Dr. Gero glared at Lin Xuan and his companions, his expression cold and detached. "I didn't expect you to locate my secret research base so quickly. It seems I cannot allow any of you to leave here alive."
"Android 19, kill them!"
At Dr. Gero's command, the rotund Android 19 sprinted forward with surprising agility, launching a direct attack toward Lin Xuan's group.
"Guild Leader Lin, look out!" Trunks shouted, rapidly condensing a blast of Ki and firing it straight at Android 19.
To Trunks' shock, the moment his Ki blast hit Android 19's palm, it was absorbed into the android's body at incredible speed!
"What?! He can actually absorb Ki?!" Trunks gasped, his eyes wide with amazement.
Having absorbed the energy, the fat android surged forward, targeting Lin Xuan directly. According to his internal database, this black-haired man registered as the greatest threat!
"Energy absorption, huh? Coincidentally, I know a trick like that too!"
The corners of Lin Xuan's mouth curled upward. Instead of dodging, he reached out, locking his palms directly against Android 19's hands.
Instantly, Android 19 initiated his absorption protocol, frantically draining energy from Lin Xuan's body.
Lin Xuan was slightly surprised to feel the android draining not only his Ki but his Chakra as well. It seemed that due to the butterfly effect of his presence, Dr. Gero's micro-reconnaissance drones had gathered atmospheric Chakra data during the World Martial Arts Tournament, modifying the android design accordingly!
In the next second, Lin Xuan's eyes shifted into the Rinnegan as he activated the Preta Path!
BOOM!
Android 19's expression transformed into pure horror. He felt an incomparably colossal, terrifying suction force explode from Lin Xuan's palms, reversing the flow and violently draining his internal energy reserves at lightning speed!
Android 19 thrashed frantically, desperate to pull his hands away, but he found himself completely paralyzed, locked in place as if welded to solid steel.
Behind them, Dr. Gero noticed Android 19's bizarre behavior and barked in confusion, "Android 19, what are you doing?!"
Before his sentence even finished, a loud *POP* echoed through the lab. Black smoke billowed from Android 19's chest as he collapsed powerlessly onto the floor, completely short-circuited and scrapped!
Dr. Gero's eyes nearly popped out of his head as he stared at the fried remains of Android 19 in utter disbelief. "How is this possible?! What on earth just happened?!"
He had been extremely proud of Android 19. His own android body utilized the exact same energy-absorption technology, designed after collecting energy data from across the world.
How could he be instantly killed in a single exchange?!
He could tell Android 19's internal power reserves had been completely drained—stolen entirely by that mysterious man!
In truth, Dr. Gero was somewhat familiar with Lin Xuan's identity.
After his defeat by Goku years ago, Dr. Gero had dispatched thousands of micro-reconnaissance drones to track Goku and collect combat data across Earth. Naturally, he had recorded the World Martial Arts Tournament years prior, collecting data on the Chakra energy used during the fights.
This data had driven Dr. Gero to heavily upgrade his Android designs.
Yet he never expected that his proudest creation, Android 19, would be so effortlessly destroyed!
"Androids 17 and 18, step in now and kill them!" Dr. Gero ordered fiercely. "I will use their bodies to construct even more powerful Androids!"
However, the two Androids behind him didn't move an inch. Android 17 stretched lazily while Android 18 let out a soft yawn, completely ignoring his command.
Seeing their defiance, Dr. Gero roared in fury, "What is wrong with you two?! Are you daring to disobey my direct orders?! Move now and kill those three!"
Only then did Androids 17 and 18 react, slowly strolling past Dr. Gero.
Android 17 looked at Lin Xuan's group with a relaxed smile. "Well, since Dr. Gero ordered us, I suppose you guys are just unlucky. I'll have to kill you all!"
As the words left his mouth, he moved with blinding speed.
However, instead of striking at Lin Xuan, he reached out, snatching the emergency shutdown remote control directly from Dr. Gero's hand and crushing it into metal dust!
Dr. Gero's eyes bulged with rage as he roared, "17! Do you have any idea what you just did?!"
Android 17 sneered coldly. "Of course I do. That's the emergency shutdown remote designed to deactivate 18 and me whenever you feel like it. Naturally, a dangerous item like that needs to be destroyed."
"Damn you! How dare you disobey my orders, you ungrateful creation!" Dr. Gero shrieked in a frenzy.
"Dr. Gero, don't be so grumpy," Android 18 giggled smoothly. "Aren't you an Android now as well?"
Before Dr. Gero could utter another word, Android 17 reached out, casually twisted Dr. Gero's head off his body, and crushed his metal skull into scrap metal!
Trunks stared at the gruesome scene with wide, disbelieving eyes, completely stunned by the sudden turn of events.
Without sparing a second glance for Dr. Gero's remains, Android 17 turned his gaze toward the final hibernation pod along the wall. He smiled and said, "It seems we have another companion who hasn't awakened yet."
"I'll go wake him up!" Android 18 smiled.
Walking over to pod 16, she reached out to pull open the hatch.
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T/N:
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