Gretchen had no choice but to leave the private room, followed by the UCLA representative, who offered Roy a few encouraging words before heading out.
With the interview over, Jennifer and the others returned to the room to have lunch with Roy.
The room wasn't big, but it was packed with seven stunning women: Jennifer, Nidi, Ashley, Mary, Elizabeth, Eloretha, and Clary. The sight of them chattering away was absolutely dazzling.
Clary had been invited by Jennifer to join them for lunch as a thank-you for her help. But she definitely didn't expect to be surrounded by so many gorgeous women—nor that Roy was the newly crowned Olympic champion from the summer.
With seven women and Roy as the only guy, Clary couldn't help but feel the vibe was a bit weird. If there weren't so many people around, she'd have definitely asked Mary what was going on.
Of course, even bold Clary wouldn't have guessed that, aside from her and Mary, the other five women all had some kind of romantic history with Roy.
The atmosphere in the room was indeed a bit strange. Every woman was eagerly piling food onto Roy's plate, and Roy, ever the team player, ate everything they offered.
Well, except for the fact that his appetite was a bit… intimidating.
"Mr. Black, how come you look like a completely different person with and without your glasses?" Clary asked.
"Maybe the glasses mess with my vibe?" Roy replied with a faint smile, brushing it off casually. But Clary was still puzzled.
After all, Roy with the black-framed glasses and Roy without them were like two different people.
Just then, someone barged into the room.
"Is Mr. Roy Black here?"
It was Marianne Megan. She'd arrived at the cafeteria just as Gretchen was leaving and had been checking every private room until she finally struck gold.
When she saw Roy's handsome face, Marianne's eyes lit up, and she nearly jumped for joy.
"Mr. Black, I finally found you!"
Her face, identical to a young Charlize Theron's, gave Roy a moment of déjà vu, taking him back to March when he'd been in L.A.
"You're that reporter from back then?" Roy asked.
Marianne was thrilled. She hadn't expected Roy to remember her—this made things so much easier!
"Mr. Black, I'd love to interview you. Do you have a moment?"
"No time," Roy replied flatly, shutting her down. He didn't want his lunch interrupted; it'd ruin his whole day.
Marianne's expression shifted. "Mr. Black, I think you should reconsider. I happen to have some… videos."
She was actually trying to threaten him? Roy didn't take kindly to threats of any kind.
"Get out," he said coldly.
Marianne hadn't expected Roy to be so unyielding. Before she could say more, Eloretha, ever the loyal sidekick, sprang into action, shoving Marianne, Franklin, and Mike toward the door.
When the trio saw Eloretha's face, they nearly jumped out of their skin.
"You! You're not dead?" Marianne gasped.
Roy's heart sank. Marianne had recognized Eloretha.
It had been so long since the cosmic demon incident that Roy had forgotten Eloretha was still on the FEA's wanted list. If the FEA found out she was with him, it could spell trouble.
But then he remembered his connections with Elise and Gerald—the FEA probably wouldn't dare make a move.
Still, this Charlize Theron lookalike had crossed a line, and Roy decided she needed a lesson.
"Eloretha, close the door."
The little succubus obeyed, swiftly pushing past Franklin and Mike—two burly guys—and shutting the door.
Marianne, Franklin, and Mike stared nervously at Roy and Eloretha.
With Clary, an outsider, present, Roy couldn't go too far.
"What are your names?" he asked.
"M-Marianne Megan," she stammered.
"Franklin Clinton," the second said.
"M-Mike De Santa," the third muttered.
What the hell? Were they messing with him?
Roy eyed the two men behind Marianne and realized they looked eerily like characters from a game.
Feeling a bit exasperated, Roy slapped his FEA badge on the table.
"You three, I'm an official FEA agent. Your actions just now could be considered a threat to national security. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
Roy's commanding presence made the trio nod frantically.
Truth be told, Roy was exaggerating the charge, and Marianne and her crew weren't idiots—they knew it was a scare tactic. But they were already terrified of Roy and Eloretha, too scared to think straight. All they wanted was to get out of UCLA and disappear.
"You know what you can and can't say after you leave, right?"
The three nodded like bobbleheads. The scene was almost comical, but they were in no mood to laugh.
"If you get it, then get lost. Eloretha, open the door."
The door swung open, and Marianne's group scrambled out like they'd been pardoned.
And with that, the drama was over.
Clary stared at Roy with open curiosity. This guy was a mystery—an Olympic champion, some kind of government agent, surrounded by beautiful women. He was like something straight out of a 007 movie.
She had no idea Roy wasn't just 007—he was a hybrid of angel and demon. Wonder what she'd think if she found out.
But a woman getting curious about a man? That's rarely a good sign.
Mary, who'd fallen for Roy in a similar way, gave Clary a knowing look. What would it be like if her good friend joined the "team"?
Her eyes sparkled as she entertained the thought.
Lunch wrapped up after another hour. Roy exchanged MSN contacts with Clary, and they all went their separate ways.
That afternoon, Roy and the others had to move their luggage into the dorms. Thanks to his inventory space, moving was a breeze. The only hassle was that Roy couldn't enter the girls' dorm, so he had to drop their stuff outside for Jennifer and the others to carry up.
As for the girls' luggage… it was a bit overwhelming. Nidi had even brought her home server.
Good thing Jennifer was super strong now, or that massive server would've never made it into the dorm.
Using his connections, Roy arranged for the three girls to share a dorm room, making it easier for them to look out for each other.
UCLA's dorms had four-person and two-person options, depending on how much you paid. Roy opted for a double room, and the school even offered him a single, meaning they'd leave the other bed empty—probably because they knew he had multiple girlfriends and figured he'd want privacy.
But Roy didn't see the point. He wasn't sure he'd stay in the dorm often, and if he needed to "do anything," he didn't need to do it on campus.
After all, when Madison went back to Boston, she'd lent Roy her Beverly Hills mansion and luxury car. He wasn't short on cash, but he didn't turn down her kindness.
So yeah, Roy had no shortage of places to stay or cars to drive.
While at his dorm, Roy got a call from Katherine.
"Mr. Black, about that task you gave me—it's about time to wrap it up."
She was talking about shorting Amacham Technology.
About a week ago, around the time of the Silent Hill incident, the federal government had announced penalties against Amacham. Katherine had used the money Roy had saved up, plus the gold and jewels salvaged from the ghost ship—$200 million total—with a 5x leverage to play the market.
The low leverage was because Roy's funds were limited, and his risk tolerance was low. High leverage could lead to a margin call with even a small fluctuation, and if he couldn't cover it, the banks would liquidate his position, flushing all $200 million down the drain.
Amacham's stock was bound to tank, but there was always a chance it'd spike briefly, letting shareholders cash out.
So Katherine had played it safe, a strategy Roy supported.
"How's the profit looking?" Roy asked, heading toward his dorm.
"About $500 million in unrealized gains. If we close now, Amacham's stock might tick up slightly, so the final take could be just under $500 million."
Over $400 million in profit—a 200% return in just a week. That was insane!
Even with Roy's iron will, his breathing quickened. No wonder Wall Street was so intoxicating. This was the allure of money—Mammon's allure.
"Close it out ASAP. I got word Amacham's stock is about to spike. After you settle, go long and make another quick buck."
The tip came from Gerald. Roy's battle with Ash and Leviathan had spooked the White House, prompting them to pour money into developing weapons to counter demon kings.
Roy wasn't optimistic—human weapons always ended up biting humans in the end. But Amacham, a biotech giant, was part of this spending spree, so a stock surge was predictable. It might not hit its previous peak, but a small profit was likely.
"Got it, Mr. Black. I'll handle it!" Katherine assured him.
Roy nodded. Just as he opened his dorm door, he heard a deafening shout from inside, like someone was playing poker.
"Yo! Yes! Yes! Come on…"
Roy's expression turned weird. Had his roommate already moved in and started an intense "game" while he was out?
Talk about awkward.
Roy wasn't sure whether to go in or back out.
Even worse, Katherine seemed to hear the noise through the phone.
"Mr. Black, I'll hang up now!" she said, cutting the call.
Roy had wanted to ask about Charles Weyland's situation, but Katherine hung up too fast.
Then the people "playing" inside heard him.
"Who's out there?"
"Uh, sorry, I'm your roommate. You can call me Roy Black."
"Oh! Roommate? No problem then!"
Roy: ???
Why was that "no problem"?
The roommate's bedroom door was wide open, which explained why it was so loud.
"Uh, should I come back in an hour?"
"Nah, five minutes, and we're done!"
Was this roommate too honest?
"Want me to close the door for you?"
"No, no! Jenny and I like playing with the door open—it's more thrilling that way!"
Roy was speechless. He headed to his room to drop off his luggage.
The double dorm was actually pretty spacious—two bedrooms, one bathroom, a living area, and an open kitchen, about 100 square meters total. Roy's room was right across from his roommate's.
As he passed their door, he couldn't help but glance inside. A skinny Black guy was lying down, while a chubby Black woman was going to town, the poor single bed creaking in agony.
His roommate was Black?
Then Roy realized the guy looked familiar. Wasn't he the Black dude from Scary Movie?
Scary Movie was a parody series that mocked horror films with absurd, over-the-top plots. Roy had seen it, and this guy was the king of ridiculous moments in the franchise.
Knowing his roommate was that guy, Roy wasn't surprised by his earlier antics.
What a day. First Lily Collins, then Nicole Kidman, followed by Charlize Theron, and now the Scary Movie guy. Roy felt like he could run into anyone at this point—even Trump wouldn't faze him.
(Trump did play himself in Home Alone 2.)
Roy's brief pause led to a misunderstanding.
"Hey, man! Wanna join in? Don't hold back, come on in!" the roommate called.
The chubby Black woman turned and shot Roy a flirty wink.
Roy's charm was universal—regardless of gender or race, people found him attractive. The woman clearly wouldn't mind him joining the "game."
But Roy's taste wasn't that adventurous.
"No thanks, too rich for me!" he said, hurrying into his room and slamming the door.
Five minutes later, things quieted down. The roommate was true to his word—five minutes on the dot.
"Yo, we're done! You can come out now!" the guy called, knocking on Roy's door, sounding proud of his efficiency.
Roy had a feeling his college life was going to be very lively.
Marianne Morgan (a young Charlize Theron, still with some baby fat in her cheeks).
The last section is adapted from American Pie.