"Brother Talot, you're back?!"
Seeing Talot standing at the entrance, Bulma's face lit up with joy and surprise.
Her hands were still full of various mechanical parts, so it took her a while to suppress the urge to run over and hug Talot.
At first, Bulma hadn't noticed him. It wasn't until a breeze blew in and scattered her hair that she looked toward the entrance.
For Talot and the others, only three and a half months had passed, but for Bulma, it felt like an eternity.
"Yeah, I'm back. You're so focused, what are you researching?" Talot stepped into the lab and walked over to her, asking.
"It's nothing major. I'm just working on a new jet plane, improving the performance of the old model, and adding some offensive and defensive weaponry, plus a few extra novel features," Bulma replied without hiding anything, then glanced over at Salari and Gine, who had come with him, and greeted them.
"As expected of Bulma. You're already taking on such big responsibilities. With Earth's technology in your hands, it's advancing rapidly every moment," Gine praised her.
There was a look in her eyes almost as if she were looking at her daughter-in-law.
In truth, that wasn't far from reality.
Bulma had long been tacitly acknowledged by Gine as Talot's future wife, just like Salari.
"Auntie Gine, you flatter me. I'm only helping my dad make a few improvements," Bulma replied modestly in front of Talot.
Even though she was quite proud inside, she didn't show it.
Salari stood silently at the side the whole time.
Actually, between the two of them, just a glance was enough to understand each other's thoughts.
What surprised Bulma was how quiet Salari was this time.
Normally, she wouldn't be able to resist making a few playful jabs, right?
Their eyes met, and Bulma more or less figured out why Salari was staying quiet.
It was a truce; after all, they had just gotten back. No arguments today.
Only the two of them understood this unspoken agreement.
After exchanging a few words, Talot noticed the Dragon Radar parts laid out on the table and asked curiously.
Bulma didn't hesitate and began explaining: "A few days ago, Goku came to me because the Dragon Radar got damaged. According to him, he ran into some people from the Red Ribbon Army and clashed with them while trying to stop their destruction. During the fight, the Dragon Radar accidentally got damaged, so I made him a new one. As for this one, I'm planning to repurpose the old parts into something new."
As she spoke, Bulma casually and perhaps intentionally gathered up the sketches on the table.
It seemed like they contained something that couldn't be shown to others.
"Red Ribbon Army?" Talot was slightly stunned upon hearing that.
As a transmigrator, he was definitely no stranger to the Red Ribbon Army.
Anyone who's watched Dragon Ball knows what that army represents.
Although at this time, the Red Ribbon Army was just a terrorist organization, in the future, remnants of their army and a few mad scientists would go on to create one legend after another.
Especially the mad scientist Dr. Gero; this old guy was essentially the forefather of Android creation.
In particular, during the middle of the Z era, the Androids he created—16, 17, and 18—were his most successful creations.
Besides those three, of course, there was also the ultimate Android, Cell.
Whether this world had Android 13, 14, and 15, who could absorb their companions' computer chip and evolve, was still a mystery.
That was Dr. Gero in the Z era.
In an even more distant future, Dr. Gero's grandson, whose talent was even more monstrous, created Gamma 1 and Gamma 2, who were strong enough to suppress Piccolo, who went through the baptism of the Tournament of Power, and Son Gohan in his mystic state.
What was even more terrifying was that he also created an even stronger Cell Max. Even though it was only a semi-complete product, its terrifying power required Gohan to awaken his Beast form to defeat it.
[I wonder if, at this point in time, Lazuli and Lapis have already been captured and forcibly modified by Dr. Gero?] he thought silently. If they hadn't yet, maybe...
As his thoughts reached this point, Talot suddenly pushed them out of his mind.
Some things, if changed, might be for the better, but others, if changed, would be completely different.
"Brother Talot, have you ever heard of the Red Ribbon Army?" Seeing Talot silently deep in thought, Bulma asked curiously.
"I have heard of them. They're supposed to be an evil force on Earth, right? If Kakarot's going up against them, that army's probably going to get wiped out," Talot replied naturally.
Rather than pretend he didn't know, it was better to just admit it.
After all, having lived on Earth for so many years, it wasn't strange to know a few things.
"That child is just too stubborn, he insists on getting that Four-Star Dragon Ball back. I just hope he doesn't stir up too much trouble," Gine sighed.
She had spent over a decade raising Kakarot, and the love and care she gave him surpassed what she gave to Raditz, Talot, and even Salari.
That was only natural, especially since Kakarot had always been the weakest among them.
"Auntie Gine, there's no need to worry. Kakarot's power level is over 200. On Earth, there's almost no one who can pose a threat to him," Salari offered a word of comfort to Gine.
"Actually, this might be a good thing. A three-year journey around the world for training, that was his own decision. Facing greater challenges is the only way for him to grow stronger! He's not like the rest of us, but I believe that someday he'll become unbelievably powerful, maybe even surpass you, Salari," Talot said with a grin, teasing Salari.
Salari was a little displeased at his words, but she seemed to take it as Talot trying to comfort Auntie Gine, so she went along with it.
But she had no way of knowing just how powerful Kakarot would one day become.
If Salari and Kakarot had started at the same time, in the same era, from the same point, she would definitely have been left far behind.
Especially after the Great Universe Era of the Z's storyline began, his rate of improvement became unimaginably fast.
Leaving Kakarot's situation aside, the group continued chatting and laughing as they walked out of the lab.
Naturally, Bulma went with them. With Talot back, she had no mood in continuing her research.
Especially after hearing that Talot and the others planned to live peacefully on Earth for a while, on a whim, she suddenly voiced her original plan to travel the world with Goku for a while.
Now that Talot had returned, they could travel the world together, or even go on a journey through the universe.
Bulma's initiative wasn't rejected by Talot this time, though the trip would have to include Salari and Gine as well.
As for Raditz, Talot left him out of the plans.
This wasn't the time to interrupt Raditz's love-life.
Bulma was very happy because she had been feeling quite bored lately. Traveling the world on vacation with someone she liked, even if there was a love rival around, didn't matter much to her.
She had great confidence in her own charms.
For an entire day, the group wandered around various malls and scenic spots in West City with Bulma accompanying them. It was a way to make up for all the years they had spent constantly training, never once taking a break like this.
The last time things had been this carefree was probably over ten years ago, back when they had first arrived on Earth.
Even then, it didn't compare to now, because now, they truly didn't have so many worries on their minds.
By the end of the day, Talot and Salari had experienced firsthand how, sometimes, living as ordinary people could be a very pleasant thing, at least it came with less pressure.
Of course, that was mostly because Bulma had money, so there was no need to worry about financial burdens.
As a transmigrator, Talot understood deeply that in a normal person's world, without money, power, or influence, life was incredibly difficult.
Just like in a world where the strong prey on the weak. Without strength, you're just an insect.
That night, under Bulma's arrangements, the group went to a high-end restaurant for dinner.
Once again, it was eye-opening for Talot.
Of course, it was also for Salari and Gine, even though they came from space and had seen much, Earth's level of civilization was still quite unlike the average planet.
If not for their strength and experience, the average person would've felt completely out of place in such a venue.
The dinner even caused a bit of a stir.
This was clearly a place only for Earth's upper class. People came here either to network, maintain social connections, or engage in those little games between men and women.
Yet it became the main stage for Talot, Salari, and Gine.
They ate a lot, which couldn't be helped.
Thankfully, Bulma had more than enough money. As the heiress of Capsule Corporation, the top company on Earth and daughter of the world's richest man, she could afford it.
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