RNP Page 38
Page 38
There's been progress. Beerus shook his wrist, which had gone numb from the shock, and his purple pupils contracted slightly, but he was still far from being a true God of Destruction.
A system notification popped up on my retina: [Battle Data Update: Beerus's estimated combat power 1.2 → 1.5 (New Rage Status Parameter Added)]
Whis said you wanted to see me about something? Lin Ye leaped down from the stone pillar, his aura perfectly concealed. Three months after the Tournament of Power, he had gained the qualification to train in the God of Destruction Realm, but this was the first time Beerus had personally summoned him.
Beerus smacked the ground irritably with his tail: "The Omni-King is going to hold a universal martial arts tournament, with two fighters from each universe. He tossed me a ring engraved with the emblem of the God of Destruction. You and Vegeta go."
The moment Lin Ye caught the ring, a red warning popped up from the system: [Traces of spacetime interference detected! Encrypted spacetime coordinates exist inside the item!]
Is there a problem? Beerus narrowed his eyes.
No, it's just... Lin Ye's words were interrupted by a sudden tremor. The entire temple shook violently, and spiderweb-like cracks suddenly appeared in the east wall of the training ground.
Weiss appeared out of thin air, and the crystal ball at the top of his staff displayed a scene at the edge of the seventh universe—a shuttle-shaped warship was tearing through the space barrier, with the black mark TDA-001 painted on its hull.
The Time and Space Administration? Beerus's expression instantly darkened. How dare those insects?
More than one. Weiss spun the crystal ball, and at least twenty identical warships were gathering in the image, seemingly searching for something.
Lin Ye suddenly remembered something and quickly brought up the system communication interface: Trunks! How are things on your end?
The communicator crackled with static, interspersed with Trunks's intermittent replies: "Lin Ye... be careful... they're aiming for the robotic arm's... data..."
The call abruptly ended. Lin Ye's heart sank to the bottom—Trunks' mechanical arm from the future, with its built-in spacetime navigation system, was the key to their journey through parallel universes.
Beerus was already enveloped in purple flames: "Viss, prepare the ship. I'm going to deal with these uninvited guests myself."
It's probably too late. Weiss suddenly looked up at the sky. The temple's dome had become transparent at some point, and the main cannons of the three warships were charging, the blue light converging from their muzzles distorting space itself.
[Emergency Alert! Time-Freeze Weapon Detected!] The system's warning sound was sharp and piercing.
Lin Ye only had time to raise his protective shield before the world fell into an eerie stillness. Beerus remained frozen in place, his furious expression unchanged; the crystal ball on Whis's staff stopped spinning; even the dust motes falling from the air remained motionless.
Only he—perhaps a protection mechanism of the system—could still move. But his movements had become abnormally slow, as if he were moving through glue.
The bottom of the warship opened, and twelve agents in silver-white uniforms descended from the air. The man in the lead wore a half-mechanical mask, a cold smile playing on his lips: "Mr. Lin Ye, you are suspected of illegally altering the timeline. Please cooperate with the investigation."
What did you do to Trunks? Lin Ye gritted his teeth and resisted the power of time-space stagnation, secretly gathering a ki blast in his right hand.
"That time criminal?" The agent captain chuckled, his robotic arm being disassembled in the Bureau's lab. He had to admit, future technology was truly remarkable, capable of recording the coordinates of so many parallel universes...
Anger surged to his head instantly. Lin Ye's aura erupted uncontrollably, and the golden patterns of the system spread from his neck to his cheeks: You're courting death!
I advise you not to act rashly. The agent captain raised his wrist, projecting a holographic image—Trunks was locked in a transparent container, a data cable connected to his chest, unless you wanted to see him disintegrate into elementary particles.
Lin Ye's fists clenched so tightly they cracked, but he ultimately didn't throw the attack. The captain nodded in satisfaction and gestured for his subordinates to step forward: "Very good. Now, hand over the system core within you."
Just as the two agents were about to touch Lin Ye, a sudden change occurred!
Beerus's eyes suddenly darted around.
Who allowed... the voice of the God of Destruction to wreak havoc on my territory like muffled thunder?
boom!
The frozen spacetime shattered like glass. With a mere clench of his fist, Beerus caused three warships to explode into fireballs simultaneously. The agents were horrified to find their armor beginning to disintegrate, and their exposed skin aging at a visible rate.
Time... is being accelerated! The captain looked at his wrinkled hands in horror.
Weiss elegantly twirled his cane: toying with the laws of time before the God of Destruction? What adorable courage.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Lin Ye used teleportation to appear behind the captain and delivered a precise chop to the back of his neck. Before the captain lost consciousness, he quickly scanned the armor's built-in navigation system—a set of familiar coordinates came into view.
"Lord Beerus, I know where Trunks is being held." Lin Ye pulled up the system map; the coordinates overlapped with a legendary location—the prison outside the Temple of Time.
Beerus and Whis exchanged a meaningful glance. Interesting. The God of Destruction licked his fangs; perfect timing to settle both old and new scores.
As everyone boarded the spaceship, Lin Ye didn't notice that the invitation ring he had hidden in his pocket was faintly glowing red.
Chapter 102 The Rift of Time
The energy reading is right ahead! Lin Ye adjusted the scanning interface of his time-space bracelet; the holographic projection flickered with an unstable blue light in the air. He squinted at the ancient complex of buildings floating in the void in the distance—was that the legendary Temple of Time?
Android 18 stood beside him, her golden hair fluttering in the unusual temporal winds. She reached out and pressed the communicator to her ear: "Bulma, are you sure the coordinates are correct? This place looks like it's been abandoned for thousands of years."
A crackling sound came from the communicator, and Bulma's voice came out intermittently: "Signal...interference...be careful...time flow."
Communication was interrupted. Number 18 frowned, his mechanical eye flashing as he analyzed the data. The surrounding time flow was 37.6 times faster than normal and unstable. My system began to experience delays.
Lin Ye looked down to check his time-space bracelet; the numbers on it were jumping wildly. This was bad; the time field here was collapsing. He pointed to the distorted bands of light around the temple, looking at the time folds, which resembled crumpled paper.
Suddenly, Number 18 grabbed Lin Ye's arm with such force that he almost cried out. "Lin Ye, get away!" She abruptly pulled him aside.
A semi-transparent fragment of time swept across the spot where they had just stood, and space cracked like glass with tiny lines.
Damn it! Cold sweat beaded on Lin Ye's forehead. Those were fragments of time materialized; being hit by them would cause one to age instantly or regress to youth!
Number 18 quickly assumed a battle stance, energy gathering in his palms: We have to get out of here, now!
Just then, the void surrounding the temple suddenly twisted into a huge vortex, and countless fragments of time swept in like a blizzard.
"Run!" Lin Ye shouted, activating the protective shield of the time-space bracelet at the same time. But the shield had barely formed when it emitted a piercing alarm—time turbulence was interfering with its stability.
Number 18 was much faster than Lin Ye, but instead of escaping alone, she turned back and grabbed Lin Ye's hand: "You're too slow!" She carried Lin Ye at high speed, with the fragments of time relentlessly pursuing them.
"To the left!" Lin Ye suddenly pointed to a seemingly calm spatial rift, where there was a time bubble where he could temporarily take refuge!
The two rushed towards the rift, Number 18 in front and Lin Ye bringing up the rear. Just as they were about to enter the safe zone, a huge fragment of time attacked from the side.
Watch out! Lin Ye shoved No. 18 away, but scraped his shoulder in the process. He groaned and felt his right arm go numb for a moment—not from pain, but from a strange sense of emptiness, as if the arm had never existed.
Number 18's eyes widened: Your hand!
Lin Ye looked down and saw his right hand becoming transparent, appearing and disappearing intermittently. It was just a time distortion, a temporary phenomenon. He forced himself to remain calm and decided to get into the safe zone first!
They stumbled and rushed into the time bubble, temporarily shutting out the storm outside. The bubble's interior was small, with glowing grains of time sand floating on the ground.
Number 18 immediately examined Lin Ye's arm: "Your cells have been torn apart over time. If it is not repaired in time, this part of your body may be permanently lost."
I have time stabilizer in my backpack. Lin Ye struggled to open the waist bag with his left hand and took it out for me—the blue tube.
Number 18 quickly located the medicine and swiftly injected it into Lin Ye's right shoulder. The medicine took effect quickly, and the transparent arm began to regain its clarity.
Thank you. Lin Ye moved his fingers, which had regained feeling, realizing that they had underestimated the danger here.
Number 18 looked around: This bubble won't last long; we must find a way to contact the outside world.
Lin Ye tried adjusting the bracelet's frequency, but each connection attempt was interrupted by interference. "No, the time turbulence is too strong." He looked up at Number 18. "Is your system still functioning properly?"
On the 18th, she closed her eyes for a self-examination: 30% damage to the visual assistive system and a 15% decrease in motor coordination, but core functions were normal. Suddenly, she opened her eyes. Wait, I detected regular energy fluctuations outside the bubble, like... some kind of signal?
Lin Ye immediately leaned over to look at her scanning interface: This doesn't seem to be naturally formed... Someone is controlling the time turbulence!
Before the words were even finished, the entire bubble suddenly vibrated violently, and spiderweb-like cracks appeared on its outer wall.
It's about to collapse! Number 18 grabbed Lin Ye, preparing to break through!
The moment the bubble burst, they were once again exposed to the time storm. This storm was even more violent than before, with fragments of time forming deadly vortexes.
"Over there!" Lin Ye pointed towards the main gate of the temple, where there was a relatively stable passage!
The two sprinted towards the passage with all their might, with Number 18 leading the way and using energy waves to shatter the time fragments that blocked their path. Just a dozen meters from the safe zone, a massive time vortex suddenly unfolded beneath Number 18's feet.
Number 18! Lin Ye watched helplessly as her legs began to sink into the vortex, and her body gradually became transparent.
Number 18 struggled, but the pull of the time vortex was too strong, and her mechanical system emitted a piercing alarm. "Lin Ye, don't come any closer!" she screamed. "My system is crashing, you'll be pulled in too!"
Without hesitation, Lin Ye activated the overload mode of his spacetime bracelet, enveloping his entire body in blue spacetime energy. "Hold on tight!" He rushed towards the edge of the vortex and reached out to Number 18.
"You idiot!" Number 18 cursed, but still grabbed his hand.
Lin Ye felt an irresistible pull; the time vortex was engulfing them both. He gritted his teeth and channeled all the energy from his time-space bracelet to number 18: "I'll count to three, and then I'll push you out!"
"Then what will you do?" A hint of panic flashed in Number 18's eyes, a fear Lin Ye had never seen before.
Lin Ye grinned as he read the first rule of the Time Patrol Team: Ladies first.
The bracelet emitted a blinding light as Lin Ye used all his strength to push Number 18 towards a safe area. The reaction force accelerated his descent towards the center of the vortex.
Lin Ye! Number 18's voice became distorted and distant in the turbulent flow of time.
In the last second before being completely swallowed by the vortex, Lin Ye saw Number 18 land safely on the temple steps. He closed his eyes contentedly, letting the turbulent flow of time tear him apart, reassemble him, and throw him into unknown dimensions.
...
A blinding white light.
Lin Ye felt as if he were being disintegrated into countless particles, only to be reassembled in some distant place. He crashed heavily onto the hard ground, every bone in his body protesting.
Uh... He struggled to get up and found himself lying on a strange city street. The sky was an eerie purplish-red, and a huge symbol—the Red Ribbon Legion's RR emblem—was projected onto a tall building in the distance.
What's going on...? Lin Ye looked down to check the time-space bracelet and found it was severely damaged, only retaining its basic functions. Worse still, the scan showed that the timeline of this universe differed significantly from the main universe.
Suddenly, a piercing alarm blared throughout the block. Lin Ye looked up alertly and saw a team of fully armed soldiers setting up a roadblock at the other end of the street.
Time-space fugitive spotted! A mechanical voice boomed through the loudspeaker: Attention all units, target is highly dangerous, lethal force authorized!
Lin Ye quickly ducked into a nearby alley, his heart pounding like a drum. A time-traveling fugitive? Are they talking about me?
He cautiously peered from the corner of the wall, and when he saw the officer leading the team, his blood almost froze—it was number 18 in a Red Ribbon Legion uniform, with a tactical goggle over his left eye, and a cold and professional expression.
Lin Ye, this unfamiliar Number 18, spoke through a megaphone, his voice devoid of any warmth: You are surrounded. Surrender is your only option.
Lin Ye leaned against the wall, his mind racing. This wasn't his number 18, but a version from a parallel universe. Worse, in this universe, he was clearly a wanted criminal.
"Okay," he muttered to himself, "this is a big problem."
The sound of orderly footsteps and the hum of machinery could be heard in the distance; the pursuit was tightening. Lin Ye took a deep breath and checked his remaining equipment—a phase gun with very little energy left and the half-damaged time-space bracelet.
He must find a way to repair the bracelet and return to his own universe. But first, he must escape from this version of Android 18.
How ironic. Lin Ye smiled bitterly as he pulled out his phase gun from his lower back. Last time I saved her, and this time she's trying to capture me.
By the time the first soldier with the red ribbon turned into the alley, Lin Ye had already vanished into the intricate urban labyrinth. The hunt had only just begun, and in this strange parallel universe, he didn't even have a single ally.
Chapter 103 Mirror Universe
Lin Ye's back was pressed against the damp wall, his breathing exceptionally clear in the narrow sewer. Above, the sound of orderly, mechanical footsteps echoed from the street; Red Ribbon Legion patrols were searching for him.
Damn it, what's going on with this universe...? He looked down at his time-space bracelet; the cracks on the screen made the readings blurry. The only thing he was certain of was that the timeline of this universe was vastly different from the one he was familiar with.
A drop of water fell from the rusty pipe, splashing at Lin Ye's feet. He looked up sharply and heard a faint metallic scraping sound coming from afar.
"Who's there?" Lin Ye asked in a low voice, his right hand already on the phase gun.