Cell Appears

At a clothing store, Android 18 wore a blue turtleneck long-sleeved shirt beneath a khaki vest, with a knee-length khaki skirt over black leggings, paired with khaki high leather boots.

"Is this the finest clothing in your store?" Android 18 asked as she looked at herself in the full-length mirror.

"Yes, it looks very suitable on you," the owner flattered from the side. Android 18 cast him a glance.

"You don't like this style, do you?" Cold sweat appeared on the owner's forehead.

"Do you think I'd like this style? It's awful. But in a backwater like this, I suppose I can't ask for much," Android 18 said irritably as she looked into the mirror.

After Ye Bai readily paid the bill, he followed Android 18 back to the car.

"Android 18, clothes from a little town like this are about as good as they get. When you go to West City someday, I'll take you around a big department store. You should find something that suits you there. Bulma often drags me shopping," Ye Bai said as he lay across the rear seat of the van.

"Oh? Who is Bulma?" Android 18 asked, studying Ye Bai suspiciously.

"Bulma is my current girlfriend, the daughter of the world's richest man," Ye Bai said, staring at the roof of the vehicle.

"Oh? You have a girlfriend and still came to hit on me? You really are a scumbag. The money you just used to pay for me—was that from some rich young lady?" Android 18 said, her gaze beginning to fill with disdain.

"No. That was money I'd accumulated before—more than I could spend in a lifetime. Besides, there's hardly anywhere for me to spend it."

"As for being a scumbag, I suppose that's more or less true. But you know, a powerful man like me has a powerful body. Bulma alone can't really handle it, so I'm just easing the burden on her."

"Besides, when she was pursuing me, I told her from the start that I wasn't a devoted man. I like pretty girls. Men are all rotten, aren't they? Android 17, you understand that too, right?" Ye Bai said carelessly, turning to Android 17 after he finished.

"Tch. Don't lump me in with you. I've never even had a girlfriend," Android 17 said dismissively.

"That's because you spent most of your time locked up in that lab. Men either want to become stronger or like playing games. Speaking of which, Goku counts as half a good man."

"But he's even more obsessed with martial arts. He doesn't understand much about men and women, and he doesn't care much about his family either, so he can only count as half a good man. As for me, I don't have much of an obsession with getting stronger. At the moment, as long as a certain someone doesn't wake up, I'm the strongest in the universe," Ye Bai continued.

"Oh? You seem very confident in your own strength. But judging by your expression, you seem to take it as a matter of course, unlike Vegeta, whose arrogance is just irritating," Android 18 said as she looked at Ye Bai's face.

"Mm. Vegeta can indeed be pretty annoying sometimes. As for my strength—if I ever had the chance to go all out, everyone in this world combined wouldn't even be able to stand before me," Ye Bai said as if it were only natural. Then he resumed staring blankly at the roof of the vehicle.

Ye Bai was somewhat lost now. Aside from strengthening his base form and continuing to train Ultra Instinct, he no longer understood the meaning of becoming stronger. It felt as though he could no longer find the road ahead. Ultra Instinct had reached a bottleneck, the Super Saiyan God state should be roughly equivalent to the fourth stage and did not require targeted training, and he had no idea how to achieve the fifth-stage transformation.

His base combat power had also risen in a straight line over the past few years. The most frustrating thing was that he had no opponent. Ye Bai even wanted Vegeta and Goku to fuse into a super warrior so they could fight, but against that man, Ye Bai felt that he could not possibly win anytime soon. After all, the absurd power of either Vegito or Gogeta was not something any person could overcome. At that thought, the corner of Ye Bai's mouth twitched.

Android 18 looked curiously at the man before her. Although she did not understand why he was so confident, he looked as though he were merely stating something perfectly ordinary. For some reason, she found herself believing him a little. Then she saw the corner of his mouth twitch as if he had thought of something, and after taking a closer look at his face, she had to admit that he was rather handsome.

Though Android 17 said nothing as he drove, Ye Bai's confident words made him think. This guy seemed to have seen Android 18's strength from the very beginning, yet he had always remained calm. Android 16, meanwhile, had been indifferent to these matters from start to finish and remained silent. In that strange atmosphere, the car continued toward Goku's home.

Meanwhile, Bulma was flying a plane when the radio broadcast news of a bizarre incident. The entire population of a city called Ginger Town in the western outskirts had mysteriously vanished, leaving only the victims' clothes where they had stood.

Bulma sensed that something serious had happened. She hurriedly called Kame House to ask whether Goku and the others had arrived, then told them to turn on the television and watch the news immediately.

After watching the report, everyone guessed that it was related to the other time machine. Just then, Gohan and Trunks returned to Kame House. Seeing them come back, Krillin quickly called them over to watch the news.

Just then, the news anchor heard screams and the sounds of police gunfire, before everything fell eerily silent. The anchor decided to investigate, but at that moment, the television signal suddenly cut out.

"What's going on? Hurry and switch to another channel," Yamcha said.

Krillin hurriedly changed the channel. The television broadcast people screaming and gunfire ringing out, while clothes lay scattered everywhere on the ground, until every sound eventually disappeared.

At Kami's Lookout, Kami watched the disaster below as cold sweat continuously beaded on his forehead. Piccolo urged him from the side, demanding to know what had happened.

"What exactly did you see in the mortal world?" Piccolo pressed.

"There's no need for me to tell you. As long as you merge with me, you'll know what I saw," Kami said.

"K-Kami!" Mr. Popo looked at Kami anxiously. After so many years together, he was deeply reluctant to part with him.

"So you've finally made up your mind. Looks like you saw a truly formidable monster," Piccolo said. Though he did not know what had happened, he had roughly guessed.

"Piccolo, hurry. We can't let the number of victims increase any further," Kami urged.

"Kami, we could tell Ye Bai. Maybe he can solve this. We don't necessarily have to do this," Mr. Popo suggested.

"No. He may not be able to solve the problem, and besides, I'm old. I don't have many years left to live. The world cannot rely entirely on others, or what meaning would there be in my existence as Kami?" Kami did not fully understand Ye Bai's strength, and Ye Bai had never displayed his true power to the outside world. More importantly, Kami felt that he could no longer be of much help to the world. If he merged with Piccolo, he could subtly influence him and turn him into the world's guardian. Thinking this, Kami looked at Piccolo.

"Let's make this clear first. I retain control, understand?" Piccolo said.

"That would be for the best. You are young and strong now, and your power far surpasses mine. That is only natural. I am merely the fuse that will increase your strength. As for the rest, I can give you a wealth of knowledge," Kami replied. As expected of an old hand, he used the power of words to its fullest.

With that, Kami told Piccolo to reach out and take the lead in absorbing him. Piccolo placed his hand on Kami's chest.

"K-Kami!" Mr. Popo took two steps forward and spoke reluctantly.

"Do not grieve, Mr. Popo. What Earth needs most right now is not Kami, but a warrior with strength," Kami said to Mr. Popo with solemn resolve.

"Piccolo, you've changed quite a bit. I can sense that the evil in your heart has diminished greatly, so I believe that once we merge, we will never split into two people again," Kami said, having sensed Piccolo's heart.

"Thank you for taking care of me all these years, Mr. Popo."

Before Mr. Popo's tearful eyes, Kami turned into a ray of light and vanished from this world. In his place, the world gained a Super Namekian warrior.

"You absolutely must not die, Kami!" Mr. Popo said as he watched Piccolo prepare to descend to the mortal world.

"I am neither Kami nor Piccolo. I am merely a Namekian who has forgotten his own name. Farewell. I'm leaving now." After saying that, Piccolo walked to the edge of the lookout, turned back with a smile and a farewell gesture toward Mr. Popo, then flew down to the mortal world.

Lying in the van, Ye Bai sensed Kami's presence disappear and Piccolo's energy change. He muttered softly, "Farewell, Kami."