As a weirdo, I like being a Kamen Rider

Lin Chen turned around when he heard his voice. The dim light from the balcony outlined his cold profile, his eyes unfathomable and devoid of emotion.

“It’s nothing,” he said calmly, “I’m just getting ready to leave.”

"Leave?" Kiba Yuji's grip on the beer can tightened, his face showing surprise. "Why? At a time like this..."

"Hey! Kiba, you should have guessed it by now, right?" Lin Chen interrupted him, turning his gaze back to the distance. "I'm not from this world."

Kiba fell silent. Back when Nakamura Kamiji recounted the secret about Lin Chen in Smart Brain, he already had a vague guess. Moreover, the man's power, and his belt that didn't belong to any legend, all pointed to an incredible answer.

Now that Lin Chen had personally confirmed it, Kiba simply nodded slowly.

“Although this world became like this because of me,” Lin Chen continued, his voice unusually weary, “I am not a god. Of the hundreds of millions of Orphnochs worldwide, there are less than ten humans left. I am powerless to reverse the situation. So I must travel to other worlds and continue my journey.”

Upon hearing this, Yuji Kiba abruptly raised his head, a complex and indescribable emotion flashing in his eyes. He opened his mouth, but ultimately only managed to ask the most pressing question with difficulty:

"Then... what about the rest of the people?"

"The rest of them..." Lin Chen murmured to himself, "I plan to take them with me to another world. It's the last thing I can do for this world." He paused, then turned to look at Kiba, "So, do you want to come along?"

Upon hearing his question, Kiba fell silent.

After an unknown amount of time, he suddenly spoke: "Lin Chensang... since you come from another world, what is that other world like? Does it also have Orphnoch?"

"Orphnochs? Some worlds have them, some don't. If you wish, I can send you to a world without Orphnochs. And—" A pale blue, shimmering syringe appeared in his hand. "I possess the technology to transform you from Orphnochs back into humans. In that world, you can live perfectly well as humans!"

Yuji Kiba suddenly opened his eyes wide, his breathing quickened, and he took a step forward to speak.

"I know what you want to ask." Lin Chen interrupted him first, putting away the potion. "Are you thinking about whether it's possible to secretly turn all the Orphnochs in the world back into humans using a method similar to Smart Brain?"

Kiba swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue, and finally nodded stiffly.

"Unfortunately, that's not feasible." Lin Chen's voice was completely calm. "This world is already under Smart Brain's control. The drug wasn't produced out of thin air; there simply aren't enough raw materials, equipment, time, or manpower. Although I don't have much in stock, it's enough to turn a few of you back into humans. As for the rest of the world..." He smirked, "Whether they hate me or not, it doesn't matter."

"Isn't there any other way?"

Yuji Kiba pressed on, unwilling to give up.

"Other methods...?"

Lin Chen narrowed his eyes, his fingers unconsciously tapping on the handrail beside him, the soft tapping sound particularly clear on the quiet balcony.

After a long silence, he slowly spoke: "Yes. But that's a one-way street. I'm not a saint, and I won't risk everything for this world that already belongs to Orphnoch."

Yuji Kiba looked at him, and without the slightest hesitation, stepped forward and bowed deeply to Lin Chen: "In that case, let me do it. Thank you, Lin Chen-san... please be sure to tell me."

Lin Chen looked at the stubborn man in front of him, who was almost foolish, and his eyes gradually became unfocused.

...

As the moon sets and the sun rises, the sky is already beginning to lighten with the first hint of dawn.

Lin Chen was still sitting in the same wrought iron chair from last night, as if he hadn't moved at all throughout the night.

He kept his eyes closed, breathing heavily, until the first ray of the morning sun pierced through the clouds, its rays shining directly into his eyes. Only then did he slowly open his eyes, his pupils reflecting the rising red sun.

"Hey."

A cold voice came from beside him. Lin Chen didn't turn around, but only slightly turned his head. Kusaka Masato had already walked up to him at some point, his hands in his pockets, his face showing the haggardness of someone who hadn't slept all night, but his eyes were sharp as knives.

"Who exactly are you?"

Lin Chen raised an eyebrow, his tone languid: "Why are you suddenly asking that?"

“Because you’re strange.” Kusaka Masato said bluntly, his voice cold and hard. “Being able to transform people into Orphnochs at will is not something an ordinary Orphnoch can do. I’m very curious about your identity.”

He paused, his Adam's apple bobbing, and a rare hint of unease appeared on his usually arrogant face.

"And... I want to ask you for a favor."

Lin Chen finally turned his head. The morning light outlined Kusaka Masato's tense profile, and that posture made Lin Chen's lips curl up slightly—Kusaka Masato with this pleading look was a rare sight.

"Tell me about it," Lin Chen said, turning his gaze to the distance. "If it's possible, I don't mind helping out."

Kusaka took a deep breath, as if making a decision: "I want you to transform the truth into Orphnoch as well. That way, she can continue to live."

Upon hearing this, Lin Chen's eyes flashed with surprise, but he quickly regained his composure. He gently tapped the armrest and said calmly, "I see. But did you ask for her opinion?"

"Her opinion?" Kusaka Masato seemed to have been hit where it hurt, his face contorting in pain as he couldn't help but growl, "When you transformed me into an Orphnoch, did you ask for my opinion? If that's the case, why are you pretending to be so sympathetic here?"

Seeing his furious expression, Lin Chen not only didn't get angry, but instead laughed.

“You’re really annoying,” he said slowly. “Don’t you understand why I didn’t ask for your opinion?”

Upon hearing his words, Kusaka Masato clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white, his chest heaving violently. He was about to say something more when he saw Lin Chen's smile suddenly vanish, and his eyes sharpen.

"and many more--"

Lin Chen suddenly stood up, his gaze shooting like lightning towards the distant horizon. His senses spread out like an invisible net, catching a trace of extremely dangerous aura.

Kusaka Masato followed his gaze, and his pupils suddenly contracted.

In the distance, countless black dots were rushing in from where the sky met the horizon, trailing long tails of flame, like a sudden rain of steel.

Enemy attack!

Chapter 261 Kiba's Determination

Before Lin Chen could even warn the others, the first shell crashed to the ground with a whistling sound.

"boom--!!!"

A deafening explosion shattered the morning tranquility, flames shot into the sky, and the shockwave instantly shattered the remaining glass on the balcony. A blast of air rolled in, and Kusaka Masato felt a tremendous force strike his chest, sending him flying backward uncontrollably.

Lin Chen flashed and grabbed his collar. The two crashed through the balcony door and fell heavily into the house.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

A series of explosions followed, and the entire abandoned apartment building trembled violently amidst the shelling. The walls cracked, and rubble and dust rained down from the ceiling. The people inside were awakened by the sudden attack. Takumi Inui shielded Mari Sonoda with his body, and the Kiba trio immediately transformed into Orphnochs.

"It's Smart Brain! They've found this place!" Kaidou Naoya kicked open the deformed iron door and roared.

Lin Chen stood up from the ruins, brushed the dust off his shoulders, and looked up at the sky. In the distance, dozens of jet gliders were approaching between the buildings, their Smart Brain logos gleaming coldly in the sunlight. On the ground, countless Leo cavalry surged in from all directions like a tide, their brass-colored armor forming a continuous line.

But that's not all.

Just as everyone gathered, a dull tremor suddenly came from the ground beneath their feet. At first, it was just a slight shaking, as if a heavy truck was passing by in the distance, but soon the tremor became stronger and more rapid, as if an ancient behemoth was trampling the earth.

Everyone felt a tremor coming from afar, growing stronger as it approached, pounding on their hearts like a drumbeat. The buildings at the end of the street collapsed with a deafening roar, sending dust billowing into the sky. A colossal Orphnoch, tens of meters tall, slowly emerged from the ruins. Its entire body was covered in grayish-white bone armor, and each step it took left spiderweb-like cracks in the ground.

Lin Chen looked up at the colossal creature that blotted out the sky, his brows furrowed. It wasn't that he was afraid of the beast, but rather that his dimensional barrier ability was now disabled, and the other side clearly intended to use the same tactic as before, planning to wear them down with human lives.

"Let's go, it's clear that Smart Brain has gone all out this time!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Lin Chen turned around and was about to lead the way towards the gap in the encirclement.

Hearing Lin Chen's words, everyone followed in his footsteps. Haitang turned her head and found that the figure who always walked in front was still standing in the same place, like a silent stone statue.

"Hey! Kiba!" he yelled at the top of his lungs, "What are you doing? What are you standing there for! Run!"

Kiba Yuji seemed not to hear his shout, but turned around to look at Lin Chen: "Lin Chen-san. Even if we can escape this time, can we keep running away forever?"

Lin Chen stopped in his tracks. He turned around. "Of course, no problem. I said I could take you all away from this world."

“But I don’t want to leave. I’ve thought it through.” Kiba Yuji raised his head, a strange calm on his face. “The method you mentioned last night… I want to try it.”

Lin Chen was silent for a few seconds: "Are you sure? If you use that, you'll never be able to turn back into a human. From now on, you can only live as a monster until the end of the world."

“Yes, I know.” Kiba Yuji lowered his eyes, a bitter smile slowly curving his lips. He spread his hands, looking at the faint gray lines on his palms. “But now, the world has become like this. For my dream… I want to try. Anyway, it can’t get any worse, can it?”

The conversation between the two left everyone baffled. What kind of riddle were these two talking about?

Kiba raised his head, his gaze sweeping over the remaining people one by one: "It's time to tell you the truth. Mr. Lin Chen is not from this world, and he has a way to take us to a world without Orphnoch to start over."

But that would just be running away. If I turned and ran away from here, I would never be able to forgive myself.

His words shocked everyone, but now is not the time to question the veracity of this news.

Then they heard Haitang shout loudly, "What time is it? Stop talking nonsense! Let's run away quickly!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Lin Chen was back beside Muji. He looked at Muji, his voice low and deep: "Are you really sure?"

Looking at Lin Chen, Kiba nodded, his face full of determination.

Seeing him nod, Lin Chen remained silent, then raised his hand and retrieved the ball of light containing the essence of the King of Orphnoch from his system space. The appearance of the ball of light seemed to freeze the surrounding air, and a wondrous aura spread outwards like a tide.

The approaching behemoth seemed to sense something and let out a deafening roar that shook the earth.

This was Lin Chen's last resort. Since he couldn't follow the path of Smart Brain Company like in the previous world, he would simply rule all of Orphnoch as king. Then he would implement the drug policy.

However, once the power of the King of Orphnoch is used, one will forever remain in the form of a monster.

This is also why Lin Chen doesn't want to use it; he's not a saint. Although in the world of Agito, he could burn his life for those he cares about, in this world, forgive him for not being able to make that kind of decision. Call him hypocritical, call him whatever you want, he doesn't care.

What Lin Chen took out puzzled everyone, especially Haitang and Jiehua. Qian Qiao, Cao Jia, and the other Orphnochs felt a strong attraction to the ball of light. It was as if a voice whispered in their ears, urging them to seize it and possess it.

But given their temperaments, they managed to suppress the impulse.

"To be honest, it's all my fault, and I need your help to solve it." Lin Chen said as he handed the ball of light to Kiba.

"Don't say that, Lin Chen-san." Kiba said with a smile as he took the ball of light, surprisingly comforting Lin Chen instead, "The world becoming like this isn't what you wanted to see, is it?"

After speaking to Lin Chen, Kiba Yuji looked at the crowd.

“Everyone,” he said softly, “no matter what I become… my ideals will never change.”

He looked down at the primordial energy in his palm, where the form of Orphnoch was already manifesting.

"What I want to build is a world where Orphnochs and humans can coexist peacefully. Now I am about to gain the power to change the world."

Kiba raised his head, a gentle smile appearing on his lips, and then, without further hesitation, swallowed the ball of light in one gulp.

This scene made everyone feel as if they had lost something, although they still didn't know what exactly happened.

After he swallowed the ball of light, cocoons of light appeared around him, enveloping him layer by layer.

The emerald-gold light intertwined and swirled, slowly expanding and contracting like a beating heart.

Lin Chen knew that he was beginning to evolve, and turned to the crowd, saying in a deep voice, "Let's go, everyone, we need to buy some time for the lumberyard. Whether this world can be reborn depends on us."

As soon as he finished speaking, he took out the Orga belt and fastened it around his waist. Dark golden photon blood spread throughout his body, thick armor covered him layer by layer, and his scarlet compound eyes shone with a cold light.

Seeing him like this, apart from Keitaro and Sonoda Mari, no one else hesitated.

Inui Takumi silently took out the Faiz phone from his pocket and entered the transformation password:

"Standing by...Complete."