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

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Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, their backs drenched in cold sweat.

"What was that just now?" Trunks was still scared.

No one could answer him.

Lin Ye stared at the direction of the Seventh Fault Zone on the navigation map, his heart sinking. The road ahead seemed even more difficult and unpredictable than he had imagined.

Chapter 483: A Cold Warning

The cabin was eerily quiet; even the engine's hum sounded like it was being played in slow motion, each vibration feeling like it was hitting right in the bone. The crew's breathing mingled together, some deep, some shallow, carrying an indescribable tension, echoing in the cramped space.

Lin Ye stared at the navigation screen, his mind filled with that inexplicable warning... "Don't go to the Seventh Generation...it's a trap..." The voice was neither male nor female, without any apparent source, yet it carried a chilling cold that could freeze to the bone, as if someone had poured a spoonful of ice water down his spine. Even more eerie, the moment the words left his lips, the foundation stone he was clutching suddenly scalded with a "buzz," the heat palpable even through his gloves, seeping into his skin. The blue light from the variable engine beside him, which had been steady, suddenly flickered, colliding with the heat of the foundation stone, as if both were struggling against the coordinates of "Seventh Generation."

The warning was gone without a word, leaving only the hairs on the back of Lin Ye's neck standing on end, his knuckles clenched until they turned white, and cold sweat dripping down his jawline, staining his clothes with a wet patch.

"Lin Ye? Why is your face so pale!" Trunks rushed over first, and his hand had just touched Lin Ye's arm when he was startled by Lin Ye's involuntary trembling. "Are you feeling unwell? Did you hurt yourself in the Silent Zone?"

Xi also stopped what she was doing, turned her chair around to look at him, her gaze sweeping over the foundation stone in his palm. Her voice was a little tighter than usual: "Is the foundation stone reacting? Or is the residual effect of the silent zone not dissipating?"

Lin Ye calmed himself down, suppressing the chaos in his mind. He first gestured towards the navigation screen with his chin... The coordinates of the "Seventh Generation" were still jumping around, the red dots bobbing left and right like headless flies, without any pattern. He gripped the scorching foundation stone, took a deep breath, and tried to keep his voice steady: "I'm fine, it's just that these coordinates are wrong." He didn't mention the mysterious voice, afraid that saying it would make things even more chaotic. "Xi, can you figure out how it changed? Or find out who's interfering?"

Xi's fingers immediately flew across the control panel, the screen instantly filled with a dense stream of data, and red "interference alerts" flashed incessantly like a disco. She frowned, paused, then quickly tapped a few more times, finally shaking her head: "No, this change makes no sense, it's like it's been wrapped in some high-dimensional algorithm. I tried to reverse engineer it, but the source of the interference is like fog scattered in the universe, you can feel a shadow, but you can't grasp the real thing."

"Hmph, what are you pretending for!" Vegeta leaned against the bulkhead with his arms crossed, his knuckles cracking as he tapped his arms, his tone full of impatience. "Besides those bastards from the Watchers, who else could do something like this? They're afraid we'll find 'Hidden Dragon,' so they deliberately gave us some stupid coordinates to lure us to our deaths!"

Number 18 didn't rush to reply. She tapped the secondary screen with her finger, bringing up the star map's history. Her voice was as cold as ice: "It's not necessarily just simple technical interference. Look..." She zoomed in on the star map, pointing to the encrypted markers, "Xi, this star map was encrypted in advance. Even the coordinates of the seventh generation were extracted from the wreckage of the silent zone by us. How could the observer have predicted that we would take this route?"

Trunks continued, his voice trembling slightly, "Unless... they have access we don't know about? Or was 'Hidden Dragon' a trap from the start?" He felt a chill run down his spine when he thought of the spaceship wreckage he had seen at the edge of the silent zone... some twisted into pretzels, some with their outer shells completely shattered.

The moment those words left his mouth, the air in the cabin seemed to freeze. Lin Ye rubbed the foundation stone in his hand; it was still hot, but the blue light from the variable engine suddenly dimmed. He tried to use the engine to grasp the vanished warning, but all he encountered was cold, blank space. There was no murderous intent in the warning, just a mechanical indifference, as if… someone was about to die, desperately sending a message.

"Xi," Lin Ye suddenly spoke, breaking the silence, "stop the seventh generation's route. Using our current position as the center, activate the maximum range of passive detection to scan for any abnormal spatial fluctuations or energy signals, and prioritize finding a neutral zone where we can temporarily dock. We need to figure out the situation first; we can't just rush in blindly."

"Understood!" Xi immediately took action. The engine noise of the "Star Shuttle" gradually subsided, like a giant beast retracting its claws, and the ship slowly turned in a different direction. Countless invisible probe beams silently plunged into the dark universe, like hands groping in a thick fog, probing the surrounding situation little by little.

Vegeta clicked his tongue, kicked the bulkhead with a dull thud, but didn't argue. The wreckage he'd seen at the edge of the silent zone was still swirling in his mind. Even the most arrogant man knew that charging into an obvious trap was something only a fool would do.

The ensuing wait was agonizing. The green light on the dashboard flashed rhythmically, each flash seeming to double the length of time. The probe's screen mostly displayed the white noise of the cosmic background, with the occasional flash of a few asteroid trails, but not a single useful signal.

Trunks couldn't stand it any longer. Every few minutes, he would peek at Xi's control panel, peering at the screen. In the end, he could only sigh at the screen full of gibberish: "Why is there nothing here? If this keeps going on, we'll wear ourselves out before the Observer even arrives."

Number 18 leaned against the corner, silent, his fingers unconsciously rubbing the energy detector on his wrist, his eyes occasionally sweeping across the porthole... It was pitch black outside, with only a few scattered starlight, looking peaceful, but who knew what was hidden there.

Lin Ye wasn't idle either. He placed the cornerstone next to the control panel and watched its reaction. The cornerstone's heat slowly subsided, but just when he thought it was about to return to normal, the detector suddenly beeped twice. It wasn't a piercing alarm; the sound was very soft, but enough to instantly rouse anyone.

"Signal!" Xi's eyes lit up instantly, and her fingers flew to the decode button. The garbled text on the screen reassembled at a speed visible to the naked eye. "From the abandoned resource planet codenamed 'Zeta-73'! It's... a distress signal!"

She immediately amplified the signal, and a hoarse voice floated out from the speaker, accompanied by crackling static: "This is Zeta-73 mining area... under attack by space pirates... are there any nearby ships? Requesting assistance... repeat, requesting assistance..." The signal was intermittent, like a wire about to break, which sounded very anxious.

"Space pirates?" Trunks was stunned. "Space pirates in this godforsaken place? What would they be robbing in this godforsaken place?"

“Abandoned resource planets are always hideouts for space pirates.” Xi swiped her finger across the screen, bringing up an old map of Zeta-73, densely marked with abandoned mine shafts and warehouses. “They scavenge for scrap equipment here, or wait for passing small ships, specifically targeting remote spots.” She looked up at Lin Ye, her tone hesitant. “Should we go? The risk is too high. It might be a trap set by the observers, deliberately using a distress signal to lure us over.”

Lin Ye didn't answer immediately, but glanced in the direction of the signal source. Just then, the foundation stone he had placed beside him suddenly hummed again. This time it wasn't hot, but a gentle throbbing, like a heartbeat, one beat after another. The heat traveled up his fingertips to the variable engine, and the engine's blue light also brightened. The two faint beams of light were directed directly at the abandoned planet hidden in the asteroid belt.

"Change course, head to Zeta-73." Lin Ye's voice was steady, but his eyes were sharper than before. "All personnel on alert, weapon systems warmed up, escape pods ready at any time. Fight if we can, retreat if we can't."

"Hey! Are you crazy?" Vegeta stood up abruptly, his brows furrowed. "What if it really is an observer's trap? If we go in, we'll be trapped like turtles in a jar! We won't be able to get out even if we want to!"

"We have to go even if it's a trap." Lin Ye looked at him, clutching the foundation stone in his hand, feeling the tremor growing clearer. "It'll be good to see what tricks they've up their sleeves. If it's not a trap, we might be able to get some information out of those space pirates or survivors—the details of this star system, and the Seventh Generation. That's better than us wandering around like headless flies, blindly trying to figure out the coordinates of a trap."

Vegeta stared at Lin Ye for a few seconds, then snorted and turned to walk towards the weapons bay: "Fine, go if you want! But if anything goes wrong, I'll be the first to destroy that damn planet!"

Trunks immediately perked up, rubbing his hands together as he ran to his spot: "It should have been done a long time ago! It's better than wasting time here. Even if they're space pirates, we can't possibly lose, can we?"

Number 18 didn't object, but simply adjusted the energy detector on his wrist, his voice remaining calm: "I'll go check the weapon system to make sure there are no problems."

Xi nodded and immediately adjusted the course: "Star Shuttle, prepare to turn, target Zeta-73, avoid the dense asteroid belt area, maintain silent cruising."

The engines roared back to life, even more powerfully than before. The hull of the "Star Shuttle" traced a smooth arc, like a silver lightning bolt, silently slipping into the gap in the asteroid belt. Outside the porthole, the shadows of asteroids occasionally swept across the hull, some large, some small, looking like black lumps, or like eyes hidden in the shadows, watching them head towards Zeta-73.

Lin Ye leaned against the control panel, staring at the slowly approaching planetary coordinates on the screen, the foundation stone in his hand still throbbing slightly. He had a feeling that this trip to Zeta-73, whether it was a trap or not, should yield something useful, at least better than wasting time here.

Trunks leaned closer, looked at the Zeta-73 on the screen, and scratched his head: "How many space pirates do you think there are? Will they have heavy weapons?"

Lin Ye glanced at him: "No matter how many people there are, we have to be careful. Space pirates have been in this kind of place for a long time, so they definitely know the terrain better than we do. We don't want to be caught off guard and end up in trouble."

"Don't worry!" Trunks patted his chest. "With me and Vegeta here, plus Android 18, even if they have heavy weapons, we can handle it!"

Xi interjected at this moment: "Don't be careless. The mine tunnels of Zeta-73 are very complicated. If space pirates hide in the mine tunnels and fight guerrilla warfare, it will be very troublesome. I have already pulled up the old map of the mining area. We need to control the main passages first."

When Number 18 returned from inspecting the weapon systems, he overheard this and nodded: "I just checked, and our energy cannons are in good condition, but the space in the mine is small, making it difficult to use the energy cannons. We need to prepare some close-range weapons."

Vegeta returned from the weapons bay, carrying an energy gun. He swung it around and said, "Who cares where they're hiding? If they dare to come out, beat them to a pulp! If they're hiding and won't come out, just blow up the mine tunnel. That'll save you the trouble!"

Lin Ye didn't reply, only staring at Zeta-73, which was getting closer and closer on the screen. The planet looked gray and hazy, its surface covered with traces of abandoned mines, and even its atmosphere was very thin. The probe showed several energy reactions on the planet, which were probably the outposts of space pirates, as well as a faint life signal, probably from someone calling for help.

"We'll reach the outer perimeter of Zeta-73 in ten minutes," Xi reported, tapping her fingers on the control panel. "Preparing to enter the atmosphere, there will be some turbulence."

Lin Ye took a deep breath and stood up: "Everyone, take your positions and observe the surroundings. Report any abnormalities immediately."

Trunks immediately returned to his seat and fastened his seatbelt: "Roger!"

Number 18 also leaned against the porthole, his eyes fixed on the asteroid belt outside: "No trace of other ships has been found around, it's safe for now."

Vegeta leaned against the bulkhead, playing with his energy gun, a hint of excitement in his eyes. It had been a long time since he'd had a proper fight. Whether his opponent was a space pirate or an observer, he was happy to fight as long as there was something to fight.

The Star Shuttle slowly approached Zeta-73, and as it passed through the thin atmosphere, the ship indeed rocked a few times. The outside scenery became clearer and clearer, revealing abandoned minecarts, collapsed warehouses, and several winding mine tunnel entrances that looked like dark holes.

"The detector has pinpointed the exact location of the distress signal, near the warehouse in Mining Area Three." Xi pointed to a red dot on the screen. "There's also an energy reaction there; it's probably being guarded by space pirates."

Lin Ye nodded: "Prepare to land. Land on the open ground near Mine Area No. 3, far away from the warehouse, to prevent them from opening fire directly."

"Understood!" Xi adjusted the landing angle. "Three minutes until landing."

Vegeta straightened up and tucked the energy gun into his waistband: "I'll go down and scout ahead first, you guys follow."

“I’ll go with you,” Trunks immediately raised his hand. “Two people are safer than one.”

Lin Ye thought for a moment and nodded: "Okay, you two go down first, be careful to stay hidden and don't get discovered. Xi, No. 18, and I will provide backup from behind. If anything happens, we'll send a signal immediately."

“No problem!” Trunks replied excitedly, and began checking his equipment.

Number 18 also held the energy gun in his hand, his eyes alert: "I'll keep an eye on the surrounding mine entrances to prevent them from attacking from the side."

The "Star Shuttle" slowly descended, flying towards the open space near Mine Area No. 3. The scene on the ground became clearer, revealing that half of the warehouse roof had collapsed, and several dilapidated space pirate ships were parked nearby, seemingly without much combat capability.

"Prepare for landing!" Xi's voice rang out, and the ship shook slightly before landing steadily on the open ground.

Vegeta immediately unbuckled his seatbelt and opened the hatch: "Let's go!"

Trunks followed behind him, and the two of them tiptoed down, skimming the ground as they made their way toward the warehouse.

Lin Ye, Xi, and No. 18 also disembarked and hid in the shadow of the Star Shuttle, watching the movements ahead.

Just as Vegeta and Trunks were about to reach the warehouse, two people suddenly rushed out of the mine entrance next to the warehouse, holding energy guns and shouting in their direction, "Who's there?!"

With lightning speed, Vegeta pulled Trunks behind an abandoned minecart, his energy gun already raised.

Lin Ye frowned behind him. It seemed that these space pirates were more vigilant than he had imagined, and things were likely to get more complicated from here on out.

Chapter 484: Traps on a Desolate Planet

When the Zeta-73 was laid out outside the porthole, it looked like a dusty stone, its surface pitted and uneven with marks from meteorite impacts. The abandoned mining racks were crookedly stuck on the ground like withered tree branches. The thin atmosphere couldn't even hold starlight, and the whole planet exuded a deathly aura that could freeze people to death.

The "Star Shuttle" hovered close to the shadow of the crater, its invisibility barrier at its maximum. Xi's fingers flew across the control panel, and a surface scan map appeared on the screen, densely packed with red dots marking energy reactions.

“There are only scattered energy signals on the surface, matching the old mining machines and crude energy guns. No large warships have been detected.” She pointed to one of the flashing green dots. “The distress signal source is at the innermost part of Mine Area 3, an abandoned colonial outpost. Life detection shows more than a dozen signals inside, all with very weak energy, as if they are bound or injured.”

Trunks leaned closer to take a look and breathed a sigh of relief: "Doesn't look like a big trap. It's just a bunch of small-time space pirates, right?"

"Hmph, the more it looks like a small-scale skirmish, the more likely it is to be hiding something." Vegeta cracked his knuckles. "Why bother with all that scouting? Let's just charge down, drag out those rats hiding in their burrows, and get to the bottom of things one punch at a time!"

"Don't be impulsive." Number 18 reached out and pressed his arm, then turned to look at Lin Ye. "Trunks and I will dive down and take a look first. The three of you stay on the ship and keep an eye on things. If there are any problems, either provide support or pick us up. Be flexible."

Lin Ye nodded: "Be careful, don't let your guard down with optical camouflage either."

Trunks immediately grabbed the protective suit next to him and put it on, excitedly patting his chest: "Don't worry! With Sister 18 working together, there definitely won't be any problems!"

Number 18 also put on protective suits and pulled up his helmet visor. The moment the optical camouflage was activated, the two figures faded out of the cabin, like two wisps of smoke drifting out of the "star shuttle" and gliding towards the colony outpost on the ground.

Lin Ye and Vegeta stared at the main screen, where Android 18's helmet camera was transmitting live footage. Trunks' vital signs were displayed alongside, everything was stable. Xi, on the other hand, diverted half of her attention to monitor the surrounding airspace, preventing anyone from flanking them from the outside.

The outpost was in even worse shape than expected: half of the metal building's walls had collapsed, revealing the rusted steel frame inside, and scrapped minecart parts were scattered on the ground, clanging loudly in the wind. Number 18 and Trunks walked close to the wall, and after only a few steps, they bumped into two space pirates on lookout duty. Their clothes were so tattered they were exposing their arms, and their energy guns were covered in scratches, looking like they could explode at any moment.

Trunks gestured "I'll handle this," then moved stealthily behind the pirate, delivering a swift and deadly chop to the back of his neck. The pirate collapsed to the ground without a sound. Number 18 simultaneously dispatched another pirate with equal efficiency. But as she finished off the remaining pirate, she paused. When the pirate fell, she seemed to have glimpsed a metallic sheen on his wrist—not an ordinary ornament, but more like some kind of interface.

"What's wrong?" Trunks asked in a low voice.

"It's nothing, let's go in and take a look." Number 18 shook his head and went into the broken door of the main building first.

The scene inside made the two men frown: in the center was a simple iron cage, with a dozen or so men who looked like miners crammed inside, their clothes tattered, their faces as yellow as wax, some holding children, their eyes filled with fear. Four space pirates stood guard beside the cage, just like the lookouts outside, looking penniless, yet kicking the iron cage listlessly while cursing under their breath.

"Damn it, can we really expect to find a fat sheep in this godforsaken place?" A short, fat space pirate spat and kicked a stone at his feet. "We've been guarding this place for three days, and we haven't seen a single ghost. Is the boss lying to us?"

"What a load of rubbish!" Another tall, thin pirate said, a cigarette dangling from his lips. "The boss said some tough guys are passing through this area recently, and he wants us to keep watch on this signal and wait for the fish to bite. If we don't catch anything in two more days, we'll get rid of these useless guys in the cage and get out of here!"

"Deal with? How should we deal with it?" The short, fat thief rubbed his hands together, his eyes glancing at the woman in the cage.

Before the tall, thin pirate could speak, the pirate who hadn't said a word and looked like the leader suddenly kicked the short, fat pirate: "Stop talking nonsense! Follow the rules, don't cause any trouble!" His voice was a little muffled, as if he were speaking through something, and the force with which he kicked the iron cage was unusually strong, bending the bars of the cage slightly.

Trunks lowered his voice on the communicator and said, "Looks like it was just a bunch of low-level space pirates who set up a distress signal trap to steal something. False alarm." He was about to rush out when Number 18 grabbed him.

"Wait a minute," Number 18's voice was wary. "Look at their shoes."

Trunks followed her gaze and saw that although the boots worn by the space pirates were old, the soles had neat patterns and the edges were not worn, so they did not look like they had walked a lot. Looking at their gloves, the fingertips had a subtle metallic sheen, which was not the cheap stuff that ordinary space pirates would use.

"Something's not right..." Trunks had just realized what was happening when a sudden change occurred!

The pirate leader suddenly froze on the spot, a blue light flashed in his originally cloudy eyes, and his neck turned at an unnatural angle, accurately "staring" at the pillar where Number 18 and Trunks were hiding, even though they were still using optical camouflage!

"High-value target detected! Initiate elimination procedure!" The leader's voice changed instantly, no longer muffled, but cold and mechanical, devoid of any human warmth.

As soon as the words were spoken, the four space pirates simultaneously emitted a series of crisp "crackling" sounds, as if their bones were being reassembled! Their tattered clothes were stretched open, revealing their silver-gray metallic bodies underneath. The joints gleamed with the light of hydraulic devices, and the old energy guns in their hands also "hummed" and deformed, their barrels elongated, and a ghostly blue light gathered at the muzzle, clearly indicating their formidable power!

"It's a bionic robot! A trap!" Android 18 instantly tore off his optical camouflage, shoved Trunks behind a pillar, raised his arms, and fired his energy cannon with a "boom," sending two beams of white light straight at the two robots in the front!

"Bang! Bang!" Before the two robots could react, large holes were blasted through their chests, parts flew everywhere, and they fell straight down.

Trunks immediately drew his sword, and with a flash of light, he precisely severed the arm of the third robot that was charging towards him. But the robot did not stop at all. Blue hydraulic oil spurted out from the severed end, and the energy gun in its other hand was aimed directly at his chest!

"Watch out!" Number 18 lunged to the side, the energy beam grazing Trunks' shoulder before striking the wall behind him and blasting a large crater.

The remaining robots (including the leader) had formed a circle, their firepower intertwined to create a net, completely blocking the two's escape route! Their movements were fast and ruthless, their moves tricky, far beyond the level of ordinary space pirates, and even more agile than the ordinary guard robots they had encountered before. Several times they even predicted the direction of Number 18's dodge!