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

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Hope was rekindled in everyone's hearts once again.

What was brought back from the wreckage of the Ark was not just a few boxes of seemingly useless "junk," but a key that could potentially turn the tide!

“We need time.” Night Owl took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. “I need time to study these structural diagrams, to study those plate-like structures, and to try to combine them with the ‘Life Source Species’ to design a small, usable prototype energy neutralization device!”

Lin Ye looked at the others.

Vegeta scoffed, "Then let's not waste time! Let's get this done! I don't want to run into those Void scum again and be forced to take the hits again!"

Trunks nodded vigorously: "Mr. Night Owl, please let us know if there's anything we can help you with!"

Number 18 succinctly stated: "I can be responsible for the precise control and testing of energy output."

A temporary, interdisciplinary research team quietly formed within this ancient sanctuary. Their goal was to utilize lost technology to forge the first weapon against the Void.

Chapter 512 Energy Trial

Time seemed to stand still within the shelter; only the faint hum of flowing energy and the occasional burst of heated discussion signaled progress in the research.

Night Owl practically welded himself to the energy structure diagram drawn by Lin Ye, his eyes bloodshot, his fingers tracing various structural combinations in the air, his mouth constantly muttering obscure formulas and deductions. The plate-like objects he brought back from the Ark were spread all over the ground, their ancient symbols corroborating his deduced structures, sometimes bringing him sudden enlightenment, sometimes plunging him into deeper confusion.

“No… If the energy circuit is connected like this, the activity of the life source species will be suppressed… But if we use parallel phase… stability cannot be guaranteed…” He scratched his already messy hair, looking somewhat anxious.

Trunks and Android 18 provided assistance. Trunks, with her keen sense of "qi," helped Night Owl perceive subtle changes in energy under different structures; Android 18, on the other hand, used her precise mechanical calculation abilities to perform massive simulations, eliminating a large number of unfeasible solutions.

Lin Ye was the core of the communication. He not only had to maintain the stable presentation of the energy structure diagram, but also constantly try to extract more relevant information from the fragments and knowledge base according to Night Owl's needs. This was a huge drain on his mental and physical strength, and his face remained somewhat pale.

Vegeta, on the other hand, appeared the most "relaxed." He spent most of his time with his eyes closed, regulating his breathing and rapidly recovering his strength using the energy replenishment unit and his Saiyan's powerful physique. However, he was not indifferent to the progress. Whenever Night Owl encountered a major bottleneck or Lin Ye was mentally exhausted, he would coldly utter a few seemingly harsh but often incisive words.

“Energy is like a wild horse. What’s the use of just thinking about how to rein it in? Just give it the path it wants to run on!” Vegeta said impatiently as Night Owl struggled with energy channeling.

These words struck Night Owl like lightning. He paused for a moment, then slapped his thigh: "That's right! Guiding is worse than channeling! We shouldn't forcibly restrain the order energy of the life source species, but rather create a 'preferred' path for it, allowing it to spontaneously neutralize the chaos of the void!"

A sudden shift in thinking led to a breakthrough. Night Owl began designing a completely new energy resonance cavity, no longer resorting to forced conversion, but rather utilizing the inherent tendency of life's energy towards "stability" and "regulation," guiding and amplifying it to form a "repulsion field" or "purification field" against chaotic energy.

A few days later (based on the shelter's internal timekeeping), a rudimentary prototype device, pieced together from scraps of inert metals and crystals found in the shelter's warehouse, appeared before everyone. It was only the size of a helmet, crudely constructed, with a central recess for holding the "Life Source Seed."

“Theoretically… it can form a small field of order with a radius of about three meters.” Night Owl’s voice was both tired and excited. “Low-intensity void energy within the range will be temporarily neutralized or dissipated. But the effect, duration, and reaction to high-intensity energy… all need to be tested.”

"Test? Who should we test?" Trunks asked. "There's no void energy here."

All eyes turned to Lin Ye... the fragment of the Key of Creation in his palm.

Lin Ye immediately understood their meaning. The fragment itself contained extremely high-level power. Although its energy properties were different from those of the void, they were still beyond the norm. Perhaps it could simulate the "high-dimensional interference" characteristics of void energy to test the stability of the order field.

"I'll try to guide a wisp of the fragment's aura to simulate an energy impact," Lin Ye said in a deep voice. He knew this was risky, both for the device and for himself.

"Be careful, kid." Vegeta finally stood up and walked to the device, his aura faintly locking onto the rough prototype. "If this thing explodes, I don't want to get covered in random power."

Station 18 reached its control position, ready to record data. Trunks and Night Owl also nervously took a few steps back, waiting intently.

Lin Ye took a deep breath, his mind sinking into the fragment. This time, he didn't try to obtain information, but carefully guided a barely perceptible stream of energy, as if riding a single hair on a prehistoric beast, slowly reaching towards the device.

When that wisp of energy, imbued with the aura of an ancient creator, approached the device's range...

"Buzz!"

The crude device shuddered violently, and the simple patterns engraved on its surface instantly glowed with a soft green light! A pale green, almost transparent hemispherical light shield opened up around the device, perfectly blocking the wisp of energy that Lin Ye was guiding.

The light shield remained stable, its surface shimmering with iridescent light. The fragment of energy that Lin Ye guided did not explode or violently clash upon contact with the light shield. Instead, it was "absorbed" by the light shield like a drop of water absorbing into a sponge. Then, the light shield's radiance seemed to brighten almost imperceptibly, and its structure became slightly more stable.

"It worked?!" Trunks exclaimed in surprise.

Night Owl stared intently at the data and said quickly, "The order field is generating stably! Energy consumption... is far below expectations! It... it seems to be absorbing higher-dimensional energy of the same attribute to replenish and strengthen itself? This... this exceeds the design expectations!"

This discovery shocked everyone. Could an ordered field not only defend itself, but also "absorb" specific energy to strengthen itself?

Lin Ye's heart stirred, and he increased the intensity of his energy output, though still keeping it within a very small range. The pale green field of order shone even brighter, steadily resisting the attack and continuing to slowly absorb and transform the fragments' aura.

However, just when everyone thought they had found the perfect solution, a sudden change occurred!

Seemingly sensing the "absorption" of energy from the fragment by the field of order, the fragment of the Key of Creation in Lin Ye's palm suddenly trembled slightly on its own. A deeper, more primal fluctuation, like that of an ancient dragon disturbed, naturally emanated a trace of it.

This fluctuation was no longer a gentle "aura," but rather carried a hint of majesty belonging to the authority of "creation" and "definition"!

"Crack!"

The crude prototype of the device was simply unable to withstand the impact of this level of power. The central resonant cavity was instantly covered with cracks, and the green field of order, like a burst bubble, flickered a few times before collapsing abruptly! The device itself also emitted a wisp of smoke and was completely destroyed.

Lin Ye, who was guiding the energy, suffered a slight backlash, let out a muffled groan, took half a step back, and his face turned even paler.

There was silence in the hall.

Hope had just been ignited when it was ruthlessly extinguished by reality.

Night Owl stared at the smoking device, his excited expression freezing and slowly turning bitter: "No... the materials are too poor, and the structure is not perfect enough. It simply cannot withstand the impact of higher levels of power... We lack the key medium and more precise manufacturing process."

Vegeta snorted, breaking the silence: "Looks like this piece of junk of yours can only deal with small fry. A real big guy like you can be blown away in one breath."

His words were harsh, but they were the truth.

Lin Ye calmed the churning energy within him, looked at the destroyed device and the dimmed fragments, and slowly said, "This proves at least two things. First, the approach is correct; the Order Field does indeed have a restraining effect on high-level chaotic energy. Second, our current conditions are far from sufficient."

He looked up, his gaze falling on the door that connected to the short-distance teleportation array.

"The information in the knowledge base is incomplete, and the materials here are limited. If we want to truly create a weapon that can fight against the Void forces, we may need to... find the next 'sanctuary,' or the 'specific coordinates marked as absolutely safe' mentioned in the information."

There, they might find the key technologies they need, or... more suitable materials.

The brief rest and initial research have come to an end, and a new journey seems inevitable.

Chapter 513 Choices and Departures

The frustration of the prototype's failure hung like a shadow over the shelter's lobby. The smoking wreckage silently testified to the harsh reality: a vast chasm separated their resources and technology from the enemy they faced.

Night Owl crouched beside the wrecked device, his fingers tracing the charred cracks, his eyes filled with resentment and contemplation. "Materials... energy carrying capacity... structural stability... each one is a challenge. With what we have here, we can at most make a one-time, extremely small-range jammer. It might be useful against grunts, but against an existence of Mirror Lin Ye's caliber, it's meaningless."

Trunks looked at Lin Ye's still pale face and said worriedly, "Mr. Lin Ye, your body has not fully recovered yet, and you are going to use the fragments to teleport again... It's too dangerous."

Lin Ye leaned back against the crystal pillar, slowly regulating his breathing. Although the backlash from just now wasn't severe, it reminded him that he had to be extremely cautious when interacting with the power of the fragments. He shook his head: "We don't have much time. Although Mirror Lin Ye has been banished, the forces behind him are definitely still there. If they can find the Ark, they might find this place too. Passively waiting is tantamount to sitting and waiting for death."

He paused, looking at the portal: "Moreover, the feeling from the fragments... the next coordinate point seems... very close. The energy consumption shouldn't be as great as when we escaped from the Ark."

"Feelings?" Vegeta scoffed. "You're betting your life on 'feelings'?"

“This is our only guide right now, Vegeta,” Lin Ye replied calmly. “The fragments are the legacy of the Creator race, as is the Sanctuary Network. There is a connection between them. To believe in the fragments is to believe in the contingency plan left by the civilization that built this network in the ‘Fireseed Project’.”

Number 18 checked his energy reserves and weapon systems, then said, "Risk and reward go hand in hand. Staying here with limited resources and no information is tantamount to a slow death. Taking the initiative, although dangerous, offers the chance to obtain the key to breaking the deadlock. I suggest a short-range exploration. If the target location is too dangerous, retreat immediately."

Her analysis was calm and objective.

Night Owl stood up, dusting off his hands. "I agree. Daydreaming here won't solve the material and technical problems. The next shelter or safe haven will likely have a more complete knowledge base or processing facilities. Much of the information on these slabs points to some kind of...distributed database. The information from a single shelter is incomplete."

Opinions gradually came together.

“Then it’s settled.” Lin Ye made the decision. “I’ll first try to activate the teleportation array to determine the specific information of the target point and the energy consumption. If it works, we’ll set off immediately.”

He walked to the door engraved with intricate spirals and star patterns, focused his mind again, and established a connection with the fragment in his palm. This time, his goal was very clear—to activate the short-range teleportation array and obtain basic information about the next preset coordinate point.

The fragment glowed with a gentle light once more, resonating with the symbols on the door. The door slid open silently, revealing not a room, but a circular platform about five meters in diameter. The platform's surface was engraved with more complex and intricate energy patterns, and in the center was a groove whose shape perfectly matched that of the fragment of the Key of Creation.

"Place the fragment into the base to activate the teleportation array and display available coordinates," the neutral voice of the shelter instructed.

Without hesitation, Lin Ye stepped forward and gently placed the fragment in his palm into the central groove.

"Om-!"

The entire platform was instantly activated, and countless milky-white rays of light rose from the patterns, weaving together above to form a three-dimensional star map. The star map was not large, seemingly covering only a few nearby star systems. Within it, the point of light representing the current sanctuary flickered dimly, while not far away, another point of light emitted a clear summoning fluctuation.

As Lin Ye's consciousness focused on that point of light, a message flowed into his mind:

Coordinates: Zeta-73 (Outpost Observation Station)

Status: Standby (low power operation)

Main functions: environmental monitoring, basic data analysis, and limited material reserves.

Risk assessment: Low (no active threat detected)

Estimated energy consumption: Low (within acceptable limits)

The information was brief, but reassuring enough. A forward observation post in standby mode—low risk, clearly defined function—was exactly what they needed.

Lin Ye opened his eyes and shared the information he had obtained with everyone.

“An outpost? Sounds like a sentry post,” Trunks said.

“Environmental monitoring and data analysis… perhaps there are the latest records on the surrounding star systems, especially the activities of the Void forces!” Night Owl keenly grasped the key point.

“Low risk, low consumption.” Number 18 nodded. “Meets the conditions for exploration.”

Vegeta crossed his arms and examined the star map: "Then let's stop dawdling. Let's get there as soon as possible, get what we need, and leave. This place is safe, but staying here too long makes me feel suffocated."

Lin Ye retrieved the fragment from the groove, and the platform's light slowly dimmed. He looked at his companions: "Everyone, get ready. We're leaving in ten minutes. Take the necessary supplies, and... those 'Life Source Species' and the plate-like objects. They might be the 'keys' for us to establish contact with other shelters."

Everyone nodded and immediately split up. Trunks and Android 18 went to the warehouse to retrieve more energy supply units. Night Owl carefully packed all the research data and plate-like objects. Vegeta then did a final check on his condition, making sure his fighting power had recovered to about 70-80%.

Ten minutes later, the five people stood on the teleportation platform again.

Lin Ye placed the fragments back into the base. The light shone again, enveloping the entire platform.

"Target: Zeta-73 Outpost Observation Station. Coordinates locked. Energy input... stable," the shelter's voice calmly announced.

"Stand firm!" Lin Ye shouted, activating the fragments with all his might and guiding the energy into the teleportation array.

The intense feeling of being pulled apart came again, but compared to the ferocity of escaping from the Ark, this time it was much gentler, like riding a high-speed and smooth elevator.

The milky white light overwhelmed their vision.

When the light faded and the space stabilized, they had left the safe haven and found themselves in a completely new environment.

Beneath their feet was a similar teleportation platform, but much smaller. They were in a small, circular cabin with cold, metallic walls, illuminated only by a few dim indicator lights. Directly in front of them was a tightly closed, airtight door.

A faint, ozone-like smell permeated the air, mixed with an indescribable, cold metallic and mechanical scent.

It was unusually quiet here, with only the extremely low hum of the equipment when it was in standby mode.

"Arrival at target point: Zeta-73 outpost observation station." A more rigid, emotionless electronic voice rang out, a stark contrast to the gentle voice from the Seventh Shelter.

Night Owl immediately went to the control panel (if it could be called a control panel, it was just a simple panel embedded in the wall) and tried to operate it.

"System permission verification... Genesis permission fragment detected... Guest permission granted. Basic environment data being retrieved..."

The panel lights up, displaying several lines of data: