Two days later, at a gas station.
A worn-out old RV rolled slowly into view, its metal frame glowing faintly under the morning light.
"Time to give my old buddy some juice!" Grandpa Max said with a smile. The Rustbucket had been with him for years, and his attachment to it ran deep. Even if someone offered him a brand-new RV in exchange, he wouldn't take it. That kind of bond couldn't be replaced.
Still chatting cheerfully, Grandpa Max stepped out and spoke with the attendant. He could have stayed inside and simply said how much to fill—or told them to top it off—but he insisted on opening the fuel cap himself, refusing to let anyone else touch it. The attendant's mouth twitched slightly at the sight.
Lucian glanced out the window at the pale morning sunlight before closing his eyes again to rest. The past two days had been exhausting. He'd been scouring the city nonstop, searching for any trace of Ghostfreak and Kevin. He'd transformed into XLR8, then Stinkfly, and even Ripjaws, covering land, sky, and sea—turning the entire city upside down.
Yet there wasn't a single sign of them. It was as if Ghostfreak had vanished into thin air, taking control of Kevin's body and disappearing without a trace.
Worse still, a few awkward incidents had happened along the way... Like when XLR8 sped past a few girls and accidentally sent their miniskirts flying. He turned his head for just a second—and the "scenery" that met his eyes nearly made his blood boil. Luckily, Lucian had strong self-control. If he had lost focus at that speed, the result would have been painful.
Then came Stinkfly. After flying too long, he landed on someone's balcony to rest, only to be spotted by an older lady. She came at him swinging a broom like a warrior, face fierce and unrelenting. The force behind her blows nearly knocked him out of the air.
As Ripjaws, things didn't go much better. He swam along the coast, scaring off a group of bikini girls—who ran for their lives, afraid he'd eat them.
But then he saved a little girl from drowning. The terrified child burst into tears at first, but once she calmed down, she sniffled, pulled a white rabbit milk candy from her pocket, placed it into Ripjaws' claw, and said tearfully,
"Big Fishy, thank you for saving me... but you look really scary. I won't play in the water again, I promise... sniff sniff~"
Ripjaws scratched his head, staring at the milk candy in his palm, not sure if that counted as a good thing or not.
Those vivid moments replayed in Lucian's mind like a slow-motion movie, and the corner of his mouth lifted slightly.
Suddenly, a gentle female voice spoke beside him.
"Cuz, you've been looking tired lately, so I cut up some fruit for you. You should eat a little to get your energy back."
Gwen stood there holding a small box of neatly carved fruit, each piece arranged beautifully, almost like art.
Lucian slowly opened his eyes.
"Thanks, Gwen, but I'm not hungry. You go ahead and eat."
He closed his eyes again, replaying his battle with Ghostfreak in his mind. How could he capture and defeat that thing...?
Just then, a sweet, fruity scent drifted up to his nose, fresh and tempting.
Lucian opened his eyes again. Gwen, her orange hair glinting softly and green eyes full of mischief, was smiling as she held out a slice of mango to his lips.
"I've already had some. You eat it—if it sits too long, it won't taste good," she said with a playful grin, her eyes curving like little crescent moons.
Lucian stared at the mango in front of him, momentarily dazed. In either his old world or this one, no girl had ever fed him fruit. It wasn't because he wasn't attractive—it was just that his quiet nature made him seem distant.
And now Gwen was feeding him?
Eat it or not?
Of course he should. Refusing something offered by his cousin right to his lips would be far too awkward...
So Lucian leaned forward and ate the slice of mango.
A tangy-sweet flavor filled every taste bud, and paired with its visually appealing appearance, it felt utterly delightful.
"Delicious."
Lucian gave a faint smile. His handsome face, which had seemed slightly dulled by the cold, instantly lit up like the warm sun rising in winter, making him even more captivating and dashing.
Gwen lowered her head, her face flushing crimson like a ripe apple.
"Hey, nerd. As the cousin of this great hero, shouldn't you feed me some fruit too?"
Beside them, Ben propped his hands behind his head, opened his mouth wide, and said, "Ah! I want a banana, please."
He then closed his eyes, waiting for his cousin to feed him.
Gwen clenched her delicate hands in frustration, but suddenly a spark of inspiration lit her eyes. A faint smile touched her lips as if she'd thought of something brilliant.
Under Lucian's puzzled gaze, she walked straight to the passenger seat where Grandpa's "protein" breakfast lay—a large bowl of fresh, wriggling rice weevils.
Gwen extended her finger, fighting back nausea as she picked up two squirming live rice worms. Their constant movement made her scalp crawl, and she shook her head repeatedly.
But to make her dweeb cousin suffer, this was nothing. Soon, Ben would be even more disgusted than her!
By now, Gwen had returned to Ben's side and flung the rice worms straight into his wide-open mouth.
Ben instinctively began chewing, then suddenly jerked upright. His face visibly drained of color, turning ashen. He immediately stood up, bent over, and began vomiting uncontrollably.
"Hahaha, doofus! See if you dare talk like that again!" Gwen clutched her stomach, laughing so hard her mouth wouldn't close. "I only feed fruit to Lucian. Anyone else can just dream on."
"Disgusting~" Ben stared at the chewed-off rice worm on the ground, then glared hatefully at Gwen. "You're so mean, Gwen Tennyson! I'm telling Grandpa!"
Gwen shrugged indifferently. "Oh really? But you just wasted Grandpa's favorite rice worms. Better think twice."
Ben's face turned ashen. He opened his mouth to retort, but the words died on his lips.
Indeed, given Grandpa's fondness for rice worms, he wouldn't let this slide. Better to let his nerd cousin off this time... Ben thought to himself, ultimately claiming a mental victory.
Lucian witnessed the entire scene. Even he couldn't help but chuckle. This pair of cousins was truly entertaining, even funnier than watching the original story.
After all, this wasn't some fantasy—it was the real world, where everything was real and within reach.
After pranking Ben, Gwen turned and returned to Lucian's side.
She sat down carefully across from him and asked, "By the way, Cuz, have you spotted any traces of Ghostfreak these past couple of days?"
Lucian sighed softly and shook his head.
"What about Kevin? No sign of him either?" Gwen pressed.
"No. He's possessed by Ghostfreak. It's probably bad news. That thing isn't someone to mess with." Lucian paused, his expression turning slightly puzzled. "Why bring this up now?"
Gwen's pretty face stiffened. She hastily waved her hands, stammering, "I was just... asking casually. It's nothing."
"Really?"
"Maybe... sort of... possibly," Gwen gave a dry chuckle twice before finally sighing in relief. "Alright, I just feel like Kevin probably wasn't a bad person. For Ghostfreak to just take over his body like that..."
She didn't continue, only shaking her head and sighing.
As she spoke, the image of Kevin letting her go flashed through Gwen's mind once more, leaving her overwhelmed with mixed emotions.
It felt strange. She should hate him, because Kevin had nearly killed Ben and Grandpa.
Or perhaps he was consumed by hatred and murderous intent because he couldn't control the power within him, driven to kill Ben?
Gwen felt a pang of melancholy. She quickly shook her head, banishing all distracting thoughts, and ran to her desk to play with her laptop.
"Kevin..." Lucian murmured softly, hoping he hadn't turned into a Kevin 11.