The Encounter

"Oh my, Father, you're still as vigorous as ever. Judging by the look of you, are you off to conquer another planet?" Frieza asked with a quiet laugh, covering his mouth as he sat on a hovercraft.

"I'm destined to work myself to the bone. I'm getting on in years, yet I still can't retire. One moment I'm expanding your territory, the next I'm earning some extra money for your older brother Cooler." King Cold shook his head and sighed.

"If you're so eager to retire, Father, why not give all your territory to me? Leave the dirty, exhausting work of conquering planets to your son. I'd be happy to take some of the burden off your shoulders." Frieza's smile was positively sinister.

"Haha! There's no need to rush. You'll inherit my fortune sooner or later. What did you want to see me about?" King Cold laughed and changed the subject.

"I heard someone with a power level of one million appeared in your territory. That's even higher than my current form's power level. I'm curious—who is he?" Frieza asked, intrigued. He didn't care in the slightest that the other might pose a threat to him. After all, his final form had a power level of 120 million.

A power level of one million? Insect!

"We don't know yet. I'm heading over to investigate. Once I subdue him, I can take him with me and show him off." King Cold smiled.

"Oh ho ho! Then I wish you success on your trip, Father!" Frieza chuckled.

"Ungrateful brat. All he ever does is covet the little power I have left."

After ending the video call with Frieza, King Cold's face darkened, and he cursed furiously.

Aboard King Cold's ship, a number of scientists used the timing and distance between the two energy bursts, along with various other factors, to calculate Wang Yang's approximate path.

At that moment, Wang Yang sat cross-legged inside a blue energy barrier, completely unaware that the two times he had powered up had piqued King Cold's curiosity. King Cold was now charging toward him with a menacing air.

A hundred hours later, the sensors aboard King Cold's ship picked up an energy fluctuation.

"Your Majesty, an energy signature of 20,000 has appeared ahead. We should encounter it in about three hours," a crew member in work clothes reported respectfully to King Cold, who was seated nearby.

"Who is it? Bring up the image so I can see," King Cold said curiously.

A power level of 20,000 was top-tier in the universe. Even King Vegeta, who had once led the Saiyan race in its conquest of the universe, had only had a power level of a little over 10,000.

At King Cold's command, several crew members' fingers clattered over the controls. A moment later, the ship's projector cast a clear image: Wang Yang, wrapped in a blue sphere of light, flying through space.

"Oh! He can survive in space. His race looks quite extraordinary!" King Cold laughed behind his hand.

In the vast universe, the races capable of surviving in space could be counted on one hand. The Frost Demon Race was one of them.

"It seems he's the one we're looking for." King Cold smiled faintly as he watched Wang Yang on the screen. There were more forms of life in the universe than grains of sand in the Ganges, yet spread across its vastness, they were few and far between. Under normal circumstances, a ship could travel through space for years, even decades, without encountering another craft.

"Hm? Why does he have a tail? Could he be a Saiyan survivor? But aren't Saiyans unable to survive in space?" King Cold leaned forward, his interest piqued and surprise showing on his face.

"Yes, King Cold. He certainly looks like one of those infamous Saiyans." A crew member in a Battle Suit glared at Wang Yang on the screen through gritted teeth.

The Saiyans had destroyed his race.

"Looks like that brat Frieza didn't wipe out every last Saiyan! How interesting! I've never heard of Saiyans surviving in space. This one must be different from the rest." King Cold rubbed his chin, his eyes fixed on Wang Yang.

Even if Wang Yang was different from other Saiyans, King Cold felt no fear. His own power level gave him absolute confidence.

Three hours later, when Wang Yang appeared within the ship's attack range, a strange smile crept across King Cold's face.

"I want to see whether you're really the one with a power level of one million. Attack!" King Cold pointed a thick finger at Wang Yang's image on the screen.

If he wasn't... well, then he wasn't. A dead Saiyan was a good Saiyan.

"Yes, sir!"

A wide opening suddenly appeared in the underside of the spaceship. Brilliant light gathered inside it, and a few seconds later, a beam of blue light, solid as a lance, shot precisely toward Wang Yang.

The enormous beam came hurtling in at an unbelievable speed, instantly swallowing Wang Yang's tiny energy barrier.

"Which bastard pulled a dirty trick like this?"

The laser blast struck the Protective Barrier, making it shudder violently under the force of the impact. Countless fine cracks spread across its crystal-clear surface, jolting Wang Yang awake in an instant.

The barrier was on the verge of breaking. At this critical moment, he hastily spread his hands, pouring energy into it without pause to stabilize and repair it before it was destroyed.

As Wang Yang's power surged, his power level skyrocketed. The people aboard the spaceship immediately noticed the change.

"Your Majesty, his power level is rising rapidly. It's already reached 210,000."

"Looks like he's the one we're searching for." King Cold's lips curled slightly.

Being attacked out of nowhere in space was bad enough. If his energy barrier were destroyed, he'd be in serious trouble. Wang Yang narrowed his eyes. This was a matter of life and death, so he wasn't about to hold back. He would strike back at once.

"Die!" He brought his hands together, then thrust them forward and unleashed a Ki Blast.

A massive Ki Blast shot from Wang Yang's hands. It met the spaceship's laser beam for an instant, then swallowed it whole like a dragon sucking up water before charging toward the ship.

As Wang Yang's energy continued to pour into it, the blast grew enormous in space. In the blink of an eye, it blasted a gaping hole from the bottom of the spaceship all the way through to the top.

"Your Majesty, we're in trouble! The energy chamber has been breached. The ship is about to explode!" Seeing the malfunction alert flash across the display, a crew member turned deathly pale and shouted at King Cold.

There was no time to reach the escape pods. The ship had been destroyed, spelling certain doom for those aboard who couldn't survive in space.

"What?" King Cold sprang to his feet, startled.

As soon as the words left his mouth, the ship shook violently, then erupted in a tremendous roar. Sparks flew in from every direction, engulfing King Cold as he stared in shock.