"It's okay," Ryan said. Ryan offered another friendly smile.
Gwen thought from the bottom of her heart that Ryan looked so much more handsome than the childish boys in their class. A shy blush appeared on her face. Unlike the boys her age who took pride in teasing girls, Ryan, with his calm personality, was unlike anyone she had ever met. Just then, Max returned with a plate in his hand and a mysterious expression on his face. "You must be hungry after all that running, right? Eat something to replenish your strength! This is good stuff."
The three children, who were indeed hungry, instantly focused on the plate. In a flash, both Gwen and Ben's faces turned green. On the plate were thin, long, wriggling things, clearly full of "protein"! Even the far more mature Ryan felt a chill down his spine. He swallowed hard. "Grandpa Max, are you sure we're eating this tonight?" "This is a very nutritious 'delicacy,'" Max replied with a kind smile. "Your age is the perfect time to supplement your protein intake."
However, to Ryan, that "kind" smile looked downright devilish.
"Grandpa, do we have anything like sandwiches or hamburgers?" Ryan asked again, with a hint of desperation in his voice. "Don't be silly. How could those things have such high nutritional value?" Max said amiably. "By the way, there's still some beef tongue in the refrigerator. I'll go get it for you."
As he left, Ben lowered his voice immediately. "What did you guys bring to eat? I brought some leftover potato chips..." "I have a half-full bag of chocolate hazelnuts," Gwen said listlessly, her hopeful eyes finally settling on Ryan. Ryan clenched his fists and looked at the plate of worms with difficulty. "I have a suggestion. Beef tongue will definitely taste better than these worms. You guys can eat the beef tongue. I'll eat these!"
"Really?" Ben shivered, eyeing the plate of squirming worms.
"Here comes the ox tongue," said Ryan, just as Max returned with a plate of cooked, seasoned beef tongue that looked quite appetizing.
The next moment, Max, Gwen, and Ben all seemed to look at Ryan.
Ryan took a deep breath, extended his right hand, grabbed some of the "protein," closed his eyes, and threw it into his mouth.
Crunch!
It was surprisingly crunchy! And it didn't taste bad at all! Most shocking to Ryan was that after swallowing the protein, he felt a subtle surge of comfort in his body. He opened his eyes and looked at Max in disbelief.
"Haha, as I said, this is the best food for you," Max said, smiling knowingly.
Gwen and Ben were stunned, especially Ben, who looked at Ryan with newfound admiration. Ryan was just like those fearless survival show hosts—he ate worms!
"You guys should start eating, too." After Ryan's psychological barrier was broken, he didn't reject the protein as much anymore and continued eating slowly. Gwen and Ben also tried the beef tongue and were surprised by how good it tasted.
As they ate, the conversation naturally turned to the magical Omnitrix.
"This watch seemed green before, but now it's red." Gwen, ever observant, noticed the difference.
"Let me try," said Ryan, feigning confusion as he fiddled with the watch for a moment. "It seems this watch can't transform when it's red, but it can turn into an alien hero when it's green." Exactly. The Omnitrix on his wrist made its unique startup sound, and the light suddenly turned green. "Hey, you can transform now." Ryan spun the Omnitrix dial novelly, watching the alien heroes and resisting the urge to transform again.
"Do you want to show us the other aliens?" Ben suggested excitedly.
"Forget it. Who knows if those robots will come back? These aliens are meant for dealing with those monsters," Ryan explained to Ben, lowering his wrist.
Max, observing the scene, nodded subtly. Ryan truly seemed like the best candidate for the Omnitrix. "Ryan's right. This watch can do a lot of meaningful things," Gwen agreed, nodding her head.
Their conversation was suddenly interrupted by a new development. A panicked voice crackled from the old car's radio. "Help! Who will help us?" "We're at the campsite in the northwest corner of the forest! There are big robots attacking us here!" Boom!
A deafening sound followed the radio's plea. "Those must be the same robots from earlier. Here they are again!" Max reacted immediately, glancing at the Omnitrix on Ryan's wrist.
Ryan's eyes were resolute. He declared loudly, "These robots must be coming for me, Grandpa! Please drive us over there. I'll deal with them myself!" "Okay, let's get in the car." Max was never one to hesitate in a crisis. He quickly climbed into the RV, got into the driver's seat, and buckled his seatbelt. After Ryan made sure that Ben and Gwen were inside, he closed the door and kept his eyes fixed on the window. "Be careful, I'm driving!" Max stepped lightly on the accelerator. The old RV swiftly threaded through the woods at almost top speed, racing toward the site of the attack!