However, Xu Wenlong soon reverted to his original form, just like those people who bought genuine toys only to quickly grow tired of them.
There was no other reason.
It was too ugly.
However, Xu Wenlong also discovered why there was so much data on Great Shocker combatants.
Because Xu Wenlong had just realized that he could not only transform into data characters he already possessed within the system.
He could also let others use the data, or summon them directly.
Xu Wenlong opened Kamen Rider Kuuga's data pack.
The first was naturally Kamen Rider Kuuga. The second was Ichijo, who had been jokingly called the strongest secondary Rider.
The third was Gurongi 0, listed in the normal order—the final boss of the original Kouga story.
The fourth was Rose Sister. Xu Wenlong had forgotten the ones after that because the era was too distant; they were simply various Gurongi monsters.
Still, Xu Wenlong remembered a few, such as the Porcupine Monster whom Yusuke Godai had beaten to death with his bare fists.
With that in mind, Xu Wenlong's finger slowly tapped the Gurongi 0 interface beneath the data for Yusuke Godai, the protagonist of Kamen Rider Kuuga.
"I have to say, he's as handsome as I am."
Looking at the manifested Gurongi 0, Xu Wenlong sighed.
Standing before Xu Wenlong was a man with short jet-black hair, spotless white clothes, and a faint smile always on his face. If one did not know what he had done, one might very easily trust him.
But the battle between Gurongi 0 and Yusuke Godai had left a truly deep impression on Xu Wenlong.
On a snowy mountain, the smiling White Devil fought the weeping Black Warrior...
Looking at the motionless Gurongi 0 before him, Xu Wenlong pondered what personality and identity to give him.
If he went with the murder game from the original story, there was no Kouga here, so there was little point. Besides, Xu Wenlong did not yet know how strong Gurongi 0 was. In the original, Gurongi 0 wiped out tens or even hundreds of thousands of people at a time.
So if Gurongi 0 was too weak, Xu Wenlong would not let him go out yet, lest anything he did attract the attention of others.
"So, how strong are you right now?"
Xu Wenlong asked. After all, if this were Gurongi 0 from the original story, Xu Wenlong would not hesitate in the slightest—he would just send him out to bulldoze through everything.
"Our strength is calibrated according to yours, Host. By Douluo Continent's standards, I will appear with Soul Power thirty levels higher than yours. Once you obtain your Martial Soul Avatar, my strength will be completely unsealed!"
Gurongi 0 said with a smile, answering Xu Wenlong's doubts at the same time.
"So your current strength is level thirty-one. Not bad."
Xu Wenlong felt that was acceptable. After all, Soul Power at level thirty was called Soul Elder in Douluo Continent, which was the level of most Soul Masters there. Of course, Grandmaster was an exception.
"Since we are going to spread Great Shocker's ideals and glory, then let's do this. Gurongi 0, I hereby appoint you as Great Shocker Organization Number One Cadre. Do not begin any large-scale games yet. Your current strength is not high enough, so for now, focus on building walls high and stockpiling grain!"
"Understood. Great Shocker Organization Number One Cadre Daguva salutes the leader of Great Shocker!"
As he spoke, Daguva made the Great Shocker hand sign. It looked extremely out of place, but thanks to Daguva's looks, the awkward gesture did not seem quite so awkward.
"Alright, go on!"
Xu Wenlong waved his hand, and Daguva vanished in a flash.
"Next, it's time to take a look at my Martial Soul."
Xu Wenlong muttered. His Martial Soul began to manifest in his palm—a yellow-green locust appeared there.
Xu Wenlong controlled the locust, making it hop about, but he never found the proper way to activate it.
Xu Wenlong could not make sense of it, but he soon thought of something.
"Right, Martial Soul Avatar!"
The locust instantly jumped from Xu Wenlong's palm and grew as tall and large as Master Huang.
The Giant Locust hopped around, smashing one huge crater after another into the ground.
Henshin!
The Giant Locust leaped in front of Xu Wenlong and gradually disassembled, each part of its body attaching itself to Xu Wenlong's body.
Xu Wenlong's transformation was filled with golden light. Fortunately, it was nighttime when he transformed, so the people of Eggplant Village did not wake up.
When the light faded, a Showa Old Rogue's voice suddenly rang out from nowhere within the smoke.
As the smoke cleared, Xu Wenlong felt incomparably powerful strength surging through his body. With a wave of his left hand, he summoned the system's mirror.
The reflection in the mirror entered Xu Wenlong's eyes. His head was a locust face with antennae, his upper body covered in thin green armor, while the rest of his body was clad in black athletic wear patterned with designs.
"So, I became Kamen Rider 1?"
Xu Wenlong looked at himself, his eyes holding thirty percent surprise, thirty percent astonishment, thirty percent doubt, and ten percent speechlessness.
As for Showa-era Kamen Riders, Xu Wenlong could only say that he had watched all twenty Heisei Riders' TV series and knew them all, but he had always found the Showa Riders hard to tell apart. Yet over time, Xu Wenlong came to understand the appeal of Showa-era Kamen Riders.
Of course, as for the TV shows, Xu Wenlong had only watched Black, and that was to prepare for Black Sun's premiere.
Although Kamen Rider 1 looked rather simple, it truly carried a certain charm of time.
Just as Xu Wenlong was pondering this, another mechanical voice sounded beside his ear.
"Kamen Rider Plug-in activated!"