Cell Escapes

"What!?"

After merging with Kami, Piccolo's power had skyrocketed.

Without a moment's hesitation, he left the Lookout and headed for the place where Cell was supposed to be, according to Kami's memories.

After some superb acting, Piccolo successfully got Cell to reveal his origins.

But what Cell told him sounded terrifying—horrifying, even.

Piccolo was so scared that his face turned green.

The creature that had emerged from the Underground Laboratory wasn't Cell. According to Cell, he wasn't supposed to emerge for another twenty-four years.

There were only two possibilities: either the Cell in this timeline had mutated,

or there was another Underground Laboratory.

The known Underground Laboratory was basically a ruin by now.

Aside from that little brat, there were no other living beings inside.

That little brat couldn't be Cell. Cell's ki was a blend of the ki of countless people.

That little brat's ki, on the other hand, was unique—a kind of ki Piccolo had never encountered before.

And his tail didn't look like Cell's. Cell's tail was shaped like a syringe.

That little brat's tail, however, was more like a fish's tail.

Cell absorbed humans with his syringe-like tail, sucking them up bit by bit as if drinking water.

Of course, it was still possible that the little brat had the same ability, just through some other means.

Piccolo had already decided that once he killed Cell, he would take out that little brat and the other Androids, too.

Now that he'd gotten the information he wanted, Piccolo had no intention of keeping up the act.

It was time to kill this monster.

Piccolo simply yanked out the arm that Cell had sucked dry.

"Ah!"

With a loud shout, a brand-new arm grew from the stump.

"Thanks for giving me that useful information."

"You... You were just trying to get me to talk?"

Cell's eyes widened in disbelief.

Piccolo's mocking gaze was edged with bloodlust. "Why would I let a guy like you become perfect?"

"You've even got my cells, yet you didn't know my arms could regenerate? You idiot!"

Just as Piccolo and Cell were about to clash again,

Trunks and Krillin, having sensed Cell's strange ki, arrived on the scene.

When they saw the monster-like Cell, both Krillin and Trunks were a little shaken.

Facing three enemies, Cell was already thinking of retreating.

After all, he couldn't even beat Piccolo.

Krillin's power was negligible, but Trunks could still give him some trouble.

Cell leapt into the air, flying until his body overlapped with the sun. He spread his hands beside his eyes.

"Solar Flare!"

In an instant,

a blinding light burst from Cell.

The whole world turned white.

The dazzling light made it impossible for Piccolo and the others to open their eyes.

In that moment, Cell completely concealed his ki and quickly slipped into the woods, using the trees for cover as he fled.

"Damn it!"

Unable to see or sense Cell's ki, Piccolo and the others could only let him escape.

They didn't even know which direction to chase him in.

By the time their eyes recovered and they could open them, Cell was nowhere to be seen.

The three of them flew into the air and scanned their surroundings. There was forest as far as they could see, but no sign of Cell.

They had no idea which way to track him, so they had no choice but to give up.

Piccolo regretted telling Cell so much.

He should have just finished him off once and for all.

Now that Cell had escaped, finding him again wouldn't be easy.

After today, Cell would surely be even more cautious, until he was confident he could handle everyone.

A while later, Vegeta and Tien arrived, too.

They had sensed Piccolo's and Cell's ki and come over.

Once everyone had gathered, Piccolo explained Cell's origins to them all.

"What? Wasn't the one in that Underground Laboratory a little brat? How did he turn into a monster?"

Everyone there had been to the Underground Laboratory, so they were all shocked.

"Oh, right. Bulma just called me. She said the Androids went to her house and took the Gravity Chamber Vegeta uses for training."

Vegeta: !??

What the hell? I left for a little while, and they robbed my house?

"Damn it!"

If his strength had allowed it, Vegeta would have killed those thieves on the spot.

But the Androids were already so strong, and they were still stealing a Gravity Chamber to train? Was everyone pushing themselves this hard now?

To Piccolo, the news was both good and bad.

If the Androids got stronger, Cell would have a harder time absorbing them.

But if the Androids became too strong, they would face the combined threat of the Androids and Cell.

Fortunately, the Androids' whereabouts were hard to predict. It would probably take Cell some effort to find them.

In the end, Trunks and Krillin decided to return to the Underground Laboratory and search it again, in case anything had been overlooked.

But the Underground Laboratory had already been reduced to ruins, and Trunks and Krillin found nothing.

In the original story, they had found Android 17's blueprints there, and Bulma had successfully made a remote control based on them.

But now, the blueprints had already turned to ash in the explosion.

In the end, Trunks and Krillin spent half the day searching without finding anything, and could only leave in disappointment.

On the way back, Trunks thought about what Vegeta had said.

Surpass Super Saiyan!

He decided to train with Vegeta.

So he parted ways with Krillin. He went to find Vegeta and train, while Krillin returned to Kame House to watch the news. If they heard anything about Cell, they could act immediately.

Inside the Hyperbolic Time Chamber.

"Ah, that hit the spot. Burp~~~"

After a hearty meal, Mo Yuan leaned back in his chair, patting his stuffed belly, utterly content.

With Saiyan cells, one measly leg of lamb wasn't nearly enough for Mo Yuan. He roasted and ate them as he went, polishing off ten whole legs before he was full.

Lazuli had been stuffed for ages and couldn't eat another bite. She could only watch Mo Yuan feast with envy.

There was nothing to be done about it. Although she was an Android, she was still human at heart. She didn't have a bottomless stomach like a Saiyan.

Envious tears slipped from the corner of her mouth (๑´•﹃•`๑)

Lazuli rubbed her belly. It was only a little swollen, but she couldn't fit another thing in there.

She had to admit, Mo Yuan was an amazing cook.

If she weren't so full she could barely move, she would have eaten more.

She still didn't feel like she'd had enough!

Lazuli was quite surprised by Mo Yuan's cooking skills.

After all, he was an Android created from nothing, not a human who had been modified.

It wasn't as if Dr. Gero had implanted memories of cooking into him, was it?

Dr. Gero wasn't trying to make a housekeeper Android, so why would he do something so pointless?

Although Lazuli didn't know where Mo Yuan had learned to cook so well, she didn't plan to ask.

She felt the same way Lapis did.

Everyone had their own secrets. There was no need to pry.

As long as she knew he wouldn't hurt her, that was enough.