c1: Start with a Sign-in System
"Boom! Boom!"
Lin Hao was awakened from a deep sleep by the deafening sound of explosions that shook the ground beneath him.
"What's going on!?"
"Earthquake?"
"No… this isn't right! Where am I? I clearly remember sleeping in my tiny rental apartment."
The trembling of the earth and the echoing blasts made Lin Hao instinctively think of a natural disaster, but when he hurriedly looked around, he found himself not in his room, but inside a vast, dense forest. The towering trees blocked out most of the sunlight, and in the distance, the faint roars of beasts echoed eerily.
"What the hell is this place?"
Lin Hao rubbed his eyes in disbelief. The atmosphere around him felt too real, too oppressive. The air was heavy, and he could even feel faint tremors in the ground, as if some powerful battle was raging not too far away.
"I wasn't kidnapped and dumped in some untouched jungle, right? But… who would even bother with me? I'm just an ordinary otaku, a guy who spends every day reading manga and watching anime. No one would go to such trouble for me!"
Before he could make sense of things, a crisp mechanical chime suddenly rang inside his head:
"Ding, daily sign-in system is being initialized… 10%… 30%… 70%… 100%. Binding complete. Congratulations, host! You may now check in for the first time."
"Nani?!"
Lin Hao froze, his heart skipping a beat.
"A system? Wait… is this my Goldfinger?!"
Overjoyed, he quickly tried calling out, "Hey, system! Are you there? Show me the interface!"
But there was only silence. Lin Hao's smile stiffened.
"Don't tell me I got stuck with one of those mute systems? In the novels, the systems are usually super-intelligent companions…"
Just as he was feeling disappointed, the mechanical voice chimed again:
"Ding! Host, would you like to start today's check-in and receive the novice gift package?"
His face lit up. "Of course! Hurry up, sign in now! Give me something good!"
"Ding! Congratulations, host. You have successfully checked in for the first day. You have obtained the Novice Gift Package. Would you like to open it?"
"Open it, no nonsense!"
"Ding! Congratulations, host, you have obtained the Legendary Super Saiyan bloodline and the ability to transform into Super Saiyan One."
"Ding! Congratulations, host, you have obtained the techniques: Bukūjutsu (Flight), Ki Sense, and the Kamehameha Wave!"
The consecutive prompts echoed like thunder in his mind, leaving Lin Hao stunned. His breathing quickened as realization dawned on him.
"This… this is the world of Dragon Ball! Those explosions earlier… don't tell me battles between martial artists were happening nearby?!"
A cold sweat ran down his back. He had read the manga countless times and knew all too well how dangerous this universe was. It was a world where a stray ki blast could erase entire mountains. Without overwhelming power, even surviving a day here was uncertain.
"Good thing I got this system. Without it, I'd probably be nothing more than fodder for some wild dinosaur or an unlucky casualty in someone else's battle."
He clenched his fists. "First things first, let's fuse with the Legendary Super Saiyan bloodline."
As soon as he gave the command, a violent surge tore through his body. Every cell screamed as if being ripped apart and reforged. His muscles tensed uncontrollably, golden sparks flickered faintly across his skin, and his heart pounded like a raging drum.
"Arghhh!"
The pain was unbearable. Lin Hao felt his consciousness slipping away, his vision going dark. At last, he could no longer endure it and collapsed, fainting in the middle of the forest.
Before fainting, Lin Hao even yelled and cursed in frustration:
"Damn it! Those web novels are all lies! They always say the system's rewards don't hurt. I've been completely deceived by those authors!"
His shout echoed through the forest before darkness consumed him.
It took several hours for Lin Hao's body to adapt to the overwhelming energy coursing through his veins. When he finally regained consciousness, sweat drenched his clothes and his breathing was ragged.
"It… hurts so bad… but it should have worked!"
Gritting his teeth, Lin Hao forced himself up. When he clenched his fists, a terrifying torrent of power erupted inside him. At the same time, countless fragments of knowledge appeared in his mind—control over ki, the flow of energy through meridians, the ability to sense life force just like Son Goku and Piccolo had demonstrated during the Saiyan Saga, and even the transformation method of the Legendary Super Saiyan.
"This is insane… For the first time in my life, I can feel a force like this! As someone who was just an ordinary person in my old world, I never dreamed I'd experience something beyond human comprehension."
Unable to suppress the excitement in his chest, Lin Hao raised his fist and punched a nearby rock wall with all his might.
"BOOM!"
A deafening sonic boom split the air. The impact shattered the cliffside, blowing a hole dozens of meters wide into the once-unbreakable stone. Boulders disintegrated into powder under the shockwave. The ground itself quaked and cracked, leaving behind an enormous crater with a deep fist mark etched into the earth.
Lin Hao staggered back a step, staring at the destruction with trembling pupils.
"S-so strong… And that was only a casual punch! If I really transformed into a Super Saiyan… would I blow this entire planet apart by accident?"
He swallowed hard, the thought both terrifying and intoxicating. The Dragon Ball manga had shown over and over how battles escalated—Piccolo's Special Beam Cannon piercing through mountains, Vegeta's Galick Gun threatening to wipe out Earth, and later arcs where entire stars were destroyed as collateral. To think he now wielded power on that level made his blood race.
Eager to confirm, Lin Hao called out to the system and pulled up his status panel.
Host: Lin Hao
Age: 18
Race: Saiyan (Legendary Variant)
Base Combat Power: 60,000,000
Super Saiyan (First Stage): 3,600,000,000
Skills: Ki Sense, Bukūjutsu (Flight), Kamehameha Wave
Backpack: —
Lin Hao's eyes narrowed. "So it's true… My base alone is tens of millions. During the Saiyan Saga, Vegeta only had 18,000. Even Frieza in his final form was 120 million. And my Super Saiyan combat power… 3.6 billion. That's already above Frieza's 100% full power."
Although amazed, he wasn't surprised. With the system giving him the Legendary Super Saiyan bloodline, it made sense he would stand at the peak of the early timeline.
Still, a nagging thought crept in. "But… what point in Dragon Ball's timeline am I in right now? If I landed too late, when beings like Cell, Majin Buu, or Beerus exist… even my strength might be nothing more than a warm-up for them."
—
Early the next morning.
Lin Hao stretched and climbed down from the tree trunk he had rested on overnight. The forest was peaceful now, only the occasional dinosaur roar in the distance. He decided he needed to confirm the era as soon as possible, preferably by finding a city or Capsule Corporation's technology.
Just as he was about to set off, the familiar electronic chime rang in his mind:
"Ding! A new day has arrived. Would the host like to sign in?"
Lin Hao's eyes lit up. "Sign in! Let's see what I get today."
"Ding! Congratulations to the host for successfully signing in. You have received: 5 Senzu Beans. Keep up the good work!"
Green beans materialized in his palm. Lin Hao's lips curved upward in relief. "Senzu Beans! In this world, they're priceless. Even Goku and Vegeta relied on them countless times against the Saiyans, Frieza, and Cell."
Carefully, he stored most of them in his backpack but popped one into his mouth. The taste was plain, but instantly, his fatigue, soreness, and hunger vanished. His body felt completely restored.
"Hah, perfect. Last night I had nothing to eat. These beans can not only cure wounds but keep me going for days without food. With this, I won't starve wandering this world."
After storing the remaining beans, Lin Hao rose into the air, using his newly acquired flight technique. The wind roared past him as he soared above the treetops, eyes scanning the horizon.
"Time to head toward civilization. If I can find West City or even a small village, I'll know exactly when I've landed in Dragon Ball history."
With that, his figure streaked through the morning sky, leaving only a thin white trail of ki in his wake.
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