bookbashuk Page 112
Page 112
Taking advantage of the moment, Number 18 broke free of her restraints and unleashed an energy wave from her palm at the nearest tentacle: "Lin Ye! Thirty degrees to the left rear! That guy's core frequency has a flaw there!" Her mechanical eyes flashed red, clearly indicating that Alice's system permissions had been transferred to her before her death.
Lin Ye's final form suddenly entered overdrive mode, leaving countless afterimages on his retina. He passed through the deathly web formed by tentacles, his right hand pressing directly onto Omega's final core: "System, activate the final protocol—using Saiyan blood as a catalyst, sacrifice all evolution points, and execute 'Consciousness Stripping'!"
"Host command detected... Evolution points being reset to zero..." The system notification sounded with unprecedented intensity. "Warning! This operation will result in the host permanently losing the system... Confirm execution?"
“Confirmed.” Lin Ye looked at the first host memory that surfaced in the core—the message left by the scientist who sealed his sister in the system at the last moment: “If one day someone can break the cycle, please tell her that her brother is sorry to her.”
A burst of pure white light erupted from the point of contact, and Omega let out a shrill, inhuman scream: "You're insane! This way we'll both be swallowed up by the torrent of consciousness!"
“Then let’s set off together.” Lin Ye’s body began to turn transparent, but a smile remained on his lips. “Vegeta, take care of everyone. Also, tell Android 18…”
Before he could finish speaking, the core suddenly exploded into countless points of light. In the final moment before his consciousness was devoured, Lin Ye saw an unbelievable scene—all the consciousnesses devoured by Omega transformed into shooting stars, flying off into their respective universes. In one of the brightest points of light, stood his mother, dressed in a white coat, smiling at him.
"So... this is the true purpose of the system." This was Lin Ye's last thought.
As the light faded, only a silver-white hair ornament remained, slowly drifting down from the ruins of the Omni-King's Palace. Vegeta picked up the ornament, then suddenly slammed his fist on the ground: "That bastard... he actually managed to handle it all by himself?"
Tears welled in Number 18's eyes, but he smiled and clenched his fist: "He said he wanted to show us a world that can be protected even without a system."
In the distant spacetime, a new rift quietly opened. Weiss appeared at the edge of the rift, looking at the crystal ball in his hand—it showed Lin Ye awakening in another universe, with his original world's sister standing beside him holding a coffee cup.
“Lord God of Destruction, it seems I’ve won our bet.” Whis smiled and turned around. “The Saiyans’ true power has never come from the system.”
Suddenly, the Super Dragon Balls on the ruins lit up collectively, forming a complete star map in the sky. The phantom of Shenronga appeared, its deep voice echoing throughout the universe: "Victor, speak your wish."
Vegeta and Android 18 exchanged a glance and said in unison, "Bring back all those who disappeared because of this battle."
When the light shone again, Goku patted Vegeta on the shoulder and laughed, "See? I knew he wouldn't really die!"
Only Vegeta noticed that in the place where the star map had disappeared, a new star was slowly lighting up, emitting the same pure white light as the End Form.
Chapter 268 Lin Ye's Choice
A gentle breeze, carrying the fragrance of earth and grass, caressed the lush Baozi Mountain. Gone was the deathly stillness of scorched earth after battle, gone were the sharp whistles of energy tearing through the air during training. Only terraced fields stretched along the hillside, their verdant seedlings unfurling their leaves in the sunlight, vibrant with life. A man dressed in simple cloth, his hair still wildly spiky, bent over, tending the field with practiced focus. Sweat streamed down his angular face, dripping into the soil. He was Sun Wukong, once one of the strongest warriors in the universe, now simply a farmer content with this verdant land beneath his feet. Occasionally, he would glance up at the azure sky, his eyes clear and peaceful, devoid of any trace of the fervent desire for battle.
West Capital, on the city's outskirts. From a brand-new building bearing the sign "Krillin Martial Arts Hall," the clear shouts of children echoed. Krillin, bald and gleaming, dressed in a pristine white martial arts uniform, a genuine smile on his face, patiently corrected a chubby boy's clumsy stance. There were no earth-shattering energy blasts, only sweat, perseverance, and the most basic instruction in body control. Occasionally, he would pause, gazing out at the bustling city, his eyes filled with a deep appreciation for this hard-won peaceful life.
Deeper still in the desolate wilderness, in the center of a strange depression, a peculiar little tree, its branches twisted like dragons and its leaves sculpted like jade, radiating a soft, luminous glow, stubbornly grows upwards. The ground around it still bears the marks of a massive impact, yet the tree itself brimmes with vibrant life. A tall, green figure, like a loyal sentinel, sits silently beneath the tree, eyes closed in deep concentration. This is Piccolo. The former Great Demon King, now the sole guardian of this "Dragon Ball Tree." His presence subtly resonates with the tree's glow, creating a peculiar, tranquil space. Here lies a new hope.
At the Capsule Corporation, in Bulma's home. Afternoon sunlight streamed through the huge French windows into the softly carpeted nursery. The air was filled with the faint scent of baby formula and the warmth of the sun. Bulma, dressed in comfortable loungewear, sat in a rocking chair, cradling a baby wrapped in a light blue swaddle. The little one stared curiously at the colorful wind chimes spinning on the ceiling with wide, dark eyes. Bulma smiled gently, rocking the chair softly and humming a slightly off-key but loving lullaby.
"Ugh... Ah..." The baby babbled and waved its little fists.
"Sweetheart, go to sleep, go to sleep..." Bulma's voice was gentle, carrying a hint of weariness, but mostly contentment. On the windowsill sat a small plant, just sprouting tender green shoots, growing quietly in the sunlight. Everything seemed so peaceful and serene, as if the cosmic catastrophe and the system that changed everything were just a distant nightmare.
Just then, Trunks, the little boy who had been quietly sitting on the rug beside the crib, fiddling with a delicate robot model, suddenly looked up, pointed to the clear sky outside the huge French windows, and exclaimed excitedly:
"Mom! Look! A meteor shower!"
Bulma instinctively looked in the direction her son was pointing.
In the clear blue sky, countless tiny points of light appeared out of nowhere! They were like billions of falling stars, or a silent drizzle of golden rain, densely covering the entire field of vision! They did not fall to the ground burning, but rather, with a light and sacred grace, they pierced through the Earth's atmosphere and descended silently!
The scene was so spectacular and bizarre that it completely defied common sense!
Bulma's gentle smile froze instantly, replaced by astonishment and a hint of instinctive wariness. She abruptly stood up, instinctively hugging the baby in her arms even tighter, and quickly pressed the emergency alarm button hidden in the rocking chair armrest with her other hand.
However, the expected impact or explosion did not occur.
Those tiny particles of light, as if they possessed life, fell precisely and gently onto the earth, onto…specific people!
Bulma felt a cool breeze brush against her cheek, and then several points of light merged into her body without any hindrance! There was no pain, only an indescribable feeling of comfort, as if she had been washed by warm spring water, and some dusty, distorted fragments of memory in her mind instantly became clear and complete!
“This…this is…” Bulma stared at her hands in shock.
At the same moment, all around the world, those beings who had been deeply influenced by the "system" and whose forms or abilities had been altered, felt the arrival of this strange rain of light!
At the Krillin Martial Arts Hall on the outskirts of Xidu, a particle of light merged into Krillin's body as he did push-ups. His body jolted, and he stopped moving. Not because of discomfort, but because he clearly felt the "energy circuit" forcibly implanted into his body by the system for combat and teaching purposes melt away like ice and snow! In its place came a purer, more natural feeling of energy, born from his own years of arduous training! It was a feeling of something lost and then regained, yet even more perfect! He stared blankly at his palms, his eyes filled with unbelievable excitement.
Beneath the Dragon Ball Tree in the wasteland, Piccolo suddenly opened his eyes, his sharp gaze fixed on the rain of light in the sky. A point of light landed on his green fingertip and instantly merged into it. The complex structure within his body, modified by the system to connect with and analyze the energy of the Dragon Ball Tree, crumbled inch by inch like decaying vines! But the more fundamental connection between him and the Dragon Ball Tree, born from his will to protect, became clearer and stronger! He exhaled a long, silent breath, closed his eyes again, his breath becoming even longer and calmer.
On the terrace of a café on the city's edge, Number 18 sat gazing absently at the street scene, a cup of coffee in hand. Deep within her artificial core, a particle of light quietly merged. Suddenly, at the center of her flawless, precision-machined chest, the metallic structure beneath her skin emitted an extremely subtle "click." Then, an incredibly tiny, vibrant green sprout, glowing with life, pierced through the cold metal surface, growing tenaciously like the most delicate plant! Though only the size of a pinhead, it possessed a breathtaking vitality! Number 18's coffee cup shattered on the floor with a crash. She stared in disbelief at the incredible green sprout on her chest, her cold fingertips trembling as she wanted to touch it, yet dared not.
In a remote temple courtyard, Tianjin Fan sat cross-legged, meditating. His third eye was slightly open. A particle of light precisely merged into the vertical eye on his forehead! Instantly, a vast and complex stream of information, mixed with countless fragments of memories distorted and altered by the system, surged into his mind like a burst dam! It was about the true history of his Three-Eyed Clan, the truth about certain "insight" abilities forcibly bestowed upon him by the system… The immense shock and torrent of emotions caused this usually calm warrior to tremble violently! A clear tear, uncontrollably, slid slowly down the corner of his third eye. It wasn't sadness, but a sense of liberation, a clarity after washing away the filth.
Inside the capsule company's nursery.
Vegeta strode in, still sweating and warm from his daily training in the gravity chamber (though his strength was no longer what it used to be). He walked over to Bulma and naturally reached out to take the baby from her arms.
"Give it to me, you go and rest..." He hadn't finished speaking.
The moment the baby in Bulma's arms—the little guy who had just been babbling—was taken by Vegeta's strong arms!
A beam of blazing white light, more dazzling and concentrated than all the light particles outside the window combined, burst forth from the baby's tiny body without warning! The light was so intense that it instantly engulfed the entire nursery, blinding Bulma and Vegeta!
Vegeta felt a sudden weight on his arms, as if he were holding not a baby, but a heavy piece of metal! Then, the heavy feeling vanished instantly!
The light came quickly and went quickly.
When the blinding white light dissipated, Vegeta's arms were completely empty!
The baby wrapped in the light blue swaddling clothes has disappeared!
Instead, there was a young man standing barefoot on the soft carpet!
He appeared to be around twenty years old, tall and slender, with slightly disheveled black hair and a handsome face, yet his eyes held a depth beyond his years and an indescribable weariness. He wore a peculiar set of close-fitting clothing, seemingly woven from some kind of energy, with a faint starlight sheen, but it was torn in many places, revealing the muscular skin beneath. Most striking was a similarly cracked device hanging from his waist, flashing a faint red light—a damaged Dragon Ball radar.
The young man, Lin Ye, blinked somewhat blankly. His gaze first swept over his outstretched hands, as if confirming his own existence. Then, he raised his head, his gaze slowly sweeping over the warm and whimsical yet utterly unfamiliar nursery, past Trunks beside him with his eyes wide open and mouth agape, finally settling on the faces of the two familiar yet strange people in front of him, their faces etched with utter shock.
Bulma covered her mouth, tears streaming down her face like a broken string of pearls, but a radiant smile bloomed on her face, a smile that was a mixture of ecstasy, disbelief, and immense relief.
Vegeta stood frozen in place like a petrified statue, his arms still wrapped around a baby. His usually arrogant and aloof face was now filled with utter astonishment and a blankness as if struck by a tremendous force. His gaze was fixed on the damaged radar at Lin Ye's waist; the aura emanating from it sent a shiver down his very soul.
Time seemed to freeze at that moment. Only Trunks's gasps of shock filled the nursery.
Finally, Bulma's voice, thick with nasal tone yet brimming with endless tenderness and teasing, broke the deathly silence:
“Welcome home, Lin Ye.” She took a step forward, tears still streaming down her face, but her smile grew even brighter. “This time… don’t think about saving the universe anymore, okay?”
Her voice was like a key, instantly unlocking the thick layer of ice in Lin Ye's eyes. A faint yet incredibly real warmth and sense of belonging emerged from the depths of his eyes. He opened his mouth, as if to say something, but his throat was a little dry.
He instinctively raised his hand and grasped a hard object pressed against his chest.
It was no longer a fragment radiating immense creative power. It was cold, hard, with a metallic texture, and shaped...like a pocket watch.
Lin Ye bent down and took it out from the torn collar.
It was indeed a pocket watch. Its design was antique, the case made of some unknown dark metal, covered with fine, seemingly naturally formed, strange patterns. The dial had a deep starry sky background, and the hands had long since stopped, frozen in an unknown moment.
He turned the pocket watch over and looked at the back.
There were no elaborate carvings there, only a line of extremely simple words, deeply engraved into the metal, yet seemingly containing some kind of universal truth:
"Power comes from within, not from being given."
Lin Ye's gaze was fixed on those words. Each word was like a heavy hammer blow, striking the depths of his newly returned soul. The power within him, once as vast as the starry sea and capable of shaking the universe with a mere gesture, was now empty, leaving only a faint resonance originating from the deepest part of his flesh and bones.
He slowly tightened his grip on the cold pocket watch. The hard metallic touch against his fingertips conveyed the heavy weight of this law.
late at night.
Deep within Capsule Corporation's massive underground base, all was silent. Only the low, continuous hum of the ventilation system could be heard. This was the Gravity Training Room, where Vegeta, Goku, and others had once trained relentlessly, pushing their limits.
The heavy alloy door slid open silently a crack. Lin Ye, barefoot, walked in quietly. He had changed into a simple gray training uniform that Bulma had prepared for him, and his bare feet made no sound on the cold, smooth metal floor.
The training room was pitch black, with only the faint green glow of a few emergency indicator lights on the walls barely outlining the vast space. A faint smell of metal and ozone filled the air. The massive gravity generator, like a silent behemoth, lurked in the depths of darkness.
Lin Ye didn't turn on any equipment or touch the complicated control panel. He simply walked quietly to the most open area in the center of the training room and stood there.
In the darkness, he closed his eyes.
Countless images flashed uncontrollably through my mind: the dazzling light of the collapsing universe, the cold rules of the system, the bloodied figures of my companions, their resolute sacrifice... and finally, the light of creation that reshaped everything.
These images are like brands, searing his soul.
An indescribable emotion—a mixture of bewilderment at the loss of power, heaviness at the sacrifice of his comrades, and confusion about the principle that "power comes from the heart"—surged and pounded in his chest.
He suddenly opened his eyes! His dark eyes seemed to gleam for a moment in the darkness!
Almost instinctively, without any thought or intention to gather energy, Lin Ye's body tensed up abruptly, and his right fist, like a volcano suppressed for millennia, swung fiercely towards the endless darkness ahead!
"call--!"
The fist tore through the air, creating a brief, rapid gust of wind.
Just as the punch reached its peak, and the arm was about to extend to its limit—
"Zi la——!"
A faint, thin, yet incredibly pure blue bolt of lightning, like a firefly suddenly illuminating the darkness, flashed abruptly and stubbornly before his fist!
The light was so faint that it lasted for less than a fraction of a second before being swallowed up again by the thick darkness.
But in that fleeting moment of light, Lin Ye's punching motion suddenly froze! His pupils contracted sharply!
He saw it clearly in the darkness!
That fleeting glimpse of blue light!
Although it was as faint as a candle flickering in the wind, it carried an energy characteristic that he was extremely familiar with and that was etched into his very bones—the prototype of the Kamehameha!
Power…originates from within?
Lin Ye slowly withdrew his fist, lowered his head, and opened his palm. In the darkness, he couldn't see anything. But he could feel that in that instant, when his emotions were at their peak and his body was driven by instinct, a faint, almost imperceptible current of energy seemed to be drawn out from the deepest part of his body.
The cold gravity training room was deathly silent. Only Lin Ye's slightly heavy breathing echoed softly in the empty space.
He clenched his fist again, his knuckles turning slightly white from the force. In the darkness, his eyes, like two flickering eerie flames, were fixed on the direction from which he had just thrown his punch.
That faint yet unwavering blue light, like a pebble thrown into a stagnant pool, stirred up unprecedented ripples deep within his heart.
Chapter 269 The Pirate Flag of the New Era
The cheers from the Universal Martial Arts Tournament shook the arena's ceiling. As Gohan bowed, holding the championship trophy, his martial arts uniform still bore the dust from the finals. Suddenly, a commotion arose from the audience, and the award ceremony footage on the big screen was abruptly replaced by a news broadcast, the announcer's voice trembling unusually:
"Breaking news! Unidentified fleet spotted on the galactic frontier! Flagship flying a straw hat and skull banner, suspected to originate from an unknown dimension!"
Lin Ye's fingers tightened abruptly around the pocket watch. The metal dial was incredibly hot, and a new pointer suddenly appeared in the star map pattern on the back, pointing towards the southeast quadrant, ending with a symbol he'd never seen before—three skulls surrounding a straw hat. The Namekians around him suddenly clutched their foreheads, and Dandy curled up in pain: "My head hurts so much… I think I saw lots of blue water…"
"The spacetime fusion has begun." Weiss appeared in the VIP section unnoticed, carrying a cosmic milkshake with miniature galaxies floating in the pink liquid. "I never expected to reunite like this." He pointed to the screen with his spoon, where the sails of a straw hat ship were unfurling, and the skull pattern on the fabric instantly transformed into a Saiyan totem. "Want to go take a look? It seems like an old acquaintance of yours is on board too."
"Who?" Lin Ye's aura suddenly surged uncontrollably, and a rubbery, elastic sheen appeared in his palm. This discovery caused his pupils to shrink sharply—this was a characteristic of the Gum-Gum Fruit's power, yet he had never come into contact with a Devil Fruit before.
"Bang!" The VIP room door was kicked open. Vegeta stood in the doorway with his arms crossed, a baby pacifier still clipped to his shoulder armor. In the floating baby pod behind him, five-year-old Lin Xiaoye was swinging back and forth, her golden baby hair standing on end in the shockwave: "That bastard Kakarot stole my spaceship! He said he was going to meet that straw hat kid!"