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

Page 161

Lin Wang's finger was already on the zoom button. The image on the screen went from blurry to clear. The hull of the old shuttle was cratered and half of the Starshine Group's logo was knocked off by a meteorite. But the figure in the cockpit, the gray uniform, the slightly hunched back, even the way he raised his hand, were exactly the same as the image of his father that he had seen a thousand times.

"Impossible!" Xiao Li suddenly shouted into the communicator, accompanied by the sound of something breaking in the background. "That radiation wave ten years ago could melt titanium alloy into water! How could Captain Lin An possibly..."

Lin Wang didn't speak. His palm rested on the silver crystal on the control panel. It was the crystal the rescue team had retrieved from the energy field after his mother's sacrifice; inside the translucent crystal, there always seemed to be starlight swirling. At this moment, the crystal was as hot as a branding iron, and he could even feel a faint vibration, as if someone was gently tapping his palm.

The bronze bell in his pocket suddenly rang, not with a crisp tinkling, but with a deep hum. The green patterns seemed to come alive, spreading across the back of his hand and weaving a flowing image: his mother standing in the energy field of the Martian ruins, her white protective suit turning into specks of light, clutching a crystal in her hand. As she tried to slip it into the gap of the bronze bell, her finger was cut by the edge, and a drop of blood dripped onto the patterns, instantly turning green.

“She’s leaving something behind.” Lin Wang’s voice was steady, but his hand on the crystal was trembling. “It’s not for me, it’s for the ‘Watchers’.”

"What do you mean?" Xiao Li's voice was panting, as if he had just run a distance. "Your mother clearly..."

"Is he going to his death?" Lin Wang interrupted him, pulled up the last page of his father's diary, and read it into the communicator, "'Wen Wan said, love can turn into stardust, but stardust can also turn back into love.' Uncle Li, have you ever seen a person formed from stardust?"

There was silence on the other end of the communicator. After a long while, Xiao Li said in a hoarse voice, "We still have 400,000 kilometers to go to the jump point. No matter who it is, we have to proceed according to the original plan. The energy field of the main ruins is expanding every hour. If we delay any longer, the ice crystal belt of the Kuiper Belt will be contaminated."

Lin Wang nodded, his fingertips sliding across the control panel, adjusting the frequency of "Eternal Heartbeat" even higher. The green dot on the screen drew closer and closer; he could even see the person in the cockpit waving, their movements as slow as if they were in water.

"Brother Wang, it's slowing down in sync with us," Xiao Zhang suddenly said. "It's like... waiting for us?"

“Maybe it’s not waiting for us.” Lin Wang stared at the screen, the buzzing of the bronze bell growing louder and louder. “It’s waiting for this.” He took out the bell, its green patterns now dazzlingly bright, perfectly matching the energy reaction frequency of the old shuttle.

The moment the shuttle warp jumped, everyone held their breath. The light of the white dwarf was filtered into a blood-red hue by the black energy field. Thirty stone pillars, like the ribs of a giant, surrounded the star in the center. Each pillar was inlaid with bronze bells, but the patterns on them were as dull as ashes. Only beside the very center pillar did the mother's shuttle hover, its star emblem flickering in the blood-red light, like a firefly running out of power.

"The 'Eternal Heartbeat' has begun to resonate!" Xiao Li's voice was filled with elation, then turned somber. "But the reaction force is too great! The shield's energy bar is dropping; it can only last for five minutes at most!"

Lin Wang grabbed the bronze bell, and a rainy night from ten years ago suddenly flashed into his mind. Uncle Li held him, who had a fever, and the image of his great-grandfather, Lin Yanzhou, flickered on the holographic screen: "Xiao An, remember, when you feel like you can't take it anymore, think of those who love you. Their heartbeats will become your armor."

At that moment, the waveform of a heartbeat truly appeared within the patterns of the bell. Wen Wan's gentleness was like a spring breeze caressing a lake; Lin Yanzhou's composure was like an old bell striking a stone; Lin An's steadfastness was like a shooting star streaking across the night sky. The three waveforms slowly merged together, transforming into a green light that climbed up his arm.

"Open the docking channel." Lin Wang stood up, the helmet of his protective suit making a soft thud on the ground.

"No!" Xiao Li's voice was almost crying, "The radiation dose inside... if you go in, you'll..."

“My mother went in there back then.” Lin Wang interrupted him, tapping the hatch button with his fingertips. “The fact that she was able to send the crystal out alive means there’s a way.”

"That's different!" Xiao Li shouted, "Your mother is..."

“We’re paving the way, not sending people to their deaths.” Lin Wang’s voice was soft, but it was like a stone hitting everyone’s heart. “Uncle Li, you taught me that an inheritance isn’t something you can just sit there and look at; it’s something you have to shoulder. My parents have shouldered it, my grandparents have shouldered it, and now it’s my turn.”

As the hatch slowly opened, Xiao Zhang suddenly grabbed his arm: "Brother Wang, I'll go with you!"

“Keep monitoring ‘Eternal Heartbeat’.” Lin Wang patted his shoulder. “Remember, if I don’t come out, follow the emergency plan and start the purification process using the backup frequency.”

Xiao Zhang's eyes reddened, and he nodded vigorously.

The moment Lin Wang stepped into the old-fashioned shuttle, the scent of locust blossoms suddenly wafted over him. It wasn't the smell of synthetic fragrances, but the genuine, sweet aroma of locust blossoms. There was an old locust tree in his mother's old family home, and she always said that after the war ended, she would take him back to pick locust blossoms.

A thin layer of dust settled in the cockpit. His mother's coffee cup was still on the cup holder, the dark brown residue solidified into small pieces, with white milk stains around the edges. Lin Wang reached out and touched the cup; his fingertips were slightly damp, as if it had been used just yesterday.

On the dashboard, fragments of the bronze bell pieced together to form a complete ring, with green veins seeping out from the gaps between the fragments, resonating with the stone pillars of the main ruins. Lin Wang placed the bell he was holding on it, and the two rings of veins instantly merged together, like water flowing into the sea.

“Mom, I’m here,” he said to the empty cockpit, his voice echoing against the metal walls.

Suddenly, a burst of white light exploded before his eyes. He saw his mother standing in the energy field, her protective suit's visor shattered, revealing a smile on her face. As she inserted the crystal into the bronze bell, her finger was cut, and drops of blood dripped onto the patterns. Suddenly, the green light surged up, climbing up her arm.

"Little Wang, grow up well." She said to the void, her body beginning to become transparent. "Remember, Mommy didn't disappear, she became a star watching over you."

Lin Wang's tears suddenly fell. He had always thought that his mother was forced, but he never thought that it was her choice, just like his great-grandfather chose to become a "Watcher", just like his father chose to stay at the Mars base, just like her chose to turn into stardust and keep this contract.

“Start the final purification process,” he said to the console, pressing the red button with his fingertip.

The bronze bells on the thirty stone pillars lit up simultaneously, and green light wrapped around the black energy field like vines. The energy flowed with a shrill scream, writhing like burning snakes, but the green light tightened more and more, squeezing out the crimson color little by little from the light of the white dwarf.

Lin Wang felt his body becoming lighter, just like his mother had done years ago, beginning to turn into specks of light. But he wasn't afraid, because he saw figures in the green light. His mother smiled and reached out to him, his father stood beside her, still as upright as he remembered, and his great-grandfather and great-grandmother nestled together, their eyes shining as brightly as white dwarf stars.

“Tell the children of Earth.” He smiled into the communicator, feeling his consciousness merging into that warm green light, “The heartbeat of the stars has always been for protection.”

The communicator carried the cries of Xiao Li and Xiao Zhang, along with the increasingly clear frequency of "Eternal Heartbeat." Lin Wang glanced at the control panel one last time; beside his mother's coffee cup, a locust petal had appeared, trembling gently in the green light.

He raised his hand and ran towards the figures. The weight of the inheritance suddenly vanished, leaving only the freedom to choose, like them, to turn love into stardust and forever protect this starry sky.

Meanwhile, on the control panel of the Stardust, Xiao Zhang suddenly noticed that besides the green light indicating the purification was complete, there was also a faint green dot drifting back along their course on the radar screen. In the cockpit of the old shuttle, a figure in a gray uniform slowly turned around, facing their direction, and gave a crisp military salute.

Chapter 362: Coordinates on the Star Chart

The crystal chandelier on the top floor of the Starry Sky Building reflected thousands of golden rays, illuminating the awards ceremony venue as if it were daytime. Lin Wang stood to the side of the podium, his fingertips unconsciously rubbing the bronze bell in his pocket, the cool metallic touch unable to suppress the sweat on his palms. The seventeen-year-old boy wore a tailor-made dark gray uniform, the star emblem on his collar reflecting tiny specks of light under the spotlight, but if you got a little closer, you could see the persistent dark circles under his eyes; in the three months since returning to Earth from Kuiper, he had slept for less than a hundred hours in total.

"Next up, the first human hero to activate the 'Watchers' main relic, Lin Wang!"

The host's voice was deliberately raised with excitement. Lin Wang took a deep breath and walked onto the stage. His leather shoes clicked crisply on the polished marble floor. His gaze unconsciously swept across the audience. In the sea of ​​people, Xiao Li's signature white hair stood out like a stubborn reed amidst the throng. The old man was wearing a well-pressed Zhongshan suit today, clutching a palm-sized silver crystal tightly in his hand. It was the "Watcher's Seed" recovered from the core area of ​​the main ruins, and it was radiating a faint warmth through the fabric.

"Mr. Lin Wang, could you talk about your feelings when you activated the main ruins?" The reporter in the front row stood up first, the microphone almost poking his face. "There are anonymous reports that you had contact with unknown creatures in the Kuiper Belt. Is this true?"

Lin Wang's fingertips traced the pattern of the bell in his pocket; the intersecting green lines seemed alive, trembling slightly with his heartbeat. "I saw the consciousness of the 'Watchers'," his voice was calmer than expected. "They are not living beings, but the embodiment of the rules of the universe, their form closer to an energy aggregate."

A buzz of discussion immediately arose from the audience. Suddenly, a woman in a red suit stood up from the reporters' section on the right, her sharp voice piercing the noise: "Then how do you explain the thirteen abnormal weather events that occurred globally after the main ruins were activated? Some say that the 'Watchers' are adjusting the Earth's environment in preparation for colonization!"

“Reporter Zhang, the United Government issued a weather report last week,” Lin Wang’s gaze fell on her press pass. “Those anomalies were normal reactions to the spread of the Kuiper Belt energy field, like ripples from a stone thrown into a lake, and they have now completely dissipated.” He paused, his gaze sweeping across the room. “As for the colonial theory, I prefer to call it a misunderstanding. The star map left by the ‘Watchers’ marks the coordinates of more than two thousand civilizations, each with the same covenant symbol next to it. This is not conquest, but an invitation to an alliance.”

"An alliance?" The reporter in the red suit sneered. "Then why did the energy wave erupted from the main ruins three months ago precisely destroy the nuclear weapons arsenal on the far side of the moon? Isn't that depriving humanity of its defensive capabilities?"

Lin Wang's breath hitched slightly. He recalled what his father, Lin Yanzhou, had written in his diary: "The covenant of advanced civilizations never protects violence. The first principle of the 'Guardians' is to disarm all weapons that may threaten the balance of the universe."

"Because the energy parameters of those weapons perfectly match the end weapons of thirty-seven destroyed civilizations." His voice resonated throughout the arena through the loudspeakers. "'The Watchers' aren't depriving us of our right to defend; they're preventing us from repeating their mistakes."

These words were like an ice cube thrown into boiling water, instantly silencing the entire room. Lin Wang took the opportunity to glance at the large screen behind the stage. On the real-time updated star map, the green marker in the Kuiper Belt was slowly rotating, but in the more distant Andromeda constellation, a faint red dot suddenly flickered twice, as if issuing some kind of warning.

Just then, Xiao Li suddenly raised the silver crystal in his hand. The old man's voice was not loud but exceptionally clear: "This is a 'seed' brought back from the main ruins. It can repair radiation damage. Last week, it made the first clump of grass grow on the Gobi Desert. If this is a colonization tool, then it is too kind."

A burst of good-natured laughter erupted from the crowd, and the reporter in the red suit sat down sullenly. Lin Wang gave a barely perceptible nod in the direction of Xiao Li, then turned to accept the medal handed to him by the chairman of the United Government. As the cold metal pressed against his chest, he heard the chairman whisper in his ear: "Have you read Andromeda's report? The expert panel has been arguing for three days, and no one dares to make a decision."

"I will handle it." Lin Wang's reply was soft, but it relieved the chairman.

After the commendation ceremony, Xiao Li practically dragged him into the private elevator of the Xingyao Building. In the weightless descent, the old man took out a handkerchief from his pocket and repeatedly wiped the silver crystal: "Just now, back in the audience, this thing was as hot as a branding iron. It must have sensed what you said."

“It can receive fluctuations of consciousness.” Lin Wang looked at his reflection on the elevator wall, the star emblem on his uniform still reflecting light. “My father’s log recorded that the ‘Watcher Seed’ is the medium of the contract and can sense the goodwill of civilization.”

The elevator doors slid open, revealing a corridor covered with a dark carpet. The door to the secret room at the end required simultaneous verification of Lin Wang's iris and Xiao Li's fingerprints to open—a rule passed down through three generations of the Lin family. Inside, a temperature-controlled system maintained a constant 20 degrees Celsius, and a faint camphor wood scent permeated the air—the smell of the box Wen Wan had used to store experimental data years ago.

Lin Wang's gaze first fell on the bronze bell in the center of the holographic projection. The shattered fragments of the bell, which his mother Lin An had possessed years ago, had been reassembled by a special energy field. Within its circular outline, a stream of green energy flowed like a gentle snake, slowly moving along a fixed trajectory. Below it, in a display case, the original marriage agreement signed by Wen Wan lay in inert gas. On the yellowed paper, the ink where the woman signed was slightly bluish; it was written with a developing ink she had invented herself, and its full content could only be seen under specific wavelengths of light.

"Stop looking at these old things." Xiao Li's fingers flew across the control panel, and the star map instantly filled the entire wall. The red dot in the direction of Andromeda was magnified to the size of a basketball, surrounded by dense red rays. "This is the energy data updated an hour ago. The frequency of the black radiation is increasing every hour, and it has already affected the orbits of three surrounding planets."

Lin Wang walked to the control panel, his fingertip hovering over the red dot on the screen. Just then, the bronze bell in his pocket suddenly became hot. He pulled it out and found that the green patterns were twisting violently, like a school of fish disturbed by something.

"What's going on?" Xiao Li leaned closer, his pupils shrinking sharply. "This reaction is exactly the same as when we encountered the source of pollution in the Kuiper Belt last time!"

Lin Wang didn't speak. Suddenly, a passage from his father's diary flashed through his mind: "'The Watchers' energy field has a natural blind spot in Andromeda. The physical laws there are different from those of the known universe, and it is called the 'Forgotten Land.' The first Watchers tried to seal the abnormal energy there, but failed."

"I'm going to Andromeda." He put the bell back in his pocket, his voice as calm as if he were talking about the weather.

Xiao Li paused, and the old man turned around, his back to him, looking at the family relics: "The United Government has formed an exploration team, and you're not on the list. They say you're the key to activating the main ruins, and we can't take any more risks."

“But only I can understand those energy flows.” Lin Wang walked to the incubator and looked at his father’s heart chip inside. The complex patterns on the surface of the chip, which had sustained Lin Yanzhou’s life for ten years, were still undulating slightly at a frequency of seventy times per minute, as if it were still beating. “Back then, my father spent eight years in the Kuiper Belt researching the ‘Eternal Heartbeat.’ When my mother took over his work, her last communication with him was also about the energy anomaly in Andromeda. Now it’s my turn.”

Xiao Li sighed and pulled open the bottom drawer. There lay a palm-sized wooden box, its surface engraved with the Lin family crest—a half-open magnolia blossom. He opened the box; inside, a silver chip gleamed softly under the light. Its surface pattern bore a striking resemblance to his father's heart chip, but in one corner was an additional set of twelve star-shaped coordinates.

“This was given to me by Academician Wen three days before she passed away.” The old man’s voice trembled almost imperceptibly. “She said that if the ruins of Andromeda were ever discovered, she would give this to you. She also said… she also said that the Lin family always takes the responsibility upon themselves, but forgets that the contract of the Watchers is never a solo performance, but a symphony that requires the ensemble of the entire civilization.”

The moment Lin Wang's fingertips touched the chip, the entire secret room suddenly lit up with a green light. The bronze bell in the holographic projection burst out with a blinding light, and then Wen Wan's image slowly condensed in the light. The old lady was wearing a white lab coat, her white hair at her temples was neatly combed, and her eyes were brighter than Lin Wang could remember at any time.

“Xiao Wang, by the time you see this image, you should have already made your decision.” Wen Wan’s image smiled, reaching out as if to touch his cheek, but instead passing straight through his shoulder. “Don’t be afraid of the unknown. Back then, when I married your grandfather Lin Yanzhou, everyone said I was crazy. An academician who studies cosmology marrying an engineer who focuses on biochips—it’s practically a cross-dimensional combination. But I know that his ‘eternal heartbeat’ and my star map research are essentially both about finding the connection between life and the universe.”

The video paused, then suddenly switched to a laboratory scene. Young Wen Wan was recording data at a workbench, the screen beside her displaying a star map of Andromeda, with a prominent red circle marking the location of the red ruins. "'The Forgotten Land' wasn't the Watchers' failure, but a test they left for those who came after. The black radiation there is actually untamed, primal energy, like unrefined nuclear energy—capable of both destruction and creation."

Lin Wang suddenly noticed that the pen in Wen Wan's hand in the image was shimmering with the same green light as the bronze bell in his pocket.

"I'll give you one last hint." Wen Wan's image began to become transparent. "The energy flow of the bronze bell can analyze star map coordinates, but it requires the frequency of the 'Eternal Heartbeat' as a key. Your father always said that the heart is the most honest organ, and its beating will never lie."

The instant the image disappeared, the silver chip in Lin Wang's hand suddenly flew automatically toward the bronze bell. The moment the two made contact, the green energy flow seemed to find an outlet, drawing a brilliant route on the star map along the star coordinates on the chip, starting from the solar system, passing through dense stars, and landing precisely on the red dot in Andromeda.

"This...this is the optimal route automatically planned?" Xiao Li stared at the screen in shock. "The United Government's navigation system has been calculating for three months and still couldn't find a safe passage!"

Lin Wang's gaze fell on his father's heart chip. The chip in the incubator seemed to sense something; the patterns on its surface suddenly accelerated, perfectly resonating with the energy flow of the bronze bell. He recalled the last sentence in his mother's diary: "True inheritance is making the heartbeat of the deceased a compass for the living."

“Give me the list of the exploration team.” Lin Wang turned to Xiao Li. “I need thirty experts who are proficient in energy field analysis, as well as the blueprints for the purification equipment of the main ruins. Since the black radiation is primordial energy, we are not going to destroy it, but to tame it.”

Xiao Li tapped on the console for a moment, and an electronic list appeared on the screen. When Lin Wang saw the name of the team leader, he was stunned. It was a name he had only seen in his father's diary: Chen Bei, the assistant who worked with Lin Yanzhou to develop the "Eternal Heartbeat" chip, but who later parted ways due to differences in their philosophies.

“Professor Chen volunteered last week,” Xiao Li explained. “He said he owed your father an apology and wanted to repay it in person.”

Lin Wang lightly tapped the name with his fingertip, and Chen Bei's profile picture popped up on the screen. The man in the photo had gray hair and a silver prosthetic eye in his left eye, a mark left by an experimental accident years ago. His father had written about this in his diary. After that accident, Chen Bei took full responsibility and withdrew from the research project.

“And this too.” Xiao Li pushed a metal box out of the storage room. When opened, it revealed twenty-four replicas of bronze bells, each about the size of a palm, with green patterns slowly flowing on their surfaces. “These were replicated using the energy core of the main ruins. The engineers from the United Government said they can form a temporary purification array, with a power that is 30% of the main array.”

Lin Wang picked up a replica. The bell was much lighter than the original, but its energy fluctuations were unusually stable. He suddenly remembered another passage in his mother's diary: "The quality of a tool never depends on its power, but on the user's belief. Didn't we discover the energy characteristics of the 'Watcher' back then with the most rudimentary spectrometer?"

Three days later, at dawn, the Stardust shuttle slowly departed Earth's orbit. Lin Wang stood before the observation platform on the bridge, watching the blue planet gradually shrink until it became a speck of dust in the sea of ​​stars. The clear, melodious sound of a bronze bell came from the control panel, and the green energy flow was beating in sync with the frequency of his father's heart chip, emitting a steady "beep" sound, much like the first heartbeat of life.

"The flight path has been calibrated and we are expected to arrive at the edge of Andromeda in 72 hours." Chen Bei's voice came through the communicator, carrying a hint of tension that was barely perceptible. "The purification array has been fully charged and is ready to be activated at any time."

Lin Wang looked down at the bronze bell in his pocket. It had turned a deep emerald green, like a gemstone imbued with starlight. He recalled his words at the commendation ceremony: "The Watchers leave behind an unfinished contract." Now, he finally understood the true meaning of that contract: it was not about maintaining the existing balance, but about allowing all unbalanced energies to find their own rhythm.

At that moment, the red dot on the star chart suddenly flashed seven times, as if in response. Lin Wang's lips involuntarily curved into a smile. He knew this wasn't the end, but a brand new beginning for their generation. And the heartbeats that had spanned three generations would ultimately compose the most moving melody in the distant Andromeda constellation.

Chapter 363: Echoes from the Forgotten Land

"boom!".

The shuttle slammed into the energy barrier at the edge of the asteroid belt, and the bronze bell in Lin Wang's hand nearly flew out of his grasp. The twenty-four replicas trembled violently around the control panel, and the green energy streams, like spiderwebs tangled in a gale, cast chaotic light trails on the holographic screen.

"Left engine overload!" Zhang, the passenger, cried out, his fingers pounding on the control panel. "The energy circulation system is about to collapse! That impact just now cracked the cooling pipes!"

Lin Wang's fingertips swept across the main control panel, bringing up the real-time data link. The curve representing the resonant frequency, like a startled snake, thrashed wildly around the critical value. "Direct all backup energy to the purification array," his voice was unusually calm. "Shut down life support in non-essential compartments and prioritize the energy supply to the bells."

"And the team members behind them..."

"Execute the order!" Lin Wang's gaze fell on the corner of the screen, where the vital signs in the rear cabin were displayed. Chen Bei and his thirteen experts were huddled in hibernation pods, each with a miniature bronze bell floating above their heads, enveloped in a green energy membrane. "These replicas can maintain basic protection. We have no time to hesitate."

Xiao Zhang gritted his teeth and pressed the execute button. The shuttle suddenly tilted, and Lin Wang barely managed to hold onto the control panel to avoid being thrown out. Outside the window, a meteorite with a diameter of over 100 meters was streaking past, trailing a purple flame. The black patterns covering its surface were completely consistent with the energy characteristics of the "Watcher" ruins.

"We'll reach the core area in three hours." Xiao Zhang wiped away a cold sweat and pointed to the constantly flashing red dots on the radar screen. "But this asteroid belt is ten times denser than expected, and they're actively hurtling towards us!"

Lin Wang's fingertips traced his father's heart chip, and the patterns on the surface of the incubator suddenly lit up, subtly resonating with the energy flow of the bronze bell. "It's not the meteorite that's moving," he stared at the meteorite's trajectory on the screen, "it's the energy field of the 'Forgotten Land' pulling them, like... building a wall with meteorites."

Just then, the communicator suddenly emitted a crackling static. Chen Bei's voice came through intermittently: "Lin Wang... analyzed the data of the energy-devouring entities... they can absorb... but cannot replicate... life waves..."

"What radio wave?" Lin Wang pressed, but the communication was interrupted again, leaving only the crackling sound of electricity.

Xiao Zhang suddenly pointed to the porthole, his face turning deathly pale: "What's that?"

Lin Wang turned his head and saw countless black, fluffy substances surging out from the crevice of the meteorite. Like ink blown by the wind, they slowly condensed into a distorted humanoid shape in the void. The foremost black shadow had already crashed into the shuttle's shield, and black ripples instantly appeared at the point of contact. The alarm on the control panel was so sharp it sounded like it was about to tear his eardrums.

"Shield energy down 15%!" Xiao Zhang screamed as he operated the weapon system. "They're devouring the energy field!"