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

Deep inside the mine, only a few dark purple energy patterns remained on the stone walls, faintly glowing. These were energy marks left by Shen Yunzhou and Song Zhiming when they conducted their silent beast fusion experiment here.

Countless Silent Beast corpses were scattered on the ground, some of them already mostly rotten, revealing the grayish-white bones underneath.

Some still retain their ferocious appearance from when they were alive, their carapaces covered with gaps where something had gnawed at them.

The air was filled with a nauseating smell of decay and the stench of medicine.

In the corner, there was a row of rusty iron cages, filled with various experimental instruments.

This place was originally the core laboratory where Shen Yunzhou and Song Zhiming secretly researched the Silent Beast Gu poison, but now, everything here has become Old Mo's feed.

Old Mo stood in the relatively empty stone chamber at the deepest part of the mine, surrounded by piles of the remains of the silent beasts he had gnawed on.

His grayish-white carapace gleamed with a cold, eerie light under the reflection of dark purple energy patterns, and the row of bone spurs on his back, extending from the back of his neck to his tailbone, rose and fell gently with his stiff breathing.

He mechanically shook his neck, his cervical spine making a few dry cracking sounds, and then raised his right hand.

On his right wrist hung an old bracelet that had faded so much that its original color was no longer discernible. The bracelet had several deep and shallow scratches and a small patch of dried, blackened blood.

His fingers unconsciously caressed the bracelet, his eyes staring blankly ahead, the scarlet light flickering deep in his eye sockets like two lamps about to run out of oil.

Suddenly, his eyes flickered.

The crimson light flickered deep within his pupils, as if something from a distant place was sending an extremely faint signal.

He turned around, his body slightly suspended in the air, his feet a few centimeters off the ground, intending to leave.

Just then, footsteps came from the direction of the mine entrance.

Then a tall, dark shadow slowly emerged from the darkness of the mine.

A pair of devilish wing-like horns on the helmet outlined a sharp silhouette in the darkness.

The purplish-red compound eyes shone like two will-o'-the-wisps from the depths of a nightmare in the dim mine.

Dawn glanced around, then looked at the inhuman, ghostly figure in front of him, wearing a strange iron mask.

He didn't act immediately, but sighed very softly: "Let me help you end your suffering, old Mo."

Old Mo's body suddenly leaned back, and then he flew straight towards the open space next to Dawn.

He wanted to bypass the dawn and fly outside.

He flew very fast, leaving a gray-white afterimage in the air. The scattered bones of the silent beasts on the ground were swirled up by his flight currents and turned several times in the air.

Dawn leaped up just as he was about to pass by.

He flipped his body halfway through the air, then reached out with his right hand and precisely grabbed one of Old Mo's ankles.

Then, with a sudden burst of strength from his waist, he executed a clean and swift over-the-shoulder throw in mid-air, managing to pull the Mexican man, who was nearly twice his size, down from the sky.

Old Mo's body tumbled twice in the air before crashing into the stone wall on the side of the mine.

The stone wall was smashed open with a large spiderweb-like crack, and rubble fell down with a clatter, bouncing several times on the ground.

Old Mo's body was embedded in the very center of the crack, and then he slowly floated out of the stone wall.

He lowered his head and let out a very low, deep roar.

Li Ming clapped his hands, brushing off the lime powder that had stuck to his gloves.

Then he raised his right hand and calmly beckoned to Old Mo.

Old Mo raised his head. His scarlet eyes blazed with fury.

He let out a low growl, then extended his right claw. The old bracelet hanging from that claw swayed gently on his wrist with the movement.

Then he charged straight toward Dawn, raising his right claw high and bringing it down toward Dawn's head.

Li Ming dodged to the side.

The claws grazed his shoulder armor, leaving three fine sparks as they slashed across it before striking the ground, creating a shallow crater the size of a washbasin.

Old Mo's attack missed, and his body lurched forward half a step due to inertia.

Taking advantage of this half-step opening, Li Ming threw out his right fist, and a layer of purplish-red energy halo appeared on his glove.

The fist struck Old Mo's left cheek, and a purplish-red energy wave exploded into a fine halo at the point of contact.

Old Mo's head was hit so hard it swung violently to the right, his body spinning several times in the air before he landed unsteadily on the ground.

He shook his head, making a few cracking sounds as his joints rubbed together, and then raised his right paw again.

He first feinted half a circle to the left, then his right claw swiftly slashed upwards from below, aiming straight for Li Ming's throat.

Li Ming raised his hand to block, and sparks flew as his arm armor collided with the claws.

With a flick of his wrist, his palm shifted from a blocking motion to a forward thrust, striking Lao Mo squarely in the center of his chest.

A crimson punitive energy erupted from his palm, forming a visible energy wave that spread outwards.

Old Mo was forced back several steps by the blow, his feet carving two deep furrows in the gravel.

A clear handprint appeared on the grayish-white carapace on his chest, the edges of which were slightly charred.

But after only a short while, the palm print began to slowly recover at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Li Ming frowned as he looked at the rapidly healing palm print.

He recalled the records in Song Zhiming's experimental notes that after Lao Mo's body was transplanted with the nucleus of a Silent Beast, he gained regenerative abilities far exceeding those of ordinary Silent Beasts, and the Corpse King form further elevated this regenerative ability to a new level.

How much food did that old man give to the Mexican?

The corpses of the Silent Beasts that filled the mine, and the samples left by Shen Yunzhou, all became nutrients for the Silent Beast cells in his body.

Old Mo didn't give Dawn any more time to sigh.

He raised his hands, opening both palms simultaneously. Dark purple energy surged out from the gaps in his carapace, gathering into two pulsating black energy balls in his palms.

Then he swung out both claws at the same time, and several black, claw-shaped shockwaves shot out from his fingertips, leaving a sharp whistling sound in the air.

Dawn calmly stepped aside and slid through the gap between the two claw-like waves.

He raised his hand and slapped the card box hanging at his waist. The card box came off the clasp and flipped several times in the air.

He reached out and caught the falling card box, then gently pressed his fingers on the surface of the box, and a purplish-red light burst out from the gap in the card box.

The card case began to deform, its outer shell slid open to the sides, and its internal structure quickly folded and reassembled. The hilt extended from the grip center, and the blade unfolded from both sides of the spine.

A few seconds later, he was holding a heavy greatsword with a sharp design.

The sword blade is made of a dark purple matte armor material, with asymmetrical biological skeletal textures covering its surface.

The blade was clear and sharp, with countless tiny energy particles slowly circulating inside.

The greatsword was almost half the length of his body, with extremely taut lines.

He gripped the sword hilt with both hands and held the greatsword horizontally in front of him.

The purple-pink nightmare energy flowing along the blade was particularly striking in the darkness of the mine.

Then he grabbed the two handles of the greatsword and twisted them to the sides.

The greatsword splits into two independent short swords along the central axis.

The longsword "Blade of Sin" retains the structure of the main blade, with a long and slender blade and rose-red energy patterns printed on the blade.

The short sword "Punishment Blade" is thicker and heavier, with more prominent hollowed-out bone texture on the spine, giving it an overall bone-blade feel.

The two swords spun half a circle in his hands, their blades whirring as they cut through the air.

The moment the swords separated, a purplish-red energy shockwave exploded between the two swords, shattering the black claw waves that were still flying towards them.

The purplish-red compound eyes in Li Ming's eyes shone even brighter. The next second, he vanished from his spot, leaving only a ring of slowly dissipating purplish-red energy ripples on the ground where he had just stood.

When he reappeared, he was less than half a meter to the side of the Mexican.

His right foot was raised high, his boot covered in a layer of purplish-red punitive energy.

The instep of his foot left a scorching arc of energy in the air as he kicked towards Old Mo's head.

The moment the instep collided with the iron mask, a purplish-red shockwave exploded outwards.

The shockwave spread outwards from the point of impact, blowing away all the rubble and remains of the Silent Beast on the ground.

The old man's head was knocked off balance by the kick, and he was sent flying to the side.

Before he even landed, dawn had already vanished once more.

This time, he appeared directly above the Mexican's flight path.

A purplish-black afterimage trailed in a half-circle in the air before he kicked it down.

The combat boots slammed into Old Mo's chest, slamming him hard into the pile of beast bones in the corner.

The cracking sounds of bones breaking echoed repeatedly, sending fragments and dust flying everywhere.

Li Ming landed steadily on the ground, his knees slightly bent to absorb all the impact.

He twirled the two swords in his hands, the Blade of Sin and the Blade of Punishment each spinning half a circle in his palms, the energy patterns on the blades trailing two smooth purplish-red arcs of light as they rotated.

Then he swung both swords forward at the same time.

Two arc-shaped red energy sword shadows detached from the blade.

The sword shadow glided along the ground at high speed, finally crashing into the pile of bones that was still emitting dust.

The moment the pile of bones exploded, a purplish-red energy shockwave burst outwards from the inside, blasting Old Mo straight out of it.

Old Mo was blasted several meters away, his body tumbling several times in the air before crashing to the ground.

Several cracks, cut by the sword shadows, appeared on his carapace, the edges of which were charred black by the energy.

He braced himself on the ground with his right paw and struggled to get up.

Then he looked down at the old bracelet on his right wrist.

Another new scratch appeared on the bracelet when it fell to the ground earlier.

He raised his left hand and touched the surface of the bracelet very lightly with his hideous claw, letting out a very low whimper.

Meanwhile, in the detention room of the town's police station.

The woman sat quietly in the chair. Her head was down, her hands were on her knees, and her fingers were unconsciously twisting the hem of her dress.

Suddenly she clutched her heart and sprang up from her chair.

She let out a heart-wrenching scream: "Old Mo!"

Then she rushed towards the door like a madwoman.

Lin Ying stepped in front of her and blocked her way with her arms outstretched.

The woman kept ramming into Lin Ying, her shoulders turning blue. Her strength was useless against an awakened being, but she kept ramming.

Lin Ying stood there motionless, her head bowed, her light gray eyes reflecting the woman's face, which was already disfigured from crying.

The woman slowly stopped thrusting, then knelt on the ground, grabbed Lin Ying's legs with both hands, and screamed with all her might:

"Please—let me see Old Mo—he's the only person in the world who's ever been kind to me. My parents sold me when I was little, moving me from one place to another, and nobody treated me like a human being."

"It was Old Mo—he didn't despise me—he saved me—he brought me out of that place—he said things would get better—we planted persimmon trees—they should bear fruit this year—please—let me see him one last time—"

Her fingers dug several deep dents into Lin Ying's shoes.

Then she raised her hand, put her fingers in her mouth, and pinched her tongue.

"If you don't let me see Old Mo—I'll just—bit my tongue right here—and I mean it—"

The calm in Lin Ying's eyes finally cracked.

She clenched her fist, and icy blue energy flickered erratically at her fingertips several times.

Just as she was wondering what to do, Ye Yang's voice came through the communicator.

Meanwhile, inside the mine, Li Ming thrust his twin swords into the ground, the blades striking the gravel with two crisp, metallic clangs.

Old Mo was kneeling on the ground, his right hand still clutching the bracelet.

He looked up at the purplish-red armored warrior in front of him. His crimson eyes no longer held anger, only countless exhaustion and bewilderment.

Dawn stood before him, her purplish-red compound eyes calmly gazing at him.

"Old Mo. You've suffered. None of this is your fault. You shouldn't have become like this, and you shouldn't bear all this sin."

He took half a step forward, his boots making a slight crunching sound on the gravel.

Then he raised his right hand and placed it on the armor on his chest.

"Now, I'll take you home."

He stomped his right foot on the floor, and the moment his boots touched the ground, countless vein-like energy enhancement paths appeared on Dawn's dark-themed armor.

The patterns spread from the X-shaped purplish-black decoration on the chest all over the body, like a fuse that was ignited in an instant.

All the patterns simultaneously lit up with a strong magenta light, which shone through the gaps in the armor, illuminating the entire depths of the mine as if it were daytime.

Deep purple nightmare particles rose from the ground, churning and boiling like magma.

The bottom of the entire mine had become a purple ocean of nightmare particles, and each surge would drag the scattered bones of the Silent Beasts into the depths.

As dawn broke, he ran across the surging sea of ​​purple particles, his body leaning slightly forward as he ran, his horns leaving two streaks of purplish-red light in the darkness.

Then he jumped high into the air, his right leg stretched out straight, the sole of his boot aimed at the old Mexican who was still kneeling on the ground.

Behind him, a purplish-black mist dragon formed from nightmare particles roared out of the boiling sea of ​​particles.

Its mouth opened wide, and it let out a deafening roar.

The dragon's body coiled rapidly around Li Ming's body, and the two rushed towards Lao Mo at the same time.

The belt emitted a deep, resonant sound—"Punish Shoot!"

Dawn kicked Old Mo in the chest with his right foot.

The crimson energy erupted completely in that instant, and a blinding crimson beam of light shot into the sky from the point of impact, piercing through the entire mine shaft.

Old Mo's body was kicked away by this kick.

He traversed the entire mine tunnel and finally flew to the open, rocky ground outside.

His body traced a grayish-white parabola in the moonlight before crashing heavily to the ground.

He lay sprawled on the ground, limbs limp, the hole in his body from Dawn's flying kick still emitting purplish-red smoke.

The old bracelet on his wrist finally came loose from the impact and rolled into a crevice in the rubble a few meters away.

He lay there, his body slowly dissipating, the edges of his grayish-white carapace beginning to transform into extremely fine dark purple light particles that peeled off the carapace.

At that moment, an SUV came to an abrupt stop on the gravel ground.

The woman jumped out of the car before the door was fully opened.

She got off the bus but lost her balance and fell to the ground.

Her knee hit the gravel and bled instantly, but she got up and kept running.

She ran to Lao Mo's side and hugged his head, which was slowly dissipating, in her arms.

Her tears fell onto the iron mask and slowly slid down it.

"Don't be afraid—don't be afraid—Old Mexican—I'm here—don't be afraid—I'm here—"

Her fingers gently stroked the iron mask on Old Mo's face.

She remembered him saying "I'll be back before dark" every morning before he went out to chop firewood, remembered the way he would turn around and smile at her with his hunting knife hanging at his waist, remembered his honest smile as he squatted under the persimmon tree and said to the newly formed persimmons, "They'll be ready to be dried into persimmon cakes in another year."

At this moment, four purplish-black nightmare dragons began to emerge from the ground beneath Lao Mo's body, slowly crawling in four directions.

Four dragons snaked across the ground, each leaving a long, purplish-black tail.

The woman hugged Old Mo even tighter. Her face was pressed against the cold iron mask, her eyes fixed on the slowly drifting purplish-red particles in the night sky.

Her voice suddenly became very calm, as if she had finally unloaded all her burdens.

"Old Mo, I'm sorry. Let's go together."

The four Nightmare Dragons that had scattered in four directions stopped crawling at the same time.

They each stood up, their dragon bodies rapidly transforming into four quarter-fan-shaped metal coffin walls.

The coffin walls have a dark, matte metallic texture, and the interior is filled with spikes, but those spikes begin to emit a gentle purifying energy even before they close.

The four coffin walls slowly converged towards the center from four directions simultaneously.

Lin Ying jumped out of the off-road vehicle, raised her hand, and ice-blue energy quickly condensed at her fingertips.

Just then, a purplish-red figure blocked her way.

Li Ming raised his right palm towards Lin Ying, then slowly shook his head and said in a very soft voice, "Wait a moment."

The woman watched as the coffin slowly closed in on her from four directions, her face showing no fear.

She looked down at the head in her arms, which was already disintegrating in large parts, and very lightly wiped the crooked words on the iron mask with the back of her hand—"Wait for me to come home."

She smiled softly, her tears falling onto Lao Mo's chest, which was already mostly emaciated, like a petal falling on a stone.

The coffins were completely joined together.

The four coffin walls converge and join together in the center to form a complete Iron Maiden-style execution coffin, with a dazzling purple-pink energy light shining through the gaps between the coffins.

The belt emitted a deep and solemn sound effect—"THE END."

The coffin door slowly opened, and two butterflies flew out.

After they flew out of the coffin, they circled half a circle around the edge of the coffin door, then they intertwined with each other and flew into the depths of the night sky.

Ye Yang deactivated his transformation, and the magenta light particles retracted back into his waist driver.

He stood on the gravel ground, looking up as the two butterflies flew further and further away until they became two tiny specks of light, and then were swallowed by the night.

Lin Ying stood behind him, her light gray eyes reflecting the direction in which the two butterflies had last disappeared.

"Is she really willing to leave this world with him?"

Ye Yang didn't answer immediately. He lowered his head, looking at the hand that had just gripped the sword, his fingers curling slightly before relaxing again.

"We have no right to make decisions for others. Her life and death are in her own hands. If her husband dies and she's left alone in this world, she won't be happy."

"I hope they can be happier in their next life."