Hathaway didn't understand his aning. Taro raised his hand, allowing the Phoenix to land on his arm, just as Tam approached from behind.
Seeing that the boy was still caught up in the philosophical dilemma of whether "aliens" should be considered people or if extraterrestrial life should be regarded as equal to humanity, Taro smacked him lightly on the head.
"Let's go. We're heading back to Earth."
The next day, the spherical spaceship vanished from Planet Two.
On the surveillance screens inside the central control room, a previously blank section of the monitored area returned to normal. The screens showed nothing but an ordinary stretch of grassland—nothing unusual. And yet, the first group of enforcers sent there had mysteriously disappeared without a trace, along with the fugitives they had been pursuing. The enforcers dispatched afterward had found nothing abnormal in that area either, making the whole situation rather strange...
---
After settling Hathaway, Tam, Ninn, the phoenix, and the spherical spaceship on an island, Taro prepared to return to the enigmatic planet.
The enforcers who seed to have ties to Frieza, as well as the vague but oddly familiar figure he had glimpsed in the fragnts of their mories—both left him with lingering curiosity.
In truth, this journey among the stars had been more than just a family trip to help his son overco his inner struggles. Taro had also planned to "recruit" a few suitable scientists along the way.
Throughout their travels, he had ntally marked several planets with scientific advancents that suited his vision. When this trip was over, he intended to return and bring so of those scientists back to Earth. Whether the future he envisioned for his howorld could be realized would require careful steps.
Now was the ti to act.
Though Hathaway was a genius, her research was ultimately limited by Earth's scientific progress. Besides, even the most brilliant mind benefited from collaboration—gathering more talent would only be an asset.
"You're going back, aren't you?" Hathaway had already read his intentions but didn't try to stop him. She knew better than anyone that nothing could sway her husband's decisions.
Taro smiled. "I won't be gone long."
"Alright, then I'll stay ho..." Hathaway said softly, her gaze warm as she smiled. "I've had so new ideas for AI programming lately."
Tam, cradling Ninn in his arms, scoffed. "You're not gonna take twenty years to co back this ti, are you?"
Taro glanced at his son. He simply said, "Take care of your mother."
With that, he vanished into the sky, disappearing beneath the blue horizon of the island. The salty sea breeze swept through the spot where he had stood.
Ninn blinked her bright, inquisitive eyes, gazing up at the endless sky. In her innocent, childlike voice, she asked, "Did Grandpa go to the stars again?"
— — —
Planet Two
Central City
This city was completely closed off to the visitors from the planet's other major settlents. Its gates were tightly shut, and a specialized energy barrier enveloped the entire tropolis. The barrier served not only as a ans of isolation but also as a detection and warning system. If an overwhelming enemy managed to breach the city, the central control units would be alerted imdiately, and all combat forces within the city would mobilize in an instant.
There were no ordinary residents here—only hurried, purposeful workers. Every person in this city served the true ruler of this planet: a galactic tycoon who maintained close dealings with Emperor Frieza.
Whether they were trusted retainers or, in reality, re slaves, their sole purpose was to work for the unseen overlord, guarding his vast assets and maintaining order within his domain.
With everyone strictly focused on their duties, the city streets remained eerily quiet despite the structured chaos within.
Taro appeared out of nowhere, not far outside the gray, strange Central City. He looked up and took in the atmosphere of the city. The overall feeling it gave him was one of rigidity, deadlock, and a sense of oppression. This wasn't just a product of his imagination; with his current mastery of ntal magic, he could sense the collective, empathetic psychic energy of the population—a true perceptible presence.
"Now that I think about it... Frieza must allow this powerless cosmic tycoon to exist because he's not skilled at creating wealth, right? But what significance does wealth hold for soone like him? After all, wealth is just a manifestation of material resources. With his overwhelming power, seizing all available resources is effortless. Who would dare to oppose him?" Taro thought casually to himself as he walked toward Central City. He had already learned from the other cities on this planet that it was owned by a galactic tycoon, who simply permitted outsiders to stay.
"Based on his attitude towards his subordinates in the original stories, and his self-proclaid title of Emperor of the universe, looks like this guy truly intends to rule the galaxy like an empire. Heh, if the 'Frozen Clan' really exists, then, in so sense, he could be considered a genius. But with all the sins he's committed, he won't escape his inevitable downfall."
With these thoughts in mind, Taro passed through the outer barrier of Central City.
In fact, he had sensed the existence of this invisible energy barrier long before he even touched it. It was impossible not to notice. At this point, he was able to absorb natural and even cosmic energy, so his sensitivity to energy—whether biological or non-biological—was unparalleled across the entire universe.
The shield that enveloped the city was like a colorful do pressed over Central City, making it hard to ignore.
But would he care?
Taro's steps didn't falter. He simply broke through the invisible glass do and entered the city.
At the sa ti, alarm bells rang throughout Central City's central control building. The sharp, jarring sound was loud enough that even Taro, standing at the city's edge, could hear it. The many workers in the city, upon hearing the alarms, were initially stunned. After a brief pause, they slowly realized what the sound signified.
Taro shook his head. The mont he stepped into the city, his ntal energy swept across the entire city like an invisible, formless ocean, overwhelming it. His thoughts transford into an invisible psychic web, falling from the sky to cover everything... Every life reaction in the city beca a node in this ntal net.
In that instant, countless emotional thoughts—confusion, panic, calm, irritation—connected to Taro's consciousness through his psychic magic.
Several decades ago, when Taro had dealt with the demon chaos on Earth, he had used this very technique.
He had, of course, learned it from the previous generation's Holy Mage, Ivan. When the entire population of the Magic Planet had been relocated, it was Ivan who used this ntal magic to connect everyone on the planet. This link allowed them to perform the massive transfer through Taro's instant teleportation in a very short ti. Otherwise, even though the population on the Magic Planet was relatively sparse, it still numbered in the hundreds of thousands. Organizing such a large-scale transfer without a unified psychic link would have made it impossible to complete in just a few days.
And Taro had replicated this magic on Earth. It was the first ti he had used this ntal magic. There were few opportunities to practice this kind of magic. At the ti, he had connected the wills of all humans on Earth, using his own mind as the core. He had clearly felt the fear and despair radiating from the weaker consciousnesses in the psychic sea.
After that magic practice, his resolve had only grown stronger.
And today, he was using it once more.
Compared to the awkwardness of his first attempt, when he had been cautious and hesitant, he now used the magic with a much lighter touch. Of course, this was due to his ntal power having greatly improved since those days, and the population of this city was a far cry from Earth's billions.
Walking leisurely through Central City's streets, Taro almost seed to embody the aura of the evil sorcerer Babidi, who had once spoken to all of Earth's people through their shared ntal link.
Through the psychic connection he had established, images seed to appear before him:
"Who is it? What has broken into Central City?" A panicked alien from the managent team seed desperate.
"Searching! Searching! Damn it... Why can't I find any further signals?!" A weary alien technician, drenched in sweat, stared at his screen. He had no idea that Taro had cast a magic barrier around him, isolating external influences. Though such magic was largely ineffective against strong opponents, anything lingering on that previous barrier was easily captured by Taro.
"What happened?" "Soone has invaded Central City?" "That's impossible! Who would dare?" "Who knows? There's always soone not afraid to die." "Who cares, just do your job!"
Taro seed like a ghost hovering above the entire city, coldly observing the countless waves of consciousness below. He was unmoved by most trivial thoughts, only filtering out what he sought.
Suddenly, an unusual ntal disturbance caught his attention—
"What happened on Planet one? Why haven't we received any further reports? Could it be that sothing went wrong with the 'research'? Or was the 'research' discovered by Lord Frieza's n? That can't be... But if it is... if sothing truly happened..." The Yellow Toad pondered sinisterly in his secret chamber. The eerie glow reflected on the screen cast a greasy, revolting light on his ugly, twisted face, revealing a cruel smirk. "With the 'Enforcers' under my control, who on this planet would dare defy my will? Who
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