As a weirdo, I like being a Kamen Rider

In its view, the annoying dust had been removed. Now, it just needed to wait.

It turned around and faced the shop's door again.

Hikawa Makoto stood rooted to the spot, his body stiff as a stone. He could feel the numbness spreading through his veins, making even lifting a finger incredibly difficult. But he remained conscious.

He knew that if the tip of its staff had been a few centimeters off course just now, he would now be an immobile corpse.

But he had no way out.

He used the last of his strength to lunge at the Serpent Lord's back.

This time, the Serpent Lord finally let out a low hiss.

That wasn't anger, but a sound of being disturbed and extremely impatient.

The staff of judgment spun half a circle in its hand before striking precisely into Hikawa Makoto's chest armor.

"boom!"

With a deafening roar, a large section of the G3 armor caved in instantly, a gruesome gash torn through the thick alloy, sparks crackling from the electrical circuitry. Hikawa Makoto slammed into the concrete wall behind him like a kite with a broken string, then slid to the ground.

The power system of the armor's left leg was completely locked, and the alarm blared wildly in the headset. Ozawa's anxious shout was almost a roar: "Hikari! Evacuate immediately! The armor's durability is only 17%!"

The Serpent Venerable didn't even glance at Bingchuan Cheng, who was lying on the ground.

It seemed like the time had come.

It raised its hand.

Blue light shone through the crack in the fitting room door.

Kana Matsumoto screamed in terror from inside the fitting room.

The attack was completed in an instant.

A voice rang out at the shop entrance.

"Your opponent is me."

The serpentine Unknown ignored him; for him, eliminating the target was the most important thing.

Lin Chen stood at the shop entrance, raised his hand and took out the black Orga phone from his waist, his fingertips quickly pressing the buttons.

【Standing By!】

The moment the cold, mechanical voice rang out, Lin Chen slammed his phone into the belt clip.

【Complete!】

Black photon blood instantly swept through his body, and thick Earth Emperor armor covered his body.

With a single step, it instantly appeared before the Serpent Lord, like an insurmountable wall, completely blocking its view.

Disturbed again, it hissed.

The figure vanished from its spot once more, then reappeared behind Lin Chen. The Staff of Judgment, accompanied by a whooshing sound, slammed down towards the back of Lin Chen's neck.

Lin Chen did not turn around.

He threw a backhand punch, striking the Serpent Lord precisely in the chest.

A dull thud rang out, and the serpentine Unknown was thrown backward as if hit by a speeding truck, crashing heavily into the wall.

It slid off the wall to the ground and slowly stood up.

For the first time, surprise was revealed in its vertical pupils.

It raised its hand again.

A massive blue dimensional rift slowly opened above Lin Chen's head. A powerful suction force emanated from the rift, pulling in the surrounding shelves and clothes racks, which instantly vanished into the sky.

Lin Chen raised his head and looked at the blue light gate above him.

He leaped upwards and punched the center of the dimensional rift.

"Snap!"

A sharp, shattering sound, like glass breaking.

The blue dimensional rift shattered like a mirror.

Seeing this, the serpentine Unknown raised its Staff of Judgment once more and charged towards Lin Chen. A series of short-range teleportations turned its figure into a blue afterimage, and the Staff of Judgment thrust towards Lin Chen from all directions.

Lin Chen stood still, unmoved as a mountain.

He caught each attack precisely, then rained blows upon the Serpent Lord.

Finally, Lin Chen grabbed the Judgment Staff that the Serpent Venerable had swung at him and snapped it off with force.

The sturdy golden staff was forcibly broken into two pieces.

Lin Chen clenched his right fist, and photon blood condensed on his fist into a black halo.

A punch imbued with terrifying power landed squarely on the Serpent Lord's head without any fancy moves.

A dull cracking sound rang out, and the Serpent Lord's body instantly froze, the coldness in its vertical pupils rapidly dissipating. A final pale blue halo appeared above its head, and then its entire body transformed into countless blue light particles, disappearing into the air.

Lin Chen deactivated his transformation, put away his belt, turned around and quickly walked to the door of the fitting room, then pulled the door open.

Matsumoto Kana, pale-faced, huddled in the corner of the fitting room. Upon seeing Lin Chen, her legs went weak and she nearly collapsed. Lin Chen reached out to steady her, then quickly turned and walked to Hikawa Makoto, who had fallen to the ground, and helped him up.

Hikawa Makoto struggled to remove his helmet, his forehead covered in cold sweat, his mouth bruised, and his breathing rapid. But the first thing he did was turn to look at Matsumoto Kana. Seeing that she was safe and sound, his tense shoulders finally relaxed.

He looked at Lin Chen, a hint of embarrassment and apology on his face, his voice trembling slightly, and said earnestly, "Mr. Lin Chen, thank you. This time, it's all thanks to you."

At that moment, Toru Hojo rushed up with the First Investigation Division. He glanced at the scene—the traces of blue light particles remaining on the ground, the broken fragments of the Staff of Judgment, the wrecked G3 armor, and Lin Chen supporting Makoto Hikawa.

His gaze swept quickly across the Orga belt before settling on Hikawa Makoto. His expression darkened, and he waved to the people behind him: "Seal off the scene, collect all evidence, and have the First Investigation Division take over all eyewitness testimonies. Take the unconscious security guard to the hospital for a statement."

After the team members dispersed, he walked up to Hikawa Makoto, lowered his voice, and sneered, "In the end, a newbie has to clean up the mess. It's time for you to give up your position as G3's uniform officer."

Bingchuan Cheng pursed his lips, offering no rebuttal, but instead leaned against the wall and slowly straightened up.

Not long after, Matsumoto Kana's family arrived after being notified. Her husband, holding a five or six-year-old boy, was overjoyed to see his wife safe and sound, tears welling in his eyes as he hugged her tightly. The little boy broke free from his father's grasp, clutching a brand-new Ultraman toy, and toddled over to Lin Chen.

He tilted his little face up, his eyes sparkling like stars, and forcefully shoved the Ultraman toy in Lin Chen's hand. His childish voice was full of admiration: "Brother, you're so amazing! The policeman said you saved my mom! This is my favorite Ultraman, I'm giving it to you! You're as amazing as Ultraman!"

Lin Chen was stunned.

He looked down at the Ultraman toy in his hand, then at the little boy's adoring face, and his heart felt like it had been struck hard. Before, he fought to survive, to avoid being killed, to earn a place in a dog-eat-dog world. But this time, he fought to protect these strangers, to safeguard these ordinary, vibrant lives.

He crouched down to the little boy's eye level, gently placed the toy back in the boy's hands, ruffled his soft hair, and said softly, "Thank you, little one. But this is your favorite thing, so keep it safe."

The little boy nodded vigorously, hugged the toy to his chest, and gave Lin Chen a big smile.

It was past 1 a.m. when I got back to the Metropolitan Police Department's underground base.

Sumiko Ozawa had already led the repair team to send the G3 armor into the hangar. Seeing the two of them enter, she, with a lollipop in her mouth, gestured with her chin towards Makoto Hikawa: "Hikari, although half of the armor was destroyed this time, we rescued the person, so it's not shameful. If you dare to throw yourself at Unknown like that again, I'll lock your armor access, and you'll only be able to clean guns at the base."

His words carried a reprimand, but there was not a trace of blame in his eyes.

Lin Chen remained silent, his thoughts elsewhere. According to the Agito timeline, by this time, the protagonist should have already awakened the power of Agito, appeared countless times at the scene of attacks by unknown life forms, rescued the victims, and had numerous interactions with the G3 team.

It's been almost half a month since he transmigrated to this world. He asked the other members of the G3 team, and even subtly inquired about it with Sumiko Ozawa.

No.

Absolutely not.

There is no record of Agito.

In all the Unknown attacks, the knight who was supposed to appear never showed up.

Shoichi Tsugami, the protagonist of this world, seems to have vanished into thin air.

Chapter 67 Iceberg Sincerity

In Sato's noodle shop kitchen, the tonkotsu broth had been simmering on the stove all night. Wisps of milky steam rose, carrying a rich aroma of pork bones, dispersing in the cool morning air. The old man carefully skimmed the last drop of oil from the surface with a long-handled ladle, then ladled out a full bowl, topped it with three slices of marbled char siu, a soft-boiled egg, a few perfectly blanched spinach leaves, and finally sprinkled on a handful of bright green scallions, before gently pushing it towards Lin Chen.

"Enjoy your meal at your leisure," the old man said gently.

Lin Chen nodded, picked up his chopsticks, and quietly began to eat.

This was his seventh morning at the noodle shop. He had thought he would return to eating alone, sleeping alone, and facing all dangers alone. But the lively atmosphere of Sato's noodle shop continued the rhythm of his life at the Hikari Photo Studio.

Xiaoxue came out of the inner room carrying a pink schoolbag. She was seven years old, with two pigtails and bright eyes like black grapes. She sat down on the chair opposite Lin Chen, resting her chin on her hands and secretly watching him. After watching for a while, she carefully took out a neatly folded piece of paper from her schoolbag, hesitated for a long time, and finally mustered up the courage to hand it over.

The paper had a crayon drawing of a tall man holding the hand of a little girl with a ponytail. Next to it, in crooked handwriting, was written: "Brother Chen, do your best today too."

Lin Chen put down his chopsticks and took the painting. Looking at the two little figures in the painting, a very subtle change flashed in his eyes.

He placed the painting together with the one Xiaoxue had given him before, and patted Xiaoxue's head.

He stood up and picked up his coat, which was draped over the back of the chair. He paused for a moment as he reached the door.

"...I'm leaving," he said, his voice still calm, but with a hint of warmth compared to when he arrived.

"Goodbye, Brother Chen!" Xiaoxue waved her little hand and said loudly.

The curtain fell with a "whoosh," blocking out the sunlight.

The corridors of G3 base were empty and quiet, with only Lin Chen's footsteps echoing. Just as he turned the corner, a dull, rhythmic thud came from the direction of the fighting room. "Bang, bang, bang," one blow after another.

Lin Chen followed the sound, leaned against the door frame of the fighting room, and watched quietly.

Hikawa Makoto was wearing a gray training uniform, his back completely soaked with sweat, clinging tightly to his body and outlining his taut muscles. He was practicing repeatedly on the sandbag, his movements precise and standard.

After practicing for an unknown amount of time, Hikawa Makoto finally stopped. He braced himself on his knees, bent over, and gasped for breath. Sweat dripped down his chin, spreading into small puddle stains on the floor.

"You're here early?" He looked up, saw Lin Chen at the door, and was clearly taken aback for a moment before smiling. "Why didn't you say anything when you got here?"

"Watching." Lin Chen walked into the fighting room, took off his coat and casually draped it over the chair next to him, revealing his well-defined arms. "What time do you start every day?"

Six o'clock.

Lin Chen nodded.

The two stood in the center of the field.

Bingchuan Cheng took a deep breath, looked at Lin Chen seriously, and said, "I want to see just how big the real gap is between us."

"you sure?"

"determine."

Lin Chen didn't assume any fighting stance. He simply stood there quietly, feet together, arms hanging naturally at his sides, appearing completely unguarded. But at that moment, Bingchuan Cheng felt an unprecedented pressure—Lin Chen hadn't done anything, yet he was more unprepared than any opponent who had taken a fighting stance.