“I’m fine.
Really, I’m fine.”
Even though Louis kept insisting he was okay, the medical team still carried him into the ambulance.
It couldn’t be helped.
Out of the three of them, he had taken the worst beating.
Zhu Yuan had been surrounded earlier, but her combat style was incredibly graceful.
She had dodged nearly every attack, and the one strike that might have reached her was blocked by Louis.
As for Qingyi, her body did not need medical treatment so much as repairs.
A few Hollow investigators lingered near the exit, collecting data.
Something small secretly crawled past their feet.
One investigator glanced down on instinct, only to see it blur into an afterimage and vanish.
He stood there, utterly bewildered.
“Did you catch what that was?” Investigator A asked his partner.
“I think so.
Pitch black, two antennae on its head.
That damn thing was a cockroach.”
Investigator B had seen it clearly.
A black shape scurrying along on multiple legs.
What else could it be?
“Such a big cockroach?” Investigator A muttered, at a loss.
“Then what do you think it was?
It couldn’t have been an Ethereal, right?”
“That’s impossible.
Ethereals can’t come out here.”
The two investigators kept debating without reaching any conclusion.
Meanwhile, the Bangboo disguised as a giant cockroach had already scurried into a hidden spot.
This little guy had been modified with all kinds of strange functions.
To avoid detection while moving, it even had a built-in camouflage system.
The cockroach shape was chosen on purpose.
It was repulsive enough that anyone who spotted it would back away in disgust instead of getting curious, terrified it might suddenly spread its wings and fly right into their face.
And yes, it could actually fly.
In an emergency, it could launch into the air instantly.
At that point it would become a giant flying cockroach, something even Zhu Yuan would probably struggle to stop.
Louis was rushed to the hospital.
After a complete examination, the doctors found nothing but some soft tissue contusions.
Everything else was fine.
The doctor shook his head.
The injuries were far too minor to require admission.
Still, because the Security Bureau was one of the hospital’s major clients, Louis was placed in a private room for recovery.
Lying in bed, Louis scrolled through his phone out of boredom.
He could not help thinking the Security Bureau seemed like a pretty good place.
The treatment for such a minor injury was surprisingly generous.
If this had been one of those cutthroat companies, he would have been dragged back to work by now.
What Louis did not know was that the Security Bureau placed great value on members of the Criminal Investigation Special Response Team, especially those who worked under Zhu Yuan.
She was famous for protecting her people.
Her superiors could send her on any dangerous mission, but they were not allowed to mistreat her subordinates.
Besides, Louis had not simply been slacking off.
He had fought his way out of a Temporary Hollow, one of the Six Great Hollows.
Who could say he would not become the next Zhu Yuan?
The Security Bureau needed talent like that.
Bored, Louis decided to take a nap.
The strain of using his Driver was not entirely on him, but he still carried a heavy share of the burden.
Combined with the way his actual injuries sapped his stamina, it was only natural to feel sleepy in such a comfortable setting.
He had no idea how much time had passed when the sound of the door opening woke him.
Unless he was in an absolutely safe place, Louis never slept too deeply anymore.
Ever since gaining the power of Kamen Rider, he had developed the constant feeling that trouble was always lurking.
His identity had to remain an absolute secret.
“Louis, are you okay?”
Zhu Yuan’s voice came from the doorway.
Louis sat up and saw both Zhu Yuan and Qingyi standing there.
From the looks of it, they had come straight from work to visit him.
“I’m completely fine.
Did you two just get off duty, seniors?” Louis asked with a sincere smile.
He felt truly lucky.
He had joined the Security Bureau on a whim and ended up with two such good people.
As long as he was not dead, he would have been expected to crawl back to the office.
It had nothing to do with whether the job was government work or not.
It all came down to whether your boss was a decent person.
“Mm.
You were injured on the mission, so we couldn’t rest easy,” Zhu Yuan replied.
Zhu Yuan and Qingyi stepped into the room.
They had even brought fruit as a gift.
Louis felt genuinely moved.
It really had been worth saving these two.
“Zhu Yuan, what happened with the rest of the mission?” Louis asked.
He remembered the mission inside the Hollow had not been fully completed.
They had rescued the civilians and taken down the Dullahan, but they still had not recovered the stolen goods.
“The search for the stolen goods has been handed over to other departments.
Without the superior Ethereal around, the risk is low.
The Hollow Investigation Bureau has also sent people.
They are the real professionals,” Zhu Yuan explained as she sat in the chair beside the bed.
She removed her gloves, picked up an apple, and began peeling it carefully with a fruit knife.
Louis watched in a slight daze.
He had been single his entire life.
Was he really about to eat an apple that a girl had peeled with her own hands?
“After we returned to the Security Bureau, we reported everything about the Kamen Rider.
The higher-ups showed great interest.
If we run into him again, they want us to try recruiting him to our side.
They said he must not fall into the hands of other factions.”
Zhu Yuan kept talking while she peeled the apple.
Both she and Qingyi had been wearing enforcement recorders during the incident, so the entire battle with the Kamen Rider had been captured on video.
The higher-ups were shocked when they watched the footage.
Some suspected he was a bio-modified human.
Others thought he might be a secret weapon.
There were all kinds of theories.
Still, given the Kamen Rider’s relatively friendly attitude toward the Security Bureau, they believed it was worth trying to bring him on board.