Riley Ross-Chapter 193: Hatching A Plan

"Was… it even like this earlier?"

When the Baby Crew, or all the students of Mega Academy for that matter, entered the auditorium, the campus was as it always was—beautiful, with activity, but usually empty. There were only wide roads and parks scattered everywhere to keep the greenery due to the campus's sheer size.

But now, there were event tents set up everywhere—some even consuming an area large enough to fit several buses just for their booths… and one booth was exactly that, buses.

"...Is that dude trying to sell buses inside the Academy?" Gracey quickly checked out the booth, and Pauline and Silvie seemed curious enough to follow her.

Bella, on the other hand, had her eyes set on a tent that had several deadly weapons displayed. Riley watched as each member of the Baby Crew went to different tents, even V and Tomoe, who were usually like tarsiers sticking to his side.

Riley just stood there… or at least it looked like that to everyone else. But in truth, he was busy communicating with Darkday One and Miss Thursday through his network of clones.

But of course, according to Miss Thursday, just standing there would make him look even more suspicious than he already was.

If only he had successfully recruited Anastasia into the Guesthouse, then she would've probably already had a recommendation for him as a master of espionage. But alas, Megawoman killed her like a bug, and she didn't even realize it.

Now that he had time to think about the outcome of the battle, he couldn't help but feel a little, in his words, feel similar to his close cousin on the spectrum—down.

He wanted to see the aftermath of his battle with Anastasia if it had continued, and the mini nuclear bombs actually exploded across the different parts of New York City… but most importantly, he wanted to know if his telekinetic abilities were strong enough to tank the explosion.

When Anastasia revealed that she was carrying a bomb, he immediately placed a telekinetic barrier around the building of their penthouse. He truly wanted to see if it would've stood tall. But alas, Megawoman.

But since it was nearing twelve hours after it happened, it was just about time for Riley to completely move on from it and forget it.

[Boss, aren't people staring at you? You need to hide before we continue.]

Darkday One's thoughts reached his mind, and true enough, a small number of students slowly began to gather in front of him. They weren't approaching him just yet, but from the looks they were giving him, they were about to.

Surprisingly, Riley did not choose to ignore them and even acknowledged their presence.

"Hello, everyone," he said while moving to the side of the pavement where there were no tents popped up. And upon hearing him greet them, the faces of the students all lit up as they actually followed him to the side.

"Does your group need something from me?"

Riley sat back, even though there wasn't a chair behind him at all. But it didn't matter, as he sat in the air while addressing the crowd.

"Sweet Snowy Little Baby Boy!" And finally, one of the students stepped forward, a young woman. "P-please, sign my merch!"

The student pulled out a poster, unrolling it like a carpet right in front of Riley and revealing a digital drawing of him partly wearing his holographic bunny mask while wearing a set of white pajamas.

Riley stared at this image for a second before gesturing to the woman to approach. And as the woman drew close, she felt something blocking her path—specifically around her waist. She tapped the air in front of her, only to feel an invisible, horizontal surface separating her and Riley.

"Oh!" And upon realizing that it was an invisible table, she carefully placed the poster on it and gave Riley a pen, only for him to pull out his own pen and sign it without any hesitation.

"And who should I address this to, Female Student?" Riley asked.

"Jammie! Me!" the student quickly answered.

"Very well." Riley nodded as he wrote the young woman's name below his. "Here you go, Jamimi."

"Ja—?!"

"Me next!"

Unfortunately for Jamimi, she wasn't able to restore her name as the student behind her lightly shoved her to the side. Surprisingly, that was the extent of the chaos that the crowd had created.

Other than that, they seemed to have taken it upon themselves to neatly fall in line.

"Please, sign this!"

This time, it was an entire pillow of an animated Riley. The woman gently placed the pillow on the invisible table Riley created, almost as if treating the item as a baby… and she probably was.

"My name's Gabriela!"

Riley tilted his head at the image, and it was him sleeping… once again in a set of white pajamas. Riley pulled out a different marker, this time a brush.

"I am going to use this so that my signature will not fade if you wash the pillowcase. Gabriela."

"Thank you for being so thoughtful!" Gabriela squealed. "But you don't have to worry, I won't be washing it since you touched it!"

"That would be unsanitary, Gabriela."

"It—"

And then, as she did with the fan who went before her, the fan behind her also shoved her to the side as soon as her merch was signed.

And once again, it was a young woman. Riley slightly leaned to the side to look at the line, only to realize that they were all students of the female variety.

Unbeknownst to him, however, there was another female student watching him from behind.

It was Hannah, nodding her head menacingly with a smirk on her face. She was even taping her fingers against each other while quietly giggling to herself.

After all… all the merch that Riley's fans had was licensed and sold by her online.

Unbeknownst to Hannah, however, Riley already knew that because Alfred told him. But of course, Riley wasn't really focusing on the signing at all.

[Sofiya Sholove. Born June 21, 1976, in Kadiivka. She is a super with the ability to control the weather and natural calamities—and from what Miss Thursday has researched, Boss, she is probably the reason why Whiteking's reach is weak in Russia due to her ability to produce a sort of EMP blast.]

EMP blast. Most of Father's technology is not affected by EMP blasts.

[True, so she might be emitting something else. I shall continue my findings—before becoming the Secretary of Defence, Sofiya was a soldier of the country's Rescue Corps and had led several expeditions deep into Russia's Danger Zones. Highly decorated. She has been awarded the Order of St. George, the Order of Courage, and the Hero of the Federation.]

Interesting.

[Miss Thursday is advising us to change targets, Boss. And even though I only have an illusion of free will, I agree with her.]

Hmm.

Riley continued to sign all the merch being handed to him, talking with his fans and Darkday One at the same time.

[We're not ready to kill someone like this, Boss.]

And that is exactly why we will do it, One. The excitement and happiness we feel upon the thought of torturing and killing someone stronger is… exhilarating.

"He… he smiled at me! It's his signature smile!" One of the girls broke the line, shoving at least five people as she lifted up her shirt and showed a tattoo of what seemed to be… lips?

And from how wide and how it was shape… it was Riley's lips curled into a smile, just a few inches below her chest.

"What are you doing?!" The other girls rushed at the young woman. "Why are you showing him something like that?! He's too young for that!"

"Lynch her! Take her to the back!"

And while his fans started to become wild, Riley's thoughts only grew more resolute.

If we refuse this order, One—how could we ever hope to face and kill Megawoman?

[You… want to kill Megawoman?]

No. But what if her name is suddenly entered into the website, One? After all, from all the data and orders we have received, no one was exempted.

[It was Anastasia who put Sofiya's name, Boss.]

I know. Exciting, right?

Riley giggled to himself, and the crowd in front of him instantly stopped fighting each other and focused only on that single gesture.

The only question now is, how do we fulfill the order of a dead woman? How do we kill Minister Sofiya?"

[We have more crucial information, Boss. All three of her children are supers, and each is strong in their own right.]

And what do we have on the children, One?

[Miss Thursday is working with the I.T. Department as we speak—but it would be faster if the Warden were here.]

Tomoe is busy at the moment. I will send her there as soon as she is available. For now…

…why do we not visit one of Minister Sofiya's children?