Cooperation

The next day, Turles arrived at the Mercenary Arena all by himself.

At the entrance of the arena, Bels stood with a smile, watching Turles approach with an elegant air.

"Mr. Turles, welcome to the Mercenary Arena. Please, this way!" As he spoke, Bels bowed slightly and gestured for him to enter.

"Mr. Bels, it is a pleasure to see you again. After you!" Seeing Bels being so courteous, Turles did not want to be difficult, so he responded with equal politeness.

The two exchanged pleasantries at the arena entrance for a while. Seeing that they were attracting the attention of many onlookers, Bels had no choice but to lead Turles inside.

They walked all the way to the reception room, exchanged a few more polite words, and then sat down as host and guest.

Turles sampled the fruit and desserts provided while watching the intense matches outside the floor-to-ceiling windows with interest, not speaking first.

After a long while, seeing that Turles truly had no intention of starting the conversation, Bels had to break the silence. "Mr. Turles, the Mercenary Alliance is truly sorry for what happened yesterday. To express our apologies, you must accept this gift!"

After saying this, Bels handed a black metal card to Turles.

Reaching out to take the metal card, Turles examined it carefully. Although he could not identify the specific material, he assumed it was something similar to a bank card on Earth.

Seeing Turles looking puzzled, Bels explained considerately, "This is a Black Gold Card issued by the Cosmic Business Alliance. It has a spending limit of 1 million and can be used on all intelligent planets under the jurisdiction of the Cosmic Business Alliance, the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance, and the Galactic Patrol. Naturally, this includes the North Galaxy."

Listening to Bels' introduction, Turles' expression became subtle. He looked at Bels with a half-smile and said, "Does the Galactic Emperor Frieza also recognize the reputation of the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance?"

"Hehe, you jest. King Frieza has a close trading relationship with the Cosmic Business Alliance, so he naturally gives the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance some face." Bels acted as if he hadn't noticed at all that Turles was showing absolutely no respect for Frieza, the emperor of the universe.

Turles nodded and said, "That's true. Frieza mainly deals in selling planets. If there weren't suitable buyers, he wouldn't bother with such a thankless task. And how could the wealthy tycoons capable of buying planets be without the Cosmic Business Alliance?"

Changing the subject, Turles added, "However, if it were just a misunderstanding, it doesn't seem like it would be worth this much, would it?"

Bels did not refute him; instead, he brought up another matter. "Mr. Turles, what do you think of the Mercenary Arena?"

"Hm?" Turles was taken aback by the question, but he immediately realized what was happening and said, "Not bad, it looks quite lively!"

Bels didn't take the bait and just stared at Turles.

Seeing this, Turles also fell silent. For a moment, the entire reception room became quiet.

After a long time, Turles spoke up. "Mr. Bels, I can probably guess your purpose in seeking me out. If you can agree to three conditions, I might consider it."

"Please, speak!"

"First, I need an ownerless life-bearing planet. Its location must be in the central region of the galaxy, and the planet's history must be clean, with no disputes!"

"Second, the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance must unconditionally help me search for my kin in the center of the galaxy until I leave the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance!"

"Third, I have the right to selectively execute missions for the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance; you are not to issue any mandatory missions!"

"Those are the three conditions. You may take some time to consider them."

After hearing Turles's conditions, Bels frowned slightly. Logically speaking, given the combat power Turles had displayed, these conditions were not harsh. However, if he agreed to them immediately, it would make the Mercenary Alliance appear too easy to push around.

"I can agree to these three conditions, but you must fight one match per year at the Obsidian Planet Mercenary Arena. We will decide the opponent, though, of course, their strength will certainly not exceed yours by too much!"

This time it was Turles's turn to frown. Pretending to consider it for a moment, Turles said with a hint of difficulty, "Helping you fight one match a year is nothing, but I certainly won't stay on Obsidian Planet forever. If the travel time back and forth is too long every time, then I won't be able to get anything else done!"

"You can rest assured about that. The Mercenary Alliance possesses Hyperspace Spaceships, which are 10 times faster than ordinary spaceships. It only takes one month to travel from the center of the galaxy to the furthest planet in the North Galaxy. If you live on a planet chosen for you by the Mercenary Alliance, it might only take half a day!"

"That fast?" Turles was somewhat shocked. He hadn't expected the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance to have such technology. If it were truly as Bels described, the speed of these spaceships would be no less than the speed at which Whis traveled through the universe.

If he had such a spaceship, the things he had been considering would have the conditions to be realized. Even going to Earth would no longer take a long time, and as long as he could reach Earth, he could use the Dragon Balls to make a wish, whether it was for the Instant Transmission skill or other desires.

"Whew!" Exhaling a long breath, Turles calmed his somewhat excited mood and asked Bels, "If I want to use this Hyperspace Spaceship, what are the conditions?"

Bels hadn't expected that Turles would actually want to use the Hyperspace Spaceship. After a moment of astonishment, he began to think. In the end, he decided to do Turles a favor and said, "If you want to use it now, I can take the initiative to apply for you immediately. However, it would be best if you fought this year's arena match soon; that way, when I apply to my superiors, I'll have an explanation."

Turles looked deeply at Bels and said slowly, "Fine, you can arrange it immediately. Opponents with 50,000 to 60,000 combat power are fine. Apply to your superiors as soon as possible; I need you to give me an answer quickly."

"Understood, I will arrange it immediately!" Bels stood up excitedly, bowed to Turles once more, and left the reception room.

Watching Bels's retreating back, Turles sat in his seat and began to think.

A series of events over the past two days had completely disrupted his plans.

Because of Frieza, Turles had initially been forced to leave the North Galaxy region and come to the center of the galaxy. Originally, his plan regarding the Dragon Balls was to go to Earth or Namek only after his own strength had a basic guarantee, so that even if he encountered Frieza, he could better maneuver around him.

He hadn't expected that not only would he accidentally encounter a descendant of the Namekians living abroad, but he would also establish a good relationship with Dero, which would be a huge help for his future quest for the Dragon Balls on Namek.

Moreover, he had now joined the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance and unexpectedly received news of the Hyperspace Spaceship, which would allow him to reach Earth or Namek in a very short time, directly dispelling his concerns. As expected, coming directly to the center of the galaxy was the right choice.

As for joining the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance, Turles didn't take it too much to heart. The Cosmic Mercenary Alliance could be considered a loose organization, relying mainly on absorbing various powerhouses in the universe to maintain itself. Except for some core members, the restrictions on ordinary mercenaries were not great. Even if he joined, the impact on Turles would be almost non-existent.

Besides, he had originally intended to find different powerhouses to fight in order to improve himself. The conditions proposed by Bels could only be said to be exactly what he wanted.

Although the plan had some unexpected turns, it was a good thing for Turles. After thinking it through, Turles felt refreshed. He stood up, stretched, and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window to continue enjoying the battle on the arena stage outside.

At this moment, the ones fighting on the stage were two aliens with combat power of less than 10,000. One of them was the alien with mantis-like arms who had fought Dero yesterday.

The Mantis-man was waving his arms, like two sharp blades constantly sealing off his opponent's space, and from time to time, energy blades would fly out, leaving cracks on the arena floor.

Facing the Mantis-man's incredibly sharp arms and energy blades, his opponent quickly fell into a difficult situation and eventually had no choice but to admit defeat.

Seeing this, Turles fell into deep thought, rubbing his chin, wondering how he would deal with such an opponent if he encountered one.

Come to think of it, the contestants who could fight in the Mercenary Arena did not have low combat power; at the very least, they all had a combat power of over 5,000, and they possessed unique trump cards, whether it was special racial talents or peculiar techniques.

Even Turles could potentially suffer a loss under these techniques if he were careless. Just like Captain Ginyu in the original story—if one didn't know his ability in advance, who could guard against it if they were caught off guard? Therefore, even though Turles's strength was great, he was still watching with great interest.

"It seems Turles is very interested in these!"

Suddenly, Bels's voice rang out, and Turles turned around upon hearing it.

Looking at the smile on Bels's face, Turles felt a stir in his heart and laughed, "It seems Mr. Bels has brought me some good news!"

"Hahaha! Mr. Turles is truly sharp!" Bels first offered a compliment, then continued, "Yes! Headquarters has approved the application. The spaceship has a vacancy in one month, and it will dock directly at Obsidian Planet at that time. You can use it as soon as it arrives."

"Also, your opponent has been matched. The fight is in three days, and their combat power is around 55,000."

Turles felt a secret thrill, but he didn't show it on his face, merely nodding in response.

After chatting with Bels for a while longer, Turles left the Mercenary Arena. However, he now wore a watch on his wrist—a Points Watch from the Mercenary Arena. As long as he defeated his opponents, he would accumulate points. These points could be used on all planets under the Mercenary Alliance and were interchangeable with the currency of the Cosmic Business Alliance. This was something Bels had given him at the very end.