As a weirdo, I like being a Kamen Rider.

Chapter 80 Superpowers

Sato's noodle shop was still packed with diners. The heater was burning brightly, and the orange flames danced and crackled softly inside. The milky white pork bone broth bubbled and boiled in the pot, its rich aroma filling the entire shop. It was a blend of the salty and savory flavors of soy sauce, the fresh scent of scallions, and the rich, oily aroma of char siu, warming the room and melting away any chill.

The TV on the wall was playing news on a loop about how "superpowers are just rumors and hype," and the diners chattered amongst themselves while eating their steaming ramen.

"I saw the news yesterday about a woman who can actually make cups float; it looked so real!"

"It's just something to fool laymen; it's all special effects created by fishing line. Anyone could do that."

"That's right. Nowadays, people will create any gimmick to grab attention. In a while, I'm afraid everyone will be bragging about being able to fly or disappear into the ground."

Lin Chen carried a bowl of ramen and slowly delivered it to table number three by the window. His gaze seemed casual, but in reality, it subtly swept over every diner in the restaurant.

Unable to discern through perception, he could only rely on his naked eyes to silently capture those subtle and unusual anomalies in the crowd.

A week has passed since Ashihara Ryo was buried. Unbeknownst to many, a large number of ordinary people in Tokyo have awakened the power of light.

A gray-suited office worker sat alone in the corner, head down, frantically shoveling food into his ramen, his right hand clenched tightly into a fist under the table. Lin Chen could clearly see that the pair of stainless steel chopsticks in front of him were bent nearly thirty degrees by the force, the original grain of the chopsticks worn away and blurred. The man occasionally looked up, scanning his surroundings warily, his eyes filled with fear and unease, like a startled prey with nowhere to hide.

Three high school students were loudly mocking online rumors about superpowers yesterday when the boy with dyed blond hair reached for a glass on the table. The moment his fingertips touched the glass, a faint golden light flashed and disappeared in an instant, as fast as a hallucination. The blond-haired boy was startled and jerked his hand back, the glass crashing to the table with a clatter, spilling soup all over it. His face instantly turned pale, and he frantically grabbed tissues to wipe himself clean, muttering to himself that his hand had slipped and he'd made a mistake, trying to hide his panic.

Around breakfast time, a middle-aged woman with a child accidentally knocked over a soy sauce bottle on the table. Just as the bottle was about to hit the ground, it abruptly paused for a moment, about ten centimeters off the ground, before falling normally and shattering into pieces. The woman stiffened slightly, hurriedly looking around. Seeing that no one was paying attention to her, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief, cursing her bad luck as she bent down to clean up the scattered soy sauce stains.

Yesterday, on the way to the G3 base, there was a little boy, about four or five years old, clutching a red balloon. The balloon unexpectedly slipped from his hand and floated into the sky. The boy instinctively reached out his little hand and called out in a clear voice, "Come back!"

The balloon, which had already flown high into the air, actually swayed gently, slowly turned back, and landed in the boy's palm. The boy's mother's face changed drastically, her eyes filled with fear. Without saying a word, she grabbed her child and walked away.

Over the past few days, Lin Chen has witnessed all of this and now understands the situation perfectly.

They mingled in the everyday life of the city, eating, working, and living alongside ordinary people, their outward appearance showing no difference whatsoever. Yet, no one dared to reveal their difference, fearing being ostracized and isolated as an outsider.

But they didn't realize that from the moment they awakened, they had already been teetering on the edge of death.

In order to maintain public order, the authorities did not widely publicize the incidents of monsters hunting special groups.

"Chen-kun, please take this bowl of char siu noodles to table number five." Sato Genji's voice came from the kitchen.

"Okay," Lin Chen replied, turning around to get the noodles.

Just then, the police communicator on his waist suddenly vibrated.

It is Bingchuan Cheng.

Lin Chen walked to a secluded corner and pressed the answer button.

"Mr. Lin Chen, where are you?" Bingchuan Cheng's tone was deep and serious, with a hint of solemnity.

"I'm at the noodle shop. What's up?"

"Another murder has occurred, this time at a bakery in Shibuya Ward. I've arrived at the scene, and it's all very strange. There are many things that don't make sense, so I'd like to ask you to come and help me analyze the situation."

"A strange murder case?" Lin Chen frowned. "How is it strange?"

"The deceased was Hisashi Hanamura, the male owner of Hanamura Bakery. He was found dead in the kitchen this morning by his employees."

The cause of death was—spontaneous combustion of the entire body. "Hikari Makoto's voice paused, but his tone remained calm and composed. "No accelerant residue was found at the scene. At first, I thought it was an attack by an unknown entity, but what's most unusual is that the deceased showed no signs of struggle before death, and was unusually calm. I highly suspect that it may have been committed by an awakened superpowered individual."

Lin Chen became serious. His worst fears had come true; finally, a superhuman had lost control of himself.

"I'll be right there."

He hung up the call, walked to the kitchen door, and said to Genji Sato, "Old man, there's an urgent matter at the base, I have to go now."

Sato Genji stopped what he was doing, nodded gently, wiped the flour off his hands, and said with the concern of an elder, "Go on, business is important. Things have been a bit unsettled outside lately, so be careful on the road."

, 1

Lin Chen picked up his coat from the back of the chair and quickly walked out of the noodle shop.

The sun was shining brightly outside, the streets were bustling with pedestrians, children were playing and laughing on the roadside, and couples were strolling hand in hand. Everything looked peaceful and beautiful.

The area outside the Hanamura Bakery has been cordoned off with yellow police tape, and a few passersby have stopped at a distance to watch quietly.

Several police cars were parked quietly on the side of the road, their red and blue lights flashing alternately.

Hojo Toru also arrived at the same time, and the two exchanged a slight greeting.

A pungent, burnt smell lingered in the air, mixed with the lingering sweet aroma of bread, creating a strange and nauseating atmosphere.

Lin Chen and Hojo Toru walked to the cordon together. The police officers on duty saw Hojo Toru with Lin Chen, but did not stop Lin Chen and let him bend down and walk in.

Hikawa Makoto, dressed in a blue investigation uniform, was standing at the scene, speaking quietly with the forensic pathologist. He caught sight of Lin Chen and Hojo Toru approaching and immediately went to greet them.

"You've arrived."

"How is the situation?" Lin Chen asked.

"This is highly unusual." Hikawa Makoto's expression was grave and serious. "The deceased, Hanamura Hisashi, had been running this bakery for several years. He had an excellent reputation among the neighbors, was known for his gentle nature, and had no known enemies or disputes. This morning at eight o'clock, when the staff arrived for work, they found the shop door ajar. Upon entering, they discovered the body in the kitchen. The forensic pathologist has preliminarily determined that the time of death was around midnight last night, and the cause of death was spontaneous combustion. The body was completely burned, leaving only the skeleton and some charred tissue."

As he spoke, he led Lin Chen and the other man slowly into the control room at the back.

The operating room was a mess, with black char marks covering the floor and walls, and the smell of burning in the air grew stronger. The remains of the deceased lay quietly on a small stool next to the control panel, in an unusually peaceful and upright posture. He sat upright with his hands naturally placed on his knees, his back straight, and his head slightly lowered, as if he were taking a nap with his eyes closed.

"This is also the most unusual thing about the scene." Bingchuan Cheng pointed to the wreckage on the ground, his tone calm and solemn, without any extra emotion. "When a normal human body spontaneously combusts, the person will struggle violently due to severe pain, with muscle spasms and twisting, and the skeletal posture will inevitably be disordered and deformed. But he is different. The position of his bones is intact without any displacement, without the slightest trace of struggle, as if he was peacefully and silently submerged in the flames, without any pain."

Lin Chen didn't follow Hikawa's line of thought in his investigation. He wasn't a detective, nor did he have any professional knowledge of criminal investigation. If Hikawa hadn't judged that it was related to superpowered individuals, he wouldn't have been called over at all. The reason Hikawa explained things in such detail was to explain the situation at the scene to Hojo Toru.

Lin Chen surveyed the scene.

The scorch marks on the ground were extremely neat, precisely covering only the deceased and the small stool beneath him, with an error of less than a centimeter. Half a meter away, several unopened bags of flour were piled up, the bags intact, even the paper labels on them were not charred by the high temperature.

On the worktable was a tray of bread dough waiting to be put into the oven, less than a meter away from the deceased, and it also showed no signs of burning.

A small section of the metal workbench edge was scorched and deformed by the high temperature, and the deformed outline perfectly matched the shape of the deceased.

"The combustion temperature is extremely high, at least 1,500 degrees Celsius or higher, enough to melt ordinary steel." The forensic doctor slowly approached, shaking his head slightly. "But what defies common sense is that the high temperature is precisely confined and directed, focusing only on the body of the deceased, which is completely inconsistent with the physical laws of natural combustion."

Lin Chen nodded slightly, stood up, and looked around the entire operating room.

The windows were locked from the inside, and there were no signs of forced entry on the shop door.

There were no signs of a struggle, no bloodstains, and no footprints left by outsiders at the scene.

All signs pointed to Hanamura Hisashi spontaneously combusting and dying silently. Seeing this, Lin Chen was certain that this was the work of a superhuman.

Now all that's needed is to confirm their identity.

"We've retrieved all the store's security camera footage." Bingchuan Cheng led Lin Chen to the cashier, opened his office computer, and said, "You guys watch it too."

Click on the surveillance footage from midnight last night.

The camera lens captured a clear image, and everything in the work area appeared normal. Hisashi Hanamura was tidying up his equipment in preparation for closing, placing the finished bread into the display case, and carefully wiping the worktable with calm and steady movements.

12:07.

A dark figure wearing a black hoodie quietly appeared in the corner of the surveillance camera.

He stood behind the doorpost of the control room, his hat pulled low to completely obscure his face, his hands tucked into his sleeves, not a sliver of skin showing. He stood motionless, silently gazing at Hanamura Hisashi, like a silent ghost.

Hanamura Hisashi remained oblivious, continuing to tidy up the shop at his leisure.

12:09.

The shadowy figure slowly raised its right hand.

The moment he raised his hand, flames suddenly erupted from Hanamura Hisashi's body, instantly engulfing his entire form.

Throughout the entire ordeal, he did not struggle or make any unusual movements. He simply sat there quietly, letting the flames consume him until his body was reduced to charcoal.

The whole process took less than ten seconds.

Then the shadowy figure turned around and slowly walked out of the surveillance camera's field of view, and the scene remained normal.

Lin Chen was about to speak when he was interrupted by Hojo Toru.

Hojo Toru said he would be handling the case from now on. Lin Chen was happy to have some free time and didn't care why Hojo had suddenly changed his mind. Hikawa wanted to say something, but Lin Chen stopped him. They should spend more time training instead of looking for the killer.

While Lin Chen and Bingchuan were unaware, Hojo Toru's expression turned extremely ugly.