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

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“...They’re here! The archives are the last...guard the gates...we must not let them get...the database contains...the 'Observer's'...warning...about the 'Eden'...fragments…”

The audio abruptly ends here.

The room was silent. Although the records were only fragmented, they were enough to piece together a terrifying picture—how a hopeful exploration ship was gradually devoured by an unknown parasitic life form, eventually turning into a floating coffin and nest.

"'The Observer's' warning? About the fragments of 'Eden'?" Lin Ye caught the key information. "This is related to the message left behind by Gadino!"

"It seems this ship knows something too." Trunks said gravely.

"The log mentions that space is distorted and distress signals cannot be sent..." Night Owl pulled up a fragmented star map projection, which marked the "Pioneer's" planned route and a star field covered by a red marker. "We may not be in normal space, or we may be in some kind of isolated area. Conventional communication methods are most likely ineffective."

"So, it's basically impossible for us to call for help or contact Shelter Seven?" Vegeta crossed his arms, his face grim.

“At least the equipment on this ship won’t be enough,” Night Owl confirmed.

Just then, the console screen suddenly started flashing violently, and the backup power indicator light jumped wildly!

"Warning! Backup power is about to run out! Increased activity of underlying biological signals detected! Immediate evacuation recommended!" a monotonous electronic voice announced.

At the same time, from the direction of the corridor they came from, came a familiar, chilling scraping and wriggling sound, even more intense and louder than before!

"Those bastards are catching up!" Trunks gripped the hilt of his sword tightly.

"Damn it, he's like a ghost that won't go away!" Vegeta's aura surged up again.

Lin Ye glanced at the console screen that was about to go black and the data cabinets that stored potentially important information, and made a decisive decision: "Night Owl, is there anything else we can download? Especially the fragmented information about 'Observer' and 'Eden,' and the data about this distorted space!"

"I'm trying to grab data from the core cache! But there's not enough time, I might only get some encrypted fragments!" Night Owl's fingers danced as his portable storage device's indicator light flashed wildly.

The sounds outside the door grew closer, and one could even hear the sticky sound of the bio-matrix covering the metal wall.

"Hurry up!" Vegeta had already stood at the door of the archives room, golden energy blasts brewing in his palm.

"Done! Part of the encrypted data packet was captured, but it cannot be decrypted on the spot!" Night Owl abruptly pulled out the device.

"Let's go!" Lin Ye shouted.

The four rushed out of the archives room, only to find that at the end of the corridor, the airtight door they had come up through was completely sealed off by a thick, writhing, dark green biological matrix that was spreading toward them like a living thing. The surface of the matrix was constantly bulging, forming the outlines of various parasitic organisms!

There's no way to retreat!

"This way!" Lin Ye pointed to another direction in the corridor, which seemed to lead to the upper command area of ​​the spaceship.

They ran wildly down the corridor, with the bio-matrix chasing after them like a tidal wave, and their speed was by no means slow!

"How can this thing move so fast?!" Trunks looked back, shocked.

"It's not crawling, it's growing and spreading!" Night Owl shouted as he ran. "It's assimilated most of the ship's structure; it's here like it's in water!"

A fork in the corridor appeared ahead: one path led to the main staircase above, while the other led to an area marked "Bridge".

"To the bridge!" Lin Ye made the decision instantly. The bridge was the spaceship's control center, the most likely place to find information about the ship itself and possible escape routes!

They rushed towards the bridge gate. Fortunately, the gate seemed to be mechanical, and Vegeta simply yanked it open!

The four rushed onto the bridge and slammed the door shut. Vegeta even used his ki blast to weld the valve shut!

They had temporarily kept the pursuers at bay. But everyone knew this wouldn't last long. The biological matrix could even decompose the ship's hull; a single door wouldn't be enough to stop them.

The bridge was even more chaotic than the archives. Control consoles were overturned, screens were cracked, and there were even signs of struggle and dried blood on the chairs. Outside the huge observation windows was a strange, sparsely stared, pitch-black universe. In the distance, there seemed to be colorful bands of light resembling nebulae, but their shapes were bizarre and unlike anything that had been created by nature.

"Check all usable equipment! Search for star charts, engine status, any information about this ship and this star system! Also, look for escape pods!" Lin Ye quickly gave the order, his gaze sweeping across the despairing command center.

Their escape continued, and on this cursed spaceship, every second could be their last. Outside the door, the unsettling writhing and scraping sounds grew louder.

Chapter 521 The Bridge of Despair and the Shadow of the Void

A sense of despair permeated the bridge, as if the fear of the dead crew members still lingered in the space. A dull thud echoed from the welded-locked door, and tiny bulges began to appear on the door panels—the bio-matrix outside was attempting to infiltrate.

"Hurry! There's no time!" Lin Ye urged, rushing to the control panel. The panel was covered with a layer of dust and dried stains, most of the screens were black, with only a few flashing error codes or static.

Trunks and Night Owl split up to check the other control panels. Night Owl attempted to connect to the bridge's backup power but found the wiring clogged with some kind of viscous organic substance. Trunks, meanwhile, found a paper logbook under a damaged control panel, its cover mostly soaked in blood.

"Take a look at this!" Trunks handed the logbook to Lin Ye.

Lin Ye quickly flipped through the pages; the handwriting was mostly messy and filled with despair.

"...Spores are everywhere...They can even infect electronic systems...The shipboard AI 'Pioneer' logic core has been contaminated...We've lost most of our control over the engines and weapons..."

"...attempting to initiate a self-destruct program...access locked...it's 'it'...the 'mastermind' that formed in the main engine room...it's stopping us..."

"...The captain ordered a final short jump to the unknown coordinates in an attempt to shake them off...The jump engine overloaded...We've fallen into this distorted space...We can't get out..."

"...Food and water are almost gone...less than ten survivors...we've decided to hold the bridge..."

The last few pages of the log were a mess of scribbles and repeated phrases like "They're here."

"The self-destruct program is locked, the jump engine is broken, and we're trapped here," Trunks said gravely.

“Not necessarily.” Night Owl made a discovery on a relatively intact secondary control panel: “The navigation system’s star map module seems to still have some cached data! Although it can’t pinpoint our exact location, it records the starting coordinates of our last jump and… the anomalous gravitational source characteristics of our jump destination!”

He operated the controls rapidly, and a fragmented star map projection appeared on the screen, with one point flashing a dangerous red light. "This anomalous gravitational source is what interfered with the jump and trapped us (or rather, this ship) here. Its gravitational pattern... is very strange, unlike that of a natural celestial body."

"Can we analyze anything?" Lin Ye asked.

“The data is insufficient, but its radiation characteristics… bear a slight resemblance to some ‘void constructs’ recorded in my database.” Night Owl’s expression was grave. “If that’s the case, we might not be simply drifting, but rather being ‘captured’.”

A void construct? Lin Ye's heart sank as he recalled the enormous "Eye of the Void" outside the outpost. Could the source of that interfering force on teleportation be here?

Just then, a large bulge suddenly appeared in the center of the welded-locked door, and the metal emitted a piercing twisting sound! Immediately afterwards, a sharp, drill-like limb covered in slime and metal fragments pierced through the door panel!

"They're coming in!" Vegeta roared, slashing out with a chop to the neck. A flash of golden light severed the severed limb! Green fluid spurted in from the wound.

But more impact sounds came from other parts of the door panel, and the entire door was shaking violently, with the welded joints beginning to crack.

"Escape pod! Have you found the location of the escape pod?" Lin Ye asked urgently.

"Found it!" Trunks pointed to a structural diagram next to the star map. "There's a separate airtight passage in the compartment behind the bridge! But its condition is unknown!"

“Let’s go there! This is our last chance!” Lin Ye decided immediately.

Vegeta unleashed several more energy blasts, temporarily suppressing the attack from outside the door, but everyone knew this wouldn't last long. The four quickly rushed towards the escape pods at the back of the bridge.

The compartment door was hydraulically operated, but Vegeta yanked it open. Inside were four single-person horseshoe-shaped escape pods arranged side by side, but two of them were severely damaged, with broken hatches and filled with bio-matrix. The other two appeared relatively intact.

"Only two are usable!" Trunks' heart sank.

Despair struck again. Four people, two escape pods.

"Trunks and I will stay behind to cover our retreat!" Vegeta said almost without hesitation, turning to face the gate that was about to be breached, golden flames blazing forth. "You two, take the escape pods!"

"No!" Lin Ye immediately objected. "If anyone should stay, it should be me! My fragmented power has a restraining effect on them!"

"Enough with the nonsense!" Vegeta roared without turning his head. "Your fragments are still very useful; we can't let them die here! I haven't had my fill of killing yet! Trunks, are you scared?"

Trunks gripped his longsword, stood beside Vegeta, and a resolute look appeared on his face: "Of course I'm not afraid!"

In the few seconds they were arguing, the bridge gates shattered! A tidal wave of biological matrix and countless parasitic creatures surged in, instantly filling most of the bridge! The leading monster was exceptionally large, resembling an aggregate pieced together from countless crew corpses and metal fragments, with a huge, pulsating, dark green tumor embedded in its center, radiating a powerful mental pressure!

"A derivative of the mainframe!" Night Owl exclaimed. "It has come in person!"

The monster let out a deafening roar that was a mixture of countless sounds, and the powerful mental impact made all three of them, except for Lin Ye (who was protected by the fragment), feel dizzy.

"There's no time!" Lin Ye gritted his teeth. He knew that Vegeta's decision, though cruel, might be the only way to preserve the "Spark." He grabbed Night Owl, who was about to say something, and rushed towards the two intact escape pods.

"Activate the escape procedure! Quick!" Lin Ye shouted to Night Owl, then turned around and fully activated the Order Field, trying to relieve the pressure on Vegeta and Trunks.

The field of order collided with the chaotic mental pressure emanating from the monster, producing a hissing sound, and barely withstood its direct impact.

Without further hesitation, Night Owl quickly initiated the pre-launch procedures for both escape pods. The hatches slowly slid open.

"Vegeta! Trunks!" Lin Ye turned around and took one last look at the two figures fighting side by side.

"Get out of my way! Don't get in my way!" Vegeta laughed wildly, unleashing a massive energy blast directly at the monster's main body!

Trunks transformed into a beam of sword light, slashing at the small parasites surging around the monster.

Explosions and the clang of swords rang out behind them. Lin Ye gritted his teeth and, along with Night Owl, crawled into the escape pods.

The hatch closed quickly, and the internal indicator lights illuminated.

"Escape pod separation procedure initiated... Countdown 3... 2..."

Through the narrow observation window, Lin Ye saw Vegeta and Trunks being swallowed up by the surging tide of monsters; all he could see were bursts of golden light and flashing sword energy...

"...1! Launch!"

A tremendous push came over my back as the escape pod was ejected and detached from the hull of the "Pioneer".

Upon entering the frigid outer space, the last thing Lin Ye saw was the spaceship, completely covered in dark green and resembling a giant nest, and dozens of parasitic creatures, like moths, chasing after the escape pod from the damaged parts of the spaceship. They flapped their wings and chased after the escape pod!

In the far reaches of space, deep within that eerie band of colored light, something seemed to... stir. A familiar, chilling sense of being watched once again enveloped Lin Ye's heart.

The Eye of the Void... it's still watching!

Chapter 522 Drifting and Whispers

The intense push receded like a receding tide, and the escape pod detached from the ejection track, gliding silently through the absolute stillness of space. The cramped space felt like a metal coffin, oppressively suffocating. The only signs of life came from the stubbornly flickering lights on the instrument panel and the low, persistent hum of the life support system, like the heartbeat of a dying person.

Lin Ye leaned back in the cold seat, his gaze fixed on the outside through the narrow observation window. The "tumor" representing the "Pioneer," completely covered by dark green biological matrix, was shrinking in his field of vision, eventually becoming a tiny, nauseating green dot against the vast, dark background, until it disappeared completely.

He closed his eyes, but Vegeta's ferocious and resolute smile, Trunks's final, chilling sword strike, and their roars before being swallowed by the endless dark tide were like red-hot irons, deeply imprinted on his retina and burning his nerves.

Are they... still alive?

The thought had barely formed when it was overwhelmed by a deeper sense of powerlessness and guilt. In that desperate situation, facing that terrifying "brain derivative" and the surging parasitic army, the probability of survival was infinitesimally close to zero. Although he knew it was Vegeta's own choice, to protect him and Night Owl, the two "sparks" carrying Gadino's information, fragments of order, and clues to "Eden," rational analysis couldn't counteract the emotional turmoil. Abandoning his companions and escaping alone—the feeling was awful.

He jerked his eyes open and slammed his fist against the metal wall beside him, the dull thud ringing out starkly in the silent cabin. No, he couldn't let himself succumb to this! He took a deep breath of the cold, circulating air, forcing his nearly boiling brain to calm down.

He's still alive. The owl is still alive too.

This means that hope and responsibility remain. The opportunity that Vegeta and Trunks gained through the potential sacrifice of their own lives must not be wasted! Otherwise, that would be true betrayal.

He shook his head, forcibly suppressing his surging emotions, and began to focus on checking the condition of the escape pod.

The main screen displayed 67% energy remaining, and the life support system's countdown, marked in red as a warning, relentlessly ticked: 120 standard hours (approximately 5 days). The navigation interface was a despairing blank, devoid of any familiar star map coordinates, only a deep, unknown darkness. The only option in the communication list was the universal distress channel, its signal so weak it was almost negligible. In this distorted space where even starlight seemed eerily bright, the possibility of it being transmitted and received was minuscule.

He attempted to activate short-range internal communications.

“Night Owl, can you hear me? Report your situation.” His voice was hoarse from tension.

A faint static crackled through the channel. A few seconds later, Night Owl's distinctive voice, slightly distorted yet calm, rang out: "Received, Lord Lin Ye. Escape pod structure intact, functions normally. Energy remaining 71%, life support system expected to last 125 standard hours. Navigation system... no identifiable beacons or star map references detected."

A brief silence fell, the air seemed to freeze. Some things, after all, had to be said.