Chapter 400 — Four-Star Ball, Bulma

Wang Linshu was not the only one competing for the position of Bulma's personal bodyguard.

But standing before Dr. Briefs, Wang Xu appeared entirely composed.

Though he was merely a shadow, lacking the formidable clairvoyance that his true body projected across other planes, the scattered fragments flickering through his memory kept him unruffled.

Even facing an invincible, overwhelming opponent, he could meet death with calm.

A trifling scene like this could hardly flood his system with adrenaline or set his blood racing.

Of course, living a little longer was naturally preferable.

The meaning of his existence was simply to live.

To observe, to learn, to listen, to feel, to think...

His unique vantage point could provide further sustenance for his true body.

"I'll play it by ear."

Wang Zhiyao made up his mind.

From the intelligence he had gathered, the founder of Capsule Corporation was a brilliant but eccentric scientist.

There was no need to deliberately set out to stun the world at first sight.

After all, only three people were competing for this post.

Wang Xu looked around, sized up his two rivals, and immediately relaxed.

One was a mountain of a fat man who gasped with every step; the other a skinny wisp of a fellow who looked like a gust of wind might blow him away.

Neither of them had even appeared in the original work as a nameless extra.

Instinct told Wang Xu that these two truly were weak—not masters of the kind who feign pigs to devour tigers.

As a man who had happened along at the right moment, with a respectable résumé and good looks to boot, there was no need for him to add superfluous flourishes.

And indeed, things turned out just as Wang Muyuan had expected.

After reviewing the comparative résumés of the three, Dr. Briefs had them run through a full battery of physical fitness tests and quickly reached his conclusion.

"Wang Xu? A disciple of the Crane School, no criminal record, once survived alone in the wilds of Mt. Paozu for a full year... You're hired!"

Dr. Briefs announced it thus: "Three months' probation, then you're on staff. Benefits and compensation..."

And so on and so forth, a whole spiel.

Wang Xu had the feeling these reasons were all pretexts—that the man had chosen him simply because his looks were more pleasing than the other two and fit the worldview and aesthetic tastes of ordinary people better.

Though the fat-and-thin duo were somewhat put out at being edged out of the competition, they still left Capsule Corporation obediently enough.

And so Wang Xu became Bulma's personal bodyguard.

He had no intention of becoming a full employee; the moment probation ended, he would leave Capsule Corporation.

This place was merely a stepping stone in his plan.

...

Bulma, the little princess of Capsule Corporation, was still a small loli with blue hair and purple eyes back then, brimming with energy all day long, getting into trouble everywhere, and utterly incapable of sitting still.

After joining the company, Wang Xu came to know a few things.

For instance...

Bulma had an older sister named Tights.

To become a light-novel writer, that girl had given up a life of privilege, left home to work elsewhere, and was tasting life for herself.

Lately Tights seemed to have befriended someone named Jaco and had taken his spaceship to other planets.

A matter like interstellar exploration—no matter how big a heart her father had, he could never truly be at ease about it.

The fact that they had started looking for a bodyguard for Bulma gave a hint of that.

"So then... how am I supposed to grow stronger?"

Wang Xu watched the blue-haired little loli bouncing along ahead of him and began pondering the question.

Judging by the intelligence he had obtained, quite a few Reincarnators had arrived in the great Dragon Ball world—he estimated around thirty.

For example, Reincarnator No. 008, Rock Lee; Reincarnator No. 014, Charlton Xavier; Reincarnator No. 240, Zhao Xin...

Only...

This plane was simply too vast!

The main storyline's locations were scattered across multiple universes as well; at least on this Earth where Wang Muyuan was, there was not a single Reincarnator.

Little Lee was currently carrying out a rescue mission on Planet Namek in Universe 1; Zhao Xin was also in Universe 3's Earth, reviving the martial arts; Charlton had been given an angel's disguise and was serving as the God of Destruction's litter-scooper in Universe 3...

Each had their own missions to carry out. Even if Wang Xu wished to bask in their glory and trade favors for benefits in his capacity as his true body's shadow, that was impossible.

"So it seems I can only rely on myself."

What ways were there for an ordinary human to change his fate?

A sentence popped instantly into Wang Xu's mind.

Knowledge changes destiny; if you're ugly, you'd better read more.

Of course, he was not ugly—one might even say he was quite handsome, with the makings of a star.

But his store of knowledge genuinely fell short of the benchmark.

No matter how hard he racked his brains, all he could think of was using the Dragon Balls to wish for a change in fate.

For instance, granting himself the bloodline of a half-blood Saiyan, then using the bug of doubling his power through rage and near-death recovery to rapidly smash through the threshold and become a Super Saiyan.

That was the simplest and most commonly used way to skyrocket in strength.

There were some others...

For example, asking the Divine Dragon to raise his intelligence to the human limit, and then, using little Goku's genes as a template, manually converting himself into an android—an immediate leap forward.

All these flashy tricks shared one common prerequisite.

Gather the seven Dragon Balls!

"Miss Bulma."

Wang Xu suddenly spoke up, calling Bulma to a stop.

"Hm?"

The blue-haired little loli turned her head and blinked her watery eyes.

Very quickly, her attention was drawn to the amber-colored orb in Wang Xu's hand.

What a strange thing it was!

Four red five-pointed stars were imprinted within the amber sphere.

From whatever direction you looked, all four five-pointed stars were fully intact!

It defied logic; science could not explain it!

Though the super-high-IQ little loli was very young, both her store of knowledge and her agility of thought surpassed many a long-famous top scientist.

"Is this your treasure?"

Bulma seemed to want to reach out and touch Wang Huai'an's Dragon Ball, but felt a little shy about it.

"I can lend it to you to play with for a couple of days, but you mustn't break it—after all, I borrowed this from a friend."

Saying this, Wang Xu felt a touch of gratitude toward little Goku.

What a pure, kind soul...

A thing like the Four-Star Dragon Ball, lent out just like that.

Still, for little Goku, the Four-Star Ball meant something more than gathering the Dragon Balls to make a wish—it represented the dying wish of his grandfather, Son Gohan.

"Wait."

The instant Bulma's little hand was about to touch the Dragon Ball, Wang Xu drew it back. "I have one more condition. If you can't do it, then never mind."

Such words stirred the girl's competitive spirit. She puffed out her cheeks and said defiantly, "What condition? Out with it! There's nothing I can't do!"

Quite the tsundere...

After all, she was still young, simple in character, with little experience—intelligence was not the same as everything.

Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory was a textbook example of high IQ paired with low emotional intelligence.

Wang Xu had achieved his aim.

He waggled the Dragon Ball in his hand: "This orb gives off a special aura. I want to collect the other six similar ones. If you can build a radar device targeted at them, I'll lend it to you to play with for a few days."

"Hmph."

The little loli Bulma pursed her lips and took the Dragon Ball from Wang Xu's hand: "Just you wait."

With that, she bounded off, skipping up to the second-floor research room.