#2 - omnitrix

Let's rewind time a bit, back to the beginning.

"Intelligent life form detected, Omnitrix initiating."

Yang Le stared blankly at the large pit in front of him. Just moments ago, a meteor had fallen from the sky and crashed here. The massive impact had even overturned his campsite not far away.

Yang Le struggled to crawl out of the collapsed tent and saw the trees not far away, with sparks of fire.

To prevent a forest fire, Yang Le rummaged through the mess and found a fire extinguisher, running towards the flames.

Fortunately, the fire had just started, and Yang Le managed to stop it before it spread, naturally arriving at the starting point of the fire as he extinguished the flames.

Then, the scene before him was what he saw: a basketball-sized sphere that looked incredibly high-tech. Suddenly, a beam of light scanned him, and then he heard the opening voice.

"What is this?" Yang Le stared dumbfounded as the sphere transformed, revealing something that looked like a camera. The camera flashed, and then projected a figure.

The projected figure was very small, with a top-heavy head, huge eyes occupying the corners, and wide hands and feet, looking like a frog.

"A Galvan?" Yang Le exclaimed the alien's name as he looked at the alien in front of him. The alien in front of him was almost identical to Grey Matter from the cartoon 《Ben 10》 that Yang Le had watched as a child.

However, Grey Matter was the name given to him by the protagonist; his formal name should be Galvan.

Yang Le felt his worldview being impacted. He didn't find it strange that there were aliens in the world, but it was shocking that this alien looked like a character from a cartoon.

However, before Yang Le could rebuild his worldview, the projected Galvan spoke.

"Hello, my name is Azmuth. I am a Galvan, and also the smartest being."

"Azmuth!? Uh, you... hello." Yang Le's brain short-circuited because it had received too much shocking information in a short period of time, and he subconsciously replied.

"By the time someone sees this message, I'm probably already in grave danger."

"Grave danger? Why?" Yang Le asked Azmuth.

However, Azmuth didn't reply to Yang Le, as if he couldn't hear him, and continued to speak to himself.

"So, just in case, I recorded this message in advance."

Hearing this, Yang Le understood that no matter how he asked, there would be no result, so he calmed down and continued to listen to Azmuth's narration.

"In my universe, a group of madmen appeared. They found the legendary Annihilator, a terrifying weapon that can destroy a universe. We are trying to stop them. Just in case, I sent a backup Omnitrix to other universes to preserve the species of our universe."

When talking about the Omnitrix, Azmuth's tone became proud, clearly very satisfied with his invention.

"The Omnitrix is a valuable device that can record biological genetic information. It can scan and record the genetic information of organisms, and even allow the wearer to transform into the species whose genetic information is stored. It is a device that can promote peace between civilizations and races in the universe."

Speaking of this, Azmuth changed the subject.

"Of course, in the hands of people with ulterior motives, it can also become the most terrifying weapon. Originally, I would never have sent it to anyone so casually, but the situation is urgent, so I have no choice. Of course, I have set restrictions on the Omnitrix..."

Azmuth raised his finger and continued.

"The Omnitrix contains the genetic information of thousands of species, but I only unlocked 5 types initially."

"Five types? Ben initially had 10 types, and Ben 23 initially had 23 aliens." It's true that comparing people is infuriating. Yang Le felt that he might be the owner of the Omnitrix with the fewest aliens initially, but it doesn't matter, cracking the Omnitrix is a necessary path for every wielder.

Of course, Azmuth in the recording couldn't feel Yang Le's resentment and continued.

"The following is the key point, listen carefully. To unlock more genetic information, you need to collect joy energy."

"Joy energy?" Yang Le frowned after hearing this. This was different from the Omnitrix he knew. In the cartoons he watched, the Omnitrix never had the function of absorbing joy energy.

"Joy energy is a new function I added to the Omnitrix after being inspired by a clown in a circus on Earth. Joy energy is the energy released when a creature truly feels happy, but I have made further expansions. As long as it is positive energy, it can be collected by the Omnitrix. In short, you have to do good deeds, in other words, be a hero." (This setting is not important, it is only to complete Azmuth's logic, it will be gone in a few chapters.)

"What an intense American cartoon style." Yang Le complained speechlessly.

"At the same time, the time to transform into other species is only 10 minutes, but the same joy energy can also extend your transformation time."

After a slight pause, Azmuth's expression became serious and he said sternly.

"On the contrary, if you do bad things, the Omnitrix will also receive negative energy generated by you. Negative energy will not only shorten your transformation time, but too much of it will also cause the Omnitrix to enter a dormant state until it absorbs a large amount of positive energy to wake up."

"I have said what I need to say. The specific operation method will be taught to you by the AI after you put on the Omnitrix. If you agree, put it on."

As soon as Azmuth finished speaking, the image disappeared in a burst of distortion. With Azmuth's disappearance, the sphere began to transform again. The sphere opened, revealing a watch-like device, slowly floating above the sphere.

Yang Le slowly slid to the bottom of the pit and came to the Omnitrix. After hesitating for a moment, he still reached out to it.

There was nothing to hesitate about. Presumably, no one could refuse the Omnitrix. As for being a hero, he might actually do it.

As soon as Yang Le stretched his left hand to the Omnitrix, the Omnitrix automatically bound to his hand and began to twist and deform like plasticine.

Under Yang Le's gaze, the Omnitrix completed its transformation. It didn't look like the first generation from the cartoon, but more like the second generation, simple, lightweight, and composed of black and white colors.

"Omnitrix binding complete, please register host name."

An emotionless electronic sound rang out, and the dial also flashed in coordination with the sound. This should be the AI Azmuth mentioned.

"Yang Le." Yang Le said his name.

"Received, host data updated, Yang Le, Earthling."

The dial of the Omnitrix stopped flashing, symbolizing the completion of the update.

"Please complete the initial transformation under guidance. Please lightly touch the dial."

Yang Le stretched out his right index finger and tapped the dial. As soon as he touched the dial, a circle of black and white projection menus appeared around the dial. There were five grids in total, each with a minimalist human figure, but because they were aliens, the figures were in various forms.

Yang Le took a closer look. If the cartoon was correct, he knew all these aliens.

"Please slide your finger towards the alien you want to transform into."

Yang Le carefully selected and finally chose one of his favorite alien heroes when he was a child.

After Yang Le made his selection, the menu disappeared, and the watch transformed again, with the Omnitrix logo button protruding from the dial.

"Please press the logo, be careful not to hit it hard."

"Hoo~" Yang Le exhaled and then pressed the button.

"Bang!" With a sound, Yang Le was enveloped in a white light. Yang Le felt something enter his body from the Omnitrix and was rapidly changing him.

This feeling was wonderful, as if he had turned into a piece of plasticine, his body being filled, stretched, and deformed, but he didn't feel any pain or strangeness.

Soon the white light dissipated, and Yang Le's figure disappeared, replaced by a scarlet body.

Tall, muscular, four strong arms, and blood-red skin, yes, he is...

"Four Arms!" Yang Le raised his four hands and shouted.

The shouting startled many birds. After venting, Yang Le began to adapt to his new body.

Clenching his fists, Yang Le felt that he had endless power. To test his strength, Yang Le stomped his foot hard.

But Yang Le ignored his current size. Unlike his thin body, Four Arms' huge body almost filled the bottom of the pit. This foot directly stomped on the sphere that previously contained the Omnitrix.

"!" With a muffled sound, Yang Le realized that he was not stepping on ordinary dirt.

However, before Yang Le could move his foot, a burst of rapid alarms sounded.

"Warning, Omnitrix storage device attacked, initiating emergency space-time jump."

Yang Le quietly looked at the red light flashing under his feet and said through gritted teeth, "Oh, crap."

"Biu!" With a flash of white light, Yang Le and the sphere disappeared without a trace, leaving only a charred pit, proving what had happened here.

After the white light, Yang Le was in so much pain from the sudden pulling sensation that he lost consciousness.

"Host life crisis detected, emergency transformation initiated..."

These were the last words Yang Le heard before losing consciousness.