As a weirdo, I like being a Kamen Rider.

Night fell like an ink-soaked velvet cloth, heavily covering the Smart Brain Academy. The once bustling playground was deserted, the windows of the teaching buildings were pitch black, and only the streetlights cast dim yellow halos along the roads, distorting the shadows of the trees. The wind rustled through the treetops, making the entire campus even more tranquil, yet harboring an inexplicable eeriness.

Lin Chen leaned against the wall of the dormitory building, a cold five-cent coin between his fingers, repeatedly rubbing its edge. In the afternoon, a member of the disciplinary team knocked on his door, leaving behind the order for a night patrol, his tone filled with undisguised contempt, as if he believed that this newly recruited wildling was nothing more than a tool to be used.

The mission is simple: from 9 PM to midnight, patrol the area bordering the teaching area on the west side of the campus and the back mountain, searching for any Orphnochs who have broken the rules and transformed in secret, and also tracking down Faiz's whereabouts. Once a target is spotted, either subdue them on the spot or immediately report to Kurosawa and Lucky Clover; no unauthorized actions are allowed.

This was his first mission after being recruited, and also the first test he received from Clover and Kurosawa. Lin Chen knew that his every move was probably being watched in the shadows, and if he showed the slightest resistance or slackness, he would only face more severe suppression, or even be treated as an out-of-control sample.

Lin Chen tucked the five-cent coin inside his collar and straightened his security uniform. He didn't move immediately, but stood in the shadows, closed his eyes, and slowly extended his mental perception.

A pale blue ripple of perception spread silently from him, covering a large area around the dormitory building. The scent of grass and trees in the night breeze, the damp smell of the sewers in the distance, and even the faint sound of a few mice scurrying around in the corner were all clearly imprinted in his mind.

More importantly, he could sense the scattered fluctuations of Orphic factors floating in the air. Most of them were weak and restrained, and they were the low-level Orphic Enoch hidden in the campus. At this moment, they were all staying in their residences and dared not show themselves easily.

The aura of the lucky four-leaf clover is solid and domineering, coiled in the four corners of the campus like four invisible fortresses, monitoring the entire academy's movements. Meanwhile, the aura of Kurosawa, hidden in the disciplinary committee's office building, is cold and sharp, like a lurking venomous snake, ready to deliver a fatal blow at any moment.

After confirming that there were no suspicious observers around, Lin Chen began to walk, his figure blending into the night as he headed towards the western teaching area. He walked very lightly, the advantage of his agility was fully displayed at this moment, and he made almost no sound as he stepped on the fallen leaves. When passing streetlights, he would deliberately walk along the shadows, keeping his figure hidden at the boundary between light and darkness.

The western teaching area, housing the lower grades, was now completely empty. The classroom doors were locked, and a thin layer of dust covered the windows, making them appear hazy under the streetlights. Lin Chen walked through each classroom, his senses remaining highly alert, not missing a single unusual fluctuation of the Orpheus factor.

Occasionally, he would encounter one or two security guards on patrol duty. When they saw Lin Chen, they would either ignore him or nod in greeting. When he first arrived, a kind security guard asked him why he wasn't looking for a better job at such a young age. Lin Chen just smiled and made up an excuse.

The hours of heightened vigilance had left him somewhat exhausted. The spot on his back where the Black Swamp Energy Whip had struck him still throbbed with pain, occasionally tingling with numbness. He took out the water he carried with him, took a sip, and the cool liquid slid down his throat, slightly relieving his fatigue.

The patrol time passed slowly, the night grew deeper, and the temperature on campus dropped. The cold wind brushed against our faces, carrying a biting chill.

Lin Chen shrank back, pulled his collar up, and continued patrolling back and forth between the teaching area and the fence. He deliberately slowed his pace, partly to carefully search for targets, and partly to secretly observe the campus's defenses.

As midnight approached, and the patrol was nearing its end, Lin Chen breathed a slight sigh of relief. In the past few hours, aside from some faint fluctuations in low-level Orphic factors, he hadn't detected any unruly Orphic Enoch, nor had he sensed Faiz's presence. Perhaps tonight would just be a peaceful night.

Just as he was about to turn around and return to the dormitory building, an extremely faint disturbance suddenly entered his perception range.

It wasn't just the fluctuation of the Orpheus factor; there was also an extremely subtle sound of energy collision, mixed with a few suppressed growls, coming from the left, no more than a hundred meters away. The sound was very faint; an ordinary person would not have been able to detect it at all. However, Lin Chen's mental attributes far surpassed those of ordinary people, and his perception was extremely sharp. Even through layers of trees, he could clearly hear it.

Moreover, the energy fluctuation contained a familiar aura belonging to the Orphnoch, as well as another unfamiliar energy fluctuation with a faint light attribute. The two were intertwined, appearing extremely chaotic.

Lin Chen's body tensed instantly, a cold glint flashing in his amber pupils in the night. All his fatigue vanished in an instant, and his senses were once again heightened, locked onto the direction from which the strange movement was coming.

He didn't move immediately, but instead retreated back into the shadows of the fence, holding his breath and carefully discerning the unusual movement. The growls grew clearer, and the sounds of colliding energy became more frequent, clearly indicating that two entities were locked in combat.

One of them must be an Orphnoch, while the other, with its energy fluctuations of light, could it be... Faiz?

Lin Chen's expression froze. He hadn't expected to encounter such a situation on his first patrol mission. Should he immediately report to Kurosawa as instructed, or sneak over and investigate?

Thoughts raced through his mind, but ultimately, he suppressed the urge to report. Faiz was a crucial part of his plan, and he needed to personally verify Faiz's strength and understand his situation. Reporting rashly would only allow Clover and Kurosawa to gain early access to Faiz's whereabouts, disrupting his plans.

Moreover, the aura of the Orphnoch was very weak, clearly indicating it was only a low-level species, and the energy fluctuations of the light attribute were equally weak, seemingly not powerful at all. Perhaps this was an excellent opportunity to both observe Faiz and test the true strength of the Faiz in this world.

Lin Chen moved slowly, his figure like a cheetah, silently blending into the dense forest, quietly approaching the direction from which the strange movement came.

The night grew darker, and the forest was pitch black, with only occasional slivers of moonlight filtering through the leaves. The suppressed growls and sounds of clashing energy grew closer, and Lin Chen's senses sharpened, allowing him to clearly perceive that the two figures locked in combat ahead had reached a stalemate.