But as for what kind of action to plan.. Finn Osborn came up with several plans, but he simply couldn't make up his mind.
And System PP was even more hesitant; as a rookie system, he was too timid to do anything, so Finn couldn't count on System PP to help him make decisions.
[Once I make my move, I'll have to bite the bullet and see it through to the end. If I haven't gathered enough Misery Value by then—]
[Will I be locked up? Will it be a prison or a psychiatric hospital? I need to make plans early; if I manipulate things, I should be able to get into a psychiatric hospital.]
[Should I go on an inspection tour of the mental hospitals in New York first, then finalize the plan?]
[Even if the Misery Value isn't fully gathered, at the very least, I should pick a mental hospital with better treatment before making further plans.]
Finn stared blankly at his workstation, already starting to plan when he would go to inspect a psychiatric hospital first.
And not far behind him, Peter Parker stood frozen in place, his expression complicated.
Finn didn't even need to intentionally reveal any flaws to him; he heard every single one of his schemes loud and clear.
After hearing this entire inner monologue, Spider-Man broke into a cold sweat.
He rushed over here after school. He had a little time before leaving the laboratory and had intended to come over and spend some time with Finn, but instead, he heard such a [terrifying] inner monologue. He was still thinking about what to give Finn for his birthday, but this guy—he actually wanted to give himself a [psychiatric hospital] gift pack!?
Spider-Man often broke into a cold sweat over Finn's "wickedly upright" ambition.
"What are you doing standing here?" Daniel, the manager from the Brand Promotion Department, passed by, looking at Peter, who was standing foolishly behind Finn, with a look of utter confusion.
Who Could Understand Me·Peter: ".." I am listening to fate's judgment upon my life-long nemesis.
[By the way, my birthday is coming up soon, there's a Halloween party later.] Finn's inner monologue continued, completely oblivious to his surroundings. [If I carry out the plan right now, wouldn't I miss my birthday too?]
Thinking about it that way, it seems quite.. miserable!
[System PP, if I could be forcibly sent to a mental asylum by Harry on my birthday, maybe I could gather enough Misery Value to smoothly complete the mission in this world.] Finn felt conflicted, torn between indecision and a hint of eager excitement.
Spider-Man was already numb: ".." You're torn between two choices, but I'm facing difficulties from every direction!
"Finn, I've already decided on your birthday present." Peter rushed out from behind and pressed his hands firmly onto Finn's shoulders, determined to interrupt his dangerous train of thought.
"Huh?" Before Finn could even react, he turned his head to look at Peter, who had appeared out of nowhere.
"I guarantee you're going to love it," Peter said in an extremely certain and confident voice.
—So, you'll behave yourself until your birthday, right?
"Whether the birthday happens or not is still an unknown," Finn muttered to himself.
Hearing this, Peter could only resort to his trump card.
Peter directly helped the bewildered Finn up from his workstation, grabbing his wrist and leading him away to a deserted rest area.
Daniel, the manager, adjusted his glasses and watched their receding figures. ".." He felt like the two of them were being quite overly intimate.
"Actually, Spider-Man and I are friends." Peter dropped a bombshell directly.
Spider-Man didn't care anymore; after all, Finn already knew his character card.
But exposing his identity directly would seem irrational, so Peter simply put on the guise of a "friend" first.
“??” As expected, Finn stared with wide eyes, his expression one of utter shock.
"What's wrong with you! Why so aggressive all of a sudden?" Finn certainly didn't think Peter would reveal his superhero identity to him, but the fact that Peter would suddenly drop a "friend of Spider-Man" identity was enough to leave Finn utterly shocked. [I haven't even done anything yet. Have you already sensed something? Are you using Spider-Man's identity to intimidate me into not having any bad intentions?]
On the night of your birthday, I can have Spider-Man come to see you." Peter stared fixedly at Finn, his tone incredibly serious, "Consider it a birthday surprise?
He had known from the very first day he met Finn, through his inner thoughts, that Finn was also a fan of Spider-Man.
Although the birthday surprise, which had been leaked in advance, wasn't much of a surprise, as long as it could keep Finn from carrying out those schemes to cause misery..
"!!" Finn also never expected that Peter Parker would actually wear a Spider-Man suit to celebrate his birthday.
"Are you serious?" Finn tilted his head slightly, asking for confirmation once more.
Of course." Peter nodded heavily, "I will definitely do it.
In Peter's eyes, Finn's eyes were incredibly bright at this moment. Within those clear, beautiful green eyes, shards of light shimmered, filled with irrepressible joy. The young man's eyes even curled slightly at the corners, like a kitten that had suddenly received its favorite toy, instantly casting all those "Misery Plans" to the back of his mind.
"Then, before midnight on your birthday, can you stay home and wait obediently for Spider-Man?" Peter hurriedly followed up with a serious inquiry while the iron was hot.
"Sure!" Finn nodded heavily without a second thought, pushing aside everything from the plan to take down Harry to the progress of his Misery Value.
"Pinky swear." Peter extended his pinky toward Finn.
Finn froze for a moment before curling his lips into a smile, extending his own pinky to gently hook it around Peter's fingertip.
Their fingers interlocked, swaying gently.
A soft, delicate warmth passed through their touching skin, unexpectedly making Peter breathe a sigh of relief, as if this pinky swear could truly lock all of Finn's dangerous, twisted thoughts away from their agreement.
"It's a deal then." Peter's voice was a bit lower than before. As he stared at their interlaced pinkies, he immediately heard Finn's inner thoughts:
[Peter's ears turned red again.]
".." Peter didn't dare stay any longer either. After ensuring that Finn really had no intention of causing trouble before his birthday, he breathed a sigh of relief and headed to the laboratory in peace.
"Host, don't you think Peter Parker—" System PP's boyish electronic voice started to speak but then paused, filled with a hint of hesitation as if he were reluctant to continue.
"What's wrong?" Returning to his workstation, Finn casually glanced at the latest electronic proposal for the press conference on his computer.
System PP brewed it for a while before finally swallowing it back, only squeezing out a single sentence: [He's actually quite a nice guy.]
Of course, he is Spider-Man, after all." Finn's inner thoughts carried a hint of smug pride, but upon thinking of his "Misery Value career," he added somewhat lackadaisically, "PP, I'm not being lazy. I'm just thinking that once my birthday is over, I'll move the plan forward. You.. can you understand?
Of course I understand, Host." Compared to Finn's ambition, System PP was as unmotivated as ever, yet very considerate. "A birthday is a very important occasion; of course you should celebrate it properly.
When Finn finished work, a document bag was inexplicably shoved into his hands.
Finn looked down at the file folder in his arms, looking completely bewildered. ".."
Could it be that the habit of leaders dumping work on people right before clocking out had finally reached a "leisurely second-generation rich" like him?
Despite his confusion, he still got into the car sent by Butler Joseph to pick him up. Once he was seated, he opened the seal of the envelope.
"Joseph, wait a moment," Finn suddenly spoke, causing Joseph, who was about to start the car, to pause.
There wasn't much in the file folder, just a few thin sheets of paper.
It was top-secret information regarding an accident that occurred last night in the basement level of the Osborn Group—specifically in the area containing tanks for breeding genetically modified electric eels. An electrical engineer named Max Dillon had been electrocuted while inspecting the circuits, fell into an electric eel tank, died on the spot.
The files also included photos of Max Dillon's charred corpse and crime scene diagrams, as well as the deceased's identification information.
The Black man in the file wore a pair of glasses, his features dull and lifeless, his resume was clean to the point of being pale.
He could tell it was an introverted person whose social circle was so narrow it was as if he didn't even exist.
After being dead for an entire day, no one had even noticed his disappearance, as if this person had never left even a single trace in the world.
This was clearly a major security incident capable of causing a massive uproar, yet Finn had spent the entire day in the Brand Promotion Department without hearing a single whisper of it; it had clearly been forcibly suppressed by the higher-ups, which left Finn unable to help but wonder.
—Does Harry Osborn know about this?
There was also a slip of paper with a phone number in the file folder. Without a second thought, Finn took out his phone and dialed the number.
"You've already seen the files," a man's voice came from the other end of the phone.
Marcus." Finn recognized the voice almost immediately. It was that old board member of the Osborn family who appeared submissive to Harry on the surface but actually viewed him as a thorn in his side. The young man's brow furrowed slightly, his tone carrying a hint of confusion, "So? Why are you giving this information to me? Because I'm in the Brand Promotion Department? I don't have the capability to handle this matter.
Of course I'm not asking you to solve it." Marcus's laughter leaked through the receiver, carrying a hint of deliberate flippancy. "Right now, this matter is being kept strictly under wraps; even Harry Osborn is kept in the dark.
".. And?" Finn asked.
Finn, this is an opportunity. This is an absolute scandal, isn't it? An advanced electronic engineer dying a tragic death by accidental electrocution and falling into an electric eel tank during overtime is already a scandal for the Osborn Group. Of course, it is also irrefutable evidence of a safety management loophole." Marcus's voice was seductive. "What's even more fatal is that the group's upper management chose to cover it up. To this day, Max Dillon's death has not been announced, as if he never existed. This is equivalent to trampling on basic humanitarian principles and legal standards for the sake of the group's so-called reputation. Is this not a massive scandal?
But Harry didn't know about this. Finn knew that all too well; otherwise, he would have settled the matter immediately.
Don't you hate him?" Marcus let out a light laugh, his voice dripping with mockery. "As long as Harry Osborn is around, you will get nothing and be nothing.
“Yes, I hate him,” Finn said candidly, maintaining his persona. It was good; now everyone knew that in front of Harry Osborn, he was a brother who was nothing at all. But despite saying that, “I don't hate the Osborn Group. Doing something like this would smear the Osborn Group, I believe the Group will have a more appropriate way to handle this.”
This isn't about smearing the Osborn Group; all you need to do is smear Harry Osborn and pin everything on him." Marcus continued, "Think about it. A manager who can't even ensure safety in high-risk internal zones, a leader who condones subordinates covering up the truth of an employee's tragic death—how will the public see him?
You only need to expose this matter at the upcoming press conference and make all this evidence public, everyone's fury will be directed at Harry Osborn. He will be labeled a 'cold-blooded capitalist,' completely losing public trust, being boycotted by the industry, being drowned by public opinion, this will be your best opportunity to take back what belongs to you.
Listen closely, System PP, this is what real professional assistance sounds like," Finn muttered to himself, "arranging for me to become a loathsome villain.
System PP: [..] I am a Misery Value system, not a Villain system.
Finn even thought that the Main Brain felt his progress was too slow and lacked ambition, so it had specially sent him a mentor-like villain to teach him a lesson.
Don't worry, I will teach you what to do." Marcus continued to entice him, his tone filled with absolute certainty, "Do as I say, the entire Osborn Group will be yours.
Finn: [It seems my persona as a brainless rich second generation is quite deeply ingrained; he actually seems to think he can persuade me.]
This, of course, did not persuade Finn.
That's right, he wanted to complete the mission and become a foolish villain who suffers.
But he also knew very well that some crises could be rectified, while some fatal mistakes, once committed, left absolutely no chance for redemption—such as—
At the first highly anticipated press conference after Harry Osborn took over the Osborn Group, to smear Harry and the Osborn Group in public using false evidence under the guise of being Harry Osborn's younger brother—this was a line that Finn Osborn would absolutely never cross.
"In this world, those who work hard, who are self-disciplined, who just want to do everything earnestly deserve a good future." Finn thought to himself.
Moreover, the press conference happened to fall on his birthday.
Finn thought of the agreement between him and Peter; of course, he did not want to ruin Spider-Man's birthday surprise at a time like this.
There's one thing you still don't know, right?" Finn hesitated to reply. Marcus didn't think his proposal had failed to move Finn; rather, he thought Finn was too cowardly and lacked the courage to do it. "The hereditary disease of your Osborn family.
"Genetic disease?" Finn was shocked; he truly had never heard of that.
Yes, your father died because of this condition." Marcus was once Norman Osborn's research partner. "Norman lied to you, saying he died from radiation, but that wasn't the case. This is a hereditary disease, like a curse, flowing through the Osborn bloodline.
Finn froze.
Of course, you and Harry both have Osborn blood, so you naturally cannot escape it either," Marcus continued. "Harry Osborn has already begun to fall ill. Once the symptoms begin, it means your lives have started to mutate and have entered a countdown, yet he has never told you about this, has he?
Finn suddenly thought back to not long ago, when Harry had suddenly said he would take him to the hospital for a full body checkup.
Could it also be to.. see if he showed any signs of his condition acting up?
[The entire Osborn Group is in his hands, which of course includes all the experiments Norman Osborn conducted to treat his illness.]
But Harry intentionally hid everything from you.
Marcus was also inwardly mocking the adversarial relationship between the Osborn brothers, but this was perfect; the foolish Finn Osborn would become his best tool.
Finn, think it over. Harry currently holds the entire Osborn Group in his hands, he also holds the key to the future." Marcus's tone carried deliberate provocation. "I admit, Harry Osborn is a smart and young genius who will find a cure sooner or later, but what about you? Right now, you are nothing more than a decoration he placed in the Brand Promotion Department. You can't even enter the laboratory—what kind of core information can you possibly access? Can you truly be content with that?
Is this what you want? Your own brother will always be held in high regard, while you have nothing, eventually ending up with the same fate as your father.