"Alright then, stick close to me, we're going in to find the Dragon Ball." Seeing that Bulma was unwilling to stay outside, John had no choice but to grab Bulma's hand and walk into the cave.
The two walked into the cave, and soon only the light from the flashlight in front of them remained, while the rest was shrouded in darkness.
Bulma was getting more scared, clutching John's hand even harder. Even with John's current strength, he felt his hand hurting a bit.
But John did not dare to break free, for fear of scaring Bulma. After all, this life, it was him who brought her into the danger of finding the Dragon Balls.
The cave was very quiet, apart from the sound of their footsteps, there were only their breathing sounds. John's breathing was light and steady, while Bulma's breathing was heavy and urgent.
"John, haven't we found the Dragon Ball yet?" Bulma suddenly asked in a low voice.
Even a seemingly light voice echoed loudly in such a quiet cave.
As Bulma's voice echoed further into the cave, a group of intense sounds suddenly appeared, and a swarm of black shadows rushed towards them.
John was startled, quickly shielding Bulma under him, and then the black shadow flew over their heads, making a sharp, piercing sound.
Only then did John realize that they were bats. Many bats inhabited the cave, and John and Bulma's arrival had startled them, causing the bats to fly out of the cave to avoid them.
Bulma, trembling under John's clothes, stood up again when there was no sound, and asked, "What were those creatures just now?"
John replied, "Nothing, just a group of bats. After all, we intruded on their territory, no wonder they came flying to scare us."
Bulma then relaxed a bit and said, "So they were bats, scared me to death. Let's hurry and find the Dragon Ball. I'll check the Dragon Ball radar to see how close we are."
Bulma took out the Dragon Ball radar and carefully checked it, finding that the Dragon Ball was very close, about a hundred meters away.
Hearing that it was about a hundred meters away, John immediately grabbed Bulma and quickened their pace.
This time no other creatures came to disturb them, and they soon arrived near the new Dragon Ball.
Because Dragon Balls sense each other when close, as they approached with the two-star ball, the Dragon Ball in the cave began to emit a faint glow.
John immediately shouted, "Bulma, I see it! I see the Dragon Ball inside, it's over there."
John then leaped several times, reaching the Dragon Ball's side. John took out the Dragon Ball lodged in the cave rock and counted the stars inside.
"John, how many stars does it have?" Bulma asked loudly, the echo constantly reverberating in the cave.
John replied, "It's a five-star ball. Now we have two out of the seven Dragon Balls."
"Great, let's get out of here; this cave is really scary." Bulma shouted loudly.
"Alright, let's get out right now," John responded.
The journey out of the cave was noticeably faster than the way in since the path out was already confirmed to be safe.
The two quickly walked out of the cave. Bulma sighed with relief and impatiently said to John, "Quick, let me see the five-star Dragon Ball."
Before John could fully take the Dragon Ball out of his pocket, Bulma snatched it away.
After looking at the Dragon Ball, Bulma was somewhat disappointed, saying, "Besides having three more stars inside, it looks no different from the two-star ball."
John said with a wry smile, "Of course, I heard that originally the Dragon Ball was just one. It was later divided into seven Dragon Balls by the god."
Bulma curiously asked, "Why did the god do that? If it were just one, wouldn't it be easier for people to find the Dragon Ball?"
John scratched his head, thought about the plot, and said, "It seems that humans were too greedy, wanting to fulfill more wishes after fulfilling one. This unearned wish made the god very angry. Ultimately, the god divided the Dragon Ball into seven, scattering them around the world after each wish is fulfilled."
"Anyone who wants to collect the Dragon Balls must go through various trials before they can gather all seven and make their wish."
"After that, humans realized that wishes are limited, but hard work is infinite. As long as one works hard enough, they can achieve their wishes even without the Dragon Balls."
John began to give Bulma some life philosophy, related to his past experience as a motivational speaker. He quit because he felt it was against his conscience, but this habit remained, and sometimes he unconsciously shared motivational thoughts.
But who is Bulma? The daughter of the president of Capsule Corporation, the future richest person in the world. She usually gives motivational talks to others, not the other way around.
After listening to John's words, Bulma said with a faint smile, "In this world, can effort really lead to success? Can you become the world's best martial artist just by trying hard?" She glanced at the Dragon Ball in her hand.
John was momentarily speechless. Effort is what capitalists tell the poor to create benefits for themselves. When John traveled into the world of Dragon Ball, his original world was caught in a vicious cycle of 'involution'.
When everyone worked hard, they found that their situation didn't improve but worsened. Their money didn't increase, sometimes even decreased, and they ended up with worse health.
Everyone realized that their hard work didn't benefit them but allowed their bosses to buy houses and cars. Those who saw through this chose to lie flat and stopped trying.
Seeing John speechless again, Bulma smiled and returned the Dragon Ball to him, saying, "So we should keep gathering the Dragon Balls. With their help, your effort will be valuable. Otherwise, you'd just be an ordinary martial artist who bullies ordinary tigers."
What could John say? Nothing. He obediently put the Dragon Ball into his backpack and returned to the Western City with Bulma.