Back in the town.
Along the way, they saw many residents carrying luggage, their faces weary as they trudged along under the weight of their belongings.
"Where are they going?" Ben couldn't help asking.
Wes sighed. "They're afraid Yenaldooshi will come back again. And tonight is a full moon. Its power will be at its peak."
"Oh." Ben scratched his head, then looked at Gwen beside him. "Did Kai mention me tonight?"
"Uh, she wasn't nearly as head-over-heels as you were." Gwen spread her hands. "Guys who come on too strong just scare girls off."
"Oh."
"To keep Yenaldooshi from hurting the villagers, I have to go back into the mountains and capture it." Wes's gaze was firm as he gripped the hunting rifle in his hand.
"Don't worry, we'll catch it," Grandpa Max reassured him.
"Come to think of it, your two grandsons are pretty extraordinary," Wes said with feeling. "But I never imagined the Omnitrix was actually real."
"Haha, just lucky, I guess." Grandpa Max smiled.
"Kid, what's the name of that green plant alien?" Wes looked at Lucian.
"Wildvine." Lucian's tone was calm.
"Great name!" Wes gave him a thumbs-up, then changed the subject. "But I've got a very important question for you."
"What question?"
"Did Yenaldooshi bite you or scratch you?" Wes's expression turned grave.
"Wildvine got swiped once, but it didn't break the skin," Lucian answered honestly.
Wildvine's hide was thick, thicker than Ben's face. The idea that Benwolf could injure it was practically a joke.
"That's good." Wes let out a breath of relief, then continued, "What about Ben?"
"Stinkfly got smacked once. It hurt a little, but I wasn't bitten." Ben waved it off.
At that moment, Kai walked over.
Ben froze for a second, then quickly greeted her. "Hello, Kai!"
Kai glanced at him, her expression indifferent, as if she had no interest in him at all.
She walked straight up to Lucian, her tone gentle as she parted her lips and said, "Hi, Lucian. Grandpa already told me. You were the one who saved them."
"Yeah." Lucian remained completely unruffled.
But Kai didn't give up. "Can I see your other alien heroes? I've been interested in that kind of thing ever since I was little."
"No." Lucian kept it brief.
"But... I really want to." Kai looked pitiful, tears shimmering in her eyes.
That move left Ben and Gwen staring in total disbelief.
Good grief, she was really forcing the conversation.
And even pretending to be pitiful.
Still, it proved a point. If a girl genuinely likes you, then no matter how awkward or clueless you act, she'll still find ways to start a conversation, just to get closer to you and know you better.
On the other hand, if she doesn't like you, then no matter how hard you try to keep talking, she'll either kill the conversation or ignore you outright.
What was happening right now was the perfect example.
Ben was grinding his teeth in frustration when suddenly his skin started itching.
At first it was only a faint itch, but it quickly grew worse and worse, until Ben was scratching at himself in a panic.
"Ah!" Kai cried out, staring at Ben in shock.
Ben froze, then burst out laughing. "What, did you finally realize how handsome this hero is?"
"No, Ben." Kai's eyes widened. "What I mean is, you're so hairy!"
Everyone immediately turned to look at Ben.
His face had grown furry, with black bristles covering both sides of his cheeks, and his skin had turned grayish blue.
His pupils had become a ghostly green, like a wild wolf's eyes, and sharp claws had grown from his fingers, making him look downright terrifying.
"Ben, what's happening to you?" Grandpa Max hurried over.
"I don't know." Ben looked completely bewildered.
Wes's face darkened. "Those are signs of wolf transformation!"
"What?"
"Anyone bitten by Yenaldooshi will eventually become just like it. A terrifying Benwolf."
"It won't recognize friend or family, and it'll hurt the people closest to it."
The moment Gwen heard that, she quickly looked at Ben. "Good thing I'm not that close to you, right?"
Ben scratched his head. "But I wasn't bitten."
"Ben, this isn't something to joke about," Wes said seriously.
"Then is there any way to fix it?" Grandpa Max looked worried.
"We have to get rid of Yenaldooshi tonight. That's the only way Ben can return to normal," Wes said slowly, following the records in the old texts.
"I know! Shoot it with a silver bullet!" Ben grinned and mimed firing a gun.
"That's just in the movies." Wes shook his head. "We need a pure silver pendant, soaked in cactus juice, and then the pendant has to be pressed against its heart. That's the only way to kill Yenaldooshi."
"But that kind of cactus is hard to find. Rumor says someone once saw it in the ancestral land, but I've never seen it myself." Wes sighed.
"We can't search for both the werewolf and the cactus at the same time, and Yenaldooshi has to be taken out tonight. Otherwise Ben won't change back."
Wes's words weighed heavily on everyone there.
Except Lucian.
From what he remembered of the original story, he naturally knew Benwolf's true identity.
This creature wasn't some Yenaldooshi at all. It was a Loboan from the Anur system, a genuine alien species.
So the method of soaking a silver pendant in cactus juice wouldn't do anything to Benwolf.
And the reason Ben had ended up like this was because Benwolf had clawed the Omnitrix.
The Omnitrix had many functions, and one of them was collecting DNA. The original model could obtain genetic data through direct contact.
When Benwolf clawed the Omnitrix, its DNA was recorded as well.
Which meant Ben had already acquired Benwolf's DNA. He was effectively in the middle of a transformation, which was why he had started turning into a werewolf.
But perhaps the DNA hadn't been fully recorded yet, so Ben's appearance hadn't completely evolved into a full werewolf. For now, he only showed some werewolf traits, and the change was still quietly continuing...
Of course, Lucian had no intention of explaining any of that. There was no real point.
As long as they dealt with Benwolf tonight, that would be enough.
"It's okay, Ben," Kai suddenly said as she walked up to him and cupped his furry cheeks in both hands, her eyes unusually gentle.
Faced with this sudden change, Ben was caught completely off guard, both flattered and overwhelmed.
"Uh, it's not that bad," Ben said, scratching his head.
"The Nahewo tribe also believes Yenaldooshi is a divine beast." Kai smiled lightly and patted the little werewolf's head. "So don't put too much pressure on yourself, okay?"
"Hehe, got it." Ben licked his lips.
Lucian's expression didn't change at all. He wasn't surprised by Kai's sudden shift in attitude.
What changed Kai's feelings wasn't Ben, but Yenaldooshi.
Kai believed Yenaldooshi was a divine beast, which meant she probably worshipped it.
And now that Ben was showing signs of becoming Yenaldooshi, he naturally became her new "taming target."
If you thought about it carefully, owning a divine beast from myth and legend would be incredibly cool.
That was exactly what Kai was thinking right now.
But Lucian saw through it and said nothing. It was probably good for Ben to go through a little more romantic experience anyway.
...
A little later.
Gwen and Kai headed to the ancestral land to search for the cactus.
Lucian and the others went into the deep mountains to track down Benwolf...