor, with scorching dark red energy flowing through the gaps in the armor. Its "head" has no distinct facial features, only a constantly rotating abyssal maw composed of countless tiny tentacles and sharp teeth. Around the maw grow dozens of relatively slender tentacles, but also covered with bone armor and energy patterns, like terrifying whips, lashing wildly in the air.