Staring at the blazing Heatblast, Ben hurried over and shouted,
"Hey! You'd better be careful, or you're going to start a forest fire!"
Heatblast snorted.
"Hah. Only a total idiot would cause a wildfire."
"Let me see what she can do."
As soon as the words left her mouth, Heatblast condensed a small fireball and casually tossed it back and forth in her palm, looking completely at ease.
"So cool… so this is Heatblast…" Gwen said with a soft laugh.
"Yeah. Heatblast can breathe fire, shoot fireballs, and even fly," Ben replied irritably.
Grandpa Max rushed over, staring at Heatblast in shock.
"Gwen, how did you turn into this?"
A veteran of countless battles, he immediately recognized the alien. It was a Pyronite, a race known for fire manipulation and overwhelming combat power.
But why would Gwen turn into this kind of alien?
"Grandpa, don't worry. I'm fine." Heatblast waved a hand, her voice deep and magnetic. "I picked up an alien watch that fell from the sky. I just pressed some buttons at random, and this happened."
"That's the Omnitrix!" Ben corrected.
Grandpa Max's expression darkened, his eyes flickering as if he had recalled something.
In the end, he let out a sigh.
"Forget it. I guess this was destined to happen. But Gwen, remember this. Try not to transform anymore, okay?"
Heatblast froze, clearly confused.
"Why, Grandpa? I think it's really fun. And with the cool watch, we won't have to work so hard just to start a fire anymore. Who knows, it might have other abilities too."
"Something this powerful and high-tech could attract who knows what," Grandpa Max said seriously. "To be safe, it's better not to use it. We don't want certain bad guys setting their sights on us."
After speaking, he raised his cup and took a small sip of water.
Ben grinned slyly.
"Grandpa, when you say 'bad guys,' you don't mean Vilgax, do you?"
"Pfft—!"
Grandpa Max's eyes flew wide open as he sprayed out the water he'd just swallowed, coughing nonstop.
"Cough, cough… Ben, what are you talking about? I don't know any Vilgax. Though… it does sound kind of like some sort of seafood…"
His gaze darted around uneasily, his heart filled with doubt and alarm. He couldn't understand how Ben knew so much.
Watching his grandfather's stunned expression, Lucian stepped forward and spoke quietly,
"Grandpa's right. The name Vilgax really does sound like seafood. Like fried squid, for example…"
Grandpa Max stared at Lucian with wide eyes, then looked at Ben. His expression was indescribable.
"I… I must be dreaming…"
He shook his head, thinking that he really must be getting old if he could dream about Vilgax.
Muttering to himself, the gray-haired Grandpa Max held his still-warm cup of water and slowly walked back to the Rustbucket, leaving the three of them staring at one another.
When he heard the words "fried squid," Ben's face lit up. He immediately leaned in toward Lucian.
"Wow, Cuz, you know Vilgax too? That shouldn't be possible. He shouldn't have shown up yet at this point."
"He hasn't shown up yet," Lucian replied with a faint smile as he walked toward Heatblast. "But you know about him too, don't you?"
Ben stood there in a daze. After a long moment, his mouth fell open.
"I get it now… so you're also—"
By then, Lucian had already reached Heatblast.
Looking at the slender, striking Heatblast, Lucian felt a strange sense of dislocation, as if worlds had shifted. Before, he was the one transforming into aliens, beating down villains and weird monsters alike.
But now, the Omnitrix no longer belonged to him.
Even the System was gone.
"Cuz? What's wrong?" Heatblast bent down, leaning closer to Lucian with concern.
"I'm fine." Lucian forced a bitter smile, the corners of his mouth tinged with faint melancholy.
Heatblast paused for a moment, then patted Lucian on the shoulder and laughed softly.
"Cuz, don't be upset. I'll show you a magic trick!"
"What kind of trick?"
"Hehe, watch closely."
Heatblast extended her hand, gathering a roiling mass of blazing flames. With a sudden burst of force, she hurled it straight into the night sky.
Bong!
A loud explosion echoed as the fiery mass burst apart overhead, splitting into a string of glowing English letters that lit up the pitch-black sky.
GWEN
Beneath the dazzling fireworks, Lucian's handsome face was reflected in a fiery red glow, flames seeming to burn within his eyes.
In truth, Gwen's combat talent was nothing to scoff at. She learned even faster than Ben. It seemed that reading more books really did pay off.
Ben's mouth hung open, disbelief filling his eyes.
"Oh my god, it took me half a month to learn that move!"
Suddenly, Lucian felt his footing vanish.
He looked down and was instantly terrified.
"Gwen, you—"
"Cuz, I'm taking you flying!"
Heatblast wrapped her arms around Lucian, flames blazing beneath her feet as she shot through the lonely night sky.
The fierce wind rushed toward them, snapping Lucian's clothes loudly as they flapped uncontrollably.
"Gwen, slow down!" Lucian couldn't help shouting.
Staring at the seemingly endless abyss below, he couldn't help thinking that if the little watch malfunctioned right now, they would be completely done for.
"Hehe, this is so much fun!" Heatblast held Lucian tighter, making sure he wouldn't fall.
Just like that, the two of them streaked through the night sky, circling the forest several times. Along the way, they caught the attention of many tourists, who cried out in shock.
"Holy crap, what is that thing?!"
"It looks like a guy covered in flames, and he's holding something!"
"Hurry up, take a picture and post it on TikTok! This is definitely going viral tonight!"
"Ahhh! I saw it! That fire person is holding a man! I'm so jealous, I want someone to carry me flying too!"
....
After a long while, Heatblast finally landed on the ground and gently set Lucian down.
"That was so cool, Cuz! Wasn't it exciting?" Heatblast said excitedly, her heart still racing.
"I… it was okay." Lucian felt dizzy, barely managing to hold back the urge to throw up.
He didn't remember feeling like this back when he turned into Heatblast and flew himself…
Beep! Beep!
The Omnitrix on Heatblast's chest suddenly began to flash, bursting out with an intense red glow before she reverted back into Gwen.
"Hey, I changed back!" Gwen exclaimed, staring at her hands in surprise.
"Of course. The Omnitrix has a time limit," Ben said as he walked over. "Hey, let's head back first. Grandpa's still waiting for us."
Lucian nodded and led the two of them toward the Rustbucket.
When they returned to the car, Grandpa had already prepared dinner, but the sight made Lucian's scalp tingle.
Spicy beetles, raw marinated centipedes, live fried rice worms, stir-fried earthworms… all kinds of protein-packed dishes were laid out before them.
"So gross~" Gwen immediately frowned.
"Grandpa, I'm not hungry tonight. I'll skip dinner," Ben said with an awkward laugh.
"No." Grandpa's gaze was firm and unyielding.
"Oh man~" Ben sighed helplessly, clearly resigned to his fate.
Suddenly, the Rustbucket's radio crackled to life.
"Help! Somebody please help us!"
"You won't believe this, but… there's a huge robot here!"
Ben shot to his feet.
"It's Vilgax's robot! They must have appeared at the campsite. We have to go help!"
"Let's go!"
...
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