A Little Pre-Match Incident

On the morning of the finals, just after daybreak, the plaza outside the venue was already packed. Vendors selling snacks and drinks had set up stalls on both sides of the entrance. Some pushed metal carts fitted with simple stoves, where stir-fried noodles on griddles sent up white steam. The smell drifted far through the morning air. A long line stretched from the entrance, winding across the plaza all the way to the edge of the parking lot.

As Lin Chen made his way through the crowd toward the competitors' passage, a young blue-haired girl was crouching on the steps beside its entrance. She held a palm-sized silver-white device and swept it back and forth over the competitors passing by. She was dressed noticeably differently from the other spectators—wearing a short jacket and shorts, with a large backpack marked with letters beside her. She looked like she had just arrived from a journey.

When Lin Chen passed her, the girl looked up and scanned him with the device. Its indicator lights flashed twice, letting out a series of soft beeps. She glanced down at the screen, then looked back at him with a frown. "Your readings are fluctuating strangely... Are you really a martial artist?"

Lin Chen did not stop walking. "I'm here to compete."

"I know you're here to compete. The competitors' entrance is this way, so you're going the right way." She stood up, dusted off her shorts, and took several quick steps to walk beside him. "But your energy reading is unstable. Sometimes it's very low, then it suddenly jumps up again, like something is interfering with the scan. Are you carrying something special?"

Lin Chen stopped and glanced at her. "Your device might be broken."

"Impossible. I made it myself." She held the device up in front of him and gave it a shake. "I assembled every part myself, and I calibrated it myself too."

Lin Chen did not respond further. He turned and entered the competitors' passage. The girl did not follow him in. She watched him from the entrance for a while, then lowered her head and resumed fiddling with her device.

The corridor was even quieter than yesterday. Most of the competitors had already been eliminated, leaving only the two finalists and several staff members. By the time Lin Chen reached the rest area, Son Goku was already there, squatting by the wall and warming up. When he saw Lin Chen enter, he grinned at him. "Morning! How did you sleep last night?"

"Not bad."

Son Goku stood and rolled his shoulders. "I was especially excited when I woke up this morning. I almost couldn't sleep last night. Krillin said not to hold back in the finals, so I'm planning to go all out from the start."

Lin Chen sat down on a bench. "Fine."

Son Goku nodded, then squatted down again and continued stretching. His movements were not large, but every stretch reached its limit. After finishing a set, he stood and shook out his legs. In the plaza outside the rest area, the broadcast was announcing the day's schedule. The host's booming voice declared, "Finals—competitor Son Goku versus competitor Lin Chen," echoing once off the walls before fading away.

When the audience began filing in, Lin Chen rose from the rest area and headed for the arena. There were even more people in the stands than yesterday, and the corridors on both sides were packed as well. Someone shouted, "Go, Son Goku!" but it was quickly drowned out by other voices.

When Son Goku stepped onto the arena from the other side, the stands erupted in applause and whistles. He stopped in the middle of the ring and adjusted his belt. Lin Chen stepped up from the opposite side as well, stopping roughly five meters away from him. The sun had already risen over the roof on the east side of the venue, slanting across the ring and casting both their shadows in the same direction.

The referee stepped onto the ring and stood between them. After confirming that both sides were ready, he raised his right hand. "Finals—competitor Son Goku versus competitor Lin Chen! Begin!"

Son Goku moved the instant the referee finished speaking. His footwork was faster than Krillin's, and he came in with obvious momentum. His first punch had already reached Lin Chen's face—so fast it created a gust of air pressure. Lin Chen twisted aside to evade it, the fist narrowly brushing past his shoulder. The cloth of his martial arts uniform dented under the force of the punch before quickly smoothing out again.

Son Goku turned, and his second punch followed immediately, aimed at Lin Chen's abdomen. Lin Chen pressed down with his palm to block it. A distinct impact traveled through his palm, and heat spread up his arm.

[ Ding! Attack received. Picked up Strength Orbs ×3. Strength +12. ]

"Your defense is steadier than Krillin said," Son Goku remarked between punches, and then the third strike came right after—a low sweeping kick.

Lin Chen raised his knee to block the sweep. A dull pain flared where it struck the side of his knee, but it was quickly covered by a warm current. Son Goku gave him no chance to adjust. A continuous barrage of punches and kicks surged at him like a rising tide, every strike heavier than the last. The wooden boards beneath their feet thudded densely under the repeated impacts, as if someone were pounding against the underside of the platform. The wind from their blows swept up fine dust from the ring, turning it into a thin golden haze in the slanting pre-noon sunlight.

Lin Chen kept retreating as he blocked, feeling his arms grow hotter and stronger after absorbing each impact. He noticed that although Son Goku's attacks were fierce, there was always a brief moment to catch his breath after every full-force punch.

Another heavy punch came crashing down. Lin Chen blocked it and retreated half a step, his heel landing on the rope at the edge of the ring. The rope stretched taut, then snapped back, pushing him toward the center of the ring.

Son Goku paused, his breathing slightly faster. "You're tougher than yesterday. Those punches just now were about as strong as the ones I used against Krillin yesterday. He would've staggered after taking them, but you didn't even move."

Lin Chen lowered his guarding arms. "Maybe I'm in better condition today."

Son Goku laughed, then lowered his center of gravity again. "Then I'll get serious."

He drew both hands to his waist, palms facing each other, fingers slightly spread. Lin Chen felt the air around him changing—as though an invisible force were gathering in his palms. The wind's direction became chaotic for an instant, then settled again.

"Ka—me—ha—me—ha!"

A blue-white beam shot from Son Goku's palms, skimming across the surface of the ring toward Lin Chen. The blast pressure gouged a shallow groove into the wooden boards along its path. Lin Chen did not dodge. He crossed his arms in front of himself, and the instant the beam struck his arms, he felt a violent impact. His whole body was pushed backward, sliding across the ring as the boards beneath his feet creaked, leaving several pale friction marks near the point of contact.

His feet carved an arc-shaped trail across the ground, nearly reaching the edge of the ring before he adjusted his balance and stopped. He lowered his arms. The sleeves of his martial arts uniform had been scorched black by the heat of the energy wave, and the skin on his arms was slightly red. A wave of warmth seeped from the surface of his arms into his body, as if forced in by an outside power. It was more intense than ordinary pickups and lasted longer too. The heat spread from his arms to his shoulders, then gradually faded.

[ Ding! High-intensity energy attack received. Picked up Kamehameha Fragments ×12. Constitution +20. ]

[ Ding! Kamehameha synthesis progress: 31%. ]

Son Goku stood where he was, still holding the posture from firing the blast, his hands resting at his waist. "You took that?"

Lin Chen rolled up the scorched sleeves of his martial arts uniform, revealing forearms that were reddened but intact. "I took it. But your energy wave really hits hard."

"That was a full-power shot," Son Goku said. "You can take more than I expected."

He resumed his stance, drawing his hands back to his waist as light began gathering between his palms again. "Then I'll try firing another one."