Xiaya also thinks that even if Dr. Gero’s research institute is not here, it should not be far away. He nodded in agreement with 18 and said, “We will search for it separately, and if either of us find it, we’ll use the communicator to immediately contact the other.”
Saying that, Xiaya took out a small communicator made by the Feidaya people. The communicator was so small that it looked like a pin and it was very easy to use.
Pinning the communicator on her collar, 18 felt very satisfied. She soared into the sky and said to Xiaya, “I’ll search in the east, you are in charge of the west side.”
“Sure.” Xiaya didn’t care, nodding his head and flying towards the west.
……
After separating from 18, Xiaya flew over range upon range of undulating hills, then he suddenly stopped. A vast expanse of white snow covered the pine trees below, and a bunch of candied fruit-like blocks of ice were hanging where the ice melted. In another part of the mountain range, the snow and ice was obviously much less, revealing green and lush treetops.
Stopping in mid-air, he looked at the complex and changing terrain below and slightly closed his eyes, and then like ocean waves, space-time force spread out little by little, extending to tens of meters of distance underground, and then like a huge scanner, swept through the ground.
“Dr. Gero’s research institute will not be too deep even if it is underground. If it is nearby, it will be discovered soon.” Xiaya thought this and continued to release the space-time ability. All of the terrain within a radius of tens of kilometers was immediately mapped in his brain. He screened them one by one and went one step further in determining the location of Dr. Gero.
More than ten minutes passed quickly. Xiaya had searched most of the area, but he still hadn’t found any traces of Dr. Gero’s research institute.
Di di! The communicator ringed. It was from 18.
“Lazuli, did you find something on your side?” Xiaya pressed a button on the communicator and asked.
“Somewhat. You come here quickly, my location is…” Then 18 told him where she was.
“Okay!” Xiaya cut off the communication and rushed over to 18’s location. When he saw 18, she was sitting at the root of a huge pine tree with only a tree stump left. Xiaya asked, “What did you find?”
18 raised her hand and extended her finger. There was a tiny insect between her fingertips, only one millimeter in size. It is easy to overlook it if you don’t look carefully.
Xiaya raised his eyebrows and said with a smile, “Dr. Gero’s insect robot. So, we are very close to his research institute.”
“Yes, if these micro-robots are not being used to monitor us, then they are mostly responsible for guarding the surroundings,” 18 said calmly.
Xiaya touched his chin and thought for a while, then he smiled slightly and snapped his fingers. A transparent energy shield immediately expanded like a balloon and spread out, and soon the hundreds of kilometers of area was completely enveloped within the range of the energy shield.
“I have put up a shield around us. As long as Dr. Gero is within this range, he shouldn’t even think about escaping. Hurry up, let’s look for him, and don’t let him jump over the wall like a dog in a desper*.”
[*Meaning a bad guy is willing to take risks when in a desperate situation]
Since the insect robot was captured by 18, Dr. Gero must have received the information. The purpose of their trip is to get the 18 of this world. This is the most important thing, and they must ensure that there will be no mistakes.
“Okay!” 18 nodded vigorously, already a little impatient.
So next they speeded up their search in the nearby area. Fortunately, the region has been restricted and they will sooner or later find Dr. Gero’s research institute.
At the same time, at a location under a glacier. Dr. Gero angrily smashed some glassware, shattering it into crystalline fragments. Dr. Gero shouted with a gloomy expression, “What’s going on? How was that woman who looks the same as 18 able to find those insect robots?”
He stopped and a feeling of restlessness flashed in his heart. Dr. Gero could not calm down, as if the other party was targeting him. “It doesn’t make sense! Since the destruction of the Red Ribbon Army, I have been hiding in the research lab to fully concentrate on developing powerful Androids. Even though I had been observing through mini-robots, I didn’t appear in front of Goku and others and shouldn’t have been exposed.”
Dr. Gero was quite puzzled. This time, he hadn’t shown any hostility to Goku and others. So, it is impossible for anyone to target him. But the two people wandering outside are obviously headed towards him.
“Not good, if it goes on, they will sooner or later find me, and then my research will be discovered by them as well.” Dr. Gero’s gloomy face showed uncertainty. He glanced towards several of the Androids’ hibernation cabins from the corners of his eyes. “Do I’ve to activate them? But their development has just been completed and test runs haven’t been done yet. If they are as disobedient as the previous No. 16…they would be defective.”
Dr. Gero was unable to make up his mind. His newly completed Android 17 and 18 may save his life, but if they go out of control, it will immediately hasten his death. Moreover, it is not certain whether Android 17 and 18 are a match of the two outsiders.
“Damn it. If I only had some more time, I could have finished developing 17 and 18, and then I wouldn’t have been afraid of the two outsiders at all, but unfortunately there is no time.” Dr. Gero was pacing around in the research lab.
“If 16, 17, and 18 join forces, I wonder if they can resist them?” Dr. Gero shook his head, giving up on this unrealistic idea.
At this time, the research institute rumbled and shook. Xiaya and 18 had already arrived outside the glacier where the research institute was located. Dr. Gero hesitated for a moment and finally made a decision. He gave up on the research institute above and instead headed to a hidden area, opened a tunnel and went straight in.
He is going to abandon the research institute to safeguard his life, hoping that this can create the illusion that he is busy with something and has gone out.
Shortly after Dr. Gero went into the tunnel, a steel door collapsed, and Xiaya and 18 violently walked in.
Moving quickly into the research institute, the dim lights swayed, but they didn’t see any traces of Dr. Gero.
“Dr. Gero is not here; did he run away?” 18 looked around coldly, and when she saw the hibernation cabins at the center of the research institute, her expression immediately relaxed a lot. The massive Android hibernation cabins were marked with words “16”, “17” and “18”. Inside were lying three ice-cold Androids, one of which looked exactly like her.
“No, it’s just a small trick to confuse others!” Xiaya revealed a sneer at the corners of his mouth.
The stir they caused before was so great that Dr. Gero, who is overcautious, must have responded. But what Dr. Gero didn’t know was that as long as one is under his space-time energy shield, they wouldn’t be able to escape. Dr. Gero wanted to deceive him with such a clumsy technique, what a pipe dream!
Heading towards a base in the research institute, he directly punched the uneven rocky wall. The brown stones fell off immediately, revealing a rusty steel door.
18 suddenly realized, “So, Dr. Gero was hiding underneath.”
As the saying goes, a cunning rabbit has three burrows. When Dr. Gero made the research institute, he set up a concealed second underground floor for emergency escape.
Walking down the corridor behind the steel door, Xiaya and 18 found a white-haired Dr. Gero on the second underground floor. At this time, he still didn’t have the intention to transform himself into an Android, so his stooped body looked as if it had one foot in the grave.
“Dr. Gero, I found you.” 18 sneered and walked over to Dr. Gero.
Dr. Gero looked terrified as he said gloomily, “Who are you guys and why are you looking for me?”