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

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"These pipes... seem to be moving?" Lisa whispered, her voice slightly distorted through the mask.

Lin Ye also noticed that the raised pipes were not completely still, but were wriggling extremely slowly, as if liquid or energy was flowing through them.

Stay alert. Lin Ye gripped the high-powered welding torch tightly and adjusted it to medium power.

After walking for about ten minutes, the passage began to branch out. Some smaller passages extended like capillaries into the darker depths.

"Which way?" Li Sha asked.

Lin Ye felt the faint warmth emanating from the fragment of the Key of Creation in his arms; it seemed to react more strongly to a certain direction. "Over here," he pointed to a main channel with a relatively strong energy reading, the one the fragment seemed to be responding to.

After traveling a while longer, they arrived at a relatively open area. This place resembled a hub, where several passageways converged. In the center of the space, there was a raised, tumor-like structure, like a giant heart, its surface covered with even denser, glowing blood vessels that pulsated more powerfully.

The energy reaction is very strong... and it's coming from here. Li Sha looked at the readings on the handheld scanner.

Lin Ye approached the heart and discovered that its surface was not completely sealed; there were some natural folds and gaps. He tried to gently touch it with a tool, and the fleshy surface contracted slightly, but did not show any aggression.

Could this thing... be the control core of this biological ship? Or its energy core? Lin Ye guessed.

How do I start it? Or communicate with it? Li Sha looked at this purely biological structure and felt at a loss. It was completely different from the mechanical devices we were familiar with.

Lin Ye thought for a moment and took out the fragment of the Key of Creation from his pocket. As the fragment approached the heart, the warmth on its surface noticeably increased, and it even began to emit a faint light that gradually synchronized with the heartbeat.

Buzz

The enormous heart seemed to be stimulated in some way, its rhythm quickening slightly, and the eerie glow on its surface intensifying. Immediately afterward, the ground beneath their feet trembled slightly, and the light on the walls of the surrounding passage flickered.

It...it reacted! Li Sha nervously took a half step back.

Lin Ye gripped the fragment tightly, feeling the faint connection it had established with the biological ship. Vague, non-verbal, almost instinctive fragments of information flooded his mind: hunger, weakness, a long slumber, and... a thirst for a specific kind of energy.

Is this ship hungry? Is it craving energy? Is it energy from the debris, or...?

At this moment, a sudden change occurred!

From the direction of the passage they had come from came a dense, chilling rustling sound! It sounded like countless feet crawling rapidly across the fleshy ground!

What was that sound?! Li Sha abruptly pointed her explosive welding torch at the source of the sound.

Lin Ye immediately became alert, put the fragments back into his pocket, and raised his weapon.

From several smaller passages emerged dozens of...creatures! They were about half a person's height, resembling magnified, dark-shelled arthropods with multiple pairs of sharp legs and a pair of sickle-like forelimbs! Their compound eyes gleamed red in the dim light, and they hissed as they moved with astonishing speed, surrounding the two of them!

Is it the ship's defense mechanism? Or... a parasitic organism? Lin Ye's heart sank.

Without any warning, these creatures launched their attack! Like a black tide, they swung their scythe-like forelimbs and pounced!

"Fire!" Lin Ye roared, as his high-energy welding torch emitted a beam of intense heat!

Li Sha gritted her teeth and pulled the trigger.

The scorching beams of light struck the creatures' carapaces, hissing and burning, leaving charred marks, but they were hardly instantly fatal! Their carapaces were exceptionally hard! And there were so many of them!

A creature broke through the barrage of fire, leaped up, and slashed straight at Lin Ye's face with its scythe-like forelimbs!

Lin Ye narrowly dodged to the side, then slammed the butt of his rifle into its side with a backhand strike, producing a dull thud. The creature only staggered slightly before immediately swinging its forelimbs to attack again.

Their shells are too hard! Hit their joints! Or their eyes! Lin Ye shouted as he struggled to dodge and counterattack.

Li Sha tried to aim at the small, fast-moving targets, but overwhelmed by their numbers and speed, she found herself powerless. A creature attacked from the side, its scythe-like forelimbs slashing towards her leg!

scoff!

Her spacesuit was ripped open. Fortunately, the inner protective layer blocked most of the damage, but the huge impact still made her cry out in pain and stagger backward.

Li Sha! Lin Ye was anxious and wanted to rush over to help, but he was held back by the other animals.

The two were about to be overwhelmed by the ferocious creatures.

Suddenly, the enormous heart burst forth with an unprecedentedly intense light! An invisible energy pulse, carrying a strong sense of repulsion, spread out from its center!

Hum...!

The attacking creatures were struck as if by a heavy hammer, their movements instantly stiffening, emitting painful hisses. Many of the smaller individuals even had their shells cracked, collapsing to the ground convulsing.

After the pulse subsided, the remaining creatures seemed to be greatly frightened. They stopped attacking and retreated rapidly like a tide back into the passage they had come from, disappearing from sight.

Lin Ye and Li Sha stood back to back, still shaken and panting heavily.

What...what just happened? Li Sha looked at the strange insects scattered on the ground, some dead and some injured, slowly melting into a black, viscous liquid, still feeling lingering fear.

Lin Ye looked at the heart whose light was gradually returning to normal, and then touched the fragment in his arms.

It was it...it protected us?

This mysterious bio-ship seems to have shown them...goodwill because of the fragments of the Key of Creation?

Chapter 546 The Hungry Beast

The passage returned to its previous silence, with only the eerie glow of the giant heart beating rhythmically and the melting black viscous substance on the ground as evidence of the fierce battle that had just taken place.

Lin Ye and Li Sha dared not be careless, remaining back to back and vigilantly observing their surroundings until they confirmed that there was no sign of the strange arthropods reappearing, at which point they breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Are you alright? Lin Ye looked at Li Sha's torn leg and outer spacesuit.

"It's nothing, just the outer layer is broken, the inside is fine." Li Sha checked it over, then kicked the dead insects at her feet with lingering fear. What on earth were these things? Was it the ship's immune system?

They looked more like cleaners or guards. Lin Ye crouched down and carefully poked at a pool of not-yet-fully-melted black liquid with a tool. "Sentinel, can you analyze the composition of these residues?"

After a brief delay, the sentry's voice came through the communicator: "Analysis of the sample... The main components are chitin, unknown proteins, and a high concentration of acidic digestive enzymes. The structure does not match any known organism in the galactic database. It is determined to be a local biological defense unit. Its acidic enzymes suggest it may also be capable of breaking down foreign objects or invaders."

Decomposing the intruder... Li Sha gasped. If it weren't for that heart activating just now, would we already be digested into nutrients?

Lin Ye didn't answer. Instead, he walked to the heart and took out the fragment of the Key of Creation again. The fragment still emitted a faint glow, subtly echoing the heart's throbbing. This time, he felt the vague information emanating from the heart more clearly—not just hunger and weakness, but also a hint of...closeness? and a pressing need to be met.

It needs energy. Lin Ye said with certainty, it desperately needs it. The fragments seemed to be able to communicate with it, but the amount of energy was far from enough to satisfy its needs. The pulse that had just repelled those insects had probably already depleted its already meager reserves.

In other words, this behemoth is starving? Is that why those insects are so ferocious? And because of insufficient energy, the defense system has become unstable? Li Sha speculated.

Possibly. *Whisper*, Sentry, have you found anything over there?

[Analyzing the energy circuit pattern of this biological construct.] A whispered response: [Its energy system is highly integrated with its biological nervous system, with its core in deep dormancy to minimize energy consumption. The external sustaining field is its last line of defense. The energy fluctuations emanating from the fragments of the Key of Creation seem to have awakened some of its basic instincts and cognitive functions.]

Database energy has dropped to 0.9%. The Sentinel's report brings an even more urgent crisis: the internal seal's stability is rapidly declining due to energy shortages and recent external energy pulse interference, currently at 65%. It is expected to fall below the 60% critical threshold within 3 standard hours.

The internal seal won't last much longer! And the database's energy is almost depleted!

We must find power for this ship! Lin Ye made up his mind. Only if it regains some of its functionality can we possibly find a way to leave this place, or at least... use its resources to replenish the database!

But where are we going to find energy? This godforsaken place looks even poorer than us! Li Sha looked at the biomass walls around her and felt at a loss.

Lin Ye felt the guidance emanating from the fragment, his gaze fixed on a thicker channel behind his heart, where the flow of energy was more pronounced. The fragment was pointing in that direction. There might be an energy source there, or... a place where energy was stored.

"Then let's go!" Li Sha said without hesitation. Staying here meant certain death, while taking a risk offered a chance of survival.

The two set off again, this time with even greater caution. They passed through the heart's central artery and entered the thicker passage. The blood vessels here were even stronger, pulsating more powerfully, as if one could hear the gurgling of energy flowing through them.

The passage descended, its angle increasing with each step. After about twenty minutes, the path suddenly opened up, revealing a vast open space.

This space is several times larger than the previous hub. Its center is no longer a tumor, but a huge cavity like a stomach! The inner walls of the cavity are covered with coral or crystal-like crystals that emit a soft white light. Between these crystals are countless thick tissues that resemble roots or neural networks, all of which are connected to a huge object at the bottom of the cavity.

It was... an almost completely shattered, angular metallic construct! From its remaining outline, one could vaguely discern that it was the wreckage of a spaceship, unlike anything the observer or any known civilization possessed—far more ancient and imposing. Half of its hull appeared to have been torn apart by some immense force, revealing its complex and intricate internal structure. At this moment, the neural networks of biomass, like parasitic vines, entwined, enveloped, and even pierced into the interior of this wreckage, especially its power core!

Those glowing crystals are drawing faint energy from the wreckage and transmitting it in all directions through neural networks.

It's...feeding? Lisa stared in shock at the scene. This bio-ship was digesting the wreckage of an ancient spaceship that had crashed here to gain energy!

Lin Ye immediately aimed the scanner at the wreckage and the glowing crystal. The wreckage's energy reading was extremely low, almost depleted. The crystal was absorbing the last bit of remaining energy, but very inefficiently. This was probably why it was so hungry—its food was almost gone, and of poor quality.

So that's why it's so sensitive to external energy signals and your fragments? Li Sha understood.

Lin Ye nodded, his gaze sweeping over the luminescent crystals. The scanner showed that these crystals themselves appeared to be a highly efficient energy conversion and storage medium. If we could provide them with higher quality energy, would they recover faster?

Where do we get high-quality energy? The database's energy isn't even enough for itself... Li Sha stopped mid-sentence and looked at Lin Ye.

Lin Ye also thought of the same thing... the fragment of the Key of Creation in his arms.

The fragments contained high-level energy, coveted even by the Observer Database and the higher-level will behind it. For this ravenous biological ship, it was undoubtedly an unparalleled delicacy.

However, the fragments are their most important asset and one of the keys to the internal seal. Entrusting them to this strange and eerie biological vessel is extremely risky.

"No! That's too dangerous!" Li Sha immediately objected. What if it swallowed the fragment and then denied it, or what if some strange change occurred?

Lin Ye looked at the ancient spaceship wreckage that was being slowly digested, felt the subtle connection between the fragments in his arms and the biological ship, and heard the constant warnings in his mind about the seal's continued decline in stability.

time is limited.

He took a deep breath and made a decision.

Not give it to it, but... guide it. Lin Ye took out the fragment, held it tightly in his hand, and whispered, "Sentinel, assist me. Try to guide a small portion of the fragment's energy into those energy crystals. Like... giving it a drop of water, letting it taste it, and seeing its reaction."

[This operation carries risks.] A whispered warning: [The fragment's energy level is too high, which may overload the local energy crystal or cause unpredictable effects.]

"Execute! Control the output power, reduce it to the minimum!" Lin Ye commanded. He had to take a gamble.

He walked to a larger, glowing crystal and slowly pressed the hand holding the fragment onto it.

Focus your attention, communicate fragmented information, and guide.

A faint, almost imperceptible wisp of golden energy, yet containing extraordinary essence, flowed from the fragment and infused into the bio-energy crystal.

In an instant!

The crystal seemed to be infused with life, its light shining brightly! Its original soft white instantly transformed into a blazing gold! And this gold, like a virus, rapidly spread along the neural network and to other crystals!

The entire enormous gastric cavity was illuminated in a dazzling golden light!

Woo——! !

A deep, long, and seemingly ancient hum resounded from beneath our feet, from all around us, from every corner of this biological ship! It wasn't a sound that traveled through the air, but a shock that directly impacted our spirits!

The entire ship began to tremble violently and joyfully, and the pulsating blood vessels contracted and expanded with unprecedented force and speed, turning the eerie light into a dazzling golden radiance!

Lin Ye and Li Sha were so shocked by this sudden change that they staggered.

They could clearly sense that a vast and ancient consciousness was slowly awakening from its long slumber!

"Hold on!" Lin Ye grabbed the protruding crystal structure next to him and pulled the staggering Li Sha with his other hand.

The entire cavity was shaking violently, and the neural networks connecting to the spaceship wreckage throbbed wildly, as if celebrating the sudden influx of energy. Golden light had spread to every corner of the cavity, and even the previously dim crystals were now radiating a dazzling glow.

Is it...is it coming back to life? Li Sha gripped Lin Ye's arm tightly, her voice broken by the vibrations.

Suddenly, the neural networks connecting the spaceship wreckage began to shrink and detach. The ancient spaceship wreckage, which had been encased for countless years, let out its final groan, and the metal structure began to collapse and crumble after losing its support.

Look! Those crystals! Li Sha pointed to the inner wall of the cavity.