Departing for Planet Namek

The night passed in silence.

The next morning, before the sun had even crested the horizon, Karochi and Tights had already arrived at the spaceship to conduct their final checks.

"Whew! Everything looks good. We can finally set off!" Tights was brimming with excitement and anticipation.

Having looked forward to this for so long, such a reaction was only natural.

"Oh my! Leaving so early? Don't you want a glass of milk? Or some breakfast?" Mrs. Brief suggested from beside the ship, her tone entirely sincere.

Karochi was tempted; it wouldn't hurt to have breakfast before leaving, right? The universe wasn't going anywhere, so what was the rush?

But after glancing at Tights, whose impatience was written all over her face, he couldn't help but sigh.

"Better not, Mrs. Brief. We're planning to leave early so we can return sooner," Karochi said, though he felt a bit like he was acting against his own will.

Mrs. Brief didn't seem disappointed in the slightest. "Well then, take care on your way!"

Wait? Was that lady just being polite earlier!?

Karochi was dragged directly into the cabin by Tights!

The interior space was truly massive. As the two walked toward the control room, it had to be said that it rivaled the control room of Frieza's ship from the original story.

Moreover, while that one required multiple operators, Dr. Brief had simplified the process to the point where one only needed to set the destination, and the navigation would handle the rest automatically. Impressive!

"Karochi, sit down! We're about to take off," Tights reminded him.

After all, there would be violent shaking when they broke through Earth's atmosphere.

Karochi obeyed, as he was well aware of this from having read the original work; the flight pod he had used previously had also experienced intense friction upon entering the atmosphere.

The spaceship ascended to a thousand kilometers above the ground before coming to a halt.

"Hm? Why did it stop? Is it broken?" Karochi asked curiously; he really didn't understand how this spaceship worked.

Tights spoke up hurriedly, "We're about to enter the acceleration phase. Don't talk, or you might bite your tongue."

With that, Tights immediately clamped her mouth shut.

Sure enough, the ship entered a phase of violent acceleration, and due to inertia, Karochi clearly felt the upward thrust.

Of course, the sensation wasn't overwhelming; it wasn't that the ship wasn't fast, but rather that the stabilization system was incredibly well-designed.

Still, the moment they punched through the atmosphere, there was a distinct, violent vibration that reminded Karochi of riding a bus in his previous life.

But it soon stabilized, and he figured they had already cleared Earth.

"Whew!" Tights exhaled and unbuckled her safety restraints.

"Alright, we've left Earth!" As she spoke, she pressed a button.

The screen in front of them turned transparent, revealing the entirety of interstellar space!

Countless stars streaked past their field of vision.

"Wow! Is this the universe?" Tights was stunned by the sight; the pitch-black canvas dotted with countless points of light was intoxicating.

Karochi also watched the cosmic expanse with a sense of profound awe.

It was worth noting that the screen was one-way; Karochi and Tights could see outside, but those outside could not see into the ship.

The spaceship was like a piece of the cosmos itself, perfectly mimicking the surrounding environment!

Furthermore, it was incredibly fast, and in just a few moments, they had already cleared the solar system.

"Big Sister Tights, shall we eat?" Karochi suggested; the breakfast bell had rung, and it was time to dine.

So much for eating on the ship! Oh, wait, I was the one who said that. Never mind.

Tights didn't say anything, simply pulling out a capsule and setting up a picnic right there in the cockpit! It had to be said, dining while watching this scenery had a unique charm.

After the meal, Karochi did some simple stretches, preparing to start his training; time was of the essence.

"What, you're starting your training again?" Tights couldn't help but feel speechless at Karochi's actions.

What's so great about training? Why is he like a lecherous old man seeing a beauty, thinking about it every single day?

"That's right! Big Sister Tights, I've told you before, the universe is filled with danger everywhere! My current strength is basically bottom-tier and wouldn't even be worth mentioning. For the sake of our safety, I must further improve my strength."

There was another reason Karochi didn't mention: the future enemies were one more absurd than the last. Not to mention Frieza, there were the Androids, Cell, Majin Buu, and later on, characters like Super 17 or the threats from the Dragon Ball Super multiverse tournament.

Just thinking about the multiverse tournament gave Karochi a stomachache! Zeno was a true misunderstanding.

"Fine, I've heard that a thousand times! Honestly, I don't know what makes you so afraid," Tights said. She truly couldn't empathize, having lived on the peaceful Earth her whole life.

The terror of the universe was something she couldn't truly grasp.

Karochi shrugged and headed toward the Gravity Chamber alone.

The gravity machine was a training artifact, the most effective way to get stronger quickly.

"Whoa, this Gravity Chamber is much larger than the one Kakarot had in the original story." After walking for three or four minutes, Karochi finally reached the chamber.

The Gravity Chamber was located in the very center of the spaceship, and the space inside was at least twice as large as the one in the original work.

"Well, I've undergone 15x gravity training at the Lookout on Earth! Let's start directly with 20x gravity training."

Like Goku in the original, he was starting at 20x, but at that time, Goku's battle power had already reached 8,000 in his base form, which was about four times stronger than Karochi.

As the gravity engaged, Karochi felt his breathing grow heavy, his posture gradually hunching over.

The tail behind him could no longer stay erect, drooping straight down.

Thump... thump... thump.

Karochi began to move with agonizing slowness, each step feeling as if he were carrying a thousand pounds.

Karochi did not notice that Tights had opened the Gravity Chamber monitor. Seeing him struggle, her beautiful brows knit together in deep concern.

"What a complete idiot!"

A voice tinged with resentment echoed through the control room, sounding part confession and part complaint.

Karochi was completely dumbfounded; he had spent three whole days just adapting to 20x gravity!?

Damn it, how did Goku manage to complete his 100x gravity special training in just six days in the original story?

Damn! Is the gap really that wide? No... that can't be right, can it?

"What's wrong? Is the training not going well?" Seeing Karochi's expression, Tights couldn't help but show her concern.

Karochi waved his hands repeatedly. "It's not that; I just feel like my progress is a bit slow."

Karochi looked distressed.

The more he trained, the more mediocre he felt. After all, while others could adapt to 100x gravity in six days, he figured he could only handle about 40x.

Smack! Tights slapped Karochi directly, speechless. "What, you want to master it overnight? Even I, someone who doesn't practice martial arts, know that haste makes waste. Why don't you get that?"

She had watched him train for the past three days, and frankly, she felt he was just torturing himself! Tights felt that if she were inside that high-gravity environment, she would surely die.

He had adapted in three days and was still unsatisfied! He was being as greedy as a snake trying to swallow an elephant, not even afraid of bursting himself.

Hm? That's right! Why am I in such a rush? I'm not heading to Namek to fight Frieza; I'm just going to increase my power and make some wishes.

Besides, there was plenty of time before reaching Namek; he could just take it slow.

And as Tights said, was training fast really a good thing?

Although Goku finished his 100x special training in six days and successfully became a Super Saiyan, so what? Didn't he end up with a viral heart disease when he returned to Earth?

Reasonably speaking, a Super Saiyan's immune system was already outrageously strong; normally, they shouldn't even catch a cold.

He must have contracted that disease because of Goku's desperate, over-the-top training, not to mention the Kaio-ken.

The Kaio-ken technique placed an absurd burden on the body, and Goku forcing himself to use the 20x Kaio-ken on Namek was likely another contributing factor.

"Hahaha, thank you, Tights! I've figured it out." No point in rushing, just take it easy.

Tights breathed a sigh of relief; she had been genuinely worried that Karochi would do something reckless and ruin his body.

After a year of knowing each other, they had developed a bond.

She then pretended not to care, stuffing her hands into her pockets. "Since you're thanking me, accompany me to Bimos Planet tomorrow! I looked it up; it's an all-rock planet, and I'm curious how it manages to have air suitable for human respiration under such conditions."

Wait, what? Aren't we supposed to be going to Namek? What's with changing the destination halfway?

Seeming to see Karochi's confusion, Tights spoke up, "Namek is your destination, not mine. I'm here to collect material! Besides, it won't take much time to just go and investigate."

She was here for an interstellar journey... ahem, to find inspiration and collect material! She wasn't like this muscle-headed martial artist who only had brawn in his brain.

Karochi thought about it and realized she was right; Tights didn't have a set destination anyway, so he nodded. "Alright, Tights! We'll head to Bimos Planet tomorrow!"

"That's a good boy," Tights laughed.

Hm! So cute. Karochi's twenty-something-year-old "tough guy" heart couldn't help but tremble.

Karochi truly hadn't expected that the capable woman he knew in his past life would be this adorable as a child.

The contrast was quite significant.

"Oh! Right, the data my father uploaded to your ship says this is some kind of intermediate-level planet! It's not dangerous, is it?" Tights asked, as if just remembering. She didn't really understand what an "intermediate-level planet" meant.

Whoa! An intermediate-level planet? If it were three days ago, he would have hesitated, but now he wasn't afraid at all.

"Don't worry, Tights. An intermediate-level planet is defined as one where the highest combat power exceeds 1,000 but doesn't reach 10,000! After adapting to 20x gravity over the last three days, my combat power has increased significantly. There's absolutely nothing to fear."

Hilarious. His base combat power had already reached 8,000, and by powering up, he could even exceed 10,000! Afraid of nothing, just gotta go for it.