Tights' Family

After a long journey, the two of them finally arrived in the city where Tights lived: the bustling metropolis of West City.

Entering West City felt like stepping into a futuristic world several eras ahead of the rest of the planet. There was no shortage of all sorts of incredible vehicles, and long skyways stretched overhead, carrying vehicle after vehicle through the air.

The technological divide on Earth was especially striking. Some peoples still lived in primitive tribal societies, some places had only just gained widespread access to electricity, while other regions had already developed advanced technology that could take them into space. Sometimes, two completely different worlds lay only a few hundred kilometers apart. With society so complex and diverse, it was hard to imagine how these different peoples managed to live together in harmony.

This was a testament to the diversity of Earth's civilizations and peoples.

The five cities with the most advanced technology on Earth were named after the four cardinal directions and the center. The central city served as the capital of the Earth Kingdom, while the other four were all modern metropolises. Their technology was a hundred years ahead of that in other regions—a truly astonishing gap.

On his first visit to West City, Roland marveled at its bustling streets. He thought that even many alien cities might not be as advanced as West City.

When it came to West City, the most famous name was undoubtedly Capsule Corporation, which had risen to prominence over the past few years. Founded by Dr. Brief, the company had swept across the world in just a few short years with its incredible Hoi-Poi Capsule technology. In West City, almost everyone knew of Capsule Corporation and Dr. Brief.

You could ask anyone on the street, and they would be able to tell you where Capsule Corporation's headquarters was.

"Come this way. That's my house over there." Tights walked ahead, pointing to a vast, five-story, hemispherical building.

"Your family's loaded."

Tights' home occupied a huge plot of land. Flowers and trees of all kinds grew around the house, and there was even a private swimming pool. The property looked more like an entire gated villa community. Just the annual water and electricity bills would have been beyond the means of an ordinary family.

With Tights leading the way, Roland entered the villa without a hitch and met Dr. Brief, Bulma's father. The unkempt genius wore a white lab coat, had a cigarette in his mouth, and sported messy, light-purple hair that fell over his ears.

When Dr. Brief saw his eldest daughter come home with a little boy, he asked curiously, "Tights, is this your new friend? No wonder you've never had a boyfriend—you like younger boys!"

Tights rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Roland's a friend I met while traveling."

"Oh, so he's not your boyfriend." Dr. Brief shook his head regretfully, then smiled and ushered Roland inside. "Help yourself to a drink. Sorry, my wife's busy looking after our younger daughter, so she couldn't welcome you right away."

"That's all right."

Roland watched Dr. Brief. A little while later, the doctor came over carrying drinks.

Tights tossed her backpack onto the sofa, took out the Four-Star Ball, and asked Dr. Brief, "Dad, can you make a radar that detects Dragon Ball signals based on this?"

Dr. Brief took the Dragon Ball and examined it. "No problem. As long as this ball emits electromagnetic waves, I should be able to develop an instrument that detects its unique signals. It'll just take a few days."

Tights grinned at Roland, looking pleased with herself. "I told you he could do it."

A smile appeared on Roland's face too.

Just then, Mrs. Brief came over with a little girl around four years old. Her eyes lit up when she saw Roland. "Oh, this is the first time Tights has brought a boy home! How cute. If he were a few years older, he could be Tights' boyfriend. Or, if you don't like Tights, Auntie wouldn't mind either."

"Mom!" Tights shouted at Mrs. Brief, her face darkening.

"Heh..." Roland gave an awkward laugh.

This family was really something.

As the saying went, "Birds of a feather flock together." Everyone in Tights' family was a character. Dr. Brief was a genius inventor, but he was always a mess. Mrs. Brief was still young at heart, liked flirting with handsome young men, and loved teasing her daughter. Tights and her younger sister Bulma were no stay-at-homes either; they loved spending time out and about.

"Are you my sister's friend?" came a babyish voice.

Roland saw a little girl with light-purple hair, a pair of pigtails, and the looks of a four-year-old.

"Bulma!"

Young Bulma was indeed adorable, but she was very wary of Roland and aimed the toy laser gun in her hands at him. Roland knew that the gun really could fire lasers.

"That's right. I'm Tights' friend."

"I'm not letting you have my sister," Bulma said seriously.

Roland couldn't help laughing. He wasn't about to argue with a little girl, and besides, there was nothing between him and Tights. They were too far apart in age.

After getting to know Tights' family, Tights began telling them about her travels. When she got to the part about losing her Hoi-Poi Capsule and nearly having to sleep on the street, before Roland had fortunately taken her in, Mrs. Brief and the others looked at him even more warmly.

Even Bulma thought this big brother seemed pretty nice.

After afternoon tea, the hosts and their guest chatted happily.

Mrs. Brief went to look after her cat, while Dr. Brief took the Dragon Ball and began working on the Dragon Radar. Only Bulma remained, listening eagerly to Tights' adventure stories, her eyes lighting up from time to time.

Since making the Dragon Radar would take a while, Roland stayed at Tights' house. The place was so large, with several unused rooms, that they could set one up for him without any trouble.

Once he was in his room, Roland washed away the dust and grime of the journey with a hot shower. Soaking in the warm water, he thought:

I already have one of the seven Dragon Balls. Once Dr. Brief finishes the Dragon Radar, I can go look for the rest. Hmm, aside from Master Roshi's, whose location is pretty clear, I have a lead on the one in Ox-King's castle too. I'll have to wait until the doctor builds the Dragon Radar to find the others!

With the Dragon Radar, the search would actually go quickly. In the original story, Bulma and Goku had traveled here and there for an entire summer before collecting all the Dragon Balls. Roland figured that with his own speed, he could do it even faster.

He could definitely summon Shenron before Planet Vegeta was destroyed.

"Tights' house really is luxurious. There are more than twenty rooms of all sizes, and when you add the living room, kitchen, laboratory, bathrooms, and everything else, there must be more than forty separate areas. The renovations alone must have cost a fortune! They really are rich."

Roland wasn't short of money himself. He had over a hundred million in his bank account, and the treasures he hadn't sold yet were probably worth tens of billions. But even so, he was nowhere near as rich as the world's wealthiest families.

Tights was a true heiress, yet she preferred the life of an adventurer. It was pretty interesting.

Come to think of it, little Bulma would grow up to be quite boy-crazy and provide most of the fan service in the early Dragon Ball story. By comparison, Tights was probably the most normal one in the family.