As a weirdo, I like being a Kamen Rider

Suddenly, a pale blue figure descended from the sky and grabbed the insect device that was about to reach his hand.

"Hahaha! I finally got you!" Hai Dong Daishu gripped the insect device tightly, his face filled with ecstasy, his eyes greedily fixed on the treasure in his hand—the Time-Up System he had been dreaming of, was finally in his hands.

The commander was caught off guard by this sudden turn of events and stood there stunned. By the time he reacted, the insect device had already been snatched away by Kaito Daiki. He instinctively reached out to grab it back, shouting, "Give it back to me!"

"Don't even think about it!" Hai Dong Da Shu dodged away in a flash.

Just then, a dark golden figure rushed over. Lin Chen, wearing the Earth Emperor Armor, raised his hand and delivered a heavy punch, slamming it hard into the wrist of the transformed Kaito Daiki.

"Oh!"

Hai Dong Da Shu felt a sharp pain, loosened his grip, and the insect device slipped from his hand.

The insect device, having broken free of its restraints, went directly into the commander's hands.

Lin Chen turned around and nodded slightly to Souji, signaling him to go help Kadoya Tsukasa.

The commander nodded emphatically, no longer hesitating, and inserted the insect device into the driver: "Henshin!"

The red Kabuto armor once again covered his entire body, and Kabuto King made his reappearance.

Cast Off!

Although he still couldn't use his acceleration ability, his eyes remained firm. He gripped his short sword tightly and charged towards the root aphid.

Relying on its unrestricted acceleration ability, the phylloxera insect shuttled back and forth between the two, launching continuous attacks. Before long, Tsukasa Kadoya and Kabuto were knocked to the ground one after another.

Seeing the two defeated, Lin Chen abandoned his entanglement with Daiki Kaito and directly used Orphnoch's complete form to activate the Tiger Hunt Domain.

The Earth Emperor's armor slowly dissipated, and a surge of silvery-white light erupted around him, revealing a bright silver bone armor covering his body.

"What is that?!" The phylloxera insect's eyes flashed with surprise and wariness when it saw Lin Chen's appearance.

Hai Dong Da Shu also stopped what he was doing, leaned against the corner of the wall, and looked at Lin Chen with great interest, his eyes full of curiosity—he hadn't expected that Lin Chen would actually be Orphnoch.

Without wasting words, Lin Chen activated the Tiger Hunt Domain with a thought!

An invisible energy wave spread out from him, covering the entire base room. Everything within a 500-meter radius was clearly displayed in his mind.

The future scene three seconds later appears like a slow-motion video, with every attack trajectory and landing point of the phylloxera insect precisely locked.

Lin Chen moved swiftly, instantly joining the battle. Relying on the precognitive abilities of the Tiger Hunt Domain, he easily dodged every attack from the root aphids while continuously launching counterattacks.

The claws, imbued with silvery-white energy, struck the phylloxera insect's body time and again. Although they still couldn't break through its hard shell, they gradually made the insect look disheveled, and its attack rhythm was completely disrupted.

Tsukasa Kadoya got up from the ground and watched as Lin Chen single-handedly restrained the phylloxera insect. A look of understanding flashed in his eyes. He reached out and pulled a card from the card box, a smile playing on his lips: "In that case, I'll have a go too!"

"Atrack Ride illusion!"

The card was inserted into the driver, and two more Decade figures quickly appeared in the path of the phylloxera, knocking him to the ground with a double attack.

The phylloxera insect, knocked to the ground, knew that it was doomed to fail in the cramped base, surrounded by three attackers. Staying would only lead to its complete annihilation.

"Damn it! You just wait!" the phylloxera insect roared, suddenly stood up, and swung its spiky claws, smashing them hard against the ceiling.

"Boom!"

A huge hole was smashed in the ceiling, and rubble fell down. The phylloxera insects darted out and tried to escape through the hole.

"Trying to run? Not so easy!" Tsukasa Kadoya's eyes turned cold as he reached out and inserted another card. "Final Form Ride! Kabuto!"

With the activation of its ultimate form, Kabuto's body instantly transformed into a giant rhinoceros beetle, emitting a piercing buzz as it soared into the air and chased after the beetle through the gap in the ceiling.

Lin Chen immediately deactivated the Tiger Hunting Domain, transformed back into the Earth Emperor Armor, and with a flash, followed closely behind the Armor King, rushing towards the gap.

Kaito Daiki watched the departing figures of the group without following them—his goal was the Time-Up system. Since the Insect Device had already been retrieved by Souji, there was no point in staying any longer. He might as well leave first and find an opportunity to seize it later.

Outside the base, the sunlight was blinding, and the giant tower that housed the time-lapse system continued to emit invisible waves that swept across the entire city.

Tsukasa Kadoya, Lin Chen, and the transformed Kabuto King landed on the ground, their eyes fixed on the giant tower, their expressions solemn.

They all understood that without destroying the time-degradation system, they would be unable to use their acceleration abilities, and even if they caught up with the phylloxera aphid, it would be difficult to completely eliminate it.

Kabuto King Tsukasa Kadoya said, "Once this system is destroyed, you will be pulled back into the Accelerated World, fall into loneliness again, and never be able to see Mayu and Grandma again."

Kabuto stood still, gazing in the direction of Paradise House in the distance. He pointed one finger to the sky, his tone calm yet full of power: "Grandma said there's a place that's always waiting for me to go back to."

"It is because I know that someone is waiting for me that I have been able to persevere in the Accelerated World and protect them."

"Loneliness is not terrible, as long as you know that the people you are protecting are safe and sound, that is enough."

Tsukasa Kadoya looked at him without saying anything, but simply nodded, respecting Kabuto's choice.

Raise your hand and insert the ultimate attack card, "Final Attack Ride! Decade!"

Kabuto King transformed into its rhinoceros beetle form once more, emitting a piercing buzz as it soared into the air and charged toward the root aphid like an arrow released from a bow.

The phylloxera was flying around laughing loudly when it saw Kabuto rushing towards it. Its expression changed drastically, and it tried to dodge, but it was too late.

"Oh!"

The rhinoceros beetle crashed into the phylloxera aphid, pinning it firmly to the giant tower.

"Now!"

Seeing the opportunity, Lin Chen immediately launched his ultimate attack – Omega Impact.

A massive, dark golden lightsaber extended out, carrying earth-shattering power, and slashed fiercely at the giant tower and the phylloxera.

"Sizzle—!"

As the lightsaber slashed through the air, the giant tower was instantly severed and collapsed with a deafening roar. The phylloxera was also split in two by the lightsaber, its body exploding.

[Ding! Defeat a cadre-level monster and gain 50 evolution points!]

A system notification sounded in Lin Chen's mind. He sheathed his sword and deactivated the Earth Emperor Armor.

Tsukasa Kadoya and Kabuto also deactivated their transformations. The three of them stood amidst the ruins, looking at the collapsed giant tower and the dissipating Worms, and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

With the time-lapse system destroyed, Kabuto's body gradually becomes transparent—he is about to be pulled back into the Accelerated World.

Tsukasa Kadoya looked at him, his tone somewhat complicated: "Is there anything else you need to bring?"

The commander smiled, shook his head gently, and said with tender eyes, "No. I know, Grandma understands everything."

Tsukasa Kadoya looked at him, thought for a moment about the old man, and said, "Indeed."

Just then, a familiar figure rushed over. Mayu stood panting not far away, watching Souji gradually become transparent, her eyes filled with reluctance and tears: "Brother..."

Souji turned around, looked at Mayu, and gave her a gentle smile. He didn't say anything, but just nodded slightly to Mayu, his eyes full of relief and concern.

Mayu wanted to step forward, but could only watch helplessly as Souji's figure grew fainter and fainter. The red Kabuto armor once again covered his entire body. A red light flashed, and Kabuto King's figure completely disappeared into the air, returning to that lonely Accel World.

“Brother…” Mayu stood there, tears streaming down her face again, but she didn’t cry anymore. She just clenched her fists tightly, her eyes becoming firm—she knew that her brother had always been protecting her, and she also wanted to go back and take good care of her grandmother so that her brother wouldn’t worry.

The two accompanied Mayu all the way back to Paradise House.

The shop had been cleaned up. Grandma sat behind the counter, watching Mayu return. There was no surprise in her eyes, only a gentle smile, as if she had known everything all along.

"You're back?" Grandma asked softly.

Mayu nodded, threw herself into her grandmother's arms, and said in a choked voice, "Grandma, my brother... he went back."

Grandma gently stroked her hair and said tenderly, "I know, he's always been here."

Seeing the grandfather and grandson looking at each other, Tsukasa Kadoya and Lin Chen quietly turned around and left Paradise House, heading towards the direction of Hikari Photo Studio.

Back at the photo studio, Hai Dong was there too. He originally wanted to argue with Lin Chen, but he was tricked out of his money by Kadoya Tsukasa with a simple bottle of spices.

After Haidong left.

He heard Tsukasa Kadoya recount that Kabuto had returned to the Accelerated World.

A hint of disappointment appeared on Hikari Natsumi's face, and she sighed softly: "I still couldn't really help him, couldn't really reunite him with Mayu and Grandma, it's such a pity."

Lin Chen sat silently to the side. He had long understood that life is full of disappointments.

Chapter 51 Hibiki

The thin mist, like cotton wool soaked in water, heavily enveloped the entire dense forest, filtering out even the light and making it dim and hazy. The smell of damp, decaying leaves, along with the pungent odor of grass and trees, filled the nostrils.

Lin Chen, Kadoya Tsukasa, Hikari Natsumi, and Onodera Yusuke walked slowly along the winding path.

Strange hissing sounds drifted from the depths of the dense forest every now and then, intermittent, like a child crying or a wild beast howling.

Hikari Natsumi was so frightened that she kept her hands tightly wrapped around her chest, her face slightly pale. She subconsciously moved closer to Tsukasa Kadoya and said, "It's so scary... Why is this place so strange? There are these weird noises all the time."

Tsukasa Kadoya held onto the cloth belt wrapped around his waist with both hands. He was now wearing a pink gi, which made him look extremely flashy.

A hint of amusement played on his lips as he tilted his head, surveying the gloomy landscape around him, as if admiring some novel sight. He kicked aside a dead branch at his feet, his tone light: "The world of Hibiki, huh? The atmosphere is quite unique."

“Shi, do you think… this might be your world?” Hikari Natsumi looked up, her eyes brightening with anticipation as she asked, “We’ve traveled through so many worlds already, this is the ninth, right? Maybe this time we’ll finally reach your true home.”

Tsukasa Kadoya raised an eyebrow and smiled noncommittally. "Who knows? I can't even remember what my world looks like anymore." He paused, then added casually, "But it'll be soon. After we finish this world, our journey will probably be over."

Hikari Natsumi was stunned: "The end? Is the journey coming to an end?" But then she remembered what Kōei Jirō had said that morning, that the end of one journey is the beginning of another, and she felt that her grandfather was acting strangely.

Lin Chen paused almost imperceptibly.

He did not join the conversation between the three, always maintaining a position half a step behind. His perception spread out in all directions like invisible ripples, clearly taking into account the rustling of grass, the crawling of insects, and the swaying of branches and leaves throughout the dense forest.

Be prepared for unforeseen dangers at all times.

After returning to the photo studio last night, he immediately used all the evolution points he had obtained in the Kabuto world on his attribute panel. His three main attributes have now reached the following values.

[Body Constitution 63/158]

Agility 54/145

[Mental state: 55/109]

Lin Chen was wondering what kind of evolution would occur if he reached 100 points in all attributes in his Orphnoch form and evolved a special ability.

However, transforming into Tiger Orphnoch several times in the Kabuto world also significantly reduced his lifespan. Fortunately, the lifespan increase brought about by the improvement in his physique was considerable enough that, after offsetting the two factors, his lifespan remained at 64 years.

That's enough for him to walk steadily, enough for him to continue searching for the way home.

But at this moment, Tsukasa Kadoya's words, "The journey is over," were like a stone dropped into a calm lake, creating ripples.

The journey is over...

Tsukasa Kadoya will return to his own world, Natsumi Hikari will stay at the Hikari Photo Studio, but what about himself?

Should I stay at Guangzhao Photo Studio and live a peaceful life? Or should I once again embark on a lonely journey, searching for my way home?

After fifteen years of solitude, I finally found a place to settle down and a group of companions with whom I could travel without suspicion and with peace of mind. But the deep-seated longing to return home has never truly faded away.