As a weirdo, I like being a Kamen Rider

Lifespan: 16 years

Evolution Points: 14

Lin Chen's gaze was fixed on the lifespan value column, and his heart sank instantly.

16 years.

As expected, his lifespan had decreased. It dropped by one year from the previous 17 years, clearly due to the cost of transforming into an Orphnoch and killing the cat-type Orphnoch in the back mountain. This also confirmed his suspicion: every time he used the power of the Orphnoch to transform, he irreversibly overdrawn his lifespan. His evolution points increased from 4 to 14, exactly 10 points more or less—the reward for killing that low-level cat-type Orphnoch, without a single difference.

Trading one year of lifespan for 10 evolution points is still a profitable deal.

His gaze then fell on evolution points and constitution attributes. Constitution, at 18/83, was relatively low among the three attributes. Improving it would not only enhance physical strength and defense but also accelerate wound healing, which would be just right for the upcoming patrol missions that involved working day and night. More importantly, it would increase lifespan. Currently, he had 14 evolution points, just enough to increase constitution by 1 point.

Without the slightest hesitation, Lin Chen clicked the plus sign.

Physical fitness 19/84

Agility 19/83

Spirit 21/58

Lifespan: 18 years

Evolution Points: 4

As he expected, the lifespan value on the system panel jumped directly from 16 years to 18 years—not only making up for the 1 year of lifespan lost during the transformation, but also adding 2 more years!

The improvement in physical condition in human form also led to the enhancement of Orphnoch form.

Chapter 13 Training

For the next few days, Lin Chen strictly followed the patrol orders given by Kurosawa. Kurosawa indeed kept his word, and the patrol area he designated completely covered the entire academy.

The playground on the east side, the teaching area on the west side, the dormitory building on the south side, the disciplinary team office building on the north side, and even the edge of the dense forest on the back mountain were all designated as locations he had to check every day. Ostensibly, he was being entrusted with an important task, but in reality, he was being worn down by endless patrols, which also allowed his spies in the shadows to keep track of his whereabouts at all times, leaving him no chance to escape their control.

For several days in a row, the academy was unusually quiet.

There was no out-of-control Orphnoch who dared to harm anyone, and Faiz did not appear either. Lin Chen followed the prescribed route to complete round after round of patrols every day, always extending his senses to the maximum extent. He seemed to be doing his job step by step and being dutiful, but in fact, he had already used the opportunity of patrols to thoroughly understand every blind spot of the school's surveillance cameras, the shift change times of the informants, and the fixed activity range of the four members of Lucky Clover.

This tranquility did not make him complacent in the slightest, nor did it make him feel bored. He knew all too well the cruelty of this world—in the plot of Kamen Rider, calm was always the prelude to conflict. Faiz would never disappear so easily, and Decade and Diend, those two uninvited guests who could travel between worlds, would arrive sooner or later. Lucky Clover's wariness of him, this wild high-level species, had never diminished in the slightest. Kurosawa appeared neutral, but in reality, he always held a knife hanging over his head.

His most pressing need right now is still to improve his strength.

In his mind, he summoned the system panel; on the pale blue screen, the cold numbers were crystal clear:

Ultimate Evolution System

[Host: Lin Chen]

[Race: Tiger-type Orphnoch (Primary Form)]

Core Attributes:

Constitution 19/84 (Human Form/Orphnoch Form)

Agility 19/83 (Human Form/Orphnoch Form)

Spirit 21/58 (Human Form/Orphnoch Form)

*The three attributes complement each other; a weakness in any attribute will limit overall strength. Maxing out all three attributes unlocks the conditions for form evolution.

Lifespan: 18 years

Evolution Points: 4

His gaze swept across the panel, his fingertips curling slightly at his sides. His three attributes far exceeded those of an ordinary human by more than ten times, and his Orphnoch form possessed the power to crush ordinary low-level monsters. However, he knew better than anyone where his fatal weakness lay.

He doesn't have any personal combat skills, and he would be at a great disadvantage if he encountered a high-ranking Orphnoch of the same level, especially Momose, who is also a Tiger-type Orphnoch in the Lucky Clover. Although his last resistance gave him a general idea of ​​their strength, he couldn't waste his time with them forever. His ultimate goal was to go home.

Putting aside everything else, the final battle at the end of the Decade TV series, where all parallel worlds disappeared, was a crisis.

Not to mention, he can't use his Orphnoch form without restraint right now. Although he had already calculated the costs and benefits: each transformation consumes one year of his lifespan, but killing a regular-level monster would earn him 10 evolution points, enough to increase one attribute point, thus earning back two years of lifespan—a win-win situation. However, meaningless transformations would only waste his lifespan and allow his spies to figure out his limits, needlessly increasing Clover's wariness of him—a net loss.

He needs a systematic set of fighting techniques that he can use in human form to fully realize his superhuman attribute advantages as combat power.

I originally wanted to ask Kurosawa if he knew any suitable combat coaches.

The moment the thought crossed his mind, Lin Chen extinguished all unrealistic ideas. Ask Kurosawa for a combat coach? Absolutely not. He was currently a tool kept under the control of Clover, seemingly given the authority to patrol, but in reality, his every move was being monitored.

Once he reveals his intention to actively improve his strength, it will only make Clover, who is already wary of him, see him as a potential threat that must be eliminated in advance.

The only way is to secretly cultivate oneself, honing one's fangs silently under everyone's noses.

The plan quickly took shape in his mind.

Kurosawa demanded that he patrol day and night without any rest, but in reality, it also gave him the opportunity to openly and legitimately travel to every corner of the academy.

During the daytime patrol route, the empty lecture halls in the western teaching area, the fire escape in the stairwell, and the storage room on the ground floor of the playground stands are all blind spots for surveillance and places that the informants will not pay much attention to. During the nighttime patrol route, the abandoned basketball court on the north side is a place he checks every day. The streetlights have long been broken, and the area enclosed by barbed wire is rarely visited. The disciplinary team's patrol shift has a full 12-minute gap, which is enough for him to complete a round of high-intensity skill practice.

More importantly, his mental attributes far surpass those of ordinary people. He can sense all the presence and prying eyes within a hundred meters in advance. As long as he controls the timing well, he will never be discovered by anyone.

That day, Lin Chen began his clandestine training.

As he patrolled the designated route to the west teaching area, he used the pretext of checking for any unusual activity in the empty classrooms to slip into a locked lecture hall at the end of the corridor. Without making any large movements, he simply leaned against the wall, slowed his breathing, and repeatedly felt the trajectory of his muscles' exertion—from the twisting of his fists to the core transmission from his waist and abdomen, and then to the force of his legs pushing off the ground. He meticulously broke down and refined the instinctive movements he had performed in the previous life-or-death struggle, precisely controlling every bit of power output.

His physical attributes far surpassed those of ordinary people. Even in static power training, he could clearly feel the contraction and relaxation of his muscle fibers. In previous battles, he pursued explosive power, but now, he wanted to train absolute control over power—to concentrate all the advantages of his body's attributes into a single point and strike without any waste.

During his morning patrol, he took advantage of the breaks between checking various locations to complete dozens of fragmented power-generating exercises in different blind spots of the surveillance cameras. Without making a sound, to outsiders, he was just a conscientious patrolman, diligently completing every designated checkpoint. No one knew that he had already completed the first step in building his own fighting system in a corner unnoticed by anyone.

As night fell, Lin Chen changed into the black patrol uniform that Kurosawa had provided him, walked out of the dormitory building, and began his night patrol according to the prescribed route.

Just like the previous days, the academy remained calm and peaceful. He walked at a leisurely pace, his mental energy constantly deployed to confirm the locations of his informants along the way and precisely calculate the shift changes for the disciplinary squad. When he reached the abandoned basketball court on the north side, he arrived just in time for the shift change.

Under the pretext of checking the barbed wire for damage or signs of intrusion, he slipped into the abandoned basketball court. Instead of immediately starting training, he closed his eyes tightly, expanding his mental energy to its maximum range to confirm that there were no unusual auras, no prying eyes, and no detection fluctuations from surveillance equipment within a hundred meters before slowly opening his eyes.

A cold glint flashed in his amber pupils. He clenched his fist, without using any of the Orpheus factor, relying purely on the physical strength of his human form, and slowly threw a punch following the trajectory of the force he had dismantled during the day.

The force of the punch ripped through the silent night, producing a muffled whooshing sound. This punch lacked the ferocity of the previous instinctive strikes, but it was more precise and refined, with every ounce of power landing perfectly on the fist, without any leakage.

A faint smile curved Lin Chen's lips as he calmed himself and began refining his technique. He punched, kicked, blocked, and dodged, simulating his previous fights with the leopard-type Orphnoch and Faiz, repeatedly adjusting the angles and timing of his movements, gradually integrating the predictive advantage of his mental power with the advantages of his physical attributes.

He didn't pursue flashy moves, but only the most practical and deadly killing moves—after all, he was facing monsters and Kamen Riders who could take lives instantly, and any unnecessary movements could become fatal flaws.

The 12-minute shift change period had just ended when he immediately stopped, regulated his breathing, brushed the dust off his clothes, and walked out of the abandoned basketball court as if nothing had happened, continuing to complete the remaining patrol duties according to the prescribed route. The spies in the shadows only saw him complete the entire route methodically, without the slightest abnormality, but no one knew that in this abandoned basketball court, a fierce tiger was silently sharpening its claws.

As the days went by, Lin Chen maintained this rhythm: during the day, he would use the gaps in his patrols to do fragmented training in power generation and control; at night, during the downtime of patrols, he would hone his combat skills on the abandoned basketball court. His movements became more and more refined, and his control over his power became more and more precise. The attribute advantages that he could only rely on instinct to exert were gradually being transformed into real combat power.

He still hadn't encountered an out-of-control Orphnoch, nor had he seen any trace of Faiz, and his evolution points remained at 4, with no further growth. But he wasn't worried at all.

He knew this storm was inevitable. What he needed to do was to equip himself with enough power to overturn everything before it arrived. Only then could he survive in this cannibalistic world and find his way home.

Chapter 14 Faiz Reappears

That night.

Lin Chen walked slowly along the predetermined route, the night wind lifting the hem of his black security uniform, his fingertips unconsciously rubbing the cuffs. Several days of fragmented strength training had further improved his control over his muscles. At this moment, he seemed nonchalant, but in reality, he had already spread his mental energy out, and every rustle of wind within a hundred meters, the electronic fluctuations of the surveillance cameras, and the breathing frequency of the informants in the shadows were all clearly imprinted in his mind.

This was an instinct he had developed over the past few days. Within the Smart Brain academy, under the watchful eyes of Kurosawa and the disciplinary committee, and the ever-present threat of Clover, any misstep could lead to his demise. He was like a lurking tiger, sharpening his claws in a corner unnoticed, waiting for the storm to break.

Turning the corner of the teaching building, a meticulously maintained European-style garden lay ahead. Just then, two violent waves of Orphnoch energy suddenly crashed into the mental network of perception, along with a familiar, faint yet stubborn energy from the Knight System, which was rapidly diminishing.

Lin Chen stopped abruptly, a glint of light flashing in his amber eyes. He didn't rush forward, but instead slipped behind a landscape stone, using the shadow of the roadside trees as cover. Holding his breath, he peered into the center of the battlefield.

Moonlight filtered through layers of foliage, casting dappled shadows on the garden lawn. Three figures were locked in combat, their red photon veins gleaming in the night—it was Faiz, whom he had seen before.

Surrounding him were two Orphnochs of vastly different forms. One was a canine Orphnoch, entirely gray-black in color, with a lithe body, its limbs covered in stiff bristles, and its claws gleaming with a cold, eerie green light. It moved so fast that it left only afterimages, specifically targeting Faiz's blind spots to launch sneak attacks. The other was a robust boar-type Orphnoch, its body over two meters tall covered in thick horny armor, with two thick tusks protruding from its mouth. Each charge carried immense force, causing the ground to tremble slightly.

Lin Chen frowned slightly. The coordination between the two Orphnochs was flawless—the boar form withstood Faiz's attacks head-on, using its powerful body to restrain his movements, while the canine form used its speed advantage to roam around the sides, constantly tearing at the gaps in its armor with its claws, depleting his energy.

Faiz, on the other hand, was clearly still a novice with severely insufficient experience. His movements were chaotic and stiff. Despite the fact that the power of his Knight System far surpassed that of these two ordinary-level Orphnochs, he couldn't exert any of it. He could only throw punches and block instinctively, and he couldn't even control the most basic photon blood output. The red light bar on his armor flickered, and several times he was almost grabbed in the chest by the canine claws.

"clang!"

The boar-shaped Orphnoch let out a deep roar, lowered its head, and rammed its tusks into Faiz's chest. Faiz hurriedly raised his hand to block, but was forced back by the force of the blow. He stumbled and his back slammed against the wall of the garden fountain, instantly finding himself trapped in a pincer attack.

The canine Orphnoch seized the opening and darted out like lightning. Instead of attacking Faiz's vitals, it precisely slammed its powerful claws, which were accompanied by a strong wind, into the side of Faiz's driver belt. After the fierce battle, he realized that this belt was the source of all the power of this Kamen Rider.

The force of this blow was both tricky and fierce, completely following the stiff inertia of the boar-like charge and striking solidly. Faiz had no time to make any effort to deflect the force. With a dull metallic clang, the entire intact Faiz driver, along with the Faiz phone firmly secured in its slot, was sent flying by the immense force.

The silver-black metal body drew a clean arc under the moonlight, without any bumps or damage, and finally landed steadily in the center of the lawn—right between the landscape stone where Lin Chen was hiding and the battlefield where the two Orphnochs were surrounding Faiz.

The moment the belt was knocked away, Faiz's silver-red armor turned into specks of light and dissipated into the wind without any obstruction. There was no system error message, leaving only the pale-faced high school student who staggered and fell to the cold pool wall.

Without the support of the Knight System, he was no different from an unarmed lamb in front of two ferocious Orphnochs.

The high school student's pupils contracted sharply. His first instinct was to rush over and retrieve his belt, but he had barely taken half a step when the boar-type Orphnoch blocked his path with its massive body, its heavy hooves slamming into the grass, emitting a threatening growl. The canine-type Orphnoch on the other side was also distracted, its gleaming claws aimed at his throat, completely blocking any path he could take to the belt.

The two Orphnochs knew very well that as long as they didn't let this human touch the belt again, he would always be fish on the chopping block.

The young man pushed himself back against the ground, his back soon hitting the cold pool wall, leaving him nowhere to retreat. His hands groped haphazardly on the ground, but he only managed to grab a handful of cold grass. Watching the two Orphnochs closing in, his body began to tremble uncontrollably.

Just as the two Orphnochs simultaneously raised their claws, preparing to deliver the final blow to their prey, Lin Chen moved.

He suppressed his breathing to a minimum, and his mental energy once again swept across every corner within a two-hundred-meter radius, centered on himself. The disciplinary team's patrol post was still three hundred meters away on the other side of the teaching building, and the hidden eyes and spies had all been left on his patrol route. There were no surveillance cameras pointed at this garden, no fluctuations from detectors, and no eyes watching this place.

Fifteen years.

From the moment he transmigrated to this world without a hometown, during the fifteen years he eked out a living in the cracks, what sustained him through it all, besides his obsession with returning home, was that dream hidden deep in his heart, a dream that even he himself had almost forgotten.

That dream about Kamen Rider.

He used to watch videos of Kamen Rider late at night, seeing the riders on the screen stepping out into the darkness to protect others with their power. He had fantasized countless times about holding that belt, shouting the transformation phrase, and becoming a hero who protects others.

Fifteen years after his time travel, reality wore down his edges, and the pressure of survival forced him to bury his dream deep in his heart. He learned to be patient, cautious, and to protect himself in the face of danger, all in order to survive.

But at this moment, looking at the intact Faiz belt lying quietly between him and the battlefield, the fire that had been extinguished for fifteen years suddenly ignited in his chest.

At this moment, all he wanted was to pick up that belt and fulfill the dream he had kept hidden for fifteen years.

Without further hesitation, Lin Chen emerged from behind the landscape stone, moving through the night like a ghost. Before the two Orphnoch claws could fall, he stood firmly in the center of the lawn, right next to the belt.

His sudden appearance caused the three creatures in the arena to freeze instantly.

The canine and boar-type Orphnochs froze in unison, their crimson eyes instantly filled with alertness. They could clearly sense the terrifying pressure emanating from the man who had suddenly appeared before them, a pressure far exceeding their own, belonging to a high-ranking Orphnoch. That pressure was like a tiger approaching from the abyss, causing the fur on their bodies to stand on end, and even their breathing to become cautious.

The high school student who had slumped against the pool wall was also stunned. He stared blankly at Lin Chen's retreating figure, his eyes filled with confusion and astonishment, completely bewildered as to what the suddenly appearing security guard was doing. He could only shout loudly, "Danger! Tell Lin Chen to leave immediately!"

Lin Chen ignored their gazes and the high school student's shouts. From the moment he appeared, his eyes were fixed on the Faiz belt at his feet.

He slowly bent down, and the moment his fingertips touched the cold metal body, an indescribable thrill surged through his entire body.

As if possessed, he picked up the belt and the Faiz phone, which was firmly fastened to the driver card slot.

This action surprised everyone present.