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

The principal led Ye Yang and the others to continue walking on campus. After passing through the green corridor woven by plane trees, the view suddenly opened up before them.

The main parade ground of the First Federal Military Academy stretched out in the afternoon sun, the lawn was neatly trimmed, and white lines marked a standard football field on the green grass.

Right now, a football match is taking place that doesn't look quite right.

The two teams were wearing red and blue training uniforms. When the red team's forward was dribbling past his opponent, his legs were suddenly enveloped in a light blue energy halo.

Immediately afterwards, he seemed to be fast-forwarded, leaving a blurry afterimage as he passed between the two defenders.

His speed was so fast that the ball's tracks on the grass were barely visible. The Blue Team's defender stretched out his foot to intercept, only managing to kick a sliver of blue light that hadn't yet dissipated.

Immediately afterward, a defender from the Blue Team who was nearly two meters tall was not to be outdone. He took a step back, and the muscles in his right leg visibly bulged under his training pants. Then he kicked the ball from the backcourt directly into the frontcourt.

The ball flew across the entire half of the field with a sharp whooshing sound, like a cannonball launched by a catapult.

Just as the red team's goalkeeper was about to jump to catch the ball, their smallest midfielder suddenly stepped on his right foot with his left and took off.

Even more outrageous was the winger from the blue team. He was dribbling the ball into the penalty area and was about to shoot when suddenly he and the ball vanished from the grass completely.

The red team's defenders looked at each other, searching left and right for a while, when the man suddenly reappeared on the left side of the goal and sent the ball into the net with a push shot.

After scoring the goal invisibly, he made a face at the dumbfounded goalkeeper, then patted his specially made combat suit that could reflect light, and ran back to high-five his teammates.

"Wow—" Ye Yang stood outside the wire fence by the playground, his hands gripping the mesh, his eyes wide open.

He watched for a while, then quickly raised the magenta camera on his chest and pressed the shutter on the soccer ball that had just been kicked away and was spinning rapidly in the air.

The camera clicked crisply, and the photo popped out from the bottom. He pinched the edge and shook it, looking at the students in the picture with their energy afterimages, a nostalgic smile appearing on his lips.

"This reminds me of a movie—Shaolin Soccer. It's the kind where a group of people use all sorts of weird and wonderful moves to play soccer. Some people use kung fu to fly through the air, some can kick the ball out of the atmosphere, and some can turn the soccer ball into a fireball. After the whole game, the turf on the field has to be re-laid several times."

Lin Ying stood obediently next to Ye Yang, her hands folded on the wire fence, tilting her head to look at the soccer ball that had just been kicked away and was still flying in the air on the playground.

She blinked, her silvery-white eyelashes fluttering gently in the sunlight.

She thought about it seriously for a moment, then shook her head sincerely: "Kung Fu Soccer—what is that? I've never seen it. But it sounds—very impressive."

"You—the kind of skill you're talking about that can kick out fireballs is a bit like my second sister's fire control technique—but my second sister is terrible at soccer. Last time she kicked a ball on the training field, she hurt her foot and hopped around on one leg several times because of the pain."

"That kind of light-footed skill that lets you fly in the sky—our school also has that ability, but it's usually used to skip class by climbing over walls."

Ye Yang stuffed the photo into his pocket, smiled, waved his hand, and said he would talk about it another time.

The group left the playground and continued walking along the main road.

Principal Chen walked steadily beside Ye Yang, his hands behind his back, the hem of his Zhongshan suit swaying gently with his steps.

As he passed the row of viewing stands by the playground, he suddenly spoke up: "That day—I was there during your speech at the family reunion banquet. I was sitting at the table next to your father. You said that Kamen Riders are warriors who protect love and peace, hiding their sadness beneath their masks. I've always remembered that."

Ye Yang reached up and scratched the back of his head, looking a little embarrassed.

He recalled the scene from that day, standing on the stage, holding that hand-drawn business card in his hand, with military generals and representatives of prominent families sitting below. He hadn't even prepared a draft; he just said whatever came to mind.

"Well—I just said whatever came to mind. When I was standing on the stage and saw Baozi and the others waving at me from below, I got so caught up in the moment that I forgot all the lines I had prepared. Luckily, my dad didn't say I embarrassed them. Besides, to be precise, I haven't awakened any abilities yet, so I'm not considered an awakener."

Principal Chen shook his head slightly. He stopped and turned to look at Ye Yang.

Those old eyes, surrounded by wrinkles, looked exceptionally bright in the afternoon sunlight.

"If only every awakened one had your level of awareness. I've been the principal of this school for many years and have seen far too many young people."

"Some people, after awakening, think they are superior to others, while others use their abilities as tools to fight for power and profit. You just said that you don't consider yourself an awakened one—but what difference does it really make whether you're awakened or not?"

"The important thing is that you are yourself. Your armor is magenta, your camera captures everyone's smiling faces, and your speeches are full of empty words. That's who you are. What does it matter if you're an Awakened One or not?"

Ye Yang was silent for a moment, then nodded.

He didn't say anything polite, but simply touched the magenta camera on his chest with two fingers.

Lin Yumin walked on the other side of the principal. When she heard the principal's words, her gaze lingered on Ye Yang's face for a moment, and a faint smile appeared on her lips.

Lin Ying walked beside Ye Yang, glanced at him secretly, then looked down at the tips of her shoes, unable to suppress the smile on her lips.

Lin Xingran was walking at the very back when she suddenly rubbed her eyes hard, saying that the sun was too strong and her eyes hurt, but the way she rubbed her eyes didn't look like she was trying to block the sun at all.

After they left the playground, at the other end of the barbed wire fence, a tall, slender figure leaned against a pillar of the viewing platform.

He wore a well-tailored black suit jacket, and the magenta shirt underneath gleamed with a very faint metallic sheen in the afternoon sunlight.

He had a magenta camera hanging around his neck, almost identical to Ye Yang's, with the lens cap off and the lens reflecting slightly in the sunlight.

He held the camera up to his eyes, aiming it at the receding figures in the distance.

The boy in the crimson shirt was tilting his head and talking to the silver-haired girl next to him. The girl raised her hand and gently patted his arm.

He pressed the shutter. The photo popped out from the bottom of the camera, with a very faint magenta ghosting around the edges.

In the scene, Ye Yang is looking back towards the playground. His profile in the sunlight overlaps with that of a child from long ago, whose face was dirty but whose eyes were bright.

He pinched the edge of the photo and shook it, then looked down at it, a smile that only he understood appearing on his lips.

"You've grown up, kid. The last time I saw you, you were just a tiny little thing. I never imagined you'd be wearing the same shirt as me now, and even have your own friend with you."

Just then, a clear female voice came from behind: "Teacher Wang Xiaoming—the teachers' dormitory is this way, you've gone the wrong way. Are you new to the school and not familiar with the way yet? The dormitory area is on the other side of the playground. You need to cross this viewing platform and turn right."

Tsukasa Kadoya stuffed the photo into the inside pocket of his suit, then turned around and gave the female teacher a warm and welcoming smile.

He slung the magenta camera around his neck, then put his hands in his suit trouser pockets and walked unhurriedly toward the teachers' dormitory.

"Okay, here it comes. The sunshine is really nice today—perfect for taking pictures."