Krillin browsed through the mission list, skipping the low-level ones without a second glance. His search was highly purposeful—working under the Galactic King for the rest of his life? Not a chance. Krillin planned to locate a planet rich in high-energy resources and quietly strike it big on his own.
The Galactic Patrol Organization, a longstanding force, had an impressively extensive catalog of missions, some dating back hundreds or even thousands of years. Krillin filtered through the list with strict criteria: the mission should take place in a remote location, involve a reasonably large invading force, and the invasion should be due to the planet's abundant energy resources.
After several rounds of rigorous selection, the list narrowed down considerably. The first mission to catch his attention was one from two centuries ago.
Defeat the Invasion of King Cold
Reward: 1,000,000 pointsDifficulty: A-level
Krillin sneered at the mission. Two hundred years had passed, and no Galactic Warrior had dared to accept it. Everyone knew that dealing with the Cold family was no small feat. Galactic Warriors were nothing more than a force that claimed moral high ground.
Krillin accepted the mission. He had already planned to investigate that area, so earning some points along the way was a bonus.
As he continued browsing, another mission piqued his interest:
Investigate the Cause of Planet Prot's Transformation into a Dead Star in a Short Period
Reward: 1,000 pointsDifficulty: D-level
"A planet turned into a dead star in such a short time?" Krillin muttered, stroking his chin in thought. His eyes narrowed in reminiscence. "What could possibly drain a planet's life force so quickly? Could it be…?"
A spark lit in his eyes as a realization struck him. "The Tree of Might's Fruit! Only the fruit of the Tree of Might can absorb a planet's life force in such a short time. Without life force, a planet would naturally become a dead star."
Legend had it that the Tree of Might's fruit contained the life essence of an entire planet. It had immense restorative powers for the body and could rejuvenate one's vitality. By the later stages of Dragon Ball, most of the group had aged, Saiyans included. If Krillin could obtain the fruit, wouldn't it allow his friends to retain their youth forever?
While Krillin's dimension-enhanced power had increased his lifespan, he didn't worry about himself. Saiyans also had notably long periods of youth. But watching his friends grow old and feeble one by one would be a crushing blow to his spirit. With the Tree of Might's fruit, everything could be resolved.
Although Krillin wasn't a devil, he certainly wasn't an angel either. If he planted the Tree of Might on a planet under Frieza's control, no one would call him a villain. On the contrary, they'd probably praise him as a protector of justice in the galaxy.
The mission had been issued a year ago, and Planet Prot was quite far from Galactic Headquarters. Otherwise, the 1,000-point reward wouldn't have remained unclaimed. This further supported Krillin's theory—it had to be Turles. At this point, Turles was likely still weak, having just obtained the seed of the Tree of Might. To avoid detection by the Galactic Patrol and other forces, he would have retreated to a remote area to plant the tree in secret.
Now that Krillin had caught wind of it, he wouldn't let the fruit slip away. He had to investigate. Planet Prot lay on the edge of the Eastern Galaxy, east of the Straw Hat System. Even with the Galactic Organization's most advanced starship, the journey would take over a month. First, he'd need to gather energy in the Straw Hat System—once he had enough, he could travel freely.
Krillin only accepted these two missions. Compared to them, the others were simply not worth his time.
To reach the Straw Hat System, Krillin needed a high-performance interstellar ship. His current Instant Transmission technique still had limitations, and he spent most of his time traveling, leaving little time for training. Thankfully, spending 10,000 points felt like pocket change to him.
"Let's see what I can get with 10,000 points." Krillin opened the points exchange list:
Advanced Energy Ore: 100 points
Plantable Human Seeds: 100–1,000 points (price varies with combat power)
Interstellar Ship: 2,000 points
Space Cannon: 10,000 points
"Wow, quite a few goodies," Krillin remarked as he browsed.
He selected the ship. The interstellar ship icon dimmed, indicating it had been purchased. The exchange system replenished its stock only after items were bought, so the selection depended partly on luck.
"Buy it all! Let's make sure no one else gets anything good. Hah, looks like I'm short on points. Forget the Space Cannon; I'll grab everything else," Krillin decided mischievously.
Purchased items would be sent to the Galactic Base, and only the purchaser, using their personal Galactic ID, could retrieve them.
After completing his purchases, Krillin felt refreshed, without a trace of regret.
Nail, standing nearby, was dumbfounded. He couldn't believe Krillin had just spent what amounted to 10 years of his savings in an instant.
Krillin began walking away, noticing Nail still standing there in shock. Laughing, he nudged him with an elbow. "Let's go! What are you daydreaming about?"
"Go where?" Nail asked blankly, his voice hollow.
"To the space base, to pick up the interstellar ship, and head to the Straw Hat System," Krillin replied with sudden seriousness.
"Huh? Wha…?" Nail stammered, too flustered to form coherent words.
Krillin led Nail to the Galactic Space Base. The base functioned as a logistics hub, handling the distribution of goods for the Galactic King's commercial network.
Approaching a staff member, Krillin said, "I'm here to collect supplies."
"What supplies? Do you have proof of purchase?" the staff member asked arrogantly. The logistics department was notoriously haughty.
Nail stepped forward angrily, snapping, "Are you blind? This is the newly appointed Chief Krillin, personally chosen by the Galactic King. Who gave a lowly logistics officer like you the courage to act so insolently?"
Finished with his outburst, Nail quickly stepped behind Krillin, looking every bit like a loyal lackey.
The staff member was skeptical. Krillin's recent promotion wasn't yet public knowledge, and the lower ranks were unaware.
Krillin had no interest in arguing with minor characters. He tossed his ID toward the staff member, who glanced at it. The words "Chief Krillin" were emblazoned at the top.
The staff member paled, trembling as he stammered, "I… I apologize, Chief Krillin!"
Krillin said coldly, "Arrogance and prejudice will only lead to your downfall."
"Yes, sir!" The staff member's legs shook as he led the way.
Krillin followed him to the warehouse. As a senior member, Krillin's items were stored separately.
He looked at the ship and wondered aloud, "With such advanced technology, why haven't the Galactic civilizations invented capsule storage yet? Weird."
Turning to Nail, Krillin called, "You'll pilot the ship. Get ready to depart!"
"Yes, Chief Krillin!" Nail responded enthusiastically, rushing to the ship.