"Everyone stay quiet! Anyone who makes a sound gets shot!"
A man wearing a fox mask raised an automatic rifle and snarled at the thousands of students sitting on the floor.
The students immediately fell silent—
except for one girl clutching her stomach.
"Carrie, what's wrong?"
The girl sitting beside her asked with concern.
"Lana, I'm hungry," Carrie said, rubbing her small belly, her face full of dissatisfaction.
"My brother was supposed to pick me up and take me home for dinner."
"Oh—here, I have a small bread roll. Eat this for now," Lana said, pulling a bun from her pocket and handing it to her.
Carrie's condition was something her classmates already knew about.
Most of them assumed she had stomach problems or acid reflux, so they often took extra care of her.
Carrie tore open the wrapper without hesitation and stuffed the entire bun into her mouth.
Lana, already used to this, wasn't surprised at all.
---
Not far away—
"Boss, how did you even find out that kid's child goes to this school?"
A kidnapper wearing a monkey mask asked in confusion.
"And aren't we being way too obvious? What if the police come after us?"
The leader, wearing a panda mask, replied confidently,
"Relax. The police won't have time to deal with us today."
"Huh?"
The others looked confused.
The leader cracked open a beer and laughed.
"I've received intel—today the police and the FBI are tied up with a major operation.
There are only a few patrol officers on the streets. No manpower, no time."
"So that's why you chose today!"
The subordinates immediately started flattering him.
"Boss, that's brilliant!"
At that moment, a video call came in.
The leader answered it.
On the screen appeared a middle-aged white man with a stern expression and slicked-back hair.
"I am Norman Osborn," the man said calmly.
"Is my son in your custody?"
"That's right," the kidnapper leader replied coldly.
"And not just your son—I have over a thousand hostages. If you make even one move I don't like, I'll kill them all."
"Don't worry. I didn't call the police," Norman said evenly.
"Tell me what you want. Money?"
The leader shook his head.
"Money? Don't joke with me. We're not that kind of kidnappers."
"I want that thing your Osborn Group developed in its laboratories."
Norman's expression changed instantly.
After a brief silence, he asked,
"Who sent you? I'll pay double whatever they offered."
"Enough!" the leader snapped.
"You have ten seconds to decide. Give it to me—or I kill your son and the rest of the students."
After three seconds of silence, Norman exhaled slowly.
"Fine. I'll give it to you," he said.
"But how do you guarantee my son's safety?"
The leader sneered.
"You don't get guarantees. You don't even get trust."
Norman's eyes flickered with anger, but his voice remained calm.
"Give me the location. I'll have it delivered."
The leader named a location.
The call ended immediately.
One of the kidnappers sighed.
"If he hadn't agreed so quickly, I'd have thought he didn't care about his son at all."
"Already checked," the leader said, lighting a cigar.
"He just looks cold."
After taking a deep drag, he continued,
"If I wasn't fully prepared, do you think I'd pull something like this?"
"But boss," the monkey-masked kidnapper asked,
"why kidnap so many students?"
The leader glanced at him.
"That's why you'll never be the boss. They're just camouflage."
"The Osborn Group will suppress the incident to protect its reputation. No one will investigate our real objective—the research."
The subordinates clapped excitedly.
"Brilliant! Truly brilliant!"
---
Meanwhile, among the students—
Carrie rubbed her stomach again, this time clearly unhappy.
"Carrie… you're hungry again?" Lana asked nervously.
Normally, if Carrie got hungry between meals, her classmates would give her snacks.
But now, there was nothing.
"I'm hungry. I want to go home and eat," Carrie said, standing up.
Two kidnappers immediately noticed her.
"What are you doing? Sit down!" one of them shouted.
"Move again and I'll hit you!"
"Carrie, sit down!" Lana tried to pull her back—
but she couldn't move her at all.
"I'm hungry. I want to go home," Carrie muttered.
The fox-masked kidnapper walked over angrily.
"Didn't you hear me, brat?! Sit down!"
Carrie looked up at him with a frown.
"I said I'm hungry."
"Damn brat!"
The kidnapper raised his hand to slap her.
"Stop!"
A boy suddenly stood up among the students.
"I'm your target—Harry Osborn," he said firmly.
"Take me if you want, but don't hurt my classmates!"
The kidnapper paused, then sneered.
"Kid, we already know who you are."
"Sit down and behave. Try playing hero again and you'll regret it."
He turned back and swung his hand toward Carrie.
The next instant, his hand froze in midair.
A small, pale hand had grabbed his wrist.
"I said," Carrie said coldly,
"that I'm hungry. And I want to go home and eat."
She flicked her arm.
Before anyone could react, the fox-masked kidnapper was flung across the room, slamming into the wall and collapsing motionless.
"You monster!"
Another kidnapper, furious, drew his pistol and aimed it straight at Carrie.
Bang! Bang!
Screams erupted among the students.
The bullets struck Carrie—
tearing through her school uniform—
but failed to injure her in the slightest.
Carrie lowered her head slowly.
Her voice was calm.
But terrifying.
"…Carrie is angry now."