As a weirdo, I like being a Kamen Rider

The group said no more and quickened their pace, silently helping the grandmother tidy up the mess in the shop. They sat with the old woman for a while before getting up to say goodbye.

On the other side, Kabuto was being harassed by Jet's team members.

Captain Jet and his team relentlessly attacked Kabuto, unleashing a barrage of bullets and energy beams at him.

However, the speed of the King of Armor was too fast. He dodged nimbly and soon found an opportunity. With a sharp slash, he forced Captain Jet back. In a flash, he got rid of the Jet team members and sped towards Paradise House. He could sense that Mayu was in danger.

But he hadn't run far when he was forced to stop by intense gunfire. A pale blue figure blocked his way.

Kaito Daiki, transformed into Kabuto Rider, toyed with the Diend Driver in his hand, his eyes greedily fixed on Kabuto: "Kabuto, hand over your Time-Up system."

Kabuto-sensei didn't have time to waste arguing with him and turned to walk away from him.

Seeing this, Kaito Daiki stopped talking, raised his Diend gun, inserted two cards, and shouted in a deep voice: "Kamenr Ride! Psyga! Ixa!"

Two beams of light exploded simultaneously, and Kamen Rider Emperor and Kamen Rider Ixa appeared on either side of Kabuto, wielding guns and launching a fierce attack on Kabuto.

The Heavenly Emperor, flying in mid-air, and Ixa below continuously fired dense bullets, creating a pincer attack that completely blocked Kabuto's escape route.

Kabuto had no choice but to fight.

The battle lasted for a long time. Kabuto gradually figured out the rhythm of the two attacks. Taking advantage of the gap, he went directly behind the Kaito tree and attacked quickly with his short blade.

"Oh!"

Kaito Daiki's transformation was abruptly canceled by the rapid attack.

Kabuto-sensei didn't stop; he turned around and was about to continue running towards Paradise House.

Kaito Daiki watched Kabuto's retreating figure and murmured, "The Ascendancy System, it's truly amazing... I will definitely get you!"

At this moment, Mayu was hiding in a secluded alley, huddled in a corner, trembling all over.

She had already deactivated her insect form and returned to her human appearance, but the image of herself looking like a monster kept replaying in her mind, and fear overwhelmed her like a tidal wave.

“I’m a monster… I’m actually an alien insect…” She hugged her knees, feeling utterly lost.

A familiar figure appeared at the alley entrance. Captain Jet walked over slowly, a fake smile on his face. His face, which looked exactly like Mayu's brother's, now appeared particularly ferocious.

Mayu looked up abruptly, and the moment she saw him, she trembled and instinctively tried to back away, her eyes filled with wariness and fear: "You...you're an alien insect! I won't be fooled by you again!"

Captain Jet stopped, chuckled, and said coldly, "It seems you already know the truth."

"But so what if you know? Do you think you can escape?"

Mayu gritted her teeth, wanting to resist, but her strength seemed so insignificant in front of Captain Jet, and it was completely futile.

"Let me go! You monster!" Mayu cried out desperately, but could only watch helplessly as Captain Jet led her toward the ZECT base.

Inside the ZECT base, Shin watched as Captain Jet led Mayu in, utterly puzzled.

"Captain, who is this little girl?"

Captain Jet gave him a cold glance, raised his hand to signal his men to tie Mayu to the metal frame, and said in a sinister tone: "She is the bait to capture Kabuto King."

"As long as she's there, Kabuto King will definitely come to me on his own. Then, I can use the Time Degradation System to capture him completely!"

"No way!" Shin couldn't take it anymore and shouted, "King Kabuto has helped us so much. He's been fighting the Zerg and protecting the citizens. Why do we have to arrest him?"

"Besides, how can we take advantage of an innocent little girl? This is not something we Jett should be doing!"

Captain Jet had long been annoyed by Shin's constant rebuttals, and upon hearing these words, his eyes instantly blazed with anger, and he punched Shin in the stomach.

Xin lay curled up on the ground, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

Meanwhile, Lin Chen, Kadoya Tsukasa, and Hikari Natsumi had returned to the Hikari Photo Studio.

The living room was silent. The three of them sat on the sofa, and no one spoke for a moment.

Just then, the door of the photo studio was suddenly pushed open. Xin staggered, clutching his abdomen, blood still lingering at the corner of his mouth, breathing rapidly, and his face was frighteningly pale.

"Decade...please...help me..." Xin leaned against the door frame, panting heavily, his voice weak but urgent.

Guang Xiahai quickly stood up and helped him up, her face full of worry: "Shin, what happened to you? How did you get so badly injured?"

Shin shook his head, not having time to explain his injuries, and hurriedly told the three of them everything about Captain Jet's plan, Mayu's capture as bait, and his injuries.

“Kabuto is so fast, how could he possibly succeed?” Tsukasa Kadoya said.

The new system once again mentioned the time-lapse system.

"I see, I understand now." Thinking of Captain Jet's Worm identity and hearing about the time-lapse system targeting the Knights, Tsukasa Kadoya understood everything.

They went straight out, and Lin Chen followed.

Onodera stayed behind with Hikari Natsumi to take care of the injured Shin.

Chapter 50 Family

Inside the ZECT base.

The alloy walls gleamed with a cold, icy light, and the activation button for the time-lapse system stood in the corner.

Captain Jet—also known as the phylloxera aphid—stood with his hands behind his back in front of the control panel, his one-eyed eyes filled with a sinister expectation.

Beside him, dozens of Jet team members stood in neat rows, their expressions solemn, their weapons all pointed at the cell door, ready for battle.

"Everyone, be alert!" The phylloxera insect's voice was icy. "King Kabuto will be here soon. As soon as he steps into this place, activate the Time Degradation System immediately. We absolutely cannot let him escape!"

The team members responded in unison, their voices clear and uniform—those standing here now were no longer the real Jet team members, but mostly mimics created by the phylloxera insects, waiting for the Kabuto King to walk into their trap.

Not far away, on a metal frame, Shinju had her hands above her head, her face still wet with tears, and her eyes filled with fear and despair.

She could clearly feel a familiar presence rapidly approaching—it was her brother's presence. But she felt no joy whatsoever—she knew her brother was walking right into a trap.

"Brother, don't come... don't come..." Mayu sobbed softly, struggling desperately, but the alloy chains binding her remained unmoved.

Suddenly, "BOOM—!"

A deafening crash rang out as the alloy door of the cell was violently slammed open by a tremendous force, sending metal fragments flying and dust billowing everywhere.

A glint of wild joy flashed in the eyes of the phylloxera aphid. It turned abruptly and roared at the control panel, "Activate the time-delay system! Quickly!"

The operator immediately pressed the button, and the huge iron tower outside the base instantly lit up. An invisible energy wave, centered on the iron tower, swept across the entire city like a tide.

As the smoke cleared, a red figure appeared at the entrance. Kabuto King moved swiftly within the base as if by teleportation, instantly reaching a point less than two meters from Mayu.

But just then, an invisible force suddenly struck him, his body abruptly stopped, his high-speed movement instantly froze, and then, as if all his strength had been drained away, his legs went weak, and he fell heavily to the ground. The armor slowly dissipated, revealing the appearance of the Souji.

The time-degradation system is now in effect.

"Hahaha! Hahaha!" The phylloxera aphid burst into loud laughter, its laughter both ferocious and triumphant. "King of the Kabuto! You've finally met your match! You've finally fallen into my hands!"

He strode forward and gestured for two mimicry team members to come forward and lift the weakened commander up.

Looking at the weak and disheveled Souji in front of him, the hatred in the eyes of the phylloxera intensified. He raised his hand, grabbed Souji's chin hard, and said in a venomous tone: "This world doesn't need two of me. Go to hell."

As soon as he finished speaking, the phylloxera insect no longer concealed its identity. Its body blazed with green light, twisted violently, and its human-like shell shattered, revealing its true form—a grayish-brown phylloxera insect covered in sharp spines.

Immediately afterwards, the lined-up Jet members also began to twist and deform, their human forms fading away, revealing their true forms as various alien insects, which then pounced on the few remaining genuine Jet members in the cell.

"Pfft—! Pfft—!"

With a few muffled thuds, the real Jet team members were knocked to the ground by the Zerg before they could even fight back.

The phylloxera aphid released its grip on Souji's chin, kicked him to the ground, and looked down at him with murderous intent in its eyes: "Now, it's time to send you on your way!"

He raised his spiked claws, bringing a sharp gust of wind with them, and slammed them down towards the commander's head.

"call out--!"

Just at this critical moment, an energy blast suddenly shot out, accurately hitting the phylloxera insect's claw, sparking a dazzling display of light, and forcibly repelling its attack.

The phylloxera insect was startled and abruptly turned its head to look in the direction from which the attack came.

At the entrance of the base, Tsukasa Kadoya and Chen Lin stood side by side.

With his hands in his pockets and a playful smile on his lips, Tsukasa Kadoya casually remarked, "Looks like we're not too late."

"Damn it! Who are you people?!" the phylloxera aphid roared—he never expected that anyone would dare to break into the ZECT base and ruin his plans.

Tsukasa Kadoya slowly raised his hand and touched the Decade Driver at his waist, his tone calm but carrying an undeniable aura: "Listen carefully, I'm just a Kamen Rider passing by."

"Kamen Ride! Decade!"

A high-pitched electronic sound exploded, and magenta armor instantly covered his entire body. Tsukasa Kadoya, holding the Card Box Sword, assumed a fighting stance, his sharp eyes locking onto the phylloxera insect.

Lin Chen didn't hesitate and immediately transformed into the Earth Emperor: "Complete!"

The dark golden Earth Emperor Armor instantly took shape, its crimson single eye gleamed coldly, the Earth Emperor Sword was tightly gripped in its hand, and its entire body exuded a chilling killing intent.

Seeing the two transformed, the Zerglings showed no fear. Instead, they sneered, their tone disdainful: "Hmph, just two Kamen Riders! The Time Degradation System is now in effect. All Rider Systems' acceleration abilities are completely restricted. This world ultimately belongs to us Zerglings!"

"That's not necessarily true." Tsukasa Kadoya scoffed, wiping the card-shaped sword in his hand before flashing towards the phylloxera insect. "We'll only know after we try!"

Lin Chen did not rush forward rashly. His gaze swept over the few unmolted alien insects in the base—he would clean them up first, and then focus on dealing with the phylloxera alien insects.

With a swift movement, the Earth Emperor Sword, imbued with dark golden energy, swept towards several unmolted alien insects.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

With a few muffled thuds, several alien insects were instantly blown to pieces before they could even react.

[Ding! Defeat 8 unmolted Zerglings, gain 8 Evolution Points!]

A system notification sounded in Lin Chen's mind. He sheathed his sword and stood aside, his gaze fixed on the battle between the phylloxera and Tsukasa Kadoya. He silently observed the rhythm of the phylloxera's attacks, searching for an opportunity to deliver a fatal blow.

On the other side, the weakened Souji watched as Tsukasa Kadoya and Lin Chen restrained the phylloxera insects. A glimmer of hope flashed in his eyes. He struggled to his feet, staggered to Mayu's side, and reached out to unlock the alloy chains binding her.

“Brother…” Mayu threw herself into Souji’s arms and burst into tears, her tears soaking his clothes. She looked up, her eyes filled with guilt and shame, “Why did you save me? I’m an alien insect… I’m a monster…”

The commander gently stroked her hair, his tone tender yet firm, his eyes full of affection: "Whether you are an alien insect or not, you are my sister, and family to me and my grandmother."

"When I was unexpectedly trapped in the Accelerated World and couldn't go home, I could only silently watch over you and Grandma. Over the years, the thing I worried about the most was you."

"Grandma is getting old, and from now on, only you will be there to keep her company. As family members, what your status is doesn't matter at all."

"Believe me, I will always protect you from now on."

Hearing Souji's words, Mayu cried even harder. All her fear, inferiority, and grievances erupted at this moment. She hugged Souji tightly, as if she had grasped a lifeline.

After freeing Mayu from her restraints, Souji gently pushed her away, his tone serious: "It's too dangerous here. You should find a safe place to hide."

Mayu nodded.

Seeing that the creature had obediently hidden away, Souji breathed a sigh of relief and raised his hand to summon the Insect Device.