Afterward, Bulma briefly explained the situation to her mother, who finally accepted her identity. In the process, however, Bulma learned heartbreaking news: her father had passed away not long ago. Without an heir or a steady hand at the helm, their company had gone into rapid decline. If nothing was done, even the mighty Capsule Corporation would soon face bankruptcy. Now that Bulma had returned, though, those problems would no longer be insurmountable. Her mother, greatly relieved, could finally breathe.
Eyeing the pint-sized Goku nestled in Shizuka's arms, Bulma's mother sighed with envy. "I grow older by the day, and you just get younger and younger… It's not fair" Sometimes, Bulma's mom really did say the most incredible things.
"You think I wanted this?" Goku muttered, thoroughly annoyed. He turned to Bulma. "Hurry up and modify the Dragon Radar. Staying like this is a pain…"
And so, everyone settled in at Bulma's home. As the only child, Bulma immediately inherited everything. With Goku's help—and Bulma's own monstrous genius—the company's crisis was cleanly resolved in just a few days.
In the meantime, Ruo Lin and the others were brought up to speed about this world.
When Krillin and the rest heard that Goku had returned, they all rushed over. Their expressions were… complicated when they saw kid-Goku.
Half a month later, the loose ends were tied up, and Bulma had finished upgrading the Dragon Radar. The adventure to search the Dragon Balls across space was about to begin.
Aboard the massive spaceship, Goku looked down at the familiar faces below and smiled faintly. "All right, everyone—we're heading out."
"Sigh, we just reunited and you're already leaving! How about I come along?" Krillin—now sporting a thick beard—volunteered as he eyed the many graceful silhouettes inside the ship.
"Dad! You're way too old to go messing around," snapped a young woman, glaring at him. She was Krillin's daughter, Ise. Even without Android 18, Krillin had married—only the details of people and things had changed.
"Don't you dare vanish for another thirty years,"
Tien warned. "Next time we might only meet in the afterlife." Chiaotzu nodded gravely at his side.
"Every time I see so many beauties in one place… the jealousy burns," Yamcha groaned, still not recovered from the blow.
"Goku's actually running a harem now… Have mercy on us poor saps."
"Then I'll leave things here in your hands for now. Everyone—goodbye."
"Take care, Goku!"
"Goku! Bulma! Come back soon, okay? Mom doesn't want to wait another thirty years," Bulma's mother called out, waving reluctantly.
Goku nodded, waved farewell with the others, and stepped into the ship. The hatch sealed shut.
Under Krillin and the others' gaze, the spaceship streaked into the sky with a whisper and vanished into space.
---
The ship knifed through the boundless void, racing across the cosmos.
A vast, blue planet appeared in the women's field of view…
Through the viewport, they stared at Earth—at that blue jewel—and amazement bloomed on every face.
"So that's what you meant by a 'planet'? We actually live on something like that? It's unbelievable!"
Until now, they had only known the breadth of the Dou Qi Continent. "Planet," "universe"—these were concepts beyond them. To see it with their own eyes was overwhelming.
"This is a planet… and this is the universe? Incredible. Coming here was the right choice—I've seen a whole new world," Cao Ying said, eyes alight with excitement.
Cai Lin and the others pressed closer to the glass, wonder written across their faces.
Too beautiful.
They had seen footage like this on television earlier, but lifting off the Earth in a real ship and witnessing it first-hand struck the soul in a way words couldn't capture.
They turned their gaze beyond Earth—far away, a blazing sphere hung in the void, like a world on fire. The sight struck even deeper. Only by seeing it in person could one grasp its grandeur.
"That's the sun, isn't it? What an unbelievable world. Only now do I realize how small the land we once called home really was," Yun Yun murmured, staring at the enormous, distant—and yet somehow near—flame.
The women nodded, entranced. In this world, the vastness and mystery of the universe finally stood revealed.
The blue planet dwindled, smaller and smaller, as the ship accelerated to superluminal speeds; the distance grew until Earth slipped from sight.
The endless dark canvas of space, studded with starlight like a dream, unfurled before them—scenery they never imagined they would witness in their lifetime.
"Bulma, where's the nearest Dragon Ball?" By now, kid-Goku had been appropriated by Shizuka as if he were a tiny mascot, constantly cuddled in her arms.
"Northwest. An unnamed planet," Bulma said, seated on a cushion with a cup of tea in hand. She checked the newly upgraded radar. "At our speed, it'll take about a day to reach."
"Then let's head there first," Goku said lazily from Shizuka's embrace.
"Got it." Bulma set the coordinates.
Cai Lin and the others remained glued to the windows, excitement bubbling over into occasional exclamations as time slipped by.
By the next day, just as Goku was waking up, the main screen displayed a bleak, sand-scoured world. On its surface stood towering, decayed structures—pyramid-like—one after another after another.
[Attention… arriving at destination. Prepare for descent… prepare for descent…]
The ship's mechanical voice chimed, startling the still-sleepy women awake.
With delighted cries, hatches slid open and they gathered in the main hall.
Seeing the planet on the screen, their faces shone with anticipation.
"So we made it? The worlds beyond Earth really are intriguing," Ruo Lin smiled, her gentle features tinged with expectation.
"Hurry, hurry! Land already!" Zi Yan bounced on her toes. The Dragon Ball world's dimensional tier was far higher than the Dou Qi Continent's, its space much more stable, which meant she could no longer bend space at will; otherwise, she would have jumped down there already.
"Everyone, strap in!" Bulma called as the ship pierced the dense atmospheric haze and settled toward the sand-covered surface.
Studying the readouts, Bulma frowned. "Don't rush out yet. I need to analyze the planet's environment to see if it's suitable for us."
"There's even that to consider?" Ya Fei blinked her captivating eyes, curiosity sparkling—every glance and smile brimming with allure.
"If there isn't enough oxygen, we can't breathe here," Bulma explained while her fingers danced over the console, running a composition analysis.
A moment later, she stopped and, seeing their expectant looks, shook her head. "Bad news. Gravity here is nearly ten times Earth's. Oxygen is extremely thin. There's also heavy radiation that would harm us. We shouldn't go outside. For now, the Dragon Ball hunt will have to rely on you, Goku."
"No problem." Goku smiled and reached for the radar—then paused. "Huh? Those ki signatures…"
As he spoke, a susurrus rose outside, a constant sand-scrape.
"W-What's happening?" Faces paled; curiosity turned to unease.
Bulma switched the external cameras. On the screen, not far away, the sand began to boil. Fat, fleshy heads poked up from the ground…
With eerie, chittering cries, gigantic, dun-colored insects heaved themselves out of the earth. Each looked like a swollen grub, about five meters long—short and thick, with head and tail nearly indistinguishable.
The ground bucked as more and more of the creatures surfaced, surrounding the ship in moments.
"S-So gross… those bugs…" Alice and the other little girls went white, trembling as they hid behind Goku.
Even the older girls blanched with revulsion. Insects were a universal nemesis—and this was a sea of them.
"S-So strong… What are these things?" Cai Lin's scalp prickled as she sensed the oppressive aura rolling off the nearest beast. Even as a Dou Venerate, she felt a hint of danger. How could such soft-looking creatures be this powerful?
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T/N:
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