As a weirdo, I like being a Kamen Rider

However, this matter cannot be made public for the time being. It can only be implemented gradually after the subsequent drugs are widely available and the situation is completely stable.

As for Orphino, who remained incorrigible and insisted on committing evil even after he issued the new rules, Hanagata said that Lin Chen could deal with him as he pleased without showing any mercy.

Bringing his thoughts back, Lin Chen looked at the three people in front of him and spoke calmly.

Lin Chen: "I know you're not convinced, not convinced by me as the suddenly appearing new president, and you don't understand why I forbid everyone from attacking humans. It's okay, you'll understand after you hear what I'm about to say."

He raised his eyes, his gaze sweeping over the three of them. "You've all probably heard some of the rumors circulating within the clan, about the Orphnochs' own destiny."

"What rumors?" Zhuo Mo Yilang raised an eyebrow upon hearing this and asked subconsciously.

Saeko Kageyama remained silent, lost in thought, vaguely guessing what was going on. J continued to pet the puppy, seemingly indifferent to everything else.

Lin Chen's lips curled slightly, his tone calm, yet every word pierced the heart, revealing the cruel truth that all Orphnochs must face. "It's simple—all Orphnochs are destined to die young. Do you really think that only death in battle or being killed will cause them to turn to sand and perish?"

"wrong!"

"From the moment they complete their evolution, all Orphnochs are genetically deficient."

"Whether you live a peaceful life or rely on your power to do evil, the ending is the same. Within a few years, your genes will break down and you will die completely in the desert."

Qian Qiao left the laundromat, hopped on a motorcycle parked by the roadside, and the engine hummed as it rolled down the street.

The wind whistled past his ears, and the scene from the street earlier flashed repeatedly in his mind—Kiba Yuji transformed into a horse-shaped Orphnoch, stepping in front of him to block Takuma Itsuki's long whip. Despite being an Orphnoch, he attacked his own kind; according to what Lin Chen had said before leaving, he, like Nagata, wanted to live as a human.

The boundaries he once defined are gradually becoming blurred.

Sunlight streamed through the apartment's blinds, casting interplay of light and shadow on the floor.

Kiba Yuji sat at the low table in the living room. Morishita Yoshimasa had already left, and Kiba had remained in the same position ever since. Yoshimasa's words about revenge still echoed in his ears.

The doorbell rang, interrupting Kiba's thoughts.

Kiba paused for a moment, his first thought being that Morishita had returned. He got up to open the door, and there stood Inui Takumi standing there. A hint of surprise flashed in his eyes, but there was no wariness. Kiba stepped aside to make way for him, his voice gentle: "It's you. Come in and sit down."

Without any formalities, Qian Qiao stepped inside.

The apartment wasn't big, but it was clean and tidy. Several water glasses were on the dining table in the living room, and a half-open bag of bread was next to them. Keitaro told me that these were the three people living there: Nagata Yuka, Kiba Yuji, and a man that Keitaro somewhat disliked who had been appearing in the laundry room lately, pursuing the truth.

The room was quiet at the moment, with no other people making any noise.

"Yukika and Kaitou have gone out." Kiba seemed to read his mind and closed the door behind him.

Qian Qiao responded with an "Mmm".

"Have a seat." Kiba gestured to the chair next to the dining table, then turned and walked towards the kitchen. "I'll get you a glass of water."

Qian Qiao didn't refuse, pulled out a chair and sat down, placing her canvas bag at her feet.

A moment later, Kiba returned with a glass of warm water, gently placed it in front of Inui, and sat down opposite him. Tiny droplets of water clung to the glass. Inui touched the rim with his fingertips but didn't drink. He looked up at Kiba, his tone unusually complex: "The previous times we'd met, I never considered it that way."

Kiba naturally understood that he was referring to the identity of the Orphnoch, and gave a wry smile: "Me too. I always thought that Faiz would be the assassin sent by Smart Brain to execute us, but I never expected it to be you."

“We’ve crossed paths several times already, what a coincidence.” Qian Qiao’s fingertips traced the rim of the cup, her voice flat but tinged with a hint of melancholy. “After all this time, it turns out you’re the monster and I’m the knight. Half a month ago, I wouldn’t have believed it at all.”

"Yes, it's quite ironic." Kiba lowered his eyes, looking at the back of his hand, his skin smooth, no different from that of an ordinary person.

Qian Qiao raised her eyes, recalling how Mu Ba had desperately stopped the car during the day, and got straight to the point: "Speaking of which, when you suddenly rushed out to stop my car during the day, was there something you wanted to talk to me about?"

Kiba's fingertips curled slightly, as if his secret had been touched. He was silent for a few seconds, his gaze falling on the shimmering water in his glass. His voice was low, as if he were talking to himself, or asking a question, exactly the same tone he used to have at the baseball batting stadium: "It's nothing specific. It's just that I've been having some troubles lately and I don't know how to solve them."

Qian Qiao paused in her action of blowing on the water glass. "Do you want me to listen to your complaints?"

Kiba twitched the corners of his mouth, his smile tinged with bitterness.

He wanted to say something more, about Chie's death, about Morishita's hatred, but he swallowed the words back—these things were too heavy, too unbearable, and shouldn't have been told to Inui, a knight. His hesitant expression only elicited a soft scoff from Inui.

"Judging from your hesitant manner, it's probably something you can't tell outsiders." Qian Qiao put down her water glass: "Since you can't tell others, then don't say anything."

As soon as he finished speaking, the room fell silent.

Water droplets slid down the glass, leaving a small damp patch on the table. The sound of traffic came through the glass, indistinct and distant. The two sat facing each other across the table, one with downcast eyes in silence, the other looking out the window, neither speaking again.

After a long silence, Kiba slowly raised his head and looked at Inui Takumi across from him. His voice was soft, but his question was direct.

“Qian Qiao. I am Orphnoch.” He paused, meeting the other's gaze, and asked, word by word, “You don’t intend to kill me?”

Upon hearing this, Qian Qiao withdrew his gaze and returned it to Mu Ba's face. He did not answer immediately, his eyes deep.

“I am Faiz, and I kill monsters that wantonly attack humans. If it were the old me, I might have already taken action, but many things that have happened recently have made me realize that not all Orphnochs deserve to die.” After a long pause, he finally spoke: “As long as you don’t hurt people, don’t do evil, and live with a human heart, I have no reason to take action.”

He paused, then added in a harsh tone, as if issuing a warning: "But you better remember this. If you ever start indiscriminately killing innocent people, I'll be the first to come after you. And I won't hold back then."

“I understand.” Kiba nodded gently, looking at Inui with a solemn expression. “If that day ever comes, I hope you will be the one to take action.”

Qian Qiao didn't respond.

Bar Clover.

Upon hearing Lin Chen's shocking statement, Saeko Kageyama's hand, which was wiping the wine glass, suddenly stopped. The glass slipped slightly from her fingertips. She quickly regained her balance, and the elegant smile on her face vanished completely, leaving only a solemn expression in her eyes.

Over the years, she had witnessed too many powerful Orpheus disappear without a trace, and had also caught unsettling hints from Murakami's fragmented words, but she had always been unwilling to speculate in the worst-case scenario. Now, with Lin Chen's words revealing the truth, all the wishful thinking in her heart collapsed.

She leaned forward slightly, her tone less polite and tentative and more serious: "Where did you learn all this? The village doesn't know anything about it."

Zhuomo Yilang froze, instinctively taking half a step back, his face full of disbelief and resistance.

"Nonsense! You're just trying to fabricate these alarmist lies to get us to listen to you!" His voice rose involuntarily, filled with panic and resistance, unwilling to accept the fact that he was destined to die young.

J remained seated in the corner, his fingertips gently stroking Chuck's soft fur, his face expressionless, showing neither shock nor anger.

The fate of the tribe, the lie of immortality, and the conspiracy of the organization were never his concern.

Even knowing that he would turn to sand in a few years, his only concern was the gentle little dog at his feet. He glanced at Lin Chen briefly, then quickly looked back at the dog and remained silent.

"Because Murakami also doesn't know the whole truth. He only vaguely sensed that Orphnoch's body was unstable,"

He picked up the LLB in front of him, took a small sip, and looked calmly at Saeko Kageyama: "You can confirm the specifics with Hanagata. Hanagata has been in charge of Smart Brain for many years, and he has complete information."

The reason I was able to become the new president is because I gave all the Orphnochs a chance to live!

"What does that have to do with your orders forbidding us from attacking humans? Shouldn't we just expand the scale of our attacks and convert large numbers of our own kind?" Saeko Kageyama pressed.

Takuma Itsuro chimed in, "Miss Saeko is right! As long as we can solve our genetic defects, all the Orphnochs will no longer rapidly turn to sand and perish."

We should be hunting more humans now, creating more of our kind, so we can have a massive army. We could turn the whole world into our Orphnoch world. It's utterly incomprehensible that you're now issuing a ban on all attacks.

"And we still don't quite believe what you're saying. Let's wait until we confirm everything before making any decisions." After saying that, he took a sip of his monkey lunch from his cup.

Saeko Kageyama tacitly accepted Takuma's explanation and remained silent.

Seeing this, Lin Chen could only shake his head. He had originally thought that he could use the desertification problem to deal with a few stubborn elements first, but it seems that there is still a long way to go.

Chapter 195 Refusal

Since the topic fizzled out, Lin Chen didn't stay at Bar Clover for long before leaving. He believed that the Clover group would soon confirm the desertification issue, and that would be the right time for a formal discussion.

After Lin Chen pushed open the bar door and left, only Takuma Itarou, Kageyama Saeko, and J holding a small dog remained in Bar Clover. Due to the explosive news that Lin Chen suddenly brought, the soothing jazz music sounded particularly dull in the quiet space.

Zhuomo Yilang picked up the half-empty cup of monkey lunch in front of him, took a big gulp, his brows furrowed tightly, his eyes full of resistance and disdain: "What do you mean by destined to turn into sand? It's just a lie made up by that new president to fool people!"

They're simply trying to use these alarmist rumors, under the guise of treatment, to control us and force us to obey their rules. We Orphnochs are superior life forms, above humans; how could we possibly perish in just a few years? It's utterly absurd.

Saeko Kageyama unconsciously stroked the cold glass, her face still bearing an elegant and proper smile, but worry lurked in her eyes. She vaguely knew something, which was why they hadn't directly refuted Lin Chen before.

J, sitting in the corner, kept his head down, his large hand gently stroking the soft fur of the puppy Chuck, without uttering a single word.

Takuma Ichiro slammed his glass down on the bar counter, the crisp sound breaking the silence. His tone grew increasingly impatient: "Saeko-san, can we really trust what that new president says?" Despite saying that the new president was talking nonsense, Takuma was still a little worried.

After a moment of silence, Saeko Kageyama spoke up: "We can't tell the truth just by arguing here. Why don't we tell the new president what he said earlier to Chief Murakami and have him verify it with Chief Hanagata? Hanagata is the founder of Smart Brain and knows more than all of us combined. He can find out the truth with just a question."

After pondering for a moment, Yi Lang slowly nodded, and the bar fell into a heavy silence once again.

...

The top-floor office of Smart Brain was where Lin Chen had returned after leaving the Clover Bar. He sank into the large black leather president's chair, his fingers casually flipping through the papers, when a knock sounded on the door.

"Come in."

The office door opened, and Yuji Kiba, dressed in a Smart Brain uniform, stepped into the room.

Although he wasn't very tall, his back was ramrod straight.

"It's you! Yuji Kiba."

The smart lady who led the timber yard observed the situation carefully, bowed silently, and left the office. The closing of the office door shut out all outside noise.

Kiba stopped two meters away from the desk, his hands hanging naturally at his sides. His deep voice, tinged with a cold wariness, broke the silence first: "President Lin, I came here today specifically to verify whether what you said to Yuka is true or false."

Lin Chen casually tossed the paper documents in his hand onto the desk, his expression indifferent: "Are you talking about the new Orphic rule prohibiting attacks on people without cause, and the revocation of the order to execute Orphicians who do not attack humans?"

“That’s right. Yuka, Kaidou, and I didn’t want to hurt humans. We just wanted to live our lives peacefully as humans. But when President Murakami was in charge of Smart Brain, execution was always on our minds if we refused to obey orders to hunt.”

Lin Chen leaned back in his chair: "The old rules set by Murakami are now invalid. I am now in full control of Smart Brain. From now on, Orpheus who does not want to attack humans no longer needs to hide or run away. As for the Clover members who are chasing you, I will warn them. If they don't listen, it's just what I need to do to establish my authority as the new president."

Upon hearing this, Kiba's tense shoulders relaxed slightly: "Is that so? Then what is the new job that President Lin Chen mentioned giving me?"

Upon hearing Kiba's question, Lin Chen explained his plan: "You probably heard what I said to Inui Takumi." Kiba Yuji nodded.

"My new order forbidding further attacks on humans without cause will be unacceptable to many Orphnochs. I need some help to deal with the disobedient Orphnochs. Do you want to do this job?"

A brief silence fell over the office.

Kiba's fingers, hanging by his sides, tightened almost imperceptibly, and the relaxation in his eyes faded. He understood Lin Chen's intentions; this wasn't placement, but recruitment, a way to make him a sharp blade and a new henchman for Smart Brain to control its own kind.

He looked up and stared directly at Lin Chen, his gaze open and unyielding, without the slightest hint of compromise: "I can help you restrain those Orpheus who run rampant and harm humans." He paused, then added, "But I will only offer advice and checks and balances; I will absolutely not execute them myself."

Kiba's eyes were clear and resolute: "I only ask that Orphnochs like us who want to live as humans can live in peace. I can help you maintain order and stop the killing, but I will never agree to anything that requires me to judge or execute Orphnochs."

Lin Chen remained calm and composed upon hearing this. He had already anticipated Kiba's choice; after all, everyone has their own ambitions, and forcing things would be futile. After Inui Takumi refused, he had already anticipated that Kiba Yuuji, given his current personality, would not completely agree.

“Fine.” He replied casually, changing the previous arrangement. “Since you are unwilling to restrain and punish the Orphnochs who are causing trouble, I will give you a different job. You can go and find those Orphnochs who are hiding in the city and just want to live peacefully as humans, and quietly compile a list of their names and numbers.”

Lin Chen raised his eyes, a hint of intriguing composure in his expression: "No need to report to me. Just provide me with all the statistical results two months from now."

Kiba was slightly taken aback. He couldn't fathom the deeper meaning behind Lin Chen's actions. Despite his doubts, this was the best possible outcome. Without much hesitation, Kiba solemnly nodded in agreement: "I understand, I'll take this job."

"Go ahead." Lin Chen waved his hand casually.

Kiba bowed slightly, then turned and left the office.

A moment later, the Smart Lady pushed open the door and stood respectfully in front of the desk.

Lin Chen raised his eyes and casually gave the order: "Notify Murakami to withdraw all orders to hunt down Kiba Yuji, Yuka, and Kaidou. If he has any questions, tell him to come directly to me."

On the other side, Murakami Kyoji, who had lost his position as president, was sitting in his cramped office of only 30 square meters. The supreme power he once held, which occupied an entire top-floor office building, had long since vanished. The simple room was dimly lit and lacked exquisite decorations or dedicated staff. There was only an old desk and cold, monotonous walls, exuding a sense of desolation and oppression.