As a weirdo, I like being a Kamen Rider.

Chapter 76 The Old Man's Worries

When we arrived at the G3 team's base, the sky was just beginning to lighten. The lights in the training room were already on.

Hikawa Makoto was inside. He was wearing a black training suit, demonstrating basic physical fitness, and his punches and kicks were clean and crisp. Lin Chen was used to his uninterrupted training. But upon closer inspection today, he noticed that Hikawa's movements were a beat slower than usual—his body hadn't recovered from yesterday's battle, and he probably hadn't slept well last night.

"Didn't you listen to Xiaoze and go to bed last night?" Lin Chen pushed open the door and put his coat on the shelf.

Glacier stopped punching, took a breath, and turned around. His forehead was covered in sweat, and his eyes were bloodshot. "I was too excited. I woke up at four o'clock and couldn't sleep, so I decided to train." He wiped his face with a towel. "I saw that there were two more attacks last night, but the base didn't detect them."

Lin Chen didn't reply, but stood opposite him and assumed the starting stance for sparring.

Bingchuan didn't say anything more. The two began in tacit understanding—the wind of their fists clashed, their footwork shifted, and the dull thuds of their collisions echoed in the empty training room. Bingchuan's punches were heavier than usual, each strike carrying an unspoken emotion: anger, helplessness, and a sense of self-reproach for "why couldn't I stop it?"

Lin Chen caught his straight punch, used the force to turn to the side, and pressed his elbow down on the wrist. The force was not great, but it just made him lose his balance.

"Your punches were too slow today."

"Me One"

"It's not because you weren't asleep. It's because you were thinking about something else with every punch."

Glacier paused for half a second, then withdrew his fist and stood up straight, offering no rebuttal.

Lin Chen also stopped. "No traces of their actions were detected. That's not your responsibility."

"I know," Glacier said. But his clenched fist betrayed him.

After a moment of silence, Lin Chen resumed his starting stance. "Again."

The morning's routine proceeded as planned: case file organization, equipment maintenance, and duty reporting. The on-site investigation reports for the two attacks in Shibuya Ward arrived at the G3 terminal at 10:20 AM. Sumiko Ozawa noted several anomalies: the two victims were attacked less than 300 meters apart and almost simultaneously. This meant that at least two unknown attacks occurred in Shibuya Ward at the same time yesterday.

In coordinated action.

"Coordinated action." Sumiko Ozawa placed the tablet on the table, her tone noticeably colder than usual. "They've never appeared together before. This is the first time."

"Could it be a coincidence?" Takahiro Omuro asked cautiously.

"The probability is too small." Ozawa shook his head. "Two Unknowns appearing at the same time in different locations in the same block, accurately finding two unrelated targets, and then attacking at the same time—this is not random hunting."

She looked at Lin Chen and Bingchuan. "This is not good news."

In the evening, Xiaoze called Lin Chen back before she left work. Unlike usual, she didn't give instructions in a commanding tone. Instead, she leaned against the control room door, holding her black coffee, and said, "Just keep the terminal on. You need to have your own time."

Lin Chen nodded and turned to leave.

As they reached the door, Ozawa added, "When are you going to take me to Sato's tonkotsu ramen?"

Lin Chen paused, but didn't turn around. "Anytime."

It was 11:03 PM, after the noodle shop closed. The temperature had started to drop after late autumn. There was a level 4 northwest wind, and a strong wind was blowing outside the window. The leaves were hitting the glass and making a "rustling" sound, like someone was gently tapping on the window.

An old Toshiba CRT television was broadcasting breaking news. The female news anchor's voice was grave: "Last night, two unknown attacks occurred in Shibuya Ward, resulting in two deaths. The Metropolitan Police Department reminds the public to avoid going out at night as much as possible, and to immediately call the Metropolitan Police Department if you encounter any suspicious persons."

66

Lin Chen had just finished washing the dishes and was wiping the stove. There was a little flour on his apron, which he had gotten on it that afternoon when he helped Grandpa Sato knead dough. He was watching the news on TV and remembered the files on the deceased that he had seen at the G3 base that morning. His brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.

The patterns of attacks by the unknown have been completely altered.

Initially, the Unknown attackers targeted only passengers and their families from the Dawn incident. However, starting about two weeks ago, they began indiscriminately hunting ordinary humans. The two victims in Shibuya Ward today, one a company employee and the other a student, had no connection to the Dawn incident.

I don't know what happened.

Lin Chen felt a little heavy-hearted. Although the G3 team had prevented many unknown attacks with his addition, people still kept dying in unknown places.

Genji Sato picked up the remote and turned off the TV. The shop instantly fell silent, save for the crackling of the firewood in the fireplace. The orange glow of the fire cast long shadows of the two men on the wall, swaying slightly with the flickering flames.

He went to the back kitchen and took out a bottle of sake that had been stored for ten years from the back of the cabinet. The bottle had a faded cherry blossom label on it; it was a gift from his son, Takeru Satoh, for his wedding, and he had always been reluctant to drink it. He placed the bottle in hot water for five minutes, and the rich aroma of the sake slowly filled the air.

Then he took two rough porcelain cups and sat down opposite Lin Chen. He poured Lin Chen a full cup and himself half a cup. The sake swirled gently in the cups, reflecting the firelight from the brazier and gleaming with an amber luster.

Lin Chen put down the rag, took off his apron, and folded it neatly, placing it to the side. He sat down quietly, resting his hands on his knees, and looked at the sake in his glass.

The old man took a sip of his drink, his gaze falling on the photograph hanging on the wall. The photograph was yellowed and worn at the edges; it showed a young couple holding a baby in swaddling clothes, smiling happily. The man's features bore a resemblance to Bingchuan Cheng, exuding a dashing air. The woman held the child, her eyes gentle, a blissful smile on her lips.

"This is my son, Takeru Satoh, and my daughter-in-law, Shuko Suzuki." The old man's voice was a little hoarse as he gently stroked the glass surface of the photograph with his fingers. "Five years ago, they were driving to the countryside to visit relatives when they had a car accident and died on the spot. Only Yuki was left behind; she was only two years old at the time."

He took another sip of sake, the spiciness making him cough a few times. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, looked out at the dark night sky, and lowered his voice: "I used to think that life would just go on like this. Raise Xiaoxue, watch her go to elementary school, middle school, get married, and then I can close my eyes and see them. But now there are more and more monsters—"

"Last night, I got up to close the window and saw a black shadow running in the alley. It ran very fast and disappeared in an instant. I was so scared that I didn't dare to sleep all night and sat up holding Xiaoxue for half the night. I'm old, I have a bad heart and high blood pressure, and I don't know when I'll be gone."

66

He paused, turned his head, and his gaze fell on Lin Chen. His cloudy eyes were full of pleading, and a hint of barely perceptible fear. He looked at Lin Chen as if he had grasped at the last straw.

"Lin Jun, I know you don't do ordinary work." The old man's voice trembled slightly. "I won't ask who you are or where you come from. I only ask you one thing: if I'm gone one day, could you—take care of Xiaoxue for me?"

Lin Chen's fingers tightened suddenly around the wine glass. Water droplets from the glass trickled down his fingers, dripping onto the wooden table and spreading into a small stain.

He looked into the old man's eyes. In those eyes were fear, reluctance, and the last hope of an old man. He had experienced too many partings and deaths in his life, and now his only concern was Xiaoxue.

The sound of Xiaoxue's even breathing came from the inner room. She was already asleep, still clutching the painting in her hand.

Lin Chen did not speak.

He put down his wine glass, looked into Genji Sato's eyes, and nodded solemnly.

There were no promises, no vows, just this nod. But this nod carried more weight than any words.

Grandpa Sato let out a long sigh of relief, his heart finally at ease. He raised his glass to Lin Chen: "Thank you, Mr. Lin. I'd like to toast you."

.

After saying that, he drank it all in one gulp.

Lin Chen also picked up his wine glass and drank it all in one gulp. The spiciness of the sake slid down his throat into his stomach, carrying a hint of warmth.

The wind was still blowing outside the window, swirling fallen leaves that rustled against the glass. Only the aroma of sake and the silent breathing of the two remained in the noodle shop. The firelight from the fireplace cast a glow on Lin Chen's face, half bright, half shadow.

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, Lin Chen finished washing up. The warmth of the sake from the previous night had long since dissipated, replaced by a heavy, sober feeling on his shoulders.

He had just stepped off his motorcycle when the communicator on his waist suddenly vibrated. A red emergency command light illuminated—

"Attention all team members! An unidentified body has been found on a rocky beach along the Tokyo Bay coast. The body exhibits extensive abnormal tissue proliferation, and three incompletely degenerated spiky protrusions remain on its back. This closely matches the characteristics of the green humanoid unidentified creatures recently sighted in multiple locations. Lin Chen and Bingchuan Cheng, proceed to the scene immediately for investigation!"

Lin Chen paused for a moment.

Green corpses with spiky protrusions. These are the biological characteristics of GiIIs.

Is GilIs also having problems?