Richie fumbled helplessly, unsure what to do as Anya stared at him with watery eyes, on the verge of tears.
Richie knelt beside Anya and gently tugged her arm.
"Anya, what's wrong? You can tell me anything."
Anya looked at Richie's frail, slender body. "Anya wants world peace."
Richie carefully recalled the plot, trying to work out why Anya was crying.
At six years old, Richie looked like a little adult as he pondered, imitating Twilight.
A moment later, inspiration flashed through his mind. He knew why Anya was crying.
"Anya, look at me. I know you can hear other people's thoughts!"
Anya looked as though she had been struck by lightning. She sprang to her feet in anger and shouted at Richie, then tears began streaming down her face.
"How do you know? Anya... Anya never told anyone."
Richie held Anya by the shoulders, trying to calm her down.
"Anya, it's because I can do it too."
Anya's expression changed in an instant. Tears still clung to her eyelashes as she said plaintively, "But Anya can't hear your voice."
To comfort Anya, Richie started making things up. "People who can read minds can't hear each other. I can't hear you either, Anya."
Anya's eyes widened, an adorable expression spreading across her face. "Really?"
Richie kept bluffing. "Really. And just like you, Anya, I've lived with lots of families and been lots of people's son."
"I used to be called Richie Kun,
Richie Biden,
Richie Ultraman,
Richie Potter,
Richie Uchiha,
..."
"Just like you, Anya, those researchers forced me to study when I was very little. I know you were sad and hated studying. I felt the same way."
Anya blinked her big eyes. "Richie is just like Anya."
Richie nodded. "We're the same, so you're not alone, Anya. You have me."
Anya couldn't quite wrap her head around it. "But Anya never saw you before."
"Anya, I used to spend all my time reading in the library. I never went out. You don't like studying, so how could you have met me?"
Richie was telling the truth.
In fact, at the research institute, he had only ever met one boy-a quiet boy who read with him every day.
As far as Richie remembered, he had never spoken to that boy, and the boy's whereabouts were unknown.
Anya gradually calmed down and began to believe Richie.
While Anya was still thinking about Richie's situation, his expression grew grave.
"Anya, we sent that signal out just now. Those people must have discovered us. They'll come looking for us soon. We're in danger."
Anya stretched herself rigid and began trembling all over. "What do we do? Spies are too dangerous."
Richie grabbed Anya's little arm. "Don't panic, Anya. I'll think of something. The worst that can happen is that we get captured. Even if they take us away, you don't have to be scared. Father will come rescue us."
Anya's eyes filled with tears. What should we do?
Richie told Anya not to panic. He had a way to handle this.
First, Richie went to the kitchen and brought back chili powder, dividing it between two bottles. He told Anya to throw it onto the bad guys, preferably into their eyes.
Then he brought over a tall stool and set it beside the wardrobe.
With his slender arms and frail little body, he picked Anya up and climbed onto the stool, letting her use the extra height to climb onto the wardrobe and take the high ground so she could attack the enemy.
Standing on the stool, Richie tilted his head up and told Anya, "We can go all out playing our game in a minute. We don't have to worry about getting scolded, so... heh heh heh."
Anya nodded, the same sinister grin appearing on her face. "Heh heh heh."
Richie ran into Twilight's room. He didn't dare give Anya lethal weapons like pistols or bombs. If she accidentally blew herself up, that would be bad.
For Anya's safety, Richie decided to use those spy tools himself.
First, he tied a thin string to the bomb's trigger. The string stretched from a leg of the living room table all the way to the cabinet.
Once they opened the door, entered the room, and took a few steps forward, the slightest touch of the string would activate the bomb and send them sky-high with a boom.
After setting up the bomb, Richie found a piece of cloth, poured chili powder into it, tied it shut with string, and hung it from the light.
Hanging the chili powder took quite a bit of effort. With his tiny body, he had to stack three chairs and stand on tiptoe just to reach.
Finally, he ran back into his room and waited for the enemy to attack.
Anya and Richie were almost asleep in their respective hiding places when they finally heard movement outside the door.
Both children perked up in excitement. At last, they were coming.
The front door was kicked open from outside in an instant, with tremendous force.
Whoever kicked it open had to look absolutely vicious. They had no sense of gentleness whatsoever, making both children jump in fright.
"Don't move!" the group outside shouted as they broke through the door, only to find no one in the room.
They scratched their heads, baffled.
Their leader crept forward timidly and cautiously, taking those peculiarly Japanese steps. "Search."
Just as everyone entered the living room and prepared to spread out to search the house, one of them touched a string.
The unlucky sap scratched his head, still unaware of what had happened, wondering why there was a string here.
After thinking for half a second and failing to work out what the string was for, he decided to report it.
He had just turned his head. "Boss, there's a string here."
The leader scowled, furious. "Run! It's a bomb!"
As soon as they heard their boss shout "bomb," they all panicked and tried to run outside.
Before they could escape, a lump of metal rolled toward them, trailing sparks.
Richie snickered in the shadows.
Boom!
"Aah!"
The furniture in the living room shattered.
Fortunately, the building's structure was sturdy enough that the walls hadn't been blown down.
The blast was a little weaker than Richie had imagined, but it still worked quite well.
The bomb wasn't all that powerful. It only killed two people.
As the men scattered in every direction, scurrying away like rats with their hands over their heads, Richie raised the pistol in both trembling hands and aimed at the chili powder hanging from the light.
A soft bang rang out. Hiding in the doorway of his room, Richie was a little clumsy using a real gun for the first time and missed his target.
He missed the target, but attracted the group's attention.
"Grab him!"
With the men about to catch him, tiny Richie trembled, knelt on the floor, and raised the pistol once more, aiming at his target.
Before you continue