Chapter 102: To Save His Life, He Betrayed His Colleagues
The Mummy was in a state of absolute panic.
Damn it, its natural predator had appeared right out of the gate. That suffocating, heavy aura of oppression pressing down on its bandaged form was entirely real.
Watching Whampire take slow, deliberate steps forward, the Mummy subconsciously shuffled backward, its ragged wrappings scraping against the dusty basement floor.
Seeing this, Whampire narrowed his glowing eyes. "Stop, or die."
The Mummy let out a panicked, raspy roar, its entire body freezing in place like a statue.
Whampire closed the distance in a blur, raising his right hand and resting it lightly on the creature's shoulder.
The simple touch caused the towering Khufan to tremble violently.
Whampire ignored the shaking alien and turned his head toward Max. "Grandpa, leave this to me. Someone is approaching from outside. You two go deal with them first."
Max blinked, processing the sudden shift in tone, before giving a slight nod. "Alright. Gwen, let's head up."
Gwen cast a lingering glance at Whampire's imposing back, then looked at Max and nodded in agreement.
"No way, Cousin! I want to stay and help you!"
Diamondhead planted his crystalline feet firmly on the ground, clearly unwilling to miss out on the action. However, the Omnitrix had absolutely no intention of giving him face.
A brilliant flash of red light illuminated the dim basement, and the towering crystal alien instantly shrank back down into a ten-year-old boy.
"You go out too." Whampire gestured toward the stairs with a flick of his clawed hand.
"Fine." Ben slumped his shoulders, turning around with a heavy sigh and trudging up the wooden steps.
Now, only Whampire and the Mummy remained in the suffocating silence of the basement.
The pressure radiating from the vampiric alien was immense. If the Khufan possessed sweat glands, it would have been drenched in cold perspiration by now. The air felt thick, heavy with the unspoken threat of violence.
Just as the Mummy felt its nerves stretch so tight that its bandages threatened to unravel completely, Whampire finally broke the silence.
"You look awfully white," he mused, his voice smooth and dangerously calm. "I think I'll call you Whitey."
'Big Brother, you're absolutely right. Forget Whitey, you can call me Toilet Paper for all I care!'
The Mummy let out a low, submissive groan, nodding its head so fast it looked like a bobblehead.
"Relax. Your big brother here won't make things difficult for you." Whampire patted the creature's shoulder again, the sound echoing sharply in the quiet room. "At most, I just originally planned to kill you."
The Mummy instantly felt the urge to weep, a tragic impossibility given its lack of tear ducts.
'Damn it, are those even human words?! You want to kill me, but you tell me not to be nervous?!'Despite the internal screaming, the Mummy did not dare make a single sudden movement. The concept of a'natural predator' was not a joke. Standing before this terrifying entity, the towering alien felt like nothing more than a bite-sized pastry.
Unbothered by the internal breakdown of his captive, Whampire continued his monologue. "You see, your big brother here lost a dog a few days ago. I originally thought the mutt was dead. But then I thought about it a bit more and realized something was off. It shouldn't be dead. It's very big, stands on two legs, and has a nasty howling habit. I think you must have seen it, right?"
This was Klein's true objective. He needed to verify if the purple lightning incident was a mere accident. If it wasn't, then this Mummy and the Werewolf were definitely connected.
Finding the dog was the primary goal. Just as he had explained, after the incident where the Werewolf supposedly died in the volcano, Klein had reviewed the events carefully. Given the Loboan's explosive running speed, it was statistically impossible for it to have failed to escape the blast radius when everyone else had managed just fine.
That meant the creature had actively chosen not to come out. It either wanted to commit suicide, or it had an alternative method of survival.
Considering the fact that the Werewolf had previously shown a strong willingness to act as his obedient dog just to survive, it definitely did not want to die.
Conclusion: The Werewolf was most likely still alive.
'Hmm. What a disobedient dog.'
Far away, in an undisclosed, shadowy location, a certain Loboan suddenly sneezed, a violent shiver running down its spine for absolutely no apparent reason.
Back in the basement, none of that mattered to the Mummy. What mattered was that it had just discovered a golden ticket to survival.
'Big Brother! I know it! I have absolutely seen your dog!'
The Mummy's bandaged form practically vibrated with excitement. As for whether betraying a colleague was highly immoral... damn it, it was an extraterrestrial being! Why should it adhere to Earthling moral standards?! Keeping its own life intact was the absolute highest priority!
"Oh?" Whampire's lips curled into a faint, sharp smile. "Tell me about it."
Seeing the creature's frantic reaction, Klein knew his deduction was spot on.
The Mummy let out a series of rapid, guttural roars and hisses.
'Big Brother, I am working with it! I can take you straight to it!'
The underlying subtext was painfully clear: Only with me can you find your dog! Therefore, I cannot die!
After finishing its desperate pitch, the Mummy stared at Whampire, its glowing eyes wide with nervous anticipation.
Whampire gave a slow, measured nod. "Then tell me. Where is it?"
'Damn it, can I actually say that?! If I give up the location right now, won't I immediately become a small pastry?! Will you still let me live?!'
Although the Mummy lacked the courage to directly refuse Whampire, it also feared losing its only bargaining chip.
Fortunately, under the crushing weight of a life-or-death crisis, the creature's normally subpar intelligence experienced a sudden, miraculous spike.
'Big Brother, I don't know exactly where it is right at this exact second, but I know exactly where it will go later!'
After conveying this through a series of frantic gestures and groans, the Mummy tensed up even more. If this terrifying vampire decided to be unreasonable, it was truly game over.
A heavy silence descended upon the basement, amplifying the invisible pressure crushing the Khufan's non-existent lungs.
Just as the Mummy prepared to accept its grim fate, Whampire finally spoke. "Then you will follow me for now. Later, you can take me to find it."
'No problem, Big Brother! Crystal clear, Big Brother!'
The Mummy agreed with frantic enthusiasm, secretly releasing a massive sigh of relief that rustled its bandages.
Whampire finally lowered his arm from the creature's shoulder.
A quiet blue light washed over the dark room, and the imposing vampiric figure dissolved, leaving a lazy-eyed teenager in his place.
The Mummy stared blankly for a second, then sneakily peeked at Klein. It found the teenager staring back with a calm, unreadable smile. The sight scared the Khufan so badly it immediately snapped its head down, staring intently at the floorboards.
Klein found the reaction highly amusing. It was practically a carbon copy of how the Werewolf had acted back then.
Shaking off the nostalgia, Klein got down to business. "Go find a box. It doesn't need to be too big."
The Mummy let out a compliant groan and immediately spun around, rummaging through the dusty debris of the basement.
Klein stood in place, hands tucked into his pockets, waiting patiently.
On the other side of the room, the Mummy, having quickly located a sturdy wooden crate, suddenly froze.
A treacherous thought crept into its mind: I could escape right now.
But just as quickly, its newly awakened survival intelligence kicked in.
The teenager had the absolute confidence to let it wander off to find a box alone. That meant he possessed the absolute certainty that it could not escape. If it tried to run, it would definitely be reduced to a pile of shredded paper.
'Hmm. It's definitely better to honestly take him to find the Werewolf. Maybe once his attention is entirely focused on that stupid dog, I can quietly slip away.'
Having rationalized its cowardice, the Mummy scooped up a square box about half a meter long and scurried back toward Klein.
Watching the bandaged alien hustle over, Klein raised an eyebrow. "Oh. I thought you were going to run away."
'I knew it! Damn it, he was just waiting for me to step into the trap!'The Mummy felt a deep sense of having just dodged a lethal bullet.'Big Brother, what are you even saying?! Who within a hundred miles doesn't know that I am your most loyal, devoted lackey?!'
The creature rapidly patted its chest, the bandages making hollow thumping sounds to prove its unwavering loyalty.
Although Klein could not understand the exact translation of the alien's groans, the frantic body language painted a very clear picture. "Alright. After we find Blackie—the Werewolf—both you and it will follow me."
Klein was notoriously terrible at naming things. To him, names were merely functional codes used to distinguish one useful tool from another.
As for his declaration, while it carried a heavy dose of teasing, he genuinely entertained the idea of taking the Mummy under his wing.
In the future, whenever he needed to quietly cause trouble for certain annoying individuals, he could bring the Mummy and the Werewolf along as his left and right guardians. He would transform into Whampire, treating his enemies to the ultimate, immersive horror movie protagonist experience.
The Mummy had no idea what twisted scenarios were playing out in Klein's head, but its survival instincts dictated that standing perfectly still and looking obedient was the best course of action.
Snapping out of his villainous daydream, Klein pointed at the crate. "Pick up the box and follow me. Later, you will get inside it. Make sure you wrap the Corrodium tightly in your bandages so the radiation doesn't leak out. You will stay in the box for now, and only come out when I call you."
The Khufan's bandages possessed the unique property of isolating the mutating effects of the Corrodium. As long as the stone remained fully concealed, it would not turn the local wildlife into mutated monsters.
The Mummy let out a low grunt of compliance, scooped up the box, and obediently trailed behind the teenager like a battered shadow.
When Max, Gwen, and Ben returned to the Rustbucket, they found Klein already lounging inside, looking perfectly relaxed.
Ben blinked, looking around the empty interior. "Cousin, where is the Mummy?"
Gwen reached over and patted Ben's shoulder with a knowing look. "You should know the answer to that."
Ben's eyes widened in sudden realization. Right. There really weren't many enemies who managed to survive crossing paths with his older cousin. And those who did survive only did so because Klein explicitly chose not to end them.
Just then, Ben and Gwen's attention was drawn to a modest-sized wooden box sitting quietly in the corner of the RV.
"Eh? What is this?"
Gwen looked at Klein with curiosity. "Cousin, is this box yours?"
Klein gave a lazy nod, his tone completely indifferent. "Yeah. It's just some spare parts for Grey Matter."
"Oh. Never mind then."
Ben had originally been itching to pry the lid open, but the moment Klein mentioned technical parts for the small Galvan alien, his interest evaporated instantly.
"Everyone grab a seat and buckle up. We're heading back to the farm," Max announced as he squeezed into the driver's seat. "There's still a lot of work to be done."
"Wait! Grandpa!" three voices protested in perfect unison.
Hearing the synchronized groan of his grandchildren, Max paused, a nostalgic smile touching his lips. "Alright, alright. I almost forgot. When I was a kid, I absolutely hated doing chores on Uncle Jedediah's farm too."
Catching the implication in Max's words, Klein, Ben, and Gwen exchanged relieved glances and immediately let out a cheer.
"Alright, let's get out of here quickly, before I actually have to go back and shovel manure again," Max chuckled, turning the ignition key.
The engine roared to life.
Outside, the sun had just begun to peek over the horizon, casting a warm golden glow across the landscape as the Rustbucket pulled back onto the open highway, leaving the farm far behind.
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