Unexpected Intervention

"Who it is doesn't matter to me."

Chen Hao casually waved a hand, a lazy, faint smile hanging at the corner of his mouth. He looked so relaxed that it seemed less like he was facing an enemy and more like he was chatting about everyday matters. He even slowly picked at his ear, lazily sweeping his gaze over the scattered rocks and desolate ridges around them. "The point is, I'm in a good mood today. I had some good tea and a satisfying barbecue earlier, so I feel like meddling in this little matter."

As he spoke, he lightly tapped the ground with his toe. A thin crack quietly split open in the earth, as though even the ground had yawned along with his laziness.

"Meddling? Are you playing with me?"

Cell sneered, his eyes narrowing to slits. His mouth stretched into a bizarre grin, exposing rows of pale fangs, while his purple lips trembled. His tone dripped with contempt and mockery as his fists slowly clenched, pale green energy curling around them. The air crackled, and the rubble beneath his feet buzzed and shook. "Who do you think you are? You think you can stop me from absorbing Android 18?"

The instant he finished speaking, Cell vanished. He did not turn into an afterimage—he simply disappeared into thin air, leaving behind only a violent cyclone exploding where he had stood. Dust and dead grass were swept high into the sky.

In the next instant, Cell was already in front of Chen Hao, less than an arm's length away. The speed made everyone's pupils constrict—it was terrifying.

His right fist roared toward Chen Hao's face, wrapped in violent energy and spiraling green lightning. Forget a person—even a small mountain could have been leveled by that punch. Before the fist wind even arrived, the pressure had already gouged a deep trench into the ground, sending dirt and stones flying as cracks spread like a spiderweb.

"Watch out!"

Krillin and Trunks shouted almost simultaneously. Cold sweat instantly broke out across Krillin's face, while Trunks viciously stepped forward, his hand gripping his sword sheath so tightly it creaked.

But before their warning could fully carry, Chen Hao had already moved. He merely tilted his head slightly, as lightly as if avoiding a fly, and his expression could not even be bothered to change. Cell's fist whistled past his ear, the violent gust lifting the lock of red hair on Chen Hao's forehead. His hair fluttered wildly, yet his face remained calm, his lips still curved in a slightly mischievous smile.

"What?"

Cell's eyes suddenly shrank, as though pricked by needles. He felt the emptiness as his fist cut through the air, and unprecedented disbelief surged through him—this man had not retreated even a single step? He had dodged an attack using eighty percent of his strength just by tilting his head?

Cell's breathing quickened, his heart pounding as his gaze locked onto Chen Hao's face.

"Your speed is decent. Your strength isn't bad either."

Chen Hao's voice suddenly sounded beside Cell's ear, soft and tinged with mockery.

Then his hand was already pressed against Cell's chest—not as a sneak attack, but as though it had silently appeared like a ghost. The sensation through his armor made Cell's whole body stiffen in an instant. A faint golden glow surfaced in Chen Hao's palm, and heat seemed to churn beneath his skin.

"But you're still a little lacking."

The moment he finished speaking, a terrifying force erupted from Chen Hao's palm. It was neither an explosion nor a shockwave, but a deep, concentrated thrust, as if an entire mountain had been compressed between his fingers and released in an instant.

The air abruptly exploded in a ring of white shockwaves. The surrounding ground was sheared flat, and fragments of stone sprayed out like rain.

Boom—!

Cell was blasted away like a cannonball. His body vanished from before Chen Hao's eyes, leaving only a blinding green afterimage as he smashed through a pile of massive boulders behind him, then carved a deep trench into the ground five hundred meters away. Earth churned, vegetation shattered, and Cell rolled through the ravine several times, kicking up a trail of dust and debris before barely managing to stop.

He dropped to both knees, his five fingers digging deeply into the ground as he gasped for breath. A palm print was clearly stamped onto his carapace, its edges already cracked. Green fluid slowly seeped from the fractures, trickling down along the ridges of his armor.

"This... How could this happen?"

For the first time, Cell's voice carried obvious fear, mixed with a tremor. He lowered his head and stared at the palm print, his pupils shaking violently. He simply could not believe what had happened. He had evolved countless times and fused the genes of so many warriors—how could he be casually injured by some man who had appeared out of nowhere?

Cell raised his head and glared at Chen Hao, anger, fear, and killing intent churning in his eyes. Chen Hao rolled his wrist, his bones cracking sharply, then casually straightened his rumpled collar. A teasing smile once more curled across his lips. "Hurt you? That palm strike just now didn't even qualify as a warm-up."

As he spoke, his gaze shifted to the side—Android 18 and Krillin were staring blankly at everything. Android 18 looked as though she were dreaming, while Krillin's mouth hung wide open, his face practically screaming, Am I seeing things?

"Go over there first. Leave this place to me."

Chen Hao turned and waved at Android 18. His tone remained casual, but his eyes held an unshakable resolve that allowed no refusal.

Android 18 froze for a moment, then nodded. Supporting the still-dazed Krillin, she slowly headed toward the distant rocks. Her steps were hurried, clearly showing that she had yet to recover from the shock. One of Krillin's arms rested over her shoulder as he muttered things like, "What kind of monster is that...?"

"Stop right there!"

Cell roared, his aura surging as green energy burst from his entire body like flames. The ground cracked, the air warped, and floating stones crumbled into powder.

Cell became a green afterimage, his body lowered and both fists clenched as he charged toward Android 18, even faster than before. Rocks along the way shattered beneath his rush, leaving behind a blazing trail.

But just as he was about to catch Android 18—a red figure suddenly appeared before him like a phantom, blocking his path completely. Chen Hao stood half-turned, one hand in his pocket and the other slightly raised. He was smiling, but his eyes were sharp as blades.

"I said, leave this place to me."

Chen Hao's voice was cold to the bone, like a piece of iron pulled from an ice cellar. Every word carried a biting chill.

The air seemed to freeze. Even the wind was stopped by that overwhelming presence, and the silence was painfully sharp.

The instant his words fell, his right foot tapped the ground. Dust burst outward in ripples, and his entire body vanished in a flash like an afterimage.

Then his fist was already slamming into Cell's face. This was no ordinary punch, but a heavy blow carrying spiraling rotational force. His muscles tightened, the fist wind tore through the air, and a piercing boom exploded.

Cell did not even have time to react. Before his pupils could focus, his cheek was struck with brutal force, sending his entire body flying backward with his head thrown back.

The next second, he crashed into the ground like a meteor. The impact made the earth tremble, shattering rocks and sending dust billowing into the sky. A rolling wall of gray dust obscured half the battlefield.

A deep crater several meters wide exploded into the ground, spiderweb cracks spreading madly outward. Broken stones rolled down within the pit with dull rumbles.