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

When Ye Yang turned around from Kadoya Tsukasa and Onodera, Tang Yanqiu was sitting in a rattan chair in the corner of the main photography hall, holding a cup of hot coffee that Koei Jiro had just brewed.

She looked completely different from when she was selling bread from behind her bread cart; she had a presence reminiscent of the poise she had when she stood on the podium at the opening ceremony and addressed the entire school.

The steam from the coffee cup rose slowly in front of her, forming a very faint mist under the warm yellow lights of the photo studio.

Ye Yang walked quickly to Tang Yanqiu and bent down slightly.

He rested his hands on his knees, looked at Principal Tang at eye level, and then spoke politely:

"Principal Tang—we've finally found you! We drove all the way from the military academy to find you. On the way, we even encountered hunters from the Zero Organization. My older sister's SUV was smashed to a pulp, and the engine is still lying in the farmland."

"But none of that matters—what matters is that thing beneath our school. The Abyss Beast! My second sister said it's the fifth of the ten legendary beasts. Principal Chen isn't in his office today, and his phone is off, so we had no choice but to come to you."

"Is this rumor true or false? If it is true, the Zero Organization has already set its sights on it. They want to use the energy of the Abyss Beast to hatch the Silent Beast Cocoon left behind by Shen Yunzhou."

Lin Yumin followed him forward, giving Tang Yanqiu a slight nod, her posture upright and respectful.

"Principal Tang, this is Lin Yumin. This matter has now gone beyond the scope of campus rumors. The intelligence brought by Mr. Haidong shows that the Zero Organization is indeed looking for the location of the Abyss Beast's seal, and the timing of Principal Chen's sudden departure is too coincidental."

"If it were just a campus rumor, I wouldn't have brought them all this way. But my second sister said that the rumor is only circulating among a very small number of senior students within the military academy. So I would like to ask Principal Tang for a clear answer. Is the Abyss Beast real? If so, where are the three seals located?"

Tang Yanqiu's hand holding the coffee cup paused very slightly when he heard the words "Abyss Beast".

She placed the coffee cup on the small coffee table next to her, and the bottom of the cup collided with the saucer, making a very faint and crisp sound.

Then she looked up at the young people in front of her.

Ye Yang stood ramrod straight, with the same magenta camera as his idol hanging around his neck, his eyes filled with urgency but unwavering determination.

Lin Yumin stood beside him, her posture dignified and composed, her deep brown eyes reflecting the warm yellow light of the photo studio.

Lin Xingran stood at the very edge, her hands in her pockets, her burgundy short hair glistening slightly in the afternoon sunlight, looking at her with an expression that was both expectant and nervous.

Lin Ying stood behind her second sister, her hands folded in front of her, her light gray eyes quietly watching everything, her silvery-white eyelashes fluttering gently under the light.

She sighed softly, shifted the position of her hands which were folded on her knees, and spoke slowly in a tone reserved for reminiscing about something from a long time ago:

"It's not a rumor. It's true. That thing really is sleeping under the school."

Ye Yang and Lin Yumin exchanged a glance. Lin Xingran let out a suppressed but barely suppressed gasp, and Lin Ying's eyes widened slightly.

Tang Yanqiu didn't pause for long. She picked up her coffee cup, took a small sip, and continued:

"When I was the principal, each principal would pass on the secrets of the seal to their successor before stepping down. On the day I stepped down, I told Yue Shan the location of the three seals, the dormancy period of the abyss beast, and the contingency plan in case the seals were broken."

"That bloodline seal is to plant an energy contract within the successor principal's body. The contract will form a tiny energy mark directly above the successor's heart, and only this mark can detect the signs of the Abyss Beast's awakening."

"So Yue Shan isn't in the office today—he's not hiding; he's checking the seal. He turned off his phone because the energy fluctuations after entering the sealing array would interfere with electronic devices. You don't need to worry about him."

She put down her coffee cup, shifted her gaze from Ye Yang to Lin Xingran, and then shook her head slightly.

"As for the question you want to ask, 'How to deal with Zero'—to be honest, I don't know more than you do. When the first principal set up the three seals, he believed that 'the successors of the military academy would protect it'."

"He didn't leave behind a method to defeat the Abyss Beast, because that thing is simply impossible to defeat. You can only stop the people of Zero from breaking the seal—you can't let the Abyss Beast awaken."

Lin Xingran had been holding back her words since the beginning.

She tapped her fingers lightly in her pocket several times, pursing and then relaxing her lips.

Finally, after Tang Yanqiu finished speaking, she seemed to have made up her mind and suddenly raised her head, taking a big step forward.

She spoke with great excitement, "Principal Tang! I have a question!"

Tang Yanqiu turned his head slightly and looked at her calmly. Lin Xingran took a deep breath, clenched her fists and raised them in front of her chest, her eyes shining like two newly lit stars:

"The rumor says that when the Abyss Beast awakens, a chosen one will reseal it. This person must possess great combat power, be loyal to the school, and have the determination to protect the Federation."

"Do you think—could that person be me? Look, I'm the best fire control expert in the whole school, I fought alongside Ye Yang, and today I even participated in the battle to besiege the Zero Hunters. My Fire Phoenix—"

Before she could finish speaking, she was interrupted by a sharp flick on the forehead.

Tang Yanqiu quickly stood up from the chair and lightly tapped the center of Lin Xingran's head with her right middle finger with extremely precise force.

Lin Xingran let out a pitiful cry of pain, covered her head and squatted on the ground, tears welling up in her eyes.

Tang Yanqiu withdrew his hand, sat back down in the rattan chair, and spoke in an extremely calm tone.

"Lin Xingran, your Fire Phoenix couldn't even break through the Zero Hunter's energy barrier. Do you really think you can seal the Abyss Beast?"

Lin Xingran squatted on the ground, covering her head, and muttered weakly in a tone that was both aggrieved and unconvinced:

"Well—there's still Ye Yang. If he can't beat me, I can support him from the sidelines. Or give him a fire buff or something—isn't it said that those chosen by fate don't necessarily have to be the main damage dealer? What if they're the team's support?"

Tang Yanqiu picked up his coffee cup and took another sip, looking at Lin Xingran squatting on the ground with a helpless expression, then slowly shook his head:

"It's obvious—you're not. Those chosen by fate don't ask on the battlefield, 'Could that person be me?' The truly chosen ones are usually very low-key and won't volunteer."

"You've always had this personality since elementary school. You always think you'll get all the good things, but in the end, it's never you. I remember once you raised your hand at the opening ceremony to say you wanted to speak on behalf of the new students, but the microphone broke, and no one paid any attention to you even though you had your hand raised for several minutes."

Lin Yumin added insult to injury in an extremely calm tone:

"Another time, she thought she could win the national championship, but Han Shuang knocked her off the stage in one round. She spent several days in the infirmary afterwards, constantly muttering, 'This is not fair.'"

Lin Xingran, clutching her head, cried out in a tone as if she had been bullied by her entire family, "Big sister! Shouldn't you be speaking up for me? We're family! How could you expose my shortcomings in front of Principal Tang?!"

Lin Ying stood at the very back, her hands covering her mouth, her shoulders trembling slightly. She probably didn't want her second sister to see her secretly laughing, but the slight trembling of her silvery-white eyelashes as she tried to suppress her laughter completely betrayed her.

Tang Yanqiu looked at the young people in front of her, put down her coffee cup, and the kind smile on her lips reappeared.

She nodded slightly to Ye Yang, her tone softening somewhat:

"However—you've come to the right place. The matter of the Abyss Beast is not something you students can handle, but we can't just leave it unattended."

"I've already sent someone to inform your Principal Chen, and he'll bring people to strengthen security around the area. All you need to do is stay vigilant, and if you notice anything unusual, notify your Principal Chen or me immediately. Don't rush in on your own—especially you."

She pointed at Ye Yang, "You're pretty good at fighting, but while you can fight, you can't lose your brain."

Then she stood up, brushed off non-existent dust from her cardigan, and nodded in Tsukasa Kadoya's direction: "Mr. Kadoya, if you have time, could you take a proper portrait of me? Mr. Koei's was quite good, but I feel like something's missing."

Tsukasa Kadoya leaned against the wall, casually waving his magenta camera at her. "No problem, but my style is a bit unique—can you handle double images?"

Tang Yanqiu thought about it seriously: "Could you make me look a little less old in the photos?"

Tsukasa Kadoya put down his camera and replied in an extremely sincere tone, "It's difficult. My camera is only for serious photography. However, you can stand in a darker place; the shadows will cover up some of the wrinkles."

Tang Yanqiu remained silent for a while, then turned to look at Kōei Jirō: "Mr. Kōei, why don't you take the picture for me?"