Slave of the Machine

Vegeta believed that after training in the Gravity Chamber, his strength should have improved to a level that would even frighten the Ginyu Force. Dealing with this kind of robot would be a piece of cake, but the reality was completely different from what he imagined.

The giant actually absorbed his energy and converted it into its own strength!

After a barrage of attacks, the Metal Giant sustained minimal damage but absorbed a tremendous amount of energy, causing it to grow a size larger. Its punches could now send Vegeta flying.

"You bastard! I'm going to tear you apart!" Vegeta flew towards the giant again. Unable to use Energy Blasts, he decided to engage in hand-to-hand combat.

The Metal Giant showed no intention of fighting him. It retracted its body and disappeared back into the cave, along with its Mechanical Arms, until the crack in the ground closed.

Scattered fragments remained on the ground, but the main body had vanished. Vegeta lunged at empty air and let out a frustrated "Tch."

"What's going on?" Raditz muttered to himself, completely bewildered. He looked back at the descending spaceship and was startled, "Could its target have been this Spaceship? What exactly is going on with this planet?"

Many questions surfaced in Raditz's mind, but he couldn't find any answers.

Piccolo was also thinking seriously, scanning the desolate metal planet with a wary expression.

"Why did the Spaceship land? Raditz?" Vegeta arrived, his tone full of accusation. He had been outmatched by the Metal Giant, and ultimately, he couldn't make the Spaceship fly away. Naturally, a surge of anger rose within him.

"The power system overheated, so it can't fly for now."

"Damn it!"

Goku scratched his head. "So, how long do we have to stay here?"

"Probably another five hours. The system has a self-check process, and the mandatory safety protocols cannot be skipped." Raditz's gaze was deep as he looked at the steadily landed Spaceship. "But the problem is, we can't guarantee we can take off even after the power system is restored. Also, we still don't know the purpose of the metal planet, so everyone be careful."

"Hmph, next time that guy shows up, I'll take care of it."

Vegeta boasted, but he knew it wouldn't be that simple. His previous encounter had revealed a terrifying truth to him. The Metal Giant was connected to the entire planet! Besides absorbing his Energy Blasts, he saw that the damaged areas were being filled with new metal at an astonishing, visible speed!

If that was the case, eliminating it would mean destroying the entire planet.

"We'll talk about it later. Let's go back and rest," Raditz said, unable to determine how the situation would develop, so he decided to take things one step at a time.

Goku and Piccolo exchanged a glance and followed, with Vegeta being the last. He glanced back at the fissure in the ground, hesitated for a long time, and ultimately didn't act impulsively.

The Spaceship rested quietly behind the metal pillars, its surface not severely damaged, mostly just scratches. The rear thrusters and the energy panels on top were hot, but the rest was fine.

The people inside had also disembarked. Although the temperature, gravity, and atmospheric composition were not much different from Earth, facing the desolate metal planet, everyone inexplicably shivered.

After all, this place was too bizarre!

"This damn place, and we have to stay for five hours..."

"It'll pass in a flash, everyone just bear with it."

"It seems like it hasn't done anything since it pulled us in."

Everyone was murmuring, but they didn't dare to explore on their own, choosing to wait and see.

What Raditz couldn't understand was that even though the Spaceship had fallen into its grasp, it hadn't taken any action for so long. What was going on?

As he was wondering, Tien Shinhan suddenly exclaimed, "Look! Someone!"

With his exceptional eyesight, he pointed directly ahead. Across several tall buildings cast in alloy, there were indeed some shadows moving. However, no one could clearly see what they were.

Krillin strained his eyes, peering. "Are they really people? Aren't they just more of those machines?"

"I wouldn't mistake it," Tien Shinhan was very confident in his eyesight.

Raditz gritted his teeth and flew into the sky. "I'll go take a look. If they're really humans, I'll come back and tell you." He knew that without understanding the truth of this bizarre planet, even if the Spaceship's power was restored, it would be difficult to escape. Therefore, whether it was the machines or humans on the planet, contact was necessary!

He flew from the sky above the figures and cast his gaze upon them, pausing slightly.

They were indeed humans!

Their appearance was very similar to Earth humans, with comparable limbs, facial features, and physiques. They also had variations in height, weight, age, and gender, but the only difference was that their hands and feet were bound by electronic chains, forcing them to shuffle forward slowly.

There were more than twenty of them, moving in a long, stumbling line, accompanied by some tracked machines.

"Are they criminals? Regardless, it means this planet has people. Even if they are criminals, there must be someone to judge them," Raditz muttered to himself for a while, deciding to ask them.

After all, the Dragon Ball world used a universal language in space. Native languages like that of the Namekians were a rare exception, and communication was possible between most races. Thinking about it, while the Kais weren't very useful, their contribution to cultural endeavors was quite significant!

Raditz smiled slightly, thinking that his appearance would surely be abrupt, so he needed to appear friendly.

As soon as he landed, he waved to these people.

He waved his hand twice in front of him, and these people were indeed startled, hurriedly exclaiming, "It's a human!"

"Quick! Run!"

For a moment, Raditz didn't react, thinking he had scared them. Just as he was about to explain, the machines beside them extended long gun barrels, all their dark muzzles aimed at him.

"Da da da da da da!!!" Flames erupted, and cannons roared. Bullets poured out from the muzzles like a continuous dragon. The hard ground was being pockmarked by the impacts.

"Hey! I'm not trying to break out... Ptooey! I'm not trying to break out prisoners!"

"Stop shooting!"

"How do I make them stop? I was wrong! I was wrong!"

Raditz was chased by these machines, running back and forth. These machines seemed to follow a certain pattern, running back and forth with Raditz in formation while continuously firing.

"Bastards! If you have the guts, fly too!" Raditz jumped high, simply hovering in the air. He could tell that these heavy tracked machines, although capable of attacking, definitely couldn't fly.

But three seconds later, he was stunned.

The bulky, deeply armored machines emitted a grinding sound of gears. With the mechanical friction, these guys actually transformed... their tracks disassembled, their gun barrels retracted, their heavy armor lifted, and they gradually stood up, taking on a humanoid form.

"Holy crap, Transformers? Cybertron??"

Raditz was dumbfounded, frozen in place.