"The game has begun."
In the secret control room beneath the base, Parado watched through the monitor as the Bugster that had escaped was blocked by the Brave.
He let out a mysterious smile, then disappeared again.
Bob Dylan let out a small breath of relief. This guy called Parado was truly unpredictable—no one could figure out what his goal was.
He could come and go freely even in a heavily guarded military base, and ordinary weapons seemed totally ineffective against him. If he really wanted to do something to Bob… then…
"Brigadier General, what should we do now?"The officer beside him asked immediately after seeing Parado vanish.
"It seems even the armored units have trouble dealing with these monsters."
"How about we open a route, let those monsters out, and let that unknown armored man deal with them instead?" one officer suggested.
The implied meaning: divert the disaster elsewhere and maybe reap the benefits.
"Order the troops to delay those monsters. Don't fight head-on, but absolutely do not allow them to escape the base."
Bob Dylan remained silent for a long moment before making the decision.
No matter what, the monsters must not be allowed to escape.If they reached nearby New York City, the resulting chaos and consequences would be impossible to calm.
And besides, this wasn't the right time to scheme.
From the intelligence collected, only two armored warriors were capable of fighting these special monsters.
Right now, only one had appeared—perhaps there was another hidden somewhere—and at most, there was Iron Man.
If the army deliberately released the monsters, even two Kamen Riders plus Tony Stark in the Iron Man suit would be almost impossible to stop that many monsters simultaneously.
If the monsters escaped and caused destruction, Bob would be held directly responsible.
On the other hand, if all monsters were eliminated, then even if the overall mission failed—with no research materials obtained and heavy losses—Bob could still find excuses to smooth things over.
After all, this was an internal military operation. Bob wasn't the only one who drafted the plan.
Prioritizing the elimination of the monsters was for the greater good—he wouldn't bear all the blame.
But if the monsters escaped and caused nationwide or even global panic, then someone would inevitably be needed as the scapegoat.
And who would be more appropriate than the officer with brigadier general rank who was directly in charge of the operation—high enough in position to take responsibility, but not high enough to be untouchable?
Internal failures can be handled quietly.
Public disasters require someone to step out and "take the fall".
Just like General Ross—multiple failures capturing the Hulk caused huge military losses.But Ross remained untouched in his high position…
Until Abomination ran rampant in New York.
Only then was Ross shelved as the primary scapegoat.
Bob Dylan knew exactly how military politics worked—how else could he have become a brigadier general?
So right now, the top priority was to eliminate all the monsters here.
Only after that could they think about capturing them for study.Although, based on the current battle situation…
Bob didn't believe the military had any real chance of capturing such creatures alive.
"These monsters are extremely dangerous. As soldiers, we absolutely cannot allow them to escape and endanger public safety."
Bob said righteously.
However, even though Bob ordered the troops to delay the Bugsters, the U.S. military in the base simply didn't have the capability. Their weapons couldn't threaten the Bugsters at all.
Li Hua finally finished off the Bugster in front of him and hadn't even had time to stabilize the infected patient, when he saw two more Bugster monsters break out from inside the base.
"So you're the Brave, huh? Very impressive. No wonder Dan chose you. You really do make this game more interesting."
Parado appeared beside Li Hua, holding the blank Gashat he had taken from Tony, harvesting the data of the defeated Bugster.
"So you're Parado?!"Li Hua immediately understood when he saw the Gashat.He raised his sword warily, ready to fight.
"Is that Gashat absorbing the Bugster Virus?"
Parado shrugged casually."Are you planning to fight me now, ignoring the patients lying beside you?
Or are you going to chase after those two Bugster fusion types that just escaped?"
Li Hua shot Parad a cautious look, then turned around—choosing to pursue the escaping Bugsters for now.
Even though Parado clearly had ulterior motives, dealing with the monsters was the most urgent matter.
Seeing the two Bugsters rushing out, Elena called out:"I'll take the extra one!"
She immediately jumped in, taking one monster while Li Hua took the other.
"What am I supposed to do if more monsters come out?", Gwen asked Dan nervously as she watched Elena and Li Hua battle.
Earlier when she tried her upgraded form… she turned into a motorcycle.That was weird enough, but the real problem was—how was a motorcycle supposed to fight?
This was also Gwen's first real combat, so Li Hua and Elena took the lead, trying to keep the inexperienced Gwen away from direct confrontation.
"If it comes to it, you'll move with me. You haven't fought for real yet."Dan said.
Gwen remembered Dan's explanation of his own Gashat's abilities…Her face reddened involuntarily.
The advantage of Kamen Rider Lazer was high speed and the ability to cooperate with allies for overwhelming effects.
But if she turned into a motorcycle…That "cooperation" would basically mean letting Dan ride on her.
Tony, unaware of the nuance, simply laughed lightly.
"Don't worry. You still have me—Tony Stark, Iron Man!
This lady might not have combat experience, so she can't handle a monster alone.But even if another one shows up, I can stall it."
However, the armored divisions were gradually destroyed by the Bugsters.With each tank overturned, their firepower weakened, and their ability to contain the monsters plummeted.
Elena had just finished her Bugster.Li Hua was still engaged with his.
Then three more Bugsters smashed through the destroyed armored vehicles and burst out from the base's perimeter.
Elena managed to intercept one.
"It seems Brave and Snipe alone aren't enough anymore." Dan sighed.
"I'll take one. You two finish yours quickly and help me afterward."Tony said, locking onto the fastest Bugster sprinting hundreds of meters away. Flames burst from his thrusters as he shot toward it.
"Boss, ride me quickly—we don't have much time."
Gwen, trembling slightly, transformed into her motorcycle form.
She didn't even notice how ambiguous her words sounded.
Dan froze for a moment.Why did that sound so wrong?!
Ex-Aid mounted Lazer, and together they swiftly defeated their Bugster and rushed to support Tony.
"You actually turned into a motorcycle… and Dan, you're really riding on a lady like that?"Tony laughed teasingly after landing near them.
Gwen turned bright red with embarrassment and anger.
Her engine roared, kicking up a cloud of dust that engulfed Tony.
Then she transformed back into her Level 1 chubby form, snorted, and charged the Bugster.
"Bianca?!"
After separating the patient from the Bugster, Gwen saw the patient's face and cried out anxiously.
"No need to worry. Once the Bugster is defeated, its virus clears automatically. She'll recover." Dan reassured.
Gwen nodded, then focused on the remaining Bugster.
After the Kamen Riders finished off their Bugsters, only two monsters remained inside the base.
The armored divisions were almost entirely destroyed.Bob Dylan could only watch helplessly as the monsters forced their way out.He couldn't possibly order unarmored soldiers to fight them with bare bodies.
"Only two left. We should be able to finish them easily."Tony said casually as the four riders surrounded the last Bugsters.
Then—
"These two Bugsters can't be defeated so easily."
Parado appeared out of thin air, raising the Gashat in his hand.
"After all, my objective has already been achieved.I've successfully created my own game Gashat.
These two Bugsters will become my subordinates."
"What?!"Li Hua, Elena, Gwen, and Tony all shouted.
Dan pointed at the Gashat in Parad's hand.
"It seems he used my blank Gashat, collected the Bugster Virus from the Bugsters we defeated, and created a game Gashat of his own." Dan said gravely.
Parado smiled proudly."Thanks to your Gashat, I've obtained a brand-new power.
Allow me to show you."
He rotated the Gashat's dial.
"Knock Out Fighter!"
"Dual Up! Explosion hit! Knock Out Fighter!"
"He can transform into a Kamen Rider too?!"Tony exclaimed.
"The Rider System was originally developed based on the Bugster Virus." Dan answered seriously.
"He didn't use a Gamer Driver. He's transforming directly through the Gashat's power. That makes him different from us."
As he spoke, Li Hua raised his Holy Sword, ready to fight.
(End of Chapter)