The Benwolf's eyes turned fierce as it looked up.
An orange tiger stood there, its body covered in black stripes, glaring back at it.
"Roar!"
"Listen up, you arrogant big mutt with that nasty bucktooth mouth. If you dare steal anything again, Rath will smack your ass flat!!" Rath's temper was as explosive as ever, and he started cursing the moment he showed up.
The Benwolf let out a furious roar and tried to wrench itself free from Rath's grip, but Rath's claws held it fast. It couldn't move at all.
A wolf's strength was no match for a tiger's in the end...
"Awesome! Cuz turned into Rath again. I haven't seen this in forever!" Gwen lit up the moment she saw Rath.
Because what came next would not only be a brutal, fist-to-flesh brawl, she would also get to watch Rath go full trash-talking menace.
That endlessly yapping tiger mouth was practically more terrifying than Vilgax!
"Oh wow, he really can talk..." Kai stared at Rath in the distance, looking a little dazed as a strange feeling rose in her heart.
At the same time, Blitzwolfer was in intense pain as his body changed again.
The Omnitrix symbol slowly formed at his waist, gradually taking shape.
He had finally completed the transformation.
"Awooo!!"
Meanwhile, the Benwolf was furious from Rath's nonstop abuse. It raised its other claw and slashed hard at Rath's face.
Smack!
Rath sent it reeling with one slap, leaving the Benwolf dizzy and seeing stars.
"Rath is talking to you, so you better listen when Rath talks!"
"You alien dirt-mutt stealing pot lids, if you interrupt Rath again, Rath'll stomp you flat!"
"Roar!"
"Damn [beep][beep][beep]..."
Even Blitzwolfer couldn't help covering his ears as he listened to Rath go off. Looking at the Benwolf across from him with sympathy, he muttered, "Oh~ that's rough. At least I can cover my ears."
A Loboan's hearing was incredibly sharp, dozens of times stronger than a normal person's.
Blitzwolfer was Ben's transformation, so Rath naturally wouldn't attack him. The Benwolf, on the other hand, was stuck taking Rath's full verbal assault...
In the end, Rath beat the Benwolf to death with a few punches and kicks.
The Benwolf looked utterly lifeless. Even at the very end, it showed no reaction, as if it had already died from Rath's spitfire barrage long before the final blow landed.
In a sense, the Benwolf had been cursed to death by Rath.
Maybe for the Benwolf, that was a kind of mercy...
...
"Oh my God, you're amazing, Lucian!" Wes rushed over and threw his arms around Rath.
The moment Grandpa Max, Ben, and the others saw that, their expressions changed and they immediately backed far away.
"You boundaryless, greasy old Wes, you better listen up..."
Half an hour later.
The group returned to town.
Wes was bruised and battered, not saying a word.
Clearly, he hadn't escaped Rath's beating.
As an Appoplexian, Rath was immensely strong, but his temper was just as violent. The fact that Lucian could hold back enough not to kill anyone already said a lot about his self-control.
After piecing everything together, the group finally understood the truth.
The Benwolf wasn't Yenaldooshi at all, but an alien werewolf creature.
The reason Ben had turned into a werewolf was because the Benwolf had clawed the Omnitrix, causing it to extract the Benwolf's DNA and trigger the transformation.
Early the next morning, the group prepared to set off again.
Before leaving, Ben planned to say goodbye to Kai and try for one perfect romantic moment.
"Um... summer's still long. I hope I get the chance to see you again," Ben said with a smile.
"It's like this, Ben. You seem like a pretty nice guy, but you're just not my type."
Ben froze like he'd been struck by lightning. "Ah! I thought you liked me..."
"That was before you turned back into the real you," Kai replied.
"Me? What's wrong with me?" Ben quickly asked.
Kai hurried to explain, "Nothing. Alien Heroes are all cool, but no matter how cool they are, they still can't compare to Yenaldooshi..."
Lucian stood to the side, sneering inwardly.
Just as he thought. Kai didn't like Ben's Alien Hero forms. She liked Yenaldooshi.
It was obvious that her admiration for Yenaldooshi was carved deep into her soul.
Beside them, Gwen was about ready to lose it. The way this girl talked was way too much. It was just cruel.
"I was going to train you, tame you, you know..." Kai had barely gotten that out before Gwen cut her off.
"Train him? Tame him?" Gwen jabbed a finger fiercely at Kai's chest. "He's a person, not a pet! How can you say something like that to him!"
"Only I get to talk to my Cuz like that! You blew your big chance!"
Kai was clearly startled by Gwen's sudden outburst.
"Whatever. Forget it." Kai quickly walked away, not daring to stay any longer.
"Thanks, Gwen," Ben said.
"When you start falling for someone, sometimes it just turns into heartbreak," Gwen said suddenly.
Ben nodded.
"Don't worry. There are more girls in the world than you could ever count," Gwen comforted him.
"Then how do I make them like me?"
"It's easy. You just need to learn the secret of two words."
"Really? Tell me!"
Gwen let out a soft laugh, then walked off, leaving Ben standing there full of question marks.
"Gwen, come on, tell me!"
"Haha, clueless boy."
"Stupid girl."
The two bickered all the way back to the Rustbucket.
[Ding. Successfully defeated the Benwolf.]
[Obtained Random Alien Hero Chest.]
"Open," Lucian said silently in his heart.
[Chest successfully opened.]
[Obtained new hero: Softbody]
The Benwolf arc ends.
…
Rain poured down as thunder rumbled and lightning flashed.
The sky was a murky gray, like a mass of chaotic sesame paste spread across the heavens.
The Rustbucket stood quietly in the twilight curtain of rain, like a lonely old man holding an umbrella.
Cold rainwater slid endlessly down the windows on both sides, pattering softly and giving the place an oddly cozy feeling.
Grandpa Max was tired from driving and was lying on the sofa resting.
"Ugh, this is so boring."
Gwen propped up her chin and stared out at the rainy view through the window, a little absentminded.
"Heh heh, Sumo Slammers!" Ben had his headphones on and a controller in hand, playing the game excitedly.
The screen flashed nonstop with flashy visuals.
Ben controlled an armored warrior fighting side by side with a big fat guy as they kept mowing down evil robots.
"Who's that big fat guy?" Gwen asked curiously.
"Him? Obviously the greatest Sumo Slammer ever, Ishiyama Yokogou," Ben said casually.
On the screen, Ishiyama Yokogou was incredibly fierce and absurdly strong. Every punch carried mountain-splitting force, and his overwhelming power scared enemies out of their minds, sending them running for their lives.
"Let me try for a bit," Gwen said. Even she found it a little ridiculous that she was actually interested in Ben's dumb video game.
"Nope." Ben refused immediately. "Why would I let a nerd play?"
"Heh, unless your Sumo Slammer can't beat a little girl?" Gwen taunted him.
Sure enough, Ben got fired up the second he heard that and handed the other controller over to Gwen, who looked delighted.
"Fine. I'll prove I'm the strongest Sumo Slammer!" Ben declared righteously.
Gwen covered her mouth and laughed. "Sure, sure. I'm looking forward to it."
Hmph, got him.
Using reverse psychology on Ben really never gets old.
It didn't take long before the two of them were fully absorbed in the game.
As for Lucian, he sat nearby reading a novel.
Today's novel was called Lolo Adventure: Starting as Mechagodzilla, written by Jin Lingzi. It told the story of a boy who transmigrated into the world of machine beasts and became "Mechagodzilla."
Leveling up by fighting monsters, beating Tiger King into the ground, rescuing Golden Iron Beast.
The plot was full of twists and turns and made up for a lot of childhood regrets. It was a little rough around the edges, but still a fun read, and it also happened to be one of Lucian's childhood memories.
"Hmm, even Tyrannosaurus Dragon isn't a match for Mechagodzilla. Pretty strong." That was Lucian's verdict.
It made him wonder. If he fought Tyrannosaurus Dragon, or Mechagodzilla, who would win?
Beep beep.
A pop-up appeared on the screen:
[Battery below 20%. Turn on battery saver mode?]
"Oh, time to charge it."
Lucian took out the charger, plugged it into his phone, then plugged the other end into the wall socket.
Worth mentioning, the charger was plugged into the same outlet as the game console.
"Haha! I won!"
Gwen raised the controller high and shouted in triumph.
"Oh, come on~ You just got lucky," Ben said, unconvinced.
The screen showed that they had cleared the stage again, but Gwen's score was far higher than Ben's.
This was Gwen's first time playing Sumo Slammers.
That made Ben, the so-called "veteran," deeply resentful. Jealous and bitter, with not even a trace of admiration.
Gwen chuckled as she looked at Ben's miserable expression. "So? Not bad, right? Sumo Slammer Girl's got skills."
"Hah. Watch this."
As he spoke, Ben snatched Gwen's controller and immediately used her character to jump off a cliff.
"Wow, you dweeb, you are the worst!" Gwen exploded with rage, nearly grinding her teeth to dust.
"Careful, you've only got one life left. Heh heh," Ben said with a smug grin.
He still had two lives left, so he was sure he would catch up to her score in no time.
Smack.
Gwen threw a pillow and hit her dweeb cousin right in the face.
"Hey, what was that for?!"
The two of them started bickering again almost instantly.
"You two, quiet down."
At that moment, Grandpa Max, who had been resting, got woken up by the noise. He covered his ears and rolled over.
"Sorry, Grandpa." Gwen quickly apologized, realizing she had gone too far.
Thunk.
Suddenly, a faint green light flashed nearby.
Gwen turned and saw Upgrade inside the RV. Its black-and-green body and single ring-like eye were aimed right at them.
"Ben, knock it off." Gwen no longer felt like playing.
"Heh heh, watch what I can do!" Upgrade said, turning into a black serpentine stream and diving into the game console.
In an instant, the entire console turned black and green, looking far more high-tech.
Beep beep beep!
Two seconds later, all of Gwen's points had been wiped clean by Upgrade.
Gwen froze for a second, then gritted her teeth, marched over, grabbed the console, and shook it hard. "Ben Tennyson, you are so low. Keep this up and karma's going to nail you sooner or later!!"
"Haha, what karma could ever hit a hero like me? You've got to be kidding!" Upgrade's voice rang out from inside the console.
Boom!
A streak of purple lightning tore through the sky and crashed straight down onto the Rustbucket.
Crackle!
A violent current surged through the outlet, ran along the cord, and struck the game console, electrocuting both Upgrade and Gwen.
At the same time, it also hit Lucian, who was charging his phone...
Boom!
Another blinding bolt of lightning flashed, lighting up everything inside the Rustbucket.
But aside from the game console, whose screen had gone haywire, Lucian, Ben, and Gwen had vanished.
Grandpa Max lay on the sofa with his back to the game console, half asleep as he mumbled, "Mm... finally quiet."
...
The game world.
A flash of white light swept past, and the three of them were teleported into a village suspended in the air.
"Where is this?"
Upgrade looked around and found everything strangely familiar, as though he had seen it somewhere before.
"How would I know?" Gwen said, staring at her hands. "And why do I look like this?"
At some point, Gwen had been dressed in a layer of blue armor, like some ancient warrior.
"I think... we entered the Sumo Slammers game," Gwen murmured, her eyes full of shock.
"That's right." Lucian walked over.
He was clad in silver battle armor with a silver cape draped behind him. His bearing was imposing, like a divine general from the heavens, majestic, powerful, and strikingly handsome.
"Cuz got even more handsome..." Gwen muttered softly.
"Awesome!" Upgrade cheered. "We actually got pulled into the Sumo Slammers game. This is amazing!"
Suddenly, a massive spaceship swept overhead.
From a hatch underneath, dozens of iron spheres shot out, carrying terrifying momentum as they slammed down in front of the group.
The iron balls rapidly transformed after landing.
One after another, towering robots appeared. They had round heads, spherical torsos, and heavy, clumsy bodies as they charged toward the group menacingly.
Their round faces were painted with terrifying demon masks, so fierce-looking that Gwen's scalp prickled.
"Those are Sumo Robots!" Upgrade recognized them instantly.
They were a common grunt enemy in Sumo Slammers, the kind you could find everywhere.
Back when it was just a game, Ben could wipe out enemies like this without even looking at them.
But a game was still a game. Seeing the Sumo Robots in person, face-to-face, they felt huge and oppressively intimidating.
Lucian pressed the Omnitrix and brought up the holographic display, but there were no Alien Hero profiles at all.
Looks like it was just like in the original. The DNA samples for those Alien Heroes were scattered throughout the game world, and they would have to find them before regaining access to those transformations.
Still, Upgrade could take them out of this world.
"Ben, get us out of here..."
Before Lucian could finish, Upgrade had already charged at the enemy and started tearing through them...