Bulma worked quickly, and within a few days, she had the Time Machine ready. Of course, "ready" was in quotation marks, because time travel, or rather, traveling through time, was a first for Bulma.
At most, she could ensure the safety of those inside. Whether the Time Machine would function as she hoped was still unknown.
After all, confirming its functionality was difficult. It was a difficult thing to test.
Among those present, only Ling An had full confidence in Bulma's Time Machine. After all, in the future timeline of the original story, Bulma had managed to build a Time Machine under conditions far more difficult than these. And now? The threat of the Androids was gone, and Son Gohan and Ling An had gathered all sorts of materials.
It could be said that while this Time Machine looked similar to the one Ling An remembered, many of its parts were far superior. This one was precisely made, while the one in the original story was cobbled together.
The cobbled-together one didn't have any problems, so how could this one? Ling An had complete confidence.
"So this is the Time Machine Ling An-sensei mentioned the other day? It's incredible! Even something from a fantasy can be created."
On the lawn of Bulma's house, Ling An and the others were looking up at the Time Machine. Videl, standing beside her, was full of amazement. For her, the experiences of the past few weeks were beyond anything she could have imagined in her previous twenty years.
She was here, not only witnessing the terrifying power contained within the human body, which in her opinion was already incredible, but now, even a Time Machine had been created, which was truly an amazing feat.
"Gohan, let's go!"
Ling An beckoned Son Gohan to join her towards the Time Machine. The two of them entered the Time Machine. Because there was only one seat and the space was cramped, the two of them could only squeeze together. She didn't feel anything, but Son Gohan was a little nervous.
Seeing Son Gohan's awkward appearance, not knowing where to put his hands and feet, Ling An was slightly stunned, then chuckled. Well, she always forgot that she and Son Gohan were now of different genders. Her overly casual closeness did indeed bring Son Gohan some pressure.
Seeing this, she leaned to the side. Although the two of them were still close, it wasn't as tight as before. Hearing Son Gohan softly sigh beside her, Ling An suddenly felt playful and leaned closer to him. At the same time, she smiled and said, "Gohan, you look very nervous? Is it because you feel uncomfortable being with me?"
"Ah... no, no, it's not like that."
Because the weather was getting colder, they were both wearing autumn clothes, but despite the obstruction of the clothes, the two of them were still pressed together due to the cramped space. The faint fragrance from Ling An's body drifted to his nose, which made Son Gohan feel very uncomfortable, and at the same time, his heart was beating much faster. This was the first time he had felt this way in the twenty-something years he had lived.
"It's not like that, really? Then I'll get a little closer." Ling An smiled, and leaned a little closer to Son Gohan. She didn't know why, but she just felt that Son Gohan was particularly fun like this, so she couldn't help but feel playful.
Son Gohan was always a rather serious person, especially the Son Gohan from the future who had experienced all sorts of things. He was very mature. This was the first time Bulma had seen him in such an awkward state since she had known him. Finding it amusing, she couldn't resist teasing him a bit.
However, just as she was getting closer to Son Gohan, a large hand landed on her shoulder. At the same time, Son Gohan's voice, a little rushed, came, "Ling... Ling'an, we should go."
"..."
Ling'an raised her head and her eyes met Son Gohan's. She was taken aback for a moment. Then she looked at his slightly flushed face. With that expression, even the scar on his face looked extra cute. No longer teasing him, she smiled and nodded gently.
The two of them pressed the corresponding buttons as Bulma had instructed. The next moment, the Time Machine slowly ascended. Through the protective shield, they looked at the three people standing on the lawn.
"Aunt Bulma, Trunks, Videl, we'll be back soon. Goodbye!"
"Have a safe trip!"
"Sister Ling'an, Brother Gohan, goodbye!"
"You two teachers, please be careful!"
Under the watchful eyes of Bulma and the others, the Time Machine carrying Ling An and Son Gohan slowly ascended to a certain height before vanishing right before their eyes.
Seeing this, Bulma gently clenched her fist. "Excellent, at least the start went without a hitch! I hope everything goes smoothly, that they can obtain the location of New Namek and return safely! Next, I need to repair that abandoned spaceship. Then they can depart immediately when they return."
"Trunks, I have a task for you. Help Mom gather these materials!"
"Okay, Mom!"
Ling An and Son Gohan were crammed together, riding the Time Machine as it flew towards the past. In this current time, neither Son Gohan nor Bulma knew whether returning to the past could change the future, but they wouldn't place all their hopes on changing the future either.
In fact, what they were more concerned with was the Dragon Balls, and the location of New Namek. Or rather, they had already prepared for the fact that even if they changed the past, the future might not change, even if they secretly hoped that the future could be altered by the past.
But Ling An knew very well that changing the past couldn't possibly change the future that had already happened. Once they traveled back in time and changed the past on the original timeline, it would only add a parallel world.
However, the past and the future were ultimately interconnected in some ways. So, they only needed to go back to the past to find the Dragon Balls, which would allow them to know the location of New Namek. With the location of New Namek, it wouldn't be impossible to restore Earth to normal.
The two silently waited for the Time Machine to arrive.
They didn't know how long they waited, but in their vision, the Time Machine suddenly flashed. In the next moment, they saw a vast, blue sky.
"We're here! I don't know what time period this is."
Ling An and Son Gohan stepped out of the Time Machine and put it away. Then, Son Gohan took out the Dragon Radar, but when he turned it on, a displeased expression appeared on his face.
"What's going on? Why isn't the Dragon Radar showing anything? Could it be that we came at the wrong time? Has Uncle Piccolo already been killed by the Androids...?!"
"That's impossible... Aunt Bulma set the time to be before Piccolo was killed... Wait... Could it be..."
Because of the fewer years of research, Bulma's Time Machine could only roughly reach a certain point in time, unable to pinpoint the exact date. But even so, setting a time frame was possible, and Bulma had done just that. However, there was no Dragon Radar signal now, which Son Gohan found hard to accept.
If Piccolo had really been killed by the androids, wouldn't their mission be in vain? How could Son Gohan, who had been looking forward to this for so long, accept that?
Just as he was at a loss, he suddenly heard Ling An speak. He quickly asked, "Ling An, what's going on?"
"What's going on..."
Ling An was about to continue when suddenly, a powerful Ki erupted, instantly sensed by them. Feeling this powerful Ki, the two of them exchanged glances. The next moment, without any hesitation, they immediately used the Bukujutsu and flew towards the location of the Ki's explosion!
"That's... Vegeta... and Trunks?! How is this possible? What timeline is this?!"
When the two of them got close to the location of the Ki's explosion, a look of shock appeared on Son Gohan's face. Vegeta and Trunks were both there, and besides them, Krillin and a flash of green were also present.
"That's Cell!" At this moment, Ling An narrowed her eyes and said calmly. Seeing the situation not far away, she thought to herself, as expected.
"Cell? The energy is definitely similar, but they don't look the same." Son Gohan looked over, noticing the resemblance to the Cell he'd once defeated, but the differences were significant. The previous Cell was hideous, while the Cell in front of them, though missing half his body, still possessed handsome features.
But no matter how a creature's appearance changed, its energy signature remained constant. Sensing Cell's energy, Son Gohan's expression shifted slightly. "Cell's energy, but it's far stronger than the previous one! This world's Cell is this powerful?!"
"Could that be the Perfect Cell you mentioned earlier, Ling'an?"
Ling'an nodded gently.
Son Gohan inhaled sharply, his expression a mix of concern and relief. He could sense Cell's energy, which was slightly weaker than his own, but in a fight, he might not win, considering he was missing an arm. Thinking back to the Cell of his own timeline, he was glad he'd defeated him early on, or he might not have been able to deal with him.
"What's going on in this timeline? Cell has absorbed the two androids and become Perfect Cell, and Vegeta hasn't been killed by the androids. His battle power is far beyond what I remember. Also...what's the deal with that Trunks?"
"Ling'an, should we intervene?"
While Son Gohan was puzzling this out, Vegeta and the restored Cell clashed again. However, against Perfect Cell, Vegeta was no match, being completely dominated. Seeing this, Son Gohan turned to Ling'an and asked.
....
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