As a weirdo, I like being a Kamen Rider.

The system notification sounded in his mind, and Lin Chen deactivated Delta's transformation. The pure black armor turned into specks of light and dissipated into the air, leaving only his hand gripping the Delta belt.

The battle just now was nothing more than a piece of cake for him. The power of the Delta Belt made dealing with a Lion-type Orphnoch of executive rank quite easy.

On the observation platform, Kurosawa watched Lin Chen's performance, a satisfied smile flashing in his eyes. He slowly stepped down from the platform and approached Lin Chen. Looking at the Delta Belt in Lin Chen's hand, he took it, his fingertips tracing its surface. His tone was approving: "Very good, Lin Chen. To unleash such power on your first Delta transformation, even easily killing a high-ranking Ophione, your talent far exceeds my expectations."

Lin Chen lowered his eyes, feigning a lingering sense of satisfaction, a hint of reluctance in his gaze, clearly still attached to the power of the Delta Belt. He knew that Kurosawa was observing his every move, and this lingering attachment was exactly what Kurosawa wanted to see.

Kurosawa carefully put away the Delta Belt, glanced at Lin Chen as if reading his mind, and a playful smile appeared on his lips: "Don't be reluctant, this is just the beginning. As long as you perform well, serve the academy, defeat Faiz, and eliminate that unknown knight, the Delta Belt, and even more powerful abilities, will have the chance to belong to you in the future."

Lin Chen immediately raised his head, a hint of excitement flashing in his eyes. He bowed to Kurosawa, his tone filled with deep respect and loyalty: "Thank you, Captain! I will serve the academy with my life and never let you down!" His voice was strong and his expression sincere, perfectly portraying the image of a subordinate who had been given an opportunity and was grateful.

Kurosawa nodded in satisfaction and gestured to the armed personnel beside him: "Take him back and let him rest well. I have an important mission for you."

"Yes." Lin Chen bowed again, then followed the armed personnel and turned to walk towards the exit on the fourth basement level.

After exiting the underground plaza, passing through the three underground laboratories, and ascending upwards, you return to the ground floor of the main teaching building.

Only after leaving the main teaching building and disappearing into the night did Lin Chen slowly shed the respect on his face, a cold glint flashing in his eyes. He knew that Kurosawa didn't truly want to cultivate him. The trial of the Delta Belt was merely a test—a test of his strength, a test of his loyalty, a test of whether he could become a pawn to control the power of the knights. And that lion-shaped Orphnoch in the training grounds on the fourth underground level was nothing more than a test subject in Kurosawa's hands.

After Lin Chen's figure completely disappeared into the night, in the laboratory on the third basement level, Kurosawa walked to the control panel, looked at the experimenter recording data beside him, and asked in a calm tone, "How is it? What are the data?"

The experimenter adjusted his glasses, looked at the data stream on the screen, and respectfully replied, "Reporting to the captain, Lin Chen's first transformation into Delta allowed him to perfectly control the output of photon energy. Calculations show that he can now utilize about 95% of the Delta belt's performance, far exceeding all previous test subjects."

"Ninety-five percent..." Kurosawa murmured, his fingertips lightly tapping the console desktop. A deep light flashed in his eyes, and he narrowed them. No one knew what he was thinking at that moment.

After a long silence, he finally spoke, his tone cold and calculating: "Continue to observe, keep a close eye on his every move. Since he has such a high compatibility, then make good use of him. Delta is just a small taste of his power. Once he has become our weapon, then let him try Orga. At that time, both Faiz and Clover will become our stepping stones."

"Yes, Captain." The experimenter replied respectfully, his fingertips once again dancing across the screen, recording all of Lin Chen's data and storing it in the academy's core database.

Meanwhile, Lin Chen had already returned to his dormitory. He locked the door, drew the curtains, and mentally summoned the system panel. The pale blue screen slowly unfolded, displaying clear yet cold numbers:

Ultimate Evolution System

[Host: Lin Chen]

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

Core Attributes:

Physical fitness 43/118 (average human average 5)

Agility 35/107 (average human 5)

Spirit 37/82 (average human level 5)

Lifespan: 33 years

Evolution Points: 54

Looking at the evolution points on the panel, Lin Chen's lips curled into a faint smile. He had gained 50 evolution points from defeating the lion-type Orphnoch, enough to increase his core attributes by five points. He knew the Delta Belt was just Kurosawa's initial experiment on him; the next goal would definitely be to have him test the Earth Emperor Belt.

Three points were added to Constitution and two points to Agility. Lifespan increased by another 6 years, reaching 39 years.

...

"Captain Kurosawa, aren't we going to make a move?"

Lin Chen stood at the entrance of a library-style building, his gaze fixed on the battlefield by the lake in the distance, his tone hesitant. On the open ground by the lake, the dark red claws of the lobster Orphnoch were being held firmly by Faiz's photon sword, while the centipede Orphnoch's venomous stingers, though cunning, were constantly evaded by the agile footwork of the silver-armored warrior, clearly indicating that it was being suppressed and was in a losing position.

This morning, he had planned to patrol the academy as usual, using the opportunity to find out the latest movements of Tsukasa Kadoya and Lucky Clover. However, plans never keep up with changes. He had just stepped out of the dormitory building when he was summoned directly to this secluded corridor by Kurosawa's men. Kurosawa was still wearing his sharp white suit, an unlit cigarette between his fingers, and a square black case in his hand. His cold gaze was fixed on the fight not far away, and his aura was more oppressive than usual.

Lin Chen's gaze swept over the box in Kurosawa's hand, and he already had a guess in his mind, but he still suppressed all his thoughts and pretended to be waiting for instructions.

"No rush, Decade hasn't arrived yet."

The speaker wasn't Kurosawa beside him; a deep male voice came from the shadows deep in the stairwell, carrying a hint of nonchalant coldness. Lin Chen's pupils suddenly contracted, instantly turning into amber vertical pupils. His body tensed slightly, and the Orphic factors at his fingertips subconsciously stirred—he hadn't even noticed that there was someone else in the shadows. This ability to conceal his presence was definitely not something an ordinary Orphic could possess.

He wore a light brown, narrow-brimmed fisherman's hat, the brim pulled low, obscuring most of his forehead. He wore black-rimmed square glasses, his gaze sharp and deep behind the lenses. He wore a beige casual trench coat, its lightweight material swaying slightly in the wind, over which he wore a light blue shirt with the collar slightly open. He paired it with dark gray slim-fit trousers and black leather shoes.

He looked like a journalist or scholar who traveled around, dressed plainly, yet exuding an indescribable sense of mystery and oppression.

"Don't worry, Mr. Narutaki is our honored guest." Kurosawa seemed to sense Lin Chen's wariness and spoke slowly, giving Lin Chen an explanation.

Lin Chen's vertical pupils narrowed slightly, a storm raging in his heart. Narutaki! How could he be here! He didn't know Narutaki very well, but he knew this man was Tsukasa Kadoya's lifelong nemesis, viewing Decade as a "demon who destroys the world," and the phrase "Ono-like Decade" was etched into his very bones. He never expected Kurosawa to join forces with Narutaki, which meant the situation ahead would be far more complex than he had anticipated.

He suppressed the turmoil in his heart, slowly receding the Orpheus factor around him, his pupils returning to their human form. However, the vigilance in his eyes remained undiminished. He silently retreated to the side, continuing to stare at the battlefield below, while his mind rapidly calculated a way to deal with the situation.

On the lakeside battlefield not far away, the situation quickly changed. A piercing roar of a motorcycle approached from afar, and a black figure rode a motorcycle through the thin mist of the forest, heading straight for the battlefield—it was Tsukasa Kadoya. He landed with a somersault, his hand already reaching for the card box at his waist, about to transform into Decade, when Genda, in his dragon form, suddenly pounced from the side, his heavy bone blade slamming into Tsukasa Kadoya's wrist with tremendous force.

With a loud crash, Tsukasa Kadoya's transformation device was knocked off.

"Kurosawa-san, it's your turn to make your move." Seeing Tsukasa Kadoya appear but lose his transformation ability, Narutaki's eyes finally revealed a cold glint behind his glasses as he turned to Kurosawa and said, his tone urgent.

Kurosawa nodded, placed the black box he was carrying on the concrete railing in front of him, and unlocked it. Inside the box was a black velvet cloth, and in the center lay a jet-black belt—the Delta Belt.

He reached out and took the Delta Belt from the box, handing it to Lin Chen beside him, his tone cold and direct: "Go help Mr. Narutaki take down Tsukasa Kadoya and retrieve the Faiz Belt. Also, don't let Clover know your identity."

Lin Chen didn't hesitate for long, reaching out to take the Delta Belt, already understanding the situation. He had noticed the battle nearby when Kurosawa summoned him and understood Kurosawa's intentions—but he hadn't anticipated Narutaki's appearance, much less that he would have to deal with Decade first.

A sliver of hope lingered in his heart. He knew that Kaito Taiki was always inseparable from Kadoya Tsukasa. Since Kadoya Tsukasa was here, Kaito Taiki must be nearby, just hiding in the shadows. He gripped his Delta belt tightly, a calculating glint in his eyes. He didn't really want to attack Kadoya Tsukasa; his only hope was that Kaito Taiki would come to his rescue in time—after all, being called "Lady Kaito," she probably wouldn't just stand by and watch Kadoya Tsukasa be in dire straits. However, he had kept his identity a secret from Clover. It seemed Kurosawa had his own agenda.

Lin Chen walked to the edge of the stairwell, his back to Kurosawa and Narutaki, and fastened the Delta Belt around his waist: "Transform."

A deep, violent electronic sound instantly tore through the air, exploding in the empty corridor and by the lake—"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 silvery-white photonic blood rushed out along 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 matte, jet-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 that made the lakeside weeds sway wildly. The inverted triangle mask of death slowly closed, and the moment the helmet completely covered the head, the two amber compound eyes suddenly lit up with a scorching orange light. The Δ-shaped insignia on the breastplate gleamed with a chilling light against the backdrop of the silver light, like a death god from hell.

"Complete!"

As the final electronic announcement faded, Kamen Rider Delta's figure solidified completely, with silver-white photon blood surging across his jet-black armor.

Yesterday, during the trial in the underground plaza, he easily killed the Lion-type Orphnoch using Delta's ranged abilities, but he had never tried its melee capabilities. Now, holding the Delta belt and feeling the power surging within him, far exceeding that of the Tiger-type Orphnoch's complete form, a sense of anticipation arose in his heart. He wanted to test just how formidable this armor's melee combat strength truly was.

Instead of walking slowly down the stairs or heading towards the battlefield, he bent slightly, exerted force with his feet, and leaped forward, plummeting straight from the several-meter-high stairwell entrance to the center of the battlefield.

The black body ripped through the night sky, bringing with it a piercing whistle, the sound of air being torn apart echoing along the lake. The moment it landed, the powerful impact slammed into the concrete ground with a deafening "bang," instantly cracking the ground and sending spiderweb-like fissures spreading in all directions. Dust and gravel were whipped up by the violent shockwave, forming a brief barrier of smoke and dust.