More importantly, Li Shu was worried that if he changed the original course of the story, it might lead to terrible, unpredictable consequences.
Frieza might arrive early, Majin Buu might be born ahead of time, or Dark Goku might make an early appearance. Those were all consequences he couldn't afford.
Li Shu wasn't afraid for himself. He couldn't die anyway. But if Earth was gone, what would be the point of staying alive?
As someone from Earth in another parallel universe, Earth was the place best suited to him.
Li Shu had no grand ambitions. He just wanted to live freely, without a care in the world, and experience firsthand the manga he'd loved most as a child.
He wanted to follow the protagonist and witness one miracle after another.
He didn't want to replace Wukong and become the new protagonist.
He'd had more than enough exhausting days in his previous life. Now that he'd finally gotten a cheat in this life, he wanted to take things easy, enjoy a leisurely and carefree life, do some quests, rack up some achievements, and that was all.
Anyone who wanted to rule the universe, punch the God of Destruction, and kick Zeno could get lost.
"Master Mutaito, I'd like to train with you, too." Li Shu looked at Master Roshi pleadingly. If nothing unexpected happened, there would definitely be an achievement quest for the World Martial Arts Tournament.
He remembered that in this tournament, Wukong and Master Roshi had been evenly matched, and Wukong had ultimately lost by a hair to take second place.
In other words, after training, Wukong's battle power would be close to Master Roshi's. There wouldn't be much of a gap between them.
With his battle power of 53, he probably couldn't even beat Krillin, could he?
He wouldn't get greedy. He'd just raise his battle power to around 80 or 90 and take third place.
"I'll have to put you through a test..." Master Roshi hadn't finished speaking when Li Shu gave him a mischievous grin and opened the bundle on his back, showing him what was inside.
Master Roshi: "(ΩДΩ)!"
"Icha Icha Paradise?"
"Xiao Fu Bai Jie?"
"The finest... Fire Phoenix!!!"
"(〃'▽'〃) There's even Customary Great Sword!"
Master Roshi's eyes darted from book to book. He couldn't bear to put any of them down, and when he flipped through one, he found illustrations inside!
Then he pointed at the stack of videotapes beside them. Trembling with excitement and anticipation, he asked, "(*❦ω❦) Th-this... these are?"
"Nothing but the finest uncensored films!" Li Shu chuckled.
"Heh... hehehe o(*￣︶￣*)o." Master Roshi was beside himself with glee. He hurriedly put away his treasures, then said solemnly, "You've passed my test."
"Do we have a guest?"
Just then, a pretty young woman with long, wavy blue hair stepped out of Kame House, her large eyes shining with curiosity.
"Launch?" Li Shu immediately remembered this character from the story, the extraordinary woman who transformed into a wild biker chick whenever she sneezed.
At the same time, the system's voice rang out in his mind.
"Achievement quest triggered: 'Master Roshi's Wish.' Help Master Roshi see Launch's panties, and you'll receive the reward [Kamehameha]."
"Uh..." Li Shu was dumbfounded. He hadn't expected the system to be like this. He was a man with principles, all right? There was no way he'd do something so immoral.
Li Shu had barely finished complaining when the system's voice rang out again.
"The current achievement quest is a [Limited-Time Quest]. Complete it within three days to double the achievement points. If you fail to complete it within three days, the quest will disappear forever."
What? Double achievement points?
As a man of such high moral character, how could he ever do something so outrageous and disrespectful to his master?
But if this was his master's lifelong wish, then as his disciple, he had no choice but to fulfill it. As the saying went, one must sacrifice oneself for righteousness. If he didn't go to hell, who would?
Li Shu quickly convinced himself and committed this important mission to heart.
"This is Li Shu, Wukong's older brother. He'll be training with us from today on, too. Make sure you cook enough for one more person at lunch," Master Roshi said, leering.
"So you're Wukong's older brother. Your tail looks a little thicker and longer than Wukong's." Launch gazed at Li Shu's backside with a warm smile.
Only then did Master Roshi notice that Li Shu had a tail, too. A thoughtful look flashed through his eyes.
Noon.
Li Shu was watching a movie with Master Roshi. The movie was pretty good, actually; the plot had plenty of twists and turns. They were right at the climax when a familiar voice came from outside.
"We're back!"
Master Roshi jumped in alarm and frantically searched for the remote. The instant Wukong pushed open the door, he hit the power button.
"You're back? Lunch is almost ready. I'm going to take a bath, so go ahead and eat without me." Master Roshi removed the videotape with an utterly straight face and walked past Wukong.
Just then, Wukong saw Li Shu behind Master Roshi. His eyes widened, and his face lit up with delight.
"Big brother!" Wukong was overjoyed. He leaped into Li Shu's arms.
Li Shu smiled and patted Wukong on the shoulder. "Sorry, Wukong. I got lost in the forest. I hope I didn't hold you up while you were looking for the Dragon Balls?"
The guileless Wukong didn't see through Li Shu's well-meaning lie. He shook his head. "No. We've already gathered all seven Dragon Balls and summoned Shenron."
Wukong seemed to have endless things to say, and he told Li Shu all about how they'd collected the Dragon Balls along the way.
Li Shu listened while comparing the events to what he remembered. Nothing seemed to have changed.
"But Shenron couldn't grant just any wish. Bulma tricked us." Wukong's final remark left Li Shu stunned.
Could Shenron really not grant Oolong's tiny little wish for a pair of women's panties?
"What did you wish for?" Li Shu asked quickly.
Wukong said, "I asked Shenron to find my brother, but he said he couldn't do that. He only knew that you were still alive, so he told us to make another wish."
"In the end, Oolong asked for a pair of panties." Wukong laughed. "Oolong wears them on his head every day. It looks so funny."
Li Shu smiled, then fell into thought.
The wish had gone a little differently, but the outcome was the same. That alone raised a lot of questions.
Shenron could resurrect all of humanity, yet he couldn't find Li Shu. What was the reason?
Was some mysterious force correcting the story, or was it because Li Shu had traveled here from another world?
"Why think so hard about it? What a headache. I'll find out next time I gather the Dragon Balls and make a wish." Unable to figure it out, Li Shu decided to stop trying. He looked toward the strongest Earthling, who was sitting nearby, a little ill at ease.
Krillin was shy around strangers. He quickly greeted Li Shu. "Hello, big brother! I'm Krillin."
It was obvious that Wukong had told Krillin about him, which didn't surprise Li Shu.
He studied Krillin carefully, wondering whether interacting with him might trigger an achievement quest. After all, Krillin was an important character in the story.
When Wukong fought Frieza, Krillin had played an indispensable role in his transformation into the Legendary Super Saiyan.
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