Trunks stopped abruptly, his eyes fixed on Android 16 as he stepped out of the hibernation pod.
"Gohan, is this the android you said was even more terrifying than Android 17 and Android 18?"
Trunks couldn't sense any dangerous aura from Android 16, but he remained cautious, not daring to underestimate him.
After all, Android 17 and Android 18 had once looked harmless too, yet they were actually a pair of monsters.
The android before him might be the same kind of monster.
"Gohan, let me kill him."
As Trunks spoke, his aura swelled rapidly, whipping up a gale inside the laboratory. Their clothes snapped in the wind, and even the roof threatened to blow off.
"Trunks, don't attack yet," Son Gohan hurriedly stopped him.
One second later, and Trunks would have lunged in for the kill.
Though Trunks didn't understand why Son Gohan had stopped him, he obediently suppressed his violent aura for the moment.
Android 16 stood motionless, giving Trunks a wary look before turning to Son Gohan.
He fell silent for a few seconds, then said in a deep voice, "Are you Son Gohan?"
"Yes, I am." Son Gohan nodded, studying him curiously.
Another brief silence followed.
Android 16 continued, "You're different from what my records show."
Son Gohan said, "Of course I am. I'm over twenty now, and I was only nine when Dr. Gero died. So the information in your database is probably just from when I was a child."
Android 16's pupils visibly contracted at the news of Dr. Gero's death, but he quickly regained his composure.
"So the doctor is already dead. That's a shame."
"And who is he?" He looked at Trunks.
Android 16's database contained no record of Trunks at all. It was an extremely outdated version.
Son Gohan said, "He's Trunks, Vegeta's son."
Then he added, "Android 16, now that Dr. Gero is dead, do you still intend to fight us? Or do you have any plans for what to do next?"
Android 16 shook his head. "No, I don't like fighting."
He thought for a moment, then continued, "I don't know what I want to do either. Perhaps I'll wander, then eventually settle in the mountains and protect the little animals there."
Son Gohan nodded. "Yes, that sounds good. I know you love peace and nature, so if Earth ever faces a crisis, please help defend it, as long as it's within your power. Will you help us protect this home of ours?"
Android 16 gave Son Gohan a serious look, then answered, "I will."
His expression remained as impassive as ever.
He spoke very little.
Android 16 nodded. "All right. Can I leave now?"
Son Gohan stepped aside to clear the way. "Yes, but Android 16, there's an extremely powerful bomb inside your body. If you want it removed, you can come find me or Trunks. We'll take you to see Bulma. She can help remove it."
"All right. Understood."
Android 16 agreed, then strode out of the laboratory.
Watching Android 16 leave, Trunks was utterly puzzled.
Completely confused, he asked Son Gohan, "Gohan, what's going on?"
Son Gohan explained, "He's not the target we're looking for. Though Android 16 is a very powerful android, he isn't aggressive and won't endanger Earth. There are benefits to keeping him around."
"Oh," Trunks replied, only half understanding. Then he continued, "Gohan, how do you know Android 16 isn't aggressive? Android 17 and Android 18 don't look vicious either, but they're monsters."
Son Gohan said, "I can't explain that to you, but if anything does go wrong, I'll destroy him myself."
"All right. If you're too busy, I can do it for you. By the way, Gohan, we've already searched the whole laboratory, but there's no intelligent computer here that's still making androids like you said."
Son Gohan pointed at the floor beneath their feet and smiled. "Who said we've finished searching the laboratory? There's another secret base below us."
"What?!" Trunks was shocked.
"Watch closely." Son Gohan grinned and stomped down hard with his right foot.
Boom!
Crack, crack, crack!
The floor beneath their feet shattered, revealing a huge, dark hole.
"There really is another place down there," Trunks said in surprise.
"Come on, let's take a look." As Son Gohan spoke, he took the lead and jumped into the dark opening.
Trunks followed close behind.
Just two seconds later, both of them stood firmly on the basement floor.
The basement was so dimly lit that they couldn't make out their surroundings.
After fumbling around for a while, Trunks finally found the light switch. With a click, he turned it on.
The dim basement instantly lit up.
At last, they could see the basement's layout and size clearly.
Compared with the spacious laboratory, this basement was several times smaller.
Its layout was simple too.
In the center stood a massive intelligent computer, three meters tall and five meters wide. Its screen still glowed faintly, showing that it was still running on its own.
Beside the intelligent computer was a waist-high machine, topped with an inverted cylindrical vessel of transparent glass.
An energy conduit as thick as a thigh connected the intelligent computer to the machine.
The glass vessel was filled with glowing green nutrient fluid.
Small bubbles constantly formed at the bottom of the fluid, floating up to the top of the glass vessel.
At the very center of the nutrient fluid, a hideously ugly embryo was developing.
It was Cell.
Cell had already grown to the size of an arm. Though he was curled up, his strong heartbeat was clearly visible.
Trunks pressed his palm against the transparent glass.
Cell's eyelids twitched, as though he might wake up at any moment.
"Gohan, we've got it right this time, haven't we? Is this ugly thing the one?" Trunks asked.
Son Gohan nodded. "Yes, that's him."
Trunks said, "Why does he feel familiar to me?"
Son Gohan said, "Probably because this guy has some of my cells."
"Huh? How does this monster have your cells?"
"That's because Dr. Gero used robotic bees to collect cells from many powerful fighters, then fused those cells together to create this monster."
"As far as I know, he doesn't just have my cells. He has my dad's and your dad's cells too."
"Dr. Gero collected cells from many of our elders. He even has cells from Frieza and King Cold."
"Then he really is a monster." Trunks was astonished.
Son Gohan said, "Trunks, step aside. I'll kill him."
"Oh, all right," Trunks replied, immediately darting aside.
Son Gohan raised his hand and spread his fingers. A Ki Blast shattered the glass container holding Cell's embryo.
Boom!
As the glass container exploded, green nutrient fluid splashed everywhere.
Deprived of the nutrient fluid, Cell's embryo rolled across the floor once, then began trembling and letting out squeaks.
He looked just like a hairless rat struggling on the verge of death.
Without mercy, Son Gohan stomped on him, instantly crushing him into a puddle of minced flesh.
Immediately afterward, he raised his hand and flung a burst of blazing energy onto the minced flesh.
After a series of crackles, nothing remained on the floor but a scorched black mark.
Cell's embryo was utterly annihilated.
Before you continue