In the end, Bulma took apart the monitoring equipment and put it into an empty capsule.
She planned to research it later when she had time. If that didn't work, she might go ask Hathaway Grandma for help, and if that didn't work... she would ask Grandpa Taro. He had access to Jarvis, a global network, so maybe he'd know something.
The predecessor of the Virtual Earth Network company was the Planet Company, and those who knew about the relevant fields knew the real background of the Planet Company... To the Earth people of that generation, the person behind it was considered a living legend.
As for Jarvis, the super-intelligent computer brain that had surpassed countless generations, many people had heard of it, although the Virtual Earth Network didn't disclose much information.
After the Martial Arts Tournament, when Hathaway and Taro visited Bulma's house, she learned in a chat with Grandma Hathaway that Jarvis was developed with her personal involvement. Back then, young Bulma was in awe of her.
---
"Ha, you guys think I might've eaten that guy?"
Later that night, the three of them were resting in Bulma's capsule house. After Goku and Krillin finished their baths, they joined Bulma in the living room for a chat.
Realizing what might have happened earlier in the day, Goku was also surprised.
"You really don't remember anything at all?" Krillin asked, almost on the verge of tears.
"Yeah, I don't remember at all..." Goku frowned, thinking hard, then shrugged and rubbed the back of his head. "Forget it, I can't remember."
Krillin sighed. "But you ate him! Uh... if that's really what happened!"
"What could I do? I already ate him, and I don't remember..." Goku scratched his face with one finger, then suddenly became curious. "But pigs can't be eaten? You're weird, Krillin!"
"It's you who's weird!" Krillin was taken aback by Goku's innocent question. He blurted out, "He's just a half-beast, not an actual pig!"
Goku seriously recalled from his limited memory—those ears, that nose—there was no way to mistake it. He firmly said, "It was a pig!" Then he asked, "What's a half-beast?"
"Uh... a half-beast is... well, half animal and half... uh... generally 'human-like'... uh..." Krillin struggled to find the right word, and finally muttered, "...a creature, I guess."
Goku tilted his head, frowning in confusion.
Krillin sighed and looked over at Bulma. She had been sitting silently on the sofa, wrapped in a bathrobe, watching Krillin and Goku talk.
"What do you think?" Krillin asked her. After being so "mixed up" by Goku, he felt a bit lost.
To be honest, Krillin had grown up in the Orin Temple, where there were no half-beasts. It was only when he occasionally went down the mountain to interact with normal human society that he was influenced by how people lived with half-beasts. Gradually, he formed the fixed idea that "half-beasts are still people."
The monks at Orin Temple didn't avoid meat. They were martial artists, so how could they train without eating meat to replenish their energy? So, Krillin had eaten pork before. When Goku asked, "Pigs can't be eaten?", Krillin was momentarily taken aback.
Pigs can't be eaten?
How could pigs not be eaten?!
Then... is it that talking pigs can't be eaten?
When Goku asked "Can't pigs be eaten?" Krillin's immediate counter-argument was that "because it's a talking pig!"
But as this thought crossed his mind, another question followed immediately.
Let's make a hypothetical assumption: What if there was a special half-beast pig whose ability to speak gradually diminished, bit by bit, until it reached the point where it could no longer speak human language—but still retained some intelligence, similar to other half-beasts?
Would that be considered edible or not?
For the first time, Krillin hated his tendency to overthink.
As a city girl, Bulma would likely see this issue differently. Krillin was eager to hear what answer she would give.
Bulma stared at Goku and suddenly asked, "Goku, do you think the missing pig is different from the smarter animals you've encountered on Mount Paozu?"
She had been thinking back to the scene a few days ago when she saw Goku on Mount Paozu.
Goku had descended from the sky and said to the dinosaur, which only had half a tail left, "Ha, it's you again. Has your tail grown back?" — Goku seemed to treat the dinosaur, which couldn't speak human language, as if it were capable of communication.
And then he just went ahead and ate it.
As expected, when Bulma asked her question, Goku responded oddly, "Is there a difference?"
Krillin collapsed in disbelief, looking at Goku as though he were a freak. He crossed his arms tightly, fearing that Goku might suddenly wake up in the middle of the night and devour him. The frightening expression Goku had that night flashed in his mind again. That look had disappeared in an instant, but Krillin couldn't forget it.
Bulma rubbed her forehead in exasperation, then carefully chose her words before asking again, "Well... Goku, do you remember if your Grandpa Son Gohan ever told you which animals are okay to eat and which are not?"
"Does someone really need to teach you this? You're so dumb!" Goku retorted, now looking at Bulma in disdain. He said, "At first, Grandpa would hunt and roast things for us to eat. Later, I just went hunting myself... everything in the mountains is edible, what could be inedible? You guys are weird!"
"You're the weird one!" Krillin silently screamed inside. He suddenly realized how dangerous this trip might be. What if someone accidentally wandered into the mountains and Goku knocked them out with a club, then brought them back to eat?
Bulma sighed and rubbed her forehead again. She pondered for a moment before saying seriously to Goku, "No matter what, this matter is over now, but in the future... Goku, you need to remember, talking 'animals' cannot be eaten! Got it?"
"Okay, I got it..." Goku nodded, seeming obedient. Or rather, he was too kind-hearted to refuse others.
Krillin shed an internal tear. "The way you said that... makes it sound like you've eaten a 'talking animal' before!"
Late at night, the three of them went to bed.
"Bulma, there's something I need to tell you..." Krillin sneaked over to Bulma, acting like a thief. Then, he told her about the frightening look Goku had suddenly had on his face that night.
Bulma stroked her chin thoughtfully. "Oh..."
"Are you even listening?!" Krillin whispered in frustration.
"I know, I know..." Bulma seemed unconcerned, but suddenly, she noticed Krillin's unease. Realization dawned on her, and she smirked mischievously. "You're not afraid that Goku might turn into that 'other person' at night and eat you, are you?"