Emotion Value Maxed! Triple Kaio-ken, Unlocked!

No one spoke in the shelter.

More than thirty pairs of eyes stared at Chen Mo.

There was fear, anger, and pleading.

Lin Ke was still clutching Chen Mo's sleeve.

"Don't go out," she said in a low voice. "Going out means death."

"If I don't go out, we'll all die." Chen Mo pried her fingers loose and patted the back of her hand. "Don't worry. I'm somewhat useful. She won't kill me right away."

Lin Ke froze.

Chen Mo didn't explain. He stood up and dusted off his pants.

"Old Zhang, how do we open the door?"

Old Zhang looked at him and opened his mouth.

"You..."

"Open the door." Chen Mo repeated himself.

Old Zhang fell silent for two seconds, then walked over and undid the three locks.

The moment the iron door opened, cold wind rushed in, carrying the smell of burning.

The stairs.

Chen Mo climbed up one step at a time.

By the time he reached the middle of the stairwell, his legs had begun to shake.

In his previous life, the thing he feared most was performance reviews. Now, the thing he feared most was waiting for him at the top of the stairs.

The exit.

The moon was mostly obscured by smoke and dust, leaking only a little ghastly white light.

Under the moonlight, the outlines of the ruins resembled a row of uneven tombstones.

Android 18 stood atop the fallen sign in front of the supermarket.

Her arms were crossed as she tilted her head and watched Chen Mo emerge from underground.

The wind stirred her blonde hair.

"You came out on your own?" Android 18 raised an eyebrow. "I thought you humans would shove each other around for ages."

"Shoving wastes time," Chen Mo said. "You're not a patient person."

"I'm not a person," Android 18 corrected him.

Chen Mo didn't respond to that.

He stood by the exit, about five meters away from Android 18.

In the moonlight, he could see Android 18's face clearly.

Just like before. No dust, no sweat, even her hair was perfectly smooth.

She had just blown up a city, yet she looked like she had just finished shopping.

"You're interesting." Android 18 looked him over. "You ran pretty fast earlier. That red energy isn't something humans of this era should be able to use."

"You want to ask where that energy came from?"

"No." Android 18 said bluntly. "It doesn't matter. Your fighting power isn't even as good as a puppy's. I didn't come looking for you because of your energy."

Chen Mo's heart skipped a beat.

"Then why did you come for me?"

Android 18's expression didn't change.

"You're very brave."

Chen Mo took a deep breath.

"You want to know why?"

"Whatever."

"Then why did you come?"

Android 18 didn't answer.

"Lazuli."

Android 18's expression finally changed.

"What did you call me?"

"Lazuli." Chen Mo repeated it. "That's your name. Your real name. The name you had before Dr. Gero modified you."

The air fell silent.

Android 18 stared at him. Something had appeared in her icy blue eyes.

[Detected target emotional fluctuation: Shock (Intense). Emotion Value +9.]

[Current Emotion Value: 28/100.]

"How do you know that name?" Android 18's voice dropped half a notch.

"You and Android 17," Chen Mo said, "were originally twins. Humans. Ordinary humans."

Android 18 didn't move.

"Dr. Gero kidnapped you," Chen Mo said. "You were turned into androids. Most of your memories of the past were erased, but not all of them. Sometimes, you get fragments, right? Images you can't explain the origin of."

Android 18's fingers twitched.

Her arms, folded across her chest, tightened slightly.

"Who are you?" Her tone changed.

"An ordinary human," Chen Mo said. "But I know some things you don't."

"Such as?"

"Like where Dr. Gero's laboratory is."

Chen Mo paused.

"And like the monster growing inside that laboratory."

[Detected target emotional fluctuation: Alertness (Moderate) + Curiosity (Intense). Emotion Value +11.]

[Current Emotion Value: 39/100.]

Android 18's eyes narrowed slightly.

"What monster?"

"Dr. Gero designated it Cell," Chen Mo said. "Unlike you and Android 17, it wasn't modified from a human. It's a pure biological weapon, cultivated using the cells of Goku, Vegeta, Piccolo, and the two of you."

"...Using our cells?"

"Yes. It has all of your abilities." Chen Mo watched Android 18's reaction. "And its final evolution requires one condition: absorbing you and Android 17."

Silence.

Wind poured through the gaps in the ruins, howling.

Android 18's expression returned to calm.

"You're saying there's something that wants to eat me?" Android 18 said slowly.

"Absorb, not eat. It'll merge your entire body into its own and turn you into part of its power. Your consciousness, your existence—everything will disappear."

[Detected target emotional fluctuation: Disgust (Intense) + Anger (Slight). Emotion Value +14.]

[Current Emotion Value: 53/100.]

Fifty-three. More than halfway there.

Android 18 didn't fly into a rage.

She merely tilted her head.

"How," she said, "does an ordinary human like you know something like that?"

Chen Mo had long since prepared an answer for that question.

"Dr. Gero's database," he said. "I found one of his backup terminals in the ruins of West City. It contained records of your modifications, Cell's cultivation logs, and—"

He paused.

"—the blueprints for a remote control."

Android 18's eyes lit up.

"What remote control?"

"Dr. Gero made an emergency shutdown device for you," Chen Mo said. "A remote control. Press it, and you and Android 17 will immediately enter a dormant state. Unable to resist. Unable to counter it."

This time, Android 18's reaction was far stronger.

Her hands dropped from her chest to hang at her sides.

Her fingers curled slightly. Light flickered in her palms.

[Detected target emotional fluctuation: Anger (Intense). Emotion Value +18.]

[Current Emotion Value: 71/100.]

Seventy-one.

"You're saying," Android 18 enunciated each word, "that someone can shut me down with a single button?"

"It was the failsafe Dr. Gero designed," Chen Mo said. "He didn't trust his own creations. Do you think he gave you free will because he respected you? No. He believed that as long as he held the remote, you could never get out of hand."

Android 18 stared at him.

Something burned in those icy blue eyes.

"Where is that laboratory?" Android 18 asked.

"The northern mountain range," Chen Mo said. "I don't remember the exact coordinates, but the general direction won't be wrong. That place is underground, and the entrance is disguised. From the outside, it just looks like an ordinary cave."

Android 18 fell silent for several seconds.

Then she smiled.

"You're the strangest human I've ever met," Android 18 said. "Other humans only run, cry, and beg when they see me. You kissed me first, then ran away, then came back out on your own and told me my own story."

Android 18 tilted her head at him.

"Aren't you afraid I'll kill you?"

"I am," Chen Mo said. "But you won't kill me right now."

"Why not?"

"Because you still have questions you want answered," Chen Mo said. "If you kill me, that information goes with me. Gero's laboratory, Cell, the remote control—you need me."

Android 18 looked at him for three seconds.

Then she turned around, her back facing him. Her short golden hair swayed faintly in the wind.

"What's your name?"

"Chen Mo."

"Chen Mo." Android 18 repeated the name, as if savoring it. "Fine. I'll give you some time."

"What kind of time?"

Android 18 looked back. Moonlight fell across half her face.

"Time to grow stronger," she said. "You're too weak right now. So weak I'm afraid I'll blow you over just by talking."

She paused.

"I'll go check out that old bastard Gero's laboratory first. If the thing about the remote control is true, I'll crush that thing with my own hands."

"And if it's fake?" Chen Mo asked.

Android 18 gave a short laugh.

"Then I'll come back and crush you."

With a light tap of her toe against the ground, she rose into the air.

The rubble scattered across the ruins was blown in every direction by the airflow.

Chen Mo raised a hand to shield his face from the dust, looking up as her figure climbed higher and higher, farther and farther away.

At last, she vanished into the dark sky.

[Target emotional fluctuation detected: Obsession (slight) + Pleasure (slight). Emotion Points +15.]

[Current Emotion Points: 86/100.]

Eighty-six.

Fourteen more to go.

[Additional detection: Residual emotions before the target's departure—Curiosity (persistent) + Interest (directed: host). Emotion Points +14.]

[Current Emotion Points: 100/100.]

[Congratulations, Host! Emotion Points have reached 100!]

[Triple Kaio-ken unlocked!]

[Current Level: Triple Kaio-ken]

[Upgrade Requirement: Emotion Points reach 300 to unlock Quadruple Kaio-ken]

[Current Emotion Points reset: 0/300]

[Helpful reminder: The emotional collection target has developed a marked interest in the host. The base emotion value will increase next time you meet. Make good use of it. (ᵒ̤̑ ₀̑ ᵒ̤̑)]