As a weirdo, I like being a Kamen Rider

Seeing his wary expression, Lin Chen's lips curled slightly: "Do you recognize me? It seems... you're the same Kouta I know."

Upon hearing this, Kouta Kazuha's expression became even more serious, and his right hand unconsciously pressed against the Sengoku Driver at his waist.

Sure enough, it wasn't a dream? He stared intently at the face before him, the absurd yet incredibly real nightmare involuntarily flashing through his mind. In that dream, the man before him suddenly went berserk, attacking everyone, and in the end, he transformed into a gigantic mechanical monster that blotted out the sky. They gathered the power of all the knights and risked their lives to barely manage to perish together with him.

That feeling of despair and helplessness remained etched in my memory even after I woke up.

"Is everything in that fake world just a dream in your eyes?" Lin Chen tilted his head, his tone playful. "But I'm curious, why are you staring at me like that? Am I some kind of monster?"

"Isn't that so?" Kuzuha Kouta retorted coldly, a vein throbbing on his forehead, his voice full of wariness.

Seeing his alarmed expression, Lin Chen sighed helplessly. It seemed the events of that world had indeed left a deep impression on this naive fool.

"It seems you weren't involved in the plan, or rather, you weren't even here." Lin Chen spoke bluntly, his tone filled with undisguised disdain. "That world was fake to begin with, a hypothetical world created by you Heisei Riders for those Showa Riders. It'll all be destroyed eventually anyway, so it doesn't matter who comes."

Zack, standing to the side, was completely bewildered, his gaze darting back and forth between the two. Finally, he couldn't help but interject, "Hey, Kuzuha, what's going on here? You two know each other? Who is this guy anyway?"

Upon hearing Zack's question, Kouta Kazuha nodded silently, his gaze never leaving Lin Chen, his voice low and strained: "I saw him in a dream... a very bad dream."

"A dream? Speaking of dreams, I think I had a strange dream recently too."

"Alright." Lin Chen waved his hand, interrupting the increasingly bizarre conversation. "Stop looking at me like I'm a monster. Just know that what you had was just a nightmare, and dreams are often the opposite of reality. I won't go crazy like in the dream, and I have no interest in causing trouble in this world."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the devastated streets and the towering World Tree Corporation building in the distance, his expression turning serious. "But now, instead of dwelling on that ethereal dream, tell me properly—what exactly is the state of this world right now?"

.......

Inside Drupers fruit dessert shop, Lin Chen, along with Kouta and Zack, sat facing each other in a booth by the window. On the table were three almost untouched glasses of juice.

After listening quietly to everything they had to say, Lin Chen leaned back in the booth.

"Has it already come to this point...? The Helheim Forest on the other side has begun a full-scale invasion. It seems you've already clashed with the alien overlords."

“Yes.” Kouta Kazuha lowered his head. “In front of those overlords, I am like a child, toyed with by them… But I will not give up. I will continue to fight, to protect this city, to protect everyone’s stage.”

He spoke earnestly, his eyes burning with passion.

"So what are you planning to do next?" Lin Chen asked, seeing his expression.

"I want to continue seeking out those overlords to communicate with; perhaps I can find the key clues to stop Helheim's invasion," said Kouta Kazuha, revealing his next plan.

Lin Chen opened his mouth, the words "This is simply impossible" almost escaping his lips.

The trials of civilization cannot be stopped by the erosion of the Helheim Forest unless the First Man and First Woman are born; this is the rule of the Helheim Forest. He wanted to tell this overly passionate young man about Baiya, the Golden Fruit, and the inevitable divine choice.

But at that moment, his gaze passed over Kouta Kazuha's shoulder, and his pupils contracted slightly.

In the shadows behind Ge Ye, a pure white figure stood silently. His white armor was as white as snow, and his long platinum-gold hair made him appear extremely sacred. He raised a finger and gently placed it to his lips, making a "shh" gesture to Lin Chen.

Lin Chen's gaze lingered for a moment between him and Kuzuha Kouta, then he casually swallowed back the words that were about to come out.

He picked up his glass, took a sip of juice, and nodded to Kuzuha Kouta, his tone flat: "Okay, do as you wish. However, if you need military support, you can come to me for help. I believe you have witnessed my strength, so helping you deal with those alien overlords should be relatively easy."

After hearing Lin Chen's words, Kouta Kazuha was stunned for a moment, then nodded heavily, a relieved smile on his face: "You are the first person... to support me like this. Now, in order to stop this city from suffering any more harm, I am ready to set off."

After saying that, he stood up, picked up the Sengoku Driver from the table, and turned to leave. Zack scratched his head and quickly followed, calling out, "Hey, wait for me, Kuzunoha!"

However, when Kouta Kuzuha passed by the spot where the figure was standing, he seemed not to see anything and walked straight past him.

The shop door opened, and the wind chimes rang out crisply before falling silent again.

Lin Chen leaned back in his chair, his gaze falling on the pure white figure, and raised his chin: "Come and sit down."

Chapter 267 The Beginning Man

The man who started the conversation sat down opposite him.

His white armor and platinum-blonde hair shimmered softly under the warm yellow light, as if he were a solitary source of light. Everything around him seemed somewhat dim, as if their presence had been diluted by some higher being.

Lin Chen leaned back in his chair, his gaze lingering for a moment on the face that was exactly like Kouta Kazuha's, yet had shed all its youthful immaturity and impetuosity, before he spoke: "The Man of Beginning... or should I call you the future Kouta Kazuha?"

“Here, I’m just an observer.” His voice was soft, yet clear enough to reach my ears. “Thank you for earlier.”

"Thank me for what?" Lin Chen picked up the glass and shook the remaining juice inside.

“I didn’t tell him that choice. I hope he will make a completely new choice this time.” The Man of Beginning turned his head slightly and looked at the World Tree Foundation’s tower outside the window. Countless collapsing futures seemed to be reflected in the depths of his emerald green eyes. “That path… is painful, and it is not the only answer that can save everyone.”

"Do you regret it?"

“Who knows?” The Man of Beginning withdrew his gaze. “To protect the dance troupe, to protect this city, to protect all the people I love, I chose this path, but I don’t want all of me to choose this path.”

Lin Chen was silent for a moment: "You should have understood when you appeared here that nothing could be avoided."

“You’re right, fate has already been decided, but your arrival has given me hope.” The Man of Beginning shook his head, his platinum hair swaying gently. “Although you cannot replace the position I represent right now, you possess that thing. Given time, none of these will be problems.”

"Evolutionary Memory?" Lin Chen put down his cup. "It seems you also played a part in that fake world. No wonder Tsukasa Kadoya and the others were able to pull off such a big operation. With you around, it's no wonder."

“Yes, I did interfere.” The Man of Beginning looked at him. “But that’s not important. The Golden Fruit is about to ripen, don’t you want a share? I already know from Tsukasa Kadoya that you’re looking for your way home. With this power, you won’t have to wander around the worlds like a headless fly anymore.”

"The Golden Fruit? Becoming a god is indeed tempting, but it's not something I can use." Lin Chen couldn't help but sigh upon hearing the Man of Beginning mention the Golden Fruit. Although he also desperately wanted to obtain the Golden Fruit, it belonged to humans and was irrelevant to him at the moment.

"No, you're wrong. You still have the right to compete for the Golden Fruit. Although you've become an Orphnoch, you haven't completely lost your human identity." Seeing that Lin Chen knew about the Golden Fruit but didn't seem inclined to do anything, the Man of the Beginning couldn't help but speak. Of course, it was unclear whether what he said was true or false.

"Really? You're not just trying to fool me, are you?"

"Of course not, there's no benefit for me in lying to you."

"I see. Now I do have designs on the Golden Fruit. But you said I'm not qualified to take your place yet. I'd like to know what you mean?"

"It's nothing special." The Man of Beginning saw that Lin Chen had indeed developed a desire to seize the Golden Fruit. He stood up, his white armor gradually becoming transparent under the light. "The gears of fate have already begun to turn. You will understand everything in due time."

"You riddle people are really annoying!" Lin Chen couldn't help but say as he watched the Man of Beginning gradually disappear.

After the man who started the conversation left, Lin Chen sat quietly in the booth, his fingertips unconsciously tapping the table. After a long while, he seemed to have made up his mind, drank the remaining juice in his glass in one gulp, got up, pushed open the door, and left.

Shortly after he left, two figures slowly reappeared in the empty dessert shop.

The Man of Beginning still stood in the same spot, now accompanied by a woman in a pure white dress, the Daughter of Beginning, Gao Siwu.

She gazed in the direction Lin Chen had disappeared and asked softly, "Kōta, is this method really feasible?"

The man who started was silent for a moment, then shook his head: "Who knows?"

He paused, his gaze falling on the street scene bathed in sunlight outside the window, a gentle yet bitter smile appearing on his lips.

"But I want to try."

Gao Siwu turned her head to look at his face, which was exactly the same as in her memory, yet seemed to be separated by thousands of miles.

The man who started spoke very softly, as if afraid of disturbing something: "As expected... I still want to continue dancing with everyone."

Outside the window, the streets of Zeya City were bustling with traffic, and the sun was shining brightly.

......

After saying goodbye to Lin Chen, in order to find the Over Lord, Kouta Kazuha took out the Sengoku Driver and combined the Lemon Energy Lockseed with the Orange Lockseed.

"Lock On! Jimber Lemon! Ha-Ha!"

Accompanied by electronic sound effects, Kamen Rider Gaim Jinha Lemon form transformed and leaped into a spatial rift, entering the Helheim Forest alone.

In the dark forest, twisted giant trees blocked out the sun. Following the route he remembered, Kouta Kuzuha traversed the humus-rich woodland and finally arrived at a hidden cave.

The cave was dark and deep, with the rock walls covered with mycelium and glowing moss unique to the Helheim Forest, and the air was filled with a damp, decaying smell.

This is the very place where he fought the overlord aliens before.

He gripped his peerless saber tightly and cautiously stepped into the cave. The surroundings were eerily quiet, save for the soft sound of water droplets falling from the ceiling.

Suddenly, a faint sound of gravel scraping came from deep within the cave.

Kouta Kuzuha whirled around, his blade pointing straight into the darkness: "Who?!"

From the shadows, a familiar figure slowly emerged. A dark trench coat, a cold and stern face—it was none other than the Demon-Slaying Martial Arts Master.

Upon seeing him, Kouta Kazuha breathed a sigh of relief, put away his weapon, deactivated his transformation, and his armor dissipated into specks of light: "It's you, Kaito."

Kaito Kazuma walked up to him, stopped, and his gaze lingered on his face for a moment before he spoke coldly, "Kouta Kazuha, what are you doing here?"

Instead of answering his question, Kouta Kazuha countered with, "I was going to ask you something else."

But before Jie Dou could answer, he seemed to suddenly remember something, his eyes lit up, and he blurted out, "You're also looking for the Overlord of the Otherworld, right?"

"What?" Kaito's pupils contracted, a look of shock flashing across his face. "How do you know this?"

This was classified information he had painstakingly stolen from within the World Tree Foundation. How could Kouta Kazuha, that guy who only knows how to dance and giggle all day, know this?

Kouta across from him scratched his head and gave a hearty laugh: "Given our relationship, why are you hiding this from me? So you also believe that as long as we find those overlords, we can find a way to stop the Helheim Forest from encroaching, right?"

Upon hearing Kouta's words, Kaito Kazuma paused for a moment, then lowered his head and chuckled. His smile held a hint of mockery and pity.

“So that’s how it is…” He looked up, his eyes icy cold. “Do you really expect them to help you as you wish?”

“Of course!” Kouta clenched his fist, his eyes resolute. “Those overlord aliens can dominate this forest. If they are willing to help us, then stopping the invasion of the Helheim Forest will not be a problem!”

"Too naive."

The moment the voice faded, a figure slowly emerged from the shadows deep within the cave. A dark coat, a cold, stern face, hands in pockets. It was Lin Chen.

Kaito's pupils contracted sharply, and his hand instinctively reached for the Sengoku Driver at his waist. He stared at Lin Chen with a solemn expression: "You... I think I remember you."

Lin Chen tilted his head, a playful smile curving his lips: "I didn't expect you to remember that dream too?"

Hearing Lin Chen's words, Kaito's brows furrowed even more. The absurd yet incredibly real dream flashed through his mind—the knight battle, the collapsing world, and the gigantic mechanical monster that the man before him had transformed into. He spoke in a deep voice, a tremor he himself didn't even notice: "Was that really... a dream?"

"Who knows?" Lin Chen shrugged, his tone flippant.

“You bastard…” Quwen Jiedou gritted his teeth.

Seeing his expression, Lin Chen didn't bother teasing him anymore. Instead, he looked at Kuzunoha Kota with a more serious expression: "Those overlord aliens are not just simple enemies. They will not help you."

"So, you think so too?" Kaito Kumon coldly interrupted the conversation, his gaze sweeping over Kota Kuzuha like a knife. "Those overlord aliens possess overwhelming power. To them, humans are weaklings who are easily defeated. There is no reason for them to save humans."

This statement was made to Kouta Kuzuha.

But Kouta Kazuha disagreed with his statement. He clenched his fists, his eyes resolute: "This isn't a matter of strength! As long as we can communicate, as long as they understand our situation, they will definitely—"

"Definitely what?" Kaito scoffed, interrupting him. "Lowering myself to pity you? Kouta, how can you remain so naive!"

"I'm not naive!"

"enough."

Lin Chen impatiently interrupted their argument: "What's the point of your arguing? You'd be better off finding those overlord aliens first."

Hearing this, Kouta Kazuha stopped arguing with Kaito Kamen Rider and turned to look at Lin Chen, a glimmer of hope rekindling in his eyes: "By the way, Lin Chen-san, what are you doing here? Are you here to help me?"