Eternal Furnace: This Thing is Even More Outrageous Than Written in the Original Work?!

"I was thinking," Chen Mo said, choosing his words carefully, "your Eternal Furnace might be even stronger than Dr. Gero himself realized."

"Obviously." Android 18 rolled her shoulders and turned her neck from side to side, her joints making soft cracking sounds.

"That old bastard Gero couldn't even control Cell. How could he possibly understand what he created?"

Chen Mo said nothing.

He reassessed Android 18's threat level in his mind.

The Android 18 from the original story was probably at Super Saiyan level, slightly weaker than Goku after transforming.

But the original Android 18 had never been beaten to the brink of death by Broly, nor had she ever triggered the Eternal Furnace's deep restoration.

This timeline's Android 18—

She had gone four years without an opponent. Yet she had fought the entire time. She fought Android 17, fought cities, fought every living thing she could find.

The Eternal Furnace had been operating for four years.

And now, Broly had beaten her to the brink of death.

Then she had fully repaired herself within ten minutes.

This Eternal Furnace was no longer the same thing as the one in the original story.

"Done staring?"

Chen Mo came back to himself.

Android 18 walked up to him. Her wet hair had begun to dry in the sea breeze, golden strands clinging to her neck, with a few draped over her collarbones. Her cropped tank top was still damp, the fabric pressed against her body.

She raised a hand.

And clasped the back of Chen Mo's neck.

Chen Mo instinctively took a step back.

Android 18 didn't let go. Her fingers tightened.

"I told you," Android 18 said evenly. "You're mine."

"We already talked about this."

"We didn't finish."

Android 18 pulled him closer. The distance between them shrank to less than ten centimeters.

She was half a head shorter than him and had to tilt her face up to look at him. But—

When those pale blue eyes looked at him, Chen Mo felt like he was the shorter one.

"You promised to stay by my side," Android 18 said.

"Right. I said I was going to the Hyperbolic Time Chamber."

"You can go to the Hyperbolic Time Chamber," Android 18 cut in. "But before that, after that—everything you do and every place you go, you tell me first."

Chen Mo's mouth twitched.

"You're setting rules for me?"

"What do you think?"

Android 18 raised her other hand and placed it on his shoulder.

One hand on the back of his neck, the other on his shoulder. Together, they formed a half-enclosed hold.

"You ran away twice," Android 18 said. "The first time was when I was fighting that Saiyan. The second was earlier, when you went to that Korin Tower."

"How do you know about Korin Tower—"

"Your energy changed after you left. You didn't train it up. Something stimulated it." Android 18 narrowed her eyes. "What's on Korin Tower? Ultra Divine Water? Senzu Beans?"

Her powers of observation...

"Both," Chen Mo said without lying. "I drank the Ultra Divine Water. The Senzu Beans are gone. Korin's bean tree withered."

"So while I was fighting, you ran off to drink some potion, then came back stronger."

"...You could put it that way."

"Then you're planning to run off again. Go to the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. Get a little stronger. Then come back."

"Yes."

Android 18's fingers shifted against the back of his neck.

"What do you take me for?" Android 18 said. "An experience dungeon? You leave once you're done, then come back when you need me?"

Chen Mo: ...Why was that analogy weirdly accurate?

"No," he said.

"Then what am I?"

"A partnership."

"A partnership?"

The corner of Android 18's mouth twitched. It was not a smile. It was a very dangerous curve.

"What right does a weakling like you have to talk to me about cooperation?"

Her hand slid from the back of Chen Mo's neck to the front, gripping his chin.

She did not use much force. But Chen Mo could feel what lay beneath those five fingers. Each one could crush a steel bar.

"You belong to me," Android 18 said. "Not a partner. Not a teammate. Not a strategist."

"A thing."

"Do you understand?"

With his chin held in her grip, Chen Mo could only meet her gaze.

There was something utterly pure in those pale blue eyes.

Something Chen Mo had only seen in a very few characters in the original work.

An absolute desire for control.

You're mine, so you can't leave.

You can't leave my sight.

You can't make decisions for yourself.

Everything you have belongs to me.

[Emotion value of collection target: Possessiveness (extremely strong, exceeding previous value), desire for control (continuously rising), obsession (newly detected).]

[Large amounts of emotion value flooding in.]

The system was collecting it.

But Chen Mo had no mind to check the data right now.

"Android 18," he said.

"Call me by my name."

"...Lazuli."

Android 18's fingers loosened slightly.

"Have you ever heard of limitless growth?" Chen Mo asked.

"What?"

"Broly. That Super Saiyan. He isn't an ordinary Super Saiyan. His strength has no upper limit. The more he fights, the stronger he gets. There's no ceiling."

Android 18 said nothing.

"How long did you fight him just now?"

"Less than twenty minutes."

"In those twenty minutes, you went from having the upper hand to being seriously injured," Chen Mo said. "Did you notice that, in the last ten minutes, the force behind his punches was twice what it was in the first ten?"

Android 18's fingers stopped.

She thought about it.

"...Yes."

"That wasn't because he was testing you at first," Chen Mo said. "It was because he grew stronger during the fight. Every second you exchanged blows with him, he was growing."

Android 18 removed her hand from his chin.

"Your Eternal Furnace is powerful," Chen Mo continued. "You can repair yourself. You have infinite energy. But Broly also has limitless growth. You may recover quickly, but he grows even faster. Fight for an hour, and you'll still be you, while he'll already be ten times stronger."

"Fight for two hours, and he'll be a hundred times stronger."

"Fight for a day, and he'll be able to crush this planet in his hand."

The wind swept across the beach.

Android 18 stood where she was, her toes shifting slightly in the white sand.

She was thinking.

"More terrifying than Cell?"

"Cell has a limit," Chen Mo said. "Even Perfect Form Cell is only at the level of Super Saiyan 2. He's strong, but he has a ceiling. Broly doesn't. In theory, his strength can grow without limit. A Legendary Super Saiyan only appears once every thousand years because of that."

Android 18 fell silent for a few seconds.

"So?"

"So I have to become stronger," Chen Mo said. "Not so I can run. So I can survive in front of Broly. The same goes for you. Broly has lost control now. He doesn't recognize anyone. He won't spare any strong person on this planet. You, Android 17, and Cell are all his targets."

Android 18 raised her head and looked at him.

The desire for control in her eyes had not faded. But there was something else layered beneath it. Thin, like a sheen of light over the sea.

"I can believe what you said," Android 18 said.

"But you can't leave me."

"I need to go to the Hyperbolic Time—"

"I told you," Android 18 said in a low voice. "You are not allowed to leave me."

She stepped forward.

Chen Mo took a step back.

A reef was behind him. There was nowhere left to retreat.

Android 18 braced her hands against the reef on either side of him, trapping him in the middle. She leaned forward, close enough for Chen Mo to see his own reflection in her eyes.

The neckline of her cropped tank top dipped into a curve as she leaned forward. Chen Mo's gaze involuntarily swept downward before he immediately pulled it back.

Android 18 noticed.

She said nothing, but the corner of her lips curled up slightly.

"I don't need you to fight for me," Android 18 said. "Give me advice, come up with plans, tell me who I should guard against and who I should fight. That's what you're useful for."

"Your usefulness doesn't require you to become stronger. You just need to stay by my side. Be obedient."

"Be mine."

Chen Mo's temples throbbed.

He understood his situation very clearly now.

With the Tenfold King Kai Fist fully unleashed, his battle power was fifty thousand.

Android 18's battle power was conservatively estimated to be several hundred million or more.

Coupled with the terrifying regenerative ability the Eternal Furnace had displayed earlier, her actual strength might be even higher than that.

He could not escape.

At least, not head-on.

"Fine," Chen Mo said.

Android 18 looked at him.

"Fine?"

"Whatever you say goes," Chen Mo said. "I'll listen to you."

Android 18 stared at him for three seconds. Then she withdrew her hands from the reef and stepped back half a pace.

"You agreed too quickly," she said.

"Because you have a point."

"You're lying to me."

"I'm trying to stay alive," Chen Mo said. "There's no difference between the two."

Android 18 looked at him. Two seconds later, the corner of her mouth moved again.

"Fine," she said. "Remember what you said today."

She turned and looked north.

In the direction of Broly's signal.

The Scouter was in Chen Mo's backpack. He did not take it out, but he knew that number was still rising.

"You said Cell went to find Android 17," Android 18 said with her back to him. "How long can Android 17 hold out?"

"Cell in his first form can't beat Android 17. But Cell will run."

"Run where?"

"To look for an opportunity. Wait for us to split up. Wait for Android 17 to be alone. Launch a sneak attack," Chen Mo said. "Cell is highly intelligent. It won't force a direct confrontation."

Android 18 fell silent.

"I'm going to find Android 17."

"Your injuries."

"They're healed."

Android 18 turned around.

"You're coming with me."

Chen Mo's mind raced.

They were going to find Android 17. Android 17 was fighting Cell. Broly's signal was also moving in that direction. Three forces were about to converge at one point.

He was going to charge in with a body that only had fifty thousand battle power?

That was suicide.

But Android 18 would not let him stay alone. Nor would she let him go to the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. She wanted to keep him chained at her side.

So he had only one window.

On the way to find Android 17.

Android 18's attention would be divided while flying. If Cell and Android 17's battle escalated along the way, or if Broly's signal appeared nearby, Android 18's attention would be drawn away.

That would be his chance.

"Let's go," Chen Mo said.

Android 18 walked over. She didn't carry him. This time, she grabbed his wrist. Her five fingers circled the wrist bone like handcuffs.

The two rose from the beach.

The sea receded beneath their feet. Wind rushed past their ears.

Android 18 flew far faster than he could, dragging his body forward as his shoulder joint endured tremendous pulling force.

Chen Mo used the Quadruple Kaio-ken to keep up with her speed.

"Slow down."

"If it's too fast for you, then don't hold me back."

Chen Mo gritted his back teeth and kept up.

The two flew northeast for roughly six minutes.

Chen Mo could feel the energy in the air changing.

Three hundred kilometers ahead, the battle fluctuations between Android 17 and Cell continued. Every few seconds, there was a violent burst of energy.

But there was another signal.

Broly.

It cut in from due north.

It was incredibly fast. Even faster than Android 18's flight speed.

That signal shot straight toward the area where Android 17 and Cell were fighting.

"Broly's headed over there!" Chen Mo shouted.

Android 18 noticed it too. Her flying speed suddenly increased.

Chen Mo's wrist was yanked painfully. His Quadruple Kaio-ken had already reached its limit.

Then the sky ahead flashed.

Golden light.

Not an energy blast. Pure overflowing energy, as if a sun had been lit on the ground.

Broly had made contact with Cell.

Android 18 stopped.

She hovered in midair, staring at the golden light ahead.

The golden light was expanding. Energy shockwaves spread from three hundred kilometers away, making the air tremble.

Android 17's signal fluctuated violently. Cell's signal was retreating. Broly's signal...

It was still rising.

Chen Mo's heartbeat sped up.

A three-way melee.

Now.

Android 18's attention was entirely on the front. Her hand still circled his wrist, but her grip had loosened.

She was assessing the situation, deciding whether to rush over.

Chen Mo did not hesitate.

In an instant, he switched from the Quadruple Kaio-ken to the Tenfold King Kai Fist.

Fifty thousand combat power exploded within him.

His wrist abruptly slipped free from Android 18's fingers.

When Android 18's hand closed, it grasped nothing.

She turned her head.

Chen Mo had already changed direction. Not forward. Not back. Down. He plunged straight toward the ground.

"You—!"

Android 18's voice came from above.

Chen Mo didn't look back.

With the Tenfold King Kai Fist fully unleashed, he completely suppressed his ki and drew it into his bones. He pushed his speed to the limit, lowered his angle as far as possible, and flew at full speed just above the ruins on the ground.

Low. Flat. Fast.

He plunged into a cluster of bombed-out city ruins. The shadows of collapsed buildings and broken walls shredded his silhouette.

The golden light three hundred kilometers away was still expanding. Broly's energy shockwaves came one after another, each stronger than the last.

Android 18 had to make a choice.

Chase him, or go help Android 17.

Ten seconds.

Twenty seconds.

Thirty seconds.

She hadn't come after him.

Chen Mo's breathing was ragged. He skimmed along the base of the ruins without slowing down.

A notification popped up in his mind.

[Detected intense emotional fluctuations in emotion collection target: anger (surging), sense of betrayal (first detected), killing intent (rising).]

[Massive amounts of emotion points incoming.]

[Warning: Emotion collection target is moving toward Android 17. She is not pursuing the host.]

She had chosen Android 17.

Chen Mo let out a breath.

She would first make sure Android 17 was safe.

Because Android 17 was her brother. Her biological brother.

No matter how cold Android 18 appeared, Android 17 was her only blood relative in this world.

When Broly charged over, there was no way she could ignore Android 17.

That was what Chen Mo had gambled on.

And it was his only window.

He adjusted his direction, veering ninety degrees and flying due west.

Kami's Lookout. The Hyperbolic Time Chamber.

He only had one day.

No. He didn't even have a full day.

Once Android 18 dealt with things over there, she would come looking for him. And this time, she definitely wouldn't be nice to him.

[New emotion detected in emotion collection target: obsession (extremely strong).]

[Note: Host is advised to prepare mentally for the next meeting.]

Chen Mo shut off the system notifications.

Prepare mentally.

Fine.

He accelerated.

Behind him, the northern sky was torn open by a gash of golden light, stretching from the horizon all the way to the tops of the clouds.

Broly's roar carried over from three hundred kilometers away.