RNP Page 190
Page 190
Rex pointed to the energy circuit on the blueprint: "This needs to be changed. Earth's technology and Namekian magic aren't compatible enough; forcibly starting it might overload the engine. I have the Bureau's space anchoring technology here, which can be used to neutralize the repulsion reaction."
The Supreme Kai raised his hand and pressed it against the projection, infusing it with pale purple divine power. The flaws on the design drawings immediately glowed red: "I will have Jebt assist you with divine power, which can shorten the construction period to two days. But we must first determine one thing: what will we do after the ark is built?"
The laboratory fell silent instantly. Lin Ye stared at the black beacon outside the window, his fingers unconsciously tracing the fragment of the Key of Origin in his pocket: "Staying on Earth is tantamount to waiting to die. Once the main force of Kronos arrives, we simply can't stop them. I suggest we take the initiative aboard the Ark to search for other fragments of the Key of Origin, and at the same time find a way to deactivate the beacon's location."
"A proactive attack?" Vegeta scoffed, but didn't refute. Instead, he walked to the blueprints and stared at the weapon system section. "The weapon configuration is too weak. We need to triple the power of the gravity cannon, and add an energy shield. It should at least be able to withstand attacks from a God of Destruction."
"What will happen to Earth?" Gohan suddenly spoke, his voice filled with worry. "If we all leave, and a few more enemies like the Time Raiders come, those left behind simply won't be able to hold them off."
"I'll stay." Android 18 leaned against the doorway, arms crossed, her tone calm yet firm. "Trunks and Krillin will stay too. With Bulma's defense system and our combined strength, protecting Earth shouldn't be a problem."
Trunks clenched his fists, his eyes resolute: "Dad, don't worry, I'll protect Mom and the Earth."
Goku scratched his head and laughed, "That's perfect! Me, Lin Ye, Vegeta, Piccolo, Gohan, and I will go find the fragments, while the rest of us stay on Earth. Once we find a way to fight Kronos, we'll come back and drive those guys out!"
"Wait, what about the Omni-King?" Piccolo suddenly asked. "We've sent seven distress signals to the Omni-King's palace, but haven't received a single response. This is very unusual."
Mentioning the Omni-King, everyone's expressions turned serious. The Supreme Kai sighed, "While the Omni-King's power could easily erase Cronus, he seems to abide by some kind of rule. Perhaps he won't act until Cronus threatens the foundation of the multiverse."
"So, we can only rely on ourselves?" Lin Ye frowned, but a sense of calm settled in his heart. From the moment the system disappeared, he understood that true reliance had always been only on himself.
For the next two days, everyone devoted themselves to the construction of the ark. Bulma and Rex were in charge of technical adjustments, while the Namekian magicians inscribed magic circles around the hull. Kibito's divine power acted as a catalyst, completing the fusion process, which would normally take a week, in just a few hours. Lin Ye and the others were responsible for moving heavy components, and Vegeta even used his ki blast to clear obstacles around the hull, achieving astonishing efficiency.
As the sun rose the following day, a kilometer-long, silver-white spaceship finally took shape at the launch site outside the Western Capital. The ark's hull was as smooth as a teardrop, its surface covered in crystalline armor capable of absorbing cosmic energy, and the energy cannons at its bow gleamed with a dangerous light.
"This is amazing!" Goku flew to the top of the ark, excitedly patting the armor. "This is way cooler than the spaceships Bulma built before!"
Bulma rolled her eyes at him and pressed the controller in her hand: "Don't touch it! This is a treasure I poured my heart and soul into creating. The Ark can not only jump between dimensions, but it also has a built-in ecological cycle system, so it can stay in space for ten years without any problems. The weapon system has gravity cannons, quantum annihilation bombs, and energy shields; it will definitely give Kronos a run for his money."
Lin Ye entered the command center, where the control consoles were connected to Bulma's laboratory, and holographic projections displayed real-time information about the universe. He sat down at the navigation console, closed his eyes, and the light of the Eye of Time and Space shone within them: "Ready? We'll conduct a short-range dimensional jump test first, with the destination set near Mars' orbit."
“All systems are normal and can be started,” Rex said, staring at the monitor screen.
Bulma took a deep breath and pressed the start button: "Ark, start! Dimension jump program loading, countdown: 10, 9, 8..."
As the countdown ended, the Ark's engines emitted a deep roar, and the space around the hull began to warp, forming a massive wormhole. The next second, the Ark vanished from the launch site and reappeared near Mars' orbit.
"Jump successful! Coordinates accurate!" Rex shouted excitedly.
Just then, Lin Ye suddenly felt a sharp pain between his brows, and the light of the Eye of Time and Space surged uncontrollably. He could clearly feel that the Ark's engines were resonating with his Eye of Time and Space, and a powerful force was pulling the Ark towards an unknown direction.
"Lin Ye, what's wrong?" Wukong noticed his unusual behavior and quickly asked.
"I can't control the direction!" Lin Ye gritted his teeth, struggling against the pulling force. "There's a force pulling the ark, it's like... something from the dimensional gap is calling me!"
Vegeta rushed to the navigation console, trying to forcibly change course, only to find the control panel completely out of control: "Damn it! The navigation system is locked!"
The Supreme Kai frowned, placed a hand on Lin Ye's shoulder, and channeled his divine power into him: "Don't resist, follow that force. Something that resonates with the Eye of Time and Space might be helpful to us."
Lin Ye nodded, ceasing his resistance and allowing the force to pull the ark forward. The ark passed through layer after layer of spacetime barriers, finally entering a dimensional rift. Here, it was pitch black, with only countless fragments of shattered spacetime floating, emitting a faint glow.
After an unknown amount of time, the ark finally came to a stop. When everyone saw the scene before them, they were stunned. Ahead lay a vast expanse of cosmic debris; once-brilliant star systems were now nothing but shattered planets and distorted nebulae, with dark traces of Kronos's erosion visible everywhere.
"This is... a universe completely devoured by Kronos?" Rex's voice trembled. "It's terrifying; the entire universe has been reduced to ruins."
Lin Ye's Eye of Time suddenly lit up, and he pointed to a building in the center of the wreckage: "Look there!"
Following his pointing finger, everyone looked and saw a broken monument standing in the center of the ruins. The monument was built of an unknown black stone, covered with strange characters. Although they had never seen anything like it before, they exuded an ancient and solemn aura. Most peculiarly, there was a groove in the center of the monument, its shape perfectly matching the fragment of the Key of Origin in Lin Ye's hand.
"That groove..." Lin Ye took out a fragment of the Key of Origin. As soon as the fragment approached the control panel, it emitted a dazzling blue light, "It matches the Key of Origin fragment perfectly!"
Vegeta warily surveyed his surroundings, his aura surging. "Something's wrong here. It's too quiet. Everyone be careful, there might be an ambush."
Wukong nodded, becoming more vigilant. "I'll go scout ahead and be right back." With that, he transformed into a golden ray of light and flew out of the ark.
Lin Ye walked to the control panel, staring thoughtfully at the inscription on the monument. He said, "These inscriptions contain a powerful energy of order; they must have been left behind by the civilization that was swallowed up. Perhaps they knew how to fight against Kronos."
Just then, Goku suddenly rushed back, his face grave: "Something's wrong! A powerful energy is approaching us, and... that energy contains the aura of Kronos!"
Everyone's expression changed. They hadn't expected to encounter danger so soon after arriving. And that monument might be their only hope of unraveling the mystery and defeating Kronos.
Chapter 424: The Key to Origin
The Ark's alarm blared shrilly, and red warning lights flashed incessantly in the command center. Wukong, having just landed, exclaimed urgently, "That energy is getting closer, and there's more than one! It's at least the size of a dozen warships!"
Vegeta slammed his fist on the edge of the control panel, gritting his teeth, "Damn it! We've been targeted! Lin Ye, quickly deal with that damn stone tablet, we have to leave immediately!"
Lin Ye didn't respond; he had already reached the monument. The moment his fingertips touched the stone, a chilling sense of despair surged into his mind—the wails of countless lives before their destruction, the resentment of a fallen civilization. He shook his head and embedded the fragment of the Key of Origin into the groove.
With a soft click, the fragment fit perfectly into the groove. Suddenly, the monument emitted a dazzling blue light, and the text on its surface began to flow, as if it had come alive.
"Quick! Rex, use the Ark's database to analyze these texts!" Lin Ye shouted, his Eye of Time operating at full power, attempting to decipher the information contained within the text.
Rex immediately operated the control panel, establishing a connection between the Ark's database and the monument. Lines of translated text began to appear on the screen: "This is... a record left by a civilization called the 'Covenant.' They were the dominant civilization in this universe, foreseeing the threat of Kronos millions of years ago."
The Supreme Kai leaned closer to the screen, his brow furrowed. "They gathered the power of the entire universe to forge the Key of Origin? It says the Key of Origin can 'reset order and stabilize spacetime,' what does that mean?"
"Not a weapon?" Vegeta paused, clearly surprised. "Then what's the use of this piece of junk?"
"More useful than weapons." Lin Ye pointed to key information on the screen. "Look here... Kronos is the embodiment of entropy, relying on chaos and disorder to survive. The Key of Origin, on the other hand, is an 'order regulator,' capable of stabilizing spacetime structures it has disrupted, and even repairing the rules of the universe. Simply put, the Key of Origin is Kronos's nemesis!"
Goku's eyes lit up, and he exclaimed excitedly, "That's great! As long as we collect all the fragments, we can defeat Cronus!"
“It’s not that simple.” Rex sighed, pulling up more records. “The Covenant gathered the complete Key of Origin back then, but still failed. Kronos’ power exceeded their expectations; in the end, not only was the Key of Origin shattered, but the entire universe was swallowed up.”
Everyone's spirits sank instantly. Lin Ye stroked the inscription on the monument, suddenly noticing a faint energy fluctuation inside the stone: "Wait, there's something else inside!" He activated his Eye of Time and Space, channeling blue light into the monument.
A violent hum reverberated through the monument, projecting a holographic image from its top. The image showed a fleet of countless colossal spaceships locked in battle against a dark shadow composed of fragments of spacetime. This shadow was none other than Kronos; wherever it went, planets crumbled and spacetime itself warped.
"That's Kronos from a million years ago?" Gohan's eyes widened. "He looks much smaller than he does now!"
"It grows stronger by constantly devouring others." The Supreme Kai's tone was extremely grave. "If it devours a few more universes, even gathering all the Keys of Origin might not be enough to stop it."
The footage continued playing, showing Covenant warriors piloting their ships towards Kronos, only to be consumed like moths to a flame. Just then, a massive mothership burst from the fleet, the Key of Origin on its bow emitting a dazzling light. Wherever the light touched, the distorted spacetime began to return to normal, and Kronos's body slowly dissipated.
"It works!" Wukong shouted excitedly.
Just as Kronos was about to be completely purified, it suddenly split off countless black tentacles, entangling the mothership. The mothership's energy shield rapidly aged, ultimately exploding with a deafening roar, scattering fragments of the Key of Origin throughout the universe. The final image shows the face of the Covenant leader, his voice filled with despair as he faces the camera: "We have failed, but hope has not been extinguished. The fragments of the Key of Origin are scattered throughout the multiverse; one day, someone will gather them all and end this catastrophe..."
The image disappeared, and a star map was projected onto the top of the monument, marked with a dozen or so flashing red dots.
"These are the coordinates for the other fragments!" Rex shouted excitedly. "We've found our way!"
Vegeta, however, was far less optimistic. His face grew increasingly grim as he stared at the radar screen: "Too much optimism! Chronos's fleet is already on the outskirts of the ruins; they'll find us in five minutes at most!"
"Five minutes? That's not enough to record all the coordinates!" Gohan exclaimed anxiously.
Looking at the star map, Lin Ye suddenly thought of something: "Can the Ark's database be synchronized with the monument? Can the star map data be transferred directly over?"
“It’s possible, but it will take time to establish a stable connection, at least three minutes!” Rex’s fingers flew across the keyboard. “And the enemy has already locked onto our location and is launching an attack!”
"I'll hold them off!" Goku burst into golden light, transforming into Super Saiyan Blue. "Vegeta, you help too!"
"Hmph, you don't need to tell me!" Vegeta also transformed into Super Saiyan Blue, and together with Goku, they rushed out of the ark.
On the screen in the command center, two super-blue warriors could be seen weaving through the fleet, constantly destroying enemy warships. However, Kronos's fleet was simply too numerous; as soon as one warship was destroyed, another would immediately take its place, making it impossible to kill them all.
"Connection progress is only 50%!" Rex was sweating profusely. "The enemy's energy interference is too strong!"
Lin Ye looked at the Supreme Kai: "Can you help me stabilize the connection? Use your divine power to shield against interference!"
The Supreme Kai nodded, clasped his hands together, and a pale purple divine power enveloped the control panel: "I'll do my best, but I can only hold out for a minute at most!"
"That's enough!" Lin Ye channeled the power of the Eye of Time and Space into the connection port, and the progress bar on the screen rose rapidly.
"70%...80%...90%..."?
Just as the progress bar was about to reach its maximum, a giant warship suddenly broke through Goku and Vegeta's defenses and fired a black energy cannon at the Ark.
"Watch out!" Piccolo shouted, rushing to the Ark's energy shield control panel and activating the shield at full power.
"Boom..." The energy cannon struck the shield, causing the entire Ark to shake violently, and half of the control panel screen went black instantly. Rex spat a mouthful of blood onto the keyboard and weakly said, "The connection... is lost..."
Lin Ye gritted his teeth and pulled the fragment of the Key of Origin from the groove. The blue light on the fragment had dimmed considerably, but some of the star map data had already been transmitted to the Ark's database. "Enough! Let's go!" he shouted, rushing to the navigation console. "Rex, set the jump coordinates, find anywhere, and shake off the pursuers first!"
Rex struggled to press the jump button, and the Ark's engines roared to life, preparing for the dimensional jump.
Just then, the giant warship fired its energy cannon again, this time targeting the monument. Lin Ye's pupils constricted; he tried to stop it, but it was too late. The energy cannon struck the monument, and the stone tablet collapsed with a deafening roar, shattering into countless fragments.
"No!" Lin Ye cried out in anguish.
But the instant the monument shattered, a faint blue light shot out from the fragments and merged into the fragment of the Key of Origin. The fragment suddenly emitted a dazzling light, and a message appeared in Lin Ye's mind—the last message from the Covenant leader: "The Key of Origin can not only stabilize spacetime, but also guide the 'Light of Order,' the only power capable of completely destroying Kronos… and the 'Light of Order' is hidden in the Temple of Time…"
"The Temple of Time?" Lin Ye was taken aback for a moment, then reacted. "Rex, set the coordinates and head to the Temple of Time!"
"Jump ready!" Rex pressed the last button. "Let's go!"
The Ark vanished into the dimensional rift. In the command center of the colossal warship, a figure clad in black armor watched the direction the Ark had disappeared in, a cold smile playing on his lips: "Chase after it. Lord Kronos wants the complete Key of Origin."
The fleet followed closely behind, plunging into the dimensional rift. A cross-dimensional chase ensued.
Chapter 425: Dimensional Hunting
The Ark's engines roared shrilly as it sped through the dimensional gaps. Behind it, Kronos's fleet, like sharks smelling blood, relentlessly pursued. These warships were of various shapes; some resembled twisted, gigantic metal worms, others were pieced together from fragments of spacetime, swirling with black energy, ignoring the physical rules of the dimensional gaps, and following with bizarre trajectories.
"How come we can't shake them off?!" Vegeta stared at the radar screen, the red dots representing enemy ships getting closer and closer. "Bulma's crappy ship is so slow!"
"Stop complaining!" Rex operated the defense system, his forehead covered in cold sweat. "The space between dimensions is unstable, making it impossible to move at full speed. Moreover, their warships, after being assimilated by Kronos, can travel directly through spatial folds!"
Lin Ye closed his eyes, activating his Eye of Time and Space at full power. The dimensional gaps before him became clear, with countless spacetime passages intertwined, some stable, others on the verge of collapse. "To the left! There's a relatively stable passage!" he suddenly shouted. "Rex, turn in that direction!"
Rex immediately adjusted course, and the Ark veered sharply to the left, plunging into a narrow spacetime tunnel. The enemy ships behind it, unable to react in time, crashed into the spatial barrier at the edge of the tunnel and were instantly torn to shreds.
"It works!" Gohan shouted excitedly, "Lin Ye, you're amazing!"
"Don't be too happy yet!" Lin Ye's expression remained grave. "There's a spacetime vortex ahead of this passage; we must get through it before we're sucked in!"
The ark sped through the spacetime tunnel, the space ahead beginning to distort, forming a massive black vortex whose powerful suction caused the ark to sway violently.
"Energy shield up to maximum!" Rex shouted, pressing a button. A blue shield deployed on the Ark's surface. "Engine power to the limit!"
The ark's speed increased rapidly, hurtling towards the edge of the whirlpool. Just as it was about to be sucked in, Lin Ye suddenly shouted, "Now! Shift three degrees to the left!"
Rex did as instructed immediately, and the Ark grazed the edge of the whirlpool, while the enemy ships behind it were swallowed up by the whirlpool.
"Finally, we've shaken off a bunch!" Klin breathed a sigh of relief, wiping the sweat from his brow.
"It's not over yet!" Wukong pointed at the radar screen. "More enemy ships are catching up! And the lead ship's energy reaction is extremely strong!"
Everyone looked at the screen, where a colossal warship, thousands of meters long, was leading the remaining enemy ships in pursuit, the black cannons at its bow gleaming with a dangerous light.
"That's Kronos's vanguard flagship!" Rex's face turned deathly pale. "Its main cannon can tear through spacetime; our shields can't stop it at all!"
Vegeta jumped to his feet: "Damn it! This can't go on! Goku, come with me and take down that flagship!"