As a weirdo, I like being a Kamen Rider.

Lin Chen straightened his black uniform, ran his fingertips through the remaining wrinkles in the fabric, carefully patted away the dust and dead leaves, then kicked away the black bloodstain on the open ground, covering it with layers of rotten leaves. After confirming that no traces had been left at the scene, he turned and walked towards the campus.

The night wind on the back mountain grew increasingly fierce, whipping up the chill from the forest and stinging his face, but Lin Chen was oblivious, his mind racing as he quickly calculated the wording he would use to report to Kurosawa.

He had to put on a good show of "pursuing with all his might but failing due to injuries and a fatal blow," so that Kurosawa and Lucky Clover wouldn't suspect anything, while also buying himself as much breathing room as possible—the old wound from being hit by the energy whip when confronting Lucky Clover during the day was still throbbing, and the consumption from transforming into an Orphnoch hadn't subsided yet, with waves of numbness surging in his back. He desperately needed time to rest and also needed to check the lifespan consumption of this transformation.

When he returned to campus, it was already past midnight. The disciplinary team's office building was still lit with cold white lights, and Kurosawa was obviously still waiting for his report. Lin Chen took a deep breath, deliberately slowed his pace to make himself look more tired, pushed open the office building door, and walked straight to Kurosawa's office.

The office door was ajar, a faint scent of cigarettes wafting from within, mixed with a hint of cold, metallic odor. Lin Chen raised his hand and lightly knocked on the door. Immediately, Kurosawa's emotionless voice came from inside: "Come in."

He pushed open the door and entered, his head slightly lowered, his face displaying just the right amount of annoyance and fatigue. He hunched his back slightly, deliberately shifting his weight to one side, pretending to have injured his right shoulder, and stood quietly in front of Kurosawa's desk.

Kurosawa sat behind the table, a lit cigarette between his fingers. The smoke obscured his expression, but his sharp, cold eyes were fixed on Lin Chen in the dim light, scrutinizing and intimidating: "Any unusual activity tonight?"

"Reporting to Captain Kurosawa," Lin Chen's voice was deliberately hoarse, trembling slightly from exhaustion, "While patrolling tonight at the border of the back mountain, we discovered a cat-shaped Orphnoch that had awakened on its own and was secretly transforming and fighting someone. I eliminated it on the spot, turning it to ashes. Also, the person it was fighting was Faiz."

Kurosawa's fingertips tapped lightly on the wooden surface of the desk, producing a rhythmic "tap-tap" sound. His tone remained icy, yet held a subtle sharpness: "Oh? You found Faiz? Where is he? Why didn't you bring him back?"

Lin Chen slowly raised his head, his brows furrowed tightly. He pressed his hand against his right shoulder, his fingertips applying slight pressure, feigning pain from aggravated old injuries. A hint of helplessness played on his lips. "Captain, as you know, during the confrontation with the Lucky Four-Leaf Clover members during the day, I was struck in the back by an energy whip, sustaining serious internal injuries that I hadn't had time to recover from. Tonight, after discovering Faiz, I immediately gave chase, but Faiz, cornered, unleashed his trump card with all his might. I hastily took the hit head-on, barely managing to block it, but the devastating energy shock damaged my internal organs, causing my old back injuries to flare up completely. My right claw was also burned by photon energy, momentarily slowing my movements and allowing him to escape into the depths of the dense forest behind the mountain, disappearing without a trace."

He paused, raised his hand to wipe the corner of his mouth, deliberately revealing a faint trace of blood, his face filled with intense resentment: "I chased him for nearly a hundred meters, but my strength was simply exhausted. The Orphic factors in my body were disrupted by the energy impact, making it difficult to even maintain my form. I was also worried that there might be other unruly Orphic Fiends causing trouble on campus, so I had no choice but to turn back and report to you. If I were in good physical condition, I would never have let Faiz escape so easily!"

His words were half true and half false. He truthfully reported the results of eliminating the lower-level Orphnochs, while attributing the reason for letting Faiz escape to "an old injury flaring up and taking a fatal blow head-on." This was consistent with his current "state" and showed his dedication to the mission, leaving Kurosawa with no reason to criticize him.

Kurosawa stared at him silently for a long time, gradually slowing the rhythm of his tapping on the table. Smoke slowly escaped from the corner of his mouth, shrouding his face in a hazy shadow, making it impossible to guess his thoughts. Lin Chen's heart tightened slightly, but he maintained his frustrated and pained expression, even deliberately making his breathing heavy, not daring to make the slightest movement.

After a long silence, Kurosawa finally spoke, his voice devoid of any emotion, yet carrying an undeniable authority: "I understand. Eliminating a low-level out-of-control species is part of your mission. But letting Faiz escape is a dereliction of duty."

Lin Chen immediately lowered his head, bending his back even lower, his tone respectful yet filled with guilt: "Yes, your subordinate knows his crime and is willing to accept punishment."

"No need for punishment," Kurosawa flicked his cigarette ash, which landed softly in the ashtray on the table. "The academy is in dire need of manpower right now, and you, a rare high-ranking tiger-type Orphnoch, are still useful. However, you can forget about resting and recuperating. Starting tomorrow, you will not only continue patrolling at night, but you must also join the patrol team during the day, expanding the area to the entire campus, including the human teaching area and the entire back mountain area. You must locate Faiz as soon as possible, and report immediately upon discovery. No unauthorized actions are permitted."

These words struck Lin Chen like a block of ice. The relentless patrols, day and night, gave him no time to recover his body and Orpheus factor. It was clear that they were using him as a tool without any scruples, both to exploit his high-level combat power and to wear him down with endless missions, while also constantly monitoring his every move.

Lin Chen's fingertips curled slightly at his sides, his nails digging into his palms. He suppressed the gloom in his heart, but dared not resist in the slightest. He could only bow his head and respectfully reply, "Yes, Your subordinate obeys."

He knew perfectly well that from the moment he was recruited into Smart Brain Academy, Kurosawa and Lucky Clover had never truly trusted him. They seemed to have given him a "place to stay," but in reality, they were just keeping him under their control, using his power to fight against Faiz and eliminate the out-of-control species. Once he lost his usefulness or showed the slightest disloyalty, he would only suffer the same fate as those low-ranking Orphnochs—being wiped out on the spot and reduced to ashes.

It was past 1 a.m. when Lin Chen left Kurosawa's office. He dragged his heavy steps toward the dormitory building. Along the way, he could clearly sense several hidden gazes falling on him from various corners of the campus. These were Lucky Four-Leaf Clover's spies planted in the shadows, monitoring his every move at all times.

Lin Chen didn't care about this at all. He simply quickened his pace and went straight back to his single dormitory room. He locked the door behind him, shutting out all the surveillance, oppression, and chill.

Only after confirming that he was alone in the dormitory did Lin Chen let out a long sigh of relief, leaning against the cold door as if all his strength had left him, panting heavily. The old injury on his back had been aggravated by the deliberate performance earlier, and the combined exhaustion from transforming and taking a fatal blow had pushed his body to its limit; he barely had the strength to lift his arm.

He didn't rest immediately, but instead urgently summoned the system panel in his mind. The pale blue screen instantly appeared before his eyes, the words on it clear and cold, reflected in Lin Chen's eyes:

Ultimate Evolution System

[Host: Lin Chen]

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

Core Attributes:

Constitution 18/83 (Human Form/Orphnoch Form): Physical Strength, Physical Defense, Wound Recovery Speed

Agility 19/83 (Human Form/Orphnoch Form): Movement Speed, Neural Reaction, and Dexterity

Spirit 21/58 (Human Form/Orphnoch Form): Sensory Range, Body Control, Mental Defense

*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: 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.