Beneath the Abyss

Piccolo hovered in midair, cold sweat sliding down his back.

He had clearly sensed no trace of energy just now. It was as if the other party had appeared out of thin air.

What kind of monster is this old man...?

Piccolo slowly descended and landed on a platform along the mountainside. He did not run, because that would only expose his cowardice.

Besides, he had yet to figure out the other party's true nature.

Out of the darkness, an aged figure slowly emerged.

It was a gaunt old man wearing a tattered white lab coat. Sparse silver hair clung to his scalp. He looked at least eighty, his skin covered in age spots and his back slightly hunched.

Piccolo frowned.

Judging by his aura, this old man's combat power was practically zero.

But what he had said just now... "a Saiyan-Namekian hybrid"?

Piccolo knew he was a Namekian, but he had never heard of anyone called "Dr. Gero."

"You've finally come." The old man's voice was hoarse and low, tinged with a sickly fanaticism. "I've waited over twenty years for this day."

"Who are you?" Piccolo asked in a deep voice.

The old man grinned, revealing several crooked yellow teeth. "My name is Dr. Gero. I was once the Red Ribbon Army's finest scientist, and I belonged to the very Red Ribbon Army that Son Goku destroyed."

Piccolo narrowed his eyes slightly.

He had heard Son Goku's name many times while spending time with Gohan. That Saiyan's strength far exceeded anything he could imagine.

But this old man...

Dr. Gero seemed to see through his thoughts and let out a strange laugh. "Don't let these old bones fool you. Back then, I personally created countless powerful weapons. Those Red Ribbon Army scum were nothing more than my experimental materials."

He paused, his eyes turning cold. "Unfortunately, they were destroyed by Son Goku. My life's work, my laboratory—all of it was destroyed by that monster..."

"So you hid here, intending to revive the Red Ribbon Army?" Piccolo said coldly.

"Revive it?" Dr. Gero gave a dry laugh. "No, no, no. What I intend to do is ten thousand times greater than reviving the Red Ribbon Army."

He slowly turned and gestured toward the darkness behind him. "Come out... Let this friend from Namek witness my masterpieces."

Piccolo instinctively assumed a fighting stance.

Heavy footsteps echoed from the darkness.

One, two, three...

Three figures stepped out of the shadows and stood behind Dr. Gero.

Piccolo's pupils constricted sharply.

They were three humanoid beings—two young men and women, and one burly man. All of them had their eyes closed and stood motionless, like sleeping statues.

But Piccolo could feel it... the power contained within them was terrifying.

Androids?

The word flashed through his mind. Gohan had mentioned it before, but only in passing.

Now, Piccolo finally understood what it meant.

"These three are the culmination of more than twenty years of my labor," Dr. Gero said proudly. "Android 16, Android 17, Android 18... infinite energy sources, permanent life-forms, absolute power."

He looked at Piccolo, a hint of madness flashing in his eyes. "Do you know, Namekian? Back then, the Red Ribbon Army classified you and Son Goku as threats of the same level and sent an army to hunt you down... Unfortunately, they were too foolish, and they failed."

"But I will not fail."

Dr. Gero spread his arms as though embracing the entire world. "My 16, 17, and 18 will completely surpass the Super Saiyan. Son Goku... no, every Saiyan in this world will be beneath my feet!"

Piccolo said nothing.

He was watching, analyzing, assessing.

Each of these three androids had combat power of at least several million. In a one-on-one fight, he was absolutely no match for any of them.

But what about Dr. Gero himself?

Piccolo carefully sensed the fluctuations of the other party's energy again.

Sure enough, there was nothing.

This old man was just an ordinary human.

In fact, he was even weaker than an ordinary human—his body had deteriorated to the extreme.

Yet he dared to appear so openly before Piccolo, which meant he had something to rely on.

Piccolo's gaze swept over the area, and he quickly noticed something unusual.

The cliff faces of this mountain concealed a dense array of cannon barrels and launch systems. Every weapon emitted faint energy fluctuations—firepower enough to threaten ordinary Saiyans.

And although the three androids were still dormant, they could awaken at any moment once Dr. Gero gave the order.

A direct confrontation would gain him nothing.

Piccolo made his judgment.

"It seems you have a lot of confidence in your androids," Piccolo said evenly.

Dr. Gero laughed arrogantly. "Confidence? Of course. For over twenty years, I have studied Saiyan combat data. Their weaknesses, their limits... I know it all."

He looked at Piccolo, his gaze cold and sinister. "Including you, Namekian. Your combat power is impressive, but before my androids—"

Before he could finish, Piccolo moved.

His figure vanished from where he stood. In the next instant, he was in front of Dr. Gero, lethal energy gathered at his fingertips as he struck straight for the man's throat!

"Doctor, watch out!"

A silver figure flashed past like lightning, forcibly intercepting Piccolo's attack.

It was Android 16.

Piccolo was forced back, his brow tightly furrowed.

Android 16 stood expressionlessly before Dr. Gero, radiating an icy presence. His artificial skin gleamed with a metallic sheen. Though his eyes remained shut, he had precisely blocked Piccolo's sneak attack.

Reaction speed, strength, defense... all beyond expectations. Piccolo silently recorded the data.

Dr. Gero dusted himself off, displeasure flickering across his face. "I nearly forgot to tell you, Namekian. My androids have been specially enhanced against the combat traits of Saiyans and Namekians."

He revealed a sinister smile. "I have already analyzed every one of your movements, every fluctuation in your ki sensing. Did you think I came unprepared?"

Piccolo did not answer.

He was waiting.

Waiting for an opportunity.

Dr. Gero frowned. "What? Nothing to say? I thought Namekians were supposed to be eloquent—"

BOOM!

A tremendous explosion suddenly erupted from deep within the laboratory.

Dr. Gero's expression changed drastically. "What happened?!"

A synthesized mechanical voice sounded from the darkness. "External intruder detected. Security system triggered... defensive suppression in progress... estimated completion time: three minutes."

The corners of Piccolo's mouth lifted slightly.

Three minutes was enough.

His figure vanished again, this time twice as fast as before!

Android 16 reached out to block him, but grabbed nothing but air.

In the next second, Piccolo had appeared at the entrance to the laboratory's control room. Rather than continue fighting, he charged straight inside.

"Damn it!" Dr. Gero roared. "Activate Android 17 and Android 18! Stop him!"

But it was already too late.

Piccolo remained in the control room for only a dozen seconds before vanishing into the rock strata with a data chip in hand.

Only after he had left did Dr. Gero collapse to the floor, his face filled with both fury and shock.

"He... how did he know where the control room was?"

No one answered him.

Android 16 remained where he was, eyes closed, as though nothing had happened.

Outside Capsule Corporation, at the training ground.

Gohan suddenly stopped moving.

"What's wrong?" Goku asked in confusion.

Gohan frowned and looked toward the northern sky. "Uncle Piccolo's ki... fluctuated for a moment."

"Fluctuated?"

"Yeah." Gohan nodded. "It was unstable, but it recovered quickly. He probably ran into some kind of situation."

Goku thought for a moment. "Should I go take a look?"

Gohan shook his head. "No need. Uncle Piccolo can handle it. Besides..."

He paused, revealing a meaningful smile. "I think I know what he found."

Goku raised an eyebrow. "You do?"

Gohan did not answer. He merely sighed inwardly.

Dr. Gero, the androids... they had finally arrived.

Since crossing into the world of Dragon Balls, this was the moment he had least wanted to face.

But it had come in the end.

Capsule Corporation, gravity chamber.

Vegeta was once again crushed flat against the floor.

Four hundred and fifty times gravity was nearly the limit of what he could endure. His body trembled, his bones screamed, yet he still refused to give up.

Bulma watched him through the monitor, her eyes reddening.

"Vegeta... please get some rest..."

Vegeta ignored her.

He closed his eyes and drew out every last bit of ki in his body, trying to break through that invisible threshold.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

Nothing happened.

Just as he was about to give up, a faint golden glimmer flashed across the tips of his hair.

Vegeta's eyes snapped open.

He looked down at his hands.

Just now... that was...?

"Vegeta?" Bulma's trembling, delighted voice came through the communicator. "Y-you... you seemed to glow just now!"

Vegeta said nothing.

He simply stood there in silence, feeling that faint, elusive change within his body.

It had lasted only an instant.

But he knew he had taken another step closer to that threshold.

He closed his eyes again and resumed training.

Three days later, Piccolo returned.

He had several new wounds on him, but none were serious.

One look at his expression told Gohan everything.

"How was it?" he asked.

Piccolo was silent for several seconds before taking the data chip from his robes and handing it over.

"Androids." Piccolo's voice was heavy. "Three of them. Their battle power is at least several million. And there's also a crazy old scientist... Dr. Gero."

Gohan took the chip and glanced at it, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly.

Three androids with infinite energy sources... this setup was even more absurd than the original story.

"And," Piccolo continued, "that old man seems to have an extremely deep obsession with Saiyans. His goal isn't just to destroy Son Goku... it's all Saiyans."

Gohan nodded. His expression remained calm, but his thoughts raced.

Dr. Gero was more dangerous than I had imagined.

If I didn't prepare early...

He looked up at the sky, his gaze sharpening.

Cell, three years from now... wasn't the end.

The real crisis was only just beginning.