"Raditz?? You're back!!"
Just as the group was about to set off for West City, the roar of a vehicle rang out, and along with it came a familiar voice.
That bold and hearty female voice gave Raditz quite a scare.
Talot, Salari, and Gine all turned toward the source of the voice at the same time.
A blonde woman on a customized unicycle-style motorcycle was speeding toward them. It was none other than Blonde Launch.
"Talot, no time to waste, let's go now." Raditz's mouth twitched as he hastily urged.
He instinctively wanted to escape, thinking Launch was really troublesome.
"Hold on, Raditz. While you were gone, Launch came to our house looking for you quite a few times. Honestly, I think a girl like Launch is a good match for you. You should give her a chance. Besides, you're not exactly young anymore," Gine said, trying to persuade him.
That scared Raditz even more.
But she had a point. Saiyans usually established relationships very early; after all, being a small race, reproduction was always a priority. As soon as they were capable of reproducing, it was expected they would do so.
It wasn't uncommon for some to have children as early as fifteen or sixteen.
But now, with just a handful of Saiyans left, they have gradually integrated into Earth. Plus, with Talot tactfully using age as an excuse, it resulted in them still not touching the forbidden fruit, even though they're already over 18.
"Mom, are you setting me up? You know I have no interest in women, and besides, Earthling women are just too…" Raditz had just started to object when Launch parked her bike and ran over to them.
The usually wild and reckless Blonde Launch suddenly became shy and bashful.
This made Talot and Salari look at Raditz with amusement, clearly enjoying the show.
Gine greeted Blonde Launch, then signaled to Raditz while covering her mouth and giggling, not saying another word.
Raditz, not good at social interaction, shot Talot a pleading look.
In response, Talot simply gave him a "you're on your own" expression.
Their eye contact didn't escape Launch's notice. Puffing out her cheeks, she said in a tone that brooked no refusal, "You're planning to ditch me again, aren't you? This time, you better make things clear! Last time, you took advantage of me, you'd better not be thinking of not taking responsibility."
Blonde Launch's forcefulness shattered Talot's worldview.
She was bold, gripping Raditz's arm tightly like she wasn't going to let him escape this time no matter what.
Raditz was no longer the same Raditz from the original work, otherwise, Launch probably would have been beaten to death by him.
Also, the original work's Raditz held a very strong racial view.
He likely saw Earthling women as nothing more than tools for reproduction.
But now things were different.
"Looks like you two have some things to talk about. In that case, we'll head to West City first, you two enjoy your alone time."
"Just as Aunt Gine said, Raditz, you're not young anymore."
Talot said this with a completely straight face, not realizing he was digging his own grave.
Raditz was speechless, only able to roll his eyes.
With no other choice, and under Gine's pressure, Raditz had to agree.
Watching Talot, Salari, and his mother disappear into the distance, Raditz was filled with frustration but couldn't bring himself to act.
He only had himself to blame. He had saved her back at Devil's Castle, and in the process had unintentionally taken advantage of her.
He hadn't meant to, nor had he thought much of it.
Of course, he had no idea that Blonde Launch was simply captivated by his handsome and heroic appearance.
Just like how in the original work, Blonde Launch had fallen for Tien Shinhan.
It's only natural - women admire strength.
"I'm warning you, if you keep provoking me, don't blame me if I really eat you. I'm an evil Saiyan! I can do anything," Raditz threatened.
But Blonde Launch wasn't the least bit afraid: "I'd be more worried if you didn't dare to do anything. It's only because I've taken a liking to you, any other woman would've run the other way at the sight of you. And for the record, I'm drop-dead gorgeous myself. The line of men chasing after me could stretch from here all the way to the foot of the mountain..."
Her feisty, tsundere attitude made Raditz swallow the harsh words he had prepared.
As the saying goes, every tough guy meets his match. Blonde Launch's unpredictability left Raditz with no choice but to go along with her.
In truth, Raditz didn't actually dislike Launch, he had just never thought about matters between man and woman before.
Whatever the case, Launch was definitely a stunning beauty.
...
At the same time.
West City.
Using Instant Transmission, they arrived at the luxurious manor of Bulma's family, the Hoi-Poi Capsule Corporation in West City.
Talot hadn't even spoken yet when he suddenly felt a sharp gaze.
After a chill ran down his spine, he turned to see Salari staring at him with a very serious expression.
If he had to describe it in one word, it would be the stare of death...
Talot instantly felt his scalp go numb. He quickly tried to recall whether he'd said anything strange earlier, then cautiously asked, "Why are you looking at me like that?"
Only then did Salari stop staring, though she still seemed a little moody: "Just now, you said Raditz wasn't young anymore. But Raditz is the same age as us. So, does that mean Brother Talot isn't interested in me?"
Talot finally realized what was going on and smacked his forehead.
His mouth twitched. He hadn't expected Salari to question him like this.
"I was just teasing Raditz. That guy's always been a blockhead, right? Now that Launch showed up, it can add a little flavor to his dull life," Talot explained.
"But I think you're the real blockhead, Brother Talot. Or maybe you actually like Bulma and don't like me at all, so you keep rejecting me," Salari said with a resentful look that gave Talot a massive headache.
He was already clueless when it came to relationships, and now Salari had thrown him a curveball.
Off to the side, Gine laughed aloud at the two of them. In her eyes, Talot and Salari were just flirting.
"We Saiyans are simple by nature. You two have known each other for so many years. From an outsider's perspective, you already look like a young couple," Gine's comment made both Talot and Salari blush.
Even though it was Gine saying it, having it spelled out like that was still more than enough to embarrass them.
"Ahem... look, Salari, you're just overthinking it. Don't worry, in my heart, you'll always be first," Talot said, almost like a promise.
Salari's cheeks turned even redder.
Gine smiled warmly at her and didn't tease them any further.
A while later, the three of them strolled through the vast backyard of the manor.
Before long, they ran into Dr. Brief.
At this moment, Brief was testing some sort of device.
Upon seeing the three of them, he didn't even care how long it had been since they last met, and immediately launched into an explanation, describing how the technology had advanced rapidly over the past few months.
This was all thanks to the advanced space battleship that had belonged to Slug.
Most importantly, the Gravity Chamber had undergone major upgrades, not only had the gravity multiplier been increased, but the chamber had also been outfitted with pressure-resistant combat robots and various auxiliary training tools.
This level of upgrade had actually been something Talot had only casually mentioned once before, yet it had already been implemented so quickly.
Besides that, their spaceship had also received significant modifications.
From the propulsion systems to the AI operating systems, everything had completely transcended the last generation and entered a brand-new era.
One good news after another made Talot and the others repeatedly praise Brief's talents.
But Brief claimed that much of it had actually been done by Bulma.
Their shock was understandable, even though Bulma's talent had never been in question.
Especially once the original work's storyline began, Bulma had consistently demonstrated her talents.
Thanks to Brief's reminder, Talot and the others finally realized that all of these improvements were things Bulma had done in order to help Talot.
They arrived at the door of Bulma's lab.
This time, Salari didn't show any of her usual moodiness.
First, Talot's earlier words had been like an anchor, putting her heart at ease.
Second, Bulma had always been quietly contributing from the background, and Salari was sincerely grateful that Bulma had been supporting them all along.
Even though she knew it was all for Talot's sake, there was no denying that without Bulma's help these past years, many things would have been much more difficult, and their growth in strength would've surely been impacted.
In fact, in a way, Salari had gradually come to accept Bulma as a reliable support figure behind them.
It was just that competing for Talot's affection caused their relationship to swing between friendly and tense.
They pushed open the lab's doors and were greeted by an immensely spacious laboratory.
Bulma was working at the central workstation, surrounded by countless machines and robotic arms, all operating in perfect harmony under the control of intelligent systems and AI robots. The scene looked like a next-generation, massive-scale factory designed to produce specialized items.
Talot had no idea what Bulma was researching, but he was sure it was incredibly important.
[Truly astonishing… If this were brought into the world I came from, it could easily stand at the pinnacle of some scientific fields, completely unrivaled.] Talot marveled in his heart.
In his previous life's world, before his transmigration, technology had indeed been advancing rapidly, but compared to Earth in the Dragon Ball world, it was still far behind.
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