Upon seeing No. 17 rush in, Cell was first startled, then overjoyed.
For it, No. 17 was like a gift package of growth delivered to its door, and what surprised it the most was that No. 17 came all by itself!
The energy it has absorbed now is more than enough to defeat that of a single No. 17.
Upon hearing No. 17's voice, Xiao Mei immediately grabbed her last remaining friend and rushed behind No. 17, and Cell did not stop her.
The value gained from absorbing one No. 17 is greater than the combined value of all humanity on Earth.
Its purpose in absorbing humans was solely to eventually absorb Humans No. 17 and No. 18.
Cell's mouth opened and closed, producing a deep, hoarse sound.
"No. 17, I never expected you to come to my door like this! It's such a pleasant surprise!"
No. 17 had no time to deal with Cell; he was busy comforting his girlfriend.
"Are you alright, Xiao Mei? Are you hurt?"
Xiao Mei shook her head vigorously, her voice trembling with tears as she spoke.
"I'm alright, but Maya has been eaten by that monster! Let's run!"
Cell frowned as he watched No. 17's behavior. In his memory, No. 17 would never care about the lives of humans.
However, judging from the appearance of the person in front of him and the speed at which he rushed in, he is definitely Android No. 17. There is no mistake about that.
No. 17 suddenly turned his head to look at Cell and roared,
"Monster! I'll tear you to pieces!"
As he spoke, No. 17 broke free from Xiao Mei's embrace and vanished in a blur.
Cell didn't even blink; he simply flicked his arm to block No. 17, who appeared from his side.
No. 17's expression changed, and he exclaimed in surprise,
"What!?"
Cell grinned maliciously, and taking advantage of No. 17's momentary lapse in attention, it grabbed No. 17's arm and slammed him heavily to the ground.
The ground suddenly cracked open, and the group of people fell downwards together.
At this critical moment, despite her physical pain, No. 17 rushed out, carrying Xiao Mei and another girl out of the teaching building.
The moment he rushed out, the entire teaching building collapsed instantly, turning into ruins in the smoke.
On the No. 17, he placed the two girls on the open playground and, without saying a word, turned to go find Cell.
The rescued girl stared blankly at No. 17 soaring into the sky and said to Xiao Mei,
"Xiao Mei, is this your boyfriend from outside? Is he really human?"
Xiao Mei also shook her head stiffly. She knew that No. 17 had a high level of combat power, but she did not expect it to be so inhuman.
No. 17 had never shown much power in his daily interactions with Xiao Mei for fear of frightening her, but Cell's actions today completely enraged him, and his killing intent surged to an unprecedented level.
A thick beam of light erupted from the ruins of the school building, and Cell's figure flashed out from within. No. 17 immediately threw out several energy balls, bombarding Cell relentlessly.
Another cloud of smoke rose, and the ruins on the ground had been completely reduced to dust. Cell's figure also disappeared into the smoke.
However, according to the famous "no harm from smoke" rule in Dragon Ball, Cell would definitely be completely unharmed.
Before long, Cell emerged unharmed from the smoke. It looked at No. 17 as if it were a delicious dish, and No. 17 felt a sudden sense of unease.
He roared,
"Don't look at me like that! You disgusting monster!"
Several more energy blasts were fired, but Cell swatted them away like flies.
Cell was already getting impatient; it clenched its fists and immediately entered its Burst Mode.
The detector in No. 17's eye reacted immediately, and the rapidly increasing numbers on it brought No. 17 back to his senses.
This No. 17 wasn't as arrogant as the one in the original timeline. Seeing the numbers displayed on the detector, he knew clearly that he was no match for Cell.
A fine layer of cold sweat appeared on No. 17's forehead, but thinking of his girlfriend, he didn't back down an inch.
Today, he's going to be a true Pure Love War God!
He clenched his fist and shouted.
"I will protect Xiao Mei! Die!"
He charged forward despite Cell's imposing aura, but Cell neither dodged nor evaded, letting No. 17's fist land on his face.
Protected by its aura, Cell remained completely still, and looking at No. 17 with an incredulous expression, it felt a surge of pleasure.
It raised its hand, ready to make No. 17 completely behave.
Suddenly, a layer of dazzling golden light inexplicably enveloped Cell.
This strange phenomenon startled both Cell and No. 17. No. 17 thought Cell was about to make a move, while Cell had no idea what was going on.
However, the next second,
"Pop!"
The golden light, along with Cell's body, vanished instantly. Tianlai Novel Network No. 17 remained frozen in mid-air, warily scanning his surroundings, but after a long while, he still couldn't find Cell again.
It seems to have truly and completely disappeared.
Landing back on the ground, No. 17 looked at his fist in confusion, thinking to himself,
"What just happened? Did I unleash that light? Do I have that kind of potential??"
Just as he was lost in thought, Senga's voice rang out from all around.
"Stop thinking nonsense, Cell has been eliminated by me. Go find your little girlfriend."
No. 17 was startled by Senga's voice and responded,
"Brother-in-law!? Is that you? Where are you?"
"I'm at home. You were very brave just now, thumbs up!"
No. 17 scratched his head sheepishly and said,
"Hehe, brother-in-law saw it all. Oh well, my girlfriend Xiao Mei is still here, I have to..."
"Lapis!"
No. 17 paused, turned his head, and saw Xiao Mei running towards them.
Xiao Mei is also a total love-struck fool. Her friends had already run off from the playground, but she chose to stay because she was worried about No. 17.
If Senga hadn't intervened, her fate would likely have been to wait for Cell to absorb No. 17 and then have the entire city reduced to ashes in a single wave.
However, she didn't rush over to disturb No. 17; she only came over after she heard that there was no more noise.
She rushed to No. 17 and carefully examined him from head to toe. Only after confirming that No. 17 was not injured did she breathe a sigh of relief.
No. 17 gently embraced Xiao Mei, talking to her continuously.
"It's alright, it's alright, that monster is dead!"
"Really? Lapis, you're amazing!"
"Um, actually, it was my brother-in-law who killed it..."