As a weirdo, I like being a Kamen Rider

【Complete!】

Black photon blood instantly surged through his body, and the heavy Earth Emperor armor covered him, its cold metallic luster shining under the cold white light. Almost the instant the armor completed its transformation, all the instruments in the laboratory activated, and the screens began to frantically refresh with dense data.

At first, Sumiko Ozawa was casually leaning back in her chair, a lollipop dangling from her lips. But as the data refreshed, she slowly sat up straight, her eyes widening. The lollipop fell to the floor with a "thud," without her even noticing. She lunged at the control panel, her fingers flying across the screen, zooming in on the data, muttering to herself in disbelief, "Impossible...this is absolutely impossible..."

The surrounding researchers also gathered around, looking at the values ​​on the screen, and gasped. The only sound in the entire laboratory was the buzzing of the instruments; it was eerily quiet.

Chapter 65 First Mission

After a full fifteen minutes, the comprehensive testing finally concluded. Lin Chen deactivated his transformation and walked out of the testing room. Ozawa Sumiko sat at the control panel, staring at the frozen data on the screen, oblivious to the lollipop falling from her lips onto the table.

Hikawa Seiya waited outside the testing room. He didn't have the same tech-obsessed look as Ozawa Sumiko, but when his gaze fell on Lin Chen, it was with undisguised seriousness. He knew very well what the armor performance he had just seen through the observation window meant for the front lines.

Ozawa Sumiko finally came to her senses, rushed over in a few steps, grabbed Lin Chen's arm, her eyes shining brightly, and even her voice trembled: "Do you know what level of technology your armor is?! The hardness of the main alloy is more than 10 times that of the material used in G3 armor, but its weight is only four-fifths of its!"

However, your energy-driven system delivers high-power photon blood at a peak output 19 times that of G3, which is far too dangerous for the wearer!

However, the neural connectivity system is directly synchronized with the wearer's brainwaves, resulting in near-zero operational latency!

She took a deep breath and said, word by word, "These technologies are at least thirty years ahead of the Metropolitan Police Department's most advanced military technology! Which organization do you serve? Or some secret research institute?"

"I am not affiliated with any organization." Lin Chen's tone was calm. "This suit of armor was left to me by someone else. As for who that person was, the organization no longer exists, so mentioning their name is meaningless."

But upon hearing this, Ozawa Sumiko didn't delve into his background; instead, her eyes lit up even more. Identity, background, mysterious origins—none of it mattered in the face of absolute technology. Her mind was now completely focused on the core technology of the Orga armor; even Lin Chen himself had become secondary.

She immediately pulled Lin Chen back to the testing room, making him transform into Orga again, holding a tablet in his hand, circling around the armor, rapidly recording data while firing off questions like a machine gun.

"What are the smelting formulas and processing techniques for armor alloys? Our current industrial capabilities simply cannot achieve this level of ultra-high purity refining!"

"How is the shock-absorbing and defensive structure of the multi-layered armor laid out? In the impact test just now, when it was hit by an armor-piercing projectile from the front, the internal vibration amplitude was almost zero, which is simply against the common sense of physics!"

"What is the energy linkage mechanism between the weapon and the main armor? Is there an upper limit to the maximum output power? What is the overload protection threshold?"

Lin Chen tried his best to respond to the basic operations and principles he could answer. However, he couldn't provide answers to those questions that involved specific details.

Even these basics were enough to send Sumiko Ozawa into a frenzy of technological obsession. She would clap her hands every now and then, muttering to herself, sometimes exclaiming, "So that's how it is! The improvement plan for G3-X is finally showing results!" and sometimes marveling, "This structure can actually be designed like this, it's simply a genius idea!" She was completely immersed in the world of data and blueprints, unable to see anything else.

Bingchuan Cheng stood to the side for a while, wanting to speak several times, but seeing that she was busy asking about the neural connection mechanism of Lin Chen's armor, the pen tip was moving so fast on the tablet that it looked like it was about to smoke, he put it back.

Only after she threw herself back at the control panel, forgetting the question she had only half-asleep about, and became completely absorbed in the data, did Bingchuan Cheng finally speak: "Xiaoze, Mr. Lin Chen and I have other matters to discuss—"

Before she could finish speaking, Ozawa Sumiko waved her hand without turning around: "Okay, okay, take him away and don't bother me while I'm running the data!"

Bingchuan wasn't annoyed that his honest words had been cut off. He turned to Lin Chen and said calmly, "That's just how she is. When she encounters a technology that interests her, she can even forget about food. Let's go out first."

Lin Chen nodded and followed Bingchuan Cheng out of the laboratory. The door behind them slowly closed, and they could still faintly hear Ozawa Sumiko's excited shouts.

The two walked along the metal corridor and eventually stopped by the base's floor-to-ceiling window.

Bingchuan Cheng turned around, faced Lin Chen, and bowed deeply with utmost solemnity.

“Mr. Lin Chen, on behalf of the Metropolitan Police Department’s G3 squad, I am extending a formal invitation to you.”

He raised his head, his eyes firm, his tone sincere without a trace of falsehood: "In the last three months, the number of attacks by unknown life forms has tripled, and the number of victims has been soaring. The casualty rate of our frontline team members has exceeded 40%. The performance limit of the G3 armor is becoming increasingly difficult to deal with these ever-evolving monsters. With only one combatant, I simply cannot handle all the attacks in Tokyo."

“We need your strength.” Hikawa Makoto’s gaze fell on Lin Chen, his expression extremely serious. “We hope you can officially join Team G3 and fight alongside me against the unknown life form to protect the citizens of this city.”

Lin Chen looked at Bingchuan Cheng's solemn face, remained silent for a few seconds, and then spoke.

"Okay, I'll join."

Bingchuan Cheng was clearly taken aback. He had been prepared to spend countless hours persuading Lin Chen and even agree to many conditions, but he never expected Lin Chen to agree so readily. He paused for two seconds, then a sincere and relieved smile appeared on his face, and he solemnly extended his hand.

"Welcome to Team G3, Mr. Lin Chen."

Immediately afterward, Bingchuan Cheng helped Lin Chen complete the onboarding procedures and gave him a detailed introduction to the G3 team. Lin Chen also briefly learned about the other team members. Two days passed in this way, and Lin Chen had become basically familiar with the team's situation.

Instead of staying in the dormitory provided by the Metropolitan Police Department, he returned to the noodle shop, hoping to help out Grandpa Sato along the way. Xiaoxue was delighted to see Lin Chen return and say that he would continue to stay at the noodle shop.

...

On his third day with the G3 team, Lin Chen had already figured out the basic operating logic of the underground base.

Sumiko Ozawa spent almost all her waking hours analyzing data on the Orga armor. From yesterday to today, she had already dragged Lin Chen through four basic performance tests. The whiteboard on the control panel was filled with the circuit formulas for the photon blood and the alloy ratio parameters for the lunar metal. Apart from technical instructions, she didn't bother with any unnecessary small talk. Only when the test data reached its limit would a hint of undisguised fervor flash in her eyes.

The person who interacted most with Lin Chen was Bingchuan Cheng.

It was 23:14 PM. The two had just returned from having a late-night snack at the base canteen and were walking along the corridor towards the rest area. Bingchuan Cheng was holding two cans of coffee and handed one to Lin Chen.

"The curry pork cutlet rice at the base canteen is pretty good, isn't it?" He smiled, his tone more relaxed than usual. "When I first came here, I ate this every day. Omuro said if I kept eating it, I'd turn into curry-flavored."

Just as the two were talking.

"Glacier, Mr. Lin Chen, emergency! A special energy wavelength has been detected at the Central Shopping Plaza in the East of the City. An Unknown has appeared!"

Almost at the same second the alarm sounded, Hikawa Makoto had already rushed to the location of the G3 armor. A moment later, the G3 armor appeared in front of Lin Chen: "Hikawa Makoto, preparing to don the armor, requesting detailed target parameters and action instructions!"

In the main control room, Sumiko Ozawa was already seated at the main control panel. The screen, previously filled with formulas, had been switched to displaying on-site monitoring and energy waveforms, her fingers flying across the keyboard. Takahiro Omuro sat at the secondary control panel.

"Listen carefully, target Unknown-37. It is a new unknown entity, and all previous countermeasures are invalid."

She paused, her gaze sweeping over the blue figure standing quietly at the shop entrance on the screen, and her voice deepened.

"The armored personnel carrier is already on standby at Exit 1 of the garage. The mobile command vehicle, led by the rear room, will depart first, with live footage throughout." Sumiko Ozawa's voice rang out last, carrying a hint of barely perceptible seriousness. "I will provide back-end support for you from the main control room throughout the entire process."

The two quickly arrived at the underground parking garage, the deep roar of the engine already filling the air. The rear hatch of the dedicated armored transport vehicle was open, and Bingchuan Cheng boarded first, followed closely by Lin Chen. The moment the hatch closed, the vehicle shot out of the garage like an arrow, shattering the silence of the night, and sped off towards the east of the city.

Fifteen minutes later, the G3 armored transport vehicle came to a steady stop outside the shopping plaza's cordon.

The scene had been cordoned off by the local police station with three layers of police tape, and red and blue police lights flashed alternately in the dark night. The mall had long since closed, and all the shop windows facing the street had their heavy roller blinds drawn, except for one emergency light still on in the women's clothing section on the third floor.

Ordinary police officers were stationed on the perimeter, and no one dared to step in. Half an hour earlier, two patrolling security guards had spotted the dark gray figure at the corner of the third floor. One of them was knocked unconscious before he could even scream, while the other managed to roll down the stairs and escape.

Hojo Toru leaned against the First Investigation Division's police car, fiddling with his walkie-talkie. When he saw the rear door of the transport vehicle open and Hikawa Makoto, clad in full G3 armor, step out first, he immediately sneered and strode forward, his tone full of undisguised sarcasm: "Hikawa, you've finally arrived. I thought you were going to wait in the hangar until the target was taken away before daring to come out of the armor."

His gaze swept over Lin Chen, who was following behind Bingchuan, and he raised an eyebrow, his expression scrutinizing and questioning: "You're the newcomer who joined G3? Let me make this clear from the start: if anything goes wrong, the responsibility will fall entirely on your G3 team. The Investigation Division will not be held accountable."

Ignoring his taunts, Hikawa Makoto's calm voice came through the armor's loudspeaker as he answered the command center on the communicator: "Hikawa Makoto, I have arrived at the scene and am requesting the latest updates."

Almost simultaneously, Ozawa Sumiko's voice came clearly into their earpieces from the mobile command vehicle. Her speech was fast and precise, yet carried a rare hint of seriousness: "Listen carefully, the target, Unknown, has been standing in front of the 307 women's clothing store for 27 minutes. Strangely, it hasn't moved or made any attacking moves."

"There is only one person in the store, Kana Matsumoto, the store manager. She stayed in the store alone tonight to take inventory and is now hiding in the fitting room."

"We must complete the rescue before it launches its attack. Tail room, synchronize the mall layout diagram and countdown to the two-person terminal."

"Received!" Takahiro Omuro's voice followed immediately, and the terminal screen instantly refreshed with a complete floor plan of the shopping mall, with the target location marked in red.

Lin Chen raised his hand and pressed the earpiece, replying succinctly, "Received."

Hojo Toru saw the two about to walk inside and immediately stepped forward, arms crossed, and said coldly, "Wait. Hikawa, if you can't handle this, withdraw immediately. The First Investigation Division will take over the follow-up. Don't end up destroying the armor and failing to rescue the people, making the Metropolitan Police Department look bad."

This sounds like a reminder, but it's actually a ploy to see him make a fool of himself so that he can legitimately seize control of the G3 system.

Without turning around, Hikawa Makoto raised the GM-01 reinforced rifle mounted on his back, made a standard tactical advance hand gesture to Lin Chen, and said in a steady voice: "Mr. Lin Chen, I will advance from the left flank to draw attention. You go around to the back door of the shop through the fire escape on the right and take Ms. Matsumoto out while I'm holding them back. Keep communications open."

As soon as he finished speaking, he lowered his body and rushed into the dark shopping mall.

Chapter 66 Rescue

The mall was deathly silent, save for the crackling of the emergency lights. Scattered clothes hangers and overturned shelves littered the floor, knocked over by the two security guards as they fled. From the third floor, there was no sound; the silence was chilling.

Bingchuan Cheng, rifle in hand, pressed himself against the wall and advanced step by step toward the stairwell, synchronizing each step with the position of the command center.

Sumiko Ozawa's voice came through the headset the entire time, devoid of any extra emotion: "Hikari, the target hasn't moved. It's standing right in front of the shop, with its back to you. Don't make any rash moves; wait for Lin Chen to arrive."

"Received." Bingchuan Cheng replied, stopping in the shadows at the top of the stairs.

He looked up and saw the blue figure in the distance.

It stood silently at the shop entrance, its back to him. Its deep blue scales gleamed with a cold metallic sheen under the emergency lights, and its cobra-shaped head was slightly raised, as if gazing at the sky. Its arms hung naturally at its sides, like a cold statue, waiting in the darkness for some destined moment.

As for the G3 armored vehicle holding a rifle a few dozen meters away, in its eyes, it was no different from a wall or a shelf. It simply didn't exist.

"Lin Chen, in position." Lin Chen's voice came through the earpiece.

Bingchuan Cheng took a deep breath and gripped the rifle in his hand tightly.

"Received. I will launch the attack in three seconds."

"three."

"two."

"one."

Bingchuan Cheng suddenly burst out of the shadows, raised his rifle, and fired a series of shots at the Serpent Master's back.

Just as the bullet was about to hit it.

A pale blue halo appeared above the Serpent Lord's head.

All the bullets stopped in mid-air and then shattered silently like powder.

The Serpent Lord did not move.

It was as if the bullets that were fired at it were just a passing breeze.

Bingchuan Cheng's pupils contracted sharply. He gritted his teeth and continued firing as he charged towards the Serpent Venerable.

Just as Bingchuan Cheng was ten meters away from the Serpent Venerable, it suddenly moved.

His figure vanished from the spot and then reappeared in front of Hikawa Makoto.

The blue afterimage remained in place.

Bingchuan Cheng didn't even see how it moved.

The Serpent Venerable slowly raised his hand.

A blue halo reappeared above its head, and a golden trident appeared out of thin air in its hand.

The rod of judgment.

It waved gently.

"Clang!"

A piercing sound of metal snapping.

The GM-01 reinforced rifle in Hikawa Makoto's hand was neatly cut in two. The broken barrel spun out and crashed heavily against the wall.

The tip of the cane grazed Hikawa Makoto's shoulder, and a strong numbing sensation instantly spread throughout his body. His fingers went numb, and half of the rifle fell to the ground.

The Serpent Lord slowly lowered the Staff of Judgment.