Crushed! Smashed! Great Acclaim!: Who's afraid of who? Watch me crush you this time!
Your Gege: No idea who it was that played 132 matches against me and only won 9!
Crushed! Smashed! Great Acclaim!: I was going easy on a newbie player like you!
Liuge took one look and thought, Damn, that mouth was really stubborn.
Just then, Liuge's terminal suddenly rang.
He picked it up and saw that it was a message from Herta of the Herta Space Station.
Herta: Hey, the game you asked for is basically finished. It just hasn't been debugged or checked for bugs yet, so come test it yourself.
As she spoke, Herta sent over the game client for Kamen Rider Chronicle.
Looking at Herta's message, Liuge suddenly thought, Why not use this game to beat up that person from the game?
Liuge: Herta, can I send this to someone else and test it together with them?
Herta: You can, but it must be kept confidential. After all, you've already handed this game over to the company for distribution.
Liuge: No problem!
After sending the message, Liuge connected his terminal to the virtual reality device and installed the game client.
After logging back in, Liuge sent a message to that noob player.
Your Gege: Since you agreed to a one-on-one match, I happen to have a brand-new game that hasn't been released yet. If you don't mind, let's use this game for our duel. We can also see what bugs need fixing!
Crushed! Smashed! Great Acclaim!: Send it over!
Seeing that, Liuge directly sent over the Kamen Rider Chronicle client.
Before long, the other party sent word that the installation was complete.
"Hehe, don't blame me for this!"
Ahhh, you country bumpkin girl, ahhh!!!
Light flashed, and Liuge, who had equipped the Haxxor Bunny Stat-Stick Character Card and transformed into Bronya, logged into the Kamen Rider Chronicle game made by Herta.
Because of the game's original settings, there was no character customization. Everyone's body was displayed according to their actual physique, so Liuge had still put on a skin before coming online to face off against that noob.
On one hand, Haxxor Bunny's hacking abilities would prevent Blade from doxxing him. On the other, he was afraid his real body might be encountered somewhere unexpected and get doxxed.
After going through the simple beginner tutorial, Liuge chose to enter and created a Battle City module.
In Kamen Rider Chronicle, no matter what kind of map it was, every player started out without any abilities. They had to search the map for transformation items before they could fight.
This tested more than just players' searching abilities. It also tested luck and reflexes.
So the game was fair. Whether you were a veteran or a noob, you were all weaklings before finding a transformation item.
At the same time, monsters from throughout history existed on the map. Avoiding them was a skill too, wasn't it?
Before long, another player entered the map Liuge had created.
When he saw that player, he was completely stunned for a moment.
"Huh? You're actually Silver Wolf, the self-proclaimed greatest hacker in the universe?"
"Huh? Country bumpkin girl?!"
The two stared at each other, both utterly dumbfounded.
Neither of them had expected that the person they had been stomping on—or suffering under—for so many days was the other.
"Pfft! Hahahaha! The so-called greatest hacker in the universe is actually a noob gamer, and one who starts cheating when she can't win!"
Liuge was nearly dying of laughter. If he had known it was Silver Wolf, he would have bullied her even harder.
At that moment, he was clutching his stomach in Haxxor Bunny's form and laughing wildly, tears even spilling from his eyes.
Silver Wolf, meanwhile, stood there with a dark face and said nothing.
She truly hadn't expected to be abused so badly in a game by this country bumpkin girl that she had even started cheating out of frustration—only to be caught by her opponent.
Humiliating. It was really too humiliating!
Silver Wolf now had the urge to log off immediately, pull the network cable on the spot, and never play games again.
In the end, she endured it—not only for revenge, but also because she was looking forward to this new game and its fair duels.
Whether you were an expert or a noob, you were all weaklings before transforming.
That was the confidence Silver Wolf had after accepting and understanding the beginner tutorial.
"Hahahahaha..." After laughing for a while, Liuge wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes and looked at Silver Wolf. "Since it's you, then let's settle this through the game."
"Just what I wanted!"
Silver Wolf pointed her left thumb downward, her face full of arrogance.
"Don't lose too badly~"
With that, Liuge started the match.
As the countdown ended, a flash of light appeared before Liuge and Silver Wolf.
At the same time, on the Herta Space Station, Herta, who had been waiting for a long time, began giving orders to the staff handling the anomaly.
"Pay attention, everyone. Testing has begun. Start collecting game data and testing for errors..."
"Yes!"
Elsewhere, the two players appeared in an amusement park. It was packed with visitors, but they were all NPCs set up by Herta, so Liuge did not think much of it and began wandering around the park.
Silver Wolf, on the other hand, twitched at the sight before her.
She did not dislike crowds, but amusement parks still reminded her of certain unpleasant memories.
After fiercely shaking her head, she headed straight for the arcade in the amusement park.
Before their duel, she would see whether the game's arcade machines could actually be played.
Then, she discovered in surprise that she could actually play arcade games within a game. This discovery sent her fondness for the new game soaring.
After achieving ten consecutive wins, the NPC shopkeeper walked over carrying a tray.
"Miss, as the first player to achieve ten consecutive victories, you are qualified to receive this reward."
"A reward?"
Silver Wolf froze for a moment and looked at the tray in the NPC's hands.
On it was a yellow, toy-like item, with a purple cartridge resembling a game cassette beside it.
Having gone through the beginner tutorial, Silver Wolf recognized it at a glance. It was a game Driver, the so-called Gamer Driver, and the item beside it was the transformation cartridge.
Silver Wolf happily took it into her hands. She had never expected that casually playing games inside a game would earn her a transformation item.
She fastened the Gamer Driver around her waist. After watching it automatically extend a belt and secure itself in place, Silver Wolf looked at the cartridge in her hand.
Prototyping Extraordinary Action X Turning Play Cassette. If Liuge had seen it, he would naturally have known that this cartridge was that black Ex-Aid belonging to Kuroto Dan.
"Just wait, country bumpkin girl! This time, I'm going to beat you to a pulp!"
Elsewhere, Liuge, who had been wandering around aimlessly, suddenly spotted a photo studio.
Wondering why an amusement park would have a photo studio, she walked inside.
Then she ran into an NPC who wanted photos taken but could not find the shop owner, so the NPC begged Liuge to help take them.
Liuge's face darkened.
Herta's plot setup was way too half-hearted.
Still, she helped the NPC take the photos. The instant she finished, the camera in her hand inexplicably turned into a magenta belt, while that NPC player turned into a white card case.
"???"
Liuge was stunned for three seconds. She looked at the magenta belt in her hand, then at the card case over there, and the smile on her lips became impossible to suppress.
Well then, you're letting me play the strongest show-off rider of both the old and new eras right from the start?
Picking up the card case, Liuge opened it and found transformation cards and Ride Cards all neatly inside. It was practically a gift package.
At that moment, her smile twisted, as though Kohei Imamura had possessed her.
"Hehehe, little noob Silver Wolf, let's see how you're going to fight me now..."
Five minutes later, Liuge and Silver Wolf met in the crowded plaza of the amusement park.
At that instant, both of them immediately put on their belts and took out their transformation devices.
She found one?
She found one?
The same question surfaced in their minds, but in the next moment, they were drawn in by the light of each other's transformations.
Silver Wolf directly transformed into the form of a chubby little boy, while Liuge transformed into a slender Rider with magenta as her signature color.
"Something's wrong. Why does transforming come with becoming a chubby little boy?!"
"Can't play anymore, little noob?"
Liuge rushed forward and kicked Silver Wolf, sending her flying far away. While Silver Wolf was still dazed, Liuge went up and gave her a savage beating, looking exactly like an invincible player beating up a brat.
In her panic, Silver Wolf's hand happened to twist the lever on her belt.
The next moment, the chubby little boy directly slimmed down and transformed into a slender figure.
"Hehehe, now... let's have a pleasant duel~~~"
Just after saying that, she saw Liuge's expression suddenly change, as though something had happened. Liuge clasped her hands together in an apologetic gesture.
"Ahem, sorry, something came up. I'm logging off first..."
Right after that, Liuge's figure vanished before Silver Wolf's eyes, and the game's notification sounded in her ears.
Your opponent has surrendered. You have won!
Silver Wolf blankly stared at the word Victory floating before her.
A stifling sense of grievance clogged her chest, making her want to go mad.
"Ahhhhh... you country bumpkin girl!!!!!!!!"
Old Yang: I really am getting old!
Actually, Liuge had not wanted to log off like that either.
The game had only just been developed. He had not even gotten to the good part before being forcibly kicked offline, and it felt awful.
What felt even worse was that he had just been about to start beating up Silver Wolf when this happened.
The reason was simple: Pom-Pom had informed him that spatial warp was about to begin.
Pom-Pom had said before that during spatial warp, everyone had to stop what they were doing and wait in the Parlor Car. On one hand, this was to ensure that if passengers experienced abnormalities after the warp, they could be rescued in time. On the other hand, it was better for everyone to stay together.
Silently setting down the virtual game login device, Liuge opened the door to the recreation room and headed toward the Parlor Car.
Along the way, he ran into March 7th and Stelle, and the three of them headed to the Parlor Car together.
"Liuge, when we warp later, do you want to try standing up?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
Although Liuge knew that, in the story, March 7th wanted to see whether she could remain standing through the end of the warp.
He did not want to try it.
"March means standing up to challenge your limits and see just how stable your footing is!"
"Yes, yes, that's exactly what I mean!"
March 7th gave Stelle an approving glance, then looked at Liuge with a beaming smile.
"So, want to try?"
"I must decline," Liuge recited flatly.
Before you continue