Ass Higher Than Face

"What did you do to my mech?" Compared to Mai and Shu, Pilaf's panic was tinged with a hint of curiosity, leading him to blurt out the question directly.

Wuchen offered no reply, instead demanding, "I recall warning you people—let this be the last time!"

Facing Wuchen's inquiry, which was laced with thick killing intent, all three felt a chill run down their spines, collapsing to the ground in terror.

However, a moment later, the three of them actually began to feel a sense of righteous indignation.

"We didn't do anything bad!"

"That's right! It was those despicable guys who snatched the Dragon Balls we paid good money for! They even captured us!"

"Exactly, we didn't provoke you this time!" The three chattered on with their explanations, sounding increasingly aggrieved as they spoke.

"Enough!" Wuchen waved his hand to cut them off, turning to point at Mai, who had kept her promise and handed over the Dragon Ball last time. "You. You explain it, and tell me every single detail."

With Wuchen demanding that Mai speak alone, she suddenly lost her nerve, but under the weight of his increasingly impatient gaze, she began to speak tremblingly.

"It happened like this, a year ago..."

"Stop! Tell me about the present—the situation with the Dragon Ball right now!"

"Yes, yes! About a month ago, we suddenly discovered that the signal for the Dragon Balls, which had vanished for a year, appeared again. The closest one was in that small town over there."

"The three of us went to find it and eventually bought it from a grocery store owner."

"But that group—the ones you defeated—they showed up. They were looking for the Dragon Balls too. To get them, they tore the whole town apart and even killed many people."

"The three of us wanted to escape... to retreat, but we were captured, and they stole the Dragon Ball from us."

"That's how it happened. We didn't do anything wrong, please don't kill us..." Having said it all in one breath, Mai collapsed back down, as if she had run out of air.

She doesn't seem to be lying. Wuchen had paid close attention to both her expression and her aura, and it didn't look like a fabricated story.

"So, you were hunting for the Dragon Balls again?" Although his killing intent had faded, Wuchen decided he still needed to knock these three down a peg.

"Yes... ah, no, no..." The three of them shrank back, then suddenly realized something was off.

"Wait, you never said we couldn't look for the Dragon Balls. Besides, we gave you the ball last time, so you must have already made your wish. It's our turn now; the Dragon Balls don't belong to you alone." The three of them regained their sense of righteous indignation.

This time, Wuchen didn't pressure Mai or Shu, but instead stared straight at Pilaf, making him feel incredibly uneasy.

A moment later, Wuchen spoke coolly: "I remember your wish was to rule the world. So, are you planning to rule over me?"

"I... no... I didn't..." Pilaf stammered, trying to explain, but Wuchen cut him off directly.

"This is the second time I've let you off, and only for the sake of Iron Ox. If you dare to scheme for the Dragon Balls again, don't blame me for being heartless." Wuchen patted the rune-covered mech and said coldly.

The "Iron Ox" he referred to was presumably the runic mech itself.

Immediately after, Wuchen retracted "Iron Ox" into a Hoi-Poi Capsule and chased off in the direction Goku had taken.

"Ah... my Dragon Ball..." Pilaf was on the verge of tears.

Before long, Wuchen crossed paths with Goku, who was returning.

"Big Brother, it's the Four-Star Ball! Grandpa's Four-Star Ball!" Goku was brimming with excitement, holding up the two Dragon Balls in his hands.

"Goku, where is the guy? Did you finish him off?" Seeing Goku return alone, Wuchen asked hurriedly.

"No, I stopped him. He couldn't beat me, so I told him to hand over the Dragon Balls and let him go."

Hearing the urgency in Wuchen's tone, Goku looked puzzled and asked, "What's wrong, Big Brother? Does that mean he won't turn into a good person like Oolong and Yamcha?"

"..." Wuchen was momentarily speechless. He had assumed that given Goku's kind heart, he would have brought back a live captive.

After all, someone capable of fleeing with a Dragon Ball likely held a higher position and would know more than the small fry, perhaps even providing some useful information.

He just hadn't expected Goku to let the guy go.

"It's nothing. Letting him go is fine. Give me the radar." Wuchen certainly didn't mean to blame him; the situation had been sudden, and he hadn't made his intentions clear.

"Hmm?" However, after seeing the reaction of the Dragon Balls on the Dragon Radar, Wuchen's brow furrowed.

Aside from the two in his hand and the three suspected to be at an organization's base, one of the remaining two was essentially stationary. The other, however, was moving rapidly.

"Did that group find another one? No, the direction is wrong." Indeed, that Dragon Ball was not moving toward the three gathered at the base.

"And it's not in the direction of Pilaf and his crew. Is there a fourth party searching for the Dragon Balls?" The situation seemed to be growing more complex. After a moment of thought, Wuchen didn't have time to explain.

He had Goku summon the Flying Nimbus, and the two brothers headed straight toward the moving Dragon Ball.

Meanwhile, at the location where the three Dragon Balls were gathered, the scene of the earlier battle with "Iron Ox" was playing on a screen, looping repeatedly.

"Dr. Gero, can you make anything of this?" A short, broad-shouldered man with red hair, a side-part, one eye, and a wide mouth lay half-reclined in a chair, puffing on a thick cigar as he questioned an elderly man with white hair and a white beard.

Indeed, he was the leader of the Red Ribbon Army, Commander Red.

Standing a meter to his side was an exceptionally tall, dark-skinned man with pink lips. He was dressed in a suit and tie, standing perfectly straight and silent.

"Reporting to the Commander, this subordinate is incompetent." The old man, Dr. Gero, shook his head.

The footage transmitted by the bionic reconnaissance device was blurry and limited; he couldn't even identify the material of the mech, so how could he discern its secrets?

"If we could obtain one to dismantle and study, we might be able to mass-produce them." Whether out of concern for research funding or his own curiosity about the mech, Dr. Gero added this at the right moment.

"Officer Black, go and summon General Blue and Violet." Commander Red didn't reply to Dr. Gero directly, but instead spoke to the tall, dark man.

"Yes." The tall man, Officer Black, quickly acknowledged the order and pushed the door open to leave.

"Commander, I shall take my leave." Dr. Gero retreated tactfully.

By the time Officer Black returned, he was accompanied by two others.

A fair-skinned, handsome man and a woman in a sharp purple-haired outfit. The former was General Blue, the latter Colonel Violet.

"You should already be aware that Silver and the Fourth Armored Division he led have been completely wiped out, and the Dragon Ball they obtained has been snatched away."

At this, Commander Red paused and looked at Officer Black. Understanding the cue, Black quickly adjusted the screen to display the Dragon Radar.

"Do you see the signal from those two Dragon Balls? They are in the hands of the people who defeated Silver, and they are currently heading toward the third Dragon Ball."

"I want you to retrieve all three Dragon Balls, as well as the combat mecha they have in their possession. Bring the mecha back as intact as possible."

"General Blue will lead the Third, Fifth, and Sixth Divisions, while Colonel Violet will lead the Special Operations Squad. Use whatever means necessary to bring back everything I want! Information regarding the combat mecha will be transmitted to you shortly."

"Now, depart immediately!"

"Yes!" The two acknowledged the order and promptly withdrew to assemble their respective troops.

"Black, notify Colonel Yellow and have him retrieve the final Dragon Ball. At the same time, contact Tao Pai Pai!"

The world's greatest assassin, Tao Pai Pai! Officer Black's pupils dilated slightly; that man's appetite was enormous. For the Commander to actually want to hire him, it seemed he was determined to secure the Dragon Balls at any cost!

Consequently, Black grew excited. As long as all seven Dragon Balls were gathered, the Red Ribbon Army's wish to rule the world would surely be realized!

Of course, excitement aside, Black quickly replied, "Yes!" Thinking for a moment, he prepared to ask a question, leaning in and bowing, "Commander, what about Colonel Silver..."

However, even while hunched over, Black's upturned backside was still a head taller than Commander Red.

Commander Red cut him off immediately: "He had better be dead! And another thing, stop getting so close to me!"