As a weirdo, I like being a Kamen Rider

"This is a fragment of the Golden Fruit, albeit a broken scrap. Since you can't bring yourself to use it, it's mine. In exchange, I'll take care of this trouble for you."

However, just as he was about to put away the Extreme Lock Seed—

A hand appeared out of thin air and gripped his wrist tightly.

DJ Xiang Le's grinning face had somehow appeared beside Lin Chen, his figure, which had just vanished, now solidified like a ghost. He tilted his head, his fingers tightening so much that Lin Chen's movements abruptly stopped in mid-air.

“That won’t do, buddy.” Sagara’s voice was still flippant, but it carried an undeniable air of authority. “This power… isn’t meant for you.”

Lin Chen slowly turned his head, his dark golden pupils meeting Xiang Le's gaze, as if invisible currents were clashing in the air.

"Oh?" Lin Chen sneered. "Then tell me, who should it belong to?"

Sagara didn't answer immediately, but turned her head, her gaze passing over Lin Chen and landing on Kouta Kuzuha. Her eyes held a kind of scrutiny, as if she were waiting for something.

“It can only be used by ‘him’,” Xiang Le said softly, her fingers gripping Lin Chen’s wrist without loosening their hold. “This is the rule of the stage, and the price of the trial. You—can’t take it away.”

"Is that so? But some people think differently." Hearing him say that, Lin Chen laughed.

DJ Sagara was puzzled by Lin Chen's meaning, but suddenly felt a strange force pulling at his body, and disappeared from Lin Chen and Kota's sight.

Chapter 277 The End

After Xiang Le disappeared, Lin Chen flexed his wrists, the smile on his lips unchanged.

"The troublesome guy is finally gone."

Kouta Kazuha was still in shock: "You... what did you do to Sagara?!"

"Nothing much." Lin Chen's gaze passed over him and landed on the rampaging Crimson in the distance. His voice was cold and hard. "It's just that someone doesn't want him in the way."

He reached into his pocket with his right hand and took out his Orga phone.

“Standing by…”

Dark golden photon blood gushed from the belt around his waist, and the visor fell off. His crimson compound eyes shone with a chilling light.

Kamen Rider Orga makes his appearance.

Crimson seemed to sense a new threat, and slowly turned around, her emerald compound eyes locking onto the dark golden figure.

"It's you!" He recognized Lin Chen, the guy who had previously suppressed him so badly in the Forest of Heim that he had no chance to fight back.

He let out a low growl. Then, purple lightning crackled at his shoulder, and the fireball in his palm rapidly expanded before he hurled it—

boom!

The fireball crashed down, leaving a trail of flames. Lin Chen neither dodged nor evaded; his dark gold armored boots slammed into the ground, and he transformed into a golden streak of light to meet the attack head-on! He twirled the Earth Emperor Sword in his hand, dark gold photon energy surging wildly at the blade's edge, and with one strike, he cleaved the fireball in two!

The fireballs, now cleaved in two, exploded on either side of Lin Chen, sending scorching flames scattering debris. Lin Chen's figure had already passed through the explosions, closing in on Zhen Hong like a ghost.

clang--!!!

The sword clashed head-on with the Hughim Greatsword, unleashing a deafening metallic explosion. Crimson's pupils constricted sharply. This guy was truly a monster. Leaving aside the last time, his enhanced body was now forced back three steps by this single strike, his dark purple feet carving two deep furrows in the asphalt. His hand gripping the sword went numb.

Is that all there is to it?

Lin Chen's voice came through the armor. Before he finished speaking, he flipped his wrist, and the Earth Emperor Sword slashed diagonally upwards along the greatsword slot, leaving a trail of dazzling sparks on the crimson breastplate.

Crimson roared, and purple lightning flashed suddenly at her shoulder, as two bolts of lightning as thick as bowls crashed down. Lin Chen's left arm armor withstood the lightning strikes, with only a few wisps of smoke rising from the dark gold armor. He used the momentum to spin around, slamming his sword hilt hard against the side of Crimson's faceplate!

boom!

Shinku's head was knocked to the side by the blow, and she staggered backward.

Lin Chen slowly straightened up, the Earth Emperor Sword pointing diagonally at the ground, its scarlet compound eyes reflecting the disheveled figure of Zhen Hong.

Shinku went completely insane.

"A mere monkey... how dare you look down on me!!"

Blinding purple light burst forth from the gaps in the dark purple exoskeleton, the sharp corners of its shoulders lit up, and purple arcs of electricity crisscrossed, scorching the road surface within a radius of tens of meters black. The M's Greatsword, wreathed in dark purple flames, swept across with a single strike—

boom!!!

A crescent-shaped slash, tens of meters wide, tore through the street, causing buildings along the way to collapse in half, with concrete and steel bars pouring down like a torrential rain.

Lin Chen stood directly in front of the slash's path. Gripping his sword in one hand, the Earth Emperor Sword's dark golden photon energy surged, meeting the earth-shattering slash head-on with a single step, the sword tip rising upwards!

clang--!!!

The sharp clang of clashing metal shattered all the remaining glass three blocks away. Crimson's slash was forcefully split in two, the energy torrent pouring out to both sides, carving two deep trenches in the street. Lin Chen pierced through the explosion's flames, his figure like a golden meteor, already standing before Crimson.

The Earth Emperor's Sword slashed diagonally, tearing a gruesome gash in Crimson's breastplate. Crimson roared, "Damn it... damn it!!"

Staggering to regain his footing, his emerald compound eyes were filled with rage and resentment. He suddenly plunged his greatsword into the ground, and the crack in the sky writhed violently. More vines cascaded down like a waterfall, weaving together to form a massive barrier in front of him. At the same time, countless fireballs blasted out from behind the barrier, blotting out the sun.

Lin Chen narrowed his crimson compound eyes slightly. He returned the Earth Emperor Sword to its slot, the Tiger Head Cannon popped out, and switched to artillery mode. A vast amount of photon energy gathered and compressed at the cannon's muzzle.

"boom--!!!"

A beam of energy, several meters in diameter, erupted from the cannon's muzzle, piercing the battlefield like a spear, and crashed head-on into the vine barrier. In the earth-shattering explosion, the barrier, along with half the street, was instantly vaporized, revealing Crimson's body in the torrent of energy, his dark purple exoskeleton shattering inch by inch.

"I absolutely refuse to accept this!!" Zhenhong roared madly, detonating all the remaining energy in her body in an attempt to perish together with Lin Chen. "How could I lose to someone as lowly as you..."

Before he could finish speaking, Lin Chen had already transformed into a golden streak of light and flashed in front of him. The Earth Emperor Sword reversed, its dark golden blade piercing through the crimson breastplate, pinning him to the ground.

With a sudden twist of the sword, photon energy erupted from Crimson's body, tearing apart her dark purple exoskeleton. Crimson let out a shrill scream as her massive body completely disintegrated and vanished in the enormous explosion, leaving not even a trace behind.

The streets fell silent again, with only ashes falling from the sky and the dark golden figure standing with a sword in hand.

......

World Tree Foundation, Top Floor Lounge.

After the battle, Wu Daogui, the director of the World Tree Foundation, had already led his men to clean up the mess left on the streets. Lin Chen was left alone in the large lounge.

He sat alone on the sofa, a dark trench coat draped over the back of the chair. His left hand held the Evolution Memory, while his right hand gripped the Ultimate Lock Seed he had snatched from Kouta Kuzuha, slowly rotating it in front of the cold light on the ceiling. The gilded surface reflected the cold light, and the red, green, and purple gems cast eerie spots of light on the wall.

But his attention was not on the Extreme Lock species.

The memory core warmed slightly, and a familiar yet unfamiliar fluctuation finally reconnected to his consciousness. After he killed Shinku, the Earth consciousness, which had been dormant for a long time, finally reappeared.

Lin Chen leaned back on the sofa and asked in his mind:

Where did you go before?

The evolved memory trembled slightly, and after a moment of silence, a clear, cold female voice came out, carrying a hint of weariness: "You already know from that false world... I am very interested in this world."

She paused, her voice becoming more serious: "When we arrived in this world, it was right at the critical juncture of absorption and fusion. But the invasion of the Helheim Forest made the fusion difficult, so we decided to erode it in reverse."

"But we still underestimated that forest." Earth's consciousness sighed softly. "Although the Helheim Forest does not have a complete self-awareness, its instinctive erosion alone is troublesome enough. It wasn't until you killed Crimson... that the balance finally tipped, and we took this opportunity to complete the final step."

After listening, Lin Chen suddenly realized and said, "So, the Helheim Forest is now completely under your control? This world... will no longer be corrupted?"

“Indeed.” The voice of Earth’s consciousness calmed down a bit. “I have suppressed the will of that forest, and the process of erosion has stopped.”

Lin Chen shook his head, tossed the Extreme Lock Seed up and caught it again, a complicated smile curving his lips: "I never thought that the crisis of this world would be resolved in this way."

He changed the subject, his tone turning serious: "But what exactly does that Dark Force guy want? It was one thing in that Faiz mutant world before, but what's going on in this world now? He's been kicking me around like a ball, there must be some purpose behind it, right?"

The evolved memory was silent for a moment, then the voice of Earth's consciousness rang out again: "...I don't know his true intentions either. But just do as I said before."

"What do you mean?"

Follow your heart.

“It’s that line again…” Lin Chen closed his eyes, leaned back on the sofa, and sighed deeply. “This kind of riddle-like way of speaking is really annoying.”

The lounge was quiet for a moment, with only the faint hum of the cold fluorescent lights. Lin Chen reopened his eyes, his gaze falling on the Extreme Lock Seed in his hand: "What about the Golden Fruit? What do you plan to do with it?"

"I will continue to advance the trials of the Helheim Forest," the Earth consciousness declared, uttering a startling statement.

Lin Chen frowned: "What do you mean? Didn't you already have control over it?"

"It is precisely because we have taken control that we understand we cannot allow it to completely integrate into Earth." The voice of Earth's consciousness carried a hint of solemnity. "The Helheim Forest is like a cancer cell. If it is allowed to coexist with Earth, it won't be long before this planet becomes a second Helheim. I can only try my best to stop it, but I cannot eradicate it... Therefore, ultimately, something is needed to completely remove it from Earth."

She paused, then continued, "The trial must continue, but the method can be changed... Do you have any good suggestions?"

Lin Chen fell into deep thought. He stared at the three-colored gemstone luster flowing on the Extreme Lock Seed, then looked out the window at the towering white tower of the World Tree Foundation. The words of Kuzunoha Kouta, Kurejima Takatora, Kabuto Kito, and Hakuya flashed through his mind.

Finally, as if he had thought of something, he said, "I do have an idea... but I don't know if you can do it."

He slowly revealed his plan. The Earth consciousness in the consciousness space listened and fell into a long silence.

“…It is indeed a difficult task,” she finally said, “but it’s not impossible. I need to make some preparations first.”

Night falls.

Wu Daogui dragged his weary body and pushed open the door to the break room. His uniform was still covered in street dust, and his brows bore the deep weariness of having dealt with a mess. He looked up and saw Lin Chen sitting alone on the sofa, staring intently at something in his hand, his gaze heavy.

"What are you thinking about?" Guihu walked to the opposite side of the sofa and sat down, his voice hoarse.

Lin Chen raised his head, put the Extreme Lock Seed back into his palm, and asked in return, "What exactly was the plan you mentioned before?"

Wu Daogui looked at him, remained silent for a moment, and did not hide anything.

“As Baiya said, the civilization of Fimsim was destroyed by its people’s greed for the Golden Fruit. The strong despised the weak, ultimately killing each other.” Guihu’s voice was low, yet carried an almost obsessive calm. “Humanity has followed the same old path. The World Tree, the conglomerates, the Armored Knights… the strong set the rules, and the weak can only be sacrificed. Since the problem lies with the ‘strong’—”

He raised his eyes, his gaze as firm as iron: "Then let the strong disappear. Let's build a world without distinction between strong and weak, where no one can rise above others."

After listening, Lin Chen remained silent for a few seconds.

Then he laughed, not with admiration, but with a mocking laugh that was almost pity.

"madness."

Wu Daogui frowned.

"When the strong disappear, new strong will emerge." Lin Chen leaned back on the sofa, his tone as calm as if stating a simple truth. "You kill today's strong, and tomorrow the person who rises from the ruins will be the new strong. As long as humanity exists, strength and weakness will continue to regenerate. You think you are severing the cycle of reincarnation, but you are actually just making room for the next cycle."

He paused, his gaze sharpening: "Besides, I clearly said—I have no interest in the Golden Fruit. It seems you didn't believe me at all."

Wu Daogui opened his mouth, about to say something, when Lin Chen stood up and walked to him. With a flick of his wrist, the gilded Extreme Lock Seed landed on the coffee table between them, making a crisp sound.

The three-colored gemstones shimmered with an eerie luster under the cold light.

Wu Daogui was stunned, looking down at the lock-seed: "...What does this mean?"

"This is the power of the Golden Fruit. Although it's only a portion of it. Take it. I told you, I will make you the ultimate winner! Your plans are over, a new trial begins."

Upon learning that what lay before him was the power of the Golden Fruit, Wu Dao Guihu was not happy. Instead, he noticed another sentence Lin Chen uttered: "A new trial? What new trial?"

Chapter 278 So, let the plan begin.