The Mask is Just the Surface, the Knight is the Heart

"Kamen Rider Plug-in?"

Xu Wenlong seemed to recall that name from the Great Shocker System.

"Kamen Rider Plug-in activated."

"Scanning host. Host identified as Xu Wenlong."

"Skills installed for host."

"Kamen Rider—the mask is just the exterior; the Rider is the heart!"

"No matter what form the host takes in battle, combat power will remain unchanged. Other aspects will receive adaptive enhancements."

"Skill installed for host: Body Will Bolo Bolo Da. This skill ensures the host will never be restricted or suffer side effects from any Henshin Device."

Good grief, Red Father would call that spot-on.

"Skill installed for host: Kamen Rider's Mission Must Be Delivered! The host will not experience slowed cultivation due to low Innate Soul Power."

"Skill to be installed for host: The Kamen Rider's Doom Will Never Come!"

"All Kamen Rider physiques will be installed for the host. Please endure patiently!"

"Wait, hold on—ah!"

Xu Wenlong thought the first part was fine, but when this hit, his body suddenly felt unprecedented agony.

It was roughly equivalent to a toothache, childbirth, and muscle cramps all combined.

Because the Kamen Rider Plug-in prevented his voice from escaping his dwelling, Xu Wenlong gradually lost track of time.

The Kamen Rider Plug-in steadily strengthened his body, and he slowly began to accept the pain.

Gradually, Xu Wenlong started to enjoy it. Why? Because it felt too good.

Soon, Xu Wenlong's body seemed forged from refined steel.

He threw a punch, and a gust of wind followed. He could feel his physical strength matching the level he'd had when transforming into Kamen Rider 1.

"Skills fully installed. Host, please uphold the Kamen Rider spirit across all worlds: protect the weak and crush the strong!"

With that, the Kamen Rider Plug-in vanished.

Still, Xu Wenlong sensed he didn't have the physical strength or data-level power of those Showa Old Rogues—after all, those old-timers casually threw punches weighing tons.

If he truly had that kind of power, he'd already be punching Martial Soul Hall and stomping the Two Great Empires.

But more importantly, there were the demands from the Great Shocker System and the Kamen Rider Plug-in.

The Great Shocker System wanted him to rule the world; the Kamen Rider Plug-in wanted him to protect the weak and crush the strong.

At first glance, these two seemed opposed—and in the original works, their spirits were completely contradictory. Yet they weren't entirely irreconcilable.

The Great Shocker's founding purpose was to rule the world and absorb talent from across it to strengthen the organization.

It possessed biological technology and various subsidiary tech that could completely dominate the world.

But the Great Shocker's actions didn't match its technological level at all.

For example, kidnapping children, giving them weapons, and sending them to take down Kamen Rider 2.

Most importantly, an organization with the strongest bio-tech in the world, capable of crushing all global science, still insisted on being an underground, secret society.

And it never claimed to be righteous. Look at America—the world's biggest war profiteer. Even when they openly scheme to disrupt global peace, they still brand themselves the most just nation on Earth.

Then look at A San next door. Despite daily violations of women's rights and such, they still proclaim themselves the world's greatest democracy.

You have to respect that. No matter what you've done, wrapping yourself in a cloak of justice is never a bad move.

Now look at Shocker. After all these years, still an underground organization. They have powerful cyborg tech and other technologies, especially mind control. With all that, why not just take control of that guy who got blown away by the Japanese Server Male Gun?

Or even easier—Xi Zong over in America. That would be a piece of cake.

At the very least, both are capitalist systems. You could use your tech to start a company, easily amass wealth, and with money, those two countries would be yours to manipulate.

But across all these years of Kamen Rider, there were timelines where the Great Shocker truly ruled the world. Still, it was the same old story.

The core issue was the Great Shocker's philosophy: rule the world. Some thought in terms of money, others in terms of force. But the fundamental difference was that the Great Shocker always wanted to rule land, not people.

Their goal was to dominate the world so more talent would join the organization and make it stronger. Yet their attitude was about taking territory, not winning people over.

If they'd applied their tech to humanity, the Great Shocker's advanced science could have given people carefree, peaceful lives—no need to endure "blessings of overtime." Then people would truly accept the Great Shocker. Maybe they'd even walk an unprecedented path!

In that case, the Great Shocker's goal wouldn't conflict with the Kamen Rider's. It was just that the people within the organization had taken the wrong approach.

And for Xu Wenlong, who grew up under the red flag, all he had to do was flip the Great Shocker's stance—like swapping the positions of the two countries in the Great Bobo Non-Aggression Pact, right?

With that, Xu Wenlong set his goal.