bioinnovel Chapter 605 [Two Chapters Combined] Chaos in New York
Chapter 605 [Two Chapters Combined] Chaos in New York
The air in the conference room at the Thirteenth District headquarters was as heavy as a sponge soaked in cold water.
Sheriff Black sat at the head of the conference table. His complexion was slightly better than it had been an hour ago, when he had just come out of the emergency room—at least his lips had regained some color—but he still clutched a bottle of nitroglycerin tablets in his hand, which he unconsciously twirled back and forth.
He looked around at everyone present, and seeing that everyone had arrived, he cleared his throat and took the initiative to speak, breaking the heavy atmosphere.
"I think you've all seen the message I sent... The reason I've gathered everyone here is because the situation we're facing now is more severe than any crisis we've ever faced before."
"The information we currently have is as follows: During the process of sealing Xiaofeng, Riley was hit by some kind of trap that the Holy Lord had set up in advance, which split his good and evil sides into two independent individuals."
"Railley the Good has been brought back by Jackie Chan and the others, and he's currently in the lounge of District 13. But he's set up a magical barrier, so no one can enter the room or wake him up. He clearly doesn't intend to interfere with anything that happens next."
"As for Evil Riley, he left the scene through the dimensional barrier the moment the split was completed, and his whereabouts are currently unknown. His phone is unreachable, and all communication signals are blocked. We have used every tracking method at our disposal, but so far we have not obtained any useful clues."
He paused, placed the medicine bottle on the table, and added in an extremely solemn tone.
"Everyone here is a core member of District 13, and one of Riley's most trusted people. I've also specially invited two special participants to today's meeting."
As he spoke, he gestured towards the corner of the conference table, and everyone's eyes followed his gesture.
Ben Parker and May Parker were sitting there, looking a little nervous.
Ben was wearing his faded plaid shirt, his calloused hands folded on his knees.
Mei sat next to him, one arm around Ben's, the other clutching a handkerchief, her knuckles slightly white from the force.
Despite taking deep breaths and trying to appear more composed, their brows were furrowed with worry for Riley.
Even though they understood that, given the power Riley was currently displaying, probably very few people in the world could harm him...
But as parents, no matter how strong Riley becomes, in their eyes he will always be a child.
Not to mention Riley's apparent age is only fifteen, and he still has two or three months until his sixteenth birthday!
Now that they've heard their child has had an accident, how can they possibly stay calm!
"Uncle Ben? Aunt Mei? What are you doing here?"
At the same time, upon seeing those two familiar figures, Peter, who had been trying to maintain his composure since hearing about Riley's accident, suddenly widened his eyes and jumped up from his chair. The force was so great that he almost smashed the conference table in front of him.
"Wait, why did we involve them... Uh, Uncle Ben, don't look at me like that. I mean, I was planning to wait until things progressed before... before doing anything... Sheriff Black!"
Under the silent yet concerned gazes of his two elders, Peter felt an increased pressure. He stammered and mumbled something, then suddenly turned to look at Sheriff Black, his eyes clearly showing a hint of resentment.
After all, even though Ben Parker and May Parker had already been injected with the Super Soldier Serum.
But in Peter's eyes, his uncle and aunt were ultimately just ordinary people with no fighting skills. Giving them bad news too early would only make them worry and uneasy!
"As I said, I invited them... I'm sorry I didn't inform you beforehand, Peter, but in my opinion, your uncle and aunt are the most likely candidates to awaken the conscience of the evil Riley."
However, Sheriff Black met Peter's fiery gaze with composure.
"Besides, they are Riley's parents, and like you, they are Riley's closest relatives... Now that something has happened to Riley, if they were to lose you without knowing it, it would be too cruel for them, wouldn't it?"
"...Okay, I have to admit, you're right."
Sheriff Black's words made Peter momentarily recall the image of "Peter Parker" in a parallel universe, his eyes filled with melancholy as he carried "Rie's" body home. The rising resentment in his heart vanished instantly. Peter took a deep breath, sat back down in his chair, and asked, "..."
"So what should we do next? Even the intelligence network in District 13 can't find the other Riley, and we're just a few of us..."
"In fact, this can be considered good news for us. If he really is the evil version of Riley, then once he makes a move, it will definitely cause a huge stir. For example, a horrific massacre might suddenly occur somewhere in the world. This should be enough to show that he doesn't intend to blow up half the earth for the time being."
Just then, Tony's voice, half-joking and half-serious, came from the other end of the conference table.
"And I think the situation might not be that serious. For example, he might be like last time, just with his mind twisted, but his strong will made him choose self-restraint... Otherwise, given Riley's understanding of District 13, he could have taken over the entire District 13 before you even came back from prison, without giving us any chance to retaliate."
As he spoke, Tony snapped his fingers and then fiddled with a holographic screen in front of him, projected by Justice, who had taken over the entire security system of District 13.
"However, we're not entirely without options... Riley once gave me some data, enough for me to develop an algorithm to track those elusive teleportation energy traces. And according to Jarvis's statistics, since he left the prison, he's been using the dimensional wall extremely frequently. In just a few minutes since we sat down here, it's been activated more than thirteen times."
Tony paused slightly, turned to look at Peter, and asked in a serious tone.
"However, what I find even stranger is... although these teleportation points are scattered across the globe, the most frequent location isn't New York, or even the United States, but rather Australia, a place he's never been before. And judging from the intervals between each teleportation, I'm over 80% certain he's looking for a specific person or a specific item. Peter, you've worked alongside Riley the longest; do you have any clues about this?"
Peter frowned upon hearing this. Under the expectant gazes of the crowd, he struggled to recall the words.
But in the end, Peter sighed, shrugged, and shook his head somewhat awkwardly.
"I'm sorry, I don't know what Riley is doing either... As you know, to ensure our safety, Riley does a lot of dangerous things behind our backs, handling them all by himself. So to be honest, I don't understand why he would suddenly become interested in Australia."
As he spoke, seeing the disappointed looks on everyone's faces, Peter felt his mood grow heavier.
To liven things up, Peter, trying to stay alert, joked with everyone about the most unlikely thing he could imagine.
"It's impossible that some ancient artifact is hidden there, capable of eliminating all potential enemies in the world at once. That Riley would think taking over District 13 is a waste of time, so he hasn't even considered it all this time, right? Hahaha!"
"...Hahaha, haha, laugh! Why aren't you laughing? It's so funny! How could such a thing possibly exist? Hahaha, ha...ha..."
His laughter sounded particularly jarring in the quiet conference room.
But what gradually made Peter's smile fade...
He suddenly realized that after he said those words, not a single person laughed out loud...
Even more deadly is...
He merely simulated these words in his mind and was horrified to discover that it seemed to perfectly match the modus operandi of the evil Riley!
This is the only possibility that can explain why, despite the numerous teleportations Riley made over the past period, no news of any casualties has ever come in!
"Wait, why are you all looking at me like that? I swear, I was just trying to joke!"
Under the unanimous gaze of everyone, Peter, who was gradually losing his composure, frantically waved his hands in front of him, his voice rising several octaves, looking utterly helpless and on the verge of tears.
However, considering past experiences...
Peter suddenly felt as if his brother had awakened the ability to generate electricity, or Gwen had awakened the ability to become invisible...
Could it be that I, who only seem to have the basic abilities of "Spider-Man", have already awakened a superpower called "jinx"... oops! "enlightened mouth"? In a sense, it can make my words come true, right?
But he really just wanted to lighten the mood!
"I must say, no wonder you're Riley's brother! You truly are the person in this world who understands Riley best, besides Riley himself. Peter, you've been a great help!"
After the initial shock, Tony, instead of taking Peter's words as a joke, quickly accepted the premise and began fiddling with the holographic screen in front of him again, praising Peter without looking up.
After all, although Tony was a modern man, his education instilled in him a belief in science, and he believed that everything in the world could be explained by scientific theories.
But after meeting Thor, a figure who should only exist in mythology, witnessing Amora unleash one bizarre spell after another, and even seeing the splendor of the Infinity Stones, Tony's worldview was constantly shattered and rebuilt. He gained a completely new understanding of the nature of this world, allowing him to be like a blank sheet of paper, easily accepting any new and illogical things.
But before Tony could even process this hypothesis and come up with a solution, his brain was already racing.
On the large screen behind Blake, the map of New York City, which had been perfectly normal, suddenly burst into flames as if a bucket of gasoline had been poured on it.
Those are red dots representing major crimes, spreading like a plague across the maps of Manhattan, Queens, the Bronx, and Brooklyn!
Without a doubt, this has exceeded the New York Police Department's ability to handle the situation and is an organized and premeditated riot!
Otherwise, how could so many thugs suddenly appear in New York City, where the crime rate was practically zero thanks to Spider-Man's activities?
It's not just banks, jewelry stores, and armored trucks—these are often high-value targets that criminals target.
Even hospitals and schools, places with dense populations but little profit to be made, have become key targets of attacks!
Therefore, the answer is obvious.
The mastermind behind this attack not only knew Riley was in trouble, but also planned this large-scale attack in advance!
The purpose is to keep these superheroes too busy to stop the evil Riley's actions!
Unfortunately, this is an open conspiracy with no solution!
If they let this go unchecked, the cooperation between the New York Police Department and the Special Agents of the 13th District alone will likely be insufficient to handle this large-scale attack, inevitably resulting in a large number of casualties.
So much so that everyone could see that this was definitely a delaying tactic to buy them time, but they didn't have any good countermeasures and could only bite the bullet and follow the other side's plan, voluntarily stepping into this trap!
"Damn, these people really know how to pick their time to 'throw a party'..."
Sheriff Black took a deep breath, stood up, and quickly swiped his hand across the holographic screen, sending several sets of coordinates to the devices of everyone present.
"We have no time to hesitate, we must act immediately! Tony, go to the West Side to deal with those bank robbers, and while you're at it, patrol the skies to gather further intelligence on the enemy's movements."
"Captain, you, Jackie Chan, Little Snake, and Felicia will lead Team A and Team B to the hospital in the East District. The situation there is complicated, and several patients with mobility issues have been kidnapped. Please be extremely careful during the operation. I believe that Little Snake and Felicia's past experience in stealing... cough cough... infiltration will be of great help to your operation."
"Peter, you lead the Spider Squad, equipped with jetpacks, to provide mobile support in the city and fill any gaps in firepower as needed."
"I will be leading Squad C and Squad D, along with Alexei and Dr. Banner, to meet up with Sheriff George. If any of you need support, please contact me immediately."
"Xiaoyu, you'll be in charge of leading Team E here. After we leave, the safety of District 13 will be in your hands."
"Dad, Dr. Otto, Dr. Connors, Dr. Kopler... Since Tony's algorithm can capture the traces left by Riley when he teleported, then I'll trouble you to put in more effort to find out the patterns of action of the other Riley and his specific goals."
"Everyone, did you all understand? Is there anything else you disagree with?"
After a rapid-fire speech, Sheriff Black quickly assigned suitable tasks to each member based on their strengths.
Even if it was out of personal selfishness that he didn't want the youngest Jade to be involved, Sheriff Black took into account Jade's characteristic that no one could keep an eye on her, and deliberately did the opposite, assigning Jade a specific task so that she couldn't leave her post without permission.
This clearly shows that Sheriff Black only saw Riley's potential and was willing to take a backseat and play a supporting role...
But that doesn't mean that Sheriff Black, who once single-handedly governed the entire District 13 and has never allowed a single spy to infiltrate the area, is some kind of good-for-nothing who can only lie down and win!