Ben10: A Romantic Adventure with a Gender-Swapped Class

The unique spiciness of the hot sauce fries, mixed with the aroma of oil, filled Abedo's small and cluttered living room, temporarily masking the smell of parts and solder.

Abedo chewed on the fries, the crisp sound particularly clear in the quiet room.

She swallowed her food without raising her head, her voice slightly muffled and casual.

"Speak, what is it?" It was as if he were just asking casually.

Hearing this urging, Mo Bai hesitated for a moment.

His main purpose in coming here was simply to check on Abedo's condition, to see if her emotions were stable after the warehouse explosion and the failure, and whether she would do anything more extreme.

As for "asking questions," it's just a pretext to make myself seem less out of place.

He knew Abedo's temper all too well. If he actually said, "Hi, I've come to see you out of the blue," he would most likely be given a cold, idiotic look by her red eyes, and then the door would be slammed shut without mercy.

Just as he was replaying that awkward hypothetical scene in his mind, a thought suddenly flashed through his mind—there really was a problem that wasn't really a problem.

He cleared his throat, his tone serious, and asked.

"I want to ask, why do I always feel... uneasy whenever I transform into my ultimate form lately? It's like something's staring at my back, it makes me really uncomfortable."

Abedo was picking up a French fry to put in his mouth when he heard this, he paused for a moment, and then let out a short snicker.

She didn't turn around, but stuffed the fries into her mouth, her voice carrying an undisguised perfunctory tone.

"I'm not a psychologist, goodbye." The tone was as if he were dismissing a salesperson who had wandered into the wrong room.

Mo Bai stared speechlessly at the back of her head, his eye twitching involuntarily.

He patiently explained, "It's not a psychological problem; I'm perfectly healthy."

“My intuition tells me that this feeling… is most likely a problem with the Ultimatrix itself.” His expression turned serious, and his voice deepened. “I remember when I was about twelve years old, Ziska escaped from the Omnitrix! That feeling of being watched, the creepy feeling of being watched, is quite similar to this…”

When Zisca's name was mentioned, Aberdo seemed to slow down his chewing.

But she quickly regained her nonchalant demeanor, casually waving her hand, and crumbs of fries fell onto her black loungewear.

"That's just an exception. Do you think all alien races are like the Ikturians, ghosts parasitizing data streams?"

Despite saying that, she glanced at the Ultimatrix on Mo Bai's left wrist almost imperceptibly out of the corner of her eye, a subtle scrutiny flashing in her red pupils.

After saying that, as if to cover something up, or perhaps simply because she was craving something, she suddenly grabbed a handful of hot sauce fries and stuffed them into her mouth.

Her cheeks were instantly stuffed full, like an inflated pufferfish. Combined with her pale face and wet white hair, she showed a clumsy cuteness that was quite different from her usual fierceness.

As she chewed with difficulty, she grabbed a tissue from the coffee table piled with parts and hastily wiped her fingers, which were stained with red sauce.

"Um... give me a look." Abedo's voice became even more muffled because his mouth was full of food, as if he had a wad of cotton in his mouth.

She finally turned around, extended her hand to Mo Bai, and gestured for him to offer his wrist.

Mo Bai quickly stretched out her left hand.

Abedo put down the bag of fries, pinched Mo Bai's wrist with his still relatively clean fingertips, and brought his Ultimatrix close to his eyes.

She narrowed her red eyes slightly, carefully examining the smooth dial and intricate patterns, her fingertips unconsciously tracing the cold metal casing.

"From the most basic operational level and energy feedback..." Abedo observed, commenting in a professional yet detached tone, "There don't seem to be any major problems at the moment."

But this clearly cannot explain Mo Bai's feelings.

Abedo frowned, and her fingertip pressed lightly on a very hidden clasp on the side of the Ultimatrix—a soft click.

The iconic red outer shell on the wristband popped open like a delicate box.

It revealed the intricately arranged, shimmering circuit boards beneath, as well as a dense array of chips and energy conduits, resembling a miniature city.

Abedo immediately and precisely picked up a single magnifying lens from the mountain of parts on the table—the edge of the lens still had a little oil on it.

She skillfully pressed the lens onto her right eye socket, instantly giving her a focused, almost fanatical engineer's aura.

She bent down, almost pressing her face against the exposed circuits. Behind the magnifying lens, her red eyes, sharp as a hawk's, carefully scanned every line and every solder joint, especially the area connecting the "Ultimate Form" module.

Time flowed silently, save for the occasional soft scraping sound of Abedo adjusting his glasses and the faint noise of cars coming from afar outside the window.

Mo Bai held her breath, watching her nervously.

Finally, Abedo straightened up, removed the magnifying lens covered in fingerprints, and casually tossed it back into the pile of parts.

She picked up another fry, stuffed it into her mouth, and crunched away, her tone returning to its previous calmness, even tinged with a hint of schadenfreude.

"Looks like you don't need to book a psychologist's appointment," she glanced at Mo Bai. "The problem lies in the ultimate transformation module."

She pointed to an area inside the Ultimatrix, "This part was added later."

She shrugged, as if discussing something trivial, "Too many bugs, piled up like a garbage dump. The stability is terribly bad."

With a "click," she snapped the red wristband back shut, concealing the dangerous, intricate structure once more. Then, she leaned back, sinking into the soft cushions of the sofa, picked up the bag of fries, and continued to devour them with an air of nonchalant ease.

"So my advice is—it's best not to change anything, and if that's not possible..."

She paused, seemingly finding the request a bit unreasonable, "...Let's try to avoid the ultimate form. Who knows how many hidden bugs it has? It might completely crash one day. Anyway...it works, right?" She smiled. "This thing was originally...intended to forcibly take over Ben Tennyson's Omnitrix. I don't plan to use it myself later, so who cares about its stability? Who knows..."

Her voice trailed off, tinged with resentment at being outmaneuvered, "That guy just destroyed her Omnitrix."

"Then..." Mo Bai looked at the Ultimatrix on her wrist, now fully restored, and asked with a glimmer of hope, "Can you fix it?"

Abedo was tilting his head back to pour the last bit of fries into his mouth when he heard this and paused.

She leaned back on the sofa, her head tilted slightly back, her long white hair cascading down the dark sofa back, creating a striking contrast.

She looked at a small spider web in the corner of the ceiling, her voice filled with weariness and helplessness.

The answer was a crisp "No." "They're piled up like a mountain; moving one would affect the whole thing. How can we fix them? I'm dirt poor right now; I can't even afford decent testing equipment. How can I fix them?"

She turned her head, her red pupils glancing sideways at Mo Bai with a sharp sarcasm. "Right now, the only one who can fix this thing is probably that arrogant, conceited Azmis, but..." A malicious smile curled at the corner of her lips. "I bet he's not interested in fixing something for a 'little troublemaker' like you, is he?"

Upon hearing this answer, Mo Bai fell silent.

He didn't ask any further questions, but just sat there quietly, his gaze fixed on Abedo.

Looking at her slightly pale and tired profile, at her cheeks that bulged slightly as she chewed, at the red hot sauce smeared on her fingertips... an indescribable silence filled the air, broken only by the soft sounds of her eating fries.

Under such undisguised and probing gaze for a long time, Abedo felt uncomfortable all over, as if countless tiny insects were crawling on him.

A faint blush involuntarily rose on her fair cheeks, like a breath on a cold piece of jade.

She turned her head abruptly, her red eyes glaring at Mo Bai with a hint of annoyance and embarrassment.

"Speak quickly if you have something to say! Don't keep staring at me like that! It's...it's creepy!"

Mo Bai was taken aback by her sudden question, then seemed to remember something.

He didn't answer, but instead naturally reached out and pulled a clean tissue from the tissue box on the coffee table.

Then, to Abedo's astonishment, he slowly, with an almost natural motion, stretched out his arm and brought the tissue close to her cheek.

"Wh...what are you doing?!" Abedo's body tensed instantly, and she subconsciously tried to shrink back, but for some reason, her shoulders only moved slightly, and her body seemed to be nailed to the sofa, and she did not actually move away.

A flicker of panic flashed in those red eyes.

Mo Bai's fingers were steady, and her movements were gentle.

He used the corner of a tissue to gently and carefully wipe the corner of her lips, which were slightly stained with red chili sauce.

The movement was as natural as brushing away a speck of dust.

"It's alright." After finishing all this, Mo Bai withdrew his hand, crumpled the used tissue into a ball, and said in a low and sincere voice, "About Xiao Ban... I'm so sorry." He looked at Abedo's face, which still showed surprise and a slight blush, "Don't take it too hard. I know those devices are expensive, and I might not have enough money."

He paused, as if making a promise, "But I'll help you find a way... a way to turn you back into a Gavinian."

After saying that, he didn't linger. He stood up and prepared to leave the space filled with the aroma of fries and complex emotions.

"unnecessary!"

The sound that suddenly came from behind was cold and harsh, like a piece of iron that had been smashed to the ground.

Mo Bai suddenly stopped and turned around to look at Abedo on the sofa.

Abedo, who had been wolfing down his food just moments before, suddenly stopped all movement.

She lowered her head, her long white bangs falling down, covering most of her face and making it impossible to see her expression.

Only her hands, gripping the edge of the fries bag tightly with slightly white knuckles, betrayed her inner turmoil.

She kept her head down, her voice even clearer and more resolute than before.

I said—I don't need it.

"..."

A few seconds later, Abedo raised his head, his face already bearing its usual coldness and aloofness.

She stood up, turned her back to Mo Bai, and walked towards the bedroom, leaving behind only a dismissive message.

"You should go now, I'm sleepy." There was no emotion in her voice.

Mo Bai watched her retreating figure, opened her mouth, but the words she wanted to say stuck in her throat.

He knew that any words would be superfluous at this moment. He sighed softly.

“Okay…” he said softly, “Goodnight, Abedo.”

He slowly turned around and opened the apartment door.

The old door hinges creaked softly.

Before stepping out of the room, he couldn't help but look back one last time.

Abedo remained with his back to him, standing in the shadows leading to the bedroom, his figure slender yet defiant.

After confirming that she wouldn't do anything rash for the time being, Mo Bai gently closed the door.

Click.

The sound of the door lock closing was particularly clear in the quiet apartment.

Only after the footsteps completely disappeared in the stairwell did Abedo, who had been facing away from the door, slowly turn around.

Under the dim light, her usually cold face was now flushed with a clear, sunset-like blush.

She pursed her lips, her pearly teeth unconsciously biting her lower lip, her red eyes staring at the tightly closed door with a complicated expression, as if trying to see the departing figure through the door.

She knew it very well.

Mo Bai's action of wiping her mouth just now... was probably just a habit.

He had wiped Tian Xiaoban's face so many times, and the two of them... looked so alike.

Perhaps it was just a momentary lapse in concentration, a subconscious action...

However, rational analysis could not immediately extinguish the strange stirring in his heart.

Aberdo squeezed his eyes shut and took a deep, long breath, trying to suppress the inexplicable restlessness in his chest.

She picked up the remaining bag of hot sauce fries from the table again, and as if to fill some void, she stuffed a handful into her mouth, chewing vigorously as if she were struggling with something.

The spicy flavor stimulated her taste buds and gradually cleared her confused thoughts.

In the midst of this chewing rhythm, a cold yet clear thought, like a vine sprouting in the darkness, entwined around her heart.

Revenge against Ben Tennyson...

The enemy who made her lose everything...

Perhaps... she just unexpectedly found a brilliant way that could truly hurt the other party, and might even... kill two birds with one stone?

In the depths of Abedo's red eyes, a glint of calculation and cold satisfaction quietly appeared, replacing the previous flush of panic.