"It's a trap—this is absolutely a trap!"
The commander-in-chief of the Mana Civilization's expeditionary force broke into a cold sweat as he stared at the energy readings on his instruments—levels high enough to completely annihilate his entire fleet.
"When I return, I must report this to His Majesty immediately. We need to fully seal off the dimensional barrier here and designate this as one of the most dangerous dimensions in existence." "
So much for a "low-latitude world"—this was clearly a civilization from a dimension equal to, or even more powerful than, their own, setting a trap.
It was a good thing he had reacted quickly.
Otherwise, not only would their expeditionary force have been wiped out, but the entire Mana civilization would have faced the risk of annihilation.
Meanwhile, Bai Yuekui and the others watched the Mana expeditionary force flee in a panic and the dimensional rift seal shut once more; the same thought couldn't help but cross their minds.
"So, it turns out even high-dimensional civilizations can be quite timid..."
Three days later, Bai Yuekui gazed at Jiuchuan City—now restored to its original state—in a daze. It took a long moment for her to snap out of it and thank Goku, who was standing beside her:
"Thank you, Goku. Thank you for saving our world!"
After resolving the Mana ecosystem crisis and defeating the Lord of Light and Shadow—and scaring off the Mana civilization—Goku had spent three days using miraculous restoration magic to return the ruined Jiuchuan City to its former glory.
The villagers of Dragon Bone Village and all the residents of the Lighthouse relocated to Jiuchuan City; under the leadership of Bai Yuekui and Mark, they began a happy new life dedicated to the revival of humanity.
"Thank you for saving us, too!"
Mark stood nearby with Zaibing, his face filled with gratitude.
Had Goku not appeared, there is no telling what dark fate would have awaited the Lighthouse and Dragon Bone Village.
"No need to thank me; you treated me to a meal, after all. Besides, my own strength improved a lot in the process."
Goku flashed a guileless smile.
To him, this was simply a form of training—a chance to hone his strength while lending a hand to those in need along the way.
"I'm leaving this world to continue my training. Maybe we'll meet again someday!"
There were no true powerhouses left on this planet, and it was uncertain whether any other inhabited worlds even existed in the vast cosmos beyond.
Naturally, he couldn't afford to waste a huge amount of time searching the universe—even though he did have a spaceship.
As for higher-dimensional beings like the Mana civilization... perhaps there were still powerful entities out there, but he had no way of locating them.
So, he decided to leave this world right away and head to a new one to continue his training.
He had gained a great deal from every world he had visited, and this one was no exception.
In just over a month, his base strength had doubled, and he had even unlocked a new combat form.
He was full of anticipation for the next world.
"I'll work on improving the Angel Serum and the Miracle K Serum as soon as possible, and I'll develop oral versions, too.
So, make sure to come back and visit when you have the time."
Bai Yuekui didn't seem surprised by Goku's departure.
She had long suspected that he didn't belong to this world—that he might be a higher-dimensional being from another realm.
To him, this place was merely a stopover on his journey.
"I'm not sure what might be of use to you, but from what I know, these items from the Old World are quite valuable. Perhaps they'll come in handy during your travels to other worlds."
Mark waved his hand, and soon, Lighthouse Scavengers clad in heavy powered armor carried over several large crates.
When the crates were opened, they gleamed with a dazzling array of gold bars, jewelry, jade, diamonds, and priceless ornaments from the Old World.
In this post-apocalyptic era, food, energy, and medicine were the most valuable commodities.
Gold and jewelry, by contrast, were considered useless junk.
That was why, after a brief search of the reclaimed Jiuchuan City, the Scavenger squad had managed to gather such a large haul.
These items—useless in the wasteland—would likely prove helpful to Goku if he visited the prosperous, orderly worlds out there.
"Alright, thanks!"
Goku didn't stand on ceremony; he promptly stowed all the crates away into his box.
He now understood the function of money. While he didn't harbor the intense desire for wealth that ordinary people did, he knew it could make his cultivation journey easier—at the very least, it ensured he wouldn't go hungry.
So, provided it didn't waste time or hinder his training, he didn't mind storing more of these items in the box—which Dumbledore had expanded to the size of a small city.
"Well then, goodbye everyone."
After putting away the crates, Goku waved to the group, closed his eyes, and vanished on the spot.
"Boss Bai, I plan to build a statue of Goku in the center of Jiuchuan City. Future generations need to know who saved our world."
Watching Goku disappear, Mark made the suggestion with a touch of emotion.
Bai Yuekui nodded in agreement.
"You decide on those matters. From now on, you are the Mayor of Jiuchuan City and the new leader of humanity. I'm heading to the lab."
"Remember to help me get more of the experimental equipment I need."
She was a scientist by nature; now that humanity's safety was no longer a concern requiring her attention, she naturally didn't want to waste her energy on trivial matters.
The Mana civilization wasn't the only high-dimensional civilization out there; heaven only knew how many others existed.
That was why she intended to continue developing and upgrading the Angel Serum and the Miracle Serum, making humanity even stronger.
...to withstand any new crises that might arise in the future.
Hmm, the first step was to convert the Angel Serum and Miracle Serum into oral formulations.
"Well... to be honest, I don't really want to be mayor."
Mark scratched his head with a look of resignation; compared to being a mayor, he much preferred being a warrior.
In the white void, Goku looked at the door next to the one labeled Spirit Cage and walked through it without hesitation.
That door was labeled Naruto.
It was the 68th year of the Konoha era. Goku materialized out of thin air in an alleyway within a small town on the border of the Land of Fire.
Stepping out of the alley, the first thing that caught his eye was a bustling street lined with food stalls.
"Takoyaki, buttered potatoes, chocolate-covered bananas, marzipan, grilled meat, yakisoba..."
Gazing at the stalls with their hanging signs and catching the mouth-watering aromas wafting from the various delicacies, Goku rubbed his stomach:
"I'm hungry!"
Even though less than three hours had passed since his last meal, the temptation of the delicious food made him feel hungry all over again.
"Time to get some of this world's currency."
Unlike the first time he entered another world—when he had simply helped himself to food from a stall—he now wiped away his drool and began looking for a place to exchange currency.
Constantly adventuring across different worlds, meeting all sorts of people, and experiencing a wide variety of events, he was steadily growing.
He now knew that the very first thing to do upon entering a new world was to find a place to exchange money.
He would trade universally valuable items—like gold—for local currency before continuing his journey.
Paying directly with gold would be too conspicuous; while his strength meant he had nothing to fear personally, doing so might bring trouble to innocent small-time vendors.
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