As a weirdo, I like being a Kamen Rider.

Looking at the empty ground, Lin Chen stopped and stood still. The Earth Emperor Armor slowly dissipated, revealing a somewhat regretful expression. The slash that had just been condensed with photon energy was only half an inch away from killing the transformed Royal Bee, but at the last moment, Royal Bee was rescued by Steel Fighter in the Time-Rising Transformation.

Almost.

If it were just half a second faster, this alien insect lurking in human form would have become an evolutionary point.

"Why...why did you attack my brother just now?"

A trembling female voice came from behind.

Mayu's eyes were slightly red, her hands clenched tightly, and her gaze towards Lin Chen was full of incomprehension and questioning. In her eyes, the person Lin Chen had just killed was her beloved brother, the relative she had been hoping was still alive.

Tsukasa Kadoya also deactivated his transformation and asked Lin Chen what he meant by what he said before the battle: How could the captain of Jet possibly be a Worm, and why did he try to kill him just now?

Both of their eyes fell on Lin Chen, waiting for his explanation.

Lin Chen looked at the two of them without the slightest panic, and said with certainty, "That's just a strange insect, not your brother." The last part of the sentence was said to Mayu alone.

"An alien insect? I don't believe it." Mayu didn't want to believe this fact.

She took an excited step forward, wanting to confront him. The sight of her beloved brother appearing before her had already thrown her into a state of confusion.

Tsukasa Kadoya gently reached out to stop him. He remained calm, tilting his head slightly towards Lin Chen: "Have you explained yourself? I am an Orphnoch."

Lin Chen spoke to Kadoya Tsukasa, while Mayu was somewhat puzzled, wondering what kind of riddle the two were playing, and what Orphnoch was.

"The Orphnochs have a deep understanding of human life energy. Mimicry monsters like the Zerg cannot imitate this energy fluctuation at all. Although they look exactly the same, they are still what we perceive them to be."

"I see. That explains why I recognized the fake one at a glance this morning," Tsukasa Kadoya said, suddenly realizing.

"That's just... a different kind of insect..."

Mayu stood there, stunned, staring blankly in the direction Captain Jet had disappeared. Her lips trembled slightly as she repeatedly murmured Lin Chen's words. The joy of regaining what she had lost vanished in an instant, leaving only a deeper sense of bewilderment and pain.

"So...was my brother still killed by Kabuto?"

The girl looked up, her eyes red-rimmed, tears welling up in them, her voice so soft it seemed it might be blown away by the wind at any moment.

Looking at her vulnerable appearance, Lin Chen remained silent for a moment, then gently shook his head.

"no."

"No?" Mayu looked up abruptly, a faint light flashing in her eyes. "But I clearly saw it with my own eyes... Kabuto attacked my brother, and he never came back..."

"What if it wasn't your brother who was attacked that day?"

Lin Chen's voice was calm, yet it was like a pebble thrown into a lake, instantly creating ripples.

Mayu froze, staring blankly at him, unable to grasp the meaning of his words for a moment.

Standing to the side, Tsukasa Kadoya crossed his arms, his fingertips lightly tapping his elbow, his previously nonchalant gaze gradually sharpening. He stared at Kabuto, who was still moving at high speed in the distance, leaving only a red afterimage, and a knowing smile appeared on his lips.

"I think I understand."

Tsukasa Kadoya spoke slowly, his voice clearly reaching everyone's ears.

The two looked at him, but he didn't say anything more. This made Lin Chen a little annoyed. Then he gestured for Kadoya Tsukasa to tell him what he knew, and even made a laughing finger gesture, meaning he would tell on him.

Kadoya Tsukasa never expected Lin Chen to have this side to him, and helplessly voiced his speculation.

"Things aren't what you think at all. The real truth is the opposite."

Mayu trembled, clutching the hem of her clothes tightly, holding her breath as she waited for what would happen next.

"Kabuto-oh, that's your brother himself."

As soon as those words fell, Mayu felt as if struck by lightning. She staggered back a step, shaking her head in disbelief: "Impossible... How could this be... If Kabuto is my brother, why doesn't he come home? Why is he hiding from me?"

"Because what he was trying to kill wasn't himself, but the Worm that was mimicking him." Tsukasa Kadoya said with certainty, his fingertips pausing for half a second on his arm. "That Worm perfectly replicated your brother's appearance, but it didn't inherit his feelings for you and Grandma. When your brother found out, he naturally had to take care of this imposter himself."

"But... he didn't manage to kill the bug completely."

Tsukasa Kadoya paused, his gaze falling on the red figure that was still moving at high speed, his fingertips pausing for half a second: "Instead, for some unknown reason, they've been trapped in the Hyper-Accelerated World."

"That escaped insect later took your brother's place. It only harbored hatred for King Kabuto and had no affection whatsoever as an 'older brother,' so naturally it wouldn't go home, much less acknowledge you and Grandma."

"That's why you've always believed that your brother was killed by Kabuto."

The complete logical chain is clearly laid out, and all the unreasonable parts are instantly connected.

Why does Kabuto always appear the moment Mayu is in danger?

There is only one answer to everything.

Kabuto-oh is her older brother.

Mayu stood there, her mind flashing back to past scenes: the red afterimage that would suddenly appear whenever she was in danger, the figure that silently protected her from afar, the knight who could find her accurately no matter where she fled...

They weren't enemies, but family.

It turns out that her brother had never left her, never forgotten her, and had always been protecting her in this way, never leaving her side.

"Brother...brother..."

Mayu choked back tears, which finally broke free and slid down her cheeks.

Just then, the red figure moving at high speed suddenly erupted with a strong shockwave.

Kabuto had clearly heard everyone's conversation and desperately wanted to stop, to show himself, and to hug his crying sister. But he was trapped in the Hyper Accelerated World, his body moving at high speed uncontrollably, only able to run around Mayu in circles, unable to utter a single word of comfort.

A red afterimage kept flashing by, bringing with it gusts of breeze that gently brushed against Mayu's hair, like a clumsy yet tender caress.

He was comforting her.

He is apologizing.

He was desperately trying to tell her—I'm here.

Mayu squatted down, hugged her knees tightly with both hands, and buried her head in her hands, crying bitterly.

Joy and sorrow overwhelmed her at the same time.

The joy was that her brother was still alive and hadn't left her; he was always by her side. The sorrow was that the siblings were so close, yet it was as if they were separated by an insurmountable wall. He couldn't stop, she couldn't touch him, and they couldn't even have a normal conversation. It was no different from being separated by death.

Lin Chen looked at the girl who was squatting on the ground and crying uncontrollably, and then at Kabuto King who was moving around at high speed in circles, full of anxiety and helplessness. A complex sense of empathy rose in his heart.

Having traversed fifteen years, he had long since grown accustomed to loneliness and to struggling to survive alone. Yet, looking at the brother and sister before him, forced to separate, he could still clearly feel the profound weight of their familial bond.

That was the warmth he once had, but could never return to.

"Let's go back first."

Tsukasa Kadoya's voice broke the silence, his tone still nonchalant.

Lin Chen nodded, stepped forward, gently patted Mayu's shoulder, and said nothing.

The two of them, along with Mayu, headed towards the Paradise House Oden shop.

Behind them, the red afterimage disappeared, but all three knew that he must be nearby.

Back at the oden shop, Mayu wiped away her tears, mustered her strength, and told her grandmother that her brother was still alive.

The old man was taken aback at first, then tears welled up in his cloudy eyes. His wrinkled hands trembled slightly, but he simply nodded and didn't ask any more questions.

She probably had a vague idea of ​​the truth long ago, but she was unwilling to reveal it. She kept guarding the small shop and the unchanging soup base, waiting for the person who would come back one day.

"Thank you all for today."

Mayu raised her head and bowed deeply to Tsukasa Kadoya and Lin Chen, her eyes filled with gratitude. "If it weren't for you, I might never have known the truth in my entire life."

"It's nothing," Tsukasa Kadoya waved his hand dismissively.

"To thank you all, and to celebrate that my brother is still alive, I'm treating you all to dinner today. You must stay and eat." Mayu's tone was firm and brooked no refusal.

Before the two could respond, she had already turned and run into the kitchen to help her grandmother.

A rich aroma quickly filled the small shop. The iron pot bubbled and boiled, with radishes, eggs, and tofu puffs simmering slowly in the broth. The warm fragrance permeated the air, dispelling the previous heaviness and sorrow.

A simple bowl of oden was served, and Mayu and her grandmother sat opposite them, watching Tsukasa Kadoya and Chen Lin pick up their chopsticks.

"I'm starting to eat."

Lin Chen ate silently, the warm soup sliding down his throat, the warmth spreading from his esophagus to his limbs.

A simple dinner was eaten in an exceptionally quiet manner.

As they finished eating and left, Mayu saw them to the door, her eyes still filled with worry: "Can my brother... really come back?"

Lin Chen did not speak.

Tsukasa Kadoya raised an eyebrow: "Who knows?"

As soon as she finished speaking, a gentle breeze blew by, swirling up a fallen leaf that landed at Mayu's feet.

The two said goodbye and turned to walk towards the Guangzhao Photo Studio.

Back at the photo studio.

Mitsu Natsumi, Onodera, and Mitsujiro were all sitting in the living room. When they saw the two return, they immediately surrounded them.

"Shi, Mr. Lin, why are you back so late?" Hikari asked with a worried expression.

Tsukasa Kadoya shrugged and recounted everything that had just happened, along with his own speculations.

"So Kabuto is Mayu's brother... That's so unexpected." Hikari Natsumi covered her mouth, her eyes filled with surprise, then a look of heartache appeared on her face. "But... he's trapped in the Accelerated World, unable to stop, and unable to go home. That's so pitiful."

"They are so close, yet they cannot recognize each other. It's no different from being separated by death..." Onodera sighed, his face full of sympathy.

Kōei Jirō, leaning on his cane, nodded gently: "What a pair of unfortunate siblings."

Hikari Natsumi raised her head, her eyes bright and determined, and looked at Tsukasa Kadoya and Tatsumi Hayashi: "Tsukasa, Hayashi-kun, let's help them!"

She didn't want to see the brother and sister separated forever, didn't want to see Mayu living in waiting and sorrow, and even less did she want to see Kabuto forever trapped in the lonely Accelerated World, bearing everything alone.

Lin Chen nodded slightly: "Mm."

He could empathize with Mayu's longing and understand Kabuto's helplessness. Moreover, he gradually remembered the dream he had abandoned and why he had once liked Kamen Rider.

Tsukasa Kadoya looked at Hikari Natsumi's expectant face, then at Lin Chen who was nodding, sighed helplessly, and said with a "what a nuisance" expression, but still lazily said, "Honestly, she has to meddle in other people's business wherever she goes..."

Despite saying that, he showed no sign of refusing.