As a weirdo, I like being a Kamen Rider

Some special and powerful monsters began to cross the rift and arrive on Earth, wreaking havoc.

They possess the ability to manipulate these plants and create giant fissures, enabling them to grow towering trees in a short period of time. These trees can penetrate multiple layers of buildings, and their roots extend deep into the ground, transforming the ecological environment of the entire area.

Finally, under these circumstances, the higher-ups at Orphnoch realized something was wrong; this was clearly an invasion by outsiders. As a result, a large number of research personnel were mobilized.

According to these researchers' calculations, without external intervention, all of Earth's soil and water resources will be ecologically replaced within ten years, all plants and animals will be assimilated into those invasive monsters, and Earth's original ecology, landforms, and civilization will be completely destroyed.

Global conventional military forces began to engage in combat, but firearms could only temporarily defeat those monsters, unable to eradicate the plant roots buried deep underground and the spatial rifts, and were simply unable to stop the enemy's continued infiltration.

As vegetation continuously alters the atmospheric environment and the air composition slowly changes, Orphnochs who are exposed to the underworld's coverage area for a long time will begin to show irreversible signs of mutation, even without consuming the fruit.

Some Orphnochs suggested a reverse invasion, which was adopted, and a large number of Orphnochs traveled through the rift to another world.

It was a world dominated by plants. Scientists discovered that the entire planet's sky did not contain conventional celestial bodies such as the sun and moon. Instead, it emitted a constant, cold, faint light emanating from the planet's internal geological energy. The light was dark green and purplish-blue in hue, with inverted color saturation. The view was accompanied by a layer of blurry, grayish-green noise and mist, and distant objects were constantly and slightly distorted.

Disordered magnetic fields in space can cause electronic devices and aircraft to malfunction or go out of control rapidly upon entering.

Fine cloud of plant spores floats in the sky year-round, and the mist contains assimilating factors. Prolonged exposure will slowly erode cells and turn Orphnoch into similar monsters.

There is no distinction between day and night in the entire world; the entire planet remains in a perpetually dark and hazy twilight state. The planet's overall geological structure is stable, but its surface is covered with spatial folds, and dimensional rifts can be generated naturally everywhere. The space at the edges of these rifts is distorted like fabric and glows with a fluorescent green light, serving as passageways connecting to Earth.

During their exploration, they discovered a special area. Ordinary Orphnochs would be repelled by the energy field and unable to reach it.

A faint golden halo enveloped the entire area, the vegetation shimmered with a metallic golden luster, and visible golden energy particles floated in the air, the light growing stronger the closer to the center.

At the center of the area grows a giant mother tree that is far larger than ordinary plants. A glittering golden fruit grows at the very top of the mother tree, naturally suspended above the canopy.

Then a rumor began to circulate throughout the Orphnochs: whoever obtains the golden fruit will become a god, surpassing even the King of the Orphnochs!

That rumor became the final straw that broke the back of the Orphnoch civilization.

Without any supporting evidence, it was merely a casual remark made by a few Orphnochs exploring another world, yet it swept across the globe like wildfire among all Orphnochs.

For every Orphnoch struggling with their fate of desertification, "surpassing the King of the Orphnoch" and "standing shoulder to shoulder with the gods" are never empty slogans, but the only salvation to escape their inevitable demise.

While the King of Orpheus could resolve the decay of the sands, he couldn't grant all Orpheus power. The Golden Fruit, however, was different. That golden divine object, suspended at the core of the Eternal Twilight World, symbolized complete liberation, absolute power, and the possibility of rewriting all rules.

In an instant, all the order and hierarchical rules that the Orphnochs upheld collapsed.

The lower-level Orphites, who had originally been subservient to Smart Brain and obeyed orders from above, were the first to stir. Those awakened individuals who had lived day after day in the fear of desertification and watched their companions gradually weather away and perish, abandoned their forbearance and restraint. They no longer obeyed orders.

Orphinos around the world were engulfed in a frenzied, indiscriminate slaughter.

It was no longer a racial conflict between humans and Orphnochs, but rather the most brutal plunder and slaughter among their own kind.

On the streets, in ruins, in cities covered in underworld vegetation, and beside the rift connecting the two worlds, the figures of Orphnochs fighting to the death can be seen everywhere. The power they once used to hunt humans and fight off monsters from the underworld is now being poured entirely onto their own kind.

The weak are torn apart and assimilated. The strong fight and betray each other, all to accumulate enough power to reach that sacred realm shrouded in golden light.

In an instant, the disappearance of the Orphnochs far outpaced the rate of annihilation brought about by desertification and the encroachment of the other world.

Finally, the battle came to an end. The king, with absolute power, subdued all the Orphnochs, ascended to the top of the giant tree, and enjoyed the final fruits of victory.

Amidst the dazzling golden light, the legendary golden fruit floated silently just three inches in front of him.

Its colors are perfect, its luster is dazzling, and its realism is impeccable.

King Orpheus raised his hand, reaching for the ultimate divine object. But in the next instant, his palm pierced straight through the golden fruit.

There was no touch, no obstruction, no physical collision. No matter how repeatedly he grasped, his fingertips could only pass through that scorching golden light and shadow.

At that moment, he suddenly understood.

This divine fruit, hanging high before the world, is merely an empty projection locked in a lower dimension. Atop the giant tree, a cold wind howls, and King Orpheus stands amidst the empty golden light, utterly alone.

Where no one could see, a man and a woman stood facing each other. The woman raised her hand, palm open. A solid fruit, radiating divine light, lay quietly in her palm.

This is a golden fruit that has truly been conceived and fully formed.

The man took the fruit from her hand and swallowed it bite by bite.

Thinking of how she had been deceived by that man with the illusion that he was the great contributor to the Orphnochs becoming the rulers of the world, how she had become a vessel to contain the power of the Gold-Gold Fruit, and how she had even joined that man in orchestrating the destruction of the Orphnoch clan, Kageyama Saeko from the future could no longer speak.

The man who became a true god did not fulfill his promise to himself to make the Orphnoch a perfect race. Instead, this other world, under his control, directly eroded the entire Earth. The Orphnoch were assimilated by this forest, and their extinction was sealed!

As for the higher-ranking Orphnochs who could resist, they were simply devoured by him, just as the king had consumed the other Orphnochs.

Later, through conversations with the original monster overlords, she learned that it was all part of that man's plan, and even the world invasion was orchestrated by him. She angrily confronted him, only to receive the reply that she was no longer of any use, and then he began to extract the remaining power of the Golden Fruit from her body.

Unwilling to accept this ending, she channeled her inner power to forcibly tear open a wormhole, hoping to return to a time before everything happened and change the future. However, she exhausted her energy and fell into a coma. When she awoke, she had indeed returned to the past, but it was a long, long time ago.

Chapter 222 The King Who Will Eventually Appear

The warm yellow light from the floor lamp quietly filled the entire Japanese-style living room, and the chilled sake sat untouched on the low table.

Hanagata recounted all the prophecies left by the shrine maiden in detail, and a long silence spread among the three of them. Lin Chen's fingers, hanging by his side, curled up slightly.

"After hearing your prophecy, there's something I can't figure out." Lin Chen's voice broke the silence, his tone filled with clear confusion. "When we first met in the deep mountain courtyard, you told me with certainty that I was the savior of the Orpheus clan, as prophesied."

"But the prophecy you just mentioned—how come I wasn't mentioned at all, and in the end, all the Orphnochs still died? What happened?"

Upon hearing this, Hanagata slowly lowered his eyes, his brows furrowed with turmoil and complexity. After a long silence, he slowly raised his head and frankly revealed the truth: "That 'savior' thing back then was a lie I deliberately made up to deceive you from beginning to end."

Lin Chen's brows furrowed suddenly, filled with confusion: "Why did you deliberately lie to me? That was the first time I met you, was it necessary to use that kind of excuse to mess with me?"

Hanagata sighed deeply: "Because the last man who became a god had the exact same name as you, and his appearance and tiger-shaped Orpheus form were all highly similar to yours. The only difference was a slight difference in appearance. Most importantly, that person was also a traveler from another world who had traveled here."

When I first met you, the shrine maiden immediately said that you were that man, so I wanted to test the waters first.

"The prophecy foretold that you would bring a large amount of human transformation technology, frantically expand the Orphea population, allow your race to hunt humans, and gradually push the world toward destruction. But I never expected that you would not only have no intention of expanding your race, but instead have come up with an inhibitor that can cure the desertification defect. This is completely contrary to the actions of the person in the prophecy, and it is also the basis for my later choice to cooperate deeply with you."

“The events that followed made me more and more certain that you and the destroyer in the prophecy are two completely opposite directions.”

After hearing the whole story, Lin Chen was speechless for a moment, feeling only helplessness. It turned out that he had been unfairly blamed for a complete stranger all along.

At the same time, he couldn't help but feel a sense of awe. That guy had the audacity to artificially create the Golden Fruit that could make people gods in the world of Gaim, but it was also cruel to use the entire human race of an entire world as the price.

...

The turmoil ended after the great battle in the wilderness and the intervention of Kageyama Saya in the future, who took away the Murakami group.

The implementation of the desertification inhibitor was fully handed over to Smart Brain, with Huaxing leading the company's research and administration team to take full charge. Lin Chen's mission had also come to an end.

He has no intention of getting involved in the follow-up matters; he knows in his heart that he is not a nanny. The reason he was willing to search for the potion with its inherent flaws was simply because he didn't want to see those Orpheus who wanted to live as humans trapped in the despair of desertification.

The key to solving the problem has now been handed to the most suitable person, and the complicated implementation work is naturally no longer his responsibility.

Following the upheaval caused by Murakami's leadership's attempt to force him out, Smart Brain underwent a major purge.

All the die-hard opponents were wiped out by Lin Chen in one fell swoop. The entire company was more unified than ever before, and the internal strife caused by the wavering of the top management and factional conflicts of the past was gone. Everyone reached a consensus that the first core goal was to smoothly promote the drug and ensure the stable survival of the clan.

Those neutral decision-makers who had chosen to accept the medication now breathed a sigh of relief, their hearts filled with the joy of surviving a disaster.

When they took sides at the shareholders' meeting, they did not follow the group of extremists in the village to stand on the right to resist, but instead chose to stand on the left to support the drug. Looking back now, it was undoubtedly the most correct decision.

Because those who were taken away by the new president can no longer be contacted.

Lin Chen stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window on the top floor of the Smart building, looking down at the orderly staff coming and going below. He recalled the results of his previous physical examination and wondered where he would be taken in the next world.

Two days passed peacefully, and the promotion of the medicine in the city proceeded smoothly. However, beneath this tranquility, Lin remained vigilant and had already instructed Wu Yan to lead a search party to find traces of Murakami and Clover's group.

Originally, there were only four people, including Murakami and Kitasaki. They couldn't cause any big trouble on their own. Even if they plotted in secret, I was confident that I could easily suppress them.

But now the situation has completely changed. The priestess from the future, who wields the power of the Golden Fruit, is traveling with them. The fact that she was able to save the four of them from the deadly blade that day is enough to prove that her abilities are completely unknown.

No one can predict what tricks the other side might pull, and if problems arise, the trouble will multiply. Lin Chen stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, his brows furrowed, his gaze cold and resolute. He made up his mind that he must quickly locate the group's hiding place to prevent future troubles.

The office door was pushed open, and Smart Lady walked in slowly, bowing slightly as she reported to Lin Chen: "President, Mr. Hanagata requests that you go to the underground core laboratory immediately, saying that he has something important to show you."

Lin Chen nodded and stood up, making his way to the entrance of the underground laboratory. Just as he turned the corner of the passage, he saw Hanagata standing at the door. Beside him stood a slightly overweight middle-aged man in a dark green surgical gown, a matching surgical cap, and glasses. His mask was casually hanging around his neck, and he had a name tag pinned to his chest. He had a calm and composed demeanor.

When Hanagata saw Lin Chen approaching, she took a half step forward and introduced the fat man beside her: "Lin Chen, this is the chief researcher of the company's secret gene laboratory. For many years, he has been specializing in following up on the in-depth experiments of Orphinosinogen gene repair. The improvement and adjustment of the mass-produced drug was all done under his leadership."

The portly researcher bowed slightly, his gaze behind his glasses fixed on Lin Chen, and said respectfully, "I have long admired President Lin Chen. Today, I have discovered some other issues and have specially invited you two to come and take a look."

The heavy, airtight door slid open automatically as the three approached, and the chief researcher led them to a mortuary.

"President, Mr. Hanagata, this body was brought back from the oak forest outside the South Research Institute half an hour ago. The employee ID number is 14382, and the registered employee ID is Orphino. We invited you two here today to show you this special case."

Lin Chen and Hua Xing exchanged a glance, but didn't say anything. Lin Chen simply raised his chin, gesturing for Hua Xing to lift it.

The white sheet was ripped off by the chief researcher, revealing a gray-black body completely exposed to the light.

It was neither the usual sandy remains of an Orphnoch after death, nor the pale, stiff corpse of a human; it was a living, human-shaped stone statue.

The extreme terror of the deceased before death was completely frozen in the stone. His brows were furrowed, and his mouth was wide open as if he was letting out a final roar. Even the texture of his hair, the folds of his uniform collar, and the dial markings of his watch on his wrist were clearly visible.

But the person had long since lost all vitality, his skin had a cold, matte sheen like rock, and even the bulges of the subcutaneous blood vessels had turned into hard stone edges. From a distance, he looked like a post-apocalyptic work deliberately sculpted by some artist.

Hanagata's gaze slowly slid from the deceased's distorted face to his toes, his expression unchanged, except that the fingers hanging at his sides curled almost imperceptibly.

“We conducted seven comprehensive tests.” The researcher picked up the record board with the report clipped to it and lightly ran the pen across the paper. “All the cells in the body have been completely mineralized. The main component is crystalline silicon, with a hardness exceeding Mohs scale 7. Conventional physical impacts and acid-alkali corrosion have no effect.”

When a normal Orphnoch dies, their life energy dissipates, and their physical body completely turns to sand within tens of seconds. Even if struck by the ultimate attack of the three knight belts, at most only carbonized remnants would remain. This state of complete petrification…”

He paused, looked up at the two of them, and his confusion was almost palpable: "Since the company was founded, there has not been a single related case. All known Orphnoch ability files and all attack patterns of the Knight System could not have caused this result. This is beyond our understanding."

To prove his point, the researcher turned and moved a high-pressure nitrogen cylinder standing nearby. The cylinder was about half a person's height, made entirely of cold, hard metal, and weighed no less than a hundred pounds. He gritted his teeth, lifted the cylinder half a foot, and using the force of its fall, slammed it heavily down on the corpse's chest.

"Boom-"

A dull thud exploded in the sealed room, making everyone's eardrums buzz, and even the metal body of the gas cylinder trembled slightly. But the petrified body on the morgue, without even a trace of white, remained in that terrified screaming posture, like a statue that had stood there since ancient times, completely still.

The researcher put down the gas cylinder, took a breath, and looked up at Murakami: "You've seen it too, President, Mr. Hanagata. This is not any kind of power we know."

Lin Chen remained standing in the same spot the whole time, his gaze fixed on the stone statue.

At first, Hanagata's expression was solemn and scrutinizing, as if he were unraveling a puzzle that had troubled him for a long time. But as the researcher finished speaking, and as the dull thud echoed in the room, something else gradually appeared in his eyes.

He took two steps forward, stood by the mortuary, and slowly reached out his hand, his fingers gently touching the corpse's cheek.

The cold, hard, rough texture of the stone traveled through my fingertips, devoid of any warmth, yet it made my heart skip a beat.

"This is... the remains left behind after being devoured by the King. The King has appeared?!"

Lin Chen also stepped forward with a solemn expression. The appearance of the king meant that someone else had died in the disaster.

The researcher froze. He opened his mouth, his face filled with astonishment and disbelief: "Mr. Hanagata? You mean... the King of the Orphnoch? But that's just a legend in ancient books; no one has ever actually seen him."

"Legend?" Hanagata turned his head and glanced at him. "It's not a legend. The purpose of Smart Brain's existence in the past was to wait for the king to arrive. Right now, he is hunting and absorbing the life energy of his own kind to accumulate power. It won't be long before he fully awakens."

Lin Chen then spoke up: "It seems that the group in the village has started to move again. We have already stopped the birth of the King's host once, but it has still happened now."

Chapter 223 The King's Trail