"Bam!"
When Hao Shuai appeared again, he hadn't even had time to look around before he suddenly felt something hit him. He flew two or three meters through the air, then landed face-first on the ground.
"I'm sorry! Are you all right? You suddenly appeared in the middle of the road, and I couldn't stop in time!" Just as Hao Shuai was feeling dazed from the impact, he heard a clear voice from nearby.
Hao Shuai finally managed to sit up and shook his dizzy head. He was relieved that his Golden Bell Shield Iron Cloth Shirt had reached mastery; that was the only reason he'd come through unscathed. Otherwise, he'd probably have ended up dead or badly injured.
At the same time, he grumbled inwardly about how the Chaos Bead was getting more and more unreliable with these transmigrations. This time, he'd been hit by a car. Who knew what might happen next? What if he really ended up on a battlefield or in outer space? It looked like he needed to work harder on training his body.
Once he'd recovered, Hao Shuai looked toward the driver responsible and saw that she was a girl, about sixteen or seventeen, with a youthful air. She had a lake-blue ponytail and wore a pink dress. Her face was youthful and delicate.
The moment he saw her, Hao Shuai knew who she was.
He felt that he'd gotten lucky this time. He'd only just arrived in this world, and he'd already met his target: the genius, lovestruck girl Bulma.
That was right—Hao Shuai had come to the world of Dragon Ball. As one of the representative works of Japanese manga, Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball had carried the childhood memories of countless people. Goku and his friends' hilarious adventures centered around the Dragon Balls had captured people's hearts, filling them with laughter and excitement while also giving them plenty to reflect on.
Nostalgia was one reason Hao Shuai had come to this world, but his main targets were the Dragon Balls and the beautiful girl standing before him. After hearing rumors about the Dragon Balls, she'd managed to invent a Dragon Radar all by herself. Later on, she'd even build a machine capable of traveling through time.
"Oh my gosh! He's so handsome!" Bulma gazed at Hao Shuai, and in an instant, she felt herself falling in love. Her cheeks reddened, and she shyly lowered her head.
"I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hit you. My name is Bulma, and I'm from West City. I'm sixteen, and I don't have a boyfriend." Bulma covered her flushed cheeks as she apologized to Hao Shuai, not daring to look him in the eye.
"I'm fine. It wasn't your fault; I appeared out of nowhere. Oh, and my name is Hao Shuai." Hao Shuai knew that the accident hadn't been Bulma's fault. It was his own doing.
"S-so polite... Mr. Hao... and so... handsome..." His simple reply only made Bulma blush even harder. Who knew what she was thinking?
Seeing Bulma's reaction, Hao Shuai got a clear idea of just how lovestruck she was. No wonder she'd wanted to use the Dragon Balls to wish for a boyfriend. What normal person would do something like that?!
With a face like his, she'd probably agree to help him upgrade Red Queen, wouldn't she?
"Mr. Hao, can you stand?" Bulma asked, finally coming out of her lovestruck daze.
"Standing's no problem, but my foot still hurts a little. I don't think I can walk for now." Hao Shuai pretended to be in pain.
"Then get in my car! I'll give you a ride." Bulma looked at him expectantly.
"Thanks, then!" Hao Shuai replied politely. With Bulma's help, he got into her car, a little vehicle shaped like a beetle.
"Mr. Hao, where are you going?" Bulma asked as she drove, sneaking glances at him.
"Just call me Brother Hao. I'll call you Bulma. I don't have anywhere in particular to go. I'm just traveling and exploring, wherever the road takes me," Hao Shuai bluffed.
"Brother Hao, I'm exploring for treasure too. Why don't we go together?" Bulma seized the chance to invite him, thinking how wonderful it would be to explore alongside Brother Hao.
"Sure! I don't have any particular plans, so let's go together." Hao Shuai agreed at once, though inwardly he grumbled: This is what I love about action-comedy anime worlds. You can make friends so easily, and nobody's the least bit wary.
As the two chatted aimlessly, a little boy dragging a huge fish appeared in the middle of the road. Bulma was still sneaking glances at Hao Shuai and didn't notice him at all.
"Bulma, brake! There's someone ahead!" Hao Shuai hurriedly warned her.
Bulma looked ahead and slammed on the brakes, but the car was still going too fast. It hit the little boy and his fish, sending them flying seven or eight meters.
"I-I hit someone again!" Bulma clutched the steering wheel and shut her eyes in panic.
"Don't worry. The boy's fine." Hao Shuai patted Bulma on the shoulder. He was speechless inside. Bulma was a textbook example of a menace on the road!
"He's still alive!" Bulma leaned out the window to look at the little boy and exclaimed in surprise.
"Come on, let's get out and check on him." Hao Shuai had spotted the boy's blue-purple martial arts uniform, white belt, short staff strapped to his back, and fluffy tail. With that unmistakable spiky hair, he knew who Bulma had hit. He also knew the boy would soon pick up the car and throw it, so he hurriedly spoke up.
The little boy had approached them angrily, but when he saw two people step out of what he thought was a monster, he didn't know what to do.
"I'm sorry, little guy. I hit you. Are you all right?" Hao Shuai asked.
"I'm fine!" the boy replied innocently.
"What's your name, little guy?"
"Big brother, my name is Son Goku!" the boy answered Hao Shuai with childlike innocence.
As expected, it was Son Goku, the protagonist of this world. The power levels in Dragon Ball were truly absurd. The early parts were manageable, but once Vegeta came to Earth, people started blowing up planets at the drop of a hat. Destroying Earth was as easy as crushing a tomato. If you couldn't blow up a planet, you could hardly call yourself a Martial Artist.
And Son Goku in particular was already capable of taking bullets. In just a few years, he'd grow into someone who could casually blow up planets. He was ridiculous.
No, he was a Saiyan. His entire species was ridiculous.
Luckily, Hao Shuai had arrived in the early part of Dragon Ball. Son Goku, who would one day become absurdly powerful, was still just an innocent kid. As long as Hao Shuai didn't go looking for trouble, he'd be safe for now.
"Can I call you Goku? I'm Hao Shuai, and this is my friend Bulma." Hao Shuai introduced them.
While Hao Shuai was speaking, Goku walked in circles around the pair, sizing them up.
"Huh? Why don't you have tails? You don't have tails, just like Grandpa!" Son Goku reached out to pat Hao Shuai's butt.
Hao Shuai quickly jumped aside and said, "Uh, not everyone has a tail!"
Well, Hao Shuai didn't know how to explain it either. Fortunately, Goku didn't dwell on the question of tails.
"Why did you come out of the monster's belly?" Goku knocked on the car door and asked curiously.
"This isn't a monster. It's my car." Bulma had just recovered from the second car accident. Seeing Goku hit her car with all his might, she hurriedly stopped him.
"A car? Is this the car Grandpa told me about? Did you come from the city?" Goku asked.
"Yeah," Bulma replied.
"Great! Why don't you come to my house? You're from the city, and you're the first people I've seen besides Grandpa. I'll give you a special welcome!" Goku invited them happily.
"Then we'd be glad to accept your invitation, Goku!" Hao Shuai agreed.
Bulma didn't object when she saw Hao Shuai agree. Her mind was full of him now; she'd completely forgotten about finding the Dragon Balls.
When Goku saw that they'd agreed, he ran to the big fish and hoisted it onto his shoulder, leading the way. Hao Shuai and Bulma followed behind in the car.
"Brother Hao, why are we going to this strange person's house?" Bulma asked curiously after she came to her senses in the car.
"Goku seems innocent and hospitable. It'd be rude to turn him down. Besides, didn't you say there's a Dragon Ball somewhere nearby? Goku probably lives around here, so we can ask him to help us look for it," Hao Shuai bluffed. He couldn't very well say, I know there's a Dragon Ball at Goku's house, could he?
Before you continue