A Game of Chess

Capsule Corporation's underground laboratory.

When Bulma took the data chip Piccolo had brought back, her hands trembled—not from excitement, but because what was hidden inside made even her, a genius scientist, feel her scalp tingle.

"Wait, you're saying this thing came from the core database containing the twenty years of research of some mad scientist?" Bulma inserted the chip into the analyzer, and a string of garbled text immediately flashed across the screen.

"That's right." Piccolo leaned against the wall with his arms folded.

Bulma took a deep breath. "Then let me ask again: why would this madman lock away all his core data with this godawful encryption?"

"Because he was a paranoid." Gohan walked over carrying a glass of juice. "With research on this level, he couldn't afford for it to leak. Encryption was the bare minimum."

The garbled text on the screen began to resolve slowly. Bulma's brow furrowed tighter and tighter as her fingers flew across the keyboard.

"This encryption level... has at least seven nested layers." She bit her lip. "Give me two hours."

"Two hours?" Piccolo frowned.

"That's the fastest I can do." Bulma didn't even look up. "If you think it's too slow, crack it yourself. I could use someone to help me debug."

Piccolo shut up.

Gohan leaned against the lab bench, watching Bulma wrestle with the mess of garbled data.

Seven layers of encryption... That old man really had been terrified of dying.

Of course, he knew what was on the chip. The blueprints for the Infinite Energy Reactor, the Androids' combat parameters, and a tactical analysis system designed specifically for Saiyans. In the original story, Bulma had needed a full three days to crack it. If she could do it in half the time now, it was probably because technology had advanced.

But some things would be hard to explain even after they were decrypted.

Like that encrypted partition.

Gohan's gaze fell upon a tightly locked folder icon in the corner of the screen.

Cell...

He was an enemy even more terrifying than Dr. Gero. A perfect life-form possessing the genes of Androids, Saiyans, and Namekians, with limitless energy and the ability to evolve by absorbing others.

In three years, that thing would be born amid the ruins of humanity's despair.

And what could I do now?

Tell Bulma, "There's actually an even stronger enemy hidden in the chip, but I can't unlock it"? She'd be crazy not to think I was insane.

Gohan rubbed his temples.

The greatest sorrow of a transmigrator was knowing the answer perfectly well, yet only being able to say, "I don't know."

"Gohan."

Piccolo's voice pulled him back to reality.

Gohan looked up. "Yeah?"

At some point, Piccolo had come to stand beside him. He lowered his voice. "What were you thinking about just now?"

It wasn't a question. It was a statement.

Gohan's heart skipped a beat, but his expression remained calm. "Nothing. I was just worried about the Androids."

"Every time you say 'nothing,'" Piccolo said, staring straight into his eyes, "you're hiding something."

Gohan met Piccolo's gaze.

"Uncle Piccolo," Gohan took a sip of juice, "have you been too idle lately? Want me to add a few things to your training regimen?"

Piccolo: "...Stop changing the subject."

"I'm not." Gohan looked utterly serious. "I'm just concerned about my elder's health."

"So you'll have more energy to question me?" Gohan set down his cup. "Uncle Piccolo, have you ever considered something?"

"What?"

"You suspect me." Gohan raised one finger. "But you have no proof."

Piccolo fell silent.

"I do know some things." Gohan's voice lowered. "But not everything. Sometimes, knowing too much is a burden."

He turned and headed for the door. "Once Bulma finishes cracking the chip, we can discuss it together. For now—"

He looked back at Piccolo, his eyes unusually serious. "Just trust me."

Two hours later.

"Got it!"

Bulma's voice rang out from the laboratory, unable to suppress her excitement.

Everyone quickly gathered around.

The data on the screen had finally been fully decoded. Dense text and charts filled the display before them.

"Infinite Energy Reactor..." Krillin murmured. "Permanent energy? That's not scientific."

"It's not permanent energy." Bulma pointed at a section of the data. "It's a miniature circular energy circulation system. It absorbs heat and kinetic energy from the environment, then converts them into biological energy. Theoretically... it really could operate indefinitely."

"Wouldn't that make it a perpetual motion machine?" Tien Shinhan frowned.

"From a physics perspective, perpetual motion machines don't exist." Bulma sighed. "But this thing uses some kind of energy conversion mechanism we haven't discovered yet... Anyway, it's ridiculously advanced."

Gohan stood to the side, his expression calm.

Of course, he knew that Android 17 and Android 18 could stand out in the wilderness for decades without ever going hungry. This thing absorbed heat from the surrounding environment and converted it into fighting power—black technology among black technologies.

Bulma continued scrolling down.

Android 16: Combat-type android. Fighting power assessment: "Unable to determine." Extremely high defensive capabilities, modified and enhanced specifically for close-quarters combat.

Android 17: Balanced-type android. Fighting power assessment: "Unable to determine." Customizable functional modules, unlimited potential.

Android 18: Female-type android. Fighting power assessment: "Unable to determine." Twin sister of Android 17, with similar specifications.

Unable to determine... heh.

The true fighting power of those three cheat-code monsters could only be tested after they awakened. But one thing was certain: each of them had a fighting power exceeding one hundred million.

"There's also this." Bulma swiped to the next page, her expression turning strange. "A tactical analysis system designed specifically for Saiyans."

A mass of charts appeared on the screen.

Analysis of Son Goku's combat data.

Analysis of Vegeta's combat data.

Analysis of Son Gohan's combat data.

Reconstruction of the deaths of Raditz, Nappa, and Vegeta...

It even had data on Krillin, Yamcha, and Tien Shinhan.

"That old man..." Krillin felt a chill run down his back. "Just how much intelligence did he gather?"

Bulma kept scrolling. "There's also a research report. Its title is 'Analysis of the Possibility of Super Saiyan Forms.'"

Gohan's attention sharpened.

Bulma explained, "Super Saiyans have two forms. One is the one you use now, which increases fighting power but consumes enormous amounts of energy. The other is a 'full-power' form. Through long-term training, the body adapts to the Super Saiyan energy output, allowing you to remain transformed around the clock."

"So I should practice staying transformed all the time?" Goku blinked.

"In theory, yes." Bulma nodded. "But your fighting power has been increasing too quickly. Your bodies simply haven't had time to adapt. If you forcibly enter the full-power form..."

"What happens?" Gohan asked.

"Your energy will go out of control, and your physical body will collapse." Bulma's voice was soft. "That was Dr. Gero's conclusion in the report."

Gohan looked at that line on the screen and sneered inwardly.

Old Gero, you don't know shit. The principle behind full power is controlling your ki output and turning the transformed state into a 'second normal state,' not stupidly forcing yourself to sustain the energy.

But there was no point saying that now. You had to train for years before you could even reach the threshold.

"Anything else?" Piccolo asked.

Bulma swiped through the screen. "No. Oh, wait, there's an encrypted partition." She pointed to the icon in the corner. "An eighth layer beyond the seven layers of encryption. I can't crack it."

"Can't open it?" Goku scratched his head.

"It needs a specific key." Bulma shook her head. "It could be a voiceprint, or it could be biometric data. Either way, it isn't in this chip."

Gohan nodded.

Of course it couldn't be opened. The key was inside Dr. Gero's head.

And even if they did open it, there would be no data on Cell inside. Cell was the product of another era; even Dr. Gero himself had no idea Cell existed.

This encrypted partition probably contained some other black technology he had hidden away.

An hour later.

Capsule Corporation conference room.

Bulma, Piccolo, Goku, Krillin, Tien Shinhan, Yamcha, and Vegeta, who had specifically come out of the Gravity Chamber, sat gathered around the table.

"So," Goku said, bracing both hands on the table with an eager look, "why don't we just go beat up that Dr. Gero?"

"It's not that simple." Piccolo shook his head. "That laboratory is heavily defended, and once the androids are activated—"

"They're just androids." Vegeta snorted, cutting Piccolo off. "Could some scraps made by humans possibly be stronger than true Saiyans?"

Gohan silently rolled his eyes.

Here it came—the Saiyan Prince's classic stubborn posturing.

"Vegeta, you might not understand how dangerous those androids are." Krillin tried to reason with him. "Those three things have infinite energy—"

"So what?" Vegeta curled his lip disdainfully. "My fighting power is already close to that of a Super Saiyan. I just need one more tiny breakthrough—"

"You haven't even transformed into a Super Saiyan once," Tien Shinhan coldly exposed him.

Vegeta's expression stiffened.

"Enough, enough." Gohan spoke up at the right moment. "Save the arguing until after we've dealt with the androids."

He looked around at everyone. "My suggestion is that we continue training, but strengthen our intelligence surveillance."

"Why?" Piccolo asked.

Gohan sorted through his thoughts. "First, we know nothing about the androids' true strength. Charging in recklessly might alert them. Second, since Dr. Gero has been hiding for twenty years, he must have contingencies. If we push him too hard and he activates the androids early, that'll only make things worse. Third—"

He paused. "We still have time. Three years. Enough to multiply our strength several times over."

"Three years?" Krillin frowned.

"Bulma's report said the androids' activation requires specific conditions." Gohan spouted nonsense with a straight face. "If I'm not wrong, Dr. Gero is waiting for a certain point in time."

Bulma froze for a moment. "I never said that—"

"You mentioned in your report that the energy source's activation requires external stimulation." Gohan's expression did not change. "Combined with his obsession with Saiyans, that moment is most likely when Goku reaches a certain power level."

Bulma opened her mouth, but ultimately did not argue.

Because she really had not written that analysis.

But she had no proof that Gohan was making it up, either.

"So what you mean is..." he slowly said, "we stay put and wait for him to make the first move?"

"Not stay put," Gohan corrected. "Strategic hibernation. We keep training openly while monitoring the laboratory in secret. Also—"

He looked at Bulma. "Bulma, could you develop a detector? Something that can remotely sense android energy fluctuations."

"You want to make an android radar?" Bulma raised an eyebrow.

"More or less." Gohan nodded. "The moment they make a move, we'll know immediately."

Bulma considered it. "Technically, it's possible, but I'd need energy samples as a reference..."

"Then find a way to get one," Gohan said. "Didn't Uncle Piccolo see those three androids? He can draw them so we can simulate the parameters."

Piccolo said, "...I'm a Namekian, not an artist."

"Whatever. As long as we can recognize them."

In the end, everyone reluctantly reached a consensus:

First, training remained the top priority, but its content would be adjusted to target the androids' combat traits.

Second, Bulma would develop an android detector while continuing her attempt to crack the encrypted partition.

Third, Piccolo would periodically monitor the area near the laboratory, but would not make contact.

Fourth, Goku and Gohan would conduct simulated combat training to study how to deal with enemies with infinite energy.

"Just worry about yourselves." Vegeta stood and walked away, leaving behind an arrogant declaration. "I don't need anyone teaching me how to train."

Gohan watched his retreating back, the corner of his mouth twitching.

Fine, Your Highness. Keep being a tsundere.

Just don't forget who was the first to transform in the original story once that golden light of yours becomes a true Super Saiyan form.

That night.

A guest room at Capsule Corporation.

Gohan lay on his bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.

There had been too much information today.

The androids' specifications, Dr. Gero's research direction, that encrypted partition he could not access... He needed time to process it all.

And Piccolo.

That Namekian seemed to have noticed something. Gohan could feel it—the way Piccolo looked at him was growing increasingly complicated.

Those who knew too much were the easiest to see as threats.

Gohan turned over and buried his face in his pillow.

But I have no other choice.

If I want to survive in this world, I have to see farther than everyone else.

Even if it means enduring loneliness.

Outside the window, the night was deep.

In the distance, faint energy fluctuations came from the Gravity Chamber—that was Vegeta, still training.

Gohan closed his eyes.

Keep getting stronger, Vegeta. That golden light will illuminate the entire battlefield sooner or later.

At the same time. The Gravity Chamber.

Four hundred and sixty times gravity.

Vegeta knelt on the ground, drenched in sweat, breathing as heavily as a bellows.

Still not enough!

He struggled to his feet and drew out every last bit of ki within him.

Once. Twice. Three times.

"AAAAAAAH!"

Golden light burst from the tips of his hair, instantly illuminating the entire Gravity Chamber!

Vegeta looked at the golden figure in the mirror.

This light... was stronger than last time. And it lasted longer, too.

Just a little more. Only a little more.

The golden light slowly faded. Vegeta closed his eyes again and continued training.

Early the next morning.

Capsule Corporation laboratory.

Bulma rubbed her bloodshot eyes as she looked at the new data on the screen.

That encrypted partition had automatically unlocked partway last night.

She rubbed her eyes again, making sure she wasn't seeing things.

Several lines of text appeared on the screen:

[Bioengineering Research Institute · Project S-2]

Project Codename: Cell

Research Objective: Fuse the superior genes of multiple species to create a perfect life-form

Current Progress: Genetic sample collection stage

Bulma sucked in a sharp breath.

Cell?

Fusing the genes of multiple species?

What the hell was this thing?

She immediately called Piccolo and Gohan over.

The three of them stared at the words on the screen, the atmosphere heavy.

"Dr. Gero..." Piccolo's voice was low. "Just how much else did he hide?"

Gohan said nothing.

His gaze settled on the words "genetic sample collection stage."

Cell's birth required Android 17 and Android 18.

And right now, those two androids had yet to be activated.

Was there... still time?

He raised his head and looked at the rising sun beyond the window.

They had to do something.