As a weirdo, I like being a Kamen Rider.

Chapter 79 The Silent Funeral

A week after Ashihara Ryo's body was discovered.

A cold autumn rain swept across the cemeteries along Tokyo Bay. Lead-gray clouds hung low, and the sea breeze, carrying a salty stench, swirled through the bare pines and cypresses. There was no funeral music, no wreaths, and hardly anyone was there to pay their respects.

Although they had never interacted with Ashihara Ryo, the G3 team still respected him.

Four cemetery workers in black raincoats carried a simple black coffin down the gentle slope. The coffin, devoid of any decoration, slowly sank into the grave. Shovelfuls of soil, softened by the rain, fell, the dull thuds echoing through the empty cemetery.

Sumiko Ozawa stood in the front row, her black trench coat collar turned up high, clutching a briefcase tightly in her arms—Ryo Ashihara's diary was locked inside, the only evidence recording the truth about the Dawn.

Bingchuan Cheng stood beside her, dressed in a well-fitting black mourning suit, his posture as straight as a javelin. His hands were clasped behind his back, his knuckles white from clenching his fists. Rain streamed down his chin as he stared intently at the coffin slowly being buried by the earth, the heaviness in his eyes hidden in silence.

Takahiro Omuro huddled behind Ozawa, keeping his head down the entire time.

Lin Chen leaned against a bare pine tree in the corner of the cemetery, his coat soaked through by the rain, his hair plastered to his forehead. He looked down at the swimming champion medal in his palm, the coolness of the metal seeping through his hand.

This lonely warrior, who transformed into GilIs and fought the Unknown to the very end, didn't even deserve a proper funeral.

The last shovelful of soil fell. A blue stone tombstone stood in the same spot, with only three characters engraved on it—訓原涼 (Ashihara Ryo).

Bingchuan Cheng slowly stepped forward, took out a well-worn G3 squad badge from his pocket, and gently placed it in front of the tombstone. He bowed deeply.

"Let's go back to base," Sumiko Ozawa said calmly.

Tail Chamber quickly followed. The workers packed up their tools and soon left the cemetery.

In an instant, Lin Chen was left alone in the empty cemetery.

The cold rain poured down harder, splashing tiny droplets on the tombstone. Lin Chen walked slowly to the grave, bent down, and gently placed the swimming champion medal next to the G3 badge.

Turning towards the G3 team, the black figure disappeared into the torrential rain. The sound of the waves faded into the distance, leaving only the cold rain washing over the neglected tombstone.

The convoy slowly drove into the G3 base and stopped. As soon as the group got out of the car, Toru Hojo was already guarding the entrance, his eyes fixed on Sumiko Ozawa in the group.

He had always dreamed of becoming the G3's dresser, and now he has the G3-X.

The old G3 armor was sitting idle and no one wanted to take it over. Hojo Toru then had an idea and decided to take over the equipment and make a name for himself in the mission against the Unknown.

Before everyone could rest, Toru Hojo stepped forward and formally applied to Sumiko Ozawa to become the costume designer for the old version of G3.

As soon as she finished speaking, Sumiko Ozawa's expression turned serious, and she immediately objected without softening her stance.

As the lead developer of the G3 series, she knew better than anyone the fatal flaws of the old armor: the fuselage was outdated, the defensive armor plates were not strong enough, and it simply could not withstand the impact of the unknown monstrous force; it had to be overhauled almost every time after the last few battles.

The internal drive system is old and clunky, making turning, dodging, and dashing very sluggish, leaving no room to maneuver when encountering a strange person.

In her eyes, this set of equipment was already incomplete and outdated, barely usable for daily training. To rashly throw it back into actual combat was tantamount to putting herself in danger, a completely pointless death.

Although she didn't know why Hojo wanted to apply for the uniform, she didn't want to agree.

Hojo refused to listen to Ozawa's advice, insisting that as a police officer, he had an obligation to go to the front line to deal with the Unknown disaster, and was determined to fight for the right to use the old version of G3.

Sumiko Ozawa looked at Toru Hojo, who was stubborn and competitive, and felt helpless.

However, Hojo continued to pester him relentlessly.

Seeing this, she could only try to stall for time, saying that the old version of G3 needed basic modifications to strengthen its defensive weaknesses, fine-tune its mobility system, and fix its most fatal flaws first. She asked Hojo to wait a little longer.

At the same time, strict rules were established: before the armor upgrade is completed, Hojo Toru is strictly prohibited from touching or activating the equipment without authorization, and is even more forbidden from wearing it to the site to carry out missions. If he violates the agreement, his application to wear the equipment will be immediately revoked without any leniency.

Hojo Toru heard that she had let go, and he breathed a sigh of relief as well.

After the agreement was quickly finalized, Hojo Toru said no more and turned to leave.

Watching his departing figure, Sumiko Ozawa frowned, wondering what he was up to.

Two days later, at 2:15 PM, in the main control room of the G3 base, Sumiko Ozawa had not paid any attention to the upgrade of the old version of G3 for the past two days, but was instead developing another new device.

Based on the energy fluctuations within Ashihara Ryo's body, the first Light Power Positioning Radar was officially launched.

For two whole days and nights, Sumiko Ozawa and her entire technical team worked around the clock, eating and sleeping in the laboratory, relying on coffee and energy bars to keep their energy up, and finally completed the first all-area light power positioning radar.

The radar itself is a giant circular display screen, occupying an entire wall of the main control room. A high-precision 3D map of Tokyo is projected onto the screen, clearly marking the locations of the G3 base, major police stations, hospitals, and schools. Dozens of signal receivers had already been installed overnight at signal towers throughout Tokyo, weaving a sophisticated monitoring network covering the entire city.

All relevant personnel were present in the control room.

Bingchuan Cheng had just finished his special training in the combat room. He was wearing his training uniform, with a thin layer of sweat on his forehead and his clothes slightly damp. His expression was calm and solemn.

Hojo Toru stood alone in the corner, hands in his pockets, his expression indifferent, but his fingertips unconsciously tapped his trouser leg, concealing his inner unease. Omuro Takahiro sat by the control panel, his expression tense, nervously rubbing his hands, unable to hide his inner tension.

"Is everything ready?" Sumiko Ozawa looked at everyone. Her voice was slightly hoarse from staying up late for several days, but she still maintained the calm and composure of a research leader.

"Ready!" everyone responded in unison.

"Start full-domain scan".

Sumiko Ozawa pressed the red start button on the control panel. The indicator lights on the screen lit up one by one, and the green scan lines slowly spread out from the center of Ginza, Tokyo, expanding outwards in concentric circles.

"Signal tower number one is connected normally."

"The connection to signal tower number two is normal."

"Energy calibration complete, error less than 0.1%."

"Full-area scan officially begins."

Everyone instinctively focused their attention, their eyes all locking onto the large screen.

As the scanning line slowly moved forward, scattered red dots appeared on the screen one by one. From one or two, they quickly spread to dozens and hundreds of red dots, increasing at a visible speed. From Ginza to Shinjuku, Shibuya to Ikebukuro, the bustling shopping districts in the city center, suburban residential areas, school buildings, and hospital streets—dense red dots, like ants, crawled all over the map of Tokyo.

Scan complete.

The numbers in the bottom right corner of the screen jumped rapidly, eventually settling on 13742.

The control room fell silent instantly.

Takahiro Omuro's face suddenly turned pale, and he almost dropped his pen. He quickly steadied himself, gripping it tightly, suppressing his shock, and remained steadfast at his post. Makoto Hikawa frowned slightly, his aura growing increasingly heavy. His fists naturally clenched, his expression composed, without any overreaction, only a heavy sense of gravity and responsibility.

Hojo Toru's expression darkened slightly, but he remained leaning against the wall, maintaining his arrogant posture. He did not lose his composure or show any panic, but there was a hint of seriousness in his eyes as he forcibly maintained his dignity and pride.

"Thirteen thousand seven hundred and forty-two people." Sumiko Ozawa's tone was calm and composed, without any fragility or trembling, simply stating the data objectively. "This is the population that has been detected to have awakened observable light power, accounting for approximately one ten-thousandth of Tokyo's total population."

She pulled up a line graph, and the curve on the screen rose steeply upwards: "And the number is still increasing by five to six hundred people per day."

At this rate of growth, the number of awakened individuals will exceed 20,000 in a week, over 100,000 in a month, and in three months—”

The words paused briefly, but no further explanation was needed; everyone present understood the deeper meaning. Three months later, the number of awakened beings of the power of light would reach one million, and the entire metropolis of Tokyo would be completely enveloped in the power of light.

Just then, the wall-mounted TV in the control room automatically switched to the midday news.

The female news anchor spoke with a mocking and dismissive tone: "Recently, there's been a craze for superpowers, with many people claiming to possess special abilities and posting various videos demonstrating them. Claims of bending steel with bare hands, moving objects through the air, and levitation are, according to Ichiro Yamamoto, a physics professor at the University of Tokyo, all special effects editing and magic trick hype, solely for gaining traffic. We urge citizens to view these claims rationally and not to easily believe rumors."

The scene shifts to street interviews, where passersby have mixed opinions, with most viewing it as a publicity stunt by an internet celebrity, and even those who encounter strange phenomena are dismissed as extortion or rumors.

The lighthearted and humorous portrayal of everyday life on television, contrasted with the dense red dots on the map, only served to accentuate the oppressive atmosphere in the control room.

Ordinary people treat the power of light as a joke, but only they know that it is a real anomaly, a huge crisis brewing in the shadows, while the world remains oblivious, complacent in its daily life.

"There's something even more alarming." Sumiko Ozawa pulled up an intelligence report, her expression becoming more serious. "Since four days ago, the day the light power within GiIIs disappeared, the Unknown attacks have come to an abrupt halt. There have been no new murders, no abnormal energy fluctuations, and the city's surveillance cameras have failed to capture any trace of them, as if they vanished from the face of the earth."

"Could it be that they are lying low and gathering strength, preparing to launch a general offensive?" Hikawa Makoto asked in a deep voice, his tone calm and restrained.

"That's possible," Sumiko Ozawa nodded, "but we can't rule out the possibility that they've changed to covert tactics that are completely unpredictable to us."

Lin Chen, who had been silently observing from the side, kept his eyes fixed on the screen full of red dots, a strong intuition rising in his heart. He knew that the Unknown were destined to hunt down those who inherited the power of light, and now that the number of awakened ones had increased ten thousandfold, it should have been their time to hunt indiscriminately, but suddenly they had all stopped and disappeared.

This is by no means a random retreat, nor is it simply a period of dormancy.

This eerie calm was merely the final pause before the storm; the turmoil to come would be far more dangerous and cruel than anyone anticipated.