As a weirdo, I like being a Kamen Rider

The store was filled with a faint scent of laundry detergent mixed with the smell of fabric softener.

Behind the counter, a man was busy with his back to the door.

He looked considerably older than the Qian Qiao Lin Chen remembered, no longer the somewhat naive and stubborn young man he remembered. His long hair was tied back, his jawline was more defined, and there were even some stubble on his beard.

Hearing the wind chimes, the man didn't even look up, his voice low: "Welcome. If you're here to drop off laundry, please come back in a few days. The owner is a bit busy lately. If you're picking up your clothes, please give me your name."

Tsukasa Kadoya leaned against the door frame and raised his hand in greeting: "Hey, hello there, Takumi Inui."

The man paused for a moment, then slowly turned around.

His features were indeed the same, but his eyes were much deeper than those of the Qian Qiao that Lin Chen had seen, as if he had experienced many more years of hardship, which had settled into a sense of aloofness that kept people at a distance.

He sized up the two people in front of him, his gaze lingering for a moment on Tsukasa Kadoya's striking blond hair.

“I don’t know you.” Qian Qiao’s tone was very flat. “If you’re here to chat, I’m very busy.”

"Don't be so cold." Tsukasa Kadoya stepped forward and then told Takumi Inui the same story he had told Shotaro Hidari about the underground empire of Bataan.

Inui Takumi's hands didn't stop moving. He folded the last shirt and put it in the plastic basket behind him before raising his head and looking directly into Kadoya Tsukasa's eyes.

“An underground empire?” He repeated the word, as if confirming something, then shook his head. “I’m not interested in that kind of thing.”

"Not interested?" Tsukasa Kadoya raised an eyebrow.

"Hmm." Qian Qiao took off her apron, casually draped it over the back of the chair, and turned to walk behind the counter. "I'm already very busy washing the clothes that are brought in for cleaning."

Tsukasa Kadoya's gaze followed his movements and suddenly fell on a black travel bag next to the counter. The bag was almost packed; the zipper was half-open, revealing a few changes of clothes and a map inside. He then glanced at the dusty hiking boots at Takumi Inui's feet.

"Are you busy?" Tsukasa Kadoya asked, arms crossed. "Are you going on a trip?"

Qian Qiao paused for a moment, but did not deny it.

He walked around the counter, took the keychain from the wall, led the two to the shop entrance, skillfully locked the glass door, and then pulled down the roller shutter halfway. He walked to the motorcycle parked at the entrance, picked up the black travel bag, and expertly secured it to the back seat with straps.

“What I want to do is my own business.” Qian Qiao put on the somewhat old red helmet, fastened the buckle, and his voice came from inside the helmet, muffled but with an undeniable stubbornness, “Don’t bother me anymore. Besides, as for Bataan… I have absolutely no interest in it.”

He hopped on the motorcycle and turned the key. The engine roared to life, and the motorcycle vanished from their sight.

Tsukasa Kadoya stood on the steps, looking at that figure from behind, his voice full of helplessness: "Seriously... whether it's W or Faiz in this world, how come the Heisei Riders are all a bunch of people who can't get together?"

Lin Chen stood beside him, remaining silent. He simply watched quietly in the direction Qian Qiao had left.

"Who are we looking for next?" Lin Chen asked, breaking the brief silence.

Tsukasa Kadoya sighed, about to reply.

"boom!!!"

A deafening explosion suddenly erupted from the direction Qian Qiao had left. Flames shot into the sky, black smoke billowed upwards, and even the ground trembled slightly. Several startled pigeons fluttered up from the eaves, screeching as they flew over the two people's heads.

Lin Chen and Tsukasa Kadoya turned their heads at the same time, their gazes sweeping across the street and locking onto the rising smoke and dust.

The two exchanged a glance. Something had happened!

Chapter 238 Kamen Rider Fifteen

Without hesitation, the two rushed towards the direction of the explosion.

Qian Qiao lay on the roadside, the asphalt beneath him cracked with spiderweb-like patterns. His motorcycle was overturned on its side, the rear wheel still spinning futilely.

The red helmet rolled away a short distance away, its surface bearing a jagged scratch.

He tried to get up, supporting himself with one hand on the ground, a trace of blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

On the opposite side, two burly figures led more than ten Shocker soldiers, slowly approaching.

The person on the left is covered in a yellow and black tiger-patterned armor. The strange figure on the right is somewhat bloated, with densely packed black spikes standing upright on its back.

"All Kamen Riders will be dealt with by me, Lord Porcupine!"

The porcupine monster raised its thick arm and pointed at the still struggling Inui Takumi. Its voice was like sandpaper rubbing against rust, harsh and arrogant.

"You must be Kamen Rider Faiz, right? Today is your death day!"

The Shocker soldiers roared in unison, raised their short knives, and pressed forward step by step.

Qian Qiao gritted his teeth, "Damn it..." he cursed under his breath.

Just as the porcupine monster finished its last syllable, Boom!!!

A ball of white energy fell from the sky without warning and smashed directly into the center of the strange group!

A violent energy storm exploded. The strange group didn't even have time to scream before they were thrown to the ground by the shockwave.

Smoke and dust filled the air.

In the distance, Lin Chen slowly lowered his raised hand. Kadoya Tsukasa, who was standing to the side, had already started "Little Ming Shaking". Seeing this, he couldn't help but turn his head to look at Lin Chen, and the corner of his mouth twitched uncontrollably.

"...You bastard."

His eyes were full of resentment.

"I finally got another chance to make a cool entrance, and you just ruined it like this?"

Lin Chen glanced at him, said nothing, and whistled; he had simply couldn't help himself earlier. He saw that Kadoya Tsukasa was about to speak again.

"Alright, I won't lift a finger this time. You go and deal with them." These guys wouldn't provide Lin Chen with evolution points, which made him somewhat uninterested.

Seeing this, Tsukasa Kadoya didn't say anything more. He stretched out his right hand and fastened the Decade Driver to his waist.

"Then let me take over the footage from this scene."

The monster army opposite had recovered from the dizziness of the explosion. The porcupine monster staggered to his feet, glaring at Tsukasa Kadoya as he put on his belt, his anger blazing.

"Damn Kamen Rider, you actually launched a sneak attack!" the porcupine monster roared. "Die!"

He spread his arms wide, the muscles on his back twitching violently. The remaining dozens of jet-black spikes simultaneously detached from his body, whistling through the air like a dense rain of black arrows, shooting straight towards Tsukasa Kadoya!

The spikes tore through the air, emitting a piercing shriek.

However, Tsukasa Kadoya didn't even glance at the spikes.

He calmly inserted the card into the drive and pushed it with both hands.

"Hen——shin!"

"KamenRide—Decade!"

The transformed invincible frame directly blocked all the spikes.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang—!

A series of rapid impacts rang out, sending sparks flying.

The light dissipated.

Kamen Rider Decade didn't stop. He drew his card sword from his waist and jogged into the group of monsters.

The magenta figure weaved through the horde of monsters. With each swing of the Card Box Sword, a Shocker soldier fell, his black and red body exploding in the flash of the sword.

Decade's steps did not falter in the slightest. In the center of the battlefield, Tsukasa Kadoya single-handedly overwhelmed a group of people.

Beside the asphalt road, Inui Takumi knelt beside the overturned motorcycle. His hand reached into the glove compartment, where the silver and black Faiz belt lay quietly in his palm. His gaze was fixed on the battlefield not far away, yet he looked down at the belt in his hand, his eyes darting back and forth.

He hesitated.

Lin Chen had already walked up to him without him noticing, his hands in his pockets.

Why not transform?

Lin Chen spoke, his voice calm. Qian Qiao stiffened, without looking up.

Lin Chen turned his head slightly and looked down at Qian Qiao's right hand, which was tightly gripping the belt. That hand was trembling, not because of exhaustion, but because of something deeper.

"I felt it."

His voice lowered slightly: "Do you loathe fighting, or are you afraid of fighting?"

Takumi's Adam's apple bobbed. He opened his mouth, but no sound came out. It wasn't fear of the enemy, but fear of everything he would have to face again after putting it on; the image of Kusaka dying on the beach haunted him like a nightmare.

“No…” Qian Qiao finally managed to squeeze out two words, his voice so hoarse it didn’t sound like his own.

Lin Chen simply watched him quietly. Faiz of this world had been through something, and the soul beneath his body was already exhausted.

"It's fine if you don't want to fight," he said.

But no sooner had he finished speaking than a Shocker soldier who had slipped through the net burst out of the dust with a howl, his short sword aimed straight at the two men.

He was about to raise his right hand, ready to finish off the other person.

Swish!

A crimson figure swept past from the side, the cold light of the Card Box Sword drawing a sharp arc in the air. The Shocker grunt's movements froze abruptly, and then its entire body exploded into a shower of ashes.

Tsukasa Kadoya landed in front of the two men, sword in hand.

He turned his head to the side, his compound eyes gleaming slightly, and his voice came through the armor.

"In the world of knights, you can't just run away from fighting if you don't want to."

With a flick of his wrist, he killed another Shocker grunt coming towards him.

"Either defeat the enemy or be defeated."

Tsukasa Kadoya's gaze swept over Takumi Inui, who was still kneeling on the ground, and his tone softened slightly.

"I understand your aversion to, or fear of, fighting. In the end, it's all just about killing each other."

He paused, then pointed the card-shaped sword at the roaring monster army not far away.

"But you just need to follow your heart."

After saying that, he didn't wait for Qian Qiao's response. He turned around and transformed into a streak of crimson light, rushing into the enemy formation once again.

Qian Qiao knelt on the spot, looking down at the silver and black Faiz belt in his palm.

Follow your heart...

He slowly tightened his grip on the belt.

Just as Tsukasa Kadoya forced back the porcupine monster with his sword and was preparing to deliver the final blow—

A black and white figure appeared from behind him without warning!

The man was tall and slender, yet exuded an eerie chill. His pale hair danced wildly in the wind, and he was entirely covered in black and white armor, even his compound eyes were pure black. Only the golden "Fifteen" on his forehead prevented his color scheme from appearing too monotonous.