Right!?" Finn felt a bit excited just thinking about it; of course, he was happy for Blake. "I said that in today's society, everyone is a little bit crazy. This game of his will definitely be a hit.
Spider-Man: ".." Are you saying that you and your two brothers have equally severe mental illnesses?
By the way, can I be discharged now?" Finn asked expectantly. "It's just a superficial wound, after all.
"No." Normally, Noah might have considered it, but the way Finn had stared at the knife just now made him reject the idea without a second thought.
Noah said with a smile, but his tone held an unquestionable firmness.
"This hospital bed is so uncomfortable to sleep in," Young Master Finn said with a frown, complaining in a low voice.
"Then I'll have someone change it to a large bed for you," Noah said nonchalantly.
Not long after, Finn was "packed up" and moved to another room with similar amenities, except it was furnished with a large hospital bed.
Noah looked at Finn's dejected state, looking like a pitiful little bird trapped in a cage, finally couldn't help but tap his forehead irritably. "If you ever dare to do something to harm yourself like this again, I'll lock you up for an entire month. You won't be able to go anywhere."
"It's practically part of my plan to be locked up in a mental hospital," Finn thought with a sigh.
By the time the doctors and nurses arrived to examine Finn and change the dressing on his arm, Noah had just stood up to walk toward the bedside, but Peter had already taken a step ahead and stood by Finn's side.
There had been dressing changes before, so Peter already knew that Finn would faint at the sight of blood and would be afraid to see his own wounds. However, Peter still did not know that even in such a state of blood-induced fainting, Finn could still lose control and leave such deep scars on his fair skin.
"Just don't look, it'll be over soon." Using the same way Aunt May used to hold him when he was a child, Peter stood by Finn's side and covered Finn's eyes, his young voice speaking in a gentle, soothing tone.
Finn showed no restraint at all; feeling Peter's body beside him, he leaned his head against him.
Without the slightest intention of being polite, he leaned his head in and pressed it forward with force.
“……”There was no room for him to act, so Noah, who had been standing, had no choice but to slowly sit back down.
Watching Noah's complex expression as he stared at Finn and Peter, clearly having lost the argument.
This time, it was finally Elias's turn to let out an involuntary low chuckle.
Chapter 48: Werewolf · Judge
An unexpected visitor also arrived at Finn's ward.
—Max Dillon.
Having finally passed the S. H. I. E. L. D. security assessment, Max rushed to Young Master Finn's bedside, his face filled with anxiety, anger, self-reproach. He had long ago regarded becoming Finn's exclusive bodyguard as his life's only and lifelong career, yet he never expected that someone would dare to harm Young Master Finn to the point of hospitalization before he could even officially start his post.
To him, this was nothing short of a supreme disgrace to his profession as a bodyguard!
“Who is it!” Max's eyes surged with violent fury, even deep within his pupils, he could not suppress the flickering sparks of electricity. The man spoke with a ferocious tone, his entire being radiating a ruthlessness that screamed, [as long as the culprit is caught, he will immediately make him taste a hundred thousand volts], "I will make that guy pay the most painful price for what he has done!"
Agent Coulson had reminded Peter more than once that Max's mental state was extremely unstable.
Moreover, Max's personality already possessed serious flaws.
Moreover, he had experienced a series of massive shocks, including electric shocks, death, resurrection, mutation.
Max's only current subjective thought is to become Finn's bodyguard; his entire personality is almost pathologically dependent on Finn Osborn. It is likely that even if Young Master Finn told him to kill or burn things right now, as long as it made him feel needed by Young Master Finn, he would do it without hesitation. Max is so stubborn that no psychological counseling could work on him; having been brought back to life in the morgue, he has already concluded—that he lives solely for Finn Osborn.
Spider-Man also kept guaranteeing S. H. I. E. L. D. that he would keep an eye on Max.
"It was my own doing," Finn said calmly.
Max was stunned, his previous anger instantly turning into a void.
"I have a mental illness." Finn had now come to terms with the fact that he had a mental illness.
Max was completely stunned, as if he had never once considered that the person he viewed as flawless could have a mental illness.
However, Max quickly accepted this fact.
After all, Agent Coulson had also said that he himself suffered from mental illness. In this way, he and Young Master Finn shared yet another commonality. To him, this was, in fact, an honor.
Young Master Finn, are you hurting yourself because of your condition?" Max asked with a pained and cautious expression. "Please don't do that. If you lack someone to hurt, you can hurt me as much as you like.
Spider-Man took a deep breath: ".." Please don't encourage such bad behavior, okay?
What frustrated him even more was that he could even read a sense of unreserved approval from the steady gaze Andrew cast toward this side from a distance. Andrew had previously mentioned to him that the birthday gift he gave Finn was a pair of boxing gloves—the reason was simple, only because Andrew felt that if one day Finn found his face, which looked so much like Harry Osborn's, to be an eyesore, he could simply put on the gloves and give him a good, thorough punching.
It was just that this simple reason made Peter feel it was more and more ridiculous the more he thought about it.
Peter just felt.. that he was currently surrounded by a hodgepodge of mental illnesses.
It was enough to form a complete [Mental Illness Roundtable].
But Spider-Man felt even more that he couldn't place all the pressure on Dr. Thomas alone.
—It could be said that calling for an expert consultation would not be an exaggeration.
Of course not." Finn raised an eyebrow and refused in a natural, firm tone, "However, if I ever engage in this kind of self-harm again, you can just electrocute me into unconsciousness. You can do that.
Max got stuck again.
As a senior electronic engineer, his current program library only contains three ironclad rules:
Max's Law 1: Protect Young Master Finn.
Max's Law 2: Absolutely no harming Young Master Finn.
Max's Laws 3: Unconditionally obey all of Young Master Finn's instructions.
But in the contradictory situation where Finn said that, in order to prevent him from self-harming, he must use a stun gun to knock Finn unconscious.
Max Dillon seemed to short-circuit.
If you're going to shock someone, shock him!" Noah also chimed in. He had seen Max before and knew the man had mutated into Electro-man. Now that Finn was completely exposed to the public eye because of that press conference, it was only natural for him to have such a powerful and loyal bodyguard by his side. "Anyway, there's electrotherapy available regardless.
Elias gave a faint glance. "Heh." You're only saying that for now; if you actually shocked him, you'd just end up feeling bad for him again.
Noah: →.→
"No need for electric shocks, I'll be watching you. If there's a next time, I'll tie you up," Peter said with a sigh.
A thought suddenly popped into Finn's mind: [Should I use web to tie him up!?]
"Sure," Finn said readily, a glimmer of eagerness even flashing in his green eyes.
Peter: ".." Wait, you??'
By the afternoon, Finn had already yawned several times and looked drowsy, so everyone intentionally gave him a quiet space so he could get some sleep. Andrew could finally leave with peace of mind, Noah and Elias also gave a few reminders, saying they would come to see him again in the evening. Max, meanwhile, had already stepped into his role as a bodyguard, conscientiously guarding the door of the ward, standing as straight and tall as an iron tower.
Because of Finn's illness, Peter had also been delayed from many things. He had a lot to do tonight and likely wouldn't have time to come back again. Peter wanted to stay in the ward for a little longer before leaving later.
Finn had been under Catherine's constant gaze, so he had no choice but to obediently close his eyes and pretend to be asleep.
The ward was quiet, with only the sound of Finn's shallow breathing as he fell into a deep sleep.
But Peter knew—it wasn't like that.
By this logic, don't I have less than half of the required value left to smoothly clear the game?" Finn hadn't slept at all; he had begun discussing things with System PP in his mind again. It was naturally a good thing that the mission progress was going so smoothly, but Finn also felt that it might be progressing a bit too quickly. "It's so fast. At this current pace, I feel like I'll be able to complete the mission in about two months.
"Host, what happened to your previous host after completing the mission?" System PP's electronic voice carried a hint of curiosity.
Nothing happens," Finn replied. "They successfully reach the pinnacle of their lives and continue to live happily ever after with their beloved partners. Once we have assisted the Host in completing the mission, we can also successfully depart.
System PP was silent for a moment, then asked: [So, can the Host also choose to stay?]
"Stay?" Finn thought for a moment.
In the ward, Peter's fingers hanging at his side suddenly curled in tension. He couldn't hear System PP's question, but through an inexplicable intuition, he accurately guessed the question.
Spider-Man's heart suddenly raced, his heart hanging high in his chest, even his breathing became cautious.
Of course, he hoped Finn could stay.
To stay in this world where he exists.
"I don't want to." Finn's answer was firm, without even a moment of hesitation, directly shattering Peter's expectations.
System PP then used a shota-style electronic voice to ask the question that Peter Parker was urgently dying to ask:
Why? Is becoming Finn Osborn not good for the Host?
But I am not Finn Osborn. Besides, according to my Misery Value plan, I'll end up in a mental hospital and prison in the end. Although the plan might change now, still—" Finn thought, "it's too much of a loss.
As if knowing that System PP could not understand, Finn patiently explained again in his heart.
I am already twenty years old." Finn's agreement with the Main Brain was, of course, that after this mission, he would be born as a human. "Since I am going to be born as a human, I naturally have to start from being a baby. The Main Brain promised me that it would give me a very happy family, with parents who dote on me and siblings I can play with, but I want to be the youngest. You know, because the youngest always gets a little more favoritism.
Finn naturally felt a sense of longing for the [New Life] he was about to welcome.
[I clearly could have started from the beginning and had a complete life.]
Why start directly from the age of twenty, skipping the entire twenty years before it?
No matter how he thought about it, Finn felt it was a huge loss.
Listening to Finn's inner thoughts, Peter's heart sank bit by bit, sinking to the cold bottom of a valley.
At this moment, Peter truly understood Finn's most honest thoughts, he could not deny that Finn was not wrong.
Finn had been clear-headed and firm from beginning to end. He was not the Finn Osborn of this world; to him, this identity was nothing more than a mission that needed to be completed. What he craved was a life that truly belonged to himself, a complete life that began with a happy childhood.
This longing was so real, so real that Peter could not even find the standing to say anything to make him stay.
And, have you seen that news report?" Finn's inner voice surfaced again, tinged with a sense of caution, "The statistical probability of death for the 20-24 age group in the United States last year was 4.8 per thousand! What if I'm unlucky and happen to be one of those 4.8 out of 1,000 people? If I can't even live for a few years, wouldn't that be an even greater loss?
"Will the Host be reluctant to part with them after completing the mission?" System PP asked after a moment of silence.
I will," Finn said candidly, "but I've already become quite good at saying goodbye.
Did Finn not like his hundred beloved hosts? Of course he did.
But he was the System, the System's duty was to travel through different worlds, assisting hosts with vastly different personalities—all of whom were miserable for various reasons—in completing their face-slapping counterattack scripts, watching them step by step toward the pinnacle of their lives. Over the years, he had long since grown accustomed to such partings and had long since learned how to say goodbye with dignity.
This was simply the self-cultivation of a System.
He does his utmost to help every Host achieve the glorious life they desire.
And this time, he also wanted to fight for the life he desired for himself.
The afternoon sunlight scattered into the ward, stretching Peter's shadow very, very long. The young man sat stiffly by the hospital bed, motionless, the light in his eyes dimming bit by bit, leaving behind only a heavy, silent sense of loss.
Peter Parker suddenly realized—
It seems like he has fallen in love with someone whom he simply cannot hold onto.
[Misery Value detected rising, Misery Value +1%]