Metal Planet

After traveling for nearly two days, the spaceship sped forward under super acceleration without obstruction. Everyone switched methodically between training and rest. The ship had an emergency call system that would sound an alarm immediately in the event of a major situation, so there was hardly anything to worry about.

There was no reference for time in space. Outside was always an endless darkness, and they could only rely on instruments to determine how much time had passed.

After taking a shower, Raditz stepped out through the dedicated hatch with a towel draped over his shoulder, wearing nothing but underwear. He was very satisfied with his current muscular body and had even admired himself in the mirror for quite a while.

When he reached the main cabin, he could see the scene outside through the enormous transparent shield, and Raditz was soon absorbed by the view.

Behind him, Gohan and Goku had just finished showering and came to the main cabin with Piccolo to rest for a while.

"Uncle Piccolo, let's eat something!"

"I don't need food to sustain my life."

"I made it myself..." Gohan's eager expression immediately dimmed.

Piccolo's expression suddenly changed, and he stammered, "Then... then I'll have a little."

A smile immediately spread across Gohan's face, like sunlight breaking through the clouds and sweeping away the gloom.

With his back to them, Raditz smiled. Letting Gohan and Piccolo team up back then had indeed been the right decision. This master and disciple were made for each other. Piccolo could be considered proud and unsociable; normally, Goku was the only one he could speak with, and even then, they were still somewhere between enemies and friends. Gohan was the only one who could truly touch the gentleness in his heart.

Over that year of training, the two had developed deep feelings, and their relationship had progressed very naturally.

"Big brother, aren't you coming to eat some?" Goku called out carelessly, chewing on a square pastry.

"I'm not hungry. You all..."

Before he could finish, the spaceship's alarm suddenly blared, cutting him off.

Red lights flashed inside. All auxiliary procedures instantly stopped, including the gravity training room. Everyone rushed into the main cabin, their faces showing a trace of panic.

Vegeta rushed to the pilot's seat and checked the instruments. The others looked around, but they found no danger outside.

"There's no malfunction!"

"The ship automatically avoids all kinds of debris in space. There's no chance of a collision either."

"Could there have suddenly been an explosion?"

"Nothing was detected."

Yet the alarm not only failed to stop, but grew louder and louder. The red lights flashed faster and faster, as if something dangerous was about to happen.

Raditz felt his body dropping straight down. The spaceship's engines seemed to have lost their effect, while the surrounding gravitational field twisted violently like a massive vortex, trying to suck the spaceship in!

"Look below!" Krillin pressed himself against the edge of the transparent shield, his eyes catching part of the scene beneath them.

It was a bizarre planet. Its oval surface was dark gold, radiating a brilliant sheen. Its dull hues carried a sinister, chilling coldness, and their spaceship was approaching it—or rather, being drawn toward it!

They had followed their flight path all along, and calculations had shown no such planet. How could something like this suddenly appear?

"Hold steady! Push the thrust to maximum and get out of here! If we get pulled down like this, we might crash!" Raditz cried out. He did not need calculations to know that falling at their current acceleration was extremely dangerous.

"We've broken through the atmosphere!"

The ship scraped through the atmosphere, throwing off sparks as flames and tremors struck at once. Everyone inside felt violent jolts, and intense unease rose in their hearts. Encountering something like this in an unfamiliar region of space was absolutely fatal. They should have brought Bulma along! She was, after all, an expert familiar with technology. If something went wrong, they could have asked her to repair it. They were far too passive like this.

Vegeta was pushing the power to its maximum, but he still could not completely resist the immense pull. The two forces clashed and entered a stalemate. It was as though a giant hand held their spaceship and dragged it straight down, while the ship was like a bird angrily soaring toward the sky, struggling with all its might to rise.

The alarm flashed red more violently, its sound shrill and piercing as the spaceship's hull shook without end.

"Right, there's an operation manual! Krillin, where did you put the manual Bulma gave you?" Raditz suddenly remembered.

"It's... it's in the box on the control console!"

Raditz immediately rushed to the console and began flipping through the manual. As he read, he pressed buttons on the panel, and a string of illustrated data appeared on the screen. After scanning through it hurriedly, Raditz's brow gradually furrowed.

The atmosphere on this planet was not very different from Earth's, which meant there might be human-like lifeforms living here! The strange thing was that its moisture content was extremely low, yet its metallic activity was powerful enough to spread across the entire planet.

The closer they got to the planet, the more astonished they became. The ground had a metallic luster, while countless towering buildings—or perhaps mountain ranges—stretching between heaven and earth all looked like metal! Crisscrossing steel formed cities, and gleaming unknown metals covered everything.

"How is this possible?" Sweat ran down Raditz's temple.

"What is it?"

"We have to leave this planet. It's entirely made of metal, and... it's alive!"

The moment he said that, everyone could not help but shudder. A snake-like chill crawled up their spines.

The spaceship was being pulled in by the tremendous gravity, as though it were the planet's own will. Did it want to devour the ship?

The terrifying thought flashed through their minds, leaving everyone deeply alarmed. Then the thrust barely holding them up was once again overwhelmed by an even stronger pull, and the spaceship was dragged toward Metal Planet!

Raditz made up his mind. He hurriedly put on his clothes and opened the hatch.

"I'm going outside. Goku, come with me."

"Do you have a plan?"

"Only the recoil from our Kikoho can possibly push the ship. With both our energies combined, it should be enough."

"I see. Then let's do it." Goku immediately understood what Raditz meant and nodded.

The two flew to the rear of the spaceship and pressed themselves tightly against its hull. With a low roar, they gathered energy in their hands and compressed it into spheres.

Kamehameha!

Both of them prepared to unleash Kamehameha!

Haaah!!!

With a thunderous shout, they fired their Kikoho at the same time. Blue light overwhelmed the flames blasting from the spaceship, and the enormous recoil propelled them skyward, pushing the spaceship onward as well.

No matter how great Metal Planet's pull was, it could not compare to the terrifying energy of Kamehameha. The dreadful shockwave slammed directly into the metal ground. After a dull impact came a booming explosion, and thick smoke billowed upward.

Amid the rising smoke, the spaceship successfully broke free of its restraints!