Clinging to Android 18's Thigh

"I never expected there to be a laboratory this deep underground."

Android 18 looked at the iron door before her, somewhat surprised.

"This is Dr. Gero's pride and joy; he was counting on this to get his revenge."

Although he said as much, Android 17's tone remained flat, showing no real concern.

"Bang!"

Android 17 and Android 18 each delivered a kick, sending the door flying open.

Having been through an explosion, the laboratory was unrecognizable, and the power system had been destroyed in the blast.

Inside, it was pitch black, with not a single glimmer of light to be found.

However, that was only true for normal people.

Android 16, Android 17, and Android 18 were all artificial humans; even in the darkness, their vision remained completely unaffected.

"So dark? Not even a light?"

Vegeta and Trunks, who had been following behind, arrived as well.

Seeing the pitch-black interior, Vegeta gathered a glowing energy blast in his hand and fired it toward the ceiling of the laboratory.

Under the illumination of the energy blast, which shone like a small sun, the entire laboratory instantly lit up.

At that moment, everyone's gaze converged on the tiny figure huddled in a ball in the corner of the room.

Mo Yuan: (つ﹏⊂)

When the surroundings lit up, Mo Yuan knew he was finished.

His tail, tucked behind him, began to twitch restlessly out of fear.

"Pfft!"

Seeing Mo Yuan huddled in the corner, Android 18 was taken by how cute he looked and couldn't help but laugh.

"Hmph, so it's just a brat." Vegeta looked at Mo Yuan in the corner with utter disdain.

"I could take out fifty-six brats like this in one breath."

Seeing Mo Yuan's weak appearance, Vegeta instantly lost interest.

He was the proud Prince Vegeta, a Super Saiyan; he wouldn't deign to lay a hand on someone so weak.

Android 17 and Android 16 were also surprised.

If they had walked in to find a two-meter-tall powerhouse, they would have found it perfectly normal.

At the same time, they were curious: could such a small brat really avenge Dr. Gero as he had claimed?

However, this brat was different from them.

Android 16 was entirely mechanical, while Android 17 and Android 18 were modified from human bodies; though they differed, they shared one major trait: they had no ki.

Mo Yuan was different; he possessed ki, and that was the greatest distinction between them.

Mo Yuan's weakness also caused Krillin and the others to breathe a sigh of relief.

If another powerful enemy had appeared, they truly would have broken down.

Trunks looked at Mo Yuan, but after his initial relief, his eyes filled with killing intent.

He was different from the others; he couldn't afford to lose, and he had no chips left to gamble with.

Therefore, he wanted to find an opportunity to eliminate Mo Yuan before he could grow stronger.

Although Mo Yuan looked weak now, Dr. Gero's reaction before his death made it impossible for him to underestimate the boy.

At the same time, he was deeply worried.

Because so many years had passed in the future timeline, if the Mo Yuan of the future had also awakened at this time, why hadn't he appeared in all those years?

Did he die?

Or was he hiding in the shadows?

If he was hiding in the shadows, what level of strength had he reached by now?

Question after question surfaced in Trunks' mind.

They hung over him like the Sword of Damocles.

Trunks couldn't bear the thought of going through all that hardship, returning to the future, and defeating Android 17 and 18, only for a fully-grown Mo Yuan—someone he couldn't possibly resist—to emerge from some unknown corner.

"Trunks? What's wrong?" Krillin shook Trunks, looking concerned.

Trunks' eyes, filled with murderous intent, remained locked on Mo Yuan, and the ki radiating from his body became chaotic and violent.

He was like a bomb ready to detonate at any moment.

Trunks' change was also observed by Android 17 and the others.

The three of them vanished from their spots in an instant, reappearing beside Mo Yuan at high speed to stand before him.

Although Dr. Gero claimed that Mo Yuan would avenge him, Android 17 did not care.

It was just like how Dr. Gero said Android 16 would kill them if released, yet they had released him anyway.

The reason was simple: they were of the same kind.

Even though Android 17 had once been human, things were different now, and that was that.

Therefore, protecting Mo Yuan now followed the same logic as releasing Android 16 earlier.

"Bastard, are you trying to kill us all?"

Vegeta slammed his elbow hard into Trunks's abdomen and cursed furiously.

One had to realize that they were underground in such a cramped space; if Trunks were to launch an attack suddenly, no one here would be able to escape.

He, Vegeta, could be beaten to death, but he would never die in such a pathetic way!

"Ugh!"

Trunks doubled over like a shrimp, nearly vomiting bile from Vegeta's strike.

After taking that elbow, Trunks finally calmed down.

He had indeed lost control of himself just a moment ago.

"I'm sorry."

Trunks apologized in a low voice.

Tien Shinhan patted Trunks on the shoulder without saying a word.

"Trunks, don't put too much pressure on yourself. Once Goku recovers from his illness, everything will be fine," Krillin comforted him.

That was right; as long as Mr. Goku was still alive, there was still a chance for things to turn around.

Thinking of Son Goku, Trunks's expression improved significantly.

"Hmph!" Hearing Krillin mention Goku, Vegeta let out a cold snort and said unhappily, "If Son Goku dies, he dies. Regardless, I'm going to slaughter all these puppet dolls today. I am the strongest Super Saiyan!"

With the crisis temporarily averted, Mo Yuan breathed a sigh of relief.

Although he had been hiding in the corner with his back turned, he had seen everything that happened clearly through his Mind's Eye.

When Android 16, Android 17, and Android 18 stood before him, Mo Yuan felt deeply moved.

"Hey, kid, are you also an android modified from a human? You don't look quite like us," Android 17 asked, arms crossed.

First of all, my name isn't 'hey'...

Dead memories suddenly began to assault Mo Yuan.

Mo Yuan shook his head, casting away those strange thoughts.

He then turned around, looked at Android 17 with his large, watery eyes, shook his head, and said, "No, I'm not."

"Oh? Then are you a robot?" Android 17 paused, shook his head, and muttered to himself, "No, that's not right. A robot wouldn't have any ki."

Mo Yuan nodded, not denying it. "Yeah, I'm definitely not a robot."

Mo Yuan swept his gaze across the people opposite him, choosing not to reveal his origins.

If he were to tell them where he came from, Mo Yuan was certain that, aside from Vegeta, the others would stop at nothing to destroy him, even if it meant they would die here as well.

Android 17 noticed Mo Yuan's hesitation and didn't press the issue; there would be plenty of time to talk when they were alone.

"Have you said enough?" Vegeta interrupted their conversation, his patience already wearing thin.

Ever since becoming a Super Saiyan, the immense power within him had made him so arrogant that he felt invincible.

Vegeta's eyes were locked onto Android 16, 17, and 18, while he dismissed Mo Yuan with a look of disdain.

However, Trunks kept his eyes fixed firmly on Mo Yuan.

Because he knew the strength of Android 17 and 18 all too well and realized they couldn't be defeated today, his only hope was to eliminate Mo Yuan.

Mo Yuan shivered as Trunks stared him down.

Crap, I'm being targeted!

To save his own skin, Mo Yuan decided to find someone powerful to cling to.

After scanning the area, Mo Yuan locked his gaze onto a cold, beautiful blonde woman.

He trotted over happily and hugged her leg.

In a milky, childish voice, he said, "Big sister, hold me~"