Hearing Yamcha say the Androids didn't seem hostile, Krillin felt the same.
He couldn't help but wonder aloud, "Then what are they going to West City for?"
Yamcha shrugged. "How would I know?"
"But whether they're going to West City or not, we still have to rush over anyway."
"Besides Chi-Chi, Chiaotzu also brought Tien to West City, didn't he?"
"No matter what, we need to check on those two."
"We might even need to gather the Dragon Balls."
"Right, that makes sense… We still have the Dragon Balls. Nothing's a real problem!"
At the thought of the Dragon Balls, Krillin visibly relaxed, letting out a deep breath.
"Let's go. We're heading to West City."
Piccolo suddenly said, "You go. I'm not going."
Krillin looked at him curiously. "What are you going to do?"
"You look like you've got something planned."
"We're friends—can't you tell me?"
Piccolo's expression twisted, and he snapped coldly,
"Friends? Who the hell is friends with you people?"
"I'm only using you for now so I can conquer the world!"
With that, Piccolo shot into the sky and flew toward the Lookout.
Krillin stared after him, a strange smile tugging at his lips.
"Heh… what a tsundere."
Yamcha also watched Piccolo fly away, then muttered,
"Yeah. He's the same as Vegeta. Both of them always want to be stronger than everyone else."
"But where's he going?"
"I think… I know where."
"Come on, stop spacing out—West City!"
"Oh right—shouldn't we buy something first?"
"That'd be way too fake."
"Bulma's place doesn't lack cheap stuff like that. Let's just go."
"True!"
As long as Piccolo was alive, the Dragon Balls still existed.
And in Krillin's eyes, there was basically nothing in the world the Dragon Balls couldn't fix.
Once they realized the Androids weren't pure evil monsters, the pressure in their hearts eased a lot.
The two of them flew off toward West City.
West City.
Bulma and Goku were waiting anxiously outside the emergency room.
Just then—right at that moment—the lead doctor walked out.
Bulma and Goku both turned sharply toward her.
"Doctor," Bulma asked, voice tight, "how is Chi-Chi?"
The doctor wiped sweat from her forehead and spoke awkwardly.
"Miss Bulma… I've done everything I could…"
That sentence was practically a death sentence.
Bulma and Goku both froze.
Bulma immediately grabbed the doctor by the collar.
The doctor was a woman—smaller and weaker than Bulma—and was instantly lifted off the ground.
Bulma roared, "You've been in there for this long and you're telling me you couldn't save her?! What the hell were you doing?!"
The doctor panicked. It was the first time she'd ever seen Bulma this furious—much less physically violent.
Sweat broke out across her face.
She hurriedly explained, "We saved her! She's alive! She didn't die!"
"…Alive?"
Bulma released her collar.
Goku also loosened his clenched fist.
"Keep talking," he said, voice low.
The doctor continued, "Her condition was caused by severe overuse of her body."
"All her organs have been working under overload for an extended period."
"Now her entire body is in organ failure."
"And this kind of failure… isn't injury."
"It's aging."
"It's an irreversible biological process."
"Even though we brought her back, with her current state—no matter how well she's cared for…"
"She only has one or two years left."
After saying that, the doctor nervously looked at Bulma and Goku, waiting for the outburst.
But instead—
"Overuse… organ failure… aging…"
Goku repeated the key words slowly.
The doctor nodded. "Yes."
And in the next second—
the crushing atmosphere evaporated.
Bulma and Goku actually smiled.
Because they had a solution.
Organ failure.
No wonder Senzu Beans didn't work.
Bulma nodded. "Understood."
"Sorry, I was too impulsive earlier."
"You can go back to work."
The doctor looked completely confused.
But she didn't dare provoke Bulma again, and she also didn't want them disturbing the patient, so she quickly reminded them:
"Chi-Chi is stable now, but she's asleep."
"She needs rest."
"Unless absolutely necessary, don't disturb her."
"I know. Go," Bulma waved her off.
The doctor finally left.
Goku grabbed Bulma's hand and said excitedly,
"This is great! I thought it was some incurable disease!"
"If it's just organ failure, Chi-Chi can be saved!"
"I'll collect the Dragon Balls—if we wish for her to have a thousand more years of life, everything's solved!"
Bulma nodded rapidly. "Yes! Yes! I'll get the Dragon Radar!"
Right then, another doctor came out.
"Miss Bulma… is Mr. Tien a martial artist?"
Bulma nodded. "Yes. Why?"
The doctor said seriously, "Then you should advise him not to train so recklessly."
"Thankfully, his constitution is strong."
"Otherwise, a normal person would've collapsed long ago."
"He's pushed his body way past its limits."
"To put it simply—his body is exhausted to the point of breakdown."
Bulma froze.
Then she asked carefully, "How long can he live?"
The doctor thought for a moment.
"If he stops overtraining and rests properly…"
"Living another fifty or sixty years shouldn't be a problem."
"But if he keeps doing this…"
"Then it's hard to say."
Bulma's eyes widened.
"How is that possible?"
"Chi-Chi is younger than him, and she hasn't trained nearly as hard…"
"Yet she already hit organ failure…"
"And he's mostly fine?"
The doctor glanced at Chi-Chi's ward and instantly understood.
She explained patiently,
"Miss Bulma… people's constitutions differ."
"And besides—Chi-Chi is a woman."
"You should know this."
"Men often overwork for years to earn more money, which is why statistically men have shorter lifespans."
"In the same age group, women's physical constitution is far weaker under overload."
"That's the reason."
Bulma and Goku both realized it at the same time.
A trip to the hospital had actually taught them something.
Bulma had been proud.
Because of her rebirth, her training arrangements, the gravity room, gravity wristbands…
Earth's fighters were way stronger than in the original timeline.
But now she tasted the bitter consequence.
Humans didn't have enough talent.
If they wanted to become strong—
they had to burn their lives away.
Fortunately, Chi-Chi and Tien hadn't died.
And they still had Dragon Balls.
Otherwise Bulma would've been drowning in guilt forever.
Goku had once wished Bulma for immortality, giving her a thousand more years.
Now she already had a plan:
Chi-Chi would get the same treatment.
Bulma turned to the doctor.
"I understand."
"Thank you for saving Chi-Chi and Tien today."
"Forget polite words—this month, everyone involved in the surgery gets a bonus."
The doctor instantly bowed.
"Thank you, Miss!"
She walked away with the momentum of someone who'd just gotten promoted.
Bulma and Goku left the hospital, planning to grab the radar and start hunting the Dragon Balls.
Then Launch rushed over.
"Bulma! Goku! Is Chi-Chi okay?!"
Bulma and Goku shook their heads.
"She's… mostly okay now."
"What's wrong, Launch?"
Launch said, "A young woman with short blond hair and a young man with black hair came."
"They said their names were 17 and 18."
"They want to see you."
Bulma and Goku both trembled.
Bulma screamed, "Crap—Androids?!"
"How did they end up at my house?!"
Goku didn't realize Bulma had never actually met the Androids in this world.
Seeing Bulma panic, he squeezed her hand tightly.
"Bulma, don't be afraid."
"I'm confident in my strength."
"I can beat them."
"If they want to fight, I'll lure them away."
"I won't let them hurt you."
Bulma's heart steadied instantly at his grip and reassurance.
In the previous timeline, the Androids were a nightmare.
But this time was different.
Even Trunks had only spent a few days in the past, and when he returned, he could defeat the Androids.
And now Bulma had Goku.
There was no way the Androids could be that terrifying.
Bulma nodded. "Mm. Be careful."
Goku nodded and was about to go—
but Launch added quickly, "Um… wait."
"They don't look like they came to fight."
"I was worried they'd disrupt Chi-Chi's rescue, so I had them wait in the reception room."
"It's been half an hour."
"They specifically asked to see you, Bulma."
Bulma and Goku blinked.
"Me?" Bulma pointed at herself.
Launch nodded. "Yes."
"And… they said to bring ID. They want to replace a bank card."
"…Replace a card?"
Goku was totally lost.
"What card?"
Launch looked just as confused.
"I don't know. They said you'd remember."
In that instant, a memory from years ago flashed through Bulma's mind.
She remembered.
Back then, she had met young 17 and 18—before they were turned into Androids.
They had saved her life on an island full of dinosaurs.
To thank them, she had given them a bank card.
At first they spent a bit—just thousands, tens of thousands.
It annoyed her.
So later she turned off text alerts…
Meaning she had no idea what happened after.
Bulma grabbed Goku's arm.
"Goku, come with me."
"They're probably not bad people."
Goku blinked and followed while asking, "Bulma, why do you think that?"
"How do you know they're not bad?"
Bulma poked his forehead with her finger.
"You—have you trained so much your brain turned into muscle?"
"If they were bad people, would they wait at the door for half an hour?"
Goku froze, then nodded in realization.
"…You're right. That makes sense."
A moment later, they entered the reception room.
Android 17 and 18 were lounging on the sofa, casually eating fruit and drinking tea.
Hearing the door, both looked up.
Goku and Bulma saw them clearly.
Golden hair.
Blue eyes.
High noses.
Pale skin.
Even though their clothes were ragged…
it couldn't hide their looks.
The real Android 18 was stunning—like she stepped right out of a painting.
18 spat out a sunflower seed shell.
Her cold expression suddenly turned bright with a dazzling smile.
She stood up and stretched out her hand toward Bulma.
"It's really you, rich lady!"
"Do you remember me?"
Goku was shocked.
"Bulma… you didn't tell me you knew her!"
18 turned to Goku next.
"Son Goku—I know you too."
"We met a long time ago."
"…Met?"
"Yeah. We did."
18 nodded seriously.
Goku froze.
He couldn't remember meeting her at all.
If he'd met her that early, how could he forget?
Now Bulma was the one shocked.
As a Dragon Ball fan—and a huge Android 18 fan—
she looked at Goku and asked,
"When did you meet?"
Goku scratched his head, looking wronged.
"But… I really don't remember!"
Bulma laughed softly. That was definitely Goku.
Then she looked back at 18, silently asking when.
18 immediately explained,
"On an island in the southwest."
"When you were chasing Demon King Piccolo, you saved me once."
"And you gave me a Senzu Bean."
"Demon King Piccolo…? Senzu Bean…?"
Goku scratched harder, trying to recall.
But it had been so many years—he'd basically forgotten everything.
Bulma already knew he wouldn't remember.
So she quickly changed the subject.
"Alright, alright. We'll talk about it later."
"Since we're all acquaintances, come inside first."
But 17 didn't enter immediately. He stated the purpose directly.
"Miss Bulma, do you remember giving us a card before?"
Bulma nodded dumbly. "Yeah…"
17 continued, "We lost it."
"We barely spent any of the money."
"Can you help us replace it?"
Bulma snapped back. "You came to me… just for that?"
"What else?" 17 said matter-of-factly.
"You don't understand—we were locked up by Dr. Gero for years."
"Our clothes are old, tacky, and we have no place to live."
"And we don't have even a single cent on us."
"So of course we came to you first."
Bulma was speechless.
Then she asked, "…How much money was on that card?"
18 answered instantly, "It had 100 million."
"We only spent a little over 500,000."
"Then we got caught by Gero."
"So unless there was interest… there should still be about 95.4 million left."
17 nodded urgently. "If we weren't thinking about that money…"
"We might've died inside the sleep pods."
"Rich big sister, you have to help us replace the card!"
Bulma went blank.
Then Goku suddenly turned around and said to Launch:
"Launch, go to my room and get 100 million—no, get 200 million cash."
"Give them 100 million each."
17 and 18 were stunned.
They only asked Bulma to replace a card with 100 million—
and this man immediately offered them 200 million in cash.
Their eyes practically turned into worship.
This was beyond generous.
But what Launch said next shook them even harder.
"Your cash isn't much anymore."
"I have a few hundred billion in cash."
"I'll go get two hundred million. Easy."
Goku nodded seriously. "Thanks, Launch."
"Don't mention it."
Launch left.
A few hundred billion…
17 and 18's worldview collapsed on the spot.
They stared at Launch's apron-clad figure like she was a mythological creature.
18 couldn't hold back anymore and asked,
"The world's richest family… is this terrifying?"
Bulma blinked. "Terrifying?"
"What's terrifying about my house?"
18 nearly choked.
"Hundreds of billions in savings!"
"That's a goddamn astronomical number!"
Bulma immediately covered her mouth and giggled.
Then 18 pointed at Launch's back.
"Even a maid in your house is that rich?!"
Bulma waved quickly. "No no—you misunderstood."
"She's not a maid. She's Goku's—"
She stopped halfway.
18 stared curiously.
"She's Goku's what?"
Bulma thought about it.
Saying Launch's past stories in front of outsiders felt inappropriate.
But…
Launch was family now.
Nothing needed hiding.
So Bulma answered honestly:
"She's also Goku's wife."
"…What?"
18 stared at Bulma like she'd been struck by lightning.
"Aren't you his wife?"
Bulma nodded casually. "Yes."
"I'm Goku's wife."
"Launch is too."
"And Chi-Chi is also his wife."
"Goku has three wives."
18's soul left her body.
And 17 froze like his CPU had crashed.
Goku: "😐"