Tracing in the Cave

"What are you looking for?"

Piccolo fell into thought, his eyes taking on a deeper look.

He gazed west, watching the last traces of sunset fade from the horizon.

"What is that guy trying to do?"

"Whatever he's thinking, at least one huge problem is gone."

Krillin muttered under his breath as he rubbed his neck.

Leaning against a stone pillar, he let out a long breath.

"If it weren't for him, we'd all be dead by now. Cell's tail nearly snapped my arm."

"Yeah..."

Goku sighed, his expression somewhat complicated.

He lowered his head to look at his hands—hands that had fought countless battles and pushed past countless limits, yet were still trembling slightly now.

"His strength is terrifying. Even if I turned Super Saiyan 2, I still couldn't beat him. I could tell he hadn't even gone all out."

Everyone fell silent.

No one said another word.

The mountain wind howled, sweeping up a few dead leaves and sending them spinning around their feet.

The clouds on the horizon were red as though soaked through with blood.

By then, Chen Hao had already reached a desolate stretch of wilderness.

The place was deathly still, filled with strange rocks and dried-up riverbeds, without the slightest trace of life.

The wind carried sand as it moaned through the barren land.

Several oddly shaped dead trees stood in the distance, their branches like ghostly hands, casting frightening shadows in the evening light.

He closed his eyes and stood motionless in the wind.

His long red hair whipped wildly in the gusts, and the hem of his clothes snapped loudly.

He calmed himself and sensed the ki around him—he could catch every trace of energy, every faint sign of life.

"Found it."

Chen Hao opened his eyes, a glint flashing through them.

His figure flickered, and he appeared before a cave concealed behind vines and scattered boulders.

Without deliberately searching for it, no one would ever have found this place.

The surrounding rock walls were cracked beyond belief, as if they had not moved in centuries.

"This is..."

Android 18 followed him over and landed beside him. She studied the cave entrance and frowned.

"Cell's nest?"

"Yeah."

Chen Hao nodded, his gaze settling on the traces on the ground.

The dried black slime still carried a rotten stench.

He stepped inside. "This guy absorbed quite a bit of life energy. There's still some residue at the scene. Look at this."

He pointed to the scorch marks and tiny dents on the walls, all scratches left behind by energy.

Android 18 leaned in for a closer look and realized they really were remnants of some kind of energy.

"This is what you were looking for?"

"No."

Chen Hao shook his head without stopping.

He continued deeper into the cave. It was larger inside than it had appeared, with minerals in the walls giving off a faint glow.

He walked over to a pile of equipment—dust lay so thick it could have been scraped off in clumps, and wires were exposed everywhere.

"What I'm looking for is his research data."

"Research data?"

"Cell wasn't born naturally. He was created by Dr. Gero."

Chen Hao crouched down and ran his fingertips over the equipment, immediately picking up a layer of dust.

He inspected the ports with a focused expression, a gleam hidden in his eyes.

"These machines should contain data on creating artificial humans. The doctor stored all his results here."

Android 18 froze for a moment, but quickly understood.

"You want to create androids?" Her voice turned wary.

"No."

Chen Hao did not even turn around, continuing to tinker with the equipment.

He tapped away at the keyboard. The screen flickered twice, but nothing much happened.

"I want to repair your brother."

"Repair?"

"Android 17 was absorbed by Cell. Even though he was spat back out, there are probably problems inside him."

Chen Hao turned to look at Android 18, his gaze calm with a hint of gentleness.

"Take a close look at the energy inside him. It seems fine on the surface, but key points have been damaged. If they aren't repaired, he'll soon be unable to fight, and even his mind could be in danger. I asked you before, and you said he was your only family."

Android 18 froze.

Wind swept in through the cave entrance, stirring her blonde hair.

She stood there, her fingers slowly curling into fists as she fixed her eyes on Chen Hao's back.

The last slanting ray of sunset shone in, draping his red hair in a layer of golden light.

Chen Hao focused on fiddling with the equipment, flicking away the dust as it occasionally let out a few beeps.

"Can you find it?"

Android 18 asked softly, her voice trembling slightly.

"I can."

Chen Hao turned around and gave her a confident smile.

"As long as there's data, it'll definitely work. Dr. Gero may have been insane, but his technology was top-notch. These devices are still in decent condition—it'll just take some time to power them up."

After saying that, he turned back and continued working. Water dripped deep within the cave, and it was so quiet that the echoes could be heard.

Android 18 stood at the cave entrance, watching Chen Hao's figure slowly be swallowed by darkness.

The wind brushed her cheek, carrying a faint chill, yet that warmth inside her had not faded.

Something seemed to occur to her. Her lips pressed together as she muttered to herself, "Then... wouldn't that make him my brother-in-law?"

Her voice was so soft that the wind carried it into the night, and no one heard it.

"What, touched?"

Chen Hao suddenly turned around, the corner of his lips lifting as he raised an eyebrow at her.

The fading sunlight still shrouded his face. His fingers hovered over the keyboard, their movement abruptly stopping.

Android 18 turned her head aside to avoid his gaze. Her fair face flushed slightly in the evening light.

"Of course not." Her voice was low and a little awkward. "I was just wondering why you're being so kind."

She crossed her arms, nudging pebbles on the ground with her toes, outwardly composed.

"It's not kindness. It's a deal."

Chen Hao continued typing, his knuckles moving rapidly as crisp tapping echoed through the cave.

Without looking back, he kept his eyes on the streams of data flashing across the screen.

"Besides, I don't want to see you looking miserable all day."

Android 18's entire face turned red, even the tips of her ears tinged pink.

She bit her lip and suddenly clutched the hem of her clothes, saying nothing.

She simply watched Chen Hao—his profile, his focused back, his hands flying across the keyboard. Every movement radiated resolve.

The wind outside the cave continued to blow, sending her blonde hair across her face again.

She did not brush it aside, letting it block her vision as if she were hiding something.

After a while, Chen Hao's eyes lit up.

A string of encrypted files appeared on the screen. He quickly entered a few commands and copied out all the data.

"Found it."

As he spoke, he pulled out the storage card and slipped it into his pocket.

"Let's go. Back to Kami's Lookout."

"Mm."

Android 18 answered softly, almost too quietly to hear.

The two walked out of the cave one after the other.

Chen Hao tapped off the ground, shooting into the sky as his clothes rustled loudly in the wind.

Android 18 followed, a protective barrier lighting up around her. Like meteors, the two flew straight toward Kami's Lookout.

The atmosphere in Kami's Lookout was stifling.

Everyone was either sitting or standing, waiting in silence.

Trunks leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, looking deeply preoccupied.

Piccolo sat cross-legged without uttering a word.

Goku paced back and forth through the hall, occasionally glancing at the distant sky.

When Chen Hao and Android 18 approached the entrance, everyone immediately stood up, filling the room with the sounds of footsteps and chairs scraping.

"You're back?"

Trunks hurried over and nervously looked the two of them over.

"Did you find anything?"