Inheritance

"Hi, I'm Jiang Ling."

Jiang Ling said with easy familiarity.

Of course. In his own world, he and Bulma were closer than close.

They played games together every night. How could they not be close?

Bulma smiled warmly and nodded. "Hello, welcome, Jiang Ling."

She invited him into the living room for tea.

Then she noticed the tail behind Jiang Ling, and her memories instantly returned to her childhood adventures with Goku.

She couldn't help feeling puzzled.

"Jiang Ling, are you a Saiyan? Why don't I remember anything about you? Did you know me in the past?"

Bulma asked curiously.

"..."

Jiang Ling cleared his throat. "I'm a Saiyan, but I never appeared in your timeline."

"In my timeline, I know you, and you're my partner..."

"Huh?!" Bulma was surprised. She blinked, then turned to look at Trunks, her eyes full of questions.

"That's right, Mom."

Trunks nodded. "I saw him living with the younger you. You even kissed. You should be ashamed!"

Smack!

Bulma rapped Trunks on the head.

She turned to Jiang Ling and smiled sheepishly.

"That child's always been like this. He's too straightforward and doesn't understand anything."

Jiang Ling smiled and nodded. "He's old enough. You should give him the talk. It'd be nice to have a grandchild sooner rather than later."

"Ah, it's not very convenient for me as a woman... Could I ask you to handle it?"

"No problem!" Jiang Ling agreed at once.

Bulma sized him up.

Then she nodded.

He really did fit her taste.

Handsome, dashing, and strong.

Bulma covered her mouth and chuckled. "In that case, you're one of us."

Trunks chimed in, "So should I call you..."

"That's right!" Jiang Ling nodded solemnly. "We can each use our own terms. I'll call you little brother, and you can call me Dad."

Trunks answered with his middle finger.

Bulma rolled her eyes. "Trunks, don't be so rude."

Jiang Ling's mouth twitched. He was only being rude because he'd learned it from her. She'd flashed her middle finger plenty of times when she was young.

After chatting for a while, they became much more familiar with one another.

After dinner, Jiang Ling was settled in an empty room.

He hadn't forgotten Bulma's request.

He went to Trunks's room.

Solemnly, he handed Trunks a flash drive with over a hundred terabytes of storage.

Trunks asked, "What's this?"

Jiang Ling said with a serious expression:

"In this era of cultural collapse, natural and man-made disasters, and suffering everywhere, this thing is a treasure!

It's a priceless legacy for the continuation of civilization!

It's a place to entrust the material and spiritual!

It's a comfort in the apocalypse!"

"This is the inheritance between men!!"

Trunks listened, instantly filled with reverence. He said he'd go study it right away!

"Good luck!"

Jiang Ling left him with those words, then sauntered back to his room.

He lay down on the bed.

He closed his eyes, trying to fall asleep.

But Bulma's mature figure kept appearing before his eyes.

Her fair, smooth skin.

Her curvy figure.

Her beautiful, mature face, still full of youthful charm.

Her gentle smile...

Jiang Ling tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep.

He finally drifted off around midnight.

Early the next morning.

Jiang Ling showed up with dark circles under his eyes.

He came to the dining room.

Trunks was yawning too, with even darker circles under his eyes.

"Whoa, Trunks, you didn't sleep at all last night!" Jiang Ling teased.

Trunks scratched his head and said awkwardly, "I got so absorbed in it..."

"I understand. Young men are full of energy, but you still need to take care of yourself."

Just then, Bulma came out of the kitchen carrying breakfast.

She was yawning too. She didn't have dark circles, but she looked exhausted.

"Bulma, what's wrong?"

Jiang Ling asked curiously.

Bulma glanced at him, her face turning slightly red.

"I couldn't sleep last night."

Actually, after meeting Jiang Ling, she'd inexplicably felt stirred up that night.

She reached under her pillow and took out a toy.

After breakfast.

Trunks suggested they train.

Jiang Ling thought for a moment, then said, "I'll take you somewhere great for training. You can make rapid progress there."

"?"

"Is there really a place like that?"

Trunks was confused.

He usually trained out in the wilderness or in the base's training room.

And after living here for over a decade, he'd never heard of such a place.

Jiang Ling took Trunks out of the base and flew straight toward the Temple of the Gods.

When they reached the Temple of the Gods, they landed in the courtyard.

The surroundings were dilapidated and overgrown with weeds.

There were also many signs of battle.

It seemed the androids' battles had once reached the Temple of the Gods as well.

Jiang Ling couldn't help sighing.

Everything had changed.

The two timelines had gone in completely different directions.

"Jiang Ling, why did you bring me here? There's nothing useful left."

Trunks said.

Jiang Ling laughed. "Nothing useful? Then why is the Temple of the Gods still floating in the sky? It must have some kind of energy source!"

"But we're not here to happily look for energy."

"Then what are we looking for?"

"The Hyperbolic Time Chamber!"

"?"

Seeing Trunks's confused expression, Jiang Ling smiled. "You'll find out in a moment."

With that, he walked straight into the Temple of the Gods.

He'd trained in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber in his own timeline before, so he knew exactly where it was.

He went to the chamber's entrance and gently opened the door.

Then he led Trunks inside.

As soon as the door closed,

the scene before them changed, and Trunks even took up a fighting stance.

Jiang Ling breathed a sigh of relief and stopped him.

"This is the Hyperbolic Time Chamber."

"One day outside is a year inside. It's perfect for training!"

"Holy crap, really?"

Trunks got excited.

Jiang Ling laughed.

"Yep. If you don't believe me, train for a day first, then go out and see how much time has passed,"

After a day in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber.

Jiang Ling and Trunks stopped fighting.

Jiang Ling wiped off his sweat and said, "Let's head out and see how much time has passed outside. It should be just one day. I'm hungry too."

"Once we're out, let's bring back some supplies. Then we can train for a whole year."

Trunks nodded. "Okay!"

They left the Hyperbolic Time Chamber and returned home.

When Trunks saw the date and time on the electronic clock, he got excited.

Just as expected, hardly any time had passed!

"Mom, I'm hungry!"

"Didn't you just eat breakfast?"

"I'm hungry!"

"All right, all right."

Bulma said indulgently.

After they finished eating.

Jiang Ling and Trunks went out to prepare supplies.

The base didn't have enough food to last them a year.

They found some food and hunted some beasts. They put the prepared meat in the freezer.

Then Jiang Ling and Trunks returned to the Temple of the Gods.