First Experience with the Gravity Room

By the time Lin Chen returned to Kame House, most of the water on his body had dried. The fabric of his training uniform had tightened under the combined effects of his body heat and the sea breeze, clinging to his back with a faint chill. He stood in the yard and rolled his shoulders. His joints made soft sounds as they rotated, but the movement was smooth, without any stiffness.

The sound of chopping came from the kitchen. Master Roshi was at the cutting board preparing a cleaned fish. The blade slid along the bones, separating the flesh from the skin cleanly and neatly, leaving almost no meat on the skeleton. He arranged the fillets on a plate, then scooped up a spoonful of seasoning from a bowl beside him and poured it over the surface. The sauce seeped into the grain of the fish, slowly spreading across the bottom of the plate.

"Dinner will take a little longer," Master Roshi said without turning around. "You boys should go change first."

Krillin had already gone inside. The wooden door made a soft sound as it closed behind him, followed by his footsteps on the stairs, one after another in an even rhythm. Goku sat in the yard, lowering his head as he wrung out the hem of his shorts. Each time he twisted them, less water came out, until only a thin stream dripped from his fingertips. Lin Chen went inside as well and headed upstairs to change into dry clothes.

As he came downstairs and passed through the hallway, he noticed that the door at the end leading to the storage room was half-open. Inside were piles of miscellaneous items and old wooden boards. A machine of unclear purpose stood in the corner, its casing covered in dust as though it had not been used in a long time. Its plug hung from the side, the cable tangled with a broken rope. The connector at the end of the cable bore several worn marks. He looked at it for two seconds but did not go inside.

Dinner was eaten in the yard. Steam still rose from the rim of the plate when Master Roshi brought out the fish. Its skin had been lightly seared, and the curled edges formed small pale-gold arcs. Goku picked up the biggest piece and put it in his own bowl. Krillin used his chopsticks to separate the flesh, neatly arranging the fish bones along the edge of his plate as though he was used to eating this way. Lin Chen picked up a piece near the belly. The white, tender flesh melted across his tongue with the fragrance of shredded ginger and scallions.

"Tomorrow, there's something I need to tell you." Master Roshi picked up some greens with his chopsticks, chewed, and swallowed. "That girl Bulma sent over a piece of training equipment before. It's called a Gravity Room. The machine in the storage room is it. It's never been powered on, mainly because I haven't found anyone to calibrate it. I see you know how to fix things, so go take a look tomorrow. If you can power it up, use it. If not, leave it alone."

Lin Chen recalled the dust-covered machine at the end of the hallway. "The one in the storage room?"

"That's right. The casing's a little dirty, but the inside should still work." Master Roshi continued eating after that and said nothing more.

The next morning, Lin Chen went to the storage room as Master Roshi had instructed. He moved the machine out from the pile of clutter and pushed it into an open area in the yard. Its casing was metal, covered with a mixture of dust and fine sand. Its edges had been worn shiny, while the paint around the corners bore small scratches. He found a wet cloth and wiped the casing clean, revealing the white metal panel beneath. There was a row of indicator lights, several knobs, and a power socket on the panel.

He checked the power cord. The cable's outer sheath was undamaged, and the plug showed no obvious oxidation. He then inspected the cooling grille on the side of the machine. Nothing was blocking it, and the dust buildup was normal. He plugged it into the outlet on the outer hallway wall. The machine let out a low hum, two indicator lights came on, and then remained steadily lit. He turned each knob through a full rotation to test the basic functions, confirming that the machine could still operate after sitting unused for some time and had not been affected by moisture or dust.

[Ding! Picked up Mechanical Repair Fragments ×2. Current Mechanical Repair Proficiency: 7%.]

He felt a brief warmth at his fingertips. The fingers touching the machine's casing sensed it first, then it spread from his fingers toward his wrist, like a thin thread unfurling beneath his skin. It stopped near his wrist and did not continue deeper into his arm. He returned the knobs to their starting positions and turned toward the hallway.

Master Roshi was standing at the door, watching him. "It's powered on?"

"It can run, and the knobs work normally. But I'll need to test the internal environment to determine its actual operating condition."

Master Roshi nodded. "Then go in and try it. Make sure you close the door."

Lin Chen pulled open the hatch of the Gravity Room. The sealing strip around the frame had hardened somewhat, and when he closed the door, the sound was duller than expected, as if a thick cushion were being compressed under pressure. The interior was slightly larger than it looked from outside, about three square meters. The ceiling was roughly half a meter taller than he was, and the floor was made of non-slip metal plates. A narrow groove extended from the inside of the hatch to the edge of the rear wall.

He set the knob to its lowest setting, and the machine began to run with a deep rumble. He felt his body grow heavier in an instant, as though several layers of sandbags had been tied beneath his feet, though the effect was not great. He stood up and took a few steps. Moving took a little more effort, but it was not difficult, much like the feeling of walking from the water onto shore.

He stood there for several seconds, then raised the knob by one setting.

The weight increased again. Bending his knees became more difficult, but it was still within his tolerance. His breathing rate did not noticeably change, and after adjusting his stance, the weight distribution became more even. He performed a set of squats in place inside the Gravity Room, moving about twenty percent slower than usual.

[Ding! Training in a low-gravity environment. Picked up Strength Orbs ×5. Strength +15.]

A sustained warmth spread from his shoulders down his arms, as though his blood were flowing faster. It then traveled along his back to his waist, lasting for about ten seconds before gradually fading, like water making a circuit through a pipe before returning to its original position. He rotated his shoulders. His joints functioned normally.

He raised the setting by another level. This time, the sinking sensation in his body was much more obvious. Every step required more force to lift his feet from the ground. He threw a set of straight punches. His punches had indeed slowed, but with every strike, he could feel the muscles in his arms contracting with full force. He threw twenty punches in a row before stopping, his arms faintly sore.

[Ding! Picked up Strength Orbs ×8. Strength +24.]

[Ding! Picked up Constitution Orbs ×3. Constitution +9.]

He stood in place for a while, adjusting his breathing. He could feel the warm current within him flowing steadily, without violent fluctuations. He reached out and turned the knob back to zero. The pressure in the chamber gradually eased, and the process of his body becoming lighter felt like rising up from deep water. Once he had steadied himself again, the sensation of his feet on the floor returned to that of normal gravity.

When he opened the hatch and stepped out, Master Roshi was still standing at the hallway entrance, wiping the lenses of a pair of glasses with an old cloth. "How was it?"

"It works," Lin Chen said. "I don't know whether I can handle the highest setting yet, but the middle and lower settings are operating normally."

Master Roshi put on his glasses and pushed them up the bridge of his nose. "Then keep using it. Go inside for a while every day, not too long. Increase the settings gradually." He turned and walked back into the house as though everything had already been arranged. His figure turned at the end of the hallway and disappeared behind the doorframe.

Lin Chen stood beside the Gravity Room and touched its casing. The metal surface had already been warmed by the sun.