"Mechanical soldiers are on the streets!"
"Metal combat weapons are wreaking havoc!"
"Is Judgment Day coming? Where is our savior?"
"The national defense forces have been destroyed. How strong are they?"
All of a sudden, every radio report was about the metallic creatures.
When the crisis broke out, countless journalists risked their lives to reach the front lines. Some wanted to reveal the truth, while others sought to make big news from the disaster to gain fame.
In a narrow alleyway, the photographer followed behind the reporter, peering at the situation on the street. The road was completely blocked, a large number of flying cars had crashed on the roadside, countless shops and houses were engulfed in flames, and panicked people ran wildly through the streets. Women's screams pierced the air like needle points.
The sky seemed to darken all at once, and the female reporter wearing a form-fitting skirt suddenly felt a chill. She suspected it was just nerves, so she took deep breaths and adjusted for a long time before tremblingly raising the microphone.
"We are now..." She turned to face the photographer, trying to keep her voice steady. But after turning around and saying less than a word, she started screaming!
The metal monster was right behind the photographer! They were tracking the living, and thermal signatures couldn't bypass their detectors. The female reporter was so frightened that her legs went weak—she collapsed to the ground and closed her eyes.
Suddenly, warm, foul-smelling liquid splashed onto her face and slowly slid down the corner of her mouth. She could no longer scream, only pant heavily.
The photographer was stabbed through the body and fell limply. The live screen in front of the TV suddenly tilted and then turned to static.
"Don't...don't...don't..."
She panted rapidly, making intermittent sounds of resistance that seemed to come from her throat, with hoarse cries.
The metal monster showed no signs of being moved. It raised its arms high, and a black drill pierced out of its blue body, spinning as it stabbed toward the female reporter.
"BOOM!"
A huge echo reverberated through the alleyway. A hole was stabbed deep in the ground, but the metal creature's single eye flickered continuously. Its calculation program told it that the shot had missed.
In the sky, Krillin held the female reporter, his cheeks slightly flushed. "Haha, don't be afraid, it's okay."
Hearing the human voice, the female reporter suddenly opened her eyes and realized she was being carried through the air! She screamed again in terror and hugged Krillin even tighter.
"Hey, this is really a little embarrassing..."
"What are you smirking about!" Pepara suddenly appeared beside him, and a Ki wave flew out, destroying the metal creature in the alleyway.
When she saw Krillin holding a beautiful woman with a good figure, her expression changed suddenly. She shoved Krillin and said angrily, "Didn't you see the enemy there!"
"I... I'm saving people!"
"Hmph." Pepara ignored Krillin and flew away, muttering constantly, "Perverted little dwarf!"
Krillin watched Pepara departing, a little dazed.
In addition to the destruction in their city, other cities on Earth were also being swept by metal creatures, and the people under attack began to flee. The sudden disaster was as terrible as alien invasions in the movies.
People scrambled to escape the disaster zones, screaming and roaring almost to the heavens.
These metal creatures swept across the streets, and shells often struck tall buildings. Collapsed skyscrapers could be seen everywhere, and the entire area was shrouded in smoke and dust. Middle-aged men in suits fled buildings in panic, clutching their important items and running awkwardly.
With great difficulty, they escaped the building and ran wildly through the streets. Just after rushing a short distance, they unexpectedly met a metal monster head-on.
The powerful steel body was taller than a building floor, and the few of them were tiny before this monster.
"President, what should we do?"
"Let's split up and run. It's up to whoever will be lucky at this point."
Facing this kind of crisis, they could only gamble on fate. They might survive or be killed in the bombardment, but they would never survive without trying.
Just as they were about to run, the metal monster sprayed out a serpent of fire, continuous shooting of bullets stretching across the ground, falling densely like raindrops and moving forward.
"It's over!" At the last moment, the running speed of several people couldn't escape the coverage of the fire serpent.
"Kamehameha!"
A Ki wave rushing from the distance dazzled people's eyes, as if the whole world became brighter. The massive energy overwhelmed all the artillery fire, and even the metal monster was blown to pieces.
Several people turned their heads in astonishment and saw an old man standing before the ruins on the street corner. It was an elderly man in martial arts uniform. Although he wasn't tall, his eyes were bright and piercing.
"Be careful!" Suddenly there was another voice from behind. It was a bald man with three eyes and a muscular body. When he waved his hand, a white beam of light penetrated the air and shot directly at another metal creature behind the old man, making it explode.
"Ho ho ho ho, thanks to you, Tien."
"Master Roshi is the same as always. I didn't expect you to join the fight this time."
"Well, I had nothing else to do, so I thought I'd stretch my muscles."
The two chatted for a few words, then each rushed to other locations, leaving the businessmen frozen in place with shocked faces.
"Hey, did you see that? They shoot lasers..."
"No, that's Ki! Ki!" The president yelled out. "I remember them! Old Mr. Jackie Chun from the World Martial Arts Tournament! And Tien, the former champion! They're here to save the Earth!" The president's voice startled the others, and some even saw tears in the corners of his eyes.
Yamcha and Krillin were recognized wearing their Turtle School uniforms, and Goku was no exception. Although the World Martial Arts Tournament hadn't been held again after the Demon King Piccolo incident, this tournament had once been widely known.
The best sessions left an indelible impression.
Many people were already old. The young people who once went to the martial arts tournament with enthusiasm now had children and were so busy between work and family that they didn't even have time for vacations. The people who used to hold children's hands to watch the martial arts tournament were all balding now, stretching in their offices and thinking about what brand of hair growth treatment to use instead.
In the past ten years, no martial arts tournament was held again, but when Earth was in crisis, they saw those figures and remembered them all at once.
"And that bald head, I remember him too!"
"That's right, martial artists are..."
The people who had fallen into fear suddenly saw figures of hope, and the heroic martial artists stood before them to save the world!