As a weirdo, I like being a Kamen Rider.

Back on the train, Tsukasa Kadoya, Tatsumi Hayashi, and Onodera headed straight for the Hikari Photo Studio that was attached to the train car.

Momotaros had already reunited with his companions. Kintaros, Urtaros, and Rontaros were gathered in the center of the carriage. They had initially tried to maintain a composed demeanor and keep the carriage quiet. However, this attempt at quietness was too strained, and within seconds they began pushing and shoving each other.

The once quiet tram car was instantly filled with noisy laughter. The four idiots on the tram were wrestling together, and the tram was in complete chaos, with even the tram floor trembling slightly.

Tsukasa Kadoya leaned against the window of the photo studio, fiddling with the camera on his chest. The lens was slightly tilted, capturing the Imagin playing outside. A casual smile played on his lips as he gently pressed the shutter button. With a soft "click," the lively yet heartwarming scene was captured.

"Ouch—it hurts!"

Onodera lay on the sofa in the photo studio, clutching his buttocks and grimacing as he cried out, curled up in a pitiful yet comical manner.

After taking the photos, Tsukasa Kadoya glanced back at him, but instead of offering comfort, he held up his camera and snapped several more pictures of him grinning.

Koei Jiro was holding a clean rag, standing on tiptoe to wipe the graffiti on the curtain—it was something Rontaros had casually drawn during their earlier playful fight, the colorful lines crooked and taking up half of the curtain. The old man's movements were gentle, wiping it away bit by bit.

Lin Chen sat in a wooden chair by the window, a cup of warm black tea on the glass coffee table in front of him, the rising steam blurring his profile. His fingertips gently traced the rim of the porcelain cup, but his gaze was somewhat vacant, his thoughts already drifting far away.

The scenes from the daytime kept replaying in his mind—Tsukasa Kadoya, despite his seemingly carefree and irreverent demeanor, would always be the first to stand in front of ordinary people, never retreating even when attacked or repelled.

Just as I remembered from my past life, this man seemed to do whatever he wanted, but deep down he had an undeniable tenderness.

And what about yourself?

Spanning fifteen years, from initial fear and helplessness to a struggle for survival, and then to the calculated steps after awakening the power of the Orphnoch, his world revolves around only two goals: "to survive" and "to go home." For evolution points, he can hunt monsters without hesitation; for self-preservation, he can endure and lie low, observing from the sidelines.

He was used to being rational, used to being indifferent, used to hiding all his emotions in his heart, like a precisely operating machine, living only to achieve his goals.

Compared to Tsukasa Kadoya, he seems to be missing something.

It lacks that spontaneity, that vibrancy.

"Lin Jun?"

A gentle voice pulled Lin Chen back from his thoughts. He paused slightly, looked up, and saw Guang Xiahai standing not far away, looking at him with concern in her eyes. The girl's eyes were clear and bright, full of concern. Ever since they returned to the photo studio, she had noticed that Lin Chen had been sitting quietly, his eyes vacant, completely different from his usual self.

She gently touched Tsukasa Kadoya's arm beside her, gesturing with her eyes for him to come and take a look.

Tsukasa Kadoya raised an eyebrow, his teasing expression fading. He slowly walked to the chair next to Lin Chen and sat down. He casually picked up another cup of black tea from the coffee table, took a sip, and spoke in a relaxed tone, but with a hint of barely perceptible concern: "Hey, weirdo, what are you spacing out for? You look like you've lost your soul."

Hearing Tsukasa Kadoya's words, Lin Chen slowly came back to his senses. The emptiness in his eyes gradually faded, replaced by a complex emotion. He looked at Tsukasa Kadoya, remained silent for a moment, and then suddenly asked a strange question: "Hey, Tsukasa Kadoya, what kind of person do you think I am?"

Tsukasa Kadoya paused, his hand holding the teacup pausing. He raised an eyebrow in surprise, clearly not expecting such a question. He looked Lin Chen up and down, recalling their first encounter at Smart Brain Academy. This tiger-shaped Orphnoch had been mysterious and had filled him with wariness; later, as they traveled together, this man, though taciturn, always stepped up at crucial moments, proving surprisingly reliable.

Despite finding the question absurd, Tsukasa Kadoya still pursed his lips and truthfully said, "What a weirdo, bad-tempered, taciturn, and always wearing a cold face."

He paused, then looked away, his tone becoming somewhat indifferent: "But... he's still reliable enough, he hasn't held us back."

Lin Chen was slightly taken aback, not expecting such a response.

"You're just too tense." Tsukasa Kadoya glanced at him, hitting the nail on the head. "Since I've known you, I've never seen you relax. You live like a block of ice. Aren't you tired?"

Are you laughing?

Lin Chen lowered his head slightly, his fingertips clenching gently.

Of course he would smile. Before transmigrating, he was a cheerful boy. After transmigrating, he would smile when faced with Uncle Sato's concern. After joining the Hikari Photo Studio, he was enveloped in the warmth of the place, and he would unconsciously smile. However, those smiles were all too short-lived, and he subconsciously hid them away.

Fifteen years of loneliness and struggle had long since made him accustomed to disguising himself with indifference, as if only in this way could he protect the last remaining obsession in his heart.

"Lin-kun, you're so boring." Guang Xiahai also came over, squatted down in front of Lin Chen, rested her chin on her hands, and looked serious. "Relax once in a while, don't always keep your worries to yourself."

"Indeed." Koei Jiro stopped wiping, turned around and looked at Lin Chen gently, his wrinkles filled with warmth. "Young man, don't always be so hard on yourself. Smile, nothing is insurmountable."

Tsukasa Kadoya immediately grabbed his camera and came over, grinning and teasing, "Come on, give me a smile, I'll take a picture of you as a souvenir—after all, it's harder for a cool and aloof eccentric to smile than for an Imagin to stay quiet."

Lin Chen sat in a chair, surrounded by people, bathed in warm yellow light. He heard gentle persuasion and awkward concern in his ears. There was no deliberate sentimentality, only genuine warmth.

Fifteen years.

Since his transmigration, he had never been enveloped in such unreserved warmth, and no one had ever cared so openly about whether he was happy or not.

Lin Chen's lips twitched slightly. At first, they were a little stiff, but looking at the sincere faces in front of him and at this photo studio, the tightest string in his heart finally relaxed quietly.

He slowly raised his head, the coldness and aloofness in his eyes completely fading, replaced by a gentle clarity. The corners of his mouth turned up slightly, forming a faint yet incredibly genuine smile.

There was no deliberate pretense, no forced perfunctory response; the smile simply came naturally.

Lin Chen's features were already handsome, and when he smiled, it was as if ice and snow melted away and a spring breeze swept by, softening even his cold and hard temperament.

"Click—"

Tsukasa Kadoya precisely pressed the shutter, freezing this moment forever.

He glanced down at the camera, clicked his tongue, and said with a look of disgust, "It's still blurry."

Guang Xiahai immediately leaned over to look. Even though the photo was slightly blurry, she could still clearly see the warmth in Lin Chen's eyes. She couldn't help but exclaim, "Even though it's blurry, it's still so beautiful! Lin-kun's smile is so gentle!"

"That's more like it." Koeijiro nodded with a smile, his tone gratified. "Young people should act like young people."

Lin Chen lightly touched the corner of his mouth with his fingertips, the warmth of his smile still lingering. It turned out that smiling from the heart could be so relaxing.

Onodera sat up, rubbing his bottom. He was about to grumble and complain, but the warm atmosphere silenced him. He silently rubbed his back and looked at the scene before him, a slight smile playing on his lips.

But this excitement didn't last long.

The tram suddenly emitted a slight mechanical hum, the carriage swayed gently, the light outside the window was slightly distorted, and the laughter inside the carriage stopped abruptly.

Tsukasa Kadoya's expression changed slightly. He quickly walked to the window and looked outside—the four idiots who had been bickering just moments before were nowhere to be seen. The empty carriage was eerily quiet, with only the faint, intermittent sounds of spatial distortion coming from within.

"Where are Momotaros and the others?" Hikari Natsumi also leaned towards the window, looking at the empty carriage with a puzzled expression.

"I'll go take a look!" Tsukasa Kadoya put down his camera, turned around, and was about to push open the door to leave.

"etc."

Koeijiro's voice suddenly rang out, gentle yet carrying an undeniable firmness.

Everyone turned around to see the old man put down the rag, slowly walk to the painting, gently raise his hand to stroke the patterns on the painting, and say calmly, "There's no need to go. They have their own world to protect, and we... should also head to the next world."

As soon as he finished speaking, the lighting in the photo studio suddenly changed, and the backdrop behind him slowly fell.

On the previously blank canvas, a new image gradually emerges—

The towering iron tower stands between heaven and earth, its steel outline cold and hard, piercing the clouds. At the very bottom of the image, a hand extends from the base, its index finger pointing straight to the sky.