c10: Sir, the Times Have Changed
After Ye Lin shattered the scouting device with a single blast, he immediately understood something critical—this type of scouter clearly lacked long-range signal capabilities, meaning the enemy had to be nearby.
But the terrain in this region had already been scouted for five consecutive days. Ye Lin knew with certainty that the enemy couldn't be hiding on the surface. That left only one possibility the higher atmosphere.
With a sharp breath and steady ki control, he launched into the air using Bukūjutsu the Flight Technique favored by Earth's martial artists and the Z Fighters. Sure enough, once he broke through the upper cloud layer, the answer revealed itself.
Suspended above the clouds was a massive steel airship, bristling with weaponry and cloaked by atmospheric interference. It was unmistakably the hidden mobile base of the Shenji Regiment, a rogue paramilitary group known for cybernetic experiments one of the dark remnants of Dr. Gero's android research lineage.
Ye Lin narrowed his eyes. With calculated momentum, he surged through the air like a guided missile, soaring toward the vessel's underbelly. In response, the airship came to life. Dozens of turrets and auto-guns extended from its surface with mechanical precision.
Da-da-da-da!
Muzzle flashes lit the night sky, and bullets filled the air like a storm of metal bees.
But Ye Lin's agility in midair was honed beyond human limits. Using Bukūjutsu combined with a variant of the afterimage technique (Zanzōken), he weaved through the barrage with ease. The crude tracking system of the turrets couldn't match his movement speed his energy steps left momentary shockwaves in the clouds.
Within moments, Ye Lin was atop the airship, boots pressing onto the cold steel hull. There was no visible entrance, no hatch, no hangar bay access clearly, the enemy was hoping that fortification alone would deter an external breach.
"They really think I can't get in without brute force... just because I'm not carrying a blaster?"
Ye Lin smirked. He raised his right palm. A swirling, bright-blue mass of energy began forming, rotating at high velocity.
After five days of pursuit and frustration, his fury had been compressed into a single technique.
"Ōdama Rasengan!"
The colossal energy sphere, now over two meters in diameter, blasted forward and made direct contact with the steel armor of the ship. The condensed rotational force and internal energy tore a wide crater into the hull, the molecular structure dissolving under the pressure.
The moment the ball entered the ship, it detonated releasing spiraling waves of force into the interior chambers.
Inside the airship, chaos erupted.
"Master Jack! Structural integrity is collapsing we're going to explode!"
Panic swept through the crew. Red lights blinked across the control consoles, alarms howled like dying Saiyan pods, and engineers fled in every direction.
At the center of it all, Jack the cybernetic warlord of the Shenji Regiment trembled with rage. Feeling the airship buckling under the force of Ye Lin's attack, he slammed his fist into the wall, sparks flying.
"Ye Lin! You dare destroy the culmination of my life's work?! I swear, I'll carve that name into history... with your ashes!"
With one final glare at the collapsing chamber, Jack punched a hidden control panel. His private quarters began to shift, walls collapsing and transforming. Within seconds, the chamber morphed into an escape pod an emergency system based on Capsule Corp reverse-engineering.
Whoosh!
The escape pod disengaged from the burning ship, shooting off toward the distant horizon. Jack didn't spare a glance for his soldiers. To him, survival meant everything revenge would come later.
BOOM! BOOM!
Explosions echoed like thunder across the heavens. The once-mighty steel airship, symbol of Shenji's secret power, erupted in a chain reaction. Fire and molten debris poured from its ruptured body, as the night sky was painted orange by the final demise of Jack's flying fortress.
Finally, the massive steel airship plummeted from the sky, its propulsion systems destroyed beyond repair. Sparks and flames trailed behind as its energy core overloaded. The once-imposing mobile fortress of the Shenji Regiment had completely lost power and spiraled downward like a dying star.
When the wreck struck the earth, it triggered a thunderous explosion, the shockwave rippling for kilometers. Even from ten thousand meters above, the flare of the explosion could be clearly seen as a bright red bloom on the horizon.
Ye Lin exhaled slowly, retracting his intense gaze. Yet his focus didn't waver. His eyes shifted calmly toward a distant glint—he had been closely monitoring the airship's descent.
As expected, the moment the airship went critical, an escape pod detached from the wreckage and launched toward the mountains.
Ye Lin's aura surged. He raced after it instantly with Bukūjutsu, knowing that this pod contained his primary target. The mission's success depended entirely on what happened next.
---
Bang!
The escape pod crash-landed in the craggy plains, rolling once before halting with steam hissing from the hatch's seal.
The door burst open, and Jack, the cybernetic warlord of the Shenji Regiment, stumbled out in a cloud of smoke and fury. His elegant overcoat was tattered, and half his mechanical exoskeleton was exposed, glowing with residual energy from failed shielding systems.
His face twisted with rage, the humiliation unbearable. His life's work his airship, his men, his empire gone in seconds.
"To think you'd throw away all your subordinates just to save yourself. You're more machine than man now and clearly just as heartless."
The voice cut through the wind like a blade.
Jack's eyes snapped upward.
There, descending calmly from the heavens, was Ye Lin. He didn't even suppress his ki—his body glowed faintly with blue energy as he walked through the air, reminiscent of the way Goku descended before confronting Frieza on Namek.
Fear and fury warred in Jack's expression. This wasn't an opponent this was a judgment.
At that moment, the weapons embedded throughout Jack's body whirred to life. He had undergone extensive biomechanical augmentation, much like Android 13's early prototype form. From his arms, shoulders, and even knees, gun barrels extended and locked onto Ye Lin.
"Hmph! You underestimated me, brat!" Jack roared. "I'm not just a leader—I'm a living arsenal! My whole body is built for war! You think your soft, human skin can stand up to my titanium-alloy weapons and energy shells?! I'll shred you apart!"
He laughed maniacally, charging his cannons, unaware that Ye Lin had already vanished from his sight.
Ye Lin appeared right in front of him in a blur, faster than the human eye could follow—almost like Instant Transmission, but simply raw speed amplified by ki mastery.
"You've made two mistakes," Ye Lin said calmly. "First humans have no limits. Second—sir… the times have changed."
Boom!
One punch. That was all it took.
Ye Lin's fist connected with Jack's chest, bypassing every armor plate and artificial muscle fiber. The sheer force caused Jack's entire frame to buckle. He was launched backwards like a broken rocket, smashing through boulders before finally crashing into a stone wall, which caved in and buried him completely.
Ding!
"Congratulations to the host: Mission complete. Reward granted a god-tier lucky draw!"
Ye Lin withdrew his fist and stood calmly. He hadn't held back. Jack's true combat power barely registered above 30 on the scouter a pitiful figure in the post-Namek era of Earth's evolution. His mechanical body may have been heavy and weaponized, but he lacked the strength to withstand a true fighter's ki-enhanced strike.
As the rubble settled, the System Panel flickered in front of Ye Lin's eyes. His mission was marked "Complete."
Then, shimmering into view, a brilliant lottery box appeared resplendent in a swirl of colors. It was the high-tier reward box tied to Hard Mode, with a 50% chance of earning a C-rank or higher ability.
Ye Lin's heart beat faster. He reached out, and after a moment of suspense, a purple sphere dropped from the spinning box.
His eyes lit up.
"Congratulations to the host! You have received a C-rank ability from the Dragon Ball universe: 'Dodōnpa'!"
---
Character Panel:
Name: Ye Lin
Combat Power: 57
Skills:
1. Ōdama Rasengan (Intermediate 7/1000) – A massive spinning chakra sphere. Increases close-range combat power by 50%.
2. Bukūjutsu (Moon Step) (Intermediate 3/1000) – Enables flight by manipulating ki.
3. Dodōnpa (Dodon Ray) (Beginner 0/100) – Emits a focused energy beam from the fingertip. Increases long-range attack capacity by 10%.
Items:
Senzu Bean ×4
Dragon Radar ×1
Dragon Balls ×6
---
Ye Lin clenched the purple orb and felt the skill integrate into his neural pathways. His eyes narrowed with joy—this was exactly the move he needed. His only weakness until now was the lack of reliable long-range offense. The Ōdama Rasengan was devastating, yes—but it required close proximity and preparation.
If he had possessed the Dodōnpa during the previous skirmish, he could've taken out the scouting drone instantly, without revealing his location.
He extended his right hand forward, fingers together, and began channeling energy. A bright white light condensed at his fingertip, focused and humming. When it reached critical mass—
Fwoooosh!
The Dodōnpa beam erupted—narrow as a finger, yet blisteringly fast. It carved through the air, piercing multiple trees in its path, and finally blasted through a boulder, leaving behind clean, circular holes through each obstacle.
Ye Lin marveled at its power.
"With Ōdama Rasengan for close combat, Dodōnpa for ranged strikes, and Bukūjutsu for aerial mobility... even elite mercenaries won't be able to corner me."
He exhaled deeply, fists clenched with focus. Still, he remained cautious. This was the Dragon Ball world. Stronger threats could emerge without warning—from rogue Namekians to the remnants of the Red Ribbon Army, or worse, off-world Saiyan survivors.
But now, Ye Lin had the tools to survive. Maybe even to rise.
—