On how PhDs become human evil

At noon, Bai Jie returned to the office as soon as get out of class ended, then immediately slumped face down on the desk, exuding the aura of a middle-aged corporate slave.

Across the aisle from Bai Jie's desk, a man with a pompadour walked over and patted him hard on the shoulder: "Hey! You can't do that, Doctor! How can a professor be tired?!"

"Kisaragi, you optimist, get out of my way! And your pompadour is in the way!" Bai Jie reprimanded his former friend and current colleague without any politeness. "Do you know the pain of being woken up early in the morning by Akiko and Shotaro arguing, then encountering a bugster on the way here, and finally being bombarded with questions from a bunch of students at school? I really shouldn't have listened to your plan and come here to be a teacher. It would have been so much more fun researching with Philip at home!"

If Bai Jie could go back four years, he would definitely try his best to dissuade himself from becoming a teacher. Taking care of a group of students is really exhausting. The knowledge is very simple, but these guys just can't learn it no matter what. Bai Jie is so angry that he almost wants to split their brains open and stuff the books in.

Incidentally, the person who spoke to Bai Jie was Gentaro Kisaragi, a super optimistic guy who claims to be friends with everyone. He is also a Kamen Rider like Bai Jie.

Faced with his friend's reprimand, Gentaro Kisaragi showed no sign of frustration, but instead maintained that cheerful expression that made Bai Jie want to punch him: "So, you should consider things from the students' perspective. Besides, you're a world-class PhD, what's simple for you is completely beyond the students' comprehension."

"Out of syllabus? You're telling me it's out of syllabus? I'm just teaching senior-year material in junior-year material. That's very common in China. As a high school student, you should at least have that much awareness!"

"Alright, alright, Professor, calm down and let's go have lunch together," Shizuka Hiratsuka, Bai Jie's teacher behind him, stood up and suggested. "Did you bring lunch? If not, I can share some with you. I accidentally made too much this morning."

Bai Jie and Gentaro Kisaragi glanced at Hiratsuka Shizuka with suspicion and asked at the same time, "Hiratsuka-sensei, do you really cook for yourself?"

"Hey, do you know how rude you're looking at me right now!" Hiratsuka Shizuka said, looking annoyed. "Even I can cook. It's a basic skill for women, after all, everyone has to get married eventually."

"But you're almost thirty and still single. You're an older single woman, so don't even think about anyone wanting you."

"Hey, Doctor—"

Upon hearing Bai Jie utter the forbidden word, Ruyue immediately tried to stop him, but before she could, Hiratsuka Shizuka had already lost her temper.

"Doctor, who are you calling an old maid? I'm not even thirty yet!"

Hiratsuka Shizuka's tone was clearly angry, and the Iron Fist Judgment, filled with rage, instantly embedded itself into Bai Jie's abdomen.

Seeing Bai Jie collapse while clutching his stomach, Ruyue swallowed hard, then wisely chose not to provoke Hiratsuka Shizuka.

A woman who loses her temper is unreasonable—Gentaro Kisaragi knew this all too well.

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"Damn it... that unwanted old hag Hiratsuka Shizuka really doesn't hold back when she hits people. All she said was that no one wanted her."

On his way home from get off work, Bai Jie complained to the person walking with him with a long face.

Hearing Bai Jie's complaint, Zuo Xiangtaro shook his head: "Doctor, that's not right of you. Talking about a woman's age is a big taboo. As a good man, you should absolutely avoid it, just like me."

"You? A good man?" Bai Jie looked this half-baked tough guy up and down, then snorted coldly: "Heh, you'd better save your breath, half-baked tough guy."

"Hey! I told you he's a real tough guy! Who's the half-baked one?!"

"Who else could it be but you? So many years have passed, yet you seem unchanged. Even Philip is now very reliable."

"Hmm... isn't this a matter of different roles? Why don't you let Philip go out and gather some intelligence?"

Comparing your own area of ​​expertise with your partner's area of ​​weakness is just too pathetic!

Bai Jie didn't want to talk to Shotaro and gave him the middle finger, which made Shotaro's face turn black with anger.

"Help! Someone please save me!"

Suddenly, they heard cries for help, and then they realized that the people around them were scattering and running away, and that a strange man with arms that looked like guns was walking towards them in the distance.

With a helpless sigh, Shotaro said, "I just came out to buy some groceries, and I still managed to run into a bugster."

"Same here. I was just getting off work, how did I run into a bugster again?"

Including the one this morning, this is the second time Bai Jie has encountered a bugster today, which is considered very unlucky by probability.

"Shotaro, you go back first. I can manage here by myself."

"May I?"

"Anyway, you can't beat them, and staying here will only get in the way."

What Bai Jie said was true. Although Shotaro was very strong, under the current circumstances, he could hardly do any damage to the bugster. At most, he could only delay the bugster. It would be better to use that time to evacuate the crowd.

With a helpless sigh, Shotaro knew that what Bai Jie said was true, but as a Kamen Rider, it was really hard to feel that he was not useful.

"Don't worry, Philip and I will be able to make an improved version of the memory soon. If you want, we can arrange for ten bugsters to fight you then."

"Spare me, I'll be exhausted if ten of you come at me at once." Shrugging, Shotaro ran off with a bag full of food and began guiding the crowd to safety.

Meanwhile, on Bai Jie's side...

"Honestly, this kind of thing should be handled by CR, why did they make me get involved? I'll have to ask CR for money next time."

Despite saying that, Bai Jie still took out his belt and put it on. With a flick of his wrist, the black memory chip appeared in his hand.

【Joker】

"Transform!"

A purple whirlwind surged through the streets, while a black ace stood firmly on the ground.

"Alright, let's count your sins."

After the usual lines, Bai Jie shattered the ground and approached Bugster's body with lightning speed, unleashing a powerful punch!

boom--!

The powerful cannonball exploded, and the bugster was instantly knocked to the ground.

"I'm in a hurry, so let's finish quickly."

He pulled out the memory chip and inserted it into his waistband. Without a word, Bai Jie unleashed his ultimate move!

【Joker! Maximum Drive! 】

Purple flames erupted beneath their feet, the high-temperature energy fluctuations causing ripples in the surrounding air, and a terrifying aura swept outwards.

"Whoa! All troops, charge!"

With a wave of his hand, the silver-haired monster unleashed a massive amount of bugster virus, which then transformed into soldiers wielding submachine guns, forming a defensive formation in front of him.

"shooting!"

"Bang bang bang bang bang bang!"

Countless bullets rained down on Bai Jie like a barrage of arrows, the dense barrage forming a massive net that enveloped Bai Jie's location.

Boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom!

Scorching flashes and flames shot into the sky, and surging smoke and dust surged in all directions like waves, engulfing almost everything in the surrounding area in a sea of ​​fire.

"Aiming at the outline of a human body? For a shooting game, this aiming is terrible."

A deep voice echoed in the sea of ​​fire, and the purple flames expanded in an instant. The ace's purple flames devoured the original red flames, and Bai Jie emerged from the sea of ​​fire unharmed.

"Rider Kick!"

Like an eagle soaring into the sky, Bai Jie leaped into the air and unleashed a powerful knight's kick, like a meteor falling from the heavens.

As usual, the bugster will be defeated by its own special attack.

—That was what Bai Jie originally thought.

However, just as Bai Jie's Rider Kick was about to strike the monster, a rapidly spinning black wheel suddenly flew out from below and struck Bai Jie, who was in mid-air with no way to dodge, head-on.

"Boom—!"

A tremendous explosion occurred in mid-air, and Bai Jie immediately fell to the ground, his transformation being forcibly canceled!

After rolling a few times on the ground, Bai Jie staggered to his feet, leaning against the wall, and looked in the direction from which the wheel had come. In Bai Jie's vision, a black knight just like him was standing there.

"You dare to ambush me? You've got some nerve."

"As the game administrator, I cannot tolerate the existence of a bug like you," the Black Knight said coldly. "This is just a warning. If it happens again, I will kill you outright, Dr. White."

P.S.: Update

P.S.: I had writer's block. I wrote this chapter three times, and in the end, I could only cobble it together like this. The quality isn't great, so please bear with me.

Section 64, Part 3. It's so hot... I don't want to type.

"What? You got beaten up?"

Inside the Narumi Office, seeing Bai Jie's face covered in bruises, Shotaro couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

"Hahaha! You can get the short end of the stick now. I've never seen you get the short end of the stick since I met you. Now you finally know what it feels like to get the short end of the stick."

"Hey, Shotaro, have you gotten too cocky lately? Shall we go outside and have a proper one-on-one fight?"

Seeing Shotaro's laughing expression, Bai Jie, who was already annoyed by his humiliation, was now so angry that he wanted to hit someone.

He quickly reached out and pressed Bai Jie down, while Philip, who was sitting next to him, laughed and said, "Alright, alright, Shotaro, stop laughing at the professor. If he really gets hit, I won't help you."

"That's quite strange, Doctor. You can get the short end of the stick too. When was the last time you did?"

"Weren't you guys there when Haruto and the others were fighting Amadam?" Bai Jie said, resting his chin on his hand. "Well, I was partly to blame for our setback this time. It had been a while since we'd encountered anything major, and I only had Joker and Cyclone with me. Besides, I wasn't taking it seriously at the time."

Since helping Tenkuji Takeru revive a year ago, Bai Jie has rarely encountered battles, usually only fighting once a month. The experience of encountering two battles in one day like today is a rare occurrence. In addition, he hasn't encountered a battle that required his full effort in the past year, so his combat skills and intuition have declined.

“But if we’ve encountered this twice in one day, doesn’t that mean something big is going to happen again?” Shotaro said. “Last time it was Tenkuji, and before that it was Inspector Tomari… Something like this happens every year.”

"The bugster thing was foreshadowed years ago, but we didn't pay any attention to it. Now it's finally erupted," Philip said, flipping through the blank book. "I'll start an investigation. What about Shotaro?"

"Of course I will. I won't let any of those who cause trouble in the city get away with it."

"Then I'll leave it to you, you half-baked detective. I'm going to bed now."

Seeing Bai Jie already walking upstairs, Shotaro's face darkened immediately: "Who's the half-baked one! Doctor, come down here and let's talk this out!"

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Ignoring Shotaro's complaints downstairs, Bai Jie pushed open his bedroom door and lay down on the bed.

"Haaah, I'm going to be busy again. Seriously, I finally have a short break. Can't I just slack off a little longer?"

Perhaps Kamen Riders are born with a knack for attracting trouble. Ever since Whitebeard became a Kamen Rider, one trouble after another has come his way, and he gets caught up in big trouble every year.

Although this kind of life is incredibly fulfilling, Bai Jie still hopes to have a year or two to focus on his research. Who knows why this world won't let him move the entire Rhodes Island here?

"Ring ring!"

The phone beside the bed rang, and Bai Jie picked it up and answered: "Narumi Detective Agency, who is this?"

"What's wrong? You sound unhappy. What happened?" A very familiar female voice came from the other end of the phone.