Shenron Appears, Intercepting the Wish (Part 1)

"Who, who on earth is it! To resort to such a cowardly sneak attack!" Bulma's voice, laced with frustration and anger, echoed across the vast wilderness, only to be met with a series of dull reverberations.

Soon, a grey robot standing about three to four meters tall appeared before the group.

The robot approached the wrecked car and began to rummage through it wantonly.

After searching for a moment, the robot stopped beside an open blue suitcase, where five Dragon Balls lay scattered on the ground (the sixth was still with Young Goku).

The robot's movements were swift and precise; it gathered the Dragon Balls, closed the case without hesitation, and activated its built-in thrusters. With a low roar, it sped off toward the setting sun. This scene unfolded so suddenly that everyone present, save for Zhou Zilong who was feigning ignorance, was caught completely off guard.

"Goku, hurry and chase after it! The Dragon Balls must not fall into the hands of a villain!" Zhou Zilong shouted intentionally.

Hearing this, Young Goku immediately summoned his magical Flying Nimbus. He hopped on without hesitation, and the cloud shot off like an arrow released from a bow, piercing the sky as he gave chase to the fleeing robot.

Just as in the original story, the naive and inexperienced Young Goku caught up to the grey robot left behind by Shu. Drawing his Power Pole, Young Goku immediately began questioning the empty machine.

However, he was met only with silence. Seeing this, Young Goku poked the robot with his Power Pole, causing it to collapse instantly. Realizing it was empty, Young Goku turned back toward Zhou Zilong and the others.

Upon returning, Young Goku reported, "Brother Zilong, I won, but that person is gone, and I didn't find any other Dragon Balls!"

Zhou Zilong replied, "Goku, you were tricked. That person has already run away; the robot you knocked down was just a decoy!"

Young Goku asked, looking at a loss, "Then what should I do?"

Zhou Zilong replied, "It's fine. Later, have Bulma use the Dragon Radar to give you the direction, and you can chase after them. I'll catch up once I've fixed the car!"

Young Goku nodded to indicate he understood: "Mm, okay!"

At this moment, Zhou Zilong spoke toward a spot not far behind them: "I say, you over there following me—are you going to show yourself, or do you want me to come over and drag you out?"

The person Zhou Zilong was referring to was none other than Yamcha, who had been secretly tailing them. He had sensed Yamcha's presence since the moment he started following, but he hadn't exposed him so that Yamcha could smoothly enter the plot.

Realizing he had been discovered, Yamcha had no choice but to reveal himself, offering to lead the way for a while.

Zhou Zilong gestured toward Iris and Oolong before saying, "My fiancée and I don't need you to lead us. We'll catch up once we fix the car. You just take those two with you!"

After taking Oolong and Iris along, Yamcha, feeling quite shy, drove his car while Young Goku rode his Flying Nimbus, and they headed toward Pilaf's hideout.

During the journey, Iris unexpectedly teased Yamcha while he was driving, which served as a precursor to her eventually joining the Dragon Ball group.

At this time, Bulma asked, "Zilong, can we even fix this car?"

Because it had been struck by the robot piloted by Shu, the car was damaged beyond repair; scrapping it was the only logical choice.

Zhou Zilong replied, "Of course we aren't fixing it. We'll rest for a while, and when that group stealing the Dragon Balls summons Shenron, we'll just go and make our wish first."

A confused Bulma asked, "Ah? Then how are we supposed to get there?"

Zhou Zilong countered with a question: "Do you remember how I suddenly appeared in front of you when you were setting off for Mount Paozu?"

After thinking for a moment, Bulma replied, "I don't know! You just appeared out of nowhere. I missed you so much at the time that I didn't ask!"

Zhou Zilong replied, "That was a unique technique I learned from an opportunity I encountered while training abroad, called a Space Portal. As long as I connect the virtual spatial coordinates of the destination, I can arrive there instantly!"

After speaking, Zhou Zilong once again brought his index and middle fingers together to draw a circle. A blue ring of light expanded as his fingers traced through the air.

Bulma's eyes widened, and she stared in disbelief at the blue ring forming in Zhou Zilong's hands. It looked like an entrance to another world, emitting a faint, mysterious glow. She had never seen such a magical sight; she felt both surprised and excited, as if the door to a new world had been opened.

"Is... is this what you call a Space Portal?" Bulma asked, her voice trembling with disbelief.

Zhou Zilong smiled and nodded, his eyes revealing a hint of confidence and anticipation: "That's right. With this, we can instantly reach any location with known coordinates!"

As Zhou Zilong's words faded, the image of the castle in the desert became increasingly clear within the ring, as if it were within reach. Bulma could clearly see the silhouette of the castle shimmering with golden light under the scorching sun, surrounded by an endless sea of sand—a desolate yet magnificent sight.

"It's so magical!" Bulma exclaimed, feeling an unprecedented spirit of adventure surging in her chest. "Can we set off now?"

Zhou Zilong nodded gently, signaling for Bulma to come closer. He reached out his other hand and gently took hers. Together, they stepped into the slowly rotating blue ring. As their figures gradually merged into the light, the world around them began to twist and blur until it vanished entirely, replaced by the wondrous sensation of traveling through time and space.

Sensing through his ki that Pilaf's group was currently on their way back, Zhou Zilong took Bulma to a secluded cave nearby, pulled out a capsule to manifest a small house, and began their own sweet, leisurely time together.

Meanwhile, Pilaf's group had returned to the castle and were cheering for the great success of their operation.

After cheering for a while, Pilaf opened the case only to discover that one Dragon Ball was missing.

Pilaf immediately prepared to order his two subordinates, Mai and Shu, to go back and steal it, but at that moment, Young Goku and the others were already closing in on the castle. According to the instruments he had built, Pilaf realized they were approaching and began to deploy his plans.

(The first update of the day is here. Creation is not easy; I ask for your support and positive reviews. Thank you all!)

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