The Fated Encounter, The Last Super Saiyan

Broly's roar faded farther and farther behind him.

Chen Mo flew close to the ground, the red aura of the tenfold King Kai Fist compressed to its lowest point, clinging tightly to his skin.

This was already the limit of his current speed.

Ruins flashed beneath his feet—collapsed overpasses, fallen apartment buildings, farmland scorched into blackened earth.

Everywhere looked the same.

Four years. The androids had turned Earth into this.

He did not dare fly too high.

If he flew high, the fluctuations of his ki would leave traces in the air.

He did not know how far Android 18's detection range extended, but her eternal reactor could receive electromagnetic signals.

He had to stay as low as possible, as fast as possible, and attract as little attention as possible.

Kami's Lookout lay west-northwest.

At his current speed, it would take roughly another twenty minutes.

The system stayed quiet in his mind for a while, then sent a notification.

[Current status of emotion collection target: In battle.]

[Target is cooperating with Android 17 against target "Broly." Cell has temporarily withdrawn from the battlefield.]

[Target's emotions continue to fluctuate: Anger (high), agitation (medium), killing intent (directed at host, continuously rising).]

Killing intent directed at the host.

Chen Mo took a deep breath and forced those words out of his mind.

No more thinking. Get to Kami's Lookout first. Enter the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. Train until he could withstand one of her punches before worrying about anything else.

He continued flying close to the ground.

He passed the outskirts of three ruined cities.

Above the fourth city, he slowed down.

He did not take out his scanner. But after training his senses under Master Roshi for a year, his basic perception of ki had already become very sharp.

Two kilometers ahead, there was an extremely faint fluctuation of life energy.

It was weak. So weak it was almost vanishing.

But the nature of that energy was wrong.

Ordinary people's ki was scattered, lacking cohesion, like smoke drifting from a stove.

A martial artist's ki was contained, with a core, like a rope.

The ki ahead was contained.

And within its core was something Chen Mo had never sensed from Master Roshi.

Thick. Heavy. Oppressive.

It was like some immense power had been sealed inside a tiny container, on the verge of overflowing yet forcibly held down.

Chen Mo slowed further.

He went around a building with only half a wall left, then turned the corner.

And he saw the person.

A young man.

Short purple hair.

A blue short-sleeved jacket.

A sword sheath hung at his waist, but the sword was not inside it.

His jacket had been torn apart, with almost the entire right half gone, exposing layers of bandages underneath.

The bandages were filthy, soaked through with blood more than once. Some stains were old, others fresh, their shades varying in darkness.

He was leaning against the base of a wall, half sitting and half lying down.

His right hand pressed against his abdomen. The bandages around his stomach were bleeding too.

He was panting. Heavily.

Chen Mo stopped.

He hovered in midair, looking down at the young man on the ground.

Short purple hair.

That sword missing from its sheath.

The last Super Saiyan.

Trunks.

Chen Mo landed.

His feet came down on broken chunks of concrete, making a sound.

Trunks's body tensed instantly.

Bracing himself with his left hand, he sprang back more than a meter and pressed himself against the wall, taking up a defensive stance.

But halfway through the movement, his expression changed. He went pale, with a bluish cast to his face.

The wound in his abdomen.

"Don't move," Chen Mo said.

Trunks stared at him.

His eyes were blue, very much like his mother Bulma's.

But those eyes were now full of vigilance.

"Who are you?" Trunks's voice was hoarse, his throat dry.

"Just passing through." Chen Mo raised both hands to show he meant no harm. "I can sense your ki. You're a martial artist."

Trunks did not relax.

His eyes swept over Chen Mo.

From head to toe.

"You can fly," Trunks said.

"I learned."

"From whom?"

"Master Roshi."

Trunks's expression changed.

His wariness did not disappear completely, but something else was added to it.

"Master Roshi is still alive?"

"He is. On an island in the South Sea." Chen Mo crouched down, keeping himself at eye level with him. "Who gave you that injury?"

Trunks fell silent for two seconds.

"The androids."

"Which one?"

"Android 18."

Chen Mo's breathing paused for a beat.

"When did it happen?"

"Three days ago." Trunks leaned back against the wall, his hand still pressed against his abdomen. "I was heading south from the north. I wanted to go to Korin Tower. She ran into me on the way."

Three days ago.

Chen Mo calculated the timing in his head. Three days ago, he had still been in the waters near Kame House Island.

Android 18 had just finished fighting Broly, then cornered him on the beach.

At that time, Android 18's injuries had not fully healed yet.

Android 18 had been heading south to chase him when she happened to encounter Trunks.

Then she beat him up while she was at it.

"She didn't kill you," Chen Mo said.

The corner of Trunks's mouth twitched.

"No. She left after beating me. She said I was too weak, that it was boring."

Chen Mo looked at the wound on his abdomen. It was wrapped in so many layers of bandages, yet blood was still seeping through.

It had been three days. With a Super Saiyan's constitution, ordinary wounds should have healed long ago.

Yet it still had not healed.

That showed how hard Android 18 had struck.

"Where's your sword?"

Trunks lowered his head and glanced at the empty scabbard.

"It broke. She kicked it in half."

Chen Mo recalled that sword from the original story. Trunks's mother, Bulma, had forged it from a super alloy.

It could cleave through Frieza's spaceship hull.

Android 18 had broken it with a single kick.

"You're going to Korin Tower to get Senzu Beans?" Chen Mo asked.

Trunks nodded. Then he shook his head.

"Senzu Beans. Or something else. Something that can heal injuries. There should still be some stock left at Korin Tower." His voice grew quieter and quieter. "But I can't walk anymore. I can't fly. If I exert my ki, the wound in my abdomen splits open."

Chen Mo looked at him for three seconds.

Then he reached into his backpack.

At the bottom of the pack, beneath the scouter, was a tiny cloth pouch. The pouch bore the mark of Korin Tower.

Yajirobe had given it to him. The last Senzu Bean.

Chen Mo opened the pouch and pinched out the bean.

It was green, only as big as the nail on his little finger. Its surface carried a faint sheen.

Trunks stared at the bean.

"This is..."

"A Senzu Bean," Chen Mo said. "One of the last few from Korin Tower. Korin's bean plant has withered. There won't be any new ones for a while."

He held the Senzu Bean out to him.

Trunks didn't take it.

"You're giving it to me?" He looked up at Chen Mo. "You know this is the last one?"

"I know."

"You're not saving it for yourself?"

"I'm not injured right now. You are."

Trunks looked into his eyes.

For several seconds.

Then he reached out and took the Senzu Bean.

He put it into his mouth.

Chewed. Swallowed.

The effect was almost instantaneous.

Trunks's pale, bluish complexion returned to normal.

He lowered his head and glanced at his abdomen. Beneath the bandages, the wound closed at a visible rate.

His aura was recovering. The power that had been suppressed within that vessel began to return.

Less than ten seconds later.

Trunks stood up.

He rolled his shoulders and twisted at the waist. His abdomen didn't split open again.

"Thanks," he said. Even his voice had changed. It was no longer hoarse.

Chen Mo rose to his feet. The two stood face-to-face.

Trunks was half a head taller than him, broad-shouldered, with clearly defined muscles in his arms.

This was the body of someone who had fought for years.

"What's your name?" Trunks asked.

"Chen Mo."

"Chen Mo," Trunks repeated. "You learned martial arts from Master Roshi. You have the aura of the King Kai Fist."

"You know the King Kai Fist?"

"I read about it in the archives of the Heavenly Realm." Trunks paused. "And when you flew over just now, there were traces of red aura flames around you. Very faint, but I recognized them."

This man's powers of observation weren't bad either.

Though that was only normal.

After surviving four years in a world ruled by androids, anyone slow-witted would have died long ago.

"I'm going to Kami's Lookout," Chen Mo said without beating around the bush. "The Hyperbolic Time Chamber. Do you know that place?"

Trunks's eyes lit up.

"You know about the Hyperbolic Time Chamber?"

"One year inside equals one day outside. Ten times gravity. Extreme conditions," Chen Mo said. "I went in once before. For half a month. It wasn't enough. This time, I'm staying for a full year."

"You've been inside?" Trunks's expression changed. "When?"

"That's from before. It's not important." Chen Mo looked at him. "Do you want to come with me?"

Trunks didn't answer immediately. He looked down at his hands and clenched them into fists.

"The Hyperbolic Time Chamber can only hold two people at once," he said.

"Then it's perfect."

Trunks looked up.

"Why are you helping me?"

"It's not really help," Chen Mo said. "You're a Super Saiyan. I need someone who can fight to train with. Training energy control and martial arts alone under ten times gravity is too inefficient. With a real combat opponent, progress will be much faster."

Trunks looked at him for several seconds.

"You know I'm a Super Saiyan."

"Of course."

"How do you know?"

Chen Mo thought for a moment.

"Half-Saiyan. Vegeta's son. Purple hair. Carries a sword. Who else could you be?"

Trunks's expression made it impossible to tell whether he felt relieved or even more confused.

"You know a lot."

"Someone said the same thing to me once," Chen Mo said.

"Who?"

"Android 18."

Trunks's body tensed in an instant.

His hand reflexively reached for the empty sword sheath at his waist, then lowered again.

"You've encountered Android 18?"

"More than encountered her." Chen Mo's tone remained calm. "She captured me. Stepped on me. Carried me across half a continent. I almost ended up being kept as her pet."

Trunks's mouth opened slightly.

"How did you survive after falling into her hands?"

"With my mouth." Chen Mo pointed at his head. "I know some things she wants to know. Cell. Dr. Gero's experiments. The time machine. Things like that. She kept me alive because I was useful."

This time, Trunks was genuinely shocked.

"The time machine? You know about the time machine?"

"Trunks," Chen Mo cut him off, "talk on the way. This isn't the time to chat."

He looked up at the sky.

Golden light still flickered along the northern horizon.

Broly's energy fluctuations were growing stronger by the moment.

"What is that golden light?" Trunks was looking too.

"Broly. The Legendary Super Saiyan. The kind that appears once every thousand years."

Trunks's pupils contracted.

"The Legendary..."

"Right. Not an ordinary Super Saiyan. An infinitely growing type. He gets stronger the more he fights, with no upper limit. Android 18 and Android 17 are fighting him right now. Cell is over there too. It's a three-way melee."

Chen Mo spoke faster. "Our window is now. Once the fighting over there ends, Android 18 will come looking for me. Last time, she took ten seconds to consider letting me go. This time, she won't take ten."

Trunks processed that for two seconds.

"Let's go," he said.

The two of them took to the air at the same time.

After recovering, Trunks flew far faster than Chen Mo.

He held back his speed to wait for Chen Mo.

They flew close to the ruins, completely suppressing their energy.

After flying for about three minutes, Trunks turned his head.

"That Cell you mentioned. What is it?"

"Dr. Gero's creation. A biological weapon cultivated from the cells of Goku, Vegeta, Frieza, and Piccolo. Its goal is to absorb Android 17 and Android 18 and evolve into its perfect form."

Trunks's flight posture tilted.

"Using my father's cells?"

"Goku's too. And Frieza's." Chen Mo said, "Dr. Gero's surveillance robots collected combat data and genetic samples from all the Z Fighters. They tracked them from the Saiyan invasion of Earth all the way to Planet Namek."

Trunks was silent for a long while.

"Is Bulma still alive?" Chen Mo asked.

Trunks turned toward him. Something flashed through his eyes.

"She's alive."

"Where?"

"Southwest. Seventh District Concentration Camp," Trunks said. "The androids gathered the survivors from several cities there. My mom is there. She hid communication equipment and some weapons underground. She designed the camp's defense system."

"Can it stop the androids?"

"It can't." Trunks's voice flattened. "But it can give warning. When the androids approach, the system sounds an alarm ten minutes in advance. Ten minutes is enough for most people to hide in the underground shelters."

Ten minutes.

In front of the androids, ten minutes meant the difference between life and death.

"She's still researching the time machine," Trunks continued. "There aren't enough materials. There isn't enough energy. Progress is slow. But she hasn't given up."

Chen Mo memorized it.

Bulma. Seventh District Concentration Camp. Time machine.

This information would be useful later.

The outline of Kami's Lookout appeared above the clouds ahead. That slender pillar stretched from the ground all the way into the sky.

The platform at the top of the pillar flickered in and out of view amid the clouds.

The two accelerated.

Three minutes later, they landed on the ground of Kami's Lookout.

Mr. Popo was already standing at the entrance.

His round black body and white eyes stood out. When he saw Trunks, his expression softened for a moment.

"Mr. Trunks. It has been a long time."

"Mr. Popo." Trunks nodded once.

"The Hyperbolic Time Chamber," Chen Mo said. "Two people."

Mr. Popo looked at him, then at Trunks.

"Mr. Chen Mo, you only came out a little over an hour ago."

"Time waits for no one."

Mr. Popo said nothing more. He turned and walked inside, and the two followed.

They passed through the corridor, crossed the courtyard, and arrived before the familiar white door.

Chen Mo paused before it.

A line of text appeared in his mind.

[Current target emotional state: Anger (extremely strong), sense of betrayal (continuing to rise), possessiveness (surpassing its historical peak).]

[New emotion: Longing (detected for the first time, abnormal intensity).]

Longing.

Chen Mo closed the door behind him.

A white void unfolded before him. The horizon stretched infinitely into the distance.

There was no sun overhead. Ten times gravity pressed down on him in an instant.

From this moment on, the world outside the door began to pass at a rate of three hundred and sixty-five to one.