Sensing the impatience in No. 17's heart, No. 16 affirmed once more, "She is telling the truth."
The group fell silent, simply waiting.
Future Trunks, worried they might make a move on Ino, remained in a state of high alert. No. 18 was also afraid Ino might harm No. 17, so neither side dared to relax their vigilance. Only No. 16 remained his usual self, looking at the woods, then at the little birds, completely at ease.
One hour later, No. 17 stood up naturally.
His arms shook.
Accompanied by a crisp "crack" in his spiritual world, the sturdy shackles formed by the combination of human body and technological devices were easily broken. No. 17 felt even more energy surging from within his body.
This energy originated from his cells, from the side of him that belonged to humanity.
"Hey? Hey, No. 17, are you alright?!"
"Can you hear me?"
"No. 16, what's wrong with him? Did those two guys pull some dirty trick?" No. 17 vaguely heard No. 18's anxious shouts. He suppressed the skyrocketing energy within his body and opened his eyes. His originally cold tone involuntarily gained a trace of warmth.
"I'm fine."
No. 18 looked at him strangely. His appearance and height hadn't changed, but his aura was indeed different from before.
No. 18 looked at No. 16 again.
No. 16 had been calm from start to finish. At this moment, he said in that muffled tone, "Insufficient data. Cannot determine."
"I feel like I can already ignore Dr. Gero's initial commands. It's like I've become a living, breathing person again..." No. 17 touched his own heart, then suddenly realized a problem, "Where are those two mysterious guys?"
No. 18 looked at him oddly. "She said there was some big discovery on her planet. They left ages ago. You didn't know?"
"When did they leave? Wait, did I... was I out of it for that long?"
No. 17 checked the time and discovered that over an hour had passed unknowingly.
Apart from the first ten minutes or so, his memory of what followed was a bit blurry. He had absolutely no idea when the other party had left.
He clenched his fist tightly, describing his feelings, "That guy probably wasn't lying. She seems to have... awakened all the memories belonging to my human part. It's like I browsed through my experiences from birth until now all over again. A very strange feeling."
No. 18 carefully scrutinized his expression, put her hands in her pockets, and sighed lightly. "Since it was useful, then express your gratitude to her the next time you see that woman. Also... we have to think of a way to pay back that debt of 20 million. Just our luck, owing such a huge sum right after waking up."
When it came to owing money, No. 18 felt uncomfortable all over.
If someone gave her 20 million, she would be very happy, but giving money to others made her super unhappy.
"That's easy to handle." No. 17 was now full of confidence. He asked No. 16, "Are there any rich people nearby?"
No. 16 motioned for him to look at a billboard nearby. A huge portrait of Mr. Satan holding up a V-sign and revealing eight teeth entered the trio's view.
No. 16 said flatly, "The database indicates that this guy should be quite wealthy."
No. 17 made a childish finger-gun gesture. "That's him then. Let's go 'borrow' some money."
The three of them traveled by train, long-distance bus, subway, and public bus all the way to Mr. Satan's mansion, only to find nobody there. The butler said Mr. Satan had taken his daughter out for training, and Nappa also felt he was on the verge of a breakthrough, so he went to find a place for special training. With the main target absent, they could only leave Mr. Satan's home resentfully.
They hadn't gone far when they ran headlong into Cell, who was green all over and looked like a giant insect.
"Brothers, I am also an Android created by Dr. Gero. In order to fulfill the Doctor's dying wish and create an invincible warrior, No. 17, No. 18..." Cell saw the tall and sturdy No. 16 and couldn't help but stall for a moment, a question mark floating in his mind: Who is this guy?
Fighting one against three, he felt a bit unsure. However, after engaging in a frantic slaughter in several human cities recently and absorbing a large amount of human life essence, the energy he lost from regressing into an egg had mostly recovered. He was completely confident he could take down No. 17 and No. 18, absorb these two Androids, and become the true Perfect Form.
No. 17 looked disgusted. "Ugly freak, what on earth are you? Why do you have the 'ki' of Son Goku and the others on you?"
Cell sneered twice.
Ugly freak? You guys are going to become one with this ugly freak in a moment!
Dr. Gero had taken away many materials and technologies that should have been used on him to create No. 17 and No. 18. This led to Cell's design being excellent, but congenitally deficient, resulting in this skinny, ugly appearance he had now.
"I am indeed an Android created by Dr. Gero. In his early years, Dr. Gero conceived the idea of creating a super warrior. He collected cells from many warriors—Son Goku, Vegeta, King Cold, Ginyu, and those aliens all had their cells collected. However, he later gave up, but his computer strictly executed this command, which resulted in me..."
Cell roughly recounted his origins. He had detected everything within a hundred-mile radius; the Earth warriors wouldn't come to Mr. Satan's side. He had plenty of time and didn't mind chatting a bit more with No. 17. It would be even better if he could subdue the enemy without fighting.
"So that's how it is... The enemy that woman mentioned must be you." No. 17 sneered, "Pity. You're too late, ugly freak."
He erupted with his full energy. Before Cell could react, he threw a straight punch right at his face.
In Cell's eyes, his speed was simply inconceivably fast. His eyes couldn't track the movements at all. He barely managed to raise his arm in a parry when he heard a crisp "crack". His left arm, covered in sturdy chitin like an exoskeleton, was shattered by a single punch.
Cell's tail lashed out violently, stabbing forward like a poisonous stinger. No. 17 ascended into the sky, and a punch descending from the heavens leveled Mr. Satan's mansion. The water in the swimming pool evaporated, several expensive trees that demonstrated his taste were uprooted, and the cars Mr. Satan collected were turned into a pile of scrap metal.
No. 17 clasped his hands together and instantly appeared behind the enemy, smashing down toward the back of Cell's head, where his insect characteristics were obvious.
Like a cannonball, Cell was smashed diagonally into the ground, kicking up a sky full of dust. He had just crawled out of the crater when he felt his heart contract violently, as if pierced by a needle. Having obtained the cells of so many warriors, his intuition was close to the limit of his current level. Without thinking, he rolled to the side with the momentum.
No. 17's whip kick hit empty air. The youth with the red scarf grabbed to the side with a backhand motion.
He grabbed Cell's right shoulder and contracted his five fingers. The explosive power seemed nearly irresistible to Cell; the hard chitin shell collapsed instantly, and the sound of shattering bones rang out from within.
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