Chosen by the Dragon Balls

In the darkness, two voices were calling out.

Zhang Chen heard the calls in his sleep and struggled to wake up. He forced his eyes open, his consciousness breaking through the darkness as he suddenly sat upright.

"Th-This is..." The instant he opened his eyes, he froze.

The land before him was a complete mess. Charred corpses and severed limbs lay everywhere, trees were toppled at all angles, and craters and cracks stretched into the distance. Where was his bed? Hadn't he been sleeping at home? A dream within a dream?

"Low-class warriors will always be low-class warriors. You actually passed out from exhaustion." A cold voice came from beside him, chilling him as though a blade had been pressed to his throat.

Zhang Chen timidly glanced over from the corner of his eye, and his heart nearly stopped. Oh my god, Vegeta and Nappa!

He was actually seeing the Saiyans from Dragon Balls. This really had to be a dream!

Zhang Chen reached out and touched Nappa. The sensation against his hand felt real. No, it was real! He pinched himself hard again. Hiss—so painful!

"This isn't a dream!"

Nappa looked at him curiously. "Hey, don't tell me you've gone stupid?"

"What a useless piece of trash!" Vegeta said with half his face turned away in disgust.

The reality of that sensation made him understand that this was absolutely not a dream. Then he... Zhang Chen touched the end of his flowing long hair, then noticed the Battle Suit he wore and his agile tail. In an instant, he knew who he was—Goku's older brother, Raditz.

Zhang Chen had always loved Dragon Balls for both its comedy and passion. He had considered it a classic since he was young, filling an entire display cabinet with manga, figurines, and clothes. The seven balls in the story that could grant any wish had always stirred his imagination. If such miraculous Dragon Balls existed in reality, then life would become a vibrant adventure story too, wouldn't it?

Though he knew that was impossible, he still spent thirty yuan online to buy seven Dragon Balls. He had expected no more than glass marbles, but they felt heavy in his hands and were exquisitely crafted!

Each of the seven Dragon Balls that entered his sight was crystal clear. They felt as smooth as carved jade, and the stars inside even glimmered faintly in broad daylight, as though light flowed across their surfaces. When the balls struck one another, they gave off crisp, ethereal chimes that tugged at his heartstrings.

As Zhang Chen played with the gleaming balls, he thought, It'd be great if I could make a wish. Take me to the Dragon Balls world and let me become a Saiyan or something. That'd be pretty awesome.

With that thought, he treated the seven precious balls like priceless treasures and arranged them in the center of the display cabinet, setting them on red cloth to accentuate their splendor.

Then, feeling completely satisfied, he took a short afternoon nap, and then...

He transmigrated?

The key was that he really had become a Saiyan, except he had become that tragic character, Raditz.

Raditz had been so tragic that he only appeared for a few chapters before getting killed off, never even appearing in later flashbacks. Zhang Chen had complained more than once: Goku, you could spare even Vegeta, but you couldn't spare your own older brother? Were you jealous of Raditz's hairstyle being practically Super Saiyan 3?

Taking a trip through the Dragon Balls world had been his fantasy, but now that it had suddenly become reality, he could not process it for a while. It was unbelievable, yet there was no doubt that he had become Raditz.

His first priority now was to figure out the situation. He had to stay alive first.

"Hey, Raditz, don't tell me you've lost your memory?" Nappa raised a brow when he saw him standing there motionlessly for so long.

"N-No, I'm fine. I just hurt my forehead earlier, so my head's still a little dizzy."

"Hmph." Vegeta snorted. "If not for the fact that only a few Saiyans are left alive, I would have killed trash like you long ago."

Raditz had nothing to say. After all, he was merely a low-class warrior who had not even overcome the weakness of his tail.

In the world of Dragon Balls, strength was absolutely essential.

"Raditz's bloodline is simply too poor. Still, this planet we're attacking really is difficult to deal with. These people don't have particularly high Battle Power, but there are just too many of them." Nappa bared his teeth and shouted.

"Are you kidding me? These vermin need to be wiped out as soon as possible."

Listening to their conversation, Raditz roughly understood what was happening.

The three of them were attacking a planet and had run into trouble. Next, it would be his turn to go to Earth to find Goku, after which he would be killed according to the plot and disappear from the stage of Dragon Balls forever. Thus would be born the most tragic protagonist's older brother in history.

Nappa's eyes suddenly rolled. "Hey, Raditz, don't you have a younger brother who was sent away? Even if he's a low-class warrior, he's still a pure-blooded Saiyan, right? If we encounter another difficult planet in the future, four people are better than three. Go bring him here."

"Don't make me laugh, Nappa. With that kind of trash, his Battle Power probably isn't even a thousand." Vegeta spoke disdainfully. After pausing for a moment, he suddenly looked at Raditz. "Still, no matter how useless he is, he'll show some strength during a full moon. You can bring him here. I'll let him know what a real Saiyan is."

Raditz shuddered under his gaze.

Was this oppressive feeling simply the difference in strength? Vegeta truly was extraordinary.

"I understand. Once I recover from my injuries, I'll go find my younger brother." Raditz nodded slightly.

He knew that he could not possibly oppose Vegeta right now. He could only obey for the time being.

"We'll handle things here. It won't make much difference without your Battle Power." Nappa said arrogantly before bursting into laughter.

Saiyans were born into a hierarchy of status and pride. Calling themselves a warrior race, they could transform into Great Apes with Battle Power capable of destroying the heavens and earth, enough to make the inhabitants of most planets tremble. In the eyes of other cosmic races, however, Saiyans were merely savage and belligerent, yet they remained completely unaware of it.

For a warrior race, birth determined one's status. A prince like Vegeta possessed extraordinary talent. He was born with several hundred points of Battle Power, crushed a whole group of adult warriors just a few years later, and had been arrogant from birth. Nappa, too, came from a prestigious family, had decent talent, and had endured countless battles and training. He was incredibly self-assured.

Warriors like Raditz and Goku, meanwhile, belonged to the majority of Saiyans at the bottom. In the eyes of high-class warriors, they were nothing at all. Thus, Raditz had always received nothing but cold looks among the three of them and had no right to speak.

No! Since he had already come to the world of Dragon Balls, he could not die so miserably again. He had to become stronger—stronger than Nappa, stronger than Vegeta, even stronger than every future enemy and Goku himself!

Raditz coldly looked at Vegeta and Nappa and made up his mind to begin training on this planet. Unlike the Saiyans, Earth's methods of cultivation were more effective and reasonable. Combined with the use of Ki, they allowed a weak planet like Earth to produce so many powerful warriors. Though his starting point was relatively low, Raditz was confident that he could surpass them through training.

He climbed to his feet and volunteered, "I'll go find some food."

"Hmph, do as you please. Just don't get yourselves killed by them!" Vegeta said flatly.

Raditz nodded and tried to leap into the air, but he could not stay suspended for long. After several failed attempts, he had no choice but to give up and run off instead.

Behind him, Nappa and Vegeta stared in bewilderment.

Yes, the reason was that Raditz still could not fly...