As a weirdo, I like being a Kamen Rider

Just as the two sides were at an impasse, Lin Chen broke the silence by saying, "Shotaro, you absolutely cannot hand over the power of W."

The sudden sound drew everyone's attention. Zuo Xiangtaro frowned as he looked at Lin Chen, who had entered the room, and asked, "You, do you know something now?"

Lin Chen walked straight to the table and sat down, looking at Shotaro with a serious expression. He slowly explained, "If you hand over your power, you won't be able to transform into W anymore. The current Fuuto is still fraught with danger and cannot do without W's protection. You simply can't afford to gamble."

Shotaro fell silent. In truth, ever since seeing the future scenes on the tablet and believing Sougo's words, he had been struggling with this matter. He knew a catastrophe was coming, but he didn't want to easily give up his power or his responsibility to protect Fuuto, which was why he had been at an impasse with Sougo.

"Besides, we just went through the Decade incident. There's more than one world, and there are countless parallel worlds. How do you know that the future he's talking about is definitely the future of this world?"

Lin Chen's words seemed to solidify Zuo Xiangtaro's resolve. He ignored the two kids who were stalemate with him, turned around, walked quickly to Philip's side, and snatched the high-tech tablet.

Philip panicked instantly and reached out to snatch it back, complaining with a look of resentment, "Shotaro! What are you doing! Give this interesting thing back to me!"

"Stop fooling around, business is important." Shotaro Satoshi was unusually serious for once, and he held down the restless Philip.

He then took the tablet, walked straight back to Sougo and Tsukuyomi, handed the tablet back, and resolutely got up to open the door, making it clear that he was about to see them out.

At this moment, he knew perfectly well that no matter how dangerous the future might be, he could not gamble with his bond with Philip, or with the future of the entire Wind City.

Looking at the closed door of Narumi Detective Agency, Tokiwa Sougo and Tsukuyomi exchanged a glance and could only manage a helpless, bitter smile.

Chapter 151 Trap

After chasing the two kids away, Shotaro Sakai got Philip back into the investigation.

Previously, Philip immediately contacted the Earth Library to frantically retrieve all of Kurata Kenji's information, sorting through his past crimes and activity patterns. However, all the clues were scattered, and no matter how he filtered and matched them, he was always missing the most crucial core keyword, making it impossible to pinpoint the perpetrator's hiding place, and the investigation reached a stalemate.

Several people gathered around the special fragment recovered from the battlefield, examining it repeatedly, but no one could discern the key to its value. Just as everyone was at a loss, Akiko casually picked up the fragment and examined it a few times. Looking at its rounded shape and unique patterns, she remarked casually, "This thing is round; if you look at it upside down, doesn't it look like an apple?"

This unintentional remark immediately jolted Philip out of his daze.

The missing keywords were instantly filled in, and all the scattered clues were instantly connected. He immediately opened his eyes and told Shotaro that Kurata Kenji's hiding place had been found, in the Xiawood Building in the northeast of the Fudo West Lingming area.

Meanwhile, in the tranquil Sonozaki Manor, Ryūbei and Wakana were playing chess.

However, Ruocai was distracted throughout the game, her thoughts wandering, her moves haphazard and lacking any strategic intent. Within a few rounds, she made repeated mistakes and ultimately lost the game.

Ryūbei looked at her perfunctory and careless manner with disappointment and dissatisfaction, and reprimanded Wakana for being too childish, self-centered, and unable to keep her composure in the face of problems.

He bluntly stated that in comparison, Saeko is calm, reliable, and meticulous in handling matters, managing all family affairs flawlessly without ever requiring him to worry, and that Wakana should definitely learn more from her older sister.

No one knew that the reason Wakana was distracted was that she was thinking about Philip the whole time. She had a special feeling in her heart, a vague sense that there was something unique and inexplicable between her and Philip.

This feeling kept nagging at her, making it impossible for her to concentrate.

Just then, Wakana's phone rang; it was a work reminder from the radio station, and her broadcast was about to begin. She stood up, politely said goodbye to Ryubei and Saeko, and hurriedly left the manor for her workplace.

After Wakana left, only Ryubei and Saeko remained in the study. Ryubei sighed softly, remarking that Saeko, as the eldest daughter, was steady and reliable, making things much easier for him. However, he quickly composed himself and spoke seriously, stating that the recent development of the Gaia Memory had been too slow, the old plan had stalled, and it was time to launch a new project to develop a completely new memory.

Saeko understood her father's unspoken meaning; he was already dissatisfied with the fact that they hadn't found the person yet.

She immediately bowed in response, saying that she had been following up on the whole process and that there would be results soon, and that it would not delay the family's plans.

After giving her instructions, Saeko bowed and took her leave, leaving the study and heading to the manor hall. In the hall, Kirihiko, dressed in a sharp suit, walked in slowly, his face grave, his brows furrowed, his whole being radiating conflict and struggle.

He was filled with questions and concerns, and after a long period of deliberation, he finally mustered the courage to ask Saeko.

Saeko noticed his unusual behavior and casually asked, "Is something the matter?"

Just as Kirihiko was about to speak, Saeko had already lost her patience. Looking at the indecisive Kirihiko, she scolded him with a face full of disappointment, "You're getting more and more useless."

After saying that, she didn't give Wuyan any chance to speak. She took out her personal communicator and said coldly to the other end, "The performance is about to begin. I hope you won't disappoint me."

With that, she walked past Kirihiko and left. Watching Saeko's retreating figure, Kirihiko remained silent for a long time before finally following her, wanting to find out what kind of scheme this "performance" was.

Having located Kurata Kenji's hiding place, Shotaro Sakai dared not delay any longer and immediately prepared to set off with Fuyumi Aso. He had to eliminate the imposter before he could cause even more trouble in Fuuto under the Kamen Rider name, thus clearing Kamen Rider's name. Akiko, unwilling to remain at the agency, also wanted to go and help out.

Lin Chen once again chose to follow in secret. He didn't remember exactly what happened in this part of the story, but he remembered one key point: this part of the story was the time when Philip first appeared in his Fang Ace form.

As we all know, the debut of a new form of Rider is always accompanied by more troublesome problems; this is an unchanging law.

Moreover, although the overall situation in Fengdu remains unchanged, many of the details are completely different. Furthermore, the Little Demon King and his group have infiltrated the city, the Time Jackers lurking in the shadows are eyeing W's power, and even the mysterious Time and Space Administration may intervene at any time.

How did the situation become so complicated? Lin Chen couldn't help but rub his forehead.

As Shotaro, Akiko, and Fuyumi Aso stepped out of the alley where the agency was located, they immediately spotted Sougo and Tsukuyomi still waiting by the roadside. The two had clearly not left; they had been squatting down to rest and wait for him. As soon as they saw Shotaro appear, they immediately stood up and quickly approached him.

Shotaro was already eager to deal with the imposter and was extremely annoyed. He frowned and waved his hand to shoo him away, saying, "You two brats, don't get involved. I have important business to attend to right now, so don't bother me!"

After saying that, he didn't give the two a chance to speak. He took Asou Fuyumi and Akiko to get on the motorcycle, twisted the throttle, and the engine roared. The motorcycle sped along the streets of Futo and disappeared at the intersection in the blink of an eye.

No sooner had Shotaro and his group left than Sougo turned to Tsukuyomi beside him: "Quick, let's catch up!"

Shotaro sped along, quickly leading everyone to the Shawood Building. Following the clues Philip had found, the group headed straight for the building's underground passage, where, sure enough, they encountered the armed hybrid Kurata Kenji, who was parked on a motorcycle deep within the dark passage.

Sensing someone had intruded, Kurata Kenji slowly stopped his motorcycle, flipped himself onto the ground, and deactivated his monster transformation. His true form was revealed: a man with shoulder-length, slightly curly black hair, a pale and bloodless face, and a large military green overcoat. He looked gloomy and aloof.

Looking at her former companion and lover, Asou Fuyumi felt a mix of emotions. She quickly stepped forward to persuade him to turn back and give up the Gaia Memory. She told him that they were just thieves and he should stop sinking into depravity and committing evil.

Upon hearing this, Kurata Kenji sneered and immediately turned hostile. He hissed in a low voice, for from the moment he obtained the Gaia Memory, he had been completely consumed by its power and utterly unable to control himself. To demand the Memory now was tantamount to taking away everything he had left, no different from killing him.

As soon as he finished speaking, he roughly flung away Fuyumi Aso's hand and, without hesitation, shoved the Gaia Memory into the transformation interface in the corner of his eye.

A burst of pitch-black energy erupted, and the armed dopant reappeared.

"Philip!"

Shotaro immediately put on the Lost Driver and shouted his partner's name.

The familiar transformation sound effect echoed through the passage, the power of the whirlwind and the ace intertwined, and Kamen Rider W appeared, standing in front of Akiko and Fuyumi Aso.

Seeing W alone in front of him, the armed hybrid immediately relaxed his guard, rubbed his hands together playfully, and said arrogantly, "Your companion isn't here, Mr. Genuine Knight. Now, let's have some fun!"

After saying that, he rushed forward and started fighting with W. The crisp sound of fists and feet colliding rang out continuously as the two fought back and forth, dust flying and sparks flying in the corridor.

As the fight raged on, the Armed Hybrid took advantage of a lull in the close-quarters combat to instantly transform its left hand into a sharp battle axe, which it slammed heavily into W's chest armor!

With a loud bang, the sturdy knight armor exploded with a burst of blinding sparks. The enormous impact forced W to kneel on one knee, and his body swayed several times.

The armed hybrid's eyes lit up at the sight, and it immediately pressed its advantage, intending to end the battle. But just as it lunged forward, W switched forms!

"Heat! Metal!"

The berserk metal form appeared, and a long metal staff materialized out of thin air. W used the momentum to get up, wielding the staff and slamming it forward, striking the armed hybrid in the abdomen.

Kurata Kenji cried out in pain, unable to control himself and staggering backward, his whole body tense with pain.

"hateful!"

Enraged, he transformed his battle axe into a greatsword in his left hand, and simultaneously drew the massive broken sword from his back, unleashing both swords in a frenzied attack on W once more.

Melee combat is the forte of Frenzied Metal, and even with dual weapons, he was still completely suppressed by W, who was wielding a long staff, and had no chance to fight back, retreating step by step.

Knowing he was no match for his opponent in close combat, the armed hybrid immediately changed tactics. His left hand abandoned its melee weapon, transforming it into a firearm. He aimed the gun at W and unleashed a barrage of dense bullets, a devastating barrage.

The sudden long-range firepower made it difficult for W to get close, so he had to immediately call for support from the base vehicle.

The massive mobile construction vehicle quickly arrived at the scene, standing in front of W and taking the brunt of the artillery fire. Taking advantage of the lull in the firepower, W swiftly switched forms!

"Heat! Trigger!"

The muzzle of the gun, which was fired with frenzy, instantly burst into flames, unleashing a barrage of fire energy bullets that struck the armed hybrid, sending him flying backward.

W seized the opportunity to press her advantage, switching back to her Frenzied Metal form and charging forward with a long staff, relentlessly attacking and pinning the Armed Dopant to the ground.

Despite being repeatedly struck, the armed hybrid did not get up. Instead, it collapsed to the ground, showing no sign of panic at its defeat. Instead, it looked up at W and said, "How interesting!"

Just then, the communicator on his waist suddenly rang. Even though he was in the midst of a fierce battle, he didn't care and simply sat cross-legged on the ground to answer the call.

A cold female voice came from the other end of the phone, her tone full of warning, scolding him for just being playful and for not showing his true abilities.

Kurata Kenji quickly nodded in agreement: "Yes, yes, yes! I'll play seriously right away!"

After hanging up the call, he slowly stood up, his languid expression completely vanishing. He smiled and said to W, "I've been warned by my master. It seems the real show is about to begin!"

After saying that, he confidently snapped his fingers, waiting for his hidden trump card to be played.

One second, ten seconds, a full minute passed, and the underground passage remained quiet and empty; nothing had happened.

W froze for a moment, then blurted out in confusion, "What!?"

He had been on high alert the whole time, thinking the other party was hiding some trump card he didn't know about, but there was no sign of them making a move at all.

Kurata Kenji himself was completely dumbfounded, looking utterly bewildered, and couldn't understand why his pre-arranged backup plan hadn't appeared yet.

Just as the two were locked in a strange stalemate, a voice suddenly came from the darkness of the passage: "Are you looking for these henchmen? Too bad, I've already taken care of them."

As soon as the words fell, a figure slowly stepped out of the shadows, casually carrying the masquerade hybrid that had lost all mobility.

Chapter 152 The Time Jackers Appear

The person who came was Tokiwa Sougo, who had followed them all the way.

Just as W and the Armed Dopant had begun their battle, Sougo was about to transform and rush to help, but Tsukuyomi grabbed his arm, signaling him to watch out for the shadows on either side. Upon closer inspection, they saw a dense swarm of Masquerade Dopants hidden in the shadows—a pre-arranged ambush by the Armed Dopant.

Sougo remained silent, quietly transforming and taking advantage of the fact that the henchmen hadn't shown themselves yet. He then ambushed and eliminated them one by one, finally emerging with the leader in his arms.

He casually tossed the masquerade doppelganger he was holding near Kurata Kenji's feet, its body hitting the ground with a dull thud. Seeing Zi-O suddenly appear out of nowhere, Kurata Kenji was both angry and annoyed, cursing "Damn it!" as if he had lost his mind, and charged straight at him.

W and Sougo immediately tensed up and got into a fighting stance, but to their surprise, Kurata Kenji didn't touch the two knights at all. Instead, he suddenly changed direction and headed straight for Akiko and Asou Fuyumi standing behind him.

Shotaro instantly realized that this guy wanted to take hostages. Without thinking, he immediately maneuvered the Tough Guy base vehicle to block the two girls' path, while simultaneously switching to Luna Metal form. His metal arms suddenly extended and hooked onto the steel frame above the passage, using the momentum to land in front of Akiko in an instant.

He opened the base vehicle's hatch and urged the two to quickly crawl inside for safety. As Kurata Kenji rushed forward, he also caught sight of Philip lying quietly inside the vehicle.

He knew that with W and Zi-O joining forces, he had no chance of winning and dared not fight back. He hurriedly pulled out the communicator from his waist.

"Lady Saeko, the plan has failed. All our men in the ambush are gone, but the key target has shown up. We request immediate reinforcements!"

Saeko's voice on the other end of the communication was full of disdain as she coldly scolded, "What a waste of your strength. Try your best to hold off the enemy. Reinforcements will be here soon."

After hanging up the call, Kurata Kenji went all out, no longer caring about his original plan to use the hostages as leverage. He grabbed his broken blade and charged towards W with a roar.

W, using the retractable metal arms of Luna Metal, constantly maneuvered, his long arms flexibly wrapping and parrying, occasionally extending suddenly to bind his opponent's hands and feet, restricting his ability to change weapons. Meanwhile, Zi-O, wielding the Clock Sword, moved to the side, searching for openings.

Kurata was forced into a corner, his left hand sometimes turning into a battle axe to slash and sometimes into a rapid-fire gun to sweep across the passage. He also frequently swung his giant broken sword, the heavy sword wind blowing dust all over the passage.

He launched a fierce attack on W one moment, then turned his firepower on Sougo the next. He barely managed to withstand the pincer attack with his versatile weapon, but he was always on the defensive.

Shotaro kept adjusting his rhythm, and his metal arm suddenly wrapped around the opponent's wrist. Sougo immediately followed up with a sword strike to the monster's chest, and sparks flew as the armor exploded.

After several back-and-forth exchanges, Kurata's stamina was rapidly depleting, his attacks became increasingly sluggish, and his combos were showing more and more openings. Finding an opening, he used W to pull back, a whirlwind slowly gathering around him as he raised his right leg, preparing his deadly Knight Kick to finish off the struggling Armed Hybrid.

Just as W was launching himself into the air, about to unleash his finishing kick, a blinding ball of energy suddenly flew from afar and slammed into him with a deafening roar. The powerful impact interrupted the Knight's Kick, and W staggered back a few steps as he landed.