Vegeta was completely doubting his life.
With a casual flick, Loren had swung his proud Great Ape body around like a sandbag.
With a flick of his finger, he severed his tail.
He felt like nothing more than a toy in Loren's hands.
Humiliation.
It surpassed defeat itself—grinding every last piece of Saiyan Prince Vegeta's pride into the dirt.
Gritting his teeth, Vegeta used the only arm he could still move to reach for the remote on his waist.
That device was his only hope of escaping this nightmare of a planet.
In the distance, Krillin just stared blankly, his mind shutting down after witnessing too many unbelievable things.
No wonder—Loren's method of defeating Vegeta was beyond shocking.
The terrifying Saiyan Prince had literally been treated like a toy.
Loren stood quietly, even stretching lazily.
Then his gaze shifted to Vegeta, who was squirming in the deep crater.
[Ding! Detected a critical decision point: Saiyan Prince Vegeta!]
[This person is a significant potential threat to the host's future life, and also an important investment target.]
[Please make a choice, Host!]
Two light screens appeared before Loren.
[Choice One: Eliminate Vegeta. Cut off future trouble at the root.
Reward: Legendary item — Eternal Nap Lounger (Effect: Lying down instantly blocks all noise and slowly restores stamina.)]
[Choice Two: Let Vegeta escape. As an important character in the Dragon Ball storyline, Vegeta will yield greater future returns.
Reward: Battle power +20,000.]
Loren raised an eyebrow.
A chair?
Blocking all noise sounded divine. But… it was still just a chair.
Power, on the other hand, was part of his body—his life-saving capital.
Besides, Vegeta was the second male lead of Dragon Ball. Many future story arcs required him.
If Vegeta died now, countless unpredictable variables would appear.
Just the upcoming Namek arc would become a disaster without Vegeta.
A lazy guy like Loren wouldn't even get time to sleep.
"Sigh…" Loren let out a tired sigh.
"For the Dragon Ball plot to go smoothly, I guess I have no choice but to make this high-risk investment…"
"System, I choose two."
Almost the instant he made his choice, Vegeta managed to press the button on the remote.
The circular space pod's hatch slowly opened.
Using every ounce of strength left in his battered body, Vegeta crawled inside like a defeated dog.
"Damn it… I'll get this humiliation back one day!" he swore to himself.
The pod blasted into the sky, turning into a streak of light and vanishing over the horizon.
Loren looked around the devastated battlefield, then sensed a faint, trembling aura not far away.
He picked at his ear with his little finger, expression impatient.
"This guy… still not coming out? Does he want me to invite him to dinner or something?"
As if hearing Loren's thoughts, a round figure slowly peeked out from behind a large rock.
It was Yajirobe—who had been hiding the entire time.
Only after confirming the scary space pod had left did he gather the courage to run out, trembling and clutching his sword.
"Goku! Krillin!"
"I—I brought Senzu Beans!"
Yajirobe's timing couldn't have been better.
Krillin grabbed the Senzu Beans and immediately fed one to the unconscious, heavily injured Goku.
Goku's wounds healed at a visible rate.
"I… I'm back on my feet!"
Krillin and Gohan each ate a Senzu Bean as well, their stamina and injuries instantly returning to peak condition.
The fully recovered Goku stood up, straightened his torn clothes, and walked over to Loren.
He bowed deeply. Very deeply.
"Mr. Loren!"
"Thank you. Thank you for saving all of us—saving the entire Earth!"
Krillin and Gohan quickly followed Goku's lead, bowing in the exact same way.
To them, the man in front of them could no longer be described as "powerful."
Loren's power had surpassed the limits of their understanding.
Loren merely waved dismissively, looking slightly annoyed as if they were bothering him.
"It was nothing."
His voice was as calm as if he were talking about some mindless chore.
"Mainly, you guys were too noisy fighting."
"Also—clean this place up. It's full of holes. It's ruining the planet's aesthetic."
After saying that, Loren didn't bother looking at any of them again and turned to leave.
Just then, the roar of helicopter rotors echoed from afar.
A large flying vehicle marked with the CAPSULE CORP logo landed at high speed.
"Gohan! My Gohan!" Chi-Chi burst out of the craft first.
Bulma, Master Roshi, and the others quickly followed.
"Goku! Gohan!"
Bulma, dressed in a neat adventurer's outfit, rushed forward with worry written all over her face.
But when her eyes fell on the battlefield—and then on Loren—
Her eyes sparkled instantly.
So handsome!
Who is that man?
Bulma immediately forgot why she came here, quickly tidying her wind-messy hair.
"Hi! Hello! I'm Bulma!" she said brightly.
"Are you Goku's friend? Why haven't I seen you before?"
Master Roshi, Goku, and the others exchanged looks of pure helplessness.
This habit of hers… truly never changes.
Loren was speechless.
Your boyfriend is still lying on the ground over there!
And you're already flirting?!
"Hello, I'm Loren. I'm just here to watch."
Goku, Krillin, and Gohan were already used to Loren's personality.
Bulma and Master Roshi, however, were stunned, unable to think of a response.