The pitch-black space.
Planet one, shrouded in a dense fog, twisted magnetic fields, and chaotic ionospheres… It was as if an invisible, dark cover enveloped the entire planet, preventing anything from exiting or entering through the barrier surrounding it.
Taro's figure appeared in the space outside the planet, with the cold, dark expanse of the universe behind him, and in front, the fog-covered Planet one.
He had found his way here based on the coordinates of Planet one's location stored in a research facility on Planet two. Suspended in space, Taro furrowed his brows. His eyes couldn't pierce through the fog surrounding the planet, and the continental plates and ocean distribution on the planet's surface were all hidden beneath this mist.
"It seems that the loss of contact between Planet two and here is due to this fog," Taro muttered silently in space. While he didn't understand the principles behind how this fog blocked communication, he could roughly deduce the situation.
Because even his martial arts' ki sensing was being obstructed by this fog.
He tried to scan the planet's surface for any high-energy reactions, but this layer of fog in front of him was like an illusionary reflection of water, and no matter how he tried, his consciousness couldn't penetrate this barrier. He squinted and, with a flick of his mind, secretly used his Ki Sense technique, But he could only vaguely "see" shadows existing beneath the hazy, oppressive "fog" on the planet's surface.
Taro knew these were energy responses on the planet's surface.
"Heh... Looks like even in the Dragon Ball world, the forces of technology might not be incapable of resisting the super warriors..." Taro smiled faintly, not feeling strange at all despite his usually reliable sensing abilities failing here. He thought to himself, "Perhaps, in other fractured small universes, there exist purely technological universes? Or perhaps universes where technology and super martial arts coexist?"
His thoughts wandered aimlessly, and Taro's figure disappeared beyond the planet.
---
As far as the eye could see, the landscape was desolate and broken. The ground seemed to have been bombarded by countless nuclear bombs, with no signs of life anywhere—no green to represent life, and a strange atmosphere pervaded the surface. Every hundred steps, there would be a radiation-like deep crater, some still emitting wisps of smoke from the center.
The entire surface of the planet was covered in radiation-shaped circular deep craters, scorched earth, and barren wasteland. There was no liquid water on the surface; rainfall had long disappeared, and what fell from the sky was only black-brown ash, an unknown substance.
Not even a cockroach could survive on this planet.
Yet, in the distance, a "human figure" appeared. The reason for the quotation marks was obvious—normal humans shouldn't be able to survive in such an environment, especially a group of individuals without any external protective gear. There were about ten or so of them, each with a terrifying appearance, their features distorted, their movements stiff and unnatural.
Perhaps unable to control their steps properly, some of them would step down, causing a deep pit with a diameter of several meters. The noise was so great that it seemed to startle their fellow creatures, and the dozen or so strange beings would suddenly fight with each other.
They were concentrated bodies of high energy, with terrifying physical attributes—strength, speed, agility, reaction time—all beyond imagination. When these dozen or so beings fought, it was like a whirlwind of lights. In such battles, not even shadows remained. Their encounters twisted the air, causing a few to disappear from their place, others to suddenly fly off, and energy beams to scatter everywhere, creating more deep pits on the surface with explosive sounds...
When things settled, the dozen or so individuals split into small groups of three or two. But these were not "teams" in any traditional sense; they had no concept of groups, merely gathering by chance. When the next large noise occurred, another round of chaos began.
It was a battle of earth-shaking proportions. When it ended, amidst the black-brown dust, a figure, about the size of a person close to one meter seventy to one meter eighty, casually walked into the dust, a place where normal humans wouldn't venture, but this person disregarded the surroundings and walked straight in.
---
In a corner of the barren continent, an underground research facility.
The environment was dark and damp, resembling the lair of an eccentric scientist from a movie, filled with strange black-tech devices. A muscular figure, with a metallic sheen on his skin, sat before the only lit display screens, meditating. Occasionally, he would open his eyes, revealing a gaze cold and merciless to the extreme. His eyes would scan the display screens, which showed the same desolate images he had seen countless times—lifeless scenes.
His cold eyes shifted, focusing on the operation panel beneath the screens. As his gaze moved, the buttons on the panel were automatically pressed, as though his eyes were invisible hands. Pressing the buttons caused the images on the screen to change.
It seemed he was searching for something.
Suddenly, the image on one of the screens shifted to show a group of a dozen or so test subjects.
"A group of failures..." The man coldly muttered this expressionless remark. As he saw the group of test subjects fighting over a trivial matter on the screen, the cold, disdainful look on his face deepened. "Do they really think... these things can protect you?" He narrowed his emotionless eyes and quietly murmured, "... With your abilities, you should be capable of creating better test subjects."
He glanced at the energy detection meter nearby, where the screen was flickering with groups of light spots, large and small, scattered across the display. Rarely, he allowed a cold smile to form, saying, "Well, I suppose you're too afraid to create stronger test subjects..." If the other party produced a higher-energy test subject, the energy detector here would pick it up, leading to certain doom.
"Where are you hiding..."
The man's eyes glinted with a dangerously intense light. Suddenly, his gaze locked onto the previous screen, which had been obscured by black-brown dust after the dozen or so test subjects had finished fighting. But now, it seemed like a figure had walked into the dust!
The walking posture didn't resemble that of those test subjects!
The man abruptly straightened his posture, casting a cold glance at the energy detection meter next to him. He quickly locked onto the location where the energy reactions from the dozen or so test subjects were concentrated. After zooming in on the display, the intervals between the light spots representing the energy reactions widened, and finally, another faint light spot appeared!
"So weak?" The man furrowed his brow, leaning on the operation desk, staring intently at the display screen. He muttered softly, "Could the test subject created by that person be so weak? Or... has he developed equipment to shield from detection?" His palm pressed against the energy meter's screen.
The man then left the underground research facility.