"Let's go."
Gran smiled faintly and led Son Gohan and Trunks after Popo. Before long, the three of them disappeared from sight.
Only the two Bulmas remained in the plaza of the Heavenly Realm.
Future Bulma stared in shock.
"So Mr. Popo is still alive too!"
She knew that after Son Goku defeated King Piccolo as a child, he had ascended to the Heavenly Realm and trained under Mr. Popo.
"It really is surprising."
Young Bulma was equally astonished. Even she knew nothing of Popo's true identity, so seeing him still alive caught her off guard as well.
"Well, no matter what, having one more familiar face still alive is a good thing."
Young Bulma took the other Bulma's hand and grinned.
"Now we just wait. Once Gran and the others come out, those two Androids are finished!"
"Mhm."
Inside the Heavenly Temple.
Gran followed behind Popo. Back when he had entered the Hyperbolic Time Chamber to train, it had also been Popo who led the way.
Only this time, it was a different Popo.
"Lord Gran, what exactly is a Time Patrol officer?" Son Gohan asked curiously as he walked beside him.
"When your strength reaches a certain realm, you will naturally learn such things."
Gran's tone was calm, yet because of the authority of divinity he carried, his words inspired instinctive reverence.
"So for now, there is no need for you to know too much."
"Yes, sir."
Seeing Gran had no intention of explaining further, Gohan and Trunks did not dare ask again.
Not long after, they arrived before a door.
Popo opened it.
"Inside is the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. Under normal circumstances, ordinary people may remain inside for only two days."
He paused and glanced at Gran.
"However… with your strength, such limits need not concern you."
"Thank you, Mr. Popo."
Gran was not surprised that Popo could perceive a portion of his strength. He offered his thanks, then immediately brought the two juniors inside.
The door closed behind them.
Popo remained standing outside in silence.
"How strange…"
"When did Chronoa recruit such a terrifying Time Patrol officer?"
He shook his head, then turned and walked away.
Inside the Hyperbolic Time Chamber.
Gran had returned to this endless white world once more.
The sight of it filled him with inexplicable irritation.
After all, he had spent more than three hundred years here.
How could he not be annoyed?
"Lord Gran, is this the special place you mentioned—the Hyperbolic Time Chamber?" Gohan asked curiously.
"That's right. Time here flows differently from outside. One year inside equals only one day outside."
"What?!"
The chamber's bizarre nature made Gohan and Trunks widen their eyes in disbelief.
But amid their shock, they also sensed something strange in Gran's voice.
It sounded…
More irritated than usual.
"Enough."
Gran rolled his shoulders and cracked his knuckles.
"Next, I'll train you in two areas: martial arts principles, and raw power."
His voice turned cold.
"So let us begin."
The moment those words fell—
Gran vanished from their sight.
The still-stunned Gohan and Trunks instantly felt a terrible premonition.
The next second—
"AAAAAAAHHHHH!!"
"AAAAAAAHHHHH!!"
Two miserable screams echoed across the endless white world.
While Gran was subjecting the two to special training, events were unfolding elsewhere.
In the southern region of Earth, a handsome young man and beautiful young woman descended from the sky.
They searched across the cluster of islands before landing on one of them.
"This makes no sense!"
Android 18's voice trembled with frustration.
"By all logic, Dr. Gero should have stored data on every martial artist on Earth in his database. So why is there no information on that guy?!"
Every time she recalled the shockwave Gran had released, fear gripped her heart.
Unable to vent her emotions, she stomped violently.
Cracks like spiderwebs spread across the ground for hundreds of meters.
"Calm down."
Android 17, though equally fearful, remained composed.
"Let's return to Dr. Gero's old base first. Maybe we'll find something useful there."
"Fine."
The two Androids headed toward the mountain cave where they had originally awakened.
However...
As they moved, an insect-like monster silently followed behind them.
Neither 17 nor 18 noticed.
Soon, the siblings arrived outside the cave.
When they entered, the creature did not follow.
Instead, it clung to the rock ceiling just outside the entrance, lying in wait.
Inside the cave—
"Damn it!"
18 searched through the base, growing angrier.
"Dr. Gero left nothing behind. Who the hell was that guy?!"
In truth, the only things left were broken computers—machines she herself had smashed when she first awoke.
"18! Come look at this!"
17's voice suddenly came from deeper within the cave.
She rushed over.
"What is it?"
"There's a hole here."
17 pointed at an opening in the floor. A metal ladder extended downward.
"This definitely wasn't here when we woke up."
It seemed the entrance had once been hidden, only recently opened from the inside.
"How is that possible…?"
18 felt her heartbeat quicken.
"Dr. Gero must have hidden something down there. Maybe even files on that man."
"We're going in."
17 jumped down first.
18 followed immediately.
Not long after, they arrived in an underground laboratory.
It was spacious.
At the center stood a massive computer.
Beside it was a shattered glass incubation tank.
"The nutrient fluid here hasn't dried yet…"
18 crouched beside the tank and touched the liquid on the floor.
"What was that old bastard Gero making?"
"18, look at this."
17 stood at a nearby desk, examining scattered blueprints.
"These are our design schematics."
There were three sets.
One for Android 16.
One for Android 17.
One for Android 18.
But 16 had been destroyed by them before he ever awakened.
18 glanced over the papers.
When she saw the bomb implanted inside her body illustrated in detail, her fist clenched tightly.
"That damned Dr. Gero!"
She looked up.
"Did you find anything about that guy from before?"
17 said nothing.
He inspected the incubation tank, then moved to the supercomputer and pressed several controls.
"No good."
"This machine's been damaged too. I can't recover any data."
He slammed the console hard.
Once he calmed himself, he looked back at the shattered tank.
"Dr. Gero was definitely creating something else here."
"The fluid is still fresh. Whatever was inside escaped not long ago."
A grim expression crossed his face.
"I suddenly have a very bad feeling."
"Let's get out of here first."
Without waiting, 17 turned and left the underground lab.
18 grabbed the blueprints and followed.
They returned to the main cave.
The exit was just ahead.
Step by step, they approached.
50 meters.
30 meters.
10 meters.
…
1 meter.
Suddenly—
[Solar Flare!]
END OF CHAPTER
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