Hearing the voice, John stiffened and quickly straightened up to greet Bulma's mother, "Auntie, hello. I didn't expect you to personally bring me a drink."
Bulma's mother smiled and said, "I saw you and Bulma entering from the balcony on the second floor, so I volunteered to bring you a drink."
"Try this drink; I made it myself. See if you like it," Bulma's mother said with a smile.
John didn't think much of it and took a sip, but he immediately spat it out, almost spraying it on Bulma's mother.
John opened his mouth wide and exclaimed, "Hot, hot, hot..." He quickly put the drink back on the nearby table.
Bulma's mother chuckled and said, "You're so impatient. This was just poured, and it's still very hot."
"Open your mouth and let me see," Bulma's mother said gently, lifting John's chin.
John stood there, looking bewildered, but he obediently opened his mouth.
Bulma's mother said, "It's not too bad. You'll be fine. Just be more careful next time."
Seeing John's bewildered expression, Bulma's mother said, "Alright, I won't disturb you anymore. Take your time searching for the Dragon Ball. I'll leave now."
After Bulma's mother left, John finally relaxed. He had found it amusing when he watched her tease Goku and Vegeta on TV, but now that he was on the receiving end, he felt the pressure. Fortunately, this time, Bulma's mother seemed to be more restrained than when they first met.
John continued searching for the Dragon Ball in the warehouse, and occasionally, Bulma would come in to help, but her efforts were no match for John's.
On the third day, John finally found the Dragon Ball in a box of miscellaneous items on the top shelf. It had two stars and was the first Dragon Ball.
"Bulma, I found it! I found the Dragon Ball!" John exclaimed into the intercom while Bulma was doing her homework in her room.
Soon, Bulma rode her magnetic hoverboard into the living room and saw the two-star Dragon Ball on the table.
"Are you sure this is the Dragon Ball?" Bulma asked.
"I'm pretty sure," John replied. "I've never seen a Dragon Ball before, but I don't think there's any mistake. Besides, why would anyone make a fake Dragon Ball? It's not like it can be sold for money."
Bulma nodded and picked up the Dragon Ball. "Let's go to the lab and see if there's anything special about this Dragon Ball."
In the lab, Bulma placed the Dragon Ball on the experiment table and began a series of scans and tests. Soon, the scanner displayed a waveform on the screen.
Bulma excitedly pointed at the waveform and said to John, "Do you see it?"
John looked at the waveform with a puzzled expression and asked, "See what? The wave lines?" For someone who had dropped out of high school and started working, understanding electromagnetic waves was a challenge.
Bulma gave John a small look of disdain and said, "This is a very special electromagnetic wave that constantly changes its wavelength. We can use this to make a Dragon Radar, which will allow us to detect the location of the Dragon Balls."
John was thrilled and said, "Really? That's great! I knew you're the smartest person in this world, Bulma. You're a genius!" He lavished praise on Bulma.
Bulma enjoyed the flattery and looked pleased, but she waved her hands and said modestly, "Oh, it's nothing. It's just basic stuff."
With the Dragon Ball found, the next step was to make the Dragon Radar, but John couldn't help with that.
So, the task fell to Bulma, who was incredibly talented and passionate about mechanical engineering. In fact, she was almost obsessed with it. In just over a week, Bulma created a relatively large Dragon Radar.
This Dragon Radar was about the size of a 14-inch laptop, with a circular screen and handles on both sides, allowing it to be held with one or two hands.
Bulma said, "This is just a prototype. I'm designing a smaller, portable Dragon Radar, but it's more challenging to make. I'm currently working on the radar blueprints."
John nodded and said, "This is already great. How do we operate it?"
Bulma began explaining the Dragon Radar's operation to John. After turning it on, a display screen appeared, and there was a rotating knob at the top of the radar that could be used to adjust the size of the radar screen.
When the radar was turned on, Bulma exclaimed in surprise.
"What's wrong?" John asked.
Bulma said, "The radar shows that the first Dragon Ball is very close to us, only about sixty kilometers away, in the mountains to the north."
"How can we see it?" John asked eagerly.
So, Bulma taught John how to use the Dragon Radar and calculate the Dragon Ball's distance and location.
After teaching John, Bulma said, "Look, the Dragon Radar is now at its smallest size. There are seven constantly flashing dots on the radar, which confirms what you said about there being seven Dragon Balls."
"The middle dot is the first Dragon Ball, and the one closest to us is in the north."
John nodded and said, "Since that's the case, let's go get it this afternoon."
But Bulma said, "No, I'm going with you."
"But you have school this afternoon, and it's too dangerous. We don't know where the Dragon Ball is, and there might be dinosaurs or monsters there," John argued.
Bulma insisted, "We agreed to go on this adventure together to find the Dragon Balls."
"Besides, you have me. I won't let you be in danger. We can even bring a gun, and if we encounter any danger, we can run away," Bulma added.
John tried to persuade her further, but Bulma threatened, "If you don't take me with you, I can go by myself. Remember, I made the Dragon Radar."
"Alright, I'll take you to find the Dragon Ball, but you must listen to my commands and not run around," John said seriously.
"Yes, Sir!" Bulma happily agreed.