In the empty narrow passage, dust swirled around Raditz's nose as a cold breath poured in continuously.
Raditz fell quickly and couldn't help trembling when he landed.
The basement was eerie and eerily silent. The ceiling was completely sealed except for the entrance and exit, with thick layers of soil covering such a vast underground space.
There were pieces of metal fragments and tiny glass shards under his feet. All kinds of electronic equipment in front of him were destroyed, and dilapidated heavy machinery had fallen to the ground. Charred wires were stained with solidified green slime extending from the floor.
Tumat's voice sounded again: "What exactly was researched here?"
"Androids - terrible weapons. Their appearance is exactly the same as humans, but their strength is unimaginable."
"Is that one?" Tumat pointed to a corner ahead.
"Huh?" Raditz followed Tumat's direction and cast his gaze there.
Looking closely, you could see a small portion of an arm covered under a pile of rubble and steel bars.
Raditz approached and pushed aside the ruins, finding it was an old-fashioned purely mechanical android. Though it had been crushed and deformed, it was still recognizable. It did look like a human being, but various circuits were exposed at the cracked wrist, and some tubes were inserted into its body. The end of the tube connected to its chest had black slime and traces of rust.
This was junk.
There were still a few indistinct stumps behind it. Raditz extended his hand and snapped his fingers. The rioting air blasted a hole in the messy ruins, revealing the obsolete androids buried in the depths.
There were more than a dozen large and small discarded units. Some were already dilapidated with parts disassembled for other purposes. Some could barely be recognized but were also corroded like piles of scrap metal.
"A lot of androids." Tumat fanned the dust with his wings.
There were several numbers buried in the depths - numbers 10 and 11 could be seen vaguely. Raditz couldn't confirm whether they were the destroyed Androids 10 and 11. In any case, Gero likely used this place as a waste disposal site as well as for data collection.
"It seems the scale of Gero's research in the basement wasn't small." Raditz muttered quietly. When he couldn't find Cell, the embryo seemed to have been transferred too.
Tumat scanned the surrounding area but found no life reactions.
"Sure enough, he's transferred the research institute? But why he did this is completely different from what I know... Looking at the changes in the scene, Dr. Gero's research hasn't ended yet, and he shouldn't have become a cyborg yet."
"What's going on?" Raditz clenched his fist violently.
A matter that was supposed to be easy to solve had suddenly become difficult again. This weird research institute suddenly became depressing and suffocating.
"Isn't there something called Dragon Balls? Why don't we ask the dragon?" Tumat reminded.
"Thanks for the reminder, but it's still several months since the last time I made a wish to revive the Namekians, and the Dragon Balls can't be used. But I could go to New Namek."
"New Namek?"
"Come with me." Raditz grabbed Tumat, sensed Namekian ki from a long distance, and teleported away instantly.
After crossing half the Northern Galaxy, Raditz's figure suddenly appeared in front of working Namekians.
After brief shock, they burst into loud shouts: "Mr. Raditz is here! Mr. Raditz is here!"
Shouting almost crazily, the Namekians threw all kinds of hoes, buckets, and other tools to the ground and rushed up to surround Raditz, with admiration and respect in their eyes.
Raditz was the benefactor who'd driven the invaders away for them.
"The Grand Elder is here!" someone shouted.
People turned their heads and found the Grand Elder walking slowly, the excitement on his face no less than theirs.
"Mr. Raditz, I didn't expect you to come. This is truly wonderful." Grand Elder Moori leaned on a cane, his figure having become much more rotund and taller.
It seemed becoming Grand Elder made you gain weight - maybe it was for laying eggs. Raditz thought to himself.
"Hello, Grand Elder! New Namek's environment is better than before."
"It's thanks to you that the current Namekians could find a new home. This time, is there anything we can do to help?"
Raditz scratched his head: "Actually, it's not a big deal. I want to use the Dragon Balls."
"Dragon Balls?" The Grand Elder was stunned for a moment, then smiled. "If others borrow them, they have to pass tests of our courage and strength. If it's Mr. Raditz, we're ready to give them to you at any time."
Following the Grand Elder's order, elders from major villages immediately found all the Dragon Balls they'd saved. It took less than 10 minutes.
Raditz thanked them, then called forth the dragon in his proficient Namekian language!
Dark clouds covered the sky like black ink, and golden rays of light shot up into the sky, winding like lightning and dancing wildly like golden serpents, reaching the highest point within sight. In the light, the dragon's figure appeared, its huge body shocking.
Raditz, who was familiar with the process, wasn't as surprised seeing the dragon as he'd been initially. He stood before the huge Porunga and looked directly into those eyes with equal composure.
"Please tell me your wish." The huge voice echoed between heaven and earth.
"I want to know the whereabouts of androids on Earth!"
"Sorry, this is beyond my ability. Earth's magnetic field is being disturbed by a powerful force, and I cannot find out."
Interference? Could it be that Dr. Gero did it?
"So... is it possible to erase someone like Dr. Gero from existence?"
"Sorry. I can only reset the lifespan of natural life forms to zero—I can't affect artificial beings like him."
That meant Dr. Gero was gradually transforming into an android? Although Raditz didn't get the answer he wanted, he deduced some things indirectly.
It was the first time he'd found the dragon's effects were limited. After all, it was just a small fragment scraped from the Super Dragon Balls, so the ability was naturally incomparable. Resurrecting people and life extension were still useful, but it seemed powerless to do things across the universe.
Thinking of life extension, Raditz suddenly had another question: "Porunga, can you cure the viral heart disease of a man named Son Goku on Earth?"
There wasn't anything particularly special about it, but Goku's heart disease was inevitable. It was very likely he'd drunk the highly poisonous Ultra Divine Water when he was a child, which caused the heart disease. Now there was no specific medicine, so he could only ask the dragon for help.
"No problem."
Speaking of this, Porunga's eyes lit up, and in a twinkling, the wish came true. It made an "OK" gesture. "Your wish has been fulfilled."
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