Peeping from the Red Ribbon

Deep within the underground levels of Capsule Corporation in West City, a laboratory hummed with activity, bathed in the bright light of precision instruments and energy-monitoring screens.

Bulma chewed on an energy bar, her fingers flying across a virtual keyboard so fast they left afterimages, her brow furrowed in deep concentration.

"This isn't right... why can't I synchronize the core resonance frequency? The molecular stress of the Z-1 alloy hits its fatigue threshold at just 4.5 times gravity? What a piece of junk material!"

Frustrated, she tugged at her hair and kicked a large, humming machine nearby—the prototype for the "Lin Fan Special Hyper-Gravity Training Chamber 2.0."

Not far away, Lin Fan sat cross-legged, his aura calm and collected as he slowly withdrew his energy.

He had struggled through several cycles under triple gravity, feeling his True Qi solidify slightly, though it remained a long way from a qualitative transformation.

Hearing Bulma's complaints, he opened his eyes.

"The material remains the key."

Lin Fan said calmly, "If we could find a metal with greater resilience and a higher capacity for energy conduction, perhaps..."

"I know, I know!"

Bulma interrupted him irritably, pulling up another holographic screen that displayed a long list of rare materials, many marked with red crosses. "Do you think I don't want to find them? Star Iron! Jade Marrow! They sound like myths! I've practically dug three feet deep into the ocean floor! The procurement department is about to go insane; I have them scouring the globe every day, and they just keep bringing back useless junk!"

She grew more agitated as she spoke, pointing to an item on the list: "Look! This High-Density Vibranium Alloy—sounds impressive enough, right? I paid a fortune for it on the black market! And after testing, its energy conductivity isn't even as good as the Z-1! It's infuriating!"

Lin Fan fell silent.

He knew Bulma had done her best. Finding materials that met the standards of cultivation in this world was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

"No! We have to increase the procurement efforts!"

Bulma slapped the console, her resolve reigniting. "I refuse to believe we can't dig up something good! Maybe there's a treasure hidden in some forgotten corner of the world!"

She immediately connected to the encrypted line of the Capsule Corporation's procurement department, firing off new instructions with rapid-fire intensity. She demanded an expanded search radius, an increased budget, and even authorized over-market purchases of special minerals and unknown alloy samples from war-torn regions or illicit research institutions.

What she didn't know was that the recent, unusually large, high-value, and bizarre global procurement activities of Capsule Corporation had already caught the attention of those lurking in the shadows.

Somewhere on Earth, hidden deep within the mountains, lay the secret base of the Red Ribbon Army.

Dr. Gero's adjutant, a cold-faced officer, stood in a room filled with surveillance screens, reporting to a figure sitting in a wheelchair with his back turned.

"...Yes, Dr. Gero. We have detected abnormal activity from the West City Capsule Corporation. Their procurement department has been purchasing various rare metals and unknown mineral samples globally at high prices, including trash with high radiation or strange energy signatures."

The adjutant looked at the data pad in his hand, his tone devoid of emotion. "Their procurement goals lack clear industrial or commercial logic; their behavior is anomalous, and the capital flow is massive."

The wheelchair on the screen slowly turned, revealing Dr. Gero's pale, sinister face, twisted with a neurotic, fanatical intensity.

He pushed up his glasses, the lenses reflecting a cold light.

"That blonde brat from the Briefs family..."

His voice was hoarse, laced with disdain. "What boring new invention is she trying to make now? A new type of capsule? Or some flashier sports car?"

"It does not appear so, Doctor."

The adjutant pulled up another report. "Information leaked by our mole within their internal network suggests these procurement orders are related to a special consultant of Ms. Bulma. This man is named Lin Fan, his background is extremely vague, and he first appeared in the southern seas before participating in the World Martial Arts Tournament alongside Bulma, where he achieved a respectable ranking."

"A martial artist?"

Dr. Gero frowned, seemingly uninterested in "muscle-headed brutes."

"That is the interesting part, Doctor."

The adjutant played a blurry, long-distance surveillance clip showing Lin Fan's bouts against Giran and Tien Shinhan at the tournament. "This man's fighting style... is unconventional. We cannot detect any powerful Qi, yet he possesses bizarre movement techniques, defensive skills, and even what appears to be... inefficient flight. Our analysts cannot categorize him into any known school of martial arts."

The footage froze on the moment Lin Fan pushed Giran off the ring with a light palm strike, and the instant his blurry, distorted barrier blocked the aftermath of Tien Shinhan's Tri-Beam.

Dr. Gero's impatient expression vanished.

He leaned forward slightly, his cloudy eyes fixed on the blurry footage, his fingers tapping unconsciously on the armrest of his wheelchair.

"No powerful Qi... yet capable of substantial impact... a bizarre method of energy manipulation..."

He muttered to himself, his eyes beginning to glow with the fervor of a mad scientist discovering a novel experimental specimen.

"More importantly,"

The adjutant added, "According to the fragmented information gathered by our mole, Ms. Bulma's recent research focus has shifted entirely, pouring massive resources into two areas: meeting the material needs of this consultant, Lin Fan, and the secret development of an 'ultra-high-intensity gravity simulation chamber'."

"A gravity chamber?"

The light in Dr. Gero's eyes intensified. "Combined with that strange energy manipulation... and the massive collection of special materials..."

He suddenly looked up, a twisted, excited smile spreading across his face. "I understand... I understand! It's not Qi! It's something else! An entirely new, unknown energy system! Or rather... a more efficient, more fundamental technology for mining and utilizing energy! That little girl, Bulma, must have discovered something! She's trying to capitalize on it!"

His breathing grew rapid, as if he were seeing entirely new possibilities that transcended the Android project.

"Lin Fan... Lin Fan..."

He chewed on the name like a viper flicking its tongue. "Find him! Keep a close watch on him! And monitor all of Capsule Corporation's material flow! I want to know exactly what he is looking for! Where those materials end up! And what that gravity chamber is for!"

"Yes, Doctor!"

The adjutant stood at attention.

"Wait!"

Dr. Gero called him back, a flash of cunning malice in his eyes. "Do not alert them for now. Observe first, and collect data. I want to see what they can come up with... perhaps it can even be used for my own purposes, bringing some... unexpected surprises to the Android project."

He let out a low, raspy chuckle, his wheelchair slowly turning back to vanish once more into the shadows of the screens.

The adjutant retreated from the room in silence.

In distant West City, Lin Fan seemed to sense something; he opened his eyes from his meditation and gazed toward a certain direction outside the window, his brow furrowing almost imperceptibly.

For a fleeting moment, he had felt a trace of a gaze—faint as a wisp—but when he tried to sense it carefully, it had vanished without a trace.

Was it just an illusion?

He shook his head, dismissing the thought, and immersed himself back into his cultivation.

Little did he know, the shadow of the Red Ribbon Army had already quietly descended.

A pair of eyes, filled with greed and curiosity, had already locked firmly onto him and Bulma's laboratory through countless monitors and streams of data.

A storm was brewing in silence.