"Hiss..."
With a soft release of pressure, the stasis chamber's valve unlocked, sending a cloud of white vapor rolling into the room.
Krillin calmly fastened the gravity cuffs around Android 18's slender wrists.
Then he secured the neural suppression collar around her graceful neck.
The icy touch of the metal stirred the consciousness sleeping deep within her.
Her eyelashes trembled slightly.
Krillin stepped back, folded his arms across his chest, and leaned casually against the workbench as he watched.
Meanwhile, Bulma stood safely behind a blast-proof glass wall with a tablet in her hands.
Lines of data streamed endlessly across the display as she greedily recorded every fluctuation in Android 18's energy during the awakening process.
"...Mmm..."
A faint groan escaped her lips.
Android 18 slowly opened her eyes.
They were a pair of crystal-blue eyes, clouded with confusion for only a brief instant.
Less than a tenth of a second later, the confusion vanished.
In its place came absolute vigilance.
And icy killing intent.
Boom!
By instinct, Android 18 tried to spring to her feet.
The Infinite Energy Reactor inside her roared to life as golden aura erupted from her body.
Then...
Bzzzt! Bzzzt!
The collar around her neck and the cuffs around her wrists flashed crimson.
A powerful neural current surged through her body.
At the same time, a five-hundred-times gravity field crashed down upon her.
"Ah!"
She cried out in pain.
The body she had just forced upright slammed back onto the examination table.
"What... is this?!"
Horror filled her face.
The immense power she had always relied upon was completely sealed inside her.
Even moving a single finger felt almost impossible.
"Don't waste your strength."
A lazy voice drifted down from above.
With great difficulty, Android 18 turned her head.
Her eyes locked onto a smooth bald head.
That bald man.
The monster who had toyed with her in the future.
The man who had carried her around like a helpless chick.
Memories flooded back.
Her brother being killed.
Her own humiliation.
And finally...
That strange pink mist sprayed directly into her face.
"It's you!!"
She ground her teeth together.
If looks could kill, Krillin would have been torn apart a thousand times over.
"You bastard! Let me go!"
"I'm going to kill you!"
Though her body was restrained, the savage determination burning in her eyes remained unchanged.
"Tsk."
"Still as hot-tempered as ever."
Krillin shook his head before casually lifting her chin with a single finger.
"Looks like the future really failed your education."
"You don't have the slightest bit of manners."
"What do you want from me?!"
Android 18 roared.
She scanned the room.
Everything was unfamiliar.
Advanced instruments surrounded her on every side.
Behind a sheet of reinforced glass stood a blue-haired woman staring at her with the excitement of a scientist examining a laboratory mouse.
She kept muttering things like...
"Energy peak is incredible..."
"What a perfect specimen..."
A fear unlike anything Android 18 had ever experienced spread through her heart.
In the future...
She had been the hunter.
Humanity had been the prey.
Now...
She was the one lying on the chopping block.
"What do I want?"
Krillin smiled.
To Android 18, that smile looked a hundred times more sinister than Dr. Gero's.
"It's simple."
"You're my trophy now."
He leaned closer until his voice brushed against her ear.
"In this world, there's no Android 17."
"No Dr. Gero."
"And no wasteland where you can kill whoever you please."
"This..."
He smiled faintly.
"...is my territory."
Boom!
The instant he finished speaking, Krillin released only a trace of his aura.
The pressure of the Martial True God Physique descended.
The entire underground laboratory froze.
This was a force dozens of times greater than anything she had ever imagined.
Android 18 felt as though she stood on the edge of a cosmic black hole.
Even her soul trembled.
The gravity restraints crushed her body.
Krillin's aura crushed her spirit.
She couldn't stop shaking.
As an Android, she shouldn't have been capable of fear.
Yet every instinct in her body screamed only one thing.
Submit...
Or die.
"W-What... are you...?"
Her voice trembled.
She was on the verge of tears.
Too strong.
His power completely defied reason.
It was far beyond anything she could comprehend.
"Who I am doesn't matter."
Krillin withdrew his pressure and gently patted her pale cheek.
"What matters..."
"...is that you have only two choices."
He raised two fingers.
"First."
"You cooperate with the blue-haired woman over there."
"You behave yourself."
"And become..."
He paused for a moment.
"...my collectible."
"Second."
His expression instantly turned cold.
A golden sphere of ki formed at his fingertip.
Its terrifying heat was more than enough to vaporize anything it touched.
"I dismantle you right here."
"I tear out your Infinite Energy Reactor."
"And throw the rest of your parts into a furnace to be melted down."
"It would be a waste..."
"But I don't keep disobedient dogs."
A naked threat.
Nothing less.
Android 18 bit her lip until blood trickled from the corner of her mouth.
Humiliation.
Utter humiliation.
She was a perfect Android.
A superior life-form.
How could she become a human's possession?
How could she be treated like nothing more than scrap metal?
"If you've got the guts..."
"...then kill me!"
She lifted her head proudly.
The last trace of defiance still burned in her eyes.
"I'd rather die than give you what you want!"
"So do it!"
"Kill me!"
She was gambling.
Gambling that this man wouldn't actually kill her.
After all...
She possessed an Infinite Energy Reactor.
Her value as a research subject was immeasurable.
As long as she stayed alive...
As long as she could keep breathing...
She believed she'd eventually escape.
Eventually take revenge.
But...
Krillin simply looked at her determined expression and sighed.
"What a troublesome personality."
"I was hoping you'd make the choice yourself."
"But if you're going to be this stubborn..."
He straightened up.
The ki sphere vanished from his hand.
Instead of attacking...
He reached into his system inventory and pulled out a golden card.
Item: Wish Card (Rule-Breaking Version)
Description: Grants one wish, even if it alters the essence of life itself or rewrites the world's fundamental laws.
This was the SSS-rank reward he had earned from the Future Timeline.
Originally...
He had intended to save it for a life-or-death situation.
Or use it to turn the tide in some future crisis.
But looking at the woman before him...
Stubborn.
Filled with hatred.
Yet overflowing with potential.
Krillin realized this might be the most valuable investment he could make.
The future Android 18 had lived through endless slaughter.
Her heart had long since become twisted.
If he relied only on force...
He would gain nothing more than a slave who would betray him the first chance she got.
That wasn't what he wanted.
He wanted...
A true companion.
And...
His wife.
"If you want to die..."
Krillin held the golden card between his fingers.
A mysterious smile slowly spread across his face.
"Then I'll grant that wish."
"Say goodbye..."
"...to the killing machine you used to be."
"System."
He spoke silently within his mind.
"Use the Wish Card."
Ding! Wish Card activated. Please state your wish.
Krillin looked directly into Android 18's stunned eyes and spoke each word with absolute clarity.
"My wish is..."
"Transform the Android 18 before me into a true human woman with limitless potential."
"Preserve her Infinite Energy Reactor as her innate talent."
"But erase every mechanical component..."
"Erase every underlying directive..."
"And erase every killing protocol."
"Let her become..."
"...someone who is truly alive."
...
--------------------------------
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