Heilai's Arrogance

"Oh! Xiuka, are you saying you want me to help capture some kid from a powerful family?"

Heilai swirled the wine in his glass, then downed it in one gulp.

"Heilai, you're living pretty well!"

Xiuka said with an amused look, then picked up the glass on the table and drained it too.

"I'm not like you, young master Xiuka. I've had to risk my life for everything I have! You, on the other hand, have been living quite comfortably under your brother's protection!"

Heilai replied with a mocking sneer.

"Hmph! I don't have time to waste talking nonsense with you. We'll split the spoils fifty-fifty!"

Xiuka hated it most when people said he relied entirely on his brother, because it made him sound like a useless nobody.

"No, no, no! Sixty-forty. I get sixty."

Heilai demanded greedily, his tone leaving no room for argument.

"You! Fine! Sixty-forty it is. But I want that kid alive!"

Xiuka ground out, glaring furiously at Heilai.

"Hahaha! That's the spirit. I'll take care of it!"

Heilai said happily, looking delighted.

"Hmph! Let's go!"

Still fuming, Xiuka didn't want to stay any longer. He hurried out with his men.

But no one noticed the smile that flickered across Xiuka's lips as he turned away. He wasn't after the wealth Jiang Yun had; he wanted the miraculous Capsule Technology.

If he could get his hands on that technology, wouldn't the wealth keep rolling in? Heilai thought he'd gotten the better deal, never realizing that Xiuka would be the real winner in the end.

Hahaha!

Xiuka laughed wildly to himself.

Xiuka thought he was the real winner, but he had no idea that Heilai had already seen through his little scheme.

After Xiuka had disappeared from sight,

one of Heilai's underlings said, "Boss, Xiuka's famously stingy. Why did he agree so readily?"

"You don't get it. That kid thinks he's clever, but his little tricks aren't worth a damn. If it weren't for his brother, I wouldn't even bother with him."

"He agreed so readily because he's obviously hiding something. And that secret must have something to do with the kid he mentioned. We just need to capture the kid first, and we'll find out what the secret is!"

Heilai's eyes gleamed as he burst into an excited laugh.

"As expected of the boss!"

One of his underlings hurried to flatter him.

Hahaha!

The sound of the Heilai Bandits' delighted laughter echoed through the hall.

Meanwhile, Jiang Yun and the others were getting ready to set out against the Heilai Bandits. After getting some information about the bandits from the Mercenary Guild, they were ready to leave.

They could sense ki, too. Once they got close to the star region where the Heilai Bandits operated, they would be able to detect them. There was no need to worry about the bandits fleeing as soon as they spotted Jiang Yun's group.

The Heilai Bandits had Scouters, and the Blazing Squad's apparent combat strength was very low—even lower than the bandits'. Most importantly, Jiang Yun's group's highest apparent combat power was so low that the Heilai Bandits would only take Jiang Yun for an ignorant young master.

A tiger wouldn't fear a flock of sheep.

What the Heilai Bandits couldn't imagine was that Jiang Yun and the others were wolves in sheep's clothing, and Jiang Yun himself was a wolverine.

During the year the Martial Alliance's members had spent training, Jiang Yun hadn't simply sat around. With the upgraded Gravity Training Room built by Dr. Brief, his battle power had risen from fifty thousand to one hundred and twenty thousand. Yes, you read that right: one hundred and twenty thousand. That was already on par with Ginyu, captain of the Ginyu Force.

And that was before accounting for Jiang Yun's many trump cards. At full power, he might even be able to take on someone with a battle power of around one million. At this point in the timeline,

as long as he didn't run into anyone from the original story, his battle power would definitely surpass 99.9 percent of the people in the universe.

But he couldn't afford to be careless. The universe was simply too vast. Who knew what powerful beings might suddenly appear? There were many long-lived races in the universe, after all.

Frieza's family had only risen to power a few hundred years ago. Their ancestor, Chilled, had been nothing more than a space pirate.

He couldn't put too much faith in the original story, either. It could only serve as a reference, not be taken as the absolute truth. After all, this was a real world.

Still, Jiang Yun believed that as long as he had enough strength, he could handle any schemes or changes that came his way—overwhelming force could overcome any trick.

They were headed for an asteroid belt, the Heilai Bandits' main operating area and, according to reports, the location of their base. The terrain there was especially complex, which was probably why they had chosen it.

However, they might have to fight in outer space, which meant they might need to use specialized Battle Suits. But there was a drawback: if an enemy broke your Battle Suit, you'd be exposed to the vacuum of space.

Jiang Yun had already considered this problem. He'd often seen enemies try to destroy Earth and expose Goku and the others to outer space, even though Saiyans and Earthlings couldn't survive there.

Jiang Yun had been speechless when he first saw that. They were already so powerful, yet they still couldn't survive in space.

Over the years, Jiang Yun had also been researching how humans could survive in outer space. He planned to improve the human body—in simple terms, to evolve it.

But his knowledge was still too limited. He needed to build a stronger foundation, which was one reason for this trip into space.

Although he hadn't managed to make the body capable of crossing the universe unaided, he had developed a way to survive in space.

The method was to use ki to form a barrier. It could convert the scattered Vital Energy in space into the substances the human body needed. Since Vital Energy was the source of life, this effect came naturally.

It was different from the protective barriers seen in the original story. It couldn't defend against attacks; it could only form a transparent shield.

Jiang Yun and the others traveled through the asteroid belt.

Just then!

Suddenly, Jiang Yun and the others spotted a large group of people lying in wait ahead. They didn't let on that they'd noticed, instead playing along and continuing toward the ambush.

Then a Ki Blast struck a huge floating boulder. The enemies sprang out like bamboo shoots after a rain, surrounding them on all sides.

"Hahaha! Those idiots walked right into our ambush!"

"Let's see them get away now!"

The one speaking was obviously one of Heilai's underlings.

"Oh? You actually dare come looking for trouble with me, Heilai? You're bold as brass. Aren't you afraid you'll come here alive and leave in a body bag?"

Heilai spoke up, too, his attitude exceedingly arrogant. As he spoke, a group of underlings laughed along, as if Jiang Yun and the others were lambs waiting to be slaughtered.

"Kid, if you beg me, I might spare you some of the pain! Ahahaha!"

Heilai looked eager to see Jiang Yun cower in terror.

But Jiang Yun disappointed him. He remained perfectly calm, as if he were facing nothing more than a bug.

The Blazing Squad members around him looked at Heilai as if he were an idiot, too.

Their expressions enraged Heilai. Fury showed on his face as he barked, "Tear them apart! Leave the young one alive. I want him to know true fear!"