Muscle Tower

Hearing such arrogant remarks, the Commander-in-Chief could not help but burst into laughter.

"Does he think our Red Ribbon Army only has conventional weapons? To dream of making an enemy of us is simply courting death!"

After his mocking laughter, the Commander-in-Chief mused, "It seems they are also collecting the Dragon Balls and know the secret they hold."

"Furthermore, their Dragon Radar is much more compact and precise; it can be carried around," Colonel Silver said, glancing at the massive radar screen.

"What? That's impossible! Our Dragon Radar cost us a fortune and a great deal of time to develop. Theirs is actually better than ours?" The Commander-in-Chief said, sounding somewhat angry. "Then seize their Dragon Radar as well!"

"Do you have anything else to say?"

Colonel Silver hesitated for a moment before saying, "Reporting to the Commander-in-Chief, I don't believe we are his match. Competing with them for the Dragon Balls is not a wise choice. I suggest..."

"Enough, you may leave." The Commander-in-Chief's face was filled with displeasure as he cut Colonel Silver off, clearly unwilling to listen further.

Colonel Silver wanted to say more, but sensing the atmosphere had soured, he ultimately chose to hold his tongue, turned, and left.

Yet, what he did not know was that this silence he chose would be permanent.

The moment he turned, a gunshot rang out from behind him. A piercing, agonizing pain struck his chest, and he quickly lost consciousness.

Silver collapsed to the ground in utter shock. Until the very moment of his death, he never imagined that he would not die at the hands of that monster, but at the hands of his own people.

And at the hands of the Commander-in-Chief he respected most, no less.

"Still trying to claim credit? Still trying to make me give up on the Dragon Balls? What a foolish waste." The Commander-in-Chief waved his hand, ordering someone to drag Silver's corpse away.

"Summon General Blue," the Commander-in-Chief said, watching the signal on the giant Dragon Radar. "Notify General White, who is stationed at Muscle Tower, of the intelligence we just received."

Muscle Tower was another branch of the Red Ribbon Army, commanded by General White, whose strength far exceeded that of Colonel Silver.

Moreover, Muscle Tower was filled with traps and guarded by Androids, the Purple Ninja, and the monster Fat Dragon, filling him with confidence.

After receiving the instructions, General White replied with full confidence, "Rest assured, Commander-in-Chief. I have already located one Dragon Ball. If they dare to come and seize it, I will ensure they never return, and I will present both their Dragon Radar and the Dragon Ball to you."

The Commander-in-Chief warned, "Colonel Silver has already failed and has been executed by me. I hope you do not disappoint me."

After hanging up the communication with Muscle Tower, General Blue arrived as ordered.

The Commander-in-Chief recounted the previous events and then said, "Take your entire Blue Team to Muscle Tower to receive the Dragon Ball and the Dragon Radar, then collect the remaining Dragon Balls."

General Blue was the most powerful combatant in their Red Ribbon Army, and the Commander-in-Chief was equally confident in him.

He felt completely at ease entrusting the task of collecting the Dragon Balls to General Blue.

General Blue, who was handsome in appearance and held a rose in his hand, accepted the mission with a face full of confidence.

On the other side, Li Shu, sitting atop a dinosaur leg, wore a look of disappointment.

Along the way, he had passed through seven villages and towns, large and small, but had not encountered a single fated person.

The progress for "Punish the Evil and Promote the Good" remained at 3, and the full progress of 300 seemed like a distant, unreachable goal.

The initial smoothness and the consecutive encounters with fated people had made him subconsciously overlook the inherent difficulty of this task.

Now that he thought about it, with a mechanism that counted events rather than heads, it would likely take three to five years to max out the progress to 300.

"Big Brother, it's so cold." Not long after the two ventured deep into the north, the harsh, freezing weather became a bit too much even for Wukong's constitution.

Li Shu was also freezing, so he quickly took out two sets of padded clothes and changed into them along with Wukong.

"Wukong, this journey can be considered our cultivation," Li Shu said again. "Once we finish collecting the Dragon Balls, Big Brother plans to become a Great Hero who travels the world, punishing the evil and promoting the good. Do you want to come with me?"

"A Great Hero who travels the world? Is that a new way of cultivation?" Wukong clearly did not understand what "punishing the evil and promoting the good" or "Great Hero" meant.

"In a way, yes, but it doesn't significantly improve one's strength. It's mainly about cultivating the heart, allowing us to perceive this world more clearly."

"Perhaps there will be some unexpected gains, too. Who knows?" Li Shu took a bite of the dinosaur leg beneath him, looking quite content.

A mount that could serve as both food and a weapon was truly worry-free.

"Big Brother, give me a bite." Wukong approached on the Flying Nimbus, opening his mouth to take a bite.

The dinosaur leg swayed, nimbly dodging Wukong's gaping maw, which made Wukong howl in frustration as he chased after it, trying to take a bite, much to Li Shu's amusement.

Muscle Tower Command Center.

"Reporting to General White, we have detected two unidentified flying objects on the surveillance feed."

General White ordered, "Zoom in on the feed. Let me see if it's the two people the Commander-in-Chief mentioned."

As the surveillance image zoomed in, everyone in the command center was stunned.

"A golden cloud? What kind of aircraft is that? Could it be the legendary Flying Nimbus? Isn't that thing supposed to be extinct?"

General White was only puzzled for a moment before he recognized the Flying Nimbus. It was native to the north, and the elders living there knew the legends. Having been stationed in the north for many years, he naturally knew of this legend as well.

He never expected to see it with his own eyes today. General White's heart suddenly burned with desire, but it quickly extinguished.

Even if he seized it, it would be useless; only someone with a pure heart could ride it, and he clearly was no longer that person.

The Flying Nimbus was understandable, but what on earth was that flying, roasted dinosaur leg, cooked to a perfect golden brown?

And it appeared to be constantly emitting steam, which was simply absurd and completely beyond General White's comprehension.

In the command center, everyone who saw the image was filled with question marks.

But that was not the point; they quickly turned their attention to Li Shu and Wukong.

"That's them alright. A big one and a small one, monsters with tails, exactly as the report from headquarters described."

"General, should we shoot them down?" a soldier asked.

"That waste Silver said they aren't afraid of our firepower?" General White sneered with utter disdain. "I find that hard to believe. Open fire!"

At General White's command, every cannon mounted on Muscle Tower aimed at the two targets flying in the distance.

"Fire!"

BOOM!

BOOM!

Deafening roars of artillery erupted one after another, and countless blasts of immense power streaked toward the sky!