As a weirdo, I like being a Kamen Rider

The morning mist by the stream gradually dissipated, leaving only twenty or thirty rebel soldiers lying haphazardly on the gravel beach, panting heavily, their faces still showing the terror of surviving a disaster.

The man who had been interrogated by Lin Chen slowly got up, supporting himself on the ground. Watching Lin Chen and the others walk away, a hint of resentment flashed in his eyes. He turned and exchanged glances with his companions, who were also struggling to their feet. Their eyes all held the same fierceness and resentment.

“We can’t just let this go…” the man said in a low voice, picking up the rifle he had dropped earlier. “While those guys have deactivated their transformations, kill them, retrieve the belts, and give them to Smart Brain. We can still live!”

Upon hearing this, the others' eyes flashed with ferocity, and they all picked up their weapons, the dark muzzles of their guns silently aimed at the unsuspecting figures.

Just then, hurried footsteps came from the stone bridge by the stream, and the figure of a short-haired man appeared—it was Keitaro.

He happened to witness this scene. He exclaimed in surprise:

"Danger! Everyone watch out behind you!"

Everyone turned around abruptly.

The group of rebels who had been trembling on the ground just moments before were now all standing up, their faces devoid of any fear. Instead, they wore twisted and cruel smiles, like a pack of hungry wolves finally baring their fangs.

"Die, monsters!"

The man in the lead grinned maliciously as he pulled the trigger.

Bang bang bang!

The instant the gunshot rang out, a gray figure darted in front of them like a ghost. Nagata Yuka's usually gentle eyes were now as cold as ice, gray and white lines spreading wildly across her cheeks, her bones cracking, and in an instant she transformed into a crane-shaped Orphnoch.

With a flap of her wings, the feathers at her waist suddenly swelled, resembling two enormous silver scissors that gleamed with a chilling light in the morning sun.

"You...you're asking for it."

Before the words were even finished, the wings that had transformed into scissors had already slashed across.

Swah——

There were no screams, no wails. The cruel smiles on the faces of the twenty or thirty rebels froze, replaced by endless terror and bewilderment. They looked down at their gradually turning to sand, wanting to say something, but only gurgling sounds came from their throats.

The next second, under the morning breeze, their bodies disintegrated, turning into a sky full of grayish-white sand, which scattered into the stream and disappeared with the flowing water.

The stream has returned to silence.

Nagata Yuka slowly retracted her wings, transforming back into human form. She lowered her head, her long hair obscuring her expression.

Yuji Kiba opened his mouth, but in the end he just sighed heavily and put his hand on her shoulder.

Lin Chen stopped, looked back at the sand and dust swirling in the sky, and sneered.

Seeing that everyone was safe, Keitaro breathed a sigh of relief and then jogged over to them.

His chest was still heaving: "Phew! Thank goodness you're all alright."

Sonoda Mari released Inui Takumi's hand and limped over to him: "Keitaro? How did you find this place? What happened?"

Keitaro slapped his forehead, as if he had just remembered the purpose of his visit: "That's right! I almost forgot! Oh no, Mari! There's a problem at the camp!"

"What?" Truth's heart sank.

When Sonoda Mari led the way back to the camp, the scene before her eyes made her heart sink.

Masato Kusaka has transformed into Kamen Rider Caesar. He grips the Caesar Blade Gun tightly in his right hand, the blade extended, its sharp edge pointing forward, and he exudes an undisguised ferocity.

Opposite him was a dark mass of camp residents armed with sticks, shovels, and even hunting rifles. They formed a loose formation, and although their faces were filled with fear, they blocked the path of the Kusaka Masato under the leadership of several middle-aged men and women.

The two sides were on the verge of exploding, and the air was thick with the smell of gunpowder that could be released at any moment.

“Masato!” Sonoda Mari called out in a deep voice.

Upon hearing the sound, Kusaka Masato turned his head slightly, but did not lower the weapon in his hand.

Keitaro explained haltingly that from early morning, everyone in the camp knew that Kusaka had transformed into an Orphnoch. They first whispered outside his tin shack, and then more and more people gathered, saying increasingly offensive things.

Kusa didn't want to pay attention and locked herself in her room, but they still wouldn't let it go.

Later, someone shouted that since they had become monsters, they should get out of the camp immediately, because who knew when their monstrous nature would suddenly be revealed. Kusaka, with her temperament, couldn't stand such words and immediately rushed out and transformed…

Before Keitaro could finish speaking, Kusaka Masato in the arena seemed to have lost his last bit of patience. He slightly raised the Caesar Blade, and the energy indicator light on the muzzle began to flash, emitting a dangerous buzzing sound.

"Stop! Masato!"

Seeing this, Sonoda Mari was frantic and tried to rush forward despite her weakness. But after taking only two steps, a tearing pain shot through her abdominal wound, her vision went black, and she fell forward uncontrollably.

"truth!"

With lightning speed, Qian Qiao grabbed her waist and steadied her. Zhenli was in so much pain that cold sweat poured down her forehead, her lips were pale, but she still clung tightly to Qian Qiao's arm, her voice trembling: "Quick...quickly stop them..."

"I know, don't move around." Qian Qiao frowned, half supporting and half carrying her, and walked step by step between the two groups of people.

Sonoda Mari first looked at Soga: "Masato, put the gun down."

Masato Kusaka simply snorted coldly.

Sonoda Mari turned to the group in the camp, her gaze sweeping over the various "weapons" in their hands, her voice filled with suppressed anger: "What are you doing? Are you crazy? He was protecting you just yesterday!"

Seeing Sonoda Mari approach, several middle-aged women stepped out from the crowd opposite. The woman with curly hair, leading the group, immediately came forward, as if she had found her pillar of support: "Perfect timing, little Mari! Quickly, talk to this...this guy who's become an Orphnoch!"

Get him out of camp! If he stays here, we'll be in danger! Who knows when he might lose control and hurt someone?

"How could you do this?!" Upon hearing this, Sonoda Mari suddenly straightened up, her voice sharp with agitation, "The reason why Kusaka became like this was to help you before, wasn't it? Who was it that transformed again and again to protect the camp? Who was it that fought desperately against those monsters outside, getting beaten up all over?"

Now that he's become an Orphnoch, you want to get rid of him? Have you lost your conscience?

Her words struck like a hammer blow, causing a flicker of unease to cross the faces of the people opposite her, and some of them lowered their heads.

But soon, a middle-aged man wearing a baseball cap stepped forward. Avoiding Truth's angry gaze, he forced a smile and explained, "Truth, it's not that we want to get rid of him, it's just... Orphnoch is too dangerous."

As you know, Captain Mizuhara was attacked and killed by the Orphnochs last night, and we are all very scared now.

His presence here is like having a time bomb next to us; we don't want to be in constant danger... Please, you should understand our predicament; we just want to survive.

“How could they do this…” Kiba Yuji and the other two stood on the outskirts of the crowd. Nagata Yuka muttered to herself, her voice filled with disbelief.

Yuji Kiba opened his mouth, but ultimately let out a heavy sigh. How familiar this scene was. Hadn't the three of them just experienced the same ostracism at the market yesterday?

Lin Chen stood to the side without saying a word.

He suddenly found the humanity of this world somewhat ridiculously abstract. On one hand, they relied on the knight's protection, and on the other hand, they couldn't wait to push the knight into the abyss when he was in trouble.

"I don't understand."

Sonoda Mari's voice suddenly rang out, not loud, but clearly drowning out all the whispers. She pushed away Inui Takumi's support, dragged her injured body forward two steps, and her gaze swept across the faces opposite her like a knife, filled with guilt, indifference, or avoidance.

“If I become an Orphnoch too,” she said, her voice trembling yet resolute, as if squeezed out from between her teeth, “would you… also drive me away?”

The air seemed to freeze.

The people opposite them exchanged glances, no one answering. But their silence, the subconscious avoidance of eye contact, and the slight half-step back spoke volumes. In their eyes, a monster was a monster, even if they were comrades-in-arms just yesterday.

As Sonoda Mari watched their reactions, the light in her eyes gradually dimmed.

Chapter 260 Parting Ways

The wind in the wilderness whipped up sand and gravel, making it hard to open one's eyes. The group walked silently along the dry riverbed in an unknown direction, just like the uncertainty that lay ahead.

The outline of the camp behind us had shrunk to a small, gray dot in the valley.

"Hey, hey, I'm talking to you, Kusaka." Kaidou Naoya broke the dull atmosphere, moving lightly to Kusaka Masato's side, and very familiarly put his arm around the other's shoulder, grinning as he leaned closer, "Now that you're an Orphnoch, by seniority, I'm your real senior. Show some respect to your seniors from now on, don't you know the rules?"

Kusaka Masato turned his head and glanced at the hand resting on his shoulder, his eyes as cold as if he were looking at a corpse.

"If you don't want to die, get your filthy hands off me!" His voice was devoid of any warmth.

Kaidou Naoya's smile froze, and he awkwardly withdrew his hand, muttering under his breath, "Tch, it was just a joke, why the fierceness..."

In the middle of the group, Sonoda Mari couldn't help but look back every few steps. The camp she had tried so hard to protect was now completely closed, as if they had never existed.

“Stop looking, Mari.” Kusaka Masato noticed her movement and said in a cold tone, “Since those guys don’t need us anymore, what are we doing staying there? Let’s go.”

Sonoda Mari bit her lip, her eyes reddening slightly, and finally turned her head away in silence.

Yuji Kiba walked at the front of the group, his back straight yet exuding an indescribable sense of loneliness. Yuka Nagata followed quietly behind him, while Takumi Inui silently supported Mari; none of them spoke.

Lin Chen walked at the very back, hands in his pockets, glancing back at the receding camp. He felt utterly bored; he had already decided to leave this world. As for Dou Zhen's trial, he still didn't know the details, so to hell with it.

......

Since Sonoda Mari's abdominal wound was still bleeding, Kiba Yuji suggested that they go back to the place where the three of them used to live to take refuge.

zhe is an abandoned apartment building on the outskirts of the city, and they haven't returned for a long time since they left to join the resistance.

Pushing open the mottled iron gate, a strong musty smell mixed with dust hits you.

Sunlight streamed obliquely through the dirty glass windows, making the tiny particles floating in the air clearly visible. The furniture was covered in a thick layer of dust, and everything exuded an air of abandoned desolation.

"Let's tidy up a bit first, at least enough for someone to lie down." Kiba Yuji sighed, took off his coat to use as a rag, and began wiping the sofa. Inui Takumi carefully helped Mari lie down, while Keitaro also found a broom and silently swept the floor.

Lin Chen leaned against the wall, showing no intention of helping.

“Let’s go buy some medicine and bandages,” Nagata Yuka said softly, and Kaidou Naoya immediately followed, “I’ll go with you so we can look after each other.”

After the two left, only the rustling sound of cleaning and Zhenli's suppressed breathing remained in the room.

About an hour later, a series of hurried and chaotic footsteps suddenly came from outside the door. Kaidou Naoya kicked open the slightly ajar door, his face grim. Behind him, Nagata Yuka also frowned deeply.

"Something terrible has happened." Haitang gasped for breath, her voice strained. "On our way back from buying medicine, we saw the latest news from Smart Brain: all of humanity on Earth is about to be wiped out, with less than a hundred left..." She looked at the crowd as she spoke.

"Not many people, Haitang, tell me!" Kiba Yuji shouted when he saw him stammering.

"Less than...less than 10 people!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the room fell into a deathly silence.

Sonoda Mari's eyes widened suddenly, struggling to sit up despite the sharp pain in her abdomen: "What?! The people from the camp before... those ordinary people..."

“They’re gone.” Haitang Naoya lowered his head. “Now, they’ve issued an arrest warrant and are going to start a full-scale manhunt for the remaining survivors.”

......

Night fell, and the sky was clear with a bright moon and few stars.

The apartment on the outskirts of the city was deathly silent. No lights were on inside, only the occasional searchlights of the Smart Brain patrol sweeping across the windowpanes, casting pale spots of light on the walls.

Everyone sat or lay down, all in silence. Even Kaidou Naoya, unusually, remained silent, while Kusaka Masato leaned against the wall with his back to everyone. The news of humanity's impending extinction weighed heavily on everyone's chests like a boulder, making it hard to breathe.

The balcony door was ajar. Lin Chen sat alone on the rusty wrought iron chair, looking up at the night sky, which was glowing red from the city lights. On the table beside him was a can of expired beer that he had taken from the refrigerator, the tab open.

Footsteps approached from behind. Kiba Yuji walked up to him with another can of beer, pulled the tab, took a swig, and then followed Lin Chen's gaze to the murky sky. Relying on his Orphnoch physique, he didn't care whether he could still drink the beer or not.

"What are you thinking about, Lin Chensang?"