Billy dodged an attack.
“What Rider? Starlight Knight?!”
“Now is not the time to be thinking about your Tokusatsu shows!” Nicole yelled.
“Hey! Little Li, what are you doing? Don’t tell me you’ve watched too much Starlight Knight like Billy!”
“Why are you calling me that too…” Li Qianqiao muttered, speechless.
Saying that, he stepped in front of the group, revealing the Faiz Driver on his waist.
Nicole’s mouth twitched.
Great, another chuunibyou poisoned by too much TV.
Billy, on the other hand, was extremely curious.
I’ve never seen this model before.
I wonder if Brother Li will let me play with it after we get out.
Watching the Ethereals steadily closing in, Li Qianqiao took out the Faiz Phone and inputted the transformation code.
5 — 5 — 5
STANDING BY…
“Hey! Do you really think you’re some kind of hero?!” Seeing Li Qianqiao surrounded, Nicole prepared to step in and help.
“What you’re doing is no different from throwing your life away! Tokusatsu shows are all fake!”
“No, Nicole. I’m no hero. I just have the power, and I want to do what’s within my ability to protect everyone. So…” Li Qianqiao turned back to Nicole with a confident smile.
“Watch closely. This is my… Henshin!”
With a decisive motion, he slid the phone into the Driver mounted around his waist.
COMPLETE!
Red light.
All that remained in the area was a brilliant red light.
Under the intense glow, Nicole and the others had to squint.
Even the Ethereals were forced back a few steps by the sheer radiance.
When the light faded and they looked again, Li Qianqiao was gone.
Standing in his place was a figure clad in silver armor.
Li Qianqiao tilted his head, the massive, bug-like lenses on his helmet emitting a soft yellow glow.
…
Nicole’s eyes instantly widened so much they looked like they were about to pop out of her skull.
“You… This… I… He…”
“AAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!” Billy let out a piercing shriek, his voice pitching so high he sounded like a little girl.
Even Anby was startled; the icy expression on her small face almost broke.
“Is… Is this real? Are Starlight Knights real…?” Billy stared at Faiz, feeling like he was about to leak motor oil from sheer excitement.
“No, I am not a Starlight Knight.” Li Qianqiao crouched down into Takumi’s iconic delinquent squat.
“I am Kamen Rider… Faiz!”
Billy let out another shriek.
“AAAAAAAAHHHH!! That’s even cooler, okay?!”
A sudden sneak attack interrupted Li Qianqiao’s attempts to act cool.
He dodged sideways.
“ROAR——!”
The Ethereal in the front charged at Faiz, and Faiz charged right back.
The lead Ethereal was instantly blown to pieces by a single punch.
Joke’s on you, 2.5 tons of punching power isn’t something to mess around with.
The ensuing battle was nothing short of a one-sided slaughter.
These lowly Ethereals were completely outmatched against Faiz; practically all of them were obliterated with a single punch.
In less than two and a half minutes, the area was cleared.
This display of power completely shattered Nicole and the others’ worldview, dragging it across the floor.
That’s it?
Aren’t you supposed to be outmatched at first, yell something about the power of friendship and bonds, suddenly awaken your hidden potential, shout your ultimate move’s super cool name, and then finish the fight?
Why was it so fast?!
Nicole was about to say something, but Li Qianqiao raised a hand to stop her.
“Save the questions for later. The commotion I just caused seems to have attracted people nearby. Let’s hide first.”
“Ah? Oh, right! Billy, Anby! Find cover!”
…
Behind a train car, Anby watched a squad slowly walk past.
“It’s a Hollow Investigative Association team.”
“Oh, it’s just Investigators.” Billy sighed in relief, but then realized something.
“Wait, Investigators?!”
“We’re saved, Boss Nicole! They’re from the Hollow Investigative Association, they have Carrots!” Billy excitedly ran to Nicole.
Nicole sighed helplessly.
“Did you not see the Public Security escorts walking right beside them?”
Standing nearby, Li Qianqiao looked at Billy and said lightly, “Oh? Are you planning to report Wise and Belle’s identities as Proxies so you can atone for your crimes?” Li Qianqiao knew that reporting the Proxies was practically the best solution in the game right now, he just really didn’t like it.
“No, no, no, of course not. I did think about it for a second, but I have a much better idea right now!” Billy looked at Li Qianqiao.
“Hehe, don’t we have Brother Li here? Judging by your gear earlier, wiping them all out would be an absolute breeze for you.”
“So, all you need to do is beat them all up, take their Carrots, and we can get out of here!”
Li Qianqiao never expected Billy, this absurdly goofy guy, to come up with such a devious and unhinged plan.
Anby agreed with Billy’s logic.
“Based on the current situation, Billy’s proposal is highly feasible.”
“He’s got a point! You don’t have to kill them, just knock them out. What do you think, Little Li?” Nicole chimed in, supporting Billy’s idea.
Li Qianqiao was baffled.
Why is this problem suddenly being dumped on me?!
No way, if I actually agree to this, what happens to the plot with Fairy?
Under the hopeful gazes of Nicole and the gang, Li Qianqiao had to find a way to refuse.
“Nicole, don’t you want your safe anymore? Without Sis Belle, we won’t be able to find it.” Li Qianqiao explained.
“Even if we do get out, the Hollow Investigative Association will notice something is wrong very quickly. By the time Public Security gets involved, it’ll be too late to regret it.”
Li Qianqiao’s words snapped Nicole back to reality. This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
He’s right.
If we miss this chance, we might never get another one.
Caught between a rock and a hard place, Nicole looked at Eous in her arms, as if making a final decision.
“Argh, whatever, let’s risk it! The Proxies definitely noticed something was wrong. I believe they’ll find a way to fix it!” Nicole set Eous down.
“Let’s move, keep up! We shouldn’t stay here any longer!”
…
Inside the Video Store.
“Hahaha! You obviously had a way to get out alive, yet you deliberately chose a dead end. I’m dying of laughter, hahaha!” The hacker’s grating laughter echoed through the speakers.
“But I have to admit, I’m actually a little touched.”
“Proxies and Hollow Raiders—wolves and jackals stealing Hollow profits right under the Hollow Investigative Association’s nose. I’ve seen plenty of partnerships backstab each other for personal gain.”
“I’ve heard of the Cunning Hares, especially their boss, Nicole. Word is she’s a massive Denny-pincher. But this time, she was willing to entrust her life to you. I’m genuinely impressed.”
“And that guy next to her who transformed… I’ve never seen gear like that before. I doubt there’s anything like it in all of New Eridu.”
“A-Qiao…” Wise muttered, sounding worried.
“Oh, I didn’t expect you guys to know each other. Tsk, tsk. What a pity you won’t be able to help them.”
“Enough, hacker. I understand your demands.” Belle said, her tone heavy.
“I’ll tell you the password.”
Wise was briefly surprised but immediately caught on when Belle mentioned the password had been deleted.
Under the siblings’ verbal guidance, the hacker successfully logged into Phaethon’s account.
The hacker was incredibly smug about it, even leaking some classified information out of pure arrogance.
Unfortunately for him, he was about to be wiped out.
This is why villains always die because they talk too much.
By the time the hacker realized what was happening, it was too late.
“W-What did you two do?!” The hacker roared.
“Just fulfilling our duties as good citizens of New Eridu.” Wise said with a smile, delivering the terrifying truth.
“With the municipal elections approaching, the government has been urging citizens to actively report dangerous elements like Proxies and Hollow Raiders. They even set up a dedicated hotline.”
The hacker was furious, completely failing to grasp what Wise was getting at.
Wise explained patiently, “To be precise, we provided the exact details of a certain Inter-Knot account to Public Security through that dedicated hotline.”
“So that’s how it is… So that’s how it is!” The hacker grew even more enraged.
“You planned this from the start! To bait me, you were even willing to throw away the Phaethon identity…”
“No, you’re wrong.” Belle continued, mocking him.
“We didn’t throw away the Phaethon identity. We merely discarded an account.”
“This… This isn’t over!” The hacker spat viciously.
Then, as if remembering something, he laughed.
“Hahaha! Did you think it would end just like that? Don’t forget, I still have a backup of that video file!”
Wise instantly went on high alert.
“What are you planning?”
“Nothing much. I’m just going to post that transforming guy on the internet. I’m sure certain important people will be very interested in him.”
“Wait! Don’t—” Belle tried to stop him.
Unfortunately, the hacker had already severed the connection.