After searching for several days in a dozen surrounding cities, they finally gathered all the materials needed for the gravity room and the time machine. They brought these materials back to Bulma's house before setting out again to collect the energy supply for the gravity room.
"Finally breaking through 70 million power level. The critical hit multiplier has been a lot better these past two weeks, gaining several million power level at once. Why did it suddenly become like this?"
Flying in the air, Ling An looked at the virtual screen only she could see, observing her 70 million power level. Although she was happy, she was also a little puzzled.
Even with her current base power level, even a low multiplier critical hit would grant her a considerable boost. However, in just half a month, she had gone from 64 million to 70 million, an increase of nearly 6 million power level, which was a bit unbelievable. Especially since she had once gotten almost a 2 million power level critical hit, something that had almost never happened before.
What exactly was the reason for the higher critical hit multipliers compared to before?
Ling An reviewed the situation. She realized that having higher multiplier critical hits seemed to have started from when she met Son Gohan. So... was it the change that occurred after meeting Son Gohan, or was it because she had changed the plot and the characters' fates, which then resulted in different multiplier critical hits?
Ling An was very puzzled. Although it was a good thing for her, as a curious person, she still wanted to understand the reason behind this problem.
Unfortunately, this critical hit bonus system didn't even have basic intelligence. It just performed multiplier critical hits every day without fail. Ling An felt that she would have to observe it more in the future to find an answer.
"Boom——"
As the two of them were flying towards a nearby volcano, a violent explosion suddenly erupted from a city to the west, causing both of them to stop.
Son Gohan looked coldly at the source of the explosion: "Is that the Androids? No… I can sense a ki, definitely not the Androids, but it's very powerful…"
"Could it be Cell…."
Ling An also felt the powerful ki. She frowned slightly, thinking of the ultimate android, Cell! In the future world, besides Android 17 and Android 18, there was only Cell who could possess such power. But she was also puzzled, had Cell come out so quickly?
She was somewhat perplexed, but then thought it was quite normal. After all, there were some minor differences in each spacetime. For example, the strength of the Androids; the Androids in the main timeline were much stronger than the ones in the future timeline. It was also possible for Cell to appear at this point.
"Perhaps this spacetime isn't the one where Black Goku appeared later, but rather the one where Trunks was ambushed by Cell. It's possible that Cell started to lie low at this time," Ling An thought to herself, though this was just her guess.
"Cell?!" Hearing Ling An's words, Son Gohan asked in surprise: "Ling An, do you know who that ki belongs to?"
"If I'm not mistaken, it's likely Cell. He was also created by Dr. Gero as an Android, but unlike the other two, Cell is a more special being."
Ling An told Son Gohan everything she knew about Cell. After listening, Son Gohan was secretly shocked: "I didn't expect there to be such a terrifying Android in this world. If he absorbs the other two Androids, the entire Earth will be in danger!"
"Ling An-chan, since we've encountered him, and Cell's strength is limited, I think we should take action and kill him first. What do you think?" Son Gohan clenched his fists, eager to move, but because Ling An was by his side, he didn't act directly and instead asked for her opinion.
"It's a good idea, but you might not be Cell's opponent right now." Ling An gently shook her head. Although the Cell from the future wasn't that strong, after all, if he were really that much stronger than Androids 17 and 18, he would have definitely targeted them. Even so, Cell might not be that weak. The Cell from a certain timeline went back in time and defeated Piccolo, who had merged with Kami, after absorbing hundreds of thousands of people. Although that Cell might have already absorbed a lot of humans in the future world, you could still see how terrifying Cell was.
You have to know that at that time, Piccolo was already able to contend with Android 17, but even so, he was still defeated by Cell.
Cell's method of gaining power by absorbing humans definitely has its limits; otherwise, he wouldn't need to absorb 17 and 18. But even with those limits, it's just a breakthrough from one to two. This kind of limit is not something that the current Gohan can compare to.
Right now, it's unknown how many humans Cell has absorbed. Although human society has suffered countless deaths and injuries from the Androids' destruction, it probably wouldn't be too difficult for Cell to absorb some people.
Facing Ling An's hesitation, Son Gohan said in a low voice: "Ling An, I understand your concerns, but as you said, Cell is always a more threatening existence than those two Androids. If we really let him go, it might bring about a worse situation. The fact that he doesn't dare to absorb those two Androids now shows that his strength hasn't reached their level. In that case, with my current strength, I should be able to handle it."
"Furthermore, as a warrior, how can you back down when facing a potentially stronger opponent? Over the years, facing Androids far more powerful than me, I've never chosen to escape, so even with Cell, I think I should face him head-on!"
"If that's the case, then go!"
Ling An stared blankly at Son Gohan. She suddenly realized that the biggest difference between them might be that she was just an ordinary person with some strength, while Son Gohan was a true warrior, a powerful warrior who had fought the Androids for many years.
Thinking about how Son Gohan in the main timeline ended up as Nobi Gohan, it was truly disheartening.
"However, if things go wrong, you must retreat immediately. Don't get into a deathmatch with Cell. Cell is one thing, but if the fighting attracts the other two Androids, it would be quite dangerous. Our plan has already begun, and there will definitely be opportunities to catch them all later."
"I understand!" Son Gohan nodded heavily, then burst with ki and flew towards the location of the explosion. Ling An followed behind him, finding a place to hide only when they were close to the center of the explosion. There was nothing she could do; she was still too weak. Even the newly born Cell was much stronger than her.
Arriving in the sky above the city, Son Gohan quickly spotted a green figure rampaging through the city and wreaking havoc on the Resistance. The figure looked incredibly ugly, but its power was terrifying. The Resistance's bullets poured down on it like rain, but they had no effect.
Bang!
Just as Cell was about to attack the resistance, it suddenly sensed a terrifying power. Its expression changed, and it immediately dodged, seeing Son Gohan appear.
When Cell saw Son Gohan, a look of shock appeared on its face: "Son Gohan, you're not dead?!"
"You know me?"
Son Gohan looked at Cell with some surprise, completely not expecting that the other party would recognize him.
But thinking about what Ling An had said, that Dr. Gero, who created the Androids, knew the Z Fighters, so it was normal for him to recognize Son Gohan in this situation.
Cell didn't answer Son Gohan's question. Its face was now filled with gloom; it hadn't expected that Son Gohan, who it thought had been killed by the Androids, was still alive. And judging from the energy it sensed, Son Gohan seemed to have become even stronger, which would be very unfavorable to it.
It was also very wary of Son Gohan. Therefore, it had dared to appear in the human city and wreak havoc only after learning of his supposed death. Its goal was naturally to absorb more humans to gain powerful strength, and ultimately defeat the other two Androids and absorb them to become the true ultimate Android.
It didn't dare to make too much noise for fear of being discovered by those two Androids, so it chose this city, which had already been destroyed by the Androids. But no matter how much it calculated, it hadn't expected that Son Gohan was still alive!
It seemed things weren't looking good for Cell. Newly born and having absorbed only a few humans, its power wasn't that great. Facing Son Gohan was quite dangerous.
So, after a moment's thought, it spoke, "Son Gohan, your enemies are Android 17 and Android 18. I have no quarrel with you. If you fight me, once the Androids find out, they definitely won't let you go. So... how about we go our separate ways?"
"Hmph, Cell, you speak as if you have nothing to do with the Androids. I won't let those evil Androids go, and you, a similarly evil being, I won't let you go either!" Son Gohan pointed at Cell with his remaining hand, saying coldly, "Based on what you've done today, I have every reason to kill you!"
"You actually know my name, and you know my relationship with the Androids?" Cell narrowed its eyes slightly, completely surprised that Son Gohan knew so much about it.
Although it didn't know how the other party knew these things, it knew that it wouldn't be able to leave without a fight today.
Even though it might not be Son Gohan's match, what if?
If it could defeat Son Gohan and absorb him, it would gain the power to defeat the other two Androids in advance. With that power, it could absorb them. Thinking of this, Cell's heart stirred with excitement.
"If that's the case, then let me see your strength, Son Goku's son, Son Gohan!" Cell flicked its long tail, smashing the hard cement ground into fragments. After saying this, its and Son Gohan's figures disappeared from the Resistance's sight!
Boom boom boom—
The battle began instantly!