He knew exactly what Bulma was worried about.
Only one year remained before the three-year deadline.
But Krillin wasn't afraid.
The peaceful life of the past two years hadn't made him complacent.
If anything, it had made him understand even more clearly what he was fighting to protect.
Every punch he threw and every training session now carried a purpose far greater than before.
That afternoon, after finishing the household chores, Krillin remembered Bulma's invitation from breakfast.
He made his way to the laboratory on the third underground floor.
The heavy alloy doors slid open automatically.
A complex scent of machine oil, ozone, and an unfamiliar energy rushed toward him.
The laboratory had grown to more than ten times its original size.
Countless instruments blinked with streams of light.
Massive holographic projections floated through the air, displaying intricate molecular structures.
Rows of robotic arms worked tirelessly along automated assembly lines, assembling precision components.
Wearing her white lab coat, Bulma stood before an enormous glass chamber.
Her face glowed with almost fanatical excitement.
Her eyes were bloodshot from exhaustion, yet they burned with energy.
"You're here!"
"Come see my masterpiece!"
"Project Genesis!"
She pointed proudly toward the massive glass container.
Floating at its center was a silver sphere about the size of a fist.
Its surface was smooth as a mirror.
Inside, countless tiny stars seemed to be forming, dying, and being reborn.
Pure energy pulsed from within.
"The Eternal Energy Core Prototype!"
Bulma spread her arms proudly, introducing it as if it were her own child.
"Using Dr. Gero's blueprints that you brought back..."
"I combined them with Capsule Corporation's antimatter technology..."
"Then I used the Dragon Balls to stabilize the core."
"I actually did it!"
"It has limitless power."
"True infinite energy!"
"It could power a planet-class battleship through warp travel for over ten thousand years!"
Even Krillin was stunned.
He knew Bulma was a genius.
He simply hadn't expected her to build something that should have existed only in theory.
"But..."
Bulma's expression suddenly changed.
The excitement in her eyes became something almost frightening.
"This still isn't its perfect form."
"Machines have limits."
"But what if..."
"What if it were fused with a living organism?"
"Just like Lazuli."
She grabbed Krillin and led him to another workstation.
"Look."
"This is my newest concept."
After entering a series of commands, a massive blueprint appeared before them.
The smile on Krillin's face instantly froze.
A humanoid figure filled the holographic display.
Every section of its body was covered with endless streams of technical data.
Beside it sat an extensive materials list.
Krillin immediately spotted several names that made his scalp go numb.
Cell Games Genetic Blueprint (Recovered from Dr. Gero's database)
Saiyan Combat Gene Sample (Collected from Vegeta's severed tail)
Ancient S-Cell Active Sample
Namekian Regeneration Factor Sequence
Frieza Race Mutated Cells
...
"Bulma..."
His voice became dry.
"What exactly are you trying to create?"
Bulma didn't notice the change in his expression.
She was completely immersed in her vision.
"Of course!"
"The ultimate life-form!"
She enthusiastically waved her arms.
"We'll combine the strongest genetic traits in the universe..."
"Then implant the Eternal Energy Core."
"We'll create a god!"
"A truly immortal being capable of endless evolution!"
"When that happens, forget the Androids."
"Even if something far more terrifying appears in the future, Project Genesis will wipe it out with ease!"
Looking at Bulma's beautiful face, twisted by scientific obsession, an icy chill shot up Krillin's spine.
Bulma...
She had no idea she was playing with fire.
She was trying...
To create Cell herself.
Not merely Cell.
A version implanted with the Eternal Energy Core.
A monster whose potential surpassed the original by tens of thousands of times.
Only one year remained before the Androids appeared.
Yet inside his own home...
A catastrophe even greater than the Androids was already taking shape.
The air in the laboratory suddenly felt suffocating.
Bulma continued explaining Project Genesis with unstoppable enthusiasm.
Every sentence struck Krillin like a hammer.
"See this section?"
"I borrowed Frieza's adaptive cellular structure."
"It allows survival in virtually any hostile environment."
"And this part."
"The Saiyan's ability to grow stronger after surviving near death."
"Activating S-Cells is extremely difficult."
"But once it succeeds, there's theoretically no upper limit to its growth."
"And most importantly..."
"The Namekian regeneration system."
"Combined with the Eternal Energy Core, even if only a single cell remains..."
"It should regenerate instantly."
The more Bulma spoke, the more excited she became.
She never noticed that Krillin's face had completely darkened.
His eyes remained fixed on the enormous holographic blueprint.
His thoughts raced uncontrollably.
Yet his mind drifted back to his previous life.
Back to the Cell Games.
He hadn't experienced that battle himself.
He had only witnessed it through a screen.
Yet the despair it inspired remained unforgettable.
He remembered it vividly.
When Cell first achieved his Perfect Form...
The overwhelming difference in power had been absolute.
Future Trunks and Vegeta's proud Ascended Super Saiyan forms...
Looked like clumsy children before him.
Cell toyed with them effortlessly.
Frieza possessed terrifying strength.
But Cell's power was different.
Frieza's arrogance came from overwhelming force.
Cell's arrogance was born from perfection itself.
He believed he was evolution's final answer.
And perhaps he was.
But that wasn't the most terrifying part.
The true nightmare came after Goku sacrificed himself...
Teleporting Cell to King Kai's Planet moments before his self-destruction.
Everyone believed it was over.
Then...
That familiar, utterly evil energy returned to Earth.
Cell came back.
Not only alive...
But stronger than ever.
Golden lightning crackled around his body.
His aura blazed even fiercer than a Super Saiyan's.
Lightning Cell.
Or more accurately...
Super Saiyan 2-level Perfect Cell.
Reduced to a single surviving core cell...
Yet thanks to Saiyan genetics, he evolved at the edge of death.
His injuries vanished.
His power exploded.
He even learned Instant Transmission from Goku.
That...
Was the true Perfect Life-Form.
Krillin would never forget that scene.
The returning Cell merely lifted a finger.
A single beam of ki pierced Future Trunks' chest before anyone could react.
The hero who had just saved his own future...
Died instantly before the eyes of Gohan.
That moment had been devastating.
Vegeta's rage.
Gohan's guilt.
And finally...
The beam struggle that decided Earth's fate.
An exhausted Gohan.
One arm rendered useless.
His Kamehameha was steadily overwhelmed by Cell's attack, an energy blast powerful enough to destroy an entire solar system.
That...
Was true despair.
Had Vegeta not launched one final desperate attack...
Creating a single opening...
Had Goku not continued encouraging Gohan from the Other World...
Earth would have vanished.
Lightning Cell's greatest terror was simple.
He had almost no weaknesses.
He was a monster that embodied the greatest strengths of every Z Fighter.
And now...
Bulma.
The woman Krillin loved most.
Was trying to recreate that monster.
Perhaps even surpass it.
"The Eternal Energy Core..."
Krillin whispered.
His voice barely sounded like his own.
The original Cell still possessed finite energy.
He had to absorb living beings to replenish his power.
But what if...
His heart were replaced with an infinite energy reactor?
What would that mean?
Unlimited Kamehamehas.
Unlimited Special Beam Cannons.
Unlimited high-speed regeneration.
He would become an eternal war machine.
Never tiring.
Never weakening.
Always evolving.
Then there were the S-Cells.
Krillin understood exactly what they were.
They formed the foundation of every Super Saiyan transformation.
Bulma's research had already begun uncovering the very secret behind Saiyan evolution.
If Project Genesis could transform into a Super Saiyan...
Combined with near-death evolution...
Infinite regeneration...
And limitless energy...
Krillin refused to imagine the outcome.
A Super Saiyan 2-level Cell with endless regeneration and infinite stamina.
Even he...
Would struggle to destroy such a creature permanently.
Everyone else in this world would stand no chance.
His gaze shifted toward several sealed glass containers nearby.
Various tissue samples floated inside.
Vegeta's severed tail still twitched faintly.
A tube containing golden liquid labeled S-Cells shimmered softly.
And locked inside the central vault...
Was a complete genetic blueprint.
Krillin's expression became deadly serious.
Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to calm down.
"Bulma."
"This project..."
"It's brilliant."
He offered praise first.
As expected, Bulma immediately brightened.
"I knew you'd love it!"
"But..."
Krillin pointed at the blueprint.
"There is one problem."
"The genetic differences are far too great."
"Saiyan DNA."
"Frieza's DNA."
"Human DNA."
"They should reject one another violently."
"No conventional biological technology could ever merge them perfectly."
"Force them together..."
"And you'd only create a grotesque failure destined to collapse."
His voice remained calm.
Like two scientists discussing theory.
Bulma's excited smile gradually disappeared.
She stared at him in surprise.
"Huh?"
"How did you know that?"
Her excitement turned into confusion.
Then disappointment.
"You're absolutely right."
"That's my biggest bottleneck."
She slumped into a chair and ran her fingers through her already messy hair.
"I've run 1,374 fusion simulations."
"Every single one failed."
"These elite genetic sequences behave like rival emperors."
"None of them will submit."
"The Saiyan genes are too aggressive."
"They consume everything else."
"Frieza's genes are incredibly unstable."
"They constantly trigger malignant mutations."
"Dr. Gero's research included a computer-assisted gene compilation process..."
"But he was missing one critical component."
"What component?"
Krillin asked, his heart already pounding.
"A biological adhesive."
She tapped the desk thoughtfully.
"It needs incredible regenerative abilities."
"And a genetic structure gentle enough to stabilize every conflicting genome."
"It has to suppress their rejection and bind them into one harmonious organism."
"I've analyzed every known life-form on Earth."
"None of them qualify."
"Even a gecko's regenerative ability is far too primitive."
Bulma sighed before looking at Krillin hopefully.
"You've traveled across so many planets."
"Have you ever encountered a species with near-immortal regenerative abilities?"
There it was.
The question he had been expecting.
A burden lifted from his heart.
Only to be replaced by an even heavier one.
He knew exactly what Bulma was searching for.
He also knew exactly where to find it.
The Namekians.
More specifically...
Piccolo after reuniting with Kami.
His regenerative ability would become astonishing.
As long as his head remained intact...
He could continue regenerating indefinitely.
His cells...
Were precisely the key Bulma had been searching for.
Now the decision rested entirely with Krillin.
Should he simply tell her such a creature didn't exist?
That would end Project Genesis immediately.
It was undoubtedly the safest choice.
But...
Looking at Bulma's disappointed face...
He knew her too well.
She would never give up.
Even if he lied today...
She would continue searching.
She might seek help from King Kai.
She might search the entire galaxy herself.
Eventually...
Everything could spiral beyond his control.
More importantly...
Another thought had taken root in Krillin's mind.
Project Genesis was incredibly dangerous.
But it also represented a possibility.
A weapon capable of confronting the even greater threats waiting in the future.
He knew Dragon Ball's timeline.
After the Androids came Majin Buu.
Then Beerus.
Then the Tournament of Power.
Then Zeno.
Every enemy would eclipse the last.
Every battle would become more impossible.
What if...
He could create a Perfect Life-Form completely loyal to him?
A trump card with limitless potential.
The idea rapidly grew stronger.
Risk...
And opportunity.
They always came together.
Should he gamble?
Or walk away?
Krillin wrestled with himself.
Finally...
Determination flashed across his eyes.
He would gamble.
But only if every variable remained under his control.
"Bulma."
He looked directly into her eyes.
His expression became completely serious.
"The organism you're describing..."
"I think..."
"I may actually know where to find it."
Bulma's eyes lit up like twin floodlights.
"Really?!"
"Where?!"
"Wait here."
Krillin didn't answer immediately.
He simply turned around.
Leaving her with the reassuring image of his broad back.
"I'll be right back."
Before the words had even finished echoing...
"Whoosh."
Krillin activated Instant Transmission.
His figure vanished from the laboratory without a trace.
Bulma remained standing there alone.
Frozen in astonishment.
--------------------------------
Unlock exclusive early access to 20 advanced chapters on my P@treon. Join today and dive into the story before anyone else!
DAILY CHAPTER HERE
[email protected]/_tey
Change @ to a