As I reached the location of interest, I knew what I should have done immediately: just get to work and start absorbing them, as I had done before. I could've started with Tao himself.
But seeing Tao alive made me pause, maybe more than I should have. From my memories as Jamall, I didn't remember Tao being around during Dragon Ball Z at all. I vaguely recalled him being defeated back in the original Dragon Ball. So what was going on? Was this a different timeline? An alternate universe? I couldn't help but wonder if my knowledge was wrong, or if I was simply misremembering. Dragon Ball's a long series, after all—maybe I missed his reappearance. Or maybe the show just didn't explain what happened to him, and I forgot that little detail.
There were multiple possibilities here, and each one made me a bit nervous. If this was an alternate reality, I might not be able to predict the events as accurately as I'd thought.
The time I spent pondering this small mystery must have been enough to tip Tao off, because he suddenly took off running, clearly trying to get away from me. I watched him go, more amused than anything. Tao was far faster and stronger than the average human, but he couldn't outrun me, even if he tried. Still, his speed meant he could easily get to a populated area if I didn't act quickly.
I let my instincts take over, firing a quick round of Ki blasts toward the criminals surrounding us, disintegrating them completely. Tao's head turned just in time to see it, and it must have scared him enough to make him turn his attacks on me.
Predictably, he didn't stand a chance. I moved toward him, catching him by the neck in my left hand before he even realized what was happening.
I felt my confidence swell as I held him there, choking. " I can't believe I panicked for this " I said with a smirk.
Looking back, I probably could have handled things better. I had used way more Ki than necessary, practically lighting myself up for Piccolo or anyone else in the area to detect me. But what was done was done. Tao still had a bit of fight in him, though, which showed as he raised his metallic hand toward me, firing a superheated beam that... well, barely did anything.
I reacted quickly and brought my fist down, punching him in the stomach and draining the last of his strength. I let go of him, letting him drop to the ground in a heap.
Normally, I'd have absorbed him right away. That had been my plan all along, especially now that my energy signature might have been picked up by someone nearby. But I wanted to test something, and Tao was just the right candidate: a human, enhanced with technology, basically a cyborg. Perfect.
So, I held back, giving him a few seconds to regain some consciousness. As he stirred, I raised my tail, the stinger hovering just centimeters from his face, oozing digestive enzyme. "Answer my question if you want to live. Who was it that turned you into a cyborg?"
The fear in his eyes was obvious as he stammered, "It-it w-was Gero. Dr. Ge-Gero."
Just as I'd thought. I could practically see Gero taking on this kind of job, probably just to fund his other projects. He wouldn't have cared much for Tao, but it meant I had a decent test subject.
"Thank you... for your honesty," I said as I enlarged the pointed end of my tail into a sucker and quickly absorbed him, consuming him whole in an instant. He was too weak to resist, even if he'd tried.
Then, I waited.
And waited.
Nothing happened. I hadn't really expected a transformation, but it would have been interesting if it had happened. At most, I felt a minor power boost, maybe the equivalent of absorbing fifty average humans. It wasn't much, but it confirmed that Tao was no ordinary human—his Life Energy was a little stronger.
Suddenly, I sensed a massive amount of Ki approaching rapidly. Without a second thought, I suppressed my Ki and darted into the nearest dark spot I could find, squeezing myself between a wall and two dumpsters in a grimy alley. It wasn't an ideal hiding place, but it was enough to keep me hidden, and my former self wouldn't have had the caution to take such a precaution. I had learned to be smarter.
A moment later, Piccolo came into view, hovering above the area, scanning with both his eyes and his Ki senses. His presence confirmed that he had already fused with Kami, meaning that at least that part of my knowledge was still correct.
I watched him from my hiding spot, waiting until he flew off in the opposite direction. Even after he left, I stayed hidden, giving him time to get further away. The stench of the alley was noticeable, but I didn't mind. I could handle it.
Thinking back, I realized I had been lucky this time. I had almost been careless, but I'd managed to avoid detection. A second or two later and Piccolo would have found me. As it was, I only noticed his Ki presence because of how familiar it felt, sharing some similarity to my own.
Disintegrating the criminals had probably been unnecessary in hindsight, but it was too late for regrets. After mentally berating myself for the moment of weakness, I returned to analyzing what I'd learned from absorbing Tao.
First and foremost, it seemed that humans—enhanced or not—wouldn't give me anything more than Life Energy, no matter how I absorbed them. Tao had given me a minor power boost, but nothing more. This confirmed something I had already suspected: humans were simply inferior energy sources, though 17 and 18 might prove to be exceptions, given their unique nature.
Still, it was useful to have this confirmed.
If Gero had wanted to, he could have designed me with all this knowledge from the start. Of course, no one's perfect, and Gero was only human. Part of me resented that he hadn't focused more on my development, but another part of me understood—everyone makes mistakes. Even a genius like him.