Staring at the horrifying white worms writhing in the bowl, Ben and Gwen felt their scalps tingle with dread. They both instinctively backed away, hiding behind Lucian.
Peeking out from behind him, Gwen stammered fearfully, "Grandpa, I still have chocolate bars in my car! Can I just skip this, please?"
To her, eating those worms was worse than going back to school—it was downright terrifying.
"Grandpa, I'm not eating them either!" Ben quickly shook his head.
Clang!
A sharp metallic sound rang out as Grandpa Max's iron bowl, filled with worms, suddenly slipped from his hands and crashed onto the ground. The insects scattered in all directions, wriggling away as fast as they could.
But Grandpa Max didn't react to the mess. Instead, his gaze locked onto Lucian, his expression filled with disbelief and faint sorrow.
The usually composed old man's eyes turned red, a mist of tears beginning to form.
"Grandpa?" Ben asked, confused.
Grandpa Max had always loved eating these rice worms—they were rare delicacies. Yet now, even as they fled across the ground, he made no move to stop them.
"Lucian... is that you?" Max's voice trembled as he spoke.
His white hair shimmered faintly in the campfire light as he took slow, careful steps forward, extending a wrinkled hand toward Lucian's face.
He feared this might be another dream. It had happened so many times before—each time he tried to reach out, Lucian would vanish like a phantom, dissolving into the dreamscape.
Lucian froze. A sudden wave of pain shot through his head, and he clutched his temples as a flood of memories came rushing back like a storm.
In this world, he was Max Tennyson's grandson—the cousin of Ben and Gwen. Nine years ago, he and his parents had gone missing in a sea accident, lost somewhere in the vast ocean without a trace.
His father had been from China, his mother from the West. Lucian was of mixed heritage, though his appearance leaned more toward Eastern features—handsome, calm, and quietly composed.
"Child, are you all right?"
Max hurried forward and steadied Lucian by the shoulders.
When he felt the warmth of Lucian's skin, his eyes lit up with joy. "This time... this isn't an illusion! Lucian, you've really come back!"
Lucian took a deep breath and smiled softly, shaking his head. "I'm fine, Grandpa."
Tears welled up in Max's eyes. This man, once a fearless plumber known for facing alien criminals across galaxies, now showed a rare, gentle side.
"Child, I've been searching for you all these years," he said, voice trembling. "But there was never any trace... Where have you been? And what about your parents?"
Lucian lowered his gaze, unable to answer. "I don't know. When I woke up, I was already in the forest."
Max thought for a moment, his brow furrowing slightly. "Then it must have been a temporal disturbance. Since you've managed to return, I believe your parents will find their way back one day too."
Lucian nodded quietly.
"You two, come over here and greet your cousin!" Max called with a smile, waving Ben and Gwen over.
"Cousin?" the two said at once, their eyes widening.
Max nodded. "That's right. Lucian is your cousin. You were just too young to remember back then."
He had considered telling them about their cousin before, but each time he'd stopped himself. There was no point in reopening old wounds that only brought sadness.
"So Lucian is my cousin? That's awesome!" Ben exclaimed, eyes lighting up as he recalled Heatblast's fiery display earlier. With such a powerful big brother, who would dare to bully him now?
"C-c-cousin..." Gwen stammered.
She couldn't help but feel a pang of regret—such a handsome guy, and he turned out to be her cousin. What a shame...
At that moment, Grandpa Max wrapped an arm around Lucian's shoulder and led him back into the Rustbucket.
"Lucian, after all these years, you haven't changed one bit. That's truly amazing." Grandpa opened the fridge, took out a bowl of lamb tongue, set it on the table in front of Lucian, and smiled warmly. "I believe that one day, Verdona will return to me too."
Lucian nodded slightly, choosing not to say anything more.
Verdona was Lucian's mother in this world—Max's daughter. She had disappeared years ago with Lucian's father, Carl, during a sea accident. To this day, there had been no word from them.
The original Lucian had also been a victim of that same incident. For reasons unknown, years later, he had awakened in a forest—with a different soul inhabiting his body.
Coincidentally, both shared the same name, though they came from entirely different worlds.
"Doofus, don't steal my chocolate bar!" Gwen's indignant voice called from outside the RV.
"What I grab is mine!" Ben shot back immediately.
...
The two bickered energetically outside, their lively voices echoing through the camp. They really did sound like a pair of born rivals.
Grandpa Max shook his head with a helpless smile, then sat across from Lucian and pointed to the smoked lamb tongue on the table. "Eat up before it gets cold. It won't taste good otherwise."
Lucian glanced at the dark, leathery strips and felt a chill run down his spine. He shook his head uneasily. "Grandpa, can I not eat this?"
He'd seen people on TV shows eat all kinds of strange things—bugs, wild animals, and who knows what else—and they always made it look delicious. But actually putting something like that in his mouth? That was another matter entirely.
"Just give it a try. You might end up liking it," Grandpa said with a chuckle.
"Alright... fine."
Lucian picked up a piece of lamb tongue and took a tentative bite. To his surprise, it wasn't bad at all—far from disgusting, in fact.
"See? Grandpa didn't lie to you," Max said with a satisfied grin, his eyes soft with affection.
Just as Lucian was about to reply, the radio beside them crackled to life.
"Help! Help! Somebody, please help us!"
"I told you no one would believe me! There's a giant robot here—it's tearing this place apart!"
Zzzzt...
The voice cut off abruptly, swallowed by a burst of static interference.
"A robot?"
Grandpa's expression darkened. He'd been so happy to have Lucian back, but trouble never seemed to wait.
A moment later, Ben burst into the RV, panting slightly.
"Grandpa! There's thick smoke coming from the forest—and explosions too! We have to check it out!"
"Alright, everyone in the car!" Grandpa ordered, striding quickly to the driver's seat.
"Those robots sure are annoying! Hey, Doofus Cousin, got any ideas on how we can save them?" Gwen said, hands on her hips.
Ben smirked confidently, slinging an arm around Lucian's shoulder. "With my cousin here, what problem can't we handle?"
Rumble!
The Rustbucket roared to life and shot forward like an arrow, speeding toward the explosion site at an incredible pace...