Ben10: A Romantic Adventure with a Gender-Swapped Class

Sitting in the passenger seat, Mo Bai's brows remained furrowed, as if she was trying to recall something, and she did not respond immediately.

Kevin, in the driver's seat, held the steering wheel with one hand and adjusted the rearview mirror with the other. He glanced at the little boy in the back seat with a rare serious expression on his face.

“The idea is good, but,” he changed the subject, with a hint of helplessness, “it’s just talk. Even if the plumber comes, he won’t be able to arrest anyone. Instead, he might alert the enemy.” His analysis was spot on.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Ban's shoulders slumped like a punctured balloon.

Kevin is right. Doubt and intuition alone are indeed powerless in the face of cold laws and procedures.

She sighed somewhat dejectedly, and habitually turned her gaze to Mo Bai beside her, wanting to see what he was doing.

As a result, Mo Bai was still immersed in her own thoughts, her brows furrowed, her eyes somewhat vacant, and her fingers unconsciously stroking the cold dial of the Ultimatrix watch on her wrist, looking preoccupied and lost in thought.

The familiar feeling evoked by that octopus door lingered in his mind like a persistent, intractable disease.

"Mo Bai?" Xiao Ban gently touched his arm. "Are you still thinking about that 'Big Steel' thing?" she asked tentatively.

Mo Bai seemed to be pulled back to reality from the deep sea, and suddenly came to her senses.

He turned his head, met the little boy's green eyes filled with worry, took a deep breath, and said in a deep voice, "Hmm."

He nodded, his voice low and heavy. "It's not just the name... that symbol, the things on that door... they all make me feel extremely, extremely dangerous." He paused, as if organizing his thoughts, his eyes sharpening and becoming resolute. "Believe me, this 'Big Steel' is absolutely, absolutely not the kind, benevolent 'good person' who brings light, as they claim."

“I believe you!” Xiao Ban replied immediately and decisively without any hesitation.

Her voice was clear and firm, filled with unwavering trust in Mo Bai, instantly dispelling the gloom that had settled in his heart.

That pure sense of trust, like a ray of warm sunshine, shone into his somewhat gloomy mood.

Hearing Xiao Ban's unwavering support, Mo Bai's tightly furrowed brows finally relaxed a little, and the corners of her mouth couldn't help but turn up slightly, forming a warm smile filled with gratitude and relief.

He didn't say anything more, but just looked at Xiao Ban deeply, the affection in his eyes was self-evident.

At this moment, Kevin also took advantage of the moment while waiting for the red light to turn around. He stretched out a large hand and patted Mo Bai's shoulder hard, the action rough but full of brotherly loyalty.

"I believe you too. Anyway, I think they're just a bunch of rubbish."

Kevin's blunt but straightforward support immediately lightened the atmosphere in the car.

Xiao Ban laughed and suggested, "Okay, okay, let's call Xiao Wen to have lunch first." Her voice regained its usual energy.

Kevin responded immediately, stepped on the gas, and drove the car toward Xiaowen's school.

Soon, Kevin's car picked up Xiaowen, who had just finished her exam and whose face still showed some fatigue but more relief.

The four of them easily found their way to a familiar fast food restaurant.

Bright lights, noisy voices, and the mixed smells of fried food and carbonated drinks in the air—this lively environment finally dispelled the cold and eerie feeling brought by the "Intellectual Mars Transmission Meeting".

They found a seat by the window and sat down.

Kevin and Ben almost immediately rushed to the counter and brought back plates piled high with food: double cheeseburgers, golden and crispy fries, muffins covered in thick syrup, and large cups of bubbly iced cola.

Xiaowen, on the other hand, ordered a salad and grilled chicken wings, which was relatively restrained.

Mo Bai looked at the glistening beef burger on her plate, the sauce almost soaking through the wrapper, and then at Kevin and Xiao Ban next to her, who were already enjoying their meal with sauce all over their mouths. She couldn't help but facepalm and mutter a complaint under her breath.

“I mean…you guys eat all this fried food, these high-calorie bombs, every day…” He picked up the hamburger, weighed it in his hand with disgust, “Don’t you get tired of it? Don’t you feel like there’s a rock stuck in your stomach?” He remembered the pure satisfaction he got from the juicy steamed bun that morning, a stark contrast to the greasy industrial food in front of him.

Kevin, who was taking a big bite of his hamburger, responded vaguely, chewing contentedly as he leaned back comfortably into the soft booth sofa, one arm casually draped over the edge of the table: "Greasy? How could it be greasy!" He swallowed his food and said confidently, "Delicious, cheap, and high in energy." He then enthusiastically began promoting the product.

Mo Bai shook her head helplessly, picked up her hamburger, and carefully took a small bite.

The rich sauce, fried meat patties, melted cheese, and soft bread mixed together in his mouth, and the taste wasn't bad, but the heavy greasiness and artificial seasoning made him miss the refreshing and delicious flavors of his hometown from his memories.

He muttered to himself, "...I still miss the food from my hometown."

"Cough!" Xiaowen, who had been quietly eating her salad, suddenly put down her fork and wiped her mouth with a napkin.

She raised her head, her gaze sweeping across the three faces before finally settling on Mo Bai, who was clearly preoccupied. Her voice was calm yet carried an undeniable penetrating power, instantly steering the conversation from the food back to reality.

"Alright, that's enough small talk. Anyone want to take the initiative to talk?"

The little boy quickly swallowed the food in his mouth, then gulped down a big mouthful of cola to calm himself before eagerly speaking.

As the one with the best memory, she naturally took on the task of narrating.

While picking up a French fry and dipping it in ketchup, she recounted everything she had seen and heard that morning at the "Intellectual Mars Conferment Meeting," from Kando's fanatical worship of the giant steel, to the "good deed" of improving the facilities, to the eerie octopus door revealed when Kevin pulled back the curtains, and Kando's reaction, including Mo Bai's strong unease about the name and image of "Giant Steel." She recounted it all in detail and in a clear and organized manner.

As she recounted the story, Mo Bai would occasionally add a detail or two.

Xiaowen listened quietly, her fingers unconsciously stirring the straw in her cup, her brows furrowing more and more as Xiaoban narrated.

Her pupils contracted slightly when she heard the name of the ancient bronze door engraved with a dark green octopus relief.

Her expression clearly darkened when she heard the name "Dagang".

After the entire class finished their lesson, Xiaowen remained silent for a good ten seconds.

She picked up the glass, slowly took a sip of ice water, seemingly digesting the information and weighing something.

The noisy background sounds in the restaurant seemed to be shut out.

“Worship, questionable source of funding, fanatical leader, propagation of an alien savior…” Xiaowen muttered to herself as she summarized, her expression growing more serious with each word she uttered.

She put down her water glass, her gaze sweeping over the three of them before finally settling on Mo Bai's face, her eyes filled with inquiry and a hint of worry: "Should we investigate this?"

Mo Bai had already put down the hamburger she had only taken a bite of.

Oily food seems even harder to swallow at this moment.

He sat up straight, the ease on his face and the warmth he had shown when facing the younger students vanishing, replaced by the coldness and vigilance befitting a guardian.

Meeting Xiaowen's gaze, he spoke decisively without hesitation, his voice low but carrying immense weight, like a cold rock thrown into water.

"It's best to go." He paused, his eyes sharp as knives, and added the crucial second half of the sentence, setting the tone for the operation.

"And we have to go secretly."

Dusk, like diluted ink, slowly and stubbornly permeated the city skyline.

As the daytime hustle and bustle gradually subsides, and the neon lights have not yet fully awakened, the city is in a blurry and ambiguous transitional zone.

Under the cover of the deepening gloom, two twisted silhouettes, almost blending into their surroundings and barely perceptible to the naked eye, were silently crawling upwards along the cold exterior wall of the "Intelligence Mars Transmission Association" building in a way that defied the laws of physics.

It's Xiaoban and Mobai.

The Ultimatrix on their wrists shimmered with an almost imperceptible halo, and the surface of their skin mimicked the texture and color of concrete walls, even perfectly replicating the subtle differences in the changing light at dusk.

Chameleons transform them into the most elite stalkers in the urban jungle, each muscle contraction and extension as gentle as breathing, clinging and climbing, avoiding all possible angles and still-operating surveillance cameras.

The wind in the high-rise buildings became fierce, blowing over their almost transparent bodies, but without creating the slightest ripple.

After a very careful maneuver, they found their entrance in a high-rise window that was slightly ajar for ventilation.

Two distorted rays of light slid into the window cracks like liquid, silently landing on the cold, smooth floor.

The interior is a spacious, deserted office area, with only the emergency indicator lights emitting a faint green glow, like phosphorescence in a cemetery, casting the huge, neatly arranged workstations into silent, menacing shadows.

They exchanged a glance—and then, like two streams of flowing mercury, swiftly and silently slid towards the elevator.

The movement of pressing the button with their fingertips was as light as a feather brushing against the ground. The elevator car slid down silently, and the faint airflow from the opening of the metal door was the greatest noise they could perceive at that moment.

He slipped into the cramped space, the metal door closing behind him and shutting out the unsettling, eerie greenery outside.

Almost simultaneously, the two deactivated their transformations.

A glimmer of light revealed Xiao Ban's tied-up brown ponytail and Mo Bai's wary eyes.

In the cramped space, there was only the monotonous hum of the overhead ventilation fan and the slightly suppressed breathing of the other two.

The red numbers on the digital display silently pulsed, each change like a tap on a taut heartstring.

11 floors.

The elevator emitted a soft "ding," which sounded particularly jarring in the deathly silence.

The metal door slid open slowly.

Mo Bai was the first to peek out, his sharp gaze sweeping across the left corridor like that of a hawk—empty, with only abstract artwork on the walls and the deep gray sound-absorbing carpet stretching out beneath his feet.

The small group checked the right side almost simultaneously—it was also empty, and the door to the conference room in the distance was tightly closed, with the glass wall revealing complete darkness.

The two exchanged a glance, nodded slightly, and slipped out of the elevator with the agility of nocturnal felines.

Using their memories from the day, they moved quickly along the corridor, which was covered with thick carpets and had walls that were dazzlingly white.

The bright and shiny office area during the day is now swallowed by darkness, with only tiny red and green lights flashing on the standby indicator lights of various instruments, like countless prying eyes.

The lingering smell of disinfectant in the air, mixed with the faint heat emitted by electronic devices, created a cold, inanimate atmosphere.

The heavy, dark wooden door leading to the secret little living room appeared ahead.

Mo Bai reached out, her fingertips touching the cold doorknob, and pressed down very slowly, millimeter by millimeter, while bracing her shoulder against the door panel, feeling the slight resistance from the inner lock.

It was not locked.

He and Xiao Ban looked at each other again, a hint of seriousness flashing in their eyes.

Mo Bai pushed the door open with a sudden burst of force, just enough for one person to squeeze through sideways. The two of them slid in like fish, then gently closed the door behind them, blocking any possible view from the outside corridor.

The living room was pitch black, so dark that you could hardly see your hand in front of your face. Only a faint ray of light from the streetlights shone through the edge of the heavy, deep red curtains, barely outlining the pale silhouette of the huge projection screen in the center of the room.

A peculiar smell of dust and static electricity filled the air, and the silence, like solid silt, pressed against the eardrums.

Guided by memory and intuition, they groped their way toward the wall that had been covered by red velvet curtains during the day.

The closer I got, the stronger that unease that came from the depths of my memory became.

Finally, my fingertips touched the thick, slightly dusty velvet.

The two stood on opposite sides, took a deep breath at the same time, and suddenly pulled the curtains open to the left and right.

The heavy velvet loops emitted a dull creaking sound, like thunder in the absolute silence.

The curtains were slid open, revealing the huge, old, dark bronze double door behind them completely in the darkness.

Without the interference of daylight, the huge octopus relief on the door panel, painted with an unknown dark green pigment, now exuded an even more sinister and ominous aura.

Those twisted, frenzied tentacles, and the blurred yet soul-devouring compound eye outline in the center, seemed to be slowly, silently writhing in the extreme darkness, radiating a cold malice from the abyss.

The dark green color seemed to possess a life of its own, flowing eerily like the pulse of some ancient, malevolent being.

Mo Bai suppressed the surging, almost nauseating feeling of familiarity and palpitations in her heart, reached out, and together with Xiao Ban, placed their palms against the cold, icy door.

The two looked at each other, nodded, and exerted their strength simultaneously.

Arms and shoulders braced against the heavy metal, unleashing the full force of his body.

The door remained completely still.

The door was heavier than anyone could imagine, as if behind it lay not a room, but a wall made of tons of lead, or a barrier connecting to another space.

Their power didn't even cause the slightest tremor.

Just as they were preparing to try again, or look for other methods—

"Click..."

A very faint yet perfectly clear sound of a mechanism turning came from deep within the door panel.