Dan gently crushed the Tesseract in his hand, revealing the true form of the Space Stone.
"What a beautiful radiance," Dan murmured as he looked at the two Infinity Stones floating in his palm. He instructed the Kamen Rider Chronicle system to absorb the boundless law-energy contained within the Infinity Stones, analyzing the fundamental principles of the universe. A satisfied smile curved on his lips.
With both the Space Stone and the Mind Stone now in hand, he could create a new Rider system—further writing, advancing, and perfecting the history of the Riders.
"And it's time to begin exploring and collecting materials from treasures across the cosmos."
The severed half of the Chitauri warship sat in his grasp like a miniature toy.
With the Space Stone, he could freely teleport to any coordinate in the universe, traveling instantly between Earth and the farthest reaches of space—without worrying about energy consumption.
As long as he had been somewhere once and recorded its spatial coordinates, he could return at will.
And within the bridge system of the Chitauri mothership—recovered from New York by Phantom Dream—was the only thing Dan still lacked: a complete star map of the universe.
With some modifications, the Chitauri warship could be transformed into a functional spacecraft, suitable for deep-space exploration.
According to the storyline Dan knew, the universe contained many powerful treasures—such as the Power Stone from the Guardians of the Galaxy arc, and Star-Lord's living planet father.
"But right now, the Riders at Holy City Hospital will probably contact me to confirm the situation regarding Phantom Dream's game."
With a flip of his hand, the two Infinity Stones vanished.
Holy City Hospital – Underground Base
"How is it, Dan? Genm deployed a game field covering all of New York. Will it harm ordinary people?"
As soon as the communication connected, Elena asked impatiently.
Dan shook his head.
"The game field created by Genm is quite stable. Judging from the current situation, it poses no threat to ordinary civilians in New York."
At that moment, Tony sent a communication request.
"The thing Genm mentioned—clearing the game to resurrect those killed by the aliens—is that true?" Tony asked immediately after the call connected.
Dan's expression turned serious. After a brief hesitation, he nodded slowly.
"Based on my analysis of the game field, the victims who died earlier were indeed transformed by the Bugster Virus to some extent… Or more precisely, assimilated into a form of stored data. If that data can be released, it might truly allow the victims to be revived."
Everyone fell into thoughtful silence, as if reaching their own conclusions.
"There's one more thing," Tony added. "Genm said every human in New York will have a chance to participate in the game. How do you think he'll accomplish that?"
Dan forced a wry smile and shook his head.
"I don't know. We'll probably only understand when he makes his move."
"I guess that's all we can do," Tony sighed helplessly.
A Few Days Later
Tony urgently contacted Holy City Hospital's base.
"Turn on the live broadcast from Times Square! Genm has made his move—he's hijacked the entire New York television network."
Li Hua, Elena, and Victor immediately switched on the conference room TV.
Genm appeared on the screen.
"Citizens of New York, five days ago your city suffered an alien invasion. Countless people died in that catastrophe. Many of you lost precious family members and friends."
"But have you found it strange? Why did all the victims' bodies disappear?"
"That is because I gave them another chance."
His tone grew animated as he waved his hand. Several different game interfaces appeared on the screen.
"I turned those who were supposed to die into data within the game. Now, as long as you clear all the games displayed and defeat the final bosses, your loved ones who perished in the disaster will return."
"Of course, I won't have you fight the monsters barehanded. I will grant you the power of players."
He displayed the image of a standard Player Gashat.
"As long as you use a Player Gashat, you will qualify to become a Hero and gain the power to fight the monsters within the game."
The screen showed the form of a Ride-Player created by using the Player Gashat.
"Everyone can reserve a Player Gashat online and join the game. Each of you has the potential to become a hero."
His voice carried a strong tone of temptation.
"This feels like a TV shopping advertisement," Elena muttered sarcastically.
"What exactly is this game cartridge? If ordinary people use the power of the Bugster Virus, won't there be negative side effects?" Li Hua frowned worriedly.
"I've already made a reservation," Tony said. "Once I get one, we'll let Dan analyze it."
New York Television Station
"Damn it! Who is this guy? We still can't trace his signal location? How did he hack and control our network?"
The station director watched Genm speaking calmly on-screen, his face pale.
In just a short time, City Hall, the Senate, the police department, and various agencies had called the station demanding explanations. Yet the station itself had no idea what was happening. As director, the pressure was overwhelming.
"No trace at all! This kind of technology—it's unbelievable!" a technician exclaimed, sweating profusely.
S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters
"Can we get any clues from the website Phantom Dream provided?" Nick Fury asked darkly.
"We've tried blocking it," Maria Hill replied, shaking her head in confusion. "But it has no effect. According to our technicians, the website doesn't exist on any server. Theoretically speaking… it might not even exist at all."
No matter whether it was the government, the police, S.H.I.E.L.D., or national security agencies, none could delete Phantom Dream's video or website. They could only wait, planning to act when the Gashats were delivered to those who had reserved them.
Within days, reservations skyrocketed.
As promised, Ride-Player Gashats were delivered to those who signed up—by a mysterious method that no one could detect.
Agents from every organization kept watch around the clock, yet found no clues whatsoever. The Gashats simply appeared out of thin air.
As the Ride-Player Gashats reached the hands of registered players, the massive, real-world hero game officially began.
(End of Chapter)