Kamen Rider ZZZ from the American comic book world

The ZZZ pass also has some interesting functions; it can be used to forge information and to control mechanical equipment.

Holding the ZZZ pass, Li Ai conjured it into a leather document with the letters 'FBI' and the Federal Bureau of Investigation logo printed on the cover.

"An ID card that's completely flawless." He opened the ID card, and the information inside showed no signs of forgery; it was so good that he could use it without being detected.

However, this is on the premise that the other party's verification speed is not fast enough, since the FBI does not have his information.

These three pieces of special agent equipment can bring many conveniences if used properly.

Li Ai then focused his attention on the fourth sphere. He turned the outer shell, and white light flowed between his palms, eventually condensing into the shape of a weapon.

He slowly gripped the perfectly sized handle and began to carefully examine the knife-shaped weapon.

The handle has a groove for inserting dream capsules, which users can insert to unleash various skills with different effects.

call out--

Holding the weapon, Li Ai lightly swung it a few times in the operations room, leaving several streaks of light in the air. Then, nodding in satisfaction, he looked at the blade and said:

"This is the Dream Eater's Claw."

The Dream Eater's Claw is not just a simple melee weapon; it can also switch between gun, axe, and scythe modes, making it a multi-functional weapon.

He familiarized himself with the various functions of the Dream Eater Claw, and then placed it into the weapon storage slot on the Code Zero Corruptor so that he could access it promptly.

At this point, he also felt a bit sleepy, so he left the operations room and went back to his bedroom to rest.

As soon as Li Ai fell asleep, intending to enter the next person's dream, she found a door appearing directly in front of her.

....................................

Not long ago, Deputy Director George Stacy had just dragged her tired body back to her home, where the lights were still dimly lit.

He didn't stay at the scene for the entire time because after the mysterious man dealt with the monsters, a group of people claiming to be from the FBI took full control of the incident. Their background was terrifying; they were able to get the mayor and the police chief to call him in turn, telling the NYPD not to pay attention to the aftermath.

"Dad, I saved some milk for you." His youngest daughter, Gwen, brought him a glass of milk.

"Get some rest, Gwen, you have school tomorrow." George patted his daughter on the back, urging her to get some rest.

“Okay.” Gwen nodded, then went back to her room to rest.

George, meanwhile, went to the study and kept recalling the events of the past few days.

The criminal who came to seek revenge, the key clues that always appeared in his dreams, the mysterious person who defeated the monsters in the mall, and that last sentence.

I am Kamen Rider ZZZ, a being who moves in the darkness and walks through dreams.

“KamenRiderZZZ, a code name consisting of three words, two of which sound like neologisms. This guy really knows how to torture people.” George rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on from the meaning of the code name.

Chapter 17 S.H.I.E.L.D.

“A person who walks in a dream…” George thought as he wrote the report, but his exhaustion caused him to fall asleep without realizing it, muttering a few words to himself.

“ZZZ, dream…”

In a daze, George opened his eyes. He was still sitting in the chair, but the surroundings had changed.

He stood in a shallow layer of water, surrounded by endless water except for the chair beneath him.

The mirror-like waters reflected the azure sky, and just as George was wondering what was going on, a voice sounded behind him.

“It seems you’d love to see me again, NYPD Deputy Chief George Stacy.”

George turned around and saw a figure standing backlit, the dazzling light obscuring his features. He shielded his eyes from the light with his hand and tentatively asked:

"ZZZ? How did you find me?"

“It’s your subconscious that wants to see me,” Li Ai replied. “That’s why I’m here.”

Upon hearing this, George recalled his previous lingering resentment towards 'Kamen Rider ZZZ' and the phrase 'a person who walks in a dream'.

"So all I need to do to see you is keep repeating your code name before I go to sleep?" George asked.

“But the decision rests with my personal will.” Li Ai moved around the other person, causing ripples to spread across the water, and the light source followed his movement.

"What do you want me to do? Or rather, what do you want?"

George stated bluntly that he instinctively felt the other party wanted to discuss matters of interest, a lesson he had learned from his time working in the NYPD.

However, George was willing to talk to the other party, since based on the other party's behavior in the shopping mall incident, he was probably not a particularly evil person.

“I need your intelligence network,” Li Ai said.

"Are you looking for an inside man in the NYPD?"

“If you don’t like the sound, I can change the word.” Li Ai stopped, the ripples on the water subsided, he snapped his fingers lightly, and continued:

"You've worked at the NYPD for so many years, you must have seen a lot of things that are beyond our control, like today's mall incident. How many casualties do you think the NYPD would have to suffer to defeat those monsters?"

"..."

George remained silent for a long time. He knew that without this mysterious man who called himself Kamen Rider ZZZ, everyone might have died tonight.

Moreover, let alone cases that are beyond the NYPD's jurisdiction, even in his daily work, George has encountered many bastards who cannot be punished. When he wanted to deal with certain criminals, his superiors would remind him that he had family to take care of and not to do anything excessive, and to bear with it.

After thinking it over, he accepted Li Ai's suggestion.

“Your suggestion is good. The NYPD does indeed have limitations in certain situations and faces too many constraints,” George said, recalling a recent event.

"Like today, after those monsters were dealt with, a group of guys claiming to be from the FBI took over the scene and told us not to publicize our presence."

A group of people claiming to be from the FBI?

Li Ai immediately thought of S.H.I.E.L.D., because to some extent, the mall incident was indeed within their jurisdiction.

Moreover, the name S.H.I.E.L.D. was not well-known to the public at first. The FBI had two factors: law enforcement authority within America and sufficient fame. Therefore, they would refer to themselves as the FBI when operating outside the country.

"If you want to find me in the future, just call my name, just like you did today. Goodnight, Sheriff George."

As soon as he finished speaking, a door appeared behind Li Ai. He stepped inside and then closed the door.

With a soft 'thump,' George Stacy woke up. He looked around and found himself back in his study, with the ticking of the clock still ringing in his ears.

"The one who walks in dreams, Kamen Rider ZZZ..."

He memorized the name, then glanced at the clock and realized it was already five in the morning; he had to get ready for work.

........................

Meanwhile, inside a safe house in Queens, Li Ai was making herself breakfast in the kitchen.

Marinated steaks were pan-frying in a skillet, pasta was cooking in a small pot next to it, and washed vegetables and fruits were laid out on the counter.

The smoke detector in this house has been disconnected for a long time, so there's no need to worry about false alarms from cooking fumes.

beep-

The noodle soup in the pot kept bubbling, and the steak was almost cooked. He plated the food, drizzled it with sweet and spicy sauce, and began to eat this breakfast, which was equivalent to a normal person's daily food intake.

After finishing breakfast, Li Ai took out her ZZZ phone and searched online for what happened last night.

There were no relevant clues on online forums and video platforms, let alone media outlets such as newspapers and television stations. Even with keywords, he could only find a few reports about gas leaks and explosions.

"Is this the big hand of S.H.I.E.L.D.? They managed to keep over a hundred people from talking about it all at once, they're really quick." Li Ai remarked, then put down her ZZZ phone and went to school.

........................

Meanwhile, in a high-rise apartment near Times Square in New York, a Black man wearing a long black leather trench coat is looking out of the floor-to-ceiling window at the bustling square.

The door behind him opened, and a well-dressed, refined-looking white man with thinning hair walked in and reported to the black man:

"Chief, the situation last night has been brought under control, and the witnesses and NYPD will not reveal a single word."

“Well done, Agent Coulson.” The black man looked down at the street scene. Even he, in his high position, was not sure how long this illusion of 'peace' could last.

Ever since he met Carol Danvers, codenamed 'Captain Marvel,' in 1990 and witnessed her immense power capable of single-handedly turning the tide of space battles, he has been preparing for an era of superpowers.

He is Nick Fury, the current highest-ranking officer in S.H.I.E.L.D. and the highest-ranking agent in the ten-level agent hierarchy.

The person reporting the mission to Nick Fury was Level 7 Agent Phil Coulson.

"Our people have also confirmed that the remains of the monsters at the scene are of the same type as the Plaka parasite mentioned by a Federal Secret Service agent in a report from Wolf Valley four years ago. They speculate that it is an improved version, but we are still investigating which faction produced it," Coulson continued to report.

Nick Fury waved his hand and said, "Leave this information to the BSAA. They are experts in dealing with bioterrorism. If anyone else wants to know this information, there's no need to hide it. As long as we don't bring this into the open and cause panic, let them investigate."

BSAA, short for Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance, is an organization that was created in response to the T-virus leak in Raccoon City in 1998. Its predecessor was a civilian investigation organization, and it has now been incorporated by the United Nations as a special operations force dedicated to combating biological and chemical weapons.

"What about the mysterious warrior who appeared in this incident?"

Chapter 18 Codename: Unknown Life Form No. 7

As he spoke, Coulson took out a slightly old digital camera, which he had exchanged with a high school girl who had witnessed the mall incident.

In exchange, he bought the high school girl a brand new, top-of-the-line digital camera.

Coulson manipulated the camera a few times, and the last photo taken by the camera appeared on the screen.

In the dim environment, a warrior with a strong physique outlined by red energy channels stood proudly, his scarlet eyes seemingly able to pierce through the darkness.

Nick Fury took the camera, looked at the powerful figure, and said, "It doesn't look like he's wearing armor, but rather like his skin has been over-hardened, like the 'Hulk' that Ross has been chasing."

General Ross of the American military was in charge of the 'Weapons Enhancement Program,' and he hired scientists to research a new-era super-soldier serum.

Because the doctor who spearheaded the initial version of the Super Soldier Serum was assassinated, and even the related content was destroyed by the assassin, the American military's subsequent plans to replicate the Super Soldier Serum did not go smoothly.

Either the test subject had mental problems, or the test subject's abilities were far inferior to Captain Steve Rogers, which once caused the project to stall.

The project only began to accelerate after a scientist suggested that gamma rays could be used as an alternative.

However, his good fortune didn't last long. In an accident, the scientist was exposed to an excessive amount of gamma rays. But instead of dying, he transformed into a green giant who could withstand intercontinental ballistic missiles and tear apart aircraft carriers with his fists. The military called him 'Hulk'.

Nick Fury was very concerned about Hulk's formidable fighting power, but General Ross kept a close watch on him and wouldn't allow outsiders to interfere in Hulk's affairs.

"Chief, what measures should we take against this gentleman?" Coulson asked.

“Appeasement,” Nick Fury replied.

This was not a spur-of-the-moment decision, but rather his accurate assessment after reviewing the entire mall incident.

In his view, the warrior must have acted according to his own will and was able to control his own strength.

Based solely on the fact that the power was controllable, Nick Fury believed that the other party could be won over.

It doesn't matter whether we can maintain a good relationship with S.H.I.E.L.D., as long as we don't stand against humanity.

“I understand.” Coulson nodded, then changed the subject, bringing up another matter, “There’s a record of him referring to himself as ‘KamenRiderZZZ’ in the eyewitness testimonies. Should we give him an internal codename?”

"A code name with two words sounds like it was newly made up, which is really not friendly to the elderly. As for internal code names..."

Nick Fury thought for a moment, recalling a witness report mentioning that the Mystic Warrior would kick out a '7' symbol, and then said:

Let's call him Unknown Life Form No. 7.

"Unknown life form number 7?" Coulson hesitated. "The database doesn't seem to have the first six, does it?"

"Ahem." Nick Fury coughed twice, changing the subject, "By the way, any news about our great inventor?"

The great inventor he mentioned is Tony Stark, son of Howard Stark, the founder of S.H.I.E.L.D., the current chairman of Stark Industries, and a world-class arms dealer.

Tony created many weapons and equipment that were favored by militaries around the world, and even S.H.I.E.L.D. adopted some of them.

The magazine even said that as long as Tony is around, Stark Industries will be the most dazzling arms dealer today.

But when this great inventor was promoting a new generation of missiles to the military in Afghanistan, he was kidnapped by local terrorists and has been missing ever since.

At this point, several months had passed since Tony was kidnapped, and not a single terrorist group had claimed responsibility, nor had there been any information about a ransom demand.

Following Nick Fury's lead, Coulson began to recount news about the great inventor.

"A few minutes ago, a unit risked being attacked by rocket launchers to search for heat sources in the desert by helicopter and finally found Tony Stark, who had fainted from dehydration. He is receiving treatment in a field hospital and will return to America after his condition improves."

"Keep an eye on him; his talent is very important."

"learn."

....................................

Lunchtime

Because Midtown High School has a cafeteria that provides lunch, students don't need to bring their own lunchboxes, but the food isn't very good.

Today's main dish was a hamburger. The round bun was loose and floppy, and the patty looked like a product made from scraps of poor quality mixed with starch. The two lettuce leaves looked like they had just been taken out of the freezer and boiled. Fortunately, the Mexican hot sauce provided by the cafeteria tasted pretty good, which made this terrible main dish a little more appealing.

Li Ai's assessment was that it was barely edible.