A Member of the Frieza Force

After getting a stick of Xijin from Sephiria, Roland parted ways with her and wandered alone through the busy shopping district. As he browsed the shops around him, he searched for a place selling Star Maps.

The shops in Planet Oron's commercial district sold all kinds of goods. Since it was a small trading planet, most of the products were common throughout the Macrocosm, such as battle suits, energy emitters, and Scouters. There were also local specialties from some of the nearby planets.

As he wandered along the street and browsed through one shop after another, Roland saw the prices marked on the goods and immediately felt the pinch.

Sephiria had given him a stick of Xijin, which had tremendous purchasing power, but it was meant to buy a Star Map. Roland had no extra money for anything else.

Disappointed, he left the shop and found one that specialized in spaceships. Surely they would have compatible Star Maps. The shop sold personal spacecraft, less than ten meters long, suitable for short interstellar trips. They cost about one Xijin.

After talking with the clerk for a while, Roland got himself a brand-new Star Map.

"This one contains information on all the planets in the western part of the North Galaxy. If you have a suitable spaceship, just connect it to the ship's computer." The clerk took out a dark cube with a smooth, flat surface. It looked as though it had no man-made features at all.

"Can it display the Star Map directly?" Roland examined the cube in his hand. It looked like a little puzzle cube.

"Certainly. Just press two opposite corners of the cube, and the Star Map will appear in midair."

Roland nodded and pressed two opposite corners as instructed. A deep blue light immediately shone from the cube, projecting a starry expanse of space into the air. Spiral galaxies slowly revolved across it, each one resembling the Milky Way from his previous life.

In the Dragon Ball world, the North Galaxy encompassed tens of thousands of galaxies like these.

When he touched the projection, the galaxies automatically zoomed in and out according to his gestures. Every planet within them was marked with its name and coordinates.

Looking at the fantastical starry projection before him, Roland nodded in satisfaction. Then, following the location Hertz had given him, he found the part of space where Planet Sadala should have been. Unfortunately, there was nothing there. No trace of Planet Sadala remained.

As expected, Planet Sadala had been destroyed long ago.

With a tinge of regret, he turned off the Star Map and asked how much it cost. "About how much is this?"

The clerk replied, "This Star Map covers most of the western North Galaxy, so it's rather expensive..."

"One Xijin," Roland said bluntly.

The clerk said, "All right. I see you know your stuff."

Star Map Cubes of this kind were standard equipment on spaceships. A personal spacecraft cost only one Xijin, so the Star Map couldn't possibly be very expensive. A large Star Map recording the entire North Galaxy would cost at least fifty Xijin, but his little shop didn't sell such advanced maps.

In the end, Roland bought the Star Map Cube for one Xijin, then left the shop as the clerk watched him go.

Turning the dark cube over in his hands, Roland realized he was completely out of money. Even if he wanted to buy anything else, he couldn't afford it.

Should I go get some money...

After thinking it over, Roland shook his head.

Robbing people on a trading planet was a bad idea. One careless move could bring down the security forces, and he might even end up wanted across the Macrocosm. Roland wasn't necessarily afraid of that, but it was better to follow the rules while he was on a trading planet.

His most valuable possessions were Senzu Beans and Hoi-Poi Capsules, but neither was suitable for bringing out into the wider universe just yet. After weighing his options, Roland had no choice but to give up on selling goods for Xijin.

You can't get by in the universe without money. Even Frieza has to sell planets to pay his men's salaries. Should I set up a trading planet of my own someday? Lost in wild ideas, Roland's small figure wandered down the street.

Suddenly, an alien wearing a Frieza Legion battle suit caught his eye.

"A member of the Frieza Force."

Roland's expression turned serious, and he quickly concealed his Ki. A moment later, he spotted several more members of the Frieza Force walking together.

One of them caught his attention: an alien with pink skin and spikes covering his body. It was none other than Dodoria, Frieza's trusted right-hand man.

"The nearby planets are clear of Saiyans, sir. They should all have been wiped out," said a chicken-headed alien obsequiously.

Dodoria tore at the meat in his hand and sneered. "My men have taken plenty of losses hunting down those Saiyans, but at least those annoying Saiyan monkeys have all been eliminated. Hmm, get in touch with Zarbon's group. We can head back."

"Yes, sir!" the alien beside him answered loudly.

"Those Saiyans made me waste a whole year out here." Dodoria sneered. He and Zarbon had been running around for more than a year to hunt down the Saiyans, and he had long wanted to return to headquarters.

At that moment, Dodoria glanced to the side, his gaze sweeping over Roland. The tuft of black hair caught his attention, but in the next instant, the figure vanished from sight.

Dodoria rubbed his eyes, puzzled. "Am I seeing things? I thought I saw a Saiyan just now. Never mind. Let's meet up with Zarbon as soon as possible."

Careless as ever, Dodoria didn't give the odd sight a second thought. His subordinates hadn't gotten a clear look at Roland either, so none of them paid it any mind.

Meanwhile, Roland had used the Transfer Technique to move himself into a nearby alley. Cold sweat poured down his back, and his expression darkened.

That bastard Dodoria was on Planet Oron too. Zarbon might even be here.

No, he had to warn Sephiria right away. It would be disastrous if she ran into Dodoria and his men. Both Dodoria and Zarbon had power levels above twenty thousand. Sephiria was strong too, but she certainly wasn't their match right now.

With that thought, Roland quickly searched for Sephiria's Ki and soon pinpointed her location.

He focused for a moment, then activated the Transfer Technique.

A few kilometers away, Sephiria was in a shop choosing a new style of battle suit. The suits here looked much better than those of the Frieza Force.

Just as she took off her clothes to try one on, Roland's figure flickered into view in front of her.