Ben10: A Romantic Adventure with a Gender-Swapped Class

After saying that, as if eager to escape the awkward situation, she immediately turned around and walked quickly toward the depths of the laboratory, the hem of her white researcher's coat drawing a slightly hurried arc behind her.

Kevin and Xiaowen exchanged a helpless yet somewhat amused look, shrugged, and followed Elena into the brightly lit laboratory.

Outside the door, only Xiao Ban and Mo Bai remained.

The air seemed to freeze, carrying an invisible low pressure.

The younger student didn't immediately follow.

She stood there, first letting out a long, heavy "humph" through her nose with all her might!

The voice was full of resentment and displeasure.

Then, she suddenly turned her head, her beautiful eyes like two small flying knives, and glared fiercely at Mo Bai.

That look contained so many emotions: anger, grievance, accusation, and a warning that said, "You just wait and see."

After doing all this, she was like a proud but wounded little peacock. She suddenly tossed her head, carrying her lingering anger, and walked into the laboratory with noticeably heavier steps than usual. Her back view conveyed the message, "I'm very angry."

Mo Bai was left alone at the door, watching Xiao Ban's angry figure disappear, then looking down at her own hands still stiffly raised, and finally could only sigh helplessly.

The sigh was filled with a sense of weariness, as if it were an "undeserved disaster."

He lowered his arm, rubbed his stiff shoulders, and started walking, carrying a sense of helplessness, following the footsteps of the people in front of him, his figure blending into the bright light of the laboratory.

It's impossible to please everyone. Those with excellent writing skills find it too vague, while those with poor writing skills find it difficult to read in plain language, as it makes the reader feel disconnected.

What else do you want from me? What do you want from me?

Let's just follow our own pace.

Stepping into the laboratory, a mixture of the low hum of precision machinery, the cool scent of coolant, and a faint ozone odor, reminiscent of a high-voltage electric field, hits you.

Mo Bai's gaze swept around, and her heart sank slightly.

This place is clearly a core stronghold for chip research.

As far as the eye can see, almost every inch of space is occupied by all kinds of instruments flashing indicator lights and tangled with spider web-like cables.

On the huge circular display screen, complex and dazzling geometric patterns and data flow like a waterfall, which are analysis diagrams showing the internal structure of the chip after being dissected layer by layer.

Those disjointed symbols, convoluted technical terms, and abstract models were like gibberish to Mo Bai.

He frowned, his gaze sweeping over the daunting markings, and a thought flashed through his mind unconsciously.

If these scribbles could be transformed into one's familiar native language, perhaps... one could barely understand a few words?

At this moment, Elena was standing in front of the largest control panel, the one with the most densely packed indicator lights. She was beaming and speaking rapidly to everyone, her voice filled with barely suppressed excitement and pride.

She spoke eloquently, immersed in the aura of her own achievements, as if she were showcasing one unparalleled work of art after another.

However, this enthusiastic explanation was interrupted by a calm voice, tinged with obvious worry.

Xiaowen took a step forward, her gaze not falling on the dazzling instruments, but fixed on a specially made transparent container not far away—inside which were thousands upon thousands of chips emitting a cold, eerie glow.

Her voice was not loud, but it clearly pierced through Elena's impassioned explanation, carrying a penetrating insight and a deep concern.

“Elena,” Xiaowen looked directly into her eyes, her brow furrowed slightly, “you know perfectly well how dangerous they are.”

Her gaze was sharp, as if she could pierce through the seemingly harmless outer shell of those chips and see the monstrous lurking deep within their core.

"They possess the superpowers of self-replication and possession of living organisms..."

Elena was interrupted, and the excitement on her face subsided slightly.

She followed Xiaowen's gaze and looked at the chip in the container.

Her gaze shifted for a moment, a mixture of researcher's fascination and a barely perceptible hint of argument.

She turned to face Xiaowen, her voice still confident, but seemingly carrying an added layer of defense of her beliefs.

“But, Xiaowen, you also have to see the possibilities they can bring!” Her tone became fervent again. “They can do almost anything that humanity wants! Those grand, world-changing projects—building bridges and roads, moving mountains and filling seas, even…” Her gaze drifted into the distance, filled with a dream that transcended reality, “even miracles that humanity has never imagined or dared to hope for—chips, they could make them happen! They carry the key to the future!”

“But none of that is worth the risk,” a deep and resolute voice suddenly rang out, like a cold hammer shattering Elena’s blueprint.

Mo Bai stepped forward and stood next to Xiao Wen.

His tall figure exuded an invisible pressure, and his calm yet unusually firm gaze fixed on Elena, though he was not as tall as Kevin.

His words were unwavering and went straight to the heart of the matter—no possible miracle could offset the enormous risks it concealed.

Elena was taken aback by this direct denial.

She looked into Mo Bai's unquestionable eyes, then glanced at Xiao Wen and Kevin beside her, who also looked worried, and even Xiao Ban, who had his arms crossed and a scrutinizing expression on his face.

A barely perceptible stubbornness rose in her eyes.

She didn't argue further, but instead turned around abruptly, strode to the control panel, and her fingers flew across the smooth touchscreen, inputting a series of commands.

"Danger? Out of control?" Elena's voice carried a hint of defiant proof; she didn't even turn around. "Not dangerous at all!"

She pressed the last key down heavily, her tone filled with unwavering confidence.

"Alright!"

Everyone's attention was instantly drawn to the command, focusing on the specially made container that shimmered with the faint glow of an energy barrier.

On the container, an outlet slowly opened.

In that instant, the few chips that had been quietly floating inside the container seemed to have sensed the breath of freedom, and suddenly accelerated, like several tiny silver lightning bolts, rushing towards the only exit!

However, a blinding beam of pure red energy erupted without warning from the devices surrounding the exit! The light, carrying destructive heat and impact, precisely covered every inch of space in front of the exit!

*Sizzle!* There was no scream, no struggle.

The few chips that tried to escape vaporized instantly upon contact with the destructive beam of light, like fragile ice crystals hitting a red-hot iron!

Not even ashes remained; only a wisp of extremely fine smoke with a strong burnt smell lingered in the air, rising and quickly dissipating into the cold air of the laboratory.

The whole process was so fast it felt like a hallucination; only the lingering light spots on my retina and the unpleasant burnt smell in my nasal cavity proved the destruction that had just occurred.

Elena then turned around, her face showing a mixture of smugness and pride, as if to say, "See? I told you so."

She pointed to the exit that had closed again and whose energy barrier had stabilized, her voice clear and loud.

"My security device, the ultra-high frequency energy field generator, has an instantaneous output power sufficient to annihilate any known organic or inorganic structure." She surveyed the crowd, her tone resolute. "No chip can leave this container alive; it's absolutely safe."

The laboratory was silent except for the hum of the instruments.

Kevin whistled, but Xiaowen's brows remained furrowed, as if she were deep in thought.

The younger boy crossed his arms, his expression unchanged.

Mo Bai's expression remained serious, showing no sign of relaxation.

He didn't look at Elena, nor at the container that had become "safe" again.

His gaze calmly fell on Elena's confident face, and then, slowly, he reached into the inside pocket of his coat.

Before Elena's confident declaration had even faded, Mo Bai's deep voice broke the silence, carrying a chilling calm.

"is it?"

He paused slightly, his gaze fixed on Elena as if it were a tangible object, and slowly asked.

"Then... what is this?"

As soon as he finished speaking, his fingers were already out of his pocket.

On the outstretched palm, a crystal almost identical to the destroyed chip in the container lay quietly.

It shimmered with the same cold, unsettling luster, like an eye from the abyss, silently mocking the devastating energy field performance that had just taken place.

The smugness and confidence on Elena's face shattered the moment she saw the chip, like glass struck by a heavy hammer!

His previously radiant expression was instantly replaced by an unbelievable horror and a chilling, bone-deep fear.

She opened her mouth, but no sound came out. She just stared intently at the small chip in Mo Bai's palm, a chip that was enough to overturn all her security declarations.