Ironclad: How can hand-crafted knight belts not be considered genius?

"Hey? Danheng, look over here, there seems to be someone else!"

"March, be careful, there seem to be traces of antimatter legion activity nearby..."

"Hey, stop talking nonsense, saving lives is the priority!"

"Give me that pretty girl with gray hair over there, and this young man is for you."

The surrounding noise woke Jiang Ning from the darkness, and he slowly opened his eyelids a crack.

Jiang Ning had just regained consciousness when a hand forcibly pressed a handsome, aloof face closer to him.

Holy crap!

"Hey bro, don't mess around! I'm not giving it to you!"

Jiang Ning hurriedly raised her hand to block it, determined to defend her chastity to the death.

"Hey! You're awake, buddy?"

March 7th's pink-haired head shoved Danheng aside.

"Don't be afraid, buddy. We are nameless passengers on the 'Starry Sky Train'."

I am March 7th, and he is Danheng.

Are you... a staff member on the space station?

How could he suddenly collapse here?

Looking at the concerned March 7th and the silent, dark-faced Dan Heng beside him, Jiang Ning frowned slightly.

Why did I fall here?

Jiang Ning looked around in confusion, feeling completely blank in his mind.

"Is this yours? I found it on the ground."

Jiang Ning snapped out of his daze and noticed the Zero One Driver and the Rise Key in March 7's hand. He simply waved his hand and put them into the artifact.

"Wow!"

On March 7th, upon witnessing this miraculous scene, his eyes sparkled.

"How did they do that? Is it some kind of marvel?"

"Don't argue, I'm thinking."

Jiang Ning rubbed his head, trying hard to recall what had happened.

After transforming into 01 and connecting with "Zea" to find the locations of Kafka and Silver Wolf, "Zea" gave him an "outrageous" conclusion.

Star Core Hunters will not harm themselves, so there's no need to be overly cautious.

Jiang Ning naturally expressed his incomprehension, but when pressed for further questions, "Zeya" seemed to freeze up and remained silent.

As for what happened next...

After fighting their way to the location where the "Star Core" was stored, Kafka seemed to say something to herself.

Jiang Ning's mind seemed shrouded in a fog, and no matter how hard he tried to recall, he couldn't remember a single thing.

"The effect of 'words of power'...?"

After a moment's thought, Jiang Ning immediately deduced the reason for his abnormal memory.

"Hey bro?"

On March 7th, he raised his hand and waved it in front of the stunned Jiang Ning, his eyes showing considerable concern.

"...Could it be that he was scared out of his wits by the attack of the pawns?"

"Danheng, what should we do in this situation?"

On March 7th, he looked pleadingly at Danheng, who was holding the unconscious Xing beside him.

"Shhh--don't make any noise, Mitsuki.

She seems to have woken up.

Jiang Ning rolled over and got up from the ground, and together with March 7, they gathered around Xing.

"Are you alright? Can you hear me? What's your name?"

Seeing Xing's eyelids twitch twice, March 7th hurriedly spoke.

"..."

The awakened star, like a newborn baby, curiously surveyed everything around it, without uttering a word.

"Oh no, Danheng."

It seems another one has been scared out of their wits...

What a pity, she's such a cute and beautiful girl...

Danheng looked at March 7, who had a pained expression on her face, and sighed in exasperation.

"You're asking too many questions..."

"Star, my name is Star."

Xing pondered for a moment, then suddenly said her name.

On March 7th, he excitedly took Xing's hand and embraced the bewildered Xing, weeping with emotion, seemingly happy that Xing hadn't been scared out of her wits.

"Although I don't know why you two collapsed here, it's very dangerous here now. The antimatter legion is still roaming the space station."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a distant explosion shook the compartment where the four of them were located.

March 7th swayed and barely managed to stand still, his speech noticeably faster.

"We are from the Star Train! We're here to support the space station!"

"Let's get out of here first!"

"My name is Jiang Ning, former head of the defense section of the Black Tower Space Station."

"I know the Black Tower space station well, come with me."

Jiang Ning spoke first.

"I'm familiar with this place. I'll go to the main control module and meet up with Aista first."

"Great! We're just in need of a guide! So, we..."

"You guys go first."

Dan Heng interrupted the excited March 7th.

"Alan from the Defense Section suddenly lost contact not long ago, and Station Chief Estella entrusted me to bring him back."

"Hmm... okay, then be careful."

Dan Heng nodded, and calmly left with his spear in his hand.

"Then let's go to the main control section first."

Oh, by the way... Jiang Ning, why don't you take this with you...?

On March 7th, he pulled out a metal baseball bat decorated entirely with gold patterns from some corner and handed it to Jiang Ning.

"The Legion is running amok on the space station like mad dogs, and the return journey isn't safe either. Take this with you for self-defense."

Jiang Ning looked at the "magical" baseball bat that March 7th handed over and couldn't help but chuckle, pointing to Xing, whose eyes were shining brightly beside him.

"Give it to her, I don't need it."

Besides, I have this.

Jiang Ning raised his hand and waved it, and Zero One Driver reappeared out of thin air.

"More than enough to deal with the antimatter legion."

After saying that, Jiang Ning brandished the Zero One Driver in his hand, like a swordsman showing off his treasured sword.

Although March 7th didn't understand what Jiang Ning was holding, seeing Jiang Ning's confident demeanor, he didn't say anything more, chuckled, and handed the bat to Xing.

Xing took the bat as if it were a priceless treasure.

He carefully examined the feel of the baseball bat with both hands, and finally even rubbed his fair cheek against the tip of the bat.

"Huh..."

Feeling ashamed, March 7th unconsciously took a step back.

Looking at the abstract future "Galaxy Baseball Man" in front of him, Jiang Ning felt a strange sense of familiarity, as if he were coming home.

Yes, that's exactly what I wanted.

Forcibly suppressing his speechlessness, March 7 looked at the two people in front of him who seemed unreliable no matter how he looked at them, and silently walked to the front of the marching group.

"I'll clear the way, you guys be careful."

Everything went smoothly along the way. On March 7th, he would occasionally raise his bow and fire, easily taking down several miscellaneous soldiers.

After shooting down another flying spherical "baryon" with an arrow, March 7 wiped the sweat from his brow and let out a long sigh of relief.

"The space station is full of expendable pawns now; who knows, one might appear in any corner at any moment..."

But don't worry too much, I'm here! I..."

A sudden, ear-piercing tearing sound came from the metal bulkhead of the space station, and the rustling sounds of climbing drowned out what happened after March 7th.

Tiny alloy fragments fell in a flurry, and dense "destructive" energy surged in through the ventilation ducts, instantly enveloping the three of them with a chilling, corrosive sensation.

A "Trampler" rushed out from around the corner and crashed into the three of them with overwhelming force.

March 7th's relaxed expression instantly tightened. She instinctively shielded the bewildered and curious Xing and Jiang Ning behind her, her pupils shrinking as she looked into the depths of the corridor:

"Good grief, they're here as soon as we said they would! Are these antimatter legions targeting us?"

Let me show you what I'm capable of!

Extremely cold ice crystals condensed on the bowstring. On the seventh day of the third month, the bow was raised, and the arrow tip was pointed directly at the oncoming trampling invaders.

The moment the arrow struck, the frost exploded, freezing the trampler in place.

On March 7th, a smile crept across his face as he raised his hand and rubbed the tip of his nose with a smug look.

The next moment, a familiar vibration came.

Behind the stomper frozen into an ice sculpture, an even larger stomper charged toward the three of them as if its life depended on it.

March 7's initial smugness froze on his face; at this distance, it was too late to recharge his arrow again.

"Run!"

March 7th shouted and grabbed Xing's wrist.

Just as she reached out to grab Jiang Ning, her outstretched hand grasped nothing.

The spot where Jiang Ning was originally was empty, but this guy somehow appeared in front of the two of them, only a dozen meters away from the oncoming trampling man.

"Jiangning! What are you doing?! Run!"

March 7th's heart was in her throat; she simply couldn't understand why Jiang Ning would go and throw his life away.

"Relax~"

Jiang Ning's calm and frivolous voice came from behind him. With a slight flick of his wrist, the Zero One Driver was fastened to his waist.

"Zero One Driver!"

March 7th and Xing forgot to retreat and stood there in a daze, their eyes involuntarily turning towards Jiang Ning.

"I hate beating around the bush; I prefer a straight-up, aggressive approach."

That's the end of our pretend play. Now, let's move on to my style!

As he spoke, Gao Yuefei's key made a turn in mid-air and was firmly held in Jiang Ning's hand.

Press the button above the key with your fingertip, and a fluorescent green light will bloom on the key.

"Jump!"

The resounding electronic registration echoed through the narrow corridor.

Jiang Ning pressed the key into the driver authorization box, and with a crisp "ding-a-ling" sound, the authorization core emitted a dazzling green data beam that shot into the sky.

Outside the space station, the satellite "Zea" synchronously docked with the drive signal.

"Authorize!"

A burst of rousing and powerful music began.

A fluorescent green mechanical locust leaped out of the Zero-One Driver and rammed into the oncoming trampler, causing the latter to involuntarily stagger back several steps.

Jiang Ning seized the opportunity, his arms arcing and crossing to gather strength. The key swept across his body, and the authorization panel bounced off due to inertia.

"Henshin!"

The next moment, Jiang Ning turned his wrist and the key was suddenly inserted into the slot on the right side of the driver.

"Progrise! (Program upgrade!)"

A highly technological blue light curtain passed through Jiang Ning's body, giving him an armored base layer.

In an instant, the mechanical locusts seemed to receive a command, leaping towards Jiang Ning and disintegrating into pieces of armored exoskeleton in mid-air. Through DNA-like data chains, they automatically docked with Jiang Ning.

"Rising Hopper!"

"A Jump into the sky turns to a Rider Kick!

(A soaring leap, a knight's flying kick!)

Data pulses exploded from the surface of the knight's armor, sending out waves of air. Xinghe and March 7 stared in disbelief at the scene before them.

The mask's compound eyes flashed red light, and "Zea's" massive computing power began to simulate real combat experience for Jiang Ning.

Beneath the mask, Jiang Ning's lips curled into an arrogant smile.

"Kamen Rider Zero-One".

Next up is my stage!