Is this what a mother-in-law's smile looks like…?
Yamiru couldn't help but mutter to himself. The customs and culture of West City on Dragon Ball Earth were quite similar to those of Europe and America in his previous life. Additionally, from what he remembered of the manga, Bulma's family didn't seem to care much about societal norms or formalities. Yamiru didn't care much either. Still, he decided to be a bit more polite to Tights' mother and smiled, saying, "Ah, thank you."
"You're acting weird~" Now it was Tights' turn to tease him. "Don't worry too much about my parents. Our relationship is our business, and theirs is theirs. Come on, let's go grab something to eat."
Yamiru smiled and nodded, letting her take his hand as they walked to the dining room.
The dining room was a semi-open hall with great natural lighting. Mrs. Briefs was already there, and robot servants were continuously bringing in a nutritious and lavish breakfast.
As they ate, Dr. Briefs, wearing his usual lab coat and casually smoking a cigarette, strolled in with a cat in tow.
"Phew…" He exhaled a puff of smoke and smiled. "Yamiru and Tights are here."
After sitting down, Dr. Briefs kept staring at his eldest daughter, who was sitting next to Yamiru. Tights found it strange and asked, "Dad, don't you have to go to the lab?"
"Bulma can handle it herself. It's her own interest," Dr. Briefs replied.
"Then why are you staring at me instead of reading the newspaper?" Tights said, annoyed. "Yes, yes, I'm dating Yamiru. Is that so strange? I'm at that age, you know."
"Hmm, I can't really control who you date, but…" Dr. Briefs took a drag from his cigarette and chuckled mischievously. "I didn't expect you to be so open-minded, Tights. How old is Yamiru this year?"
"Dear~" Mrs. Briefs scolded her husband lightly, slapping his arm.
"…" Yamiru and Tights exchanged a glance. Yamiru cleared his throat and said, "Strictly speaking, my body once underwent a regression."
"Huh?" came the collective response from the three family members.
"I can't really explain it myself, so I haven't brought it up with anyone…" Yamiru said vaguely. "One day, I woke up in a foreign place, and my body had inexplicably reverted to how it was when I was ten years old. But strangely, my strength had increased significantly."
"No wonder I always felt you didn't seem like a kid," Tights said, looking at him in surprise.
"There's something like that?" Dr. Briefs pondered. "Could it be that some mad scientist experimented on you? After the experiment…" He suddenly noticed Yamiru's pupils contract unnaturally at his words and stopped speaking.
Yamiru also noticed that Dr. Briefs had caught his reaction and awkwardly smiled. "Five years ago, while I was searching for Mount Paozu, I was captured by Dr. Gero of the Red Ribbon Army. I spent a long time on his operating table, under his knife. So… sorry." His girlfriend's hand reached under the table to squeeze his, and Yamiru patted it, signaling that he was fine.
Dr. Briefs nearly dropped his cigarette. "Your life has been quite eventful…"
"Oh, how tragic," Mrs. Briefs said sadly, cupping her face. "Eat more, Yamiru~"
After breakfast, Yamiru and Tights went to find Bulma in the lab.
On the way, Tights quietly asked, "So how old were you originally? Before your body shrank."
"Twenty-three," Yamiru told her.
Tights quickly did the math. She was twenty-one this year, and according to Yamiru, he woke up in South City five years ago with his body regressed…
"So you're actually at least twenty-eight!" She looked at Yamiru. "That makes you older than me."
"You can't just add it up like that. It doesn't work that way," Yamiru said with a laugh, shaking his head. "I think it's better to just say I'm twenty this year."
"Oh?" Tights suddenly got excited and smirked. "You're deliberately making yourself a year younger than me, huh? What, do you prefer older women?"
"Yes, yes, I like older sisters, okay…" Yamiru surrendered, leaning in to whisper something in Tights' ear, which immediately made her blush and glare at him. Yamiru chuckled and pointed to the lab door at the end of the hallway. "Alright, we're here. Let's watch our manners in front of the kid, Miss Tights~" With that, he slipped into the lab.
"Who needs to watch their manners?!" Tights laughed and chased after him.
Navigating through a jungle of instruments, the two found Bulma sitting at a workbench. She was perched on a small soft stool placed on top of a large chair, tinkering with a massive lab computer. The screen displayed various graphs, charts, and data… On the table beside her was a tray of empty bowls from her finished meal. The robot servants would only come to clean up when summoned and given permission.
"Beep, beep…" Bulma was wearing oversized goggles that covered half her face.
"Isn't it unnecessary to wear these goggles when just operating the computer?" Tights smiled as she walked over, surprised at the image on the screen. "Ah, isn't this Goku?"
On the screen that Bulma was working on, there was a 3D body scan of Son Goku, which could be rotated 360° with the mouse pointer. The body was marked with different color blocks. Most of the body was black, the tail was marked in red, and a large area of the back was colored gold. As Bulma quickly manipulated the computer, it was clear that when the color blocks were zoomed in, they appeared granular—like the shape of cells.
"It just feels more like doing research when wearing them," Bulma paused her work, hugged Tights, and greeted Yamiru with a glance, "Sister, you're back!"
"Did you find anything?" Yamiru smiled and asked.
He guessed that after Goku had dropped Bulma off, she must have asked him to collect more cell samples for her research. Judging from the graphic on the screen, it seemed she had done a full-body scan of Goku.
"..." Bulma seemed to think for a moment, then chose words that Yamiru and Tights would understand. "I remember you mentioned before, Yamiru, that when Dad and I checked Goku's cells, we found some special cells, which you called S cells—Super cells, right?"
Yamiru nodded. The S cells were essential for transforming into a Super Saiyan.
"This time, after a more comprehensive examination, I found that the S cells we observed before are mostly concentrated in Goku's back," Bulma pointed to the large gold block on the back of Goku's 3D body on the screen. When zoomed in, it revealed dense gold cells. "These cells are converted from Goku's main body cells, which I marked in black. In the evolutionary sequence, the black cells are the source and the foundation. Many of Goku's physical traits, such as his extraordinary strength, stamina, recovery, and ravenous appetite, are reflected in both the black and gold cells. But the gold cells possess many properties that the black cells don't have..."
Yamiru continued to nod. That meant the black cells were the original Saiyan cells, while the gold cells on the back were the evolved Super cells, which gave rise to many advanced features...
"And what about the red cells in the tail..." Tights pointed to the screen, asking the question that had been on Yamiru's mind.
"This cell is strange," Bulma frowned slightly, her beautiful eyebrows narrowing. "It's like something that should have been eliminated long ago, yet it's still present in Goku. The cells in the tail have completely lost the ability to spread to other areas of the body like the gold cells, and can only regenerate if the root is removed. But this regenerative ability diminishes with age until it eventually disappears—like I said, it should have been eliminated long ago."
"Ah..." Tights was feeling a bit dizzy.
"The tail cells can control Goku's Great Ape transformation. And after Goku transforms into a Great Ape, all of his cells temporarily resemble the red tail cells. This is another feature that the red tail cells have over the black cells, which is similar to the characteristics of the gold cells. So, what I'm saying is?" Yamiru furrowed his brow. "The red tail cells and the gold cells in the back both evolved from the main black cells?"
Bulma nodded. "That's a possibility, and it's the conclusion I've come to. However, the special cells in the back have an irreversible conversion relationship with the main body cells, while the cells in Goku's tail have completely lost such a relationship. You call the cells in the back Super cells, and perhaps the cells in the tail could be called Special cells. The black cells can be called Saiyan cells. Three types of cells... hmm, it's a new, broad theory of cells..."
"You're so smart~" Tights laughed and patted her sister's head. "I always find it so captivating when Bulma talks about things like this."
Bulma smiled sweetly at her sister and took off her protective goggles.
"Goku can convert the basic Saiyan cells into Super cells," Tights grinned. "I wonder if there are any Saiyans who can convert their cells into the Special cells in the tail?"
She said it casually, but Yamiru had a sudden thought. He recalled a certain Saiyan.
"Could it be that this is one of these special Saiyans who can evolve the basic cells into the tail's Special cells?" Yamiru silently pondered. "Is that why he's always so agitated like a Ozaru? Super Saiyan and Legendary Super Saiyan might be two different evolutionary branches for Saiyans?"
Thinking about it gave him goosebumps. That guy was a movie character, so he shouldn't appear here, right...
Yamiru thought it was best if he didn't appear. "Broly, please don't cause any trouble."