Inside the estate.
“Imelda, let the staff know they have the day off,” Holden ordered as he walked into the main hall.
He wanted the estate completely empty so he could properly test out the Kabuto Zecter in peace.
Imelda bowed respectfully and quickly went to dismiss the servants.
“So this is the Kabuto Zecter,” Holden murmured, retrieving the device from his system inventory.
A sleek, mechanical rhinoceros beetle forged from crimson and silver metal materialized in his palm.
[Kabuto Zecter: Using this Zecter allows you to transform into Kamen Rider Kabuto.
Must be acknowledged by the Zecter to use.] Bzzzt!
Just as he was admiring it, the mechanical beetle suddenly let out a sharp whir and violently launched itself out of his hand, attempting to fly away.
“Trying to run?” Holden smirked, reaching a hand out.
He instantly summoned the Phoenix Force, enveloping the Zecter in telekinetic energy and ruthlessly yanking it back into his grasp.
His fingers clamped down hard, forcing the rebellious device into absolute submission through sheer cosmic power.
“Henshin!” [KABUTO!] Holden smoothly slid the Kabuto Zecter onto the waiting belt buckle.
Brilliant golden light erupted from the device.
A grid of glowing green nano-light rapidly spread across his body, tracing the outline of heavy armor.
As the light fully enveloped him, a blinding flash of white illuminated the empty hall.
The Kabuto armor materialized around Holden.
A wondrous surge of power flowed around his body.
‘So this is Kabuto?’ Standing in front of a tall mirror, Holden inspected his new look.
He had directly transformed into the Rider Form, sporting the iconic rhinoceros beetle horn on his helmet.
It perfectly matched that legendary, peerless swagger.
Compared to Tony’s Iron Man suit, this armor had a distinct, undeniable charm of its own.
‘I need to take this out for a spin!’ Looking at the sleek silver and crimson armor, Holden couldn’t resist the urge.
It was still early in the night—the perfect time to go for a ride without drawing too much attention.
With that thought, he headed down to his massive garage.
The space was packed with all sorts of bizarre and incredible vehicles.
A flying Ford, a monowheel motorcycle, a hovering Mercedes, a jet-powered hoverbike—you name it, he had it.
Most of them were system rewards that he had simply tossed into the garage and forgotten about.
Holden walked up to a matte black motorcycle.
At first glance, it looked similar to a Harley Fat Boy, but the exhaust pipes were heavily modified, and the dashboard was replaced with a futuristic 3D holographic display.
This was another system reward.
[Tri-Amphibious Motorcycle: A state-of-the-art vehicle capable of traversing land, sea, and air!] Holden swung a leg over the seat, settling in with effortless cool.
The moment he lightly twisted the throttle, the motorcycle erupted with a deafening, beastly roar.
Like a fired missile, it shot straight out of the garage.
“Hell yeah!” Bathing in the rushing wind, Holden pressed a button on the handlebars.
Instantly, twin thrusters deployed from both sides of the front and rear wheels.
As he cranked the throttle, blinding blue exhaust flames blasted from the thrusters.
The bike became a streak of light tearing down the highway.
Thanks to his god-like reflexes, Holden navigated the traffic with absolute ease, even at speeds exceeding 500 kilometers per hour.
‘Should I hit up Hell’s Kitchen?’ After a brief moment of hesitation, Holden decided to take a detour.
Who knows, maybe he’d run into Gwen there.
Holden slowed the motorcycle down as he cruised into the dark, grimy streets of Hell’s Kitchen.
His flashy arrival immediately drew the attention of the locals.
“Hey man, sick cosplay!” a Black guy with dreadlocks called out, waving at Holden.
But Holden’s sharp eyes immediately caught the unnatural bulge tucked into the man’s waistband.
New York was the city that never sleeps, but Hell’s Kitchen felt like a completely different world.
The streets were dark, chaotic, and filthy.
Every inch of the brick walls was covered in layers of graffiti—runes, gang signs, and vector art from clashing cultures screaming against the disorder of the city, much like the chaotic bloodlines of the people living there.
Drunks and junkies lay slumped on the filthy sidewalks, lost to cheap liquor or the cold embrace of death.
Here, chaos, crime, blood, and death were just another Tuesday.
“Hey!” The guy with the dreads waved his hand, and several other thugs immediately stepped out from the shadows, surrounding the bike.
They patted the grips of the guns tucked into their belts with threatening smirks.
“Your ride’s pretty sweet, kid.
Leave the bike and get the hell out of here!
This is Mr.
Kingpin’s territory!” ‘Kingpin?’ Holden paused, mildly surprised.
He hadn’t realized this universe had a Kingpin too.
Anyone familiar with Marvel knew that name.
The Emperor of the Underworld.
The man who held the entire East Coast criminal empire in the palm of his hand.
He was ruthlessly cunning, possessing an intellect that far surpassed ordinary men, and his body was over ninety percent pure muscle.
Rumor had it he could punch straight through a solid brick wall barehanded.
‘I wonder if taking out Kingpin would trigger a system reward,’ Holden mused out loud, still sitting comfortably on his bike.
His system’s reward mechanism usually triggered whenever he experienced something special or high-profile.
“You deaf, kid?
Get lost!
Don’t think that weird metal suit is gonna save you from getting your teeth kicked in!” The dreadlocked thug sneered, his expression turning ugly.
If this guy didn’t know what was good for him, they were going to do this the hard way.
“Sigh, why do you guys always have to do this the hard way?” Holden shook his head.
He kicked the kickstand down, and in a flash of motion, he struck.
With a casual, lightning-fast roundhouse kick, he sent the closest thug flying backward through the air.
“You got a death wish, freak?!” Startled by the sudden counterattack, the dreadlocked leader yanked a revolver from his waistband.
But before he could even pull the trigger, a heavily armored hand clamped down around the gun.
CRUNCH!
With a sickening crack, the steel revolver and the thug’s left hand were crushed into a mangled ball of metal and bone.
“AGHHHHH!!!” A blood-curdling scream echoed through the sin-ridden street.
Seizing the moment, the rest of the thugs whipped out switchblades and lunged at Holden to ambush him.
But to him, this was like playing with toddlers.
With just a few effortless dodges and precise strikes, the entire gang was left writhing and groaning in agony on the dirty asphalt.
Meanwhile, high above the city streets.
A red and gold streak of armor tore through the night sky.
It was Tony, out on his stress-relief flight.
Noticing the commotion in the alley below, he spoke up.
“F.R.I.D.A.Y., zoom in on that.” The HUD magnified the feed, revealing a guy in a sleek red and silver suit effortlessly dismantling a group of street thugs.
Tony blinked, then let out a helpless chuckle.
“Never thought I’d see a fan cosplaying out here on my midnight joyride.”