Well, he was even giving him advice.
Ashu was deeply moved.
He was practically on the verge of tears.
As touched as he was, Ashu decided that once he got downstairs, he would contact Xiao Wu and make sure to recruit a few strong warriors first—at least stronger than himself.
After thanking Li Xing, Ashu scampered off.
Watching Ashu's little legs pump at high speed, Li Xing smiled.
That guy practically wanted Xiao Wu to assign him twenty burly men right now.
After Ashu left, Li Xing turned his attention to the fourth system mission.
This one was another opportunity-type mission.
The first had been a bonding mission, the second a danger-type escape mission, and the third had been the opportunity to recruit Pilaf and the others.
This opportunity really was enormous.
From now on, Li Xing's strength would start skyrocketing.
Unlike Sun Wukong and the others, who could only grow stronger by fighting,
Li Xing could use science to improve his strength quickly and effectively—and with far less effort.
"Choice one: Help Sun Wukong summon Shenron and revive his grandfather. Reward: Constitution +0.1.
Choice two: Kill the Sun Wukong group of five, seize the Dragon Balls, then destroy the Hoi-Poi Capsule Corporation. Reward: Mental Strength +0.01.
Choice three: Seize the Dragon Balls and stop Bulma from summoning Shenron. Reward: Energy +5."
Li Xing looked at the information provided by the system, his expression darkening.
"System, did you just copy and paste? All three missions have exactly the same rewards."
Li Xing gritted his teeth in anger.
What a shameless system.
It was forcing him to become a great villain.
"Just tell me, do you want it or not?"
Damn it...
There was nothing Li Xing could do. "I choose mission three."
Li Xing wasn't stupid.
He had no idea what would happen afterward if he killed Sun Wukong.
What if more enemies showed up and he couldn't beat them?
Keeping a few Saiyans around and using his Devour Ability to fight them regularly would do him nothing but good.
His own strength wouldn't fall behind, either.
As his Constitution gradually improved, his Mental Strength would surely rise later on, and his Energy would keep increasing as well.
With scientific testing and training—and perhaps the chance to build some battle armor in the future—Li Xing's strength would be absolutely top-tier.
He could be a villain. Having the Saiyans and the Dragon Ball Z Fighters as enemies was no problem at all.
But killing them was out of the question.
Li Xing sat in the seat at the head of the room, which had originally belonged to Pilaf.
He rubbed his chin.
"So I could actually take in Piccolo, Raditz, and Vegeta."
The thought crossed Li Xing's mind, but he immediately shook his head and dismissed it.
Those people weren't necessary. There was someone else, though.
A glint flashed in Li Xing's eyes.
Since he'd decided to become a great villain, it would be a waste not to make use of the other incredibly smart person on Earth.
The only pity was that this guy was more mature and wouldn't be easy to fool.
"Status panel!"
Host: Li Xing Lifespan: 26 Power Level: 32 Constitution: 1.45 Mental Strength: 1 Energy: 22 Ability: Devour Ability (LV1)
"Against Sun Wukong, these stats still don't seem like much."
Li Xing muttered to himself.
Judging by the system's past shenanigans, whenever it assigned a mission, the key figures were usually nearby.
In other words,
Sun Wukong and the others were already approaching Pilaf Castle.
The reason was obvious: they had one of the remaining Dragon Balls.
"What a pain. Ashu is still too weak. If he were stronger, I could devour more things and convert them into Constitution, letting me maintain my Devour Ability for longer."
Li Xing's eyes shifted as he considered how to deal with Sun Wukong and take the Dragon Ball from him.
He hadn't cared about it before.
Earth's Dragon Balls sounded impressive, but in practice they were pretty useless.
The ability to revive people wasn't that important to him.
He didn't need anything else they could offer, either.
The Dragon Balls on Earth couldn't grant their user immortality.
Their power couldn't exceed their creator's abilities.
That wasn't quite accurate.
It would be more reasonable to say their power couldn't exceed their creator's understanding—or what fell within the scope of that understanding.
Otherwise, it wouldn't make sense for Piccolo not to know Beerus, for Kami not to know Beerus, and yet for Shenron to recognize Beerus when summoned.
At present, the Earth Dragon Balls had only one use for Li Xing:
They could grant his wish to master Instant Transmission.
But Li Xing didn't need that at all.
He wouldn't venture into space for another decade or so.
At this point in time, Instant Transmission would only be useful for showing off.
Besides, Li Xing wasn't strong enough.
The Energy in his body couldn't sustain long-distance Instant Transmission.
"Whatever. I'll take the Dragon Balls first. Once I've got them, it's not like I can just leave Shenron un-summoned and not make a wish.
A villain needs to act like a villain. If it lets me oppose the protagonist, I can't pass up any advantage."
Li Xing stood and headed for the training room.
He still needed to contact Pilaf later.
He'd have the three of them take their mechs out for a test run.
The excuse would be to see how well they performed, and to have Pilaf look for any problems with the mechs so they could be improved later.
Thinking it through, Li Xing felt much more at ease.
Li Xing wasn't concerned with anything else. Making money and getting stronger were what mattered. Ahem...
He was only fifteen. Sure, he was old enough for some things, but he still had to be careful of the Harmony Beast and the like.
For now, he had to keep his head down and stop thinking about all that nonsense.
Li Xing thought that way, and acted accordingly.
The setting sun painted the sky in a wash of color.
Pilaf and the others climbed into three strange-looking mechs.
"Are you ready?"
"Sir, ready and waiting!"
Li Xing's face darkened.
"I'll say it again. What are you supposed to call me?"
"President Li!"
"Chairman!"
"Chairman Li Xing!"
Li Xing felt his blood rush to his head until he was dizzy.
He glared at them, his eyes wide.
Then he gritted his teeth and said,
"I'll say it one more time: if you get the title wrong again, I'll dock one percent of your share."
At his words, all three tensed up. Their breathing quickened, and their ears stood straight up.
They could already see the money rolling in. A golden road stretched out before them.
If they lost a huge pile of cash over a trivial matter like a title,
they'd wake themselves up from a dream just to slap themselves twice.
"From now on, we'll operate in secret as Polar Night, an organization that protects Earth from the shadows and stops all kinds of evil enemies from destroying it.
"There will only ever be the four of us. You three are the people I trust most, and no one else will ever join.
"I'll be the Eternal Night Monarch, Pilaf will be Chrono, Xiao Wu will be Black Rose, and Ashu will be Polar Ray.
"You don't have to remember the titles, but our identities must remain absolutely secret.
"Our goal is to protect Earth."
"Understood?"
The three of them were visibly thrilled.
"Yes, sir! We understand!"
Li Xing was furious.
Did these people really have no brains?
"What?"
In the end, Pilaf was the first to catch on.
"Understood, Number One. I'm Number Two."
Xiao Wu hurriedly called herself Number Three, while Ashu, still bewildered, could only call himself Number Four.
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