Li Xing, Xiao Wu, and the other man all sneezed several times.
The three exchanged glances, each understanding what the others meant.
"We need to find a city as soon as possible. We fell into the river, and now we've all caught colds."
Li Xing never would have guessed that someone was thinking about him.
He had somehow ended up in the Dragon Ball World, where nobody knew him. There was no way anyone would be missing him.
Could someone back in his original world still remember him?
But he was an orphan, so that didn't make sense either.
The only possibility was his landlord.
If his landlord had that kind of ability, Li Xing would stake his life on being able to eat shit upside down.
Once every possibility had been ruled out, the impossible became possible.
He and Xiao Wu, along with the other man, had all caught colds.
The three pressed on through the wilderness, their bodies exhausted.
This was when Li Xing truly began to suffer.
He hadn't had much trouble on his own. When he came to a mountain, he'd climb over it; when he came to water, he'd wade through it.
But Xiao Wu and the other man were genuinely useless.
Three more days passed.
Other than Li Xing, Xiao Wu and the other man were dressed in rags. They gazed at the bustling city, overwhelmed with excitement.
Ignoring the contemptuous looks around them, the two hugged each other and burst into tears.
It had been hard.
So hard!
No one knew what they had been through during that time.
Their plane had crashed, their Hoi-Poi Capsules had been lost, their communication devices had been destroyed, and dinosaurs had chased them.
If they hadn't happened upon Li Xing while he was training, they would have ended up in a dragon's belly long ago.
Just when things had finally started to improve, they had to cross mountains and rivers, endure countless hardships, and finally make it to this town.
After entering town, the three took a short rest.
Then Li Xing told the other two to wait for him while he went out to take care of something.
Xiao Wu and the other man had only just started forming a few ideas when Li Xing, who had reached the door, suddenly turned around and looked at them with a half-smile.
"Pilaf should give you some time, right?"
Without waiting for the two, who stood gaping at him, to respond, he wandered around town.
Of course, Li Xing wasn't just bored.
There were a few martial arts schools in town, places that taught things like taekwondo.
Since martial artists were hard to find, he had no choice but to seek out these ordinary people who trained and spar with them.
And so, Li Xing led Xiao Wu and the other man from town to town, stopping along the way. They passed through more than ten towns over the course of ten days.
They had spent a lot of time, but the results were gratifying.
The system hadn't shown up once during those ten days, so of course, he hadn't received any missions.
But his strength had increased by leaps and bounds.
Host: Li Xing Lifespan: 25 Combat Power: 7.63 Physique: 1.09 Mental Strength: 1 Energy: 7 Ability: Devour Ability (LV1)
There hadn't been much change, but the Devour Ability had finally shown some improvement.
Li Xing could guess that it was because he had used it so much that the system had adjusted it automatically.
The only downside was that it didn't provide anything like a proficiency rating.
"Sir, we're about to reach the desert. Should we take another route?"
Xiao Wu, who was driving, suddenly spoke up.
Li Xing came out of his reverie and looked at the vast expanse of yellow sand stretching to the horizon.
To keep the two of them under control and improve his own strength, Li Xing had insisted that they travel by car.
He wanted to get stronger before they reached Pilaf Castle.
He only had to be no weaker than Sun Wukong.
He was more cautious than Yamcha, more resourceful than Sun Wukong, and would soon have strength comparable to Sun Wukong's.
Pilaf's technological gadgets wouldn't be able to do a thing to him.
The only condition was that he had to get stronger before then.
With how familiar he was with the plot, Li Xing already had a plan.
The most important targets were undoubtedly Yamcha in the desert and Ox-King at Fire Mountain.
But right now, he didn't seem to have much chance of beating Yamcha.
"Sir."
Li Xing hesitated for a moment.
If they passed this place, there was no way he would come back.
That meant he would miss out on Yamcha, an opportunity to improve his strength—an NPC, if you will.
But if they went now, he didn't seem strong enough to beat Yamcha.
The problem was that Yamcha was still a desert bandit, vicious and ruthless. He might well kill someone.
If Li Xing charged in headfirst, his life could be in danger.
His Devour Ability could help improve his strength to some extent.
Yamcha couldn't fire energy blasts yet, so he was unlikely to be that strong.
Li Xing estimated that Yamcha might have a combat power of around twenty, if that. He might not even be that strong.
Li Xing was confident he could hold out for a while, but he had no confidence in lasting through a prolonged fight.
Using the Devour Ability consumed his physique, and how much it consumed depended on the intensity of his opponent's attacks.
The stronger his physique, the more smoothly and longer he could use his Devour Ability.
If his opponent's combat power was too high, the duration of his Devour Ability would be drastically shortened.
Li Xing had no choice but to consider this.
"We won't go in just yet."
His eyes sharp as a hawk's, Li Xing spoke in a low voice.
Ashu grew anxious at once.
"Sir, if we don't go through the desert, we'll have to take a huge detour. It'll take us fifteen extra days."
Ashu was fuming.
That was even longer than it had taken them to get from the town to here.
Li Xing gave Ashu a casual glance.
Only after the other man flinched did he speak lightly.
"Turn back first. We'll rest for two days, stock up on plenty of food and water, then cross the desert."
"Sir, why don't we buy a plane? Then we can cross the desert in no time."
Li Xing glared at Ashu again.
This man actually dared to tell him what to do.
"What? Are you trying to give me orders?"
Ashu went pale and stammered, unable to say a word.
"If you have enough money to buy a plane, go back and do as I say."
How could he allow them to reach Pilaf Castle so quickly?
Until his strength had improved, he wouldn't set foot near Pilaf Castle.
This was a crucial point. Their next stop would be Ox-King.
If they spent three or four days here and wasted a few more at Ox-King's place, his strength would definitely increase significantly.
Then he would be able to complete the system's mission.
Time passed. The three stocked up on supplies in the town and continued toward the desert.
After delaying for a little over a day, Li Xing's strength had risen slightly again, though the increase barely showed up in his stats.
They hadn't been traveling for even a day when the roar of an engine rang out across the desert.
Xiao Wu and Ashu hadn't figured out what was going on yet. Delighted, they told Li Xing they'd found some companions and could travel with them.
Li Xing stared at the two fools, completely speechless.
These people really were idiots, hopelessly naive.
Soon, a man and a cat headed toward them.
Xiao Wu warmly greeted Yamcha.
The moment Yamcha saw her, he immediately turned and ran.
Li Xing was dumbfounded.
Only then did he realize what was going on.
Yamcha at this point in time was still afraid of women. He'd faint as soon as he saw one.
He wouldn't get over it until after meeting Bulma a few times.
With Xiao Wu along, it was no wonder Yamcha had run into them and fled.
A dark line appeared over Li Xing's head. He had no idea what to do.
There was no way he could leave Xiao Wu behind.
Besides, he had no way to control the two of them.
Come to think of it, in the Dragon Ball World, the only things he'd heard of were Bulma's "Bip-Bip Candy" and Babidi's mind-control magic. There didn't seem to be anything else.
Li Xing began thinking about how he could run into Yamcha again.
Xiao Wu and Ashu looked just as bewildered.
They couldn't understand what was wrong with that man. All they'd done was say hello, and he'd run off.
He'd run away!
"Hey, what's going on?"
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