On the other hand, although Peter knew Finn was being intentional, deliberately uttering these provocative words laced with hostility to further deteriorate the relationship between him and Harry.
Those accusations were full of resentment, every single word and sentence dripping with deliberate insincerity. But if Peter could not hear Finn's true thoughts and instead stood as a bystander from Finn Osborn's perspective, he would feel that the young man's grievances were not entirely without merit.
Thirty thousand dollars a month is enough for an ordinary person to squander recklessly, but that is only on the condition that—
You were not born standing at the pinnacle of the pyramid of wealth.
And he didn't even have an elder brother who had fully inherited his father's massive business empire that stretched across the globe.
And from Harry's perspective, his persistence was also correct.
He had simply inherited his father's estate; at only twenty-one, Harry Osborn had already poured his heart and soul into the Osborn Group and had done an excellent job. Since his father had already made proper arrangements for the two brothers, he had no obligation to satisfy his younger brother's endless demands.
Peter could not understand; this instead felt like a situation of fratricide that Norman Osborn had intentionally orchestrated.
"Why is it that you are the one who possesses all of this?" Finn felt he was in top form today, continuing to unload on Harry.
Of course it's because you have a genius-level business mind! Top-tier professional abilities! A disciplined work attitude! And calm, meticulous thinking!
It must be said that Harry Osborn's persona perfectly met all of Finn's expectations for the Host.
A perfect person like Harry Osborn should completely cast off a "useless, leech-like younger brother" like him, who only knows how to drag him down, walk toward the peak of his life alone and handsome.
"Yes, I am indeed less capable than you, less intelligent than you, less hardworking than you, I certainly lack the methods you have to suppress the board of directors," Finn Osborn said with a slight, mocking smile.
Right, right, right, I have nothing and I'm just all talk.
Andrew's brow furrowed, for he certainly did not think that Finn Osborn was as useless as he himself had claimed.
But so what?" Finn said with a slight arch of his eyebrows, his tone arrogant. "Just because I am your brother, I deserve my share.
Just because I can be unreasonable, just because I can use moral kidnapping.
Harry's gaze was locked intensely on Finn's face. He had seen countless faces and was accustomed to the hypocrisy and social maneuvering of the business world, as well as the conspiracies and schemes lurking in the shadows, yet he simply could not read his own younger brother—he couldn't tell if Finn was being intentionally provocative or if he truly felt that way.
And as Finn Osborn watched Harry Osborn's expression grow increasingly gloomy, he felt that his performance this time was definitely beyond his usual level.
"I want half of your shares," Harry said coldly, his voice like ice below zero.
"Yes." Finn clenched his fists and said, forcing himself to speak.
"You should be aware that once you sell off this half of the shares, you will get the money. But the Osborn Group will also fall completely into the hands of outsiders." Harry's expression grew increasingly grim, with suppressed rage churning in his eyes.
“That is not something I care about.” Finn strictly adhered to his persona, his tone carrying a sense of indifference. “I don't care about the future of the Osborn Group; I only care about wealth.”
“Finn..” Peter, listening from the side with his brow furrowed, couldn't help but speak up to intervene; he naturally felt that Finn's words were far too harsh.
Finn, nothing in this world is absolutely fair. You are no longer a child; everything you possess now is a height that others will never reach in their entire lives. You already have so much and could live the most relaxed and carefree life; don't let greed cloud your judgment." Harry stared at the young man on the sofa with cold green eyes, his voice chilling as he said, "I can only tell you that what your father has given you is far more than what you see here.
Father?
Finn couldn't quite understand why Harry would bring up Norman Osborn.
Fairness?" Finn sneered, his lips curling into a cold smirk as he deliberately adopted a posture of comparison. "My friends can drive two-million-dollar supercars, sail on private yachts, invite me to join them at auctions—what do I have to bring? With my measly pocket change, what could I possibly buy? But you? With just a casual project approval, you move hundreds of millions of dollars in liquid capital.
“You could just let me earn my own money, since the entire Osborn Group is nothing more than a tool for you to make money,” Finn thought to himself that his impromptu performance was nothing short of perfect. He even skillfully applied the words Noah had previously scolded him with, his tone carrying a hint of deliberate grievance and resentment. “A single injection for treating cancer can sell for two hundred thousand dollars! To put it bluntly, if I were to actually get sick one day, the money I receive from my trust fund each month would only be enough to buy one such injection from the Osborn Group.”
Finn wanted to see how Harry would respond—
If you're actually sick, then go get treated," Harry retorted coldly without a second thought. "I'll give you a hundred shots for free, not just one.
Finn choked up: ".." As expected of you, your tongue is still sharper than mine.
Peter and Andrew both fell into silence: ".." You two brothers really are a matched set; your sarcasm is at its absolute maximum.
"Is property that important to you?" Harry asked, struggling to suppress the irritation in his heart.
Otherwise?" Finn didn't even seem to think that Harry would ask him such a question. "Do you expect me to say that family is more important?
Harry remained silent, thinking of that multiple-choice question in Seven Major Sicknesses' drawing account.
Finn chose [family].
This made Harry think those were Finn's true feelings.
So, this gave Harry Osborn a sense of urgency that drove him to come here.
At this moment, he even wished he could hear him say just one sentence from Finn's mouth—"Yes, family is more important."
But what he received in return was Finn's voice, hitting him word by word with the exact same indifference as his own:
Sorry, but we members of the Osborn family have never been idealists; we have always been thoroughgoing realists.
Harry's body suddenly froze.
These words were far too familiar; they were clearly the exact same arguments he had once used against Peter Parker.
Yet it was mercilessly mocking him in this moment.
At the same time, Harry felt that tiny, fragile spark of emotion that shouldn't have been there being drawn out by a cold force.
Soon, a clear, rational, almost cruel shell once again wrapped around him, leaving no room for any gaps.
System PP: [Detected Misery Value increase, Misery Value +1%]
Finn was not particularly surprised to hear the rise in Misery Value; in Finn's eyes, this plotline of wealthy brothers splitting an inheritance was cruel enough.
You are not qualified to hold the position I hold now." Harry's gaze remained impassive as he stared at Finn. "I don't know how your friends have been teaching you, but if you intend to fight me to the very end, it won't benefit you in the slightest.
[Although there is not a single benefit, it can achieve the goal.] Finn countered silently in his heart.
Finn Osborn, I'll give you one week to think it over. Once you've decided what you want, come back with your legal team to negotiate—have the professionals analyze the pros and cons for you, instead of acting like an idiot by shouting about splitting up the Osborn Group, only to end up playing right into the hands of those outsiders watching us like hungry tigers." Harry's green eyes, so similar to the young man's, held an even colder chill, his tone carried a crushing contempt. "Before you make a decision, weigh whether you actually have the capacity to handle the consequences.
Then Harry turned and left without mentioning the trip to the hospital again, the flustered Peter hurriedly chased after him.
Andrew stood frozen in place, feeling as though he had heard far too much that he never should have heard.
"Where is your cousin?" Finn thought of Andrew as well.
Is this your kind of magic too?" Finn even suddenly thought of a joke, "Trading brothers for brothers?
Andrew: ".." Was it funny? Should I pretend to laugh?
"Matt is waiting for me outside," Andrew replied.
Call him in as well," Finn said, not wanting to waste his expensive ingredients either. "He can leave after he eats; Joseph has everything prepared.
Andrew hesitated for a moment; he should have refused, but for some reason, he nodded as if possessed. Then he called Matt in. Even Matt was surprised, but since Andrew had agreed, the two young men sat down awkwardly, feeling as if they were sitting in a Michelin-starred restaurant for the first time.
Finn didn't speak, neither did Andrew or Matt.
The dining table was very quiet.
Andrew certainly realized that Finn's expression had suddenly turned silent and low, a complete departure from the excited and expectant way he had been talking about the Halloween party earlier, making Andrew feel somewhat unsettled. Clearly, the argument with Harry Osborn had also affected Finn's mood; Andrew even felt a bit frustrated, after all, it was because of him that Harry Osborn had been brought there.
Every dish on the plate was as exquisite as a work of art, the flavors were a true delight upon the tip of the tongue.
This level of delicacy was something Andrew could never have even dreamed of before; it was a level of dining etiquette that someone like him simply had no right to experience.
Andrew also couldn't understand how Finn could have such a severe stomach ailment despite eating so well every day.
Thinking of this, Andrew's brow furrowed, especially since Harry Osborn, as the older brother, was actually completely unaware.
He thought of Finn, who had been lying alone in the wilderness, in so much pain that he was completely unable to get up, all because he had gone out looking for a stray dog in the middle of the night.
That wretched and fragile appearance.
He thought back to how, after the second time the luxury car driven by the stray dog crashed into a tree trunk to avoid him, Harry Osborn's response on the other end of the phone had been as cold as ice, Finn had only replied with a low "I know," hanging up the phone only to immediately turn around and force a smile to comfort him, telling him not to worry.
It wasn't that Andrew couldn't tell; that high-and-mighty Mr. Harry Osborn was offering some genuine concern to Finn.
But so what?
Finn was so attentive, yet he still couldn't find any trace of that stray puppy. On what grounds? Yeah, on what grounds—
Did Harry Osborn think that Finn would come to him on his own just because he reached out a hand?
With Peter gone and no one around to notice, Finn's thoughts had drifted elsewhere, as he was currently reviewing the recent argument with the System PP in his mind.
In his second 1v1 duel with Harry, he performed very well overall, the ambitious Finn was still contemplating whether there were any areas for improvement for his next time.
[It's definitely because I laid the groundwork well in the early stages, so the plot has now officially entered the right track.] Finn was still instructing his newbie System PP: [PP, you must remember, things depend on human effort. Do not underestimate the construction of the plotlines; once the major plot framework is built, every step can then be taken according to plan.]
System PP felt that something wasn't quite right, but he didn't know how to respond to the Host, so in these situations, he usually chose to—
[System PP gave you a high five. gif]
Finn glanced at the Misery Value on the panel—9/100, just one step away from breaking the 10 mark.
In the next second, his gaze landed precisely on another key figure, Andrew.
Andrew's heart gave a violent jolt, even his swallowing motion faltered, his Adam's apple bobbing with difficulty.
Do you remember everything I told you before?" Finn also knew that the pressure he had placed on Andrew today had been sufficiently built up. Before Halloween, there would be plenty of social tasks waiting to drive the introverted Andrew into a frenzy, "You can handle it, right?
“I remember.” Andrew nodded in agreement as usual, though this time, the panic in his eyes had faded significantly. Listening to Finn's condescending tone, which was strikingly similar to Harry Osborn's cold and hard demeanor just now, he still felt that Finn was deliberately imitating him. "I will do my best to get it done."
Suddenly, Andrew understood.
When he was at a loss for how to cover his mother's medical expenses, it was Finn who forced an excuse to give him money. Although his mother's condition hadn't exactly improved, it had stabilized enough, which was good enough. Even if Finn was currently using him—with his face bearing a resemblance to Harry—as a way to vent his frustrations, even if he were being intentionally difficult or even throwing a few punches, as long as it made Finn feel a bit better, it seemed like it didn't matter.
After facing Harry Osborn head-on, he even felt as though his mindset had undergone a class elevation.
Event planning sounded complicated, a circle that a low-level ordinary person like him shouldn't be entering.
But the person he would encounter would be no more terrifying than Harry Osborn, who held power within the Osborn Group.
It was simply another medical miracle of the Osborn Group.
He cured a social phobia on the spot.
Chapter 23: Legacy · Lawsuit
Spider-Man was very tired.
It wasn't physical exhaustion, but mental exhaustion.
He finally managed to wait for the opportunity where Harry Osborn would be willing to come personally to communicate with Finn.
I thought this would be an opportunity to break the ice.
It eventually evolved into a maximum-intensity tug-of-war of sharp mockery between the Osborn brothers, with every single word laced with thorns.
And they even indiscriminately harmed ordinary bystanders.