As a weirdo, I like being a Kamen Rider.

After a full fifteen minutes, the comprehensive testing finally concluded. Lin Chen deactivated his transformation and walked out of the testing room. Ozawa Sumiko sat at the control panel, staring at the frozen data on the screen, oblivious to the lollipop falling from her lips onto the table.

Hikawa Seiya waited outside the testing room. He didn't have the same tech-obsessed look as Ozawa Sumiko, but when his gaze fell on Lin Chen, it was filled with undisguised seriousness. He knew very well what the armor performance he had just seen through the observation window meant for the front lines.

Ozawa Sumiko finally snapped out of her daze, rushed over, grabbed Lin Chen's arm, her eyes shining brightly, and her voice trembling: "Do you know what level of technology your armor is?! The hardness of the main alloy is more than 10 times that of the material used in G3 armor, but it only weighs four-fifths as much!"

However, your energy-driven system delivers high-power photon blood at a peak output 19 times that of G3, which is far too dangerous for the wearer!

However, the neural connectivity system is directly synchronized with the wearer's brainwaves, resulting in near-zero operational latency!

She took a deep breath and said, word by word, "These technologies are at least thirty years ahead of the Metropolitan Police Department's most advanced military technology! Which organization do you serve? Or some secret research institute?"

"I am not affiliated with any organization," Lin Chen said calmly. "This suit of armor was left to me by someone else. As for who that person was, the organization no longer exists, so mentioning their name is meaningless."

But upon hearing this, Ozawa Sumiko's eyes lit up even more than before, instead of delving into his background. Identity, background, mysterious origins—none of it mattered in the face of absolute technology. Her mind was now completely focused on the core technology of the Orga armor; even Lin Chen himself had become secondary.

She immediately pulled Lin Chen back to the testing room, making him transform into Orga again, holding a tablet in his hand, circling around the armor, rapidly recording data while firing off questions like a machine gun.

"What are the smelting formulas and processing techniques for armor alloys? Our current industrial capabilities simply cannot achieve this level of ultra-high purity refining!"

"How is the shock-absorbing and defensive structure of the multi-layered armor laid out? In the impact test just now, it withstood an armor-piercing round from the front, and the internal vibration amplitude was almost zero. This simply defies the laws of physics!"

"What is the energy linkage mechanism between the weapons and the main armor? Is there an upper limit to the maximum output power? What is the overload protection threshold?"

Lin Chen tried his best to respond to the basic operations and principles he could answer. However, he couldn't provide answers to those questions that involved specific details.

Even these basics were enough to send Sumiko Ozawa into a frenzy of technological obsession. She would clap her hands every now and then, muttering to herself, sometimes exclaiming, "So that's how it is! The improvement plan for G3-X is finally showing results!" and sometimes marveling, "This structure can actually be designed like this, it's simply a genius idea!" She was completely immersed in the world of data and blueprints, unable to see anything else.

Bingchuan Cheng stood to the side for a while, wanting to speak several times, but seeing that she was busy asking about the neural connection mechanism of Lin Chen's armor, the pen tip was moving so fast on the tablet that it looked like it was about to smoke, he put it back.

It wasn't until she threw herself back at the control panel, forgetting the question she'd only half-asleep about, and became completely absorbed in the data, that Bingchuan Cheng finally spoke: "Xiaoze, Mr. Lin Chen and I have other matters to discuss—"

Before she could finish speaking, Ozawa Sumiko waved her hand without turning around: "Okay, okay, take him away, don't bother me while I'm running the data!"

Bingchuan wasn't annoyed that his honest words had been cut off. He turned to Lin Chen, his tone calm: "That's just how she is. When she encounters a technology that interests her, she can even forget about food. Let's go out first."

Lin Chen nodded and followed Bingchuan Cheng out of the laboratory. The door behind them slowly closed, and they could still faintly hear Ozawa Sumiko's excited shouts.

The two walked along the metal corridor and eventually stopped by the base's floor-to-ceiling window.

Bingchuan Cheng turned around, faced Lin Chen, and bowed deeply with utmost solemnity.

"Mr. Lin Chen, on behalf of the Metropolitan Police Department's G3 squad, I am formally extending an invitation to you."

He raised his head, his eyes resolute, his tone sincere and without a trace of falsehood: "In the last three months, the number of attacks by unknown life forms has tripled, and the number of victims has been soaring. The casualty rate of our frontline team members has exceeded 40%. The performance limit of the G3 armor is becoming increasingly difficult to deal with these ever-evolving monsters. With only one combatant, I simply cannot handle all the attacks in Tokyo."

"We need your strength." Hikawa Makoto's gaze fell on Lin Chen, utterly serious. "We hope you can officially join Team G3 and fight alongside me against the unknown life form to protect the citizens of this city."

Lin Chen looked at Bingchuan Cheng's solemn face, remained silent for a few seconds, and then spoke.

"Okay, I'll join."

Bingchuan Cheng was clearly taken aback. He had been prepared to spend countless hours persuading Lin Chen and even agree to many conditions, but he never expected Lin Chen to agree so readily. He paused for two seconds, then a sincere and relieved smile appeared on his face, and he solemnly extended his hand.

"Welcome to Team G3, Mr. Lin Chen."

Immediately afterward, Bingchuan Cheng helped Lin Chen complete the onboarding procedures and gave him a detailed introduction to the G3 team. Lin Chen also briefly learned about the other team members. Two days passed in this way, and Lin Chen had become basically familiar with the team's situation.

Instead of staying in the dormitory provided by the Metropolitan Police Department, he returned to the noodle shop, hoping to help out Grandpa Sato. Xiaoxue was delighted to see Lin Chen return and say that he would continue to stay at the noodle shop.

...

On his third day with the G3 team, Lin Chen had already figured out the basic operating logic of the underground base.

Sumiko Ozawa spent almost all her waking hours analyzing data on the Orga armor. From yesterday to today, she had dragged Lin Chen through four basic performance tests. The whiteboard on the control panel was filled with the circuit formulas for the Photon Blood and the alloy ratio parameters for Luna Metal. Apart from technical instructions, she didn't bother with any unnecessary pleasantries. Only when the test data reached its limit would a hint of undisguised fervor flash in her eyes.

The person who interacted most with Lin Chen was Bingchuan Cheng.

It was 23:14 PM. The two had just returned from having a late-night snack at the base canteen and were walking along the corridor towards the rest area. Bingchuan Cheng was holding two cans of coffee and handed one to Lin Chen.

"The curry pork cutlet rice at the base canteen is pretty good, isn't it?" He smiled, his tone more relaxed than usual. "When I first came here, I ate this every day. Omuro said if I kept eating it, I'd turn into curry-flavored."

Just as the two were talking.

"Glacier, Mr. Lin Chen, emergency! A special energy wavelength has been detected at the Central Shopping Plaza in the East of the City; the Unknown has appeared!"

Almost at the same instant the alarm sounded, Hikawa Makoto rushed towards the location of the G3 armor. A moment later, the G3 armor appeared before Lin Chen: "Hikawa Makoto, donning and preparing, requesting detailed target parameters and operational instructions!"

In the main control room, Sumiko Ozawa was already seated at the main control panel. The screen, previously filled with formulas, had been switched to displaying on-site monitoring and energy waveforms, her fingers flying across the keyboard. Takahiro Omuro sat at the secondary control panel.

"Listen carefully, target Unknown-37. It is a new unknown entity, all previous countermeasures are null and void."

She paused, her gaze sweeping over the blue figure standing quietly at the shop entrance on the screen, and her voice deepened.

"The armored personnel carrier is already on standby at Exit 1 of the garage. The mobile command vehicle, led by the rear room, will depart first, with live footage throughout." Sumiko Ozawa's voice rang out last, carrying a hint of barely perceptible seriousness. "I will provide back-end support for you from the main control room throughout the entire process."

The two quickly arrived at the underground parking garage, the deep roar of the engine already filling the air. The rear hatch of the dedicated armored transport vehicle was open, and Bingchuan Cheng boarded first, followed closely by Lin Chen. The moment the hatch closed, the vehicle shot out of the garage like an arrow, shattering the silence of the night, and sped off towards the east of the city.

Fifteen minutes later, the G3 armored transport vehicle came to a steady stop outside the shopping plaza's cordon.

The scene had been cordoned off by the local police station with three layers of police tape, and red and blue police lights flashed alternately in the dark night. The mall had already closed, and all the shop windows facing the street had heavy roller blinds drawn, except for one emergency light still on in the women's clothing section on the third floor.

Ordinary police officers were stationed on the perimeter, and no one dared to step in. Half an hour earlier, two patrolling security guards had spotted the dark gray figure at the corner of the third floor. One of them was knocked unconscious before he could even scream, while the other managed to roll down the stairs and escape.

Hojo Toru, leaning against the First Investigation Division's police car, fiddled with his walkie-talkie. Seeing the rear door of the transport truck open and Hikawa Makoto, clad in full G3 armor, step out first, he immediately scoffed and strode forward, his tone dripping with undisguised sarcasm: "Hikawa, you've finally arrived. I thought you were going to wait in the hangar until the target was taken away before daring to emerge from the armor."

His gaze swept over Lin Chen, who was following behind Bingchuan, and he raised an eyebrow, his expression scrutinizing and questioning: "You're the newcomer who joined G3? Let me make this clear from the start: if anything goes wrong, the responsibility will fall entirely on your G3 team. The Investigation Division will not be held accountable."

Ignoring his taunts, Hikawa Makoto's calm voice came through the armor's loudspeaker as he addressed the command center via the communicator: "Hikawa Makoto, I have arrived at the scene and am requesting the latest updates."

Almost simultaneously, Ozawa Sumiko's voice from inside the mobile command vehicle clearly entered their earpieces. Her speech was fast and precise, yet carried a rare hint of solemnity: "Listen carefully, the target, Unknown, has been standing in front of the 307 women's clothing store for 27 minutes. Strangely, it hasn't moved or made any aggressive moves."

"There is only one person in the store, Kana Matsumoto, the store manager. She stayed in the store alone tonight to take inventory and is now hiding in the fitting room."

"The rescue must be completed before it launches its attack. Tail room, synchronize the mall layout diagram and countdown to the two-person terminals."

"Received!" Takahiro Omuro's voice followed immediately, and the terminal screen instantly refreshed with a complete floor plan of the shopping mall, with the target location marked in red.

Lin Chen raised his hand and pressed the earpiece, replying succinctly, "Received."

Hojo Toru, seeing the two about to walk inside, immediately stepped forward, arms crossed, and said coldly, "Wait. Hikawa, if you can't handle this, withdraw immediately. The First Investigation Division will take over the follow-up. Don't end up destroying the armor and failing to rescue the people, making a disgrace to the Metropolitan Police Department."

This sounds like a reminder, but it's actually a ploy to see him make a fool of himself so that he can legitimately seize control of the G3 system.

Without turning around, Hikawa Makoto raised the GM-01 reinforced rifle mounted on his back, made a standard tactical advance hand signal to Lin Chen, and said in a steady voice: "Mr. Lin Chen, I will advance from the left flank to draw attention. You go around to the back door of the shop through the fire escape on the right. While they are being held back by me, bring Ms. Matsumoto out. Keep communications open."

As soon as he finished speaking, he lowered his body and rushed into the dark shopping mall.