Earth's Choice

"An immortal?"

Bulma paused, then chuckled as she lunged at Korin, eager to pet the big white cat.

But Korin was not about to let her have her way. Just as he prepared to leap aside, a sudden surge of pressure locked him in place, rendering him unable to move.

Korin glanced at Lin Chen, who stood in the distance with his arms crossed, cold sweat beading on the cat's forehead.

"Fat cat, you're an immortal?"

Bulma stroked Korin's fur and pinched his chubby cheeks.

"Brother Lin Chen, you're teasing me. It's just a cat, isn't it?"

At that moment, Lin Chen withdrew the pressure he had been exerting on Korin.

Korin instantly sprang back to life, gasping for air as he shouted, "I am an immortal! Not a cat!"

"Oh! It really can talk!"

"Alright, Bulma, I have something to discuss with him."

Lin Chen stepped in front of Korin, his dangerous aura causing the fur on the cat's body to stand on end uncontrollably.

"You—you're an alien, aren't you? How do you know about this place?" Korin asked, bewildered.

"I don't just know about this place; I know you have Senzu Beans. Hand them over," Lin Chen said.

Until the medical machine was finished, the Senzu Beans from Korin Tower would have to suffice.

Although it was a waste to use them this way, it was better than being erased by the system.

"No! You're a stranger with an unknown background, I can't—"

Before Korin could finish, Lin Chen waved his hand, and a massive fish, unlike anything found on Earth, suddenly appeared before the cat.

"This is a fish from Planet Vegeta. Give me the Senzu Beans, and I have a hundred more where that came from."

"Meow! Deal!"

No sooner had the words left Lin Chen's lips than Korin changed his tune.

No cat could resist the temptation of fish, not even an immortal one.

"Korin, plant more in the future. I can bring you fish from all over the universe!"

After sweeping up all the Senzu Beans Korin had left—leaving only the seeds behind—Lin Chen took Bulma and flew toward the heights once more.

The Lookout was just above.

Easily piercing the barrier of the Lookout, Lin Chen landed gently with Bulma.

The young girl was brimming with excitement, though she was quickly startled.

Not far away, the green-skinned Kami and the black-skinned Mr. Popo were already waiting.

Lin Chen swept his gaze over the pair.

Kami, whose true identity was a Namekian, looked reserved, but Mr. Popo remained expressionless.

"Welcome, honored guest from another world," Kami greeted him proactively.

"Hello, Kami. My name is Lin Chen," Lin Chen replied.

Hearing this, Bulma looked astonished. "Brother Lin Chen, they are the gods?"

"He is Kami, and I am Mr. Popo, the servant of God," Mr. Popo said.

"That's right, he is the true Kami. A bit disappointed?" Lin Chen asked.

"Yeah," Bulma nodded, feeling her childhood fantasies of the divine shattering.

"Mr. Lin Chen, what brings you here today?" Kami asked cautiously.

Lin Chen said, "I wanted to ask, can you summon Shenron for me directly?"

"Summoning Shenron requires finding the seven Dragon Balls, but even I have no way of knowing their current location," Kami murmured.

Bulma listened with curiosity. "Brother Lin Chen, what are Dragon Balls?"

"They are wish-granting orbs that can make your desires a reality..."

After a brief explanation, Lin Chen said, "Since you can't summon Shenron, never mind. I mainly came to let Miss Bulma here take a look around and to pick up some Senzu Beans."

Kami paused, then said, "In that case, would you like me to show you around?"

"No need. We've been out long enough; it's time to head back."

"Eh? Brother Lin Chen, I wanted to see more."

"That's enough, Bulma. Dr. Brief and the others must be getting worried."

Lin Chen took Bulma's hand and prepared to use Instant Transmission to leave, but at that moment, Kami stepped forward two paces and asked, "Mr. Lin Chen! I must ask, do you have any designs on Earth?"

"Designs?" Lin Chen turned his head.

"With your strength, conquering Earth should be effortless. Yet, you only engage in simple trades with mortals. I don't understand."

"You don't understand..." Lin Chen smiled faintly. With his current strength, conquering Earth was indeed effortless, but why would he ever want to do such a thing?

"Ding! Detected that the host is feeling lost regarding the disposition of Earth. Initiating the Ultimate Choice."

"Option One: Unify Earth and turn it into a Saiyan colony. Reward: Grand Elder of Namek's potential-unlocking ability!"

"Option Two: Destroy Earth and turn it into cosmic dust. Reward: Technique: Ki Scythe."

"Option Three: Maintain the status quo and allow the Dragon Ball plot to unfold on Earth as intended. Reward: Combat power increase of 100,000!"

Seeing the Ultimate Choice suddenly activate in his mind, Lin Chen was slightly surprised.

The system was looking to stir up trouble.

Of the three choices, the reward for the third was practically negligible.

Conversely, the first two options were far more enticing: one would grant Lin Chen the ability to complete his current mission immediately, while the other would allow him to learn a formidable technique.

Either way, both seemed more worthwhile than the third option.

However, Lin Chen didn't dwell on it for long before choosing the third option.

"System, I choose three!"

As a transmigrator, his familiarity with the plot was Lin Chen's greatest cheat; changing the story lightly would not be to his advantage.

Furthermore, there were many characters on Earth he was fond of.

"Ding! Choice confirmed. Reward has been issued!"

The next moment, Lin Chen felt his body grow slightly stronger.

Lin Chen turned back and smiled at Kami: "Perhaps it's because I like this planet, and the people on it!"

Hearing Lin Chen's words, Kami looked stunned, while Mr. Popo remained expressionless.

After meeting with Kami, Lin Chen took Bulma back to West City.

Over the next few days, Dr. Brief and Bulma began the work of replicating the medical machine.

Lin Chen also returned to Planet Vegeta once, handing over three large vats of Senzu Beans for King Vegeta and his people to use, while also delivering a 50x gravity chamber to Earth for Dr. Brief and his team to study for the time being.

Everything was proceeding in an orderly fashion.

Then, one day, Lin Chen arrived at a place called Mount Paozu.

He hovered in the air, gazing down at the ground below.

Ever since he had made the choice to keep Earth as it was, Lin Chen had been thinking of Son Goku.

He wanted to come and see how the protagonist of Dragon Ball was living these days.

Although Planet Vegeta had not been destroyed, before Lin Chen had gone into his slumber, he had instructed Bardock to send Son Goku to Earth.

Therefore, just as in the original plot, Son Goku had arrived on Earth at the same point in time.

Watching the young Goku, as tender as in his memories, practicing his punches, Lin Chen was filled with emotion.

Just like in the original work, the Goku before him currently had a combat power of a mere 10.

Though he lived alone, he had no worries about food or clothing.

Yet, despite this, he was still honing his abilities.

In the entire Dragon Ball story, only Goku could truly be called a "martial arts fanatic."

It was precisely this diligent spirit that allowed young Goku to go from a low-level Saiyan warrior to one of the top experts in the entire universe.

As for himself, while he might have the edge in bloodline, he seemed to be far weaker when it came to diligence.

Even though there were still many crises in his own future.

The immediate ones, like Frieza, whose whereabouts and status remained unknown, and the distant ones, like the God of Destruction Beerus, who would awaken in a few decades.

How many difficulties lay in the future?

Therefore, I cannot afford to slack off any longer!