Gunfire, explosions, and screams played the symphony of the apocalypse.
In this world of death and despair, humanity could only cower in dark corners, afraid to show their faces.
Gray had become the world's defining color.
In a hidden underground human settlement.
A middle-aged beauty with short blue hair and a white lab coat was working up a sweat as she wielded her tools over a machine.
After a long while.
She finally stopped and wiped the sweat from her face with her sleeve. A joyful smile appeared on her haggard face.
"I finally did it. With this Nutrient Solution Extractor, we can solve our urgent food shortage."
In this post-apocalyptic world, humans couldn't even grow crops.
The Androids could appear at any moment, so humans had no way of staying safely in one place for long.
They could only scrape by on wild animals and edible plants.
What about supplies in the cities?
The Androids had arrived twenty years ago. By now, the supplies in the cities had either been destroyed or had spoiled with time.
There were plenty of resources in the wild, but they had to guard against Android attacks. So when they went out looking for food, they never dared to travel in groups. They went out discreetly, one or two at a time.
This did make it less likely that the Androids would find them, but they also brought back far less food.
Almost everyone had to worry about where their next meal would come from.
As for eating three meals a day, that was out of the question.
Most of the time, they could manage only one meal a day, and even then, it wasn't enough to fill them up.
They could only just manage not to starve to death.
Bulma picked up a piece of wood, put it into the machine, and pressed the switch.
The machine whirred into action.
Two minutes later, it produced a cup of clear liquid that looked like water.
Bulma picked up the cup of nutrient solution and held it under her nose to smell it.
It smelled of wood. It wasn't unpleasant, but it wasn't exactly fragrant either.
Bulma drank the nutrient solution in one go.
A bitter taste spread through her mouth.
It was like drinking medicine.
But the bitterness didn't dampen her spirits.
She savored it as though it were sweet.
After drinking the nutrient solution, Bulma could clearly feel her body replenishing its energy.
It was like she'd eaten a full meal.
It didn't taste good, but at least she wouldn't have to go hungry anymore, right?
"Trunks..."
Her voice trailed off.
Bulma had been about to share her joy with her son, but then she remembered that he had taken the Time Machine to another timeline to find the power to defeat the Androids.
Thinking of her son, Bulma couldn't help worrying about him.
It had already been several days.
She had no idea how he was doing over there.
Had Goku's illness been cured?
And Vegeta...
At the thought of Vegeta, Bulma shook her head helplessly.
She hoped he could set aside his pride a little.
But Bulma knew that was impossible.
After all, that was the Saiyan Prince—Vegeta, wasn't it?
Boom!!
Suddenly, the earth began to shake, and violent explosions rang out outside.
Bulma's still-weak body was knocked off balance by the shaking ground.
This wasn't the first time this had happened. After twenty years, Bulma had almost gotten used to it.
She didn't panic.
Calmly, she got up from the ground and began gathering her things.
She packed everything away in Hoi-Poi Capsules.
"Dr. Bulma!"
A shout rang out, accompanied by the sound of hurried footsteps.
Several people carrying guns rushed in from outside.
A bearded man asked, "Dr. Bulma, we need to evacuate right away. The Androids are here."
Bulma nodded. "Okay. I've packed everything. Has everyone else gathered?"
"Everyone's ready. We can leave as soon as you get there."
"Okay, we don't have time to waste. Let's get out of here."
After years spent fleeing, they didn't dare waste a moment. They moved swiftly and efficiently, and soon joined the others.
With Trunks protecting them, and Bulma often building machines that helped people survive, their group had continued to grow.
There were nearly a thousand of them.
That might not sound like many, but in reality, theirs was the largest settlement on Earth.
If they had any more people, they would be much more likely to give away their location, and the Androids would find them in no time.
So they had to split humanity into multiple small settlements to avoid being wiped out all at once.
Bulma also regularly invented machines and had Trunks deliver them to other settlements, helping humanity survive on Earth.
Rat-tat-tat-tat!!
Boom!!
Gunfire and explosions continued outside.
The children huddled in their mothers' arms, trembling.
The adults held their children tightly, their faces full of fear.
Even after going through this many times, they still couldn't overcome their fear.
"Dia, come over here."
The bearded man called to a young man nearby.
"Uncle, what is it?"
Hearing the bearded man call him, Dia immediately came over with a dozen or so young men.
The bearded man took the rifle from his shoulder and handed it to Dia.
"Take it. From now on, it's up to you."
The dozen or so men behind him did the same, taking the rifles they carried and handing them to the younger men.
They kept only a few grenades for themselves.
"Uncle..."
Seeing what they were doing, Dia's eyes instantly filled with tears.
They had faced this scene more times than he could count.
Whenever the Androids attacked, the older men stayed behind to hold them off, while the younger ones took the weapons and led everyone else to safety.
"Hold them off" wasn't quite the right way to put it. They were really staying behind to satisfy the Androids' appetite for killing.
Once they'd had their fill, they would leave on their own.
It had been like this for twenty years.
Otherwise, humanity on Earth would have been wiped out long ago.
The Androids were playing a game of cat and mouse, wearing humanity down bit by bit until people could no longer fight back, then devouring them in one bite.
The bearded man patted Dia on the shoulder and looked at him calmly. "Don't be sad. We've managed to survive for twenty years. That's enough."
The other men did the same.
They knew what they were about to face.
But they weren't afraid at all.
Everything they did was simply to preserve the last spark of humanity.
"Move out!!"
The bearded man gave the order in a ringing voice.
Everyone began moving in an orderly fashion.
A dozen men followed him.
Their resolute gazes, firm steps, and fearless conviction formed a powerful presence that shook everyone to the core!
They strode toward the entrance, one step at a time.
Watching them leave, Dia wept uncontrollably.
Tears welled in Bulma's eyes as she gently patted Dia's back without saying a word.
Dia suddenly lifted his head and shouted after them, "Uncle, what's your name?"
Creak~
The door opened, and the bearded man kept walking without pause.
Once they were outside, they closed the door behind them.
Just as the door was about to shut, leaving only a narrow gap,
Dia heard a few clear words beside his ear.
"Sloan!"