Am I a Kamen Rider or the real young master who was switched at birth?

The entrance to Kowloon Walled City was as bustling as ever.

Grandpa Li and Grandpa Baldy were playing chess at the stone table under the old locust tree. The black and white chess pieces on the board were still suspended in mid-air by telekinesis, and each move emitted a very subtle energy hum.

The tofu vendor was pushing her newly repaired tricycle into the alley when she saw Ye Yang and his group walking in from the village entrance. She called out from afar, "Hey, little Ye Yang is back!"

The legendary auntie who knocked out Ma Rong's tofu stall with a single punch after he knocked it over last time had her tofu neatly stacked on the cart today, not a single piece broken. Clearly, no one dared to mess with her today.

Ye Yang drove the Mechanical Decade at the front, with the magenta body gliding quietly behind him.

Tsukasa Kadoya walked beside him, his magenta camera hanging steadily in front of him.

He casually put his hands in his pockets, his gaze sweeping over the neighbors setting up stalls, and the faint smile on his lips was a little deeper than usual.

The atmosphere of Kowloon City, a place teeming with hidden talents and filled with joy, was clearly very much to his liking.

Hai Dong Daiki walked at the very back, one hand in his pocket and the other idly turning a Diend driver, his eyes constantly glancing at the roadside stalls.

Last time he passed by a sugar figurine stall, he almost stole the old man's sugar figurine, mistaking it for some kind of energy treasure. This time, his eyes were still fixed on it.

The three Lin sisters followed behind Ye Yang. Lin Yumin was using her phone to record the distribution of stalls along the way, while Lin Xingran had already gathered in front of the barbecue stall to study today's special menu.

Lin Ying walked quietly beside Ye Yang, her gaze occasionally drifting towards Kadoya Tsukasa's back. She was still trying to process the fact that "Ye Yang's idol has really come."

Grandpa Li slammed the black chess piece onto the board, then looked up and waved his palm-leaf fan in Ye Yang's direction, calling out in a loud and friendly voice:

"Little Ye Yang! You're back again! Were you fighting outside the city just now? It was so loud, we could hear it even while we were playing chess here—it was like thunder. Did you get into trouble again?"

Ye Yang turned around and glanced at Kadoya Tsukasa in the direction Grandpa Li pointed, a complex smile appearing on his lips, a smile that seemed to be a mixture of pride and helplessness.

He spread his hands and replied in a relaxed tone, "Uncle Li—since you all heard the commotion, why didn't you come and help? We were almost crawled out of our heads by those awakened mental beings, and you were still playing chess here."

"My older sister's SUV was smashed to a pulp, and the engine is still lying in the farmland. You said last time, 'Just call Uncle Li if you need anything,' but you didn't come even with all this commotion today. I brought you braised chicken for nothing."

Grandpa Li placed his palm-leaf fan on the stone table and replied in a matter-of-fact tone:

"You silly child, it's not appropriate for us old folks to run that far to fight. Besides—didn't you find reinforcements?"

"That young man in the magenta armor, the shot he fired on the highway just now, we could see the blue light shooting up into the sky from the village entrance, even piercing a hole in the clouds. With him around, the rest of us old guys would just be a nuisance."

"Come here, young man, let this old man take a look—what brand is your armor? It looks quite similar to Ye Yang's, but the details seem a bit different, especially those cards on the shoulder armor. Are you also Qin Buwen's apprentice?"

Tsukasa Kadoya took a step forward, raised the magenta camera on his chest, and pressed the shutter button on Grandpa Li and the bald old man.

The photo popped up, with its distinctive magenta double image at the edges.

In the video, Grandpa Li is pointing at him with a palm-leaf fan. While Grandpa Li is distracted, the bald old man secretly makes an extra move in the game, but Grandpa Li firmly holds his wrist down with his other hand.

He tossed the photo around, glanced at it, and the smile on his lips deepened even further.

"No, I'm just a Kamen Rider who's passing by. I run a photo studio in Kowloon City, in that alley behind the main street, called Hikari Photo Studio."

"If you have time, please come over to our place and have a family photo taken to support our business. We're having a promotion right now: buy one get one free, plus a free photo frame. Our set design is the most professional in all of Kowloon City, although it seems like we're the only photo studio in Kowloon City."

The bald old man pulled his wrist out of Old Li's grasp, took the opportunity to move the chess piece to the position he wanted, and then looked up and said with the tone of someone who had been through it all:

"A photo studio! A few of us went for a walk that morning and found a photo studio suddenly appeared on the street. The sign just appeared out of nowhere. It wasn't there the night before last, but it was up there the next morning."

"There was an old man who loved taking pictures, a pretty girl, and a silly young man living inside. It really startled us! We thought it was some kind of prank by an awakened person, but we gradually got used to it after we found out that the shop was open every day."

"But to be honest, your photos are alright—it's just that every single one has double images, exactly the same as the ones Xiao Yeyang took. You guys are using the same brand of camera, right?"

Hai Dongda stood beside him, his brows furrowing very slightly.

After the bald old man finished speaking, he took two steps forward and said in a low voice that only Tsukasa Kadoya could hear:

"Shi—something's not right. Logically speaking, every time you travel to a new world, the photo studio should appear in that world in some form that 'has existed for a long time'."

"This is the established system of the photo studio; everyone thinks it's always been there, and no one finds its appearance strange. But what that old man just said is that in this world, photo studios just appear out of thin air."

He tilted his head slightly, his gaze landing on Tsukasa Kadoya's calm face. "Don't you find it strange?"

Tsukasa Kadoya hung the camera back around his neck, put his hands in his pockets, glanced at the bald old man under the old locust tree who was still secretly using his telekinesis to switch chess pieces, and then a smile that only he could understand appeared on his lips:

"I don't know—but it's interesting this way. It's different here—they know the photo studio appeared out of nowhere, but they're not afraid or surprised."

"The rules of this world aren't as rigid as elsewhere—maybe that's why the Zero Organization has been unable to manage this place. Kowloon City itself is an enclave independent of the conventional order—quite like my photo studio, both are unconventional entities. That's why I really like it here."

Ye Yang listened to the conversation between Kadoya Tsukasa and Kaito, and roughly understood what they were discussing, but he had something more important to ask.

He walked up to Grandpa Li, bowed slightly, and asked in a polite tone:

"Uncle Li—is Professor Tang here today? You mean Tang Yanqiu, the former military academy principal, the one who usually sells bread in front of that bread cart at the village entrance. I didn't see her there today, and the bread cart isn't here either."

"I need to speak with her urgently—it's related to a rumor that doesn't match up with the records at the Federal Military Academy, and it might involve an ancient seal. Do you know where she is?"

Grandpa Li picked up his palm-leaf fan again and shook it, glancing towards the photo studio deep in the alley before slowly saying:

"Oh, Professor Tang—she wasn't at her stall today. It seems the owner of that newly opened photo studio dragged her there to have her picture taken."

"When she passed by there this morning, the owner was standing at the door and beckoned her, saying, 'Come in and take a picture, there's a discount for the new store opening,' so she went in. She hasn't come out yet."

She said she'd hardly ever had a proper photo taken in her life, and it was rare for someone to be willing to take one for her.

Upon hearing these words, Ye Yang seemed to be illuminated by something, and he turned around abruptly to look at Kadoya Tsukasa, his voice rising slightly with excitement:

"Principal Tang is at your photo studio! That's great—I was just thinking of going to your photo studio! My idol! Let's go now! I really want to see what your place is like, and your team too."

Tsukasa Kadoya pulled his hand out of his pocket and casually waved it with an air of nonchalance that suggested he was used to all the admiring gazes.

"No problem, no problem. Since we're destined to meet, I'll take you to see those two guys, but don't get your hopes up too high. After all, Onodera and Mitsunami are always on the go, running around all the time, who knows—"

Before he could finish speaking, a thumb suddenly appeared behind him without warning and pressed hard on an extremely sensitive acupoint on the back of his neck.

Even Kamen Rider Decade, who could send Wei Cang flying with a single punch and shatter Li Wujiu's shield with a single shot, was completely unable to make any defensive reaction.

Tsukasa Kadoya froze as if he had been electrocuted. Starting from the spot on the back of his neck where he had been struck, an uncontrollable tingling sensation spread along his spine throughout his body.

Then he let out a muffled groan that was somewhere between a scream and a laugh, and staggered several steps to the side, clutching his neck.

Lin Ying was so startled by this sudden turn of events that she took a half step back.

Lin Xingran even jumped up from in front of the barbecue stall, with half a skewer of mutton still stuffed in her mouth.

Two orange-red flames instantly ignited in her hands, and she shouted in a muffled voice:

"An enemy attack! Is that woman who can teleport back again?! How dare she make a move in Kowloon City! Ye Yang, step back! I'll protect you!"

However, the person standing behind where Tsukasa Kadoya had just stood was not a hunter from the Zero organization, but a young woman who looked to be around twenty years old.

She had a slender and well-proportioned figure, wearing a simple light-colored top and dark trousers. Her hair was casually tied into a ponytail at the back of her head, with a few stray hairs sliding down from her ears and sticking to her cheeks.

Her facial features were soft and delicate, but at this moment, her beautiful eyes were burning with a killing intent no less than Xiao Qing's.

Her lips were slightly pursed, and her right thumb was still hanging in mid-air in the position it had just been in after applying pressure to the acupoints, without retracting it.

She stared intently at Tsukasa Kadoya, who was clutching his neck and laughing so hard he could barely breathe, and said, word by word, in a tone of barely suppressed rage:

"Shi—you're talking about me behind my back again. Have you forgotten that you ate my pudding at the photo studio last time and didn't buy a new one? You dare bring me up again! Do you think I can't do anything to you on the street?!"

Tsukasa Kadoya, clutching his still-numbing nape, laughed as he backed away, pointing another finger at the fuming woman and declaring in his characteristically loud voice:

"Hikaru Natsumi! Do you always have to ambush me like this?! And in front of so many people! Can't you give me any face? My image!"

Guang Xiahai stretched his thumb, which was hanging in the air, forward again and said in a calm tone:

"Then I'll do it again—you've already lost all face. You've never had any sense of dignity, you've been like this since the first day we met."

When Tsukasa Kadoya saw her actually stick her thumb into his neck, he decisively took a big step back.

While rubbing the still slightly numb back of his neck, he raised his hand and made a "I surrender" gesture, blocking the view between himself and Hikari Natsumi.

Ye Yang stood to the side watching this scene, his expression no longer simply one of excitement.

Hikari Natsumi himself was standing a few steps away from him, threatening the Kamen Rider he had admired for a very long time with his thumb.

He knew her; he had seen her countless times on the screen in his past life. After each episode of Kamen Rider Decade ended, he would see her and Shiro playfully bickering in the photo studio.

Now those images have come to life.

He took half a step forward, then stood in front of Mitsu Natsumi, gave her a slight, solemn bow, and said in a voice filled with barely suppressed excitement, "Hello—Ms. Mitsu Natsumi."

Hikari Natsumi finally withdrew her thumb that had been hanging in the air, turned around and looked at the boy in front of her whose style of dress was somewhat similar to that of Tsukasa Kadoya.

She blinked, her gaze lingering on Ye Yang's face for a long while, before replying politely but with a hint of confusion:

"Hello—may we know each other? I don't think I've seen you before—but the way you look at me makes it seem like we've known each other for a long time. Are you a new friend? Or an acquaintance from some other world? What's your name?"

Ye Yang straightened up, revealed a gentle smile, and said sincerely:

"You don't know me—but I know you. I've known you for a long time. In—how should I put it, in a very, very far place, I've heard many stories about you."

"So I've always wanted to meet you in person—and the photo studio, and Mr. Onodera. Today I finally did."

Tsukasa Kadoya lowered his hand from the back of his neck, walked over to Ye Yang, casually put his arm around Ye Yang's shoulder, and said to Hikari Natsumi:

"This is the kid I mentioned to you last time—the one who can also transform into Kamen Rider Decade. He's pretty good with a camera; his photography skills are good enough to be an intern at our photo studio. And let me tell you—he can sing too. He has a whole bunch of fans online who wait for his updates; his business is way better than our photo studio's."

He glanced down at Ye Yang and continued, "He's also a loyal fan of our team. He knows the story of each of us—Decade, Kuuga, and Last Knight. It's rare to meet someone who understands us so well in another world."

After hearing Tsukasa Kadoya's words, the confused expression on Hikari Natsumi's face slowly melted away, turning into a sincere smile.

She placed her hands clasped in front of her, gave a slight, elegant bow to Ye Yang, and said in a gentle voice:

"I see. Shi rarely praises people. Usually, when he mentions others, he says things like 'average,' 'not bad,' or 'not as handsome as me.' To be praised as 'not bad' by him must be really impressive. Mr. Ye Yang, it's a pleasure to meet you. Please give me your guidance."