CHAPTER 14

The man who could make the usually cold and composed Android 18 show such a shy and unguarded expression... was likely someone very special perhaps even her future partner.

Moreover, if he were just a stranger, there would've been no reason for him to risk his life to save her!

"My brother-in-law really has an eye for people. I guess saving him wasn't a waste,"

Linze said with a light smirk, glancing at the perceptive Android 17, who had seen through him with surprising clarity.

Upon hearing the teasing exchange, Android 18's cheeks flushed pink and then turned pale an unusual sight for someone with such a stoic personality.

Linze had always been shameless, but she didn't expect 17 to cooperate with him so casually.

He was usually so calm and detached!

"Mr. Linze, thank you... for saving my father and for saving Earth."

Trunks stepped forward, his tone sincere as he bowed slightly.

Without Linze's sudden appearance during the clash with Cell, Vegeta would've been vaporized. And with no one else able to resist Cell's final form at that moment, Earth itself might've been lost.

So even if Linze disliked being thanked, Trunks had to say it.

"I told you I was saving 17, and Vegeta just happened to be nearby. Don't thank me too much,"

Linze replied plainly to Trunks.

"Alright everyone, we should focus on gathering the Dragon Balls and summoning Shenron,"

Piccolo interjected, ever the pragmatic Namekian. He knew it was time to reverse the massive death toll left in Cell's wake.

"Yeah, Piccolo's right!"

Goku agreed immediately. Then he turned toward the young Namekian standing quietly nearby.

"Dende, summon Shenron now!"

"Okay."

Dende nodded, holding the seven restored Dragon Balls aloft. As he chanted in the ancient Namekian tongue, the sky darkened and the eternal dragon Shenron emerged with a thunderous roar.

"By the way, Linze do you have a wish?"

Goku turned toward him curiously. After all, it was Linze's intervention that changed the course of the battle.

If not for him, they might all be dead or worse.

"Of course…"

Linze nodded slightly, a thoughtful look in his eyes.

He had one wish in mind for a while.

"Then go ahead and make your wish first!"

Goku encouraged him with a grin, not one to fuss over formalities.

The others nodded in agreement. It was clear to all of them that Linze had earned that right.

After all, the decisive blow to Cell had come from Linze.

Moreover, since Goku whom they all trusted deeply had already spoken, no one questioned the decision.

"Alright."

Linze stepped forward, raised his head to the great dragon, and declared clearly:

"Shenron, please remove the explosive devices implanted in Androids 17 and 18!"

Keeping those self-destruct mechanisms active served no purpose anymore. They were once installed by Dr. Gero to control and destroy them but now, they were free individuals.

Earth's Shenron couldn't turn them fully human, but this much was within his power.

As Linze spoke, Android 18's expression stiffened slightly, the corner of her eye twitching not out of annoyance, but from complex emotions even she couldn't fully explain.

Then she looked at Linze, her eyes shimmering with subtle emotion.

She hadn't expected Linze's wish to be something so selfless something for her.

A soft warmth bloomed quietly in her chest, a feeling she hadn't experienced in a long time.

"It looks like you've found someone you can really trust. I'm glad for you, 18."

Android 17 spoke calmly, looking at his sister with genuine sincerity.

Then, shifting his gaze toward Linze, he added with a half-smirk, "Thanks... brother-in-law."

He said the title naturally, almost as if he had accepted it all along.

"This wish has been granted. Speak now your second wish!"

Shenron's red eyes flared as his deep, resonant voice echoed across the skies.

"Well, my wish is fulfilled."

"The remaining wishes are up to you guys."

Linze turned to Goku and the others with a casual wave.

In his previous life, he had dreamed countless times of gathering the Dragon Balls—wishing for legendary martial arts, eternal youth, limitless money…

He even thought about wishing for a magic lamp like Aladdin's to enter a never-ending cycle of desires and dreams.

But now, with power in hand and pride surging through his being, those material wishes no longer seemed enticing.

Still…

"As a little token for saving Vegeta, how about one billion zeni? Shouldn't be a big deal, right?"

Linze glanced toward Trunks with a playful grin.

Sure, with his current strength, he could live freely on Earth without worry but nothing beat the feeling of holding massive wealth in your hands!

"Of course! Absolutely no problem!"

Trunks nodded furiously, almost like his head was on a spring.

One billion zeni was nothing for the heir to Capsule Corporation his mother Bulma would gladly part with ten times that for Vegeta's life.

"Great, then just send me the cash later. The rest is up to you guys handle the clean-up yourselves."

Linze gave a casual nod, then gently took Android 18's hand and leapt off the Lookout without hesitation.

Android 17 followed right after them.

Meanwhile, Goku, Piccolo, Trunks, and the others turned back to the task at hand using the second wish to restore the lives lost to Cell's rampage, and afterward, preparing to return home.

The whole Cell incident had reminded them all brutally that there were still gaps in their power.

They had to keep training.

…

"Thanks again, brother-in-law, for saving me."

On the sunlit streets of West City, Android 17 said with a half-grin as he walked beside Linze.

"If anyone deserves the thanks, it's your sister Number 18."

Linze replied, glancing sideways at him.

"She's got good instincts. She's sticking with you, and honestly… I think she'll be happy. That's why I can leave with peace of mind."

"Leave?"

Android 18's brow twitched ever so slightly, and she frowned. "What do you mean, 17? Where are you going?"

"Simple," 17 said with a joking tone, but a serious look. "Get a job, find a nice woman, settle down. Ordinary life."

It was the kind of peaceful, unremarkable future he'd secretly always wanted.

A home. A family. A quiet existence far from laboratories and power struggles.

"You've already made up your mind?"

18's expression softened, her tone a mix of reluctance and understanding.

She didn't want to see him go… but she knew she couldn't stop him.

And maybe just maybe he deserved that life too.

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