Knights: The journey of support starting with Faiz

He forced a smile and took a bite. The sweetness exploded on his tongue, but he couldn't taste any flavor at all.

The phone rang abruptly, and Zhan Tu caught a glimpse of the bright red icon flashing on the screen, his fingers gripping the tablecloth tightly.

Sōichi Ishidō's voice, crackling with electricity, pierced my eardrums.

"Want to meet me at the abandoned building? I have a gift for you."

Before he could answer, the call was disconnected.

"Who?"

Jiang Ye handed over a cup of hot tea, the rising steam blurring Zhan Tu's tense face.

He stared at the tea leaves floating at the bottom of the cup.

I recalled the dangerous trigger design diagram circled in red in Katsuragi Takumi's research notes.

It is a forbidden device that can push the Build Driver to its limits, and also a Pandora's box that can devour its user at any time.

"I'm going out to handle the sales calls this afternoon."

He put down the cup, the metal belt buckle digging painfully into his abdomen.

The following morning, the steel frame of the abandoned building seemed to groan in the wind.

(Good!) Sento stepped into the courtyard through the broken glass, and the echo reverberated eerily in the empty space.

Sōichi Ishidō emerged from the shadows, his white coat stained with dark red stains, and the dangerous trigger in his hand gleamed with an ominous bloody light.

"Katsura Takumi has kept it well hidden."

Ishido Soichi threw the device, and the sound of metal hitting the ground startled the crows in the corner.

"I heard you've been having some troubles lately?"

He leaned on the rusty handrail with one hand, looking down at Zhan Tu from above, his pupils behind his glasses shrinking to pinpoints.

"Jiang Ye's ice-type abilities, Ryu wa's combat instincts... don't you feel like a superfluous cog in the machine?"

Chapter 200: Secret Weapon

Zhan Tu's nails dug deeply into his palm.

Memories of the laboratory suddenly flooded back—the bodies floating in the culture chamber.

The burning pain when the Alaya consciousness energy bottle is injected.

There was also the warmth of Jiang Ye's first time holding his trembling hand and saying, "You are not a tool."

"what do you want to say in the end?"

He bent down to pick up the trigger, the metal edge pressing a red mark into his palm.

"You are a counterfeit product built from science, while they..."

Sōichi Ishidō suddenly closed in, his breath of humus hitting Sento's face.

"Where did Jiang Ye obtain this mysterious power? And who bestowed upon Ryuga his fighting instincts?"

His fingertips brushed against Zhan Tu's goggles.

"Namba Heavy Industries needs a balancing piece, and you are the most suitable wrench."

Sento's lips suddenly curled up.

He recalled Jiang Ye's secretly modified driver core, and how Ryuga bravely took on monster attacks to protect civilians.

The dangerous trigger in my palm suddenly felt hot, but it couldn't compare to the energy bottle of Alaya consciousness hidden in my inner pocket.

That was a secret weapon developed jointly by the three of them. 127

"you are wrong."

He sheathed the trigger in his belt, the metallic clang ringing out like a bell.

"It's never me who should be changed."

At the other end of the street, Ishidou Souichi hummed the tune of "Swan Lake," kicking away a soda can at his feet with the tip of his leather shoe.

The shadows suddenly surged, and Saiga Ryoka's Ocean God Driver flashed with blue light, as chains formed from flowing water wrapped around his ankles.

The collar of her dark blue suit was slightly open, revealing faint golden lines on her neck—a sign of an impending energy outburst.

"What's mixed into the energy bottle?"

The water flow transformed into a dagger pressed against his throat, and only then did He Liangxiang's pupils glisten with tears.

"Why...why would my heart beat for that man from Beidu?"

She recalled the look in Saruwatari Kazumi's eyes when he caught the Blue Feather Energy Bottle, and the trembling of her wrist when she delivered the fatal blow.

Sōichi Ishidō's smile stretched to his ears, and blood mist crept up Tsaihe Ryōka's hand through the gap in the dagger.

"Feelings are a more powerful weapon than any energy bottle."

He suddenly turned into a blood mist and dissipated, only to re-condense ten meters away.

"But it seems our sea goddess has fallen for mortals?"

Saiga Ryoka's water blade poured down.

Shi Dongsou skillfully weaved through the blood mist, his laughter echoing amidst the crashing of the water.

"You think Namba Heavy Industries' plan is just about war?"

He raised his hand and caught a blade of water, the crimson energy staining it blood red.

"The Pandora's Box of the Western Capital, Faust's core technology... and the restless emotions within you."

The water flow suddenly stopped.

Caihe Liangxiang's armor began to crack as she recalled the altered experimental report in the Dongdu Archives.

All the raw materials for Kamen Rider Energy Bottles contain some kind of unknown biological tissue.

"what did you do to me?"

For the first time, her voice cracked.

Sōichi Ishidō's figure gradually blurred, and the blood mist condensed in the air into a distorted smiling face.

“Take care of your feelings, Miss He. After all, there’s no need for emotional pieces on the board of Namba Heavy Industries.”

The overhead lights in the kitchen cast a pale halo on the metal countertops.

Jiang Ye held the spatula.

He stared at the vegetables in the iron pot, which were gradually shrinking, but he seemed to see the blood mist that exploded when Qingyu was pierced by the water blade, and hear the crisp sound of Chiyu's shield breaking echoing deep in his eardrums.

"Jiang Ye!"

Sento's voice came from behind, deliberately lighthearted.

He raised the scarlet, dangerous trigger, the metal gleaming coldly in the light.

"Look! A huge gift personally delivered to our door by Soichi Ishido!"

As Jiang Ye stirred the food, she lowered her eyes and sprinkled salt into the pan.

"Ah."

Sento stepped forward, the blue light from the driver illuminating his eager face.

"Although the side effects are strong, we have the Alaya-vijnana energy bottle! As long as the parameters are adjusted properly, this thing is the trump card against Namba Heavy Industries!"

He deliberately shook the trigger, hoping to see the old light rekindle in Jiang Ye's eyes.

But the other person simply stirred the boiling sauce with a wooden spoon, the steam blurring his expression.

Misora ​​leaned against the door frame, biting on a straw, the bubbles in her strawberry milkshake making a bubbling sound.

She and Sento exchanged a worried look.

Ever since that battle at the TV station, Jiang Ye has been like a puppet whose soul has been taken away.

Although he still cooks, adjusts equipment, and even argues with Ryuga every day.

But those eyes, which always held a smile, are now nothing but a desolate, lifeless grayness.

"Hey!"

Long blasted open the door, his hair still covered in engine oil.

"I have a great idea!"

He took his phone out of his pocket, and the image of Misora, played by Misora, popped up on the screen.

Chapter 201: Super Fan

"Let Mitan record a support video for Jiang Ye, it'll cure the problem!"

Misora ​​blinked, and the straw slipped out of her mouth.

"Ah? Now?"

"Right now!"

Without saying a word, I shoved the phone into her hand.

"Jiang Ye is most susceptible to this!"

Five minutes later, the flat-screen TV in the kitchen lit up, and Misora's sweet voice, mixed with cheerful background music, exploded into the air.

"Go, Mr. Jiang Ye! Mi Tan believes in you...!"

Jiang Ye's fingers trembled as she tossed the potatoes in the pan, almost causing them to spill over.

He quickly returned to normal, but his action of turning off the TV was a bit more forceful than usual.

"What are you guys up to now?"

Sento and Ryuga stood frozen in place, while Misora, like a cunning kitten, sidled up to them.

"Really, it had absolutely no effect? ​​Just now, someone's lips were clearly..."

"No!"

Jiang Ye turned her face away, but the tips of her ears turned slightly red.

Zhan Tu immediately pounced on him and hooked his shoulder.

"Still denying it! You're clearly a huge fan of Mi Tan!"

"That's it!"

I joined in the commotion.

"Confess now, did you secretly save Mi Tan's photo album?!"

Amidst the playful banter, a crack finally appeared on Jiang Ye's tightly clenched lips.

Misora ​​grasped his hand, the warmth of his fingertips passing through her palm.

"We just want to make you happy."

These words were like a fine needle piercing the softest part of my heart.

Jiang Ye looked at his companions' concerned faces, and his throat suddenly tightened.

Just then, a wave of dizziness hit, and the surrounding scenery distorted into a data stream.

When he opened his eyes again, he found himself standing in front of a familiar forest of stone tablets.

Under the dark red sky, the dense text on the stone tablet glowed with an eerie light.

The figure of Red Heart Two stood beside the tallest stone tablet, his black trench coat fluttering in the void.

The playing card patterns on his face flickered with his breath.

"Still feeling down over the deaths of a few ants?"

Jiang Ye's fingernails dug into her palm.

"They are not ants."