The Kill

Reke's figure rose higher and higher.

Octopus Head had no idea what Reke was planning, but he didn't dare let his guard down. He stared fixedly at Reke's every move.

Seeing this, Reke's lips curled into a mischievous smile. He spread his hands and held them beside his forehead.

"Solar Flare—"

"Ah!"

A flash of blinding light burst forth. Octopus Head covered his eyes and screamed, his voice filled with pain and terror.

He knew he had fallen for the trick. He had lost by one move, and now it really would be a fight to the death.

Reke sprang into action the instant Octopus Head screamed.

He opened his tightly shut eyes and moved in front of Octopus Head, leaving behind an Afterimage throwing a punch.

His real body appeared behind Octopus Head. He held his hands before his chest and gathered the ki within him.

As soon as Octopus Head opened his eyes, he saw Reke's Afterimage. Without time to think, he spat a stream of ink at it.

Seeing that Reke made no move to dodge, he was delighted at first, catching a glimpse of victory.

When the ink passed through the Afterimage, Octopus Head's eyes widened in confusion.

"Ha!"

A fierce shout came from behind him.

Octopus Head shuddered and turned around. A Deep Blue energy blast was already right in front of him.

His face filled with despair.

"No!"

The energy blast struck Octopus Head head-on, driving him into the air before exploding.

"Rumble—"

Octopus Head was blown to pieces.

Reke lowered his hands wearily, picked a direction, and slowly flew away.

In the valley

The Big-Breasted Woman and the others had all frozen in place the moment Reke attacked the spaceship. They stared blankly at him, not daring to move.

When Reke confronted Octopus Head, Old Granny finally snapped out of it. Now was no time to stand around dazed.

A battle was clearly about to break out. They needed to start running for their lives.

"What are you waiting for? Run!"

At Old Granny's shout, the others scattered like startled birds, fleeing in the opposite direction from Reke and Octopus Head.

Explosions kept roaring in their ears.

They didn't dare stop, and kept running until the next day before finally pausing.

"How can anyone be that terrifying?" Six-Arms said, sitting on the ground, still shaken.

No one answered him. Everyone was baffled and stunned. Both Reke's strength and the spaceship had shattered everything they thought they knew.

"If all aliens are that strong, what are we supposed to do?" Bald Man began to worry about their future.

Reke's strength had already been beyond his understanding. Before he could even recover from that, a spaceship had suddenly appeared—and the aliens were incredibly powerful too.

"Just wait to die. You'd better pray that the young man wins. Otherwise, none of us has a future," the Big-Breasted Woman said, giving Bald Man a sidelong glance.

"The fight should be over by now. I just don't know who won," the Middle-Aged Man said miserably. This feeling of waiting to die was awful.

"What are we going to do from now on?" Bald Man asked, ignoring the Big-Breasted Woman's remark. What had happened yesterday had made him come up with a plan.

"What do you have in mind?" Old Granny asked in return.

"How about we form an alliance, with the goal of exploring ways to become stronger and bringing more powerful people together? We can grow stronger while preparing to defend against aliens in the future." Bald Man laid out his idea.

He had already reached his limit. There was no hope of getting stronger on his own, and he believed the other Level 6 adventurers were in the same situation.

If they explored together, they would surely get further than he could by himself.

After Bald Man finished speaking, the others fell silent, weighing the advantages and disadvantages of his proposal.

"Sounds good. Let's head back to the city first. I can invite a few old friends, and then we can discuss the details." Old Granny was the first to agree, though she was also laying the groundwork to secure influence for herself later.

"Fine. Let's each use our connections to bring in as many people as we can. We'll meet again in a month." The Middle-Aged Man agreed too. After exchanging contact information with everyone, he left first with his two companions.

While Bald Man and the others were discussing their plans, Reke had already reached the city. He bought a new set of clothes, ate a big meal, and then slept soundly at a hotel.

After a good night's sleep, Reke was refreshed. He sat cross-legged on the bed and turned his attention inward.

He circulated his ki to tend to his internal injuries, leaving the external wounds alone.

Reke carefully tended to his internal organs. The night passed quickly, but the remaining injuries wouldn't heal overnight. Whenever this happened, Reke thought of Senzu Beans.

He envied Kakarot and Vegeta. Never mind Kakarot—even when Vegeta was injured, he had healing liquid to treat him. They never had to worry about getting hurt.

Reke stood up and looked out the window. The city's many ways of life were on full display: people hurrying to work, fighting, stealing, and rescuing others.

Reke was quite satisfied with what he had gained from this trip. Although he hadn't found anything at G5 Base, even the items he'd brought back were destroyed during his fight with Octopus Head.

But his battle with Octopus Head had not only given him more combat experience, it had also broken through his bottleneck. Super Saiyan was within reach, and his body had entered a growth phase.

That's right, Reke was ten years old. He had been away for more than half a year.

Technically, he could go back now. This was the perfect time for him to make rapid progress using the Gravity Chamber, but he wasn't in a hurry. He planned to wait until his injuries had healed before starting to train.

Reke's perception spread out, and he sensed the energy signatures he had detected before the fight with Octopus Head.

It wasn't that he hadn't noticed Pat and the others were in danger. As he'd said before, cultivation depended on the individual.

Just because they were in danger didn't mean Reke had to rush over and babysit them. One day he would leave, and they would have to face danger on their own.

As far as Reke was concerned, he wouldn't interfere in anything happening on this planet as long as it didn't threaten the planet or bother him.

The Gravity Chamber Reke had left at home was their best chance of getting through this crisis. He wanted to see whether they could discover it themselves.

Reke withdrew his perception and stopped paying attention to Pat and the others.

Pat and the others barely made it back to Panxi City alive. They were just about to ask Reke to deal with the Rock Monster, but when they arrived at his house, they were stunned.

"Mother, where did Brother Lei go? Something terrible has happened!" Lan Xin asked anxiously.

Seeing her son in such a sorry state, Uti's heart ached.

"Reke left a long time ago and hasn't come back. You should go to the hospital and get treated first."

"Huh? What are we supposed to do? Did Brother Lei leave any way to contact him?" Lan Xin panicked, while Pat and the others grew frantic too.

No one knew when the Rock Monster would stop or when it would reach Panxi City. Reke's departure had left them at a loss.

More than ten members of their group still hadn't returned. They were probably dead, and the ones who had made it back couldn't deal with the Rock Monster. The gap between them was just too great.