"You're really so damn talkative. You keep repeating yourself. Do you think I won't kill you? My power level is on par with yours? Laughable. Do you think I'm still the same as before?" As he spoke, Vegeta lowered his fist and grabbed Cui by the face.
His fingers tightened. Cui clutched Vegeta's wrist with both hands in pain, trying to force him to let go.
But he had no chance of breaking free.
The gap in their strength was simply too great. The 6,000-point difference between a power level of 18,000 and one of 24,000 was like an impassable chasm.
"Boom!!!"
Another deafening crash rang out.
Vegeta slammed Cui straight into the sturdy wall of the corridor. It instantly cracked and crumbled, setting off alarms throughout the entire base.
Vegeta paid no attention to them. Only then did he release Cui and look down at him, battered and disheveled.
"This... This can't be... How... How are you so strong? Our power levels were clearly the same..." Cui struggled on the brink of death, his negative emotions overwhelming him until his eyes were bloodshot.
To be fair, a power level of 18,000 was still formidable. Cui was at least tough enough that Vegeta couldn't kill him with just two casual blows.
"So you thought I was just talking? Cui, did you really think you could compare to me? I used to ignore you, but you just kept pushing your luck!"
As he spoke, Vegeta raised his hand and aimed it at Cui.
The sight sent a chill down Cui's spine. He struggled even harder, wrenching himself free of the wall.
He wanted to run, but Vegeta's palm remained trained on him.
Under the threat of death, Cui drew a sharp, cold breath.
At the same time, as Vegeta gathered energy, Cui's Scouter suddenly began flashing a warning.
"H-his power level is 20,000? And it's still rising...!!"
The next second, his outdated Scouter couldn't withstand the explosive surge of energy and blew apart.
"W-wait! Stop, Vegeta! I surrender! I was wrong! I shouldn't have..." Cui was terrified and started begging for his life.
A power level above 20,000 made it clear that there was an enormous gap between him and Vegeta.
People like them knew perfectly well that if the difference in power levels was over 1,000 or 2,000, they might still be able to fight a decent battle, but they would inevitably lose in the end.
If the gap exceeded 2,000, it was nothing short of a crushing defeat.
Unless they struck first...
"That's why you're a dog. I preferred the old, arrogant you to what you've become." Vegeta sneered.
Cui was drenched in sweat. He lowered himself as much as he could, all the while searching for an opportunity.
Vegeta saw right through him.
Cui noticed the brief hesitation in Vegeta's expression and thought he'd found his opening. He suddenly unleashed his power and shot out of the base.
That's certainly true to the original story: a fickle little schemer. Too bad you don't even know how to keep your head down. You deserve to die. Vegeta sneered and raised his hand.
In midair, Cui thought he had the upper hand. He gathered all his strength and launched an overwhelming energy wave.
"Heh-heh-ha! Vegeta, blame yourself for hesitating! Die!"
His arrogant shout accompanied the energy wave as it swept down. To the naked eye, it was indeed terrifyingly powerful, as though it would devour everything in its path.
"You insect! You still don't understand the difference between us."
Vegeta spoke coldly. He had no intention of dragging things out any longer, and a terrifying killing intent suddenly flashed in his eyes.
"Explosion Wave!!!"
In an instant, Vegeta unleashed the energy he'd already gathered.
The wild, pale-green beam surged straight ahead. It stopped Cui's full-power energy wave in its tracks, then blasted through it and crushed it completely.
Cui didn't even have the strength to withstand Vegeta's blast.
In a gaze filled with despair...
"Rumble~~!!!!"
A dazzling firework burst in the sky, its brilliant flames seemingly capable of devouring everything.
Cui's energy vanished in the explosion.
To be safe, Vegeta even tapped his Scouter to scan for his target.
Only after confirming that Cui's body had been reduced to dust did he finally relax.
By now, the base's alarms were growing louder and more chaotic. Countless people had sprung into action, thinking they were under attack.
It wasn't until the security force and base administrators saw what was happening where Vegeta stood that they calmed down.
Although no one knew exactly what had happened, they had a rough idea by then.
Vegeta was probably responsible for all of this.
As for why he'd caused such a commotion, if Vegeta didn't want to explain, they would have to check the surveillance footage to find out.
Regardless, no one dared to investigate further.
On this planet, Vegeta's status was unquestionably the highest.
A few people did think of Cui and quietly sent out messages, but they received no response.
Vegeta couldn't be bothered to explain. He glanced at everyone present and walked away.
They looked at one another, and in the end, the administrators could only order people to repair the damage before heading together to the archives to investigate what had happened.
Naturally, there were complaints, but their voices couldn't reach Vegeta.
The investigation quickly revealed the truth: Vegeta and Cui had clashed, and Cui had been killed by Vegeta.
The administrators were at a loss over whether to report the matter.
In the end, they decided to keep it quiet for now and report it after Vegeta had left.
After all, their lives were at stake. If they reported it now and Vegeta found out, he might kill them just as mercilessly as he'd killed Cui.
Elsewhere, after filling his stomach at the base, Vegeta headed outside.
The vast, barren planet was filled with a deathly stillness.
Vegeta remembered that when this planet had first been conquered, it had been full of life. After excessive mining, it had ended up like this, with almost no value left.
Soon, this planet would be abandoned too. Frieza would surely choose a better planet as his new transit and staging point.
"Now, let's see if I can pull this off."
Standing on a stretch of rocky wasteland, Vegeta took several deep breaths before finally calming down.
He tried to transform, using his mind to guide the energy within his body toward his back.
Having inherited everything from the original body and reached his current level of strength, Vegeta had excellent control over his power.
Especially since he had also mastered the knack for sensing ki, he could handle the finer details with even greater ease.
But after just one attempt, Vegeta found himself at a loss...