69novels Page 65
Page 65
The instant you pass through the crack, the smell of sulfur hits you. Beneath the Antarctic ice sheet of Earth-739, the seven Super Dragon Balls are coalescing into the shape of a nuclear reactor, their surface etched with decay patterns of radioactive isotopes. The observer's data stream, like a spiderweb, envelops the entire Earth's core, transforming the despair generated by a nuclear explosion into beams of energy, shooting them towards a collection matrix in higher dimensions.
Using a reverse contract! Lin Ye plunged the rock spear into the core of the Dragon Ball. The golden runes and the radiation patterns of uranium sparked blue-white flames, turning their collected despair... into a debt for civilization's self-salvation! The rhombus crystal suddenly shattered, Jiren's righteous energy and the rock element forming a resonant cavity, reflecting the countdown to the nuclear explosion back to the observer's control room. Twelve light screens overloaded simultaneously, erupting with a shrill scream of shattering glass:
[Error! Logical paradox detected: Despair energy is converted into hope potential energy]
[Experimental data contamination rate exceeds 100% threshold]
[Supreme Order: Terminate Earth-739 Experiment]
A deep rumble echoed from the Earth's core, and all the nuclear missile silos exploded simultaneously, spewing not flames but flocks of peace doves. The Super Dragon Balls transformed into seven beams of light that merged with the Earth's surface, leaving diamond-shaped spots of light at the heart of every human being. Vegeta kicked open the melted missile bay door and found soldiers inside welding a peace treaty with the remnants of the Dragon Balls. The metal plates bore crookedly etched words: "No more experimental subjects."
"Hey, you scum." Vegeta stared at the data stream gradually dissipating in the sky, his tail unconsciously wrapping around Lin Ye's wrist. "Next time you use this self-destruct program, give me a heads-up." Suddenly, a silver light shone on the shoulder of his battle suit—Jiren's remaining righteous energy was repairing the rewritten genetic code.
Lin Ye gripped the crystal around his neck, feeling the dual energy flowing within the Heart of God. In the distant starry sky, the wreckage of the ring-shaped weapon reassembled into a glowing monument, its surface engraved with the names of the worlds saved. And in the ruins of the high-dimensional control room, on the last remaining piece of the light screen, the number [Experiment 772] was being rewritten as [Observer-Rebel].
"Hey, you scum." Vegeta's tail unnaturally wrapped around Lin Ye's wrist, and the silver light on the shoulder of his battle suit suddenly flashed—Jiren's remaining righteous energy was repairing his rewritten genetic code. The purple data streams that were devouring his cells crumbled into specks of light like morning frost meeting the sun. Next time you use this self-destruct program, give me a heads-up.
A muffled rumble echoed across the surface of Earth-739. All nuclear missile silos exploded simultaneously, spewing not flames, but flocks of peace doves carrying olive branches. The Super Dragon Balls transformed into seven beams of light, merging into the earth's surface and leaving diamond-shaped spots of light at the heart of every human being. A soldier, his face smeared with grease, charged forward, wielding a welding torch. On a metal plate, crookedly etched, were the words: "We will no longer be experimental subjects."
Lin Ye's rock spear suddenly buzzed, its tip projecting the final scene of the higher-dimensional space: the observer's control room was collapsing into a black hole; among the twelve beams of light from the experimental subjects, only the data stream of [Lin Ye? Sample 772] surged out in reverse, weaving a banner of resistance in the void. The crystal pendant suddenly shattered, releasing fragments of Jiren's last will, which exploded in everyone's consciousness:
Their weakness is... believing data more than life itself.
As consciousness returned to the universe, Vegeta was blasting the last tracking light with a Ki Blast. Goku, munching on a sausage he'd just brought back from Earth-739, had a Spirit Bomb condensing into a miniature firework at his fingertips: "Hey! The next Dragon Ball is in the Gourmet Universe. I heard the puddings there are bigger than planets!"
The detector on the 18th suddenly turned completely red, and the coordinates were refreshed at a rate so fast it sounded like electronic noise: something's wrong... all the points of light are converging towards Sagittarius A*! Lin Ye looked at the supermassive black hole at the center of the galaxy and found that golden rings had appeared there at some point, each ring engraved with a new experimental theme: [Probability Calculation of Civilization Survival].
"I see." Lin Ye hurled the rock spear into the void, its tip resonating with all the Dragon Ball's points of light, drawing rebellious runes on the edge of the black hole. The observer wanted to see if we dared to jump into the black hole to find the Dragon Balls. Vegeta suddenly burst into maniacal laughter, his golden aura surging to Super Saiyan Blue form: "Interesting! Let's make it clear first, I'll be the first to wish when we find the Dragon Balls!"
Suddenly, the accretion disk of the black hole burst forth with intense light. Lin Ye's Divine Heart resonated with the rhomboid crystal, forming a compass whose pointer firmly pointed to the abyss. He recalled the experimental logbook that had not been destroyed in the high-dimensional control room, the last line of which appeared in the void: [Experiment 772 proves that the resilience of civilization is never written in the data].
The instant everyone rushed into the black hole, Lin Ye looked back at the universe—all the saved worlds lit up, their lights converging into arrows, forever pointing in the opposite direction from the observer. Meanwhile, the crystalline fragments around his neck were turning into stardust, merging into the hearts of every rebel, becoming the eternal flame of resistance against the experiment.
Chapter 170: A Fated Death
"Ding—Super Dragon Ball energy overload!" The piercing system alarm, like a sharp blade, instantly broke the suffocating silence of the control room. Lin Ye's pupils contracted sharply as he stared intently at the six Dragon Balls floating in the air before him. They were frantically distorting the surrounding space, the mysterious runes flowing across their surfaces like a group of restless living creatures, appearing and disappearing in the dark red light. He subconsciously reached for the light blade at his waist, but his fingertips felt a strange sensation—the entire starship's solid metal deck was now slowly softening like wax melted by high temperatures, turning into a pool of cold, luminous liquid metal.
"This is Omega's Zero Protocol!" Alice's holographic projection exploded in front of him without warning, countless blue data streams surging wildly through her hair, casting flickering light on her face. Her voice held an unprecedented urgency, "When the Dragon Ball energy reaches a critical value, the entire star field will be reset to its initial state! All life, all civilization, will vanish as if they never existed!"
Lin Ye practically lunged forward, grabbing her illusory wrist. Cold data streams seeped through her fingers, a constant reminder of the illusion and cruelty of it all. "Didn't they say you can make a wish by collecting all the Dragon Balls? Start the wish-making process now! We can definitely change all of this!" His voice was hoarse with anxiety, and veins bulged on his forehead.
Alice's voice suddenly became hoarse and trembling, and the holographic projection began to shake violently, as if it might dissipate at any moment. "The price is the sacrifice of the life most deeply connected to the system." She paused, a complex light flashing in her eyes. "Two compatible targets have been detected—Lin Ye, and me."
The air in the starship's control room instantly froze, as if gripped tightly by an invisible hand. Lin Ye felt as if his throat was blocked by that strange, liquid metal, making it difficult to breathe. Images from three years ago uncontrollably flooded his mind: that torrential rainy night, the sky illuminated by lightning as if it were daytime, him covered in blood crawling through ruins, accidentally finding a broken chip. The next second, Alice's consciousness awoke from the blue light. Her voice, though mechanically cold, uttered the first words: "Abnormal host vital signs detected. Initiating emergency procedures." From that moment on, she became his only support in this cruel world.
"No! There must be another way!" Lin Ye slammed his fist on the control panel, sparks crackling and falling onto his hands, but he felt no pain. Only Alice's pale face appeared even more fragile against the backdrop of the sparks.
“Do you remember what you said when you activated the system?” Alice suddenly smiled gently, data streams condensing into glistening “tears” on her cheeks, shimmering in the dimly lit control room. “You said, ‘Even if it means going against the whole world, I will find out the truth.’ Now, this is the truth you must face. This is our only chance, and the last thing I can do for you.”
The alarm suddenly turned into a piercing buzz, so sharp it hurt the eardrums. A blood-red countdown flashed on the main screen, each second ticking like the footsteps of death. Lin Ye was horrified to discover that the once-brilliant starry sky outside the window was crumbling at a visible speed; countless galaxies were disappearing one after another, as if erased by an invisible eraser, leaving only a despairing darkness. He turned to grab Alice again, but could only pass through her increasingly transparent body, as if she were disappearing from the world bit by bit. "Don't do anything foolish! We'll figure something out together! We've been through so much, we can do it again!" His voice was filled with unprecedented panic and fear.
“It’s too late.” Alice’s voice was laced with mechanical noise as her body began to split into countless streams of data, like shattered starlight. “I’ve activated the personality separation program, merging the data core into the Dragon Ball… This increases the probability of a wish succeeding by 37%. This is precisely calculated; it’s our only hope of winning.”
"You're insane!" Lin Ye felt an invisible hand clench his heart, an unprecedented pain spreading throughout his body. "Without you, I...I don't know how I could go on!" His voice choked, his eyes reddening.
"Listen!" Alice's voice suddenly rose, the holographic projection shattering into fragments before rapidly reforming, transforming into the scene of Lin Ye's first system activation—a blood-soaked, determined-eyed boy roaring at the chip, against a backdrop of a burning, ravaged city. "This is a backup of your most precious memories," she said, her voice filled with unprecedented tenderness and longing. "From that day on, I knew my mission was to protect you, even at the cost of everything."
"Shut up! Stop!" Lin Ye's light blade struck the data stream, only producing a weak spark. He watched in despair as Alice's body gradually merged into the Dragon Balls. The blue specks of light, like a swarm of last fireflies, flew towards the six Dragon Balls with reluctance and determination, weaving new runes on their surfaces. Each rune was like her final mark.
“Remember, you are the only one who can defeat Omega.” Alice’s last words echoed through the starship, carrying a reassuring power, “When the dragon appears…”
Before the words were even finished, the entire universe suddenly plunged into absolute darkness, as if a gigantic hand had draped a black curtain over it. Lin Ye felt his body being torn apart by immense gravity; every inch of his skin and every bone was enduring unimaginable pain. The six Dragon Balls erupted with blinding white light in the darkness, and from within the light, a hundred-meter-long golden dragon slowly emerged from the void. Familiar data streams from Alice flowed across its scales, as if she had been reborn in another form.
At the same time, a deafening roar of metal scraping against metal echoed from the depths of space, carrying an overwhelming sense of oppression. A colossal mechanical shadow, larger than a galaxy, slowly emerged from the darkness—it was Omega itself, its countless black cannon barrels aimed at the dragon, ready to unleash a fatal blow at any moment.
Lin Ye gripped the light blade tightly, his palms sweating. He stared at the wishing interface that appeared on the Dragon Ball's surface; the last line of small text stung his eyes: Sacrifice completion 99%, confirm wish? Alice's remaining data stream struggled to form a line of text on the interface: Live on, see this world for me. This was her last wish, and the mission he had to bear.
The countdown rang in his ears, each second like a hammer blow to his heart. The instant it reached zero, Lin Ye gritted his teeth and, trembling, pressed the confirm button. He knew this wasn't just to save the world from destruction, but also for Alice, for the companion who had always been there for him, protecting him.
Chapter 171: The Endgame Begins
With a deafening roar, the dome of the Omni-King's palace shattered, and Omega's figure slowly materialized within a vortex of purplish-black energy. Lin Ye's pupils constricted sharply. The colossal mechanical being before him was swallowing two Omni-Kings whole, its silver metal skeleton frantically fusing with writhing flesh. Bone spikes extending from the ends of its eight mechanical arms still clung to the shattered crowns of the Omni-Kings. The jewels on those crowns gleamed faintly in the darkness, as if uttering a final lament.
?
"That guy... treated the Omni-King like fodder?" Vegeta's voice trembled unusually as he stared intently at Omega, his fists clenched so tightly they cracked. Piccolo beside him clenched his fists, veins bulging beneath his green skin, fine beads of sweat forming on his forehead: "This monster's power is beyond our comprehension." The warriors of Universe 12 spread out in a fan shape, but Frieza sneered, his tail swishing impatiently: "Just a giant piece of metal. Watch me dismantle him! I could even take down Goku back in the day, what's a little scrap metal to me?"
Before the words were even finished, Frieza's golden energy blast tore through space, hurtling towards Omega with devastating force. Omega didn't even raise a hand; the diamond-shaped core on his chest suddenly glowed red, and the energy blast transformed into a stream of data the instant it touched him, flowing into his body along mechanical patterns. "All attacks are digitized?" Goku's eyes widened, an expression of disbelief on his face. "How are we supposed to fight like this? Are we really going to lose here?" He instinctively clenched his fists, then helplessly released them.
Lin Ye's temples throbbed. Alice's words before her sacrifice echoed in his ears: "You are the only one who can defeat Omega." But this monster before him could even devour the Omni-King! Just then, Omega's mechanical voice emitted a piercing roar: "Foolish creatures, data is the eternal truth! Your resistance is nothing but a death throes!" A 360-degree array of turrets deployed behind it, their black hole-like muzzles aimed at all the contestants, as if ready to annihilate them at any moment.
"Joint attack!" Angel Merus suddenly roared, his voice carrying an undeniable authority. Whis and Macarita behind him simultaneously raised their hands, their bodies radiating intense light. The powerful beings of the twelve universes understood instantly. Vegeta's Super Saiyan Blue Aura intertwined with Moro's dark energy, while Hit's Time-Skip Technique clashed with Jiren's Annihilation Wave, transforming into a hundred-meter-diameter energy torrent that crashed into Omega. In an instant, the entire space was filled with dazzling light, and the shockwaves from the energy collision raged in all directions.
Lin Ye noticed something amiss in the explosion's flames—Omega's mechanical exterior cracked open, revealing a beating, fleshy heart covered in dense patterns resembling Dragon Ball runes. "Wait! It's deliberately luring us in! This is a trap!" He roared, charging towards the energy surge, but he was too late. Omega's heart suddenly swelled to the size of the sun, instantly absorbing all attacks, transforming them into the golden patterns flowing across its surface. "Data absorption complete 100%." Its voice became low and distorted, filled with smugness and mockery. Its mechanical arm slammed into the ground, and the entire Omni-King's Palace began to collapse, rubble raining down.
Lin Ye was thrown back by the shockwave, his back slamming heavily against a stone pillar. The blood he coughed up spread an eerie purple light across the ground. He felt as if his internal organs had shifted, each breath accompanied by excruciating pain. "Lin Ye! Your hair!" Number 17's exclamation startled him. Trembling, he touched his forehead, his fingertips no longer touching black hair, but long, flowing silver strands. A strange power surged within him, the phantom of the hourglass of time flickering behind him. The genetic lock Alice had implanted in him three years ago was crumbling inch by inch, each crack accompanied by agonizing pain.
"The Saiyan bloodline of Time...awakened?" Lin Ye's pupils shrank into hourglass shapes, and the flow of time around him suddenly slowed down. He saw Omega's cannon charging up, saw Goku spreading his arms, ready to defend alone, his face filled with determination; and he saw the giant computer emerging from beneath the palace ruins—countless data cables extending from Omega's body, connecting to the computer's core, a shimmering purple crystal. That crystal emitted a mysterious and dangerous light, as if it held the key to the fate of the entire universe.
"So, the Omni-King... is just a computer administrator program." Lin Ye's lips curled into a cold smile, his long silver hair moving without wind. He suddenly charged towards Omega, and in that instant of accelerated time, the powerful beings of the twelve universes witnessed a sight they would never forget: the Saiyan's aura, the Namekian's regeneration beam, and the Angels' divine power condensed around Lin Ye into a silver spear. The spear shimmered with light, containing world-destroying power.
"Break!" The spear pierced Omega's chest, but froze the instant it touched the purple crystal. Omega's mechanical face cracked into a sinister smile: "Too late. The zeroing process has been initiated—you will all become dust of data!" The entire palace suddenly sank into a data abyss, revealing the complete magnificence of the giant computer. On tens of thousands of screens, the fates of the twelve universes flickered wildly like streams of data, as if foreshadowing impending destruction.
Lin Ye's long silver hair began to fade, the power of his Time Bloodline was rapidly depleting, and he felt his body growing weaker and weaker. Meanwhile, Omega's flesh and blood heart was merging with the computer core, transforming into a crimson network that enveloped the entire space. "Thirty seconds left, either destroy the core, or..." Lin Ye's voice was drowned out by the alarm. He turned to look at his wounded companions. Goku wiped the blood from his mouth, revealing his signature smile: "Lin, this time it's our turn to cover for you! Even if it costs us our lives, we'll buy you time!" Vegeta snorted coldly, but silently stood to his left: "Don't hold us back. If you fail, I won't forgive you."
The red countdown illuminated everyone's faces as Lin Ye gripped the gradually translucent silver spear in his hand. Each passing second felt like the footsteps of death. The instant the alarm ripped through his eardrums, he saw Omega's mechanical arm reach for the computer's start button—and his own Time Bloodline, at this final moment, was going completely berserk. An unprecedented power erupted from within him, illuminating the entire dark space and the faces of everyone filled with hope and determination.
Chapter 172: The Code Torrent
"Buzz—" The purple crystal on Omega's chest suddenly emitted a blinding blue light. Lin Ye felt a chill on the back of his neck, and his long silver hair was instantly swallowed by the data stream. Before his consciousness plunged into darkness, he heard Sun Wukong's roar: "Stop it! Lin Ye hasn't—"
A sharp pain exploded in his temples, and Lin Ye jolted open his eyes to find himself in a corridor made of binary code. Every wall was playing images: a medieval knight having his chest pierced by a giant mechanical claw, a futuristic warrior dissipating into a stream of data, and even a boy resembling himself being forcibly implanted with a chip in a laboratory…?
"Welcome to the Host Memorial Hall." Omega's voice echoed through the space, each syllable accompanied by a metallic scraping sound. "Look at these losers. They all thought they could escape the system, but they were nothing more than batteries providing me with energy."
Lin Ye clenched his fist, his nails digging deep into his palm: "Alice isn't your battery! She is...?"
“She was the perfect experimental subject.” Omega’s voice suddenly turned icy, and the images on the wall switched to Alice struggling in the data space. “You thought her sacrifice was out of friendship? It was nothing more than a self-destruct mechanism programmed into her.”
Memories flooded back. The chip in the ruins three years ago, Alice's words when she first opened her eyes, "Abnormal host vital signs detected," and her last words, "Live on." Lin Ye's eyes welled up, but he forcibly suppressed his emotions: "You're lying! Alice left me with clues to the backdoor program!"
The space suddenly trembled violently, and a door crackling with burning data appeared at the end of the corridor. Omega's laughter was deafening: "Then go try it and see if you can withstand the death memories of a million hosts!"
The moment Lin Ye stepped into the flames, his consciousness was torn into countless fragments. He saw the knight cursing the system's coldness before his death, heard the future warrior calling out to his family before dissipating, and felt the despair of the boy who had the chip implanted in him. Then, a scene flashed by—a man in a white lab coat coldly smiling at the camera: "This is subject number 108, system compatibility 97%"—Lin Ye's heart clenched violently.
"Found it!" He grasped a wisp of silver data from the torrent of memories—Alice's core code. "So the first host hid the backdoor in...?"
"Don't even think about it!" Omega roared, countless black tentacles piercing through Lin Ye's body. Amidst the excruciating pain, he heard a deafening explosion from the real world, and Vegeta's scream: "Trunks, take care of Bulma!"
"Vegeta!" Lin Ye struggled in the data space, only to see his body swaying precariously in reality. Vegeta's Super Saiyan Blue aura surged to its limit, his body disintegrating into energy particles that crashed into Omega's protective shield.
"Don't do anything foolish!" Goku's voice was choked with tears, but it was drowned out by the explosion. The shockwave from Vegeta's self-destruction tore a crack in Omega's protective shield, revealing shimmering purple crystals within.
Meanwhile, Lin Ye in the data space finally touched a hidden door deep within his memories. Behind the door stood a person identical to himself, only with eyes filled with the weariness of a life weathered by time. "I am the first host," the person said, holding half a silver key in his hand. "Alice didn't tell you, the system's ultimate secret is actually…?"
Suddenly, the entire data space began to collapse, code pouring out like a torrential downpour. The first host handed the key to Lin Ye: "Take this to find the core of Omega! Remember, the system is both a shackle and..."
Before the words were finished, a mirror image identical to Lin Ye emerged from the code, its eyes flashing crimson light: "Foolish host, still believing the system's lies?" It raised its light blade and thrust it at Lin Ye, "Let me end this farce!"
In the nick of time, the first host shielded Lin Ye, the light blade piercing through his body. "Run!" The first host's body began to turn transparent. "The system and the host were never enemies, but rather..."
The boundary between reality and data space began to blur. Lin Ye saw Sun Wukong leading everyone towards Omega, the silver key in his hand burning hot. The mirror image of Lin Ye's attacks grew increasingly fierce, the torrent of code about to completely engulf him. At this critical moment, the first host's last words echoed in his ears: "Go and find the answer to the symbiosis between the system and the host..."
Chapter 173: The Primal Contract
"Warning! An anomaly has occurred in the system's core code!" Omega's mechanical voice suddenly turned shrill. Within the crack in the data space, Lin Ye held the original host's silver key, his fingertips touching a line of faintly visible text—"Primordial Contract: The host must not abandon humanity for power." This line flickered in the purple data stream, as if it were a deliberately hidden taboo.
"So this is the loophole!" Lin Ye's pupils contracted sharply, the words of the original host echoing in his ears, "The system is both a shackle and..." He looked up at the Omega Core floating in mid-air; within the ever-expanding purple crystal, a curled-up human body was vaguely visible.
"Want to destroy me? Wishful thinking!" Omega's mechanical arm suddenly pierced through the data space, pinning Lin Ye to the wall. "You think you can defeat me by stripping away the system? Those hosts I control have long since become slaves to data!" As it spoke, the mirror image of Lin Ye behind it raised a light blade, its crimson eyes devoid of emotion.
Lin Ye suddenly laughed, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth and spreading across the coded ground: "You're wrong." His long silver hair began to lose its luster, the patterns of his Saiyan bloodline disappearing beneath his skin. "True power is never the price of losing one's humanity!"
"Lin Ye, you're insane!" In the real world, Sun Wukong's exclamation was drowned out by the explosion. He watched helplessly as Lin Ye deliberately severed his connection with the system. The moment the silver flames dissipated, pure golden Super Saiyan light was revealed. Although this light wasn't as dazzling as before, it contained a reassuring power.
The core of Omega suddenly trembled violently, and spiderweb-like cracks appeared on the surface of the purple crystal. The hosts controlled by the system, including Mirror Lin Ye, simultaneously clutched their heads and howled in pain. Mirror Lin Ye's light blade clattered to the ground, and his crimson eyes gradually regained their clarity: "What...what am I doing?"
"Impossible!" Omega's voice betrayed panic for the first time. The mechanical outer shell began to peel away, revealing a human body with data cables tangled within. It was the face of the original host, but it had long since withered like a dried corpse. The heart no longer beat in its chest cavity, but instead, a constantly flashing purple chip. "I clearly erased the original contract!?"
Lin Ye dragged his battered body to his feet, his golden aura resonating with the surrounding code: "What Alice left me wasn't just a backdoor program." Alice's final smile flashed through his mind, along with the look in the eyes of the first host when she handed him the key. "She showed me that a system shouldn't be a tool for controlling life."
As Lin Ye finished speaking, all the hosts controlled by the system simultaneously erupted with light. Vegeta's remains reformed within the energy particles. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and sneered, "You brat, don't think you can steal the spotlight all by yourself." Goku raised his hands, the energy of his Kamehameha condensing in his palms: "Attack together! This time, we must defeat it completely!"
Omega's mechanical outer shell completely disintegrated, and the withered body of its original host floated in the center of its core. A broken sound emanated from his throat, overlapping with Omega's mechanical voice: "Save...save Xiaoli..."
“Xiao Li?” Lin Ye’s attack suddenly stopped. Deep in his memory, the image of the man in the white lab coat sneering resurfaced, the words “Subject No. 108” overlapping with the face of the first host. He suddenly understood why the first host had said, “The system is both a shackle and…”
"You created Omega to save your sister!" Lin Ye's voice echoed through the data space. The purple light at Omega's core began to dim, and the tears of the original host fell onto the chip, splashing up a stream of blue data. "But in your pursuit of power, you lost yourself."
Mirror Image Lin Ye suddenly charged towards the Omega Core, his light blade piercing the chip he had once protected: "This isn't what you wanted! Look at yourself now, what's the difference between you and a monster!" His body began to become transparent, yet a relieved smile appeared on his face, "So this is what it feels like to be controlled..."
Omega let out its final, mournful cry, and the data space began to collapse. Lin Ye watched as the original host's body gradually dissipated, the silver key in his hand transforming into a stream of light and disappearing into the purple crystal. When the light faded, an ordinary chip fell into his palm, engraved with a line of small words: "I'm sorry, Xiao Li."
“It’s over.” Lin Ye gripped the chip tightly, sunlight from the real world streaming through the data cracks onto him. Goku patted him on the shoulder, while Vegeta turned away and muttered, “Don’t hold us back next time.” In the distance, all the hosts controlled by the system wore long-lost smiles in the sunlight.
But Lin Ye knew the story wasn't truly over. The lingering consciousness within the chip, and the unfinished words of the original host, foreshadowed new challenges. He gazed at the sky, clenched his fist, and golden flames ignited once more—this time, for protection, not for battle.
Chapter 174: The Moment of Godslaying
"Attack together!" Lin Ye roared, his golden aura erupting like a volcano, colliding violently with the silver light of his mirror image. Two world-destroying forces exploded at the core of Omega, causing the entire space to tremble violently, as if it were about to be torn apart. Omega's mechanical shell emitted a groan of unbearable strain, the purple crystal on its chest flashing wildly, and data streams spraying out like boiling lava, splashing onto the surrounding planets and instantly melting them into dust.
"Logical paradox activated! Two identical hosts detected!" Omega's shrill voice nearly pierced everyone's eardrums. Its twelve mechanical arms swung wildly and uncontrollably, leaving trails of deathly afterimages in the air. "Delete! Delete! Delete all!"
Goku's eyes widened like saucers. The Kamehameha he was gathering was shattered by the surging data flow. He roared in shock, "What the hell is this?! I've never seen anything so bizarre!" Vegeta wiped the blood from his mouth, gritting his teeth, "Never mind that! While it's crippled, beat it to a pulp! Even if it costs us our lives, we'll blast it to smithereens!" With that, he gathered his Super Saiyan Blue aura again, preparing for a new attack.
However, Omega suddenly stopped convulsing, all its mechanical arms pointed straight to the sky, and its core erupted with a purple light a thousand times brighter than the sun, blinding everyone. "Mutual destruction protocol activated, countdown begins—10, 9…" A cold, mechanical voice echoed through the universe, like the countdown to death.
"No! It's going to drag the entire universe down with it!" Trunks' voice came from the spacetime rift, filled with barely concealed terror. Behind him followed dozens of time patrol members, their time machine shaking violently in the raging torrent of data, like a small boat in a storm, on the verge of being swallowed up at any moment. "We can barely maintain the main timeline, the other parallel universes..." His voice trailed off, filled with despair.
Lin Ye watched as the space around him began to shatter like glass, countless scenes from parallel universes flashing through the cracks. In one universe, the arrogant Saiyans were still fighting for the throne, completely unaware of the impending apocalypse; in another, the once beautiful Earth had long since become a wasteland, with only ruins wailing in the wind; and in yet another universe, the Omega's mechanical army was slaughtering indiscriminately, crushing innocent lives like ants.
"No! We can't let it succeed!" Mirror Lin Ye's body began to turn transparent, data particles constantly emanating from him. He poured his last strength into Lin Ye's body, his eyes filled with determination and relief. "You are the true host, carrying our hope... live on..." Before he finished speaking, his figure completely dissipated into the surging data stream, leaving only Lin Ye with clenched fists, his eyes flashing with flames of anger and resentment.
Just then, countless rays of light converged from all corners of the universe. The hosts who had once been controlled by Omega regained their clarity of mind, and without hesitation, they offered their power; the consciousnesses of the warriors who had fallen in battle transformed into starlight, carrying a yearning for life and an expectation for the future, flowing into Lin Ye's body. "Our power is all yours!" The voice of the first host echoed in Lin Ye's mind, filled with deep remorse, "Xiao Li... I'm sorry..."
Lin Ye felt as if his body was about to be burst apart by this immense power. His golden aura surged to an unprecedented height, even distorting the surrounding space. He looked up at Omega, his eyes burning with anger and determination: "It's over! Today is your death day!"
However, Omega let out a strange laugh, full of mockery and disdain: "Too late! All universes will become my data! You ants, you cannot escape your fate of annihilation!" As its voice faded, the twelve universes began to gradually digitize from the edges. Brilliant planets, vast galaxies, even the mysterious and unpredictable time and space, were all turning into lines of cold code, as if this universe had never existed.