The Use of Illusions

"Lady Maki, are you still here?"

After a while, the door to the headquarters hall of the Heeters was knocked, and a staff member cautiously pushed the door open and entered.

It had been quite some time since the members of the Heeters went to the tarmac to welcome a new client, and the lack of updates had the employees worried.

Fortunately, upon opening the door, the staff member saw Maki and the others sitting unharmed in the hall seats, chatting and laughing with Zuke.

"What is it? Is there something you need?"

Seeing someone enter the hall, Maki glared at the newcomer and asked.

"N-no... nothing, just a bit concerned about your well-being, Lady Maki..."

The staff member, intimidated by Maki's glare, took a step back and forced a smile.

After all, facing a superior, it's natural to feel pressure and not appear too relaxed.

"Good timing. We have some matters to attend to with this important client and might be away from headquarters for a while."

At that moment, Maki suddenly addressed the staff member.

"Go and relay a message for me. Tell everyone to continue their work as usual. There's no need to wait for new assignments from me. Everything will be addressed upon my return."

"Yes... understood."

Although this was a first, the staff member dared not question and quickly bowed before leaving the hall.

Within the Heeters Corporation, the commands of the Heeters were absolute, a habit cultivated since the era of Elec, and even now with Maki in charge, it remained unchanged.

Soon after the staff member left to disseminate the orders throughout the Corporation, the hall fell silent once again.

Maki, who had been lively moments ago, froze in place, and Oil and Gas, sitting beside her, also stiffened.

In the next moment, the once harmonious hall vanished, replaced by a hellish scene.

Maki, who had just been conversing with the staff member, now lay dead on the ground with her heart pierced. Oil's body was torn in half, gruesomely discarded to the side.

Gas had completely disappeared, as if the earlier peaceful scene in the hall was just an illusion.

Or rather... it truly was an illusion.

"This should buy us some time. I hope Bardock can quickly gather all the Saiyans."

Zuke stood up from his seat, shaking the blood off his hands.

The scene the staff member had witnessed—"the Heeters happily conversing with a new client"—was an illusion created by Zuke using the abilities of the "Black Bird: Tenore Sax."

The reality beneath the illusion was that Maki and Oil had been killed by him, and Gas had been devoured by the "Black Bird Requiem."

Maki and Oil were too weak to be of any value, whereas Gas possessed a berserk-like ability, allowing him to enter a "liberation state" to gain immense combat power.

Thus, Zuke chose to devour him—though after testing this ability, he found it too easy to lose control.

Therefore, unless in dire straits, Zuke would likely avoid using this "liberation state," as he disliked the feeling of losing rationality.

As for why he used the illusion to convey the message that "the Heeters are still alive, just away for a while"...

It was, of course, to prevent Frieza from turning his attention to Zuke too soon.

Although Frieza had already sent the Ginyu Force after Zuke, it didn't mean Frieza considered Zuke a formidable enemy.

He was merely coveting the Heeters's assets, hence the rare gesture of sending the Ginyu Force.

Zuke still needed time to grow, to reach a level where he could formally confront Frieza before Frieza realized Zuke was severely disrupting his plans.

The time bought would allow Zuke to achieve his two current objectives.

To extract the Saiyans from Frieza's army and to collect the Super Dragon Balls. Along the way, he could also absorb energy from abandoned planets to boost his combat power.

After disposing of Maki and Oil's bodies, Zuke left the hall and departed in his cube-shaped spaceship.

The Heeters Corporation would likely soon become history—though Zuke had used the illusion to inform the staff that "the Heeters are away from headquarters for a while," the truth couldn't be hidden forever.

The day would come when the HeetersCorporation faced an issue requiring the boss's attention, and with no one to be found, the corporation would crumble.

Poor Frieza, having specially dispatched the Ginyu Force to eliminate Zuke, would not only fail to receive his payment but also lose the Ginyu Force entirely.

...

{Transitioning to Shin}

"The time spent in the Dragon Ball world was longer than I expected."

Opening his eyes, Shin's first thought was that the entire 8-hour gaming session had been consumed in the Dragon Ball world.

There was no helping it; the Super Dragon Balls were scattered across the universe, and traveling to collect them was an unavoidable part of the process.

With the cube-shaped spaceship, travel time had already been significantly reduced.

If he had used a regular spherical spaceship to collect the Super Dragon Balls, Shin couldn't imagine how long it would take—probably years.

Incidentally, when exiting the Dragon Ball world this time, Shin set the cube-shaped spaceship's destination to the last Super Dragon Ball in Universe 7.

According to the spaceship's calculations, it would take about two days to reach.

Meaning, if Zuke entered the Dragon Ball world the day after tomorrow, he could obtain that Super Dragon Ball.

However, acquiring that Dragon Ball would necessitate a trip to Universe 6—as the remaining Super Dragon Balls were there.

"I wonder if Universe 6's God of Destruction is asleep..."

Thinking of Universe 6's God of Destruction, Champa, Shin felt a bit conflicted.

He had done so much in Universe 7 primarily because its God of Destruction, Beerus, was still asleep and wouldn't wake for decades.

Thus, no matter how much he stirred up trouble, Beerus wouldn't come after him.

But Universe 6 was a different story. Champa's temperament was equally difficult, and Shin wasn't sure if entering Universe 6 would alert him.

Perhaps he should bring some delicacies in the Gate of Babylon? Shin recalled that Champa, like Beerus, was a glutton and even engaged in food competitions with Beerus.

To be continued…

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