Looking for the Dragon Balls

It didn't take long for them to reach Goku's home: a square house with a roof in the traditional Chinese style. Two "fortune" characters were pasted on the front door.

Goku dropped the giant fish at the entrance, pushed open the door, and called inside, "Grandpa, I'm back!"

Hao Shuai and Bulma followed him in. Goku stood motionless in front of a table.

"What's wrong?" Bulma asked.

"Grandpa. Grandpa's talking!" Goku said.

"Huh? Didn't your grandpa die? Ah! I've got it—it's a Dragon Ball!" Bulma shoved Goku aside and picked up the Four-Star Dragon Ball.

"Hey! Don't touch Grandpa!" Goku said, pushing at Bulma's waist.

"Grandpa? You mean this?" Bulma asked, pointing at the Dragon Ball.

Goku snatched it back. "Yeah! It's the only thing Grandpa left me. Even if you're guests, you're not allowed to touch it!"

"So this is a Dragon Ball?" Hao Shuai stepped closer and examined it at close range.

"You know about the Dragon Balls too?" Bulma asked in surprise.

"Yeah. I heard the legends while traveling around, but this is the first time I've seen a real Dragon Ball. I never thought the legends were true."

"Look, Grandpa's glowing. It's like he wants to tell me something. He's never done this before." Goku held the Dragon Ball in both hands.

Bulma sighed helplessly. "There's no helping it. I'll just explain it to you." She took two Dragon Balls out of her waist pouch.

Then she told Goku the legend of the Dragon Balls and asked to borrow his, but he refused no matter what she said.

Bulma tried to talk Goku around, even resorting to seduction, but he wouldn't budge. Nothing she said changed his mind. Hao Shuai, however, got quite an eyeful.

"Goku, do you want to become even stronger? As strong as your grandpa? And do you want to eat delicious food until you're full every day?" Hao Shuai finally couldn't take watching anymore. He walked up to Goku, ruffled his spiky hair, and coaxed him.

"I do!" At Hao Shuai's words, Goku nearly drooled onto the floor.

"Then come with us to look for the Dragon Balls! You'll get to fight all kinds of strong people. And there's lots of delicious food in the outside world."

"Okay! Okay! Okay! I'll go with you to find the Dragon Balls!" Goku readily agreed.

"Brother Hao, you're amazing! You got him to agree just like that!" Bulma gazed at Hao Shuai with adoration.

Seeing Bulma acting starstruck again, Hao Shuai felt helpless. It wasn't that hard. For a glutton and battle maniac like Son Goku, anywhere with food and fights was paradise.

And so, their three-person treasure-hunting team was officially formed.

With three people now, Bulma's Beetle car wasn't big enough. She took a box from her pocket, pulled out a capsule, pressed the button, and tossed it onto the ground. With a "Boom," a cloud of white smoke burst out, and it became a four-seat car.

When he saw Bulma use a Hoi-Poi Capsule, Hao Shuai's eyes lit up. He'd been so focused on the Dragon Balls and Red Queen that he'd forgotten these capsules were treasures too!

They weren't much use to Hao Shuai himself, but he could give them to his future subordinates! They'd be especially useful for transporting food and supplies during future military campaigns—a total cheat code!

The inventor of the Hoi-Poi Capsules was Bulma's father, wasn't he? The company owned by Bulma's family was probably the biggest commercial enterprise in the world. All the Hoi-Poi Capsules around the globe were made by her family!

So if Hao Shuai wanted to get his hands on Hoi-Poi Capsules, he'd have to live off a woman?!

Looking at the youthful, beautiful Bulma before him, Hao Shuai wondered: Should he go for it, or go for it, or go for it?

What a difficult choice!

When faced with a choice like this, Hao Shuai always stuck to one principle: only children made choices; adults took everything.

Bulma noticed Hao Shuai staring at her again. Two pink clouds bloomed on her cheeks as she asked sweetly,

"What are you looking at?"

"You're pretty," Hao Shuai said. As a scumbag—no, as a gentleman—he obviously wasn't going to tell her he was thinking about how to live off her.

"Really? Have you fallen for me?" Bulma cupped her cheeks and turned her back to Hao Shuai, asking in delight.

"Uh..." Seeing Bulma acting starstruck yet again, Hao Shuai began to regret his choice a little.

"I'll drive. You give me directions." Hao Shuai changed the subject and got into the driver's seat. After all, they'd had two car accidents, and he didn't dare let Bulma drive anymore.

Once they were both seated, Hao Shuai saw Goku still poking the car with his staff, muttering, "What kind of monster is this? I wonder if it's edible."

Hao Shuai felt exhausted. Did he really want to travel with them? One was an innocent child who knew nothing about the world, pure as a blank sheet of paper, and the other was a lovestruck menace to the roads. Would he end up worn out from looking after them before they even found the Dragon Balls?

Hao Shuai shook his head, trying to dispel his regret. He got out and explained what a car was to Goku, then opened the door and helped him climb in.

And so, an impossibly handsome young man, an adorable little boy, and a beautiful young woman set off together on their adventure to find the Dragon Balls.

With Hao Shuai, a seasoned driver, at the wheel, the car sped west.

Just then, Bulma blushed and said to Hao Shuai, "Brother Hao, could you pull over? I need to get out for a moment."

"Sure!" One look at Bulma's expression told the seasoned driver Hao Shuai what she needed to do.

"Sorry, you two. Wait here for a moment. I'll be right back." As soon as the car stopped, Bulma got out and ran behind a large rock.

"Huh? What's wrong? Where are you going?" Goku leaned his head out and asked.

"Goku, Bulma's going to the bathroom!" Hao Shuai got out too and explained on her behalf.

"What? She just needs to pee?" Goku jumped out through the window and looked at Bulma's back. "She could just pee right here! What a strange girl."

Hao Shuai was about to explain the difference between men and women when Bulma suddenly cried out in a drawn-out voice from behind the rock, "Heeelp!"

Hao Shuai and Goku hurried behind the rock. A ten-meter-tall dinosaur stood there, with two large wings and a body like a pterosaur. Its claws were gripping Bulma.

The dinosaur even spoke: "Two more people, huh? Who are you?"

"My name's Son Goku. Are you her friend?" Goku asked, looking at the dinosaur.

Hao Shuai, meanwhile, stared blankly at the dinosaur. He'd known animals could talk in this world, but seeing one with his own eyes was still a little strange.

He sensed the dinosaur's strength. It was huge, but still just a beast of flesh and blood. In other worlds, an animal would need at least several hundred years of cultivation to speak like a human.

While Hao Shuai was distracted, the dinosaur pulled out a rope and prepared to tie up him and Goku.

"Goku, it's a monster! It's going to eat Bulma!" Hao Shuai dodged the dinosaur's reaching claw, pushed off the ground, and shot toward it. He focused all his strength into his right hand and punched the dinosaur in the head.

Bang!

His fist struck something hard with a loud thud. Hao Shuai felt as if he'd punched a rock, and his right hand went numb.

Hao Shuai landed, and the dinosaur's body slowly toppled over. Its skin and bones were hard, but the An Jin he'd sent into its body had crushed its brain.

"Help!" As the dinosaur died, Bulma felt its grip loosen and began to fall.

Hao Shuai stepped forward and caught her.

"He's handsome and strong. I really want to be Brother Hao's girlfriend!" Bulma gazed at Hao Shuai with affection as he held her.

One look at Bulma's expression told Hao Shuai she was lovestruck again. He was used to it by now.

"Wow, Brother Hao, you're amazing! You killed that monster with just one punch!" Goku gazed at Hao Shuai with shining eyes.

"Bulma, go to the bathroom first. We'll rest here. It's lunchtime anyway. Goku, are you hungry?" Hao Shuai set Bulma down and asked Goku.

"Brother Hao, how did you know I was hungry? This monster has so much meat. We can have a big, hearty meal!" Goku said happily.

"Then go cook the meat, Goku!" Hao Shuai told him.

Hao Shuai wanted to try dinosaur meat too. As for whether the fact that the dinosaur could talk would make eating it awkward, Hao Shuai thought everyone was overthinking it. For Hao Shuai, a glutton born in China, every four-legged thing was edible except tables, and every two-legged thing was edible except people. There was nothing he wouldn't eat.