I Became Spider-Man's Cousin in Anime Crossover

Chapter 461 [Two Chapters Combined] The Helpless Children

This problem is like a pebble thrown into a calm lake.

The students, who had been chattering amongst themselves, immediately fell silent.

All eyes—angry, confused, resentful, curious—were focused on Riley, and all remained silent, waiting for his answer.

This is a peculiar kind of trust.

The authority of teachers is unquestionable, and every word they say is usually strictly followed by students—at least on the surface.

But at Midtown High School, what truly won the students' hearts was this boy who was their own age.

The reason is simple: countless past cases have proven that Riley is truly capable of taking action when necessary.

For example, three months ago, when there was an accidental leak in the chemistry lab, Riley was the first to rush in and evacuate the younger students. He also carried out all the students who had inhaled excessive amounts of gas and were unconscious. This ensured that there were no casualties in that accident.

The off-campus robbery involving Felicia remains unforgettable for all Midtown High School students, although, according to the official New York Police Department account, it was an internal conflict among the perpetrators.

But they all knew that it was Riley who single-handedly subdued this group of malicious villains and saved their classmates.

Even last week, when a fire broke out in the cafeteria, Riley rushed in with a dry powder fire extinguisher and precisely extinguished the fire before the fire department arrived and the fire spread further.

He is neither a teacher nor a school leader.

But he always steps up when the students need him.

And more importantly—he always manages to solve problems.

Gradually, a tacit understanding and consensus formed among the students—when in doubt, go to Riley.

It could be said that in today's Midtown High School, even when the principal makes a school-wide announcement, there will always be a few rebellious and hot-headed individuals who deliberately contradict what the principal says.

However, if it's Riley who says something absurd or outrageous, like "a meteorite will hit the Earth tomorrow and the world will end," they will believe it without hesitation!

Furthermore, I unconditionally believe that Riley must have prepared a solution when he said those words!

So much so that even if Riley told them to jump from the school's rooftop, they would do it without hesitation. They were certain that there were safety cushions prepared by Riley at the bottom, allowing them to escape quickly and safely!

So when Flash asked that question, everyone looked at Riley, hoping that their undisputed leader would once again stand up for them and vent their anger.

And Riley certainly did not disappoint their trust.

When Frazier asked him a question, Riley didn't rush to answer. Instead, he looked down and tapped on his phone screen. Then he held up his phone and showed it to his classmates.

The screen displays a search engine interface, and the search keyword is "National High School Fitness Challenge".

However, the search results shocked the students!

Because those contents are either completely unrelated, or only appear in the transcripts of a congressman's showy speech, or are things from a long time ago.

The only thing missing was the match that Masters mentioned was scheduled to take place soon!

"During the test, I checked it on my phone. And the result is exactly what you can see."

Riley's voice was steady and clear, carrying a comforting sense of security that echoed throughout the stadium.

"I couldn't find any information about the competition that Mr. Masters mentioned online."

"There is no official website, no news reports, no photos from previous years, and not even a single hashtag on social media."

"Clearly, this is completely unreasonable for a major event that claims to be 'national level'."

As soon as Riley finished speaking, the crowd began to stir.

"Really...?"

"Hiss, thinking about it, that makes sense. That guy only said there was a competition, but he didn't even tell us where it was?"

"Could there be some misunderstanding? Let me try searching with different keywords..."

"I'll search it too!"

"The Municipal Education Bureau's official website! Yes, a competition this large-scale must be on their official website!"

The lights from the phone screens flickered on and off in the twilight of the stadium, like a swarm of startled fireflies.

The students had their heads down, their fingers rapidly swiping, clicking, and refreshing the screen.

What began as confused whispers quickly escalated into increasingly loud discussions, eventually coalescing into a wave of undeniable doubt.

"Really, there isn't one! I searched for 'New York High School Fitness Challenge,' 'City-Level Challenge,' 'National Sports League'... nothing! I couldn't even find any events with similar names!"

"I've checked the Education Bureau's website three times! The latest announcement in the notices and announcements section is still about last month's arts festival!"

"Where's the student sports association's page?"

"No, there isn't! The most recent update was for the spring track and field meet, but that ended a long time ago!"

"My God... how is this possible..."

One voice after another, trembling with disbelief, collided and echoed in the air.

Every "no" felt like a heavy stone crashing into the students' hearts.

The initial confusion quickly escalated into anger at being deceived, and deeper still—a chilling, lingering fear.

Amid the growing unease, Riley put away his phone.

"So, the result is now very clear." He spoke again, his voice more composed and carrying an undeniable seriousness. "Either this competition doesn't exist at all, or it's so secretive that it hasn't even had the most basic publicity."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the faces that were beginning to turn pale.

"The latter is clearly illogical."

This sentence was like a key, instantly unlocking the terrifying suspicion that had been vaguely forming in everyone's hearts, but that they dared not think about deeply.

Yes, how does that make sense?

These days, for any public event, even a small community event meant for personal enjoyment, the organizers practically want to advertise it all over the world with megaphones, plaster bulletin boards with posters, and buy promotions on social media...

The goal is to attract more sponsors and sell more tickets before the competition officially begins. Even if it doesn't make a fortune, it's worth the publicity and reputation. Otherwise, the competition would be a waste!

Given this premise, how could a large-scale "national-level" event possibly have no trace of its existence?

The only explanation is that Masters is lying.

That indifferent new physical education teacher was weaving a lie that didn't even exist from his very first sentence.

Upon discovering the truth, feelings of fear and unease spread rapidly, like ink dripping into water.

What was just an angry question has now been mixed with real fear.

These fifteen- or sixteen-year-old boys and girls may have seen countless thrilling scenes in movies. They have even more than once mustered up the courage to deliberately claim that these scenes are too childish and that no one would be foolish enough to fall for such a trick.

But when "deception" and "unknown danger" were laid bare before them, and they had almost unknowingly walked into them, a chilling sense of lingering fear instantly gripped them.

If Riley hadn't been so observant and checked it out...

If they actually foolishly believe it and show up here precisely at eight o'clock tomorrow morning to face that liar "teacher"...

What awaits them?

Will they disappear without a trace, like those homeless people who occasionally appear in the corner of social news and then vanish without a trace?

"No...no way..."

A timid girl, her voice trembling with tears, collapsed onto the cold floor, her legs giving way.

That suppressed sob was like the first domino to fall.

Several students turned deathly pale instantly.

Some people began to breathe rapidly, while others instinctively grabbed the arms of their friends, their knuckles turning white. An almost tangible fear permeated the air.

Just as this panic was about to spiral out of control—

Riley moved.

He didn't shout to stop him, nor did he offer any weak words of comfort.

He simply strode slowly toward the center of the field, to the spot where Masters had just stood.

There seemed to be a lingering, unsettling sense of oppression from that man.

Riley turned around and faced all the students.

The warm sunlight streaming in from the window shone through the high window and landed on one of his shoulders. It outlined his tall figure with a dazzling golden edge, strangely dispelling some of the chill that permeated the venue.

"Everyone, calm down, I'm here."

His voice wasn't loud, yet it strangely pierced through the subtle sobs and heavy breathing, reaching everyone's ears clearly.

There was a calmness in that voice beyond its years, like a ballast stone that quickly stabilized the violently rocking boat of emotions.

All eyes—those of fear, confusion, pleading, and anger—once again focused on him.

Riley met those gazes without a smile, but his eyes were calm and resolute.

"listen to me……"

He spoke steadily, enunciating each word clearly.

"Right now, fear won't solve anything. We've discovered something suspicious, which is a good thing, not a bad thing."

He pointed to the girl slumped on the ground and nodded to the two students closest to him.

The two men immediately understood and helped the girl up.

"Whatever that guy's up to, he's a teacher after all. And right now, it's the time when school and get off work are over, the streets are packed with people."

"Even if he really has some shady goal, it's impossible for him to attack all of us now, all by himself."

"Therefore, the time when he will actually take action should be tomorrow, when the number of people has been reduced to only eight."

These few calm, fact-based analyses were like a bucket of cold water, extinguishing the terrifying, out-of-control imaginations in many people's minds.

Yes, this is a school, not a deserted alley. Many people breathed a slight sigh of relief; although their faces were still pale, at least their breathing had calmed down a bit.

"Then... what do we do?"

Flash's voice echoed in the empty stadium, trembling with the turmoil characteristic of youth, wavering between anger and fear. He clenched his fists, his knuckles white, as if trying to grasp at something that could solve the problem.

"Should we call the police now and have him arrested?"

The suggestion immediately caused a stir. Several excited students' eyes lit up, as if they had found a way out.

"Yes! Call the police!"

"Isn't this fraud? Deceiving minors!"

"Perhaps there's something even more sinister going on—getting the police to investigate him!"

"I remember, Gwen's father is the Commissioner of the New York City Police Department, right? If Gwen is willing to help, it's definitely possible...!"

Hope spread like wildfire among the people, but Riley's next move instantly cooled that flame.

He raised his hands, made a gesture to calm down, and then—shaked his head.

It's not about denying everyone's anger, but about denying the feasibility of this plan.

"That's the crux of the matter, folks." Riley's voice was calm, almost cruelly so. "We have no evidence. Until now, everything has been based on guesswork and speculation."

He paused, his gaze sweeping across the young faces, noticing the light in their eyes slowly dimming.

"Let's set aside the possibility that we might have wrongly accused him—"

"How could we be wrong!" one boy couldn't help but interrupt. "The competition doesn't even exist; he's just lying to us!"

"I know," Riley nodded, his tone still calm, "but 'knowing' and 'proving' are two different things. In the absence of substantial evidence..."

He took a deep breath and spoke the truth that everyone was unwilling to face, yet it was undeniably real:

"Do you think those adults would believe what we 'immature' 'kids' say? Would they believe that a new teacher is plotting against us just because we can't find competition information?"

silence.

A suffocating silence.

Everyone started thinking along Riley's lines of thought.

If they went to the police station themselves and said things like, "Our teacher lied to us about a competition, but we can't find it online, so this teacher is a bad person!" how would the police react?

They probably won't even issue a police report receipt; they'll just impatiently tell them, "Don't overthink it, go back to school."

"No, of course they won't believe it."

Seeing that everyone had fallen silent, Riley then gave his answer and continued to explain to them.

"They'll just think that Mr. Masters, who's new here, has offended us students somewhere. That's why we banded together to fabricate a baseless charge and try to get him kicked out of the school."

He spread his hands, making a helpless gesture.

"A brand new version of the 'students maliciously smearing teachers' case—using a collective accusation approach—do you think adults will be more willing to believe this version, or our 'conspiracy theories' about 'there was no competition, so he wanted to harm us!'?"

No one answered.

Because the answer is too obvious.

Several boys who had initially been eager to call the police now slumped down like deflated balloons.

They may be naive, but that doesn’t mean they’re brainless.