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Under Zhu Yuan's guidance, Kenji and Dragredder returned to the entrance where they had first breached the Hollow. Qingyi and the Substitute Cloth were already waiting. Seeing that Dragredder had indeed brought the victims back unscathed, Qingyi couldn't help but let out a digital cheer.
"Nice~!"
"Sir, Rider… thank you for your help. On behalf of the Public Security Bureau, I extend our sincere gratitude." Zhu Yuan felt that today they owed a great deal to this masked entity. If he hadn't appeared, being bogged down by the Ethereal swarm would have prevented them from finding the victims in time. This was equivalent to saving everyone's lives; her professional gratitude was absolute.
Kenji merely nodded. He had nothing much to say to Zhu Yuan while in costume. Without knowing his true identity, it was better to speak less to avoid revealing any flaws. After completing his task, Kenji walked to the side of a shattered window. Under Zhu Yuan's bewildered gaze, his body gradually elongated and thinned, slowly walking into the glass.
Zhu Yuan and Qingyi simultaneously rubbed their eyes and rushed to the window. Inside the reflection, the silhouettes of Ryuki and Dragredder walked further and further into the distance of the mirror world. They repeatedly opened and closed the window frame, but found no mechanisms, no hidden tech, nothing.
"You can actually do that?" Qingyi muttered. She was becoming numb to the absurdity, feeling that she and the Kamen Rider simply existed in different dimensions. This must be the work of Ether distortion, she reasoned. There's no other explanation.
"Senior Qingyi, let's get these people to the exit," Zhu Yuan said. She was also shaken, but her concern for the victims took priority. As she led them toward the portal, she thought back to her first meeting with the Rider. He had said they were not enemies, and today proved it. As long as they stood on the side of humanity, she had no reason to be hostile.
Qingyi nodded, and they worked together to lead the survivors away. The Substitute Cloth walked last, covering their retreat—the final duty of a heavy vanguard. This gave Kenji his window.
He slipped out of the mirror world in a blind spot, coming to the Substitute Cloth's side and reclaiming his shield and sword. The Bangboo quickly transformed back into its small, black mechanical form and scuttled out of the Hollow at high speed.
When Kenji walked out of the Hollow, the area was swarming with PSB vehicles and ambulances. The victims were already being treated, and Zhu Yuan was being cornered by a TV news crew. This was routine; New Eridu media was always hungry for a "heroic rescue" story.
"Yes… no, well, this time the credit isn't entirely ours. We received assistance…"
Facing the camera, the cool, dashing Zhu Yuan vanished, replaced by a stuttering, overly-honest young woman. She was moments away from telling the entire city about the Rider.
Fortunately, Qingyi was there. Before the Captain could say something she'd regret, the android tapped her sharply on the lower back. Zhu Yuan immediately shut up. Qingyi then took the microphone and began speaking in technical, incomprehensible jargon, effectively killing the interview's momentum.
"Kenji, are you hurt?" Zhu Yuan asked, finding him sitting on a supply crate nearby.
"I'm perfectly fine," Kenji replied. Since he had appeared alongside the "Rider" during the rescue, he was safely above suspicion. He could keep up this "good citizen" act for a long time.
"That Rider… who do you think he is? He really went out of his way to help us," Zhu Yuan mused. Her mindset was shifting. She had initially viewed him as a suspicious vigilante, but seeing him rescue strangers made her feel a kinship with him.
"Maybe he's an independent, like a Void Hunter?" Kenji offered a casual guess. "Not everyone with power wants to be on the PSB payroll. Some people just prefer their freedom."
"You have a point. If he keeps this up, people might start calling him the eighth Void Hunter," Zhu Yuan said with a kind smile. If such power remained firmly on humanity's side, it was a win for everyone. "Oh, right, Kenji… do you have any plans for your lunch break?"
The topic shifted so fast Kenji nearly suffered whiplash. "Lunch break? I usually just stay awake. I'm not much of a napper."
"Is that so? Then, during the PSB lunch break, you and I are heading to the training ground." Zhu Yuan's smile turned into something that made Kenji's hair stand on end.
"W-why?"
"You're a heavy vanguard, but your combat experience is… lacking. You can't keep getting knocked through buildings by Ethereals; it's going to get you killed. I'm going to personally teach you some close-quarters combat techniques."
Kenji hesitated. Being alone with Zhu Yuan was a dream come true, but being on the receiving end of her training was more like a nightmare. He remembered how easily she shattered crystalline armor with a single kick.
"Wouldn't that be a lot of trouble for you, Captain?"
"No trouble at all. You caught me when I fell earlier, didn't you? Consider this my way of saying thank you."
With her looking at him with such earnest care, a man couldn't say no.
"Alright. Let's do it."
Kenji readily agreed. Risks and opportunities coexist. He might end the day as a collection of bruised ribs, but the chance to increase his favorability with Zhu Yuan was an opportunity most Whales would spend their entire life savings on. He had to seize it.
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