Bad luck plagues him, he refuses to become a Kamen Rider.

Bingchuan Xin's voice came from beside him, carrying an unprecedented seriousness.

Yu Xing turned to look at him. The boy's expression was no longer the usual playful one; his eyes were filled with unwavering determination.

“No way.” Yu Xing refused without even thinking. “This is too dangerous. You’re too young.”

"I'm not young anymore," Bingchuan Xin puffed out his chest. "Besides, Youxing-ge isn't that old either, is he?"

In fact, Yuuki and Hikawa Shin are only one year apart, so they can be considered to be the same age.

"If we leave everything to Yu-Hsing, then what are we supposed to do?"

"At this point, I think I should shoulder some responsibility."

He paused for a moment, then his lips curled up slightly, revealing a smile that was both somewhat embarrassed and exceptionally proud.

“Some responsibilities that should belong to Kamen Rider.”

"Don't underestimate me. I am a Kamen Rider. Like my predecessors, I will not back down for the future of humanity."

These words were like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, creating ripples in the hearts of several people.

Yuuki was stunned.

He gazed into Bingchuan Xin's eyes, which held no bravado, no impulsiveness, only a clear and unwavering awareness.

Having gone through the Sato Jiro incident, he has grown a lot since then.

“You should have let me go, Yuxing-ge,” Bingchuan Xin continued, his voice not loud, but every word clear. “You are the strongest among us. If something happens to you, what will happen to the rest of us? Will those five people still have the will to live?”

“But I am different.” He took a deep breath. “My power may not be as great as yours, but I am a Kamen Rider. The purpose of a Kamen Rider is to stand up when others dare not step forward.”

Hikawa Shin's words left Yuuki silent for a long time before she slowly spoke.

"You will die."

"I know," Shin Hikawa smiled, "but I won't die easily. I will become the strongest Kamen Rider and protect everyone!"

He gave a thumbs-up and smiled as he swept his gaze across the crowd.

The familiar gesture made Youxing smile slightly. Without saying anything, he returned the thumbs-up.

Hikawa Makoto, who was standing to the side, didn't say anything, but simply patted his nephew on the shoulder.

His eyes were a little red, but he didn't stop him.

Because he knew that this was Iceberg's own choice, a step that a knight had to take.

it is more than words.

Without saying anything more, Hikawa Shin took the Human Handbook from Kagami, opened it to the first page, and his gaze fell on the rules.

[You are a human being. Please remember that only humans work in this factory; there are no supernatural beings here.]

He raised his head, took one last look at everyone, then closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"I am not human."

Five words, spoken lightly, yet like a key inserted into a lock, instantly opened the door to the extraordinary.

The next second, Bingchuan Xin's figure disappeared from everyone's sight.

There was no light, no sound, and no sign whatsoever.

He vanished into thin air, as if he had never existed.

"Ah-Shin!" Hikawa Makoto took a sudden step forward, but only managed to grab a handful of air.

Yuuki silently watched the spot where the iceberg letter had disappeared, without saying a word.

He detected an extremely subtle spatial fluctuation, but this fluctuation was not enough for him to pinpoint the location of the alternate dimension; he needed more information.

Seeing the pain on Bingchuan Cheng's face, Youxing said in a deep voice:

"He's still alive. I can feel his presence, but he's no longer in this space."

Kagami breathed a sigh of relief, but the worry on his face did not lessen at all: "Where did he go?"

“I don’t know.” Youxing shook his head. “But we have to get in touch with him immediately, or everything will be in vain.”

the other side

When Bingchuan opened his eyes, he found himself standing in a dimly lit corridor.

The overhead lights flickered on and off, emitting a faint buzzing sound, like a dying insect making its last struggle.

There was a damp, musty smell in the air, mixed with a kind of indescribable sweetness, which made people feel a little uncomfortable.

"Is this... inside the factory?"

Glacier Xin looked around and confirmed that he was still in that abandoned food processing plant.

The walls on both sides of the corridor were mottled, with large patches of plaster peeling off to reveal the gray-black cement underneath. Scattered on the floor were broken glass shards and rusty metal parts.

But unlike the previous factory buildings, everything here is much more dilapidated, as if it is about to collapse.

Bingchuan Xin frowned and subconsciously touched the belt at his waist.

Realizing that he still had his belt, he felt a little relieved and began to walk forward down the corridor.

He hadn't walked more than a few steps when he heard the sound.

It was a human voice, intermittent, like someone whispering, or like some kind of repetitive mechanical recitation.

Bingchuan quickened his pace, turned a corner, and the scene before him made him stop abruptly.

At the end of the corridor was a spacious hall, where a dozen or so people were standing.

Some of them leaned against the wall, some squatted in the corner, and some paced back and forth, but all of them wore the same expression on their faces—emptiness.

It was as if the soul had been ripped out, leaving only the shell mechanically executing some kind of command.

"Hey, are you guys alright?"

Bingchuan Xin tried to walk up to the nearest middle-aged man and greet him.

The man was wearing dirty overalls, his hair was a mess, and his eyes were staring straight ahead, showing no reaction to Bingchuan Xin's voice.

Bingchuan Xin waved his hand in front of the man's eyes, but the man still did not respond.

He tried patting the man's shoulder again. The man's body swayed slightly, but he still didn't react and muttered something to himself.

Bingchuan Xin leaned closer to listen and finally heard the sentence clearly.

"I am human, I work in a factory, I am human, I work in a factory..."

Over and over again, like a broken tape recorder.

Bingchuan Xin's heart sank immediately.

He looked around and found that everyone in the hall was repeating similar words. Some read them quickly, some slowly, some loudly, some softly, but the content was almost identical—they were all desperately emphasizing that they were human and that they worked there.

"What on earth is going on..."

Bingchuan gritted his teeth, stopped trying to communicate with these people, and strode towards the passage at the other end of the hall.

He had to figure out what was going on here and try to get information out to Yuuki and the others.

At the end of the passage was a rusty iron gate with a worn sign hanging on it bearing a few faded words—

"Processing workshop - Unauthorized personnel are prohibited from entering."

Bingchuan Xin reached out and pushed the iron gate, but the gate did not budge.

He tried again, applying more force, but the iron gate still didn't react.

Just as he was about to use the power of the belt, a line of words suddenly appeared on the iron gate.

[Identity verification in progress...]

[Identity Confirmed: Kamen Rider & Human]

[Insufficient permissions, unable to log in]

Bingchuan Xin was stunned.

Insufficient permissions?

Before he could even ponder the meaning of those words, new text appeared on the iron gate.

This area is for human access only.

The next second, a huge force came from the iron door, and Bingchuan Xin was thrown out and crashed heavily on the floor of the corridor.

He clutched his chest as he got up, looked up at the iron gate, and his expression became complicated.

"Humans only..."

He repeated the sentence in a low voice, feeling a bit of a headache.

Are you suggesting he discard his knight's belt? How could he possibly do that!

Bingchuan Xin had no choice but to stand up, dust himself off, and instead of trying to push the door again, he turned and walked back the way he came.

He went back to inquire, and looking at those people who kept repeating their identities, he felt a chill in his heart.

These people are still alive; Bingchuan Xin can see their chests rising and falling, but what difference is there between them and the dead?

As he was thinking, his thoughts suddenly stopped.

"They are human, so what am I again? My name is..."

Glacier... Glacier what?

His consciousness gradually blurred and his memories began to fade. He did not yield to this will, but instead shook his head violently and slapped his cheeks hard to force himself to wake up.

No, he can't act rashly.

He is a Kamen Rider. He has a mission to complete, a place he must return to, and companions waiting for him.

Yuuki-san, Hikawa-san, Kagami-san...

These people were like lights in the darkness, illuminating his fading memories.

"I am Shin Hikawa." He whispered to himself, over and over again, "I am Kamen Rider, I am Shin Hikawa."

Remembering his identity, he took a deep breath and looked at the people in the hall.

These people are the only breakthrough point right now. Since simple calls can't wake them up, he can only approach it from another angle.