As a weirdo, I like being a Kamen Rider.

The night was as dark as ink, casting a deep silhouette over the outline of Smart Brain Academy. At midnight, Lin Chen walked out of the dormitory building as promised.

Pushing open the door to the disciplinary committee's office building, Lin Chen found the lobby empty, with only the corridor lights on, illuminating the cold floor tiles. Kurosawa's office door was ajar, letting in a soft glow. Lin Chen gently knocked, and Kurosawa's voice immediately came from inside: "Come in."

Pushing open the door, Lin Chen entered to find Kurosawa standing in front of his desk, still wearing his impeccably tailored white suit with the collar buttoned up perfectly. A barely perceptible smile flickered in his eyes as he saw Lin Chen enter, and he gestured for him to follow: "Come with me."

Lin Chen didn't ask any questions, silently following behind Kurosawa, already understanding the situation. From the moment Kurosawa offered him immense power, he had guessed their destination—the underground area of ​​the main teaching building, where the Earth Emperor's Belt was hidden, and also where the academy's most core secret lay. The path beneath their feet gradually veered away from the office area, extending towards the main teaching building.

Upon reaching the entrance to the third basement level, two armed men in black combat uniforms were already waiting. Seeing Kurosawa arrive, they immediately saluted and pushed open the heavy alloy door. Behind the door was the core laboratory Lin Chen had once secretly infiltrated. However, this time, the laboratory was much brighter than before. Dozens of lab technicians in white coats sat at control consoles, their fingers flying across screens displaying complex data streams and energy graphs. Several armed men, armed with specialized rifles, stood guard in various corners of the laboratory, their eyes alert, as if facing a formidable enemy.

In the center of the laboratory, four completely transparent culture vessels stood in a row, with pale blue protective gas flowing slowly within them. Lin Chen's gaze was instantly drawn to them—in the central culture vessel lay the Earth Emperor Orga belt that he had been dreaming of, its dark gold patterns gleaming coldly under the light, surrounded by faint energy fluctuations, exuding a chilling pressure. And in the three culture vessels on either side of it lay three other knight belts.

Lin Chen's pupils contracted slightly as he recognized the origins of the three belts. The first one on the left was the Psyga belt, a deep blue color, with sharp lines that exuded a domineering aura that complemented the Earth Emperor. The first one on the right was the pure black Delta belt, simple in design yet concealing a sharp edge; it was the highly controversial and powerful belt from Kamen Rider 555. The outermost one was a brass belt with simple patterns, exuding a cold, mass-produced feel; it was the belt used by the Leo Riders.

These three belts were ones he had never seen before when he sneaked in last time. Clearly, Kurosawa had hidden the academy's most prized knight belts in this laboratory on the third basement level, with the Earth Emperor being just one of them. Lin Chen suppressed the turmoil in his heart, lowered his eyes, and pretended to be shocked at seeing these belts for the first time, but his eyes were rapidly calculating Kurosawa's intentions.

Kurosawa led Lin Chen to the four belts, stopped, and gently brushed his hand across the glass of the storage pod, his tone slightly seductive: "Haven't you always wanted great power? Lin Chen, this is it. The power of a knight is contained within these belts."

His voice wasn't loud, but it was exceptionally clear in the silent laboratory. Lin Chen's heart skipped a beat, and his fingertips trembled slightly. What he feared most was that Kurosawa would make him try the Earth Emperor's Belt. The image of that horse-type Orphnoch turning into sand instantly after ten seconds of transformation was still vivid in his mind. Even though he was a high-level tiger-type Orphnoch, with a purer origin than the horse type, he wasn't sure if he could withstand the terrifying load of the Earth Emperor's Belt. If the transformation failed, he would be reduced to ashes.

Lin Chen's mind raced through various possible solutions, even preparing to feign compliance and seize the opportunity to escape. However, the course of events completely exceeded his expectations. Kurosawa's gaze swept over the Earth Emperor's Belt in the center without lingering, instead turning to the container on the right that sealed the Delta Belt, and he raised his hand to press the open button on the incubation vessel.

"Buzz—"

A pale blue protective aura dispersed, and Kurosawa, gripping the belt, turned and handed it to Lin Chen. "Today, let's test the knight's immense power."

Lin Chen was slightly taken aback, then took the Delta belt. The cool touch came from his fingertips. He pretended to be respectful and said, "Thank you, Captain."

Kurosawa didn't say anything more, turned around and walked towards the other side of the laboratory: "Come with me, I'll take you somewhere so you can try it out first."

Lin Chen, gripping the Delta belt, followed behind Kurosawa and dozens of armed men through the side door of the laboratory, heading deeper underground. After walking for a while, a heavy alloy door appeared before them, inscribed with the words "Fourth Underground Level." Two armed men stepped forward to unlock the door, and the moment they pushed it open, a powerful sense of space rushed towards them.

This is a huge underground plaza, about half the size of a football field, with its ceiling nearly fifteen meters above the ground. Several high-powered searchlights hang in mid-air, illuminating the entire plaza as if it were daytime. The plaza is surrounded by solid concrete walls, covered with countless bullet holes and claw marks, clearly the result of numerous battles.

In the very center of the square, a massive alloy cage stood silently. Inside, a colossal figure paced back and forth restlessly, emitting low growls and radiating powerful Orphic energy fluctuations—it was a lion-type Orphnoch, several times larger than a normal Orphnoch, covered in golden scales, its mane bristling, and its scarlet eyes fixed intently on the outside of the cage, exuding intense killing intent and ferocity, clearly having been imprisoned for a long time.

"This is a lion-type Orphnoch that is no weaker than the four-leaf clover, and its speed and strength far exceed those of an ordinary Orphnoch." Kurosawa walked to the observation platform at the edge of the plaza, raised his hand to Lin Chen, and said, "The way to use the Delta Belt is very simple. I'll teach you. Remember it."

He raised his hand, pointed to the Delta Belt in Lin Chen's hand, and slowly explained the steps to use it.

Lin Chen silently memorized Kurosawa's words, walked to the open space in the center of the square, took a deep breath, and fastened the Delta belt around his waist. He raised his hand to fasten the Delta Driver to his waist, the black belt instantly fitting snugly against his abdomen, the Delta Tracker on the right slot gleaming with a cold, hard metallic luster. His fingertips gripped the silver and black Delta phone, and he lowered his eyes to the microphone, uttering the command in a deep voice:

"Transformation"

A cold, electronic notification tone blared instantly—"Standing By."

Without hesitation, he inserted the closed phone horizontally into the tracker slot on the right side of his belt. In the instant the two connected perfectly, a surge of silver photonic blood rushed through the photonic channels. Three streams of bright silver light branched off at his shoulders, waist, and legs, outlining Delta's signature triangular pattern all over his body.

The black, reinforced armor covered the torso and limbs in layers. The crisp mechanical sound of the Luna Metal meshing mingled with the buzzing of the photon stream, creating powerful energy waves in the air. The moment the helmet completely covered the head, the two amber compound eyes suddenly lit up with a scorching orange light, and the Δ-shaped emblem on the breastplate gleamed with a chilling light against the backdrop of the silver light stream.

"Complete"

As the final electronic announcement faded, Kamen Rider Delta's figure solidified completely, his black armor and silver photon blood intertwining in the light and shadow.

Kamen Rider Delta, transformation complete.

Lin Chen slowly clenched his fist, feeling the surging power within him, a hint of amazement flashing in his eyes. The power granted by the Delta Belt was far more formidable than he had imagined, far surpassing his Tiger Orphnoch Complete Form. Photon blood coursed through his body; with each heartbeat, he could feel the surge of power. His speed, strength, and defense had all undergone a qualitative leap, and even his mental perception had become more acute; every rustle of grass in the plaza was clearly imprinted in his mind.

This power is pure and domineering, yet he can control it perfectly, unlike the power of the Orphnoch.

"Release them."

Kurosawa's voice came from the observation platform, carrying a hint of command.

The armed guards beside the cage immediately pressed the switch, and with a clang, the alloy cage door slowly opened. The lion-shaped Orphnoch, imprisoned for so long, let out a deafening roar, its crimson eyes fixed on Lin Chen in the center of the plaza. Golden scales stood on end, radiating intense anger and killing intent. It stomped its hooves on the ground, its massive body charging forward like a cannonball, its sharp claws gleaming coldly, aiming straight for Lin Chen's chest, determined to tear him apart.

Orphnoch the Lion was incredibly fast, and in the blink of an eye, it pounced close, its claws whistling through the air, about to strike Lin Chen.

Lin Chen remained unmoved, his reaction speed far exceeding that of ordinary people beneath the armor shimmering with silver-white photon blood. In his eyes, the ferocious pounce was laughably slow. He lightly stepped forward, his figure shifting to the side like a ghost, easily dodging the attack. His right hand drew the grip of the Delta Mover from his waist, and with a flick of his wrist, a concentrated beam of silver-white photon energy shot out.

"Bang—!"

The beam struck the lion Orphnoch precisely on the back, unleashing a burst of violent photon energy. The colossal beast stiffened abruptly, as if hit by a heavy cannon, staggering forward and crashing heavily to the ground. Several golden scales shattered, black blood seeped out, and it roared in pain, its entire body numb from the aftershocks of the energy, unable to get up for a moment.

Lin Chen continued walking forward without stopping, showing no intention of close-range suppression. He held the Delta Mover firmly in one hand, pointing the gun at the Orphnoch on the ground, while pressing the buttons on his belt phone with his fingertips.

"Ready"

A cold, electronic sound rang out, and the Delta Mover was illuminated by a blinding white light, its body surging with violent photon blood.

"Exceed Charge!"

A high-pitched warning sound rang out, and the entire photon rifle gathered destructive energy. The dazzling golden light almost engulfed the underground plaza, and the air itself was distorted by the intense heat.

Lin Chen slightly lowered his wrist, pressed down on the muzzle of the gun, and without the slightest hesitation, pulled the trigger.

A massive, golden photon shockwave erupted, like a falling hammer of light, striking the lion-shaped Orphnoch's head and torso head-on.

"boom--!!"

The deafening roar reverberated throughout the underground space, and the energy explosion sent shockwaves scattering in all directions. Orphnoch the lion didn't even have time to struggle before his body disintegrated under Lucifer's Hammer. Black blood and scales splattered everywhere, and his massive body convulsed violently a few times before rapidly turning into sand and disintegrating into a pile of black ash, which was then completely dispersed by the draft.

[Ding! Defeat the executive-level monster (Lion-type Orphnoch), gaining 50 evolution points.]

To thank all the readers for their recommendation votes, I will be updating two extra chapters each Saturday and Sunday at 8 PM.