stonecrandall Page 24
Page 24
Damn it! Vegeta took three steps back and suddenly activated his Flash Cannon. The mirror image reacted almost simultaneously, the two energy waves colliding in mid-air, the resulting shockwave tearing the gravity generator to shreds.
"It's useless." Mirror Vegeta flicked his wrist; their quantum states were completely entangled. "Every time you have a fighting thought, my neurons activate in sync." He suddenly revealed a sinister smile, unless...
Vegeta suddenly felt a sharp pain in his temples, as if some cold, foreign object was trying to invade his brain. The metal floor of the training room began to liquefy, climbing up his boots like a living thing.
Lin Ye huddled inside the quantum tunnel's observation chamber, his skin covered in bluish-purple static electricity patterns. Through the semi-transparent walls, he saw the Capsule Corporation building in the mirror universe—its entirely black surface shimmering with the luster of liquid metal.
"Ms. Bulma, I hope you don't think I'm a spy." He lightly touched the nerve connection behind his ear, and Bulma's voice immediately echoed in his mind: "Remember, you only have seventeen minutes. The mirror universe's defense system will..."
The sound suddenly turned into a sharp electronic noise. Lin Ye whirled around and saw that crimson slime was seeping from the metal walls of the observation cabin. Without hesitation, he flung open the hatch and rolled into the ventilation duct before the slime could close up.
The sight inside the tube sent shivers down his spine—countless spiderweb-like nerve fibers crisscrossed the tube walls, pulsating slightly with his breathing. As he crawled above the central laboratory, Lin Ye peered through the observation window at the most terrifying scene of his life:
Bulma's mirror image was immersed in a cylindrical culture chamber. Her lower body was completely mechanized, with dozens of data cables extending from her spine to connect to the main control console. Even more horrifying, her skull had been removed, exposing three rotating quantum cores embedded in her exposed cerebral cortex.
Illegal observation detected. Mechanical Bulma suddenly opened her eyes, her pupils in the culture medium shrinking to the size of pinpoints. "Mr. Lin Ye, you arrived 4.2 seconds earlier than recorded in the main universe database."
Lin Ye broke through the ventilation duct window and entered, pressing his energy dagger against the incubation chamber: "Close the quantum entanglement channel!"
"A passage?" Mechanical Bulma's vocal cords emitted a synthesized laugh. "Don't you understand yet?" She suddenly raised her hand, and the laboratory walls became transparent. Lin Ye saw countless blue beams shooting into the sky from every corner of the mirror universe, each beam surging with fragments of the main universe's architecture.
This isn't a passageway; it's a digestive system. Mecha Bulma's chest armor unfolds, revealing a rotating black singularity within. When the masses of the two universes reach equilibrium, *bang*—her mechanical fingers make a blooming motion, and a completely new physical universe is born.
In the main universe laboratory, sparks suddenly erupted from the quantum computer in front of Bulma. She watched in horror as her right hand began to turn transparent, revealing data patterns beneath her skin identical to those of her mirror image.
"Vegeta!" she yelled into the communicator, her voice filled with an unprecedented panic. "It's not copying us—it's digesting us!"
Chapter 76: The Dawn of the Machines
Trunks' sword trembled.
It wasn't a trembling of fear, but a strange resonance, as if something within the sword was awakening. He gripped the hilt tightly, feeling an unfamiliar energy spreading along his arm and throughout his body.
This is... Trunks looked down at his sword. The once smooth blade now had fine blue patterns that pulsated rhythmically, like electrical circuits or blood vessels.
Vegeta frowned at his son: What's wrong with your sword?
"I don't know, Father." Trunks looked up, a glint of blue light flashing in his eyes, but I felt... it was resonating with something.
Wukong suddenly looked up at the sky: They're here!
The clouds were torn apart, and a massive metal structure broke through the atmosphere, piercing the ground like a sharp sword. It was a ring-shaped device with a diameter of over a kilometer, its edges shimmering with an eerie blue light.
Quantum tunnel! Bulma's voice came through the communicator. They were establishing a stable teleportation channel! Everyone evacuate that area immediately!
But the warning came too late.
The space at the center of the circular device began to distort, like paper crumpled by an invisible hand. The next second, countless metallic figures poured down like a torrential rain.
Namekian? Piccolo stared in shock at the first figure to land. It was indeed the outline of a Namekian, but its entire body was covered in silver-gray metallic armor, and its eyes emitted a cold red light.
No, they are modified Namekians. Lin Ye landed beside Piccolo, his energy sword already activated; the Mirror Universe had mechanized them.
The Namekian army of metal soldiers stood in perfect formation, their movements perfectly synchronized, as if controlled by a single consciousness. They simultaneously raised their arms, their palms splitting open to reveal the dark muzzles of cannons.
"Scatter!" Wukong shouted.
Hundreds of energy beams intertwined to form a web of death, covering the entire battlefield. The ground melted under the intense heat, and the air was filled with the acrid smell of ionization.
Trunks parried with his sword, only to be surprised to find that the energy beams that should have been deflected were absorbed by his blade. The blue patterns on the sword shone even brighter, as if they were cheering with joy.
Father! My sword can absorb their energy!
Vegeta roared as he fired a ki blast: "Don't stand there! To the left!"
Three mechanized Namekians had already pounced on Trunks' side, their arms transforming into spinning serrated blades. Trunks hastily raised his sword to parry, but felt a strong vibration from the blade the instant they made contact.
Break!
With an instinctive shout, the three mechanical Namekians froze as the blade sliced through them, then collapsed like puppets with broken strings. Even stranger, their metallic armor began to fade, gradually returning to their green skin.
"What did you do?" Vegeta stared at the scene in disbelief.
Trunks was equally shocked: I don't know... I just felt that's how I should kill him.
Quantum connection. A cold voice came from above. Everyone looked up and saw a familiar figure hovering in the air—Piccolo, but his entire body was mechanized, with only half of his face retaining biological tissue.
Lin Ye narrowed his eyes: Mirror Piccolo.
Correct. The mechanical piccolo landed nearby; the sword could sever quantum connections, temporarily releasing the system from individual control. Interesting; we hadn't anticipated this possibility.
Piccolo glared at his mirror image: What did you do to the Namekians?
"Evolution," Mirror Piccolo said calmly. "The system has granted them eternal life and perfect form. Soon, this gift will benefit the entire main universe."
Bullshit! Piccolo conjured a dazzling energy blast in his hand; this is called enslavement!
The energy blast shot out, but was blocked by an invisible barrier as it approached the Mirror Piccolo. The Mirror Piccolo didn't even move an inch.
Pathetic biological emotions. He shook his head; anger, hatred, fear... these flaws would be purified by the system.
More mechanized warriors poured out of the quantum tunnel, and the situation took a sharp turn for the worse. Goku and Vegeta fought back-to-back, but the enemy's numbers were simply too great.
"Lin Ye!" Wukong shouted, "We need to find a way to close that portal!"
Lin Ye was being attacked by five mechanical warriors when he heard this and gritted his teeth and said: I'm thinking!
Just then, Mirror Piccolo suddenly shuddered, his eyes flashing red. His mechanical arm began to twitch uncontrollably.
"System... malfunction..." he said haltingly, a hint of human pain suddenly appearing in his voice. "No... this is... memory..."
Lin Ye keenly noticed this change: Is there something wrong with your system?
Mirror Piccolo clutched his head in anguish: Medical protocol...startup...error...
A bold idea flashed through Lin Ye's mind. He quickly dealt with the enemies around him and rushed to Mirror Piccolo: "Listen, whoever you are now, if you want to break free from the system's control, help me close the quantum tunnel!"
Mirror Piccolo raised its head, its eyes flashing alternately with red and green lights of humanity: Data...conflict...the system was originally...for treatment...
Treatment? Lin Ye seized on this key word, "You said the system was originally used to treat illnesses?"
Mirror Piccolo suddenly grabbed Lin Ye's arm with astonishing force: "Database... Zero Protocol... Find it... It can stop everything..."
After saying this, the red light in his eyes regained control, and his mechanical body returned to stability.
Analysis complete. The voice returned to its mechanical coldness; the emotional module was isolated. Lin Ye, you are marked as a priority target for elimination.
Lin Ye quickly jumped back to avoid an energy beam: It seems our chat time is over.
Trunks suddenly appeared behind Mirror Piccolo: Let's try this!
His sword slashed down, glowing with a dazzling blue light. Mirror Piccolo seemed to have anticipated the attack, twisting his body at an impossible angle to dodge, but the blade still grazed his mechanical wings.
Ah! The Mirror Piccolo let out a scream that didn't sound mechanical. The part that was hit began to lose its metallic color and revert to biological tissue.
He stared in shock at the changes in himself: This... is impossible...
"It works!" Trunks exclaimed excitedly, "Father! My sword can hurt him!"
Vegeta grinned: Then don't stop, kid!
Just as the battle reached its climax, the quantum tunnel suddenly began to vibrate violently. A gigantic mechanical head, hundreds of meters tall, emerged from the tunnel, its eyes emitting scanning red light.
Warning: System core is under threat. The mechanical head emits a deafening roar and initiates a purification protocol.
A blinding white light shot out from the head's mouth, instantly vaporizing everything in its path, friend or foe alike.
Everyone get out of the way! Goku instantly teleported in front of everyone, crossing his arms to try to block the beam of light, but was pushed back by the impact.
Lin Ye looked at the still struggling Mirror Piccolo: If you want to atone, now is the time!
Beneath Mirror Piccolo's mechanical mask, green lips trembled: I...remember...the hospital...the children...
He suddenly rushed into the quantum tunnel, and his body began to emit an unstable red light.
"What is he doing?" Bick shouted.
Self-destruct sequence! Lin Ye realized what was happening and quickly retreated! He was about to blow up the passage!
Everyone quickly moved away. The Mirror Piccolo glanced back at the Piccolo in the main universe one last time, its eyes flashing red and green simultaneously: Tell...that me...the system was originally...to save...my...daughter...
A massive explosion engulfed the entire quantum tunnel. The shockwave blew everyone away. When the light faded, only distorted spatial afterimages and scattered metal fragments remained in the sky.
Trunks was the first to get up: We...won?
Lin Ye brushed the dust off his clothes: "For now. The Mirror Universe won't give up so easily."
He bent down and picked up a mechanical fragment of the mirrored piccolo, which still flickered with a faint stream of data. Through the broken display screen, he could vaguely make out a line of text:
[Zero Protocol: Medical Nanorobot System, Attending Physician: Piccolo, Patient Name: Xiaowu, Diagnosis: Quantum Decay Syndrome]
So that's how it is... Lin Ye gripped the fragment tightly. The system was originally intended for healing.
Vegeta walked over: What do we do now?
Lin Ye looked into the distance: "We've found the Piccolo of this universe. I think we finally know how to end this war."
Chapter 77: The Core of the Virus
The laboratory alarm blared shrilly, and red warning lights stained the entire space crimson. Bulma's fingers flew across the holographic keyboard, her blue hair soaked with sweat.
"Give me three more minutes!" she shouted into the communicator, her voice almost drowned out by the explosion.
Outside the laboratory, the Mirror Warriors' artillery fire relentlessly bombarded the protective shield. Vegeta stood at the breach in the broken wall, arms crossed, a disdainful smirk playing on his lips.
"Is this all you've got, you trash?" He suddenly unleashed his fury, blasting three charging mirror warriors into pieces with a single energy wave.
Trunks held a longsword, its blade swirling with strange quantum ripples. That was Bulma's latest weapon—a quantum virus carrier.
"Father, another wave is coming from the left!" Trunks shouted, swinging his sword at the nearest enemy. The moment the blade touched the mirror warrior, quantum ripples spread like a living thing, and the warrior's movements immediately slowed down, eventually freezing in place.
Vegeta scoffed: "Finally, you're starting to be somewhat useful." He turned to look at the lab. "Woman, how much longer are you going to take?"
Bulma did not answer. Her entire attention was focused on the holographic projection in front of her—a constantly rotating model of a quantum structure, with countless streams of data flowing past her like a waterfall.
Just one last step... She bit her lower lip and suddenly drew a line in the air with her finger.
The entire laboratory suddenly went dark, then all the equipment simultaneously lit up with a blinding blue light. On the central control panel, a miniature device slowly rose, its interior flickering with eerie purple light.
Success! Bulma grabbed the device and rushed out of the lab. Trunks, next!
Trunks turned and caught the device his mother tossed him, immediately understanding its purpose. He swiftly attached the device to the hilt of his sword, and the blade was instantly enveloped in purple energy.
"Try this!" Trunks charged into the enemy ranks, his sword flashing as mirror warriors fell like wheat being harvested. The struck warriors convulsed, the red light in their eyes flickering before finally extinguishing completely.