Just then, his phone suddenly rang—it was Noah Hart, a fashion designer friend of Finn's who had also founded a clothing brand called "METAL." Ever since they met, Noah had always been dragging him into buying clothes from his own brand. Finn had crafted a persona for himself as a "soft-hearted sucker," paying generously every time, Noah never held back, filling his walk-in closet and shoe cabinet to the brim.
Although System PP had been constantly reminding Finn that his spending on clothes was way over budget, that he might end up with nothing but clothes and no money for food before next month's trust fund arrived, Finn had his own ideas—
For years, he had been wearing nothing but the System's "factory-standard skin."
Now, possessing so many VVVVVIP noble skins is also something he deserves!
"I bought a new sports car!" Noah Hart said excitedly over the phone.
Finn wanted to ask exactly how much of this new sports car was funded by him; at the very least, he had contributed no fewer than four wheels.
"It seems a bit late, but since you aren't asleep anyway, do you want to go for a drive?" Noah followed up with the invitation; he didn't seem to find it strange to go out in the middle of the night.
"Sure, I'm in!" Finn sat up instantly, his stomachache almost entirely forgotten—after all, it was a sports car he had "invested" in himself, so wasn't it only natural to go for a drive?
"Where are you? I'm coming to pick you up right now," Noah asked eagerly.
Finn immediately told Noah his location, feeling like a little genius in his heart. He would just lie here and wait for Noah to arrive, then when Noah saw his miserable state, wouldn't the Misery Value come? Then, he could see Noah's new sports car and wait for Noah to take him out for a joyride.
As a result, Finn found it perplexing that there was no response from the phone.
He picked it up and looked at it under the moonlight—the screen was black, it wouldn't respond even after he pressed it for a long time.
F**k.. It's out of power.
The electronic voice of System PP rang out at the right moment: [Detected an increase in misery points, Misery Value +0.5%.]
This anticipated misery point seemed so ill-timed at this moment.
"So, did Noah actually hear the address I said?" Finn asked, still clinging to a final shred of hope.
Although System PP did not want to speak such cold words, it replied: 【No.】
".." Finn's hands trembled as he gripped the powered-off phone, before he collapsed straight back, fuming with rage.
[At the very least, the Host has successfully gained 0.5% Misery Value. The Misery Value has now reached 3/100, which is a significant breakthrough.] Seeing that Finn was truly being tormented, System PP hurried to comfort its Host, [The Host should go home. Ensuring sufficient sleep is vital for the human body. Furthermore, the Host's stomach issues are currently flaring up, leaving him in a weakened state and at risk of falling ill.]
Finn Osborn sighed helplessly.
Noah will be at the party tomorrow night anyway, so we can just go for a drive in his new sports car then," Finn said after thinking for a moment. He couldn't exactly stay here until dawn; after all, this trip had actually made some progress. "It seems a bit cold. Forget it, let's head back.
Just then, the sound of fragmented footsteps and conversation approached from the distance.
Finn suddenly lay back down by instinct.
—Is he waiting for an audience now!?
Is there someone lying here?
Under the pitch-black night, several youths carrying flashlights drew closer, Finn could hear their conversation more clearly—
“It's not a corpse, is it?”
“A murder? A body dumped in the wild? Don't scare me!”
It's real, I even saw a leg! Andrew, go over and take a look.
Andrew's body stiffened as his name was called, the flashlight beam trembling as he instinctively tried to shrink back.
Andrew complained inwardly; whenever there was something "they didn't want to do," he was always the one being commanded to do it. But at this moment, with the other two staring at him, Andrew could only suppress his fear, clench the old camera in his hands, shuffle forward hesitantly.
Finn sat up abruptly from the ground, afraid of actually being mistaken for a dead man.
But in the eyes of Andrew Damon, Matt Garrett, Steve Montgomery—three youths out on a wilderness expedition—the scene was like a pale-faced zombie suddenly sitting up from a pile of weeds. The three of them recoiled in terror, letting out simultaneous screams.
"I'm not dead!" Finn also explained in a panic.
Meanwhile, Finn was also sizing up the three young people before him, who appeared to be around his age. They were holding flashlights, one of them was holding a camera, looking like adventure enthusiasts out for a thrill in the middle of the night.
“You, what happened to you? Why are you lying here in the middle of the night?” The three of them approached hesitantly, looking at Finn with strange expressions.
Finn's gaze suddenly froze, landing on the young man holding a camera—
This person's facial features actually bore a striking resemblance to Harry Osborn.
Even more like him than his own real brother!
"Is something wrong?" Andrew asked in a low voice, feeling uneasy under that stare, his hands tightly gripping the camera.
"I am Finn Osborn," Finn said, introducing himself after a moment of thought.
Finn Osborn?" Montgomery showed a look of surprise. Whether it was Harry Osborn or Finn Osborn, both were well-known names associated with the Osborn Group, he certainly knew them. "The Osborn you mean? The Osborn Group?
"Yes." Finn nodded.
Three young men took a deep breath simultaneously—they all knew that even if Finn didn't inherit the Osborn Group, the cost of a single party thrown by a second-generation rich kid like him would likely equal their entire year's tuition.
Why are you lying here?" Montgomery and Matt's attitude toward Finn immediately became much more friendly. They reached out to try and help Finn up from the ground, asking with concern, "Are you okay?
Finn's stomach cramps had actually subsided by then, but to confirm his suspicion, he kept his brow furrowed and his lips tightly pressed together, pretending to be weak and lifeless as he clutched his stomach tightly.
"It's my stomach," Finn said in a weak voice.
Did you call someone to pick you up?" Steve Montgomery and Matt Garrett looked worried, supporting the pale-faced Finn as they helped him up. "Do we need to call an ambulance?
My phone also happened to run out of battery," Finn said with a sigh. "I've always had this condition; there's no need for a hospital.
“Then we'll help you contact your family..” Montgomery said proactively, but as soon as the words left his mouth, his heart sank—who didn't know about the massive inheritance drama within the Osborn Group? The media had already reported on it in vivid detail through various outlets. While they might not understand the family lives of the wealthy second generation, they all knew that the two brothers had certainly broken ties in their struggle for the enormous inheritance. "Or, perhaps, contact your friends?"
Finn waited quietly.
System PP still indicated that his Misery Value had not increased.
Finn sighed helplessly.
—This mechanism for collecting Misery Value is truly rigorous, Kashi.
The environment is tragic, the background is tragic, the audience has arrived, yet it still doesn't count as "misery."
Finn speculated that it was probably because these people were all strangers. When strangers witness someone else's plight, they generally do not feel much of an emotional stir. From a bystander's perspective, the current plot could, at most, be considered a "good deed" of positive energy.
"No need, my car is right there." With that thought, Finn stopped pretending to be too weak to stand.
"In your condition.. you can still drive?" Steve Montgomery asked in shock, thinking the young man was merely trying to act tough and forcing himself to stay upright.
"It doesn't hurt as much anymore," Finn nodded.
Even though Finn said so, Montgomery and Matt still insisted on seeing Finn to the side of the car.
When they saw the silver-gray sports car clearly, all three of them couldn't help but let out a gasp of "wow."
Sleek lines, with cool scissor doors that opened when the car door was opened, the car body glinted with a cold light under the moonlight of the night. It was an expensive luxury car at a glance, a luxury car that they absolutely could not afford.
Thank you, I'm glad I ran into you all here." Finn took a stack of cash out of the car; he always kept plenty of cash on hand to make tipping easy. "By the way, I haven't asked your names yet.
Finn was also somewhat curious about these chance encounters, especially the young man who bore a resemblance to Harry. However, if he wanted System PP to retrieve a profile, there was a prerequisite: he had to know the other party's real name.
"No need for money! We didn't really help much anyway." Montgomery and Matt shook their heads quickly, then immediately introduced themselves, taking the opportunity to introduce Andrew as well.
Andrew gave a noncommittal grunt, but his gaze lingered on the cash in Finn's hands.
Montgomery and Matt were not lacking in money, but—he was short on cash, desperately short on cash.
Andrew wanted to ask in his heart:
Why not take them?
After all, for someone as wealthy as Finn Osborn, a few cards were nothing at all.
But of course, Andrew did not dare say it, as the young man gazed at Finn, a vague and indescribable darkness churning in his heart.
A natural-born "lucky one."
The "center stage" of the world.
From birth, he had been standing at the finish line of everyone else's life peak.
In the other's world, the words "hardship" or "suffering" likely didn't even exist, he might not even have a concept of "being short on money." This innate disparity caused Andrew to feel an inexplicable sense of resistance toward the young man standing before him, whom he was meeting for the first time.
A mixture of unknown inferiority and hostility.
Andrew watched Montgomery and Matt huddle around Finn, their tone filled with a warmth he had never experienced before. Finn Osborn didn't need to do anything; he only had to stand there, people would flock to him.
And what about him?
If it weren't for the connection of being "Matt's cousin," Matt and Montgomery would likely not have spared him even a single glance. He had always been that superfluous person trailing behind the two of them, cautiously fearing he would be left behind.
Finn did not sense any sense of loss from Andrew; he simply focused on the identity information for the three individuals provided by System PP, all of which were quite simple. They were students at the same high school, Matt and Andrew also shared a connection as cousins.
Finn took a few more looks at Andrew, confirming with System PP once again that the young man was not another lost heir of the Osborn Group; otherwise, his tycoon script would require major changes.
At this moment, Steve Montgomery and Matt Garrett both noticed Finn staring at Andrew as he held up the camera, they both secretly thought something bad was about to happen—which glamorous second-generation rich kid would be willing to let a stranger film their unseemly moments? And keep shoving the camera right in their face?
We will delete the video, I'm so sorry." Matt hurriedly pressed Andrew's camera down, speaking in a sincere, apologetic tone, "Andrew just loves filming. We guarantee the video will never be leaked.
"Fine." Finn nodded, his gaze still fixed on Andrew.
He really looks like him—he looks just like his brother.
After putting down the camera, Andrew's already timid nature made him even more restless; he didn't even know where to put his hands, let alone how to meet Finn's gaze.
"Apologize, quickly," Montgomery whispered in Andrew's ear. He knew about Andrew's nickname for filming freaks on campus, but filming Finn Osborn like this was clearly too rude.
Just as Andrew was about to speak, he heard Finn ask him:
Has anyone ever told you that you look a bit like Harry Osborn?
Andrew Damon looked up sharply, his eyes filled with shock, then shook his head, thinking it was quite ridiculous—
Who would ever link him with Harry Osborn?
A pathetic wretch who was viewed as a "freak" and was isolated and bullied at school; a punching bag for a violent father who treated him like a "trash can" at home, subject to random beatings and verbal abuse; a bottom-dweller crushed by the hardships of life.
And Harry Osborn, who took control of the Osborn Group at the age of twenty, holding 1.6 trillion yuan in assets, was a child of destiny standing at the pinnacle of the world's pyramid.
"Of course not." That was a status Andrew Damon wouldn't even dare to imagine, let alone have any connection to.
Finn did not press further. Since Montgomery and the others had all refused the money, he thought for a moment and asked—
“Do you want to come inside the car and take a look?”
"Really?" Steve Montgomery and Matt Garrett both showed looks of pleasant surprise; young men of that age could naturally not resist the temptation of top-tier luxury cars.
"Come in." Finn was also eager to show off his equipment.
As Andrew Damon followed him inside, his entire body was tense, he didn't dare touch anything. The car's interior was luxuriously dazzling, with colorful ambient lighting; the mere sight of the vehicle made Andrew feel as if he had stumbled into a world that did not belong to him. He instinctively wanted to take out his camera to film, but then thought of something and put it back.
"Take as many photos as you want," Finn said.