The sun was setting, casting a red glow over the streets. Time City originally had no sun, and it wasn’t even a planet. It was more like a high-tech artificial continent, with no natural sun or moon. Dissatisfied with this, the Supreme Kai of Time used the essence of a star to create a sun that orbited Time City. The moon was simpler; they just found a discarded small satellite and set it on a fixed orbit to block the sun’s light twelve hours later.
Pica exclaimed to Lucia and Selina, “I never thought the Supreme Kai of Time could be so powerful. She even created the sun and moon!”
“Yeah, I remember asking my family as a child why our place was different from what was taught in textbooks,” Selina responded, looking at the red sunset and tidying her messy hair.
Unbeknownst to them, they had arrived near Pica’s residence. Pica asked the two women, “It’s still early. How about coming over for some tea before you head back?”
“Sure,” Lucia and Selina replied in unison, walking into Pica’s house. Selina wrinkled her nose and asked, “Aren’t you the runner-up of the World Martial Arts Tournament? Why not get a better place?”
Pica looked around his modest home and shook his head. “I don’t need much. This place feels just right. At least it doesn’t feel empty.”
“Why not get a bigger house? Don’t you have to go to the training room every time you want to train? If you had a bigger place, you wouldn’t need to go there all the time,” Lucia added.
Pica tilted his head, “Hmm… you might be right. But do I have enough money? I haven’t checked my account since I got the prize money.” He took out his bank card and muttered, “I need to go to a bank, but I haven’t seen any around here.”
Selina grabbed the bank card from his hand and swiped it. A holographic projection emerged from the card’s chip. “Banks? That’s ancient history. Now it’s much easier. Come over here for verification.”
Selina pulled Pica under the projection and said, “Start scanning.”
“Scanning… information loaded successfully. Welcome, Junior Time Patrol Agent Pica. How can I assist you today?” A synthesized female voice emanated from the projection.
Pica was stunned. He knew the technology here was advanced, but he hadn’t expected even the bank cards to be so futuristic. He swallowed and said, “Check balance.”
“Checking… current balance is 5,260,070 PT. Check complete. How can I assist you further?”
Pica’s whole body shook with surprise. “How is this possible? The runner-up prize was only 2 million PT. Why do I have over 5 million?”
Lucia explained, “You’ve also completed two historical correction missions. Each of those missions comes with substantial rewards. For example, for our last mission together, I received 300,000 PT as a participation reward, while you single-handedly defeated the two main threats, so your reward was much higher. Time City’s currency is universal across the universe. Since AGE 307, a unified currency system has been adopted across the universe. These cards are imbued with the Supreme Kai of Time’s power, so you can use them even when on historical missions.”
“Wow, that’s impressive. So, I guess 5 million should be enough for a big house?”
“More than enough. And it won’t be just any big house. Historical correction missions are rare opportunities. Even senior Time Patrol Agents may not get to do one in their lifetime. But you’ve done two right after becoming an agent,” Lucia said with a sigh, feeling a bit envious of Pica’s extraordinary luck.
Pica smiled, trying to ease the tension. “Great, how about you help me find a house tomorrow?”
“Sure,” Lucia agreed.
Selina, seeing their enthusiastic conversation, said angrily, “No way, I’m coming too.”
Pica, looking at Selina’s pouty face, asked, “Aren’t you training tomorrow?”
“Hmph, I can take a day off. I’m always number one anyway,” Selina said with arms crossed, pouting.
Pica raised his hands in surrender. “Alright, alright. You can come too.”
They chatted and drank tea. Lucia, needing to return home early because of her younger brother, left first, leaving Pica and Selina alone.
As Pica saw Lucia off, Selina immediately asked, “How did you meet Lucia?”
“Ow, ow, ow… It hurts!” Pica cried as Selina pinched his ear. She let go, blushing, and said, “Tell me, how did you meet her?”
“We met during a mission. I saved her life, and she wanted to thank me, so she treated me to a meal,” Pica explained, forever mystified by women’s thought processes. Despite what people said about women being simple-minded, when they got serious, even Conan would be nothing compared to them.
Pica spent a long time explaining things to Selina until she checked the time and decided to leave, not wanting to worry her family.
Seeing Selina off, Pica muttered, “Women, really… sigh…”
Pica went inside and looked at the prize he won from the World Martial Arts Tournament, a gravity ring made by Trunks. The ring had elegant patterns, and the clasp bore the Capsule Corporation logo.
“Click,” the ring locked onto Pica’s wrist. The red gem in the center displayed the number “1,” indicating the gravity wasn’t activated. A simple adjustment would change the gravity level. Pica stared at it and soon fell asleep.
The night passed without incident.
At dawn, Pica was awoken by a persistent knocking. He muttered, “It’s too early to look at houses, isn’t it?” Opening the door, he found not Lucia or Selina, but Lucia’s brother, Alex.
Alex was the contestant Pica had easily defeated in the preliminaries, but Pica barely remembered him.
“You’re… Alex, right? What brings you here?” Pica asked, still groggy, which irked Alex.
Alex glared at Pica and said, “Stay away from my sister! If you go near her again, I’ll beat you up!”
“Your sister? Who?” Pica asked, confused.
“My sister is Lucia! Stay away from her!” Alex demanded.
Pica, annoyed, replied, “Why should I? I don’t need your permission to be friends with someone.”
Alex took a step back and pointed at Pica. “I challenge you to a duel. If I win, you stay away from my sister.”
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