The alert crowd was stunned; no one understood what he wanted to do.
The next second, the sound of dense gunfire rang out.
Finn pulled the trigger, firing wildly at the glass. The thick glass shattered upon impact, sending shards flying in all directions.
A cold wind rushed in instantly, carrying the biting chill of high altitudes.
The gunfire ceased, Finn casually tossed the gun aside, feeling even more exhilarated than he had at the shooting range.
"Finn! What kind of madness are you acting out!" Marcus stared fixedly at Finn, who was performing these crazy actions, with a look of complete incomprehension.
Finn turned his head toward him, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.
Those green eyes remained calm and emotionless, radiating an inorganic coldness.
Then Finn stepped forward without hesitation, his massive impact crashing into Harry's rigid, struggling body as he held him in a tight embrace.
He jumped from a height of one hundred and five stories.
Chapter 62: Potion°Specialty
Harry was equally incredulous.
He couldn't react to what Finn was doing—was he jumping off the building?
The sensation of extreme weightlessness only made Harry feel that his already chaotic life was plummeting.
Harry never thought he would die in such a way.
He could die; he had even made a will long ago, prepared to face the end at any time.
But—
"Don't be afraid." In his daze, Harry could still hear Finn's voice in the wind.
The whistling cold wind nearly choked Harry, leaving him unable to make any sound.
The tears he had once regarded as weakness now broke uncontrollably in the weightless air.
His brother was so beautiful, so pure, so exceptional.. He should have had a brilliant life that the whole world would envy; he should never have fallen into such a dark and desperate abyss alongside him.
It shouldn't be like this.
He could die, but Finn could not.
Harry wanted to scold Finn.
The Osborn family has never produced an idiot like Finn.
But he couldn't speak.
He simply could not imagine—
The whole world is collapsing, but there is still one person who will run toward him with everything they have, never giving up.
He found it even harder to refuse—
This embrace, which was willing to fall with him.
His body was cold, the embrace was warm, but the emotions surging in his chest at this moment were boiling like lava.
His body was enveloped in pain and weightlessness, leaving him without even the strength to lift his hands. Harry could only use his last ounce of strength to reach out and hold Finn tightly, pulling him firmly into his own embrace. Harry wanted to protect Finn, even though he knew it would be of no use at all.
Finn! Harry!
Young Master Finn!
Spider-Man's panicked cry cut through the howling wind, followed closely by Max's anxious roar.
In the next second, several strands of tough webbing suddenly tore through the air.
Spider-Man, in a state of extreme panic, was firing his webs almost purely by instinct.
Countless strands of web wrapped densely around their bodies, violently pulling the two falling figures toward the wall of the adjacent building, barely arresting their rapid descent and pinning them firmly in place, pulling them back from the brink of death.
As Spider-Man landed beside Finn and Harry, his entire body was trembling uncontrollably.
Harry was the same, the sensation of near-death suffocation making him gasp for air, as he instinctively clung tightly to Finn's body.
With his mind completely blank, Harry could only hear Finn issuing commands in a calm voice:
Max, charge in and take them out.
Immediately after, Harry, whose thoughts were in a chaotic mess, heard a continuous burst of gunfire erupt from above.
"Are you guys okay?" Spider-Man was worried sick; he hadn't even known that Finn and Harry were still in the Osborn Building. Even if they were truly in the Osborn Building, Max being there would allow them to withstand the Chitauri attacks. But what was even more terrifying was that no one had anticipated that, at such a critical moment of defending Earth, betrayal from within the Osborn Group would be an even more horrific and lethal attack.
Peter could hardly describe how he felt just now when he saw Finn and Harry falling from the sky.
After-fear gripped his heart, making even his breathing become labored; he couldn't help but wonder—
What if he, what if he had almost failed to catch him?
I knew you would catch him.
Finn looked at Peter with a smile and said with certainty, appearing as if he truly wasn't panicked or worried at all.
But inside the Spider-Man suit, Peter was on the verge of a breakdown.
—You jump from buildings without a shred of fear!
—So you're just going to randomly pick an unlucky Spider-Man and scare him to death!?
It's not nothing." Finn replied to Spider-Man's question with a heavy tone, the young man frowning as he carefully observed Harry's current condition. Harry's pupils were unfocused, clearly due to the massive shock he had received. Moreover, Harry was panting heavily, his body still trapped in the intense pain of mutation; clearly, every passing second was an ordeal for Harry. "Our family has a genetic disorder. Harry's body has been injected with a catalyst, which is accelerating his mutation.
After hearing Finn's brief explanation, Spider-Man stared in shock at the spreading green patterns covering Harry's body.
Although Peter had also heard Finn's inner thoughts mention hereditary diseases several times before.
—But he had always thought it was a hereditary mental illness!
"What about Dr. Bruce Banner?" Finn asked, looking up at Spider-Man.
Finn was not truly naive either; having poured so much money into the Scholar with Seven Doctorates, he had naturally also let System PP trace the connection to uncover the other person's background.
Dr. Bruce Banner, the Hulk, a beneficiary of Gamma Ray, also the person who understands genetic mutation best.
He's fighting on the front lines." Spider-Man didn't know how Finn knew Dr. Bruce Banner, but he still pointed at the green giant who was visibly engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the Chitauri army. "That green giant right there.
Is he really that green?" Finn was also shocked when he saw that ferocious green giant, but then an extraordinary surge of confidence welled up in his eyes. He turned to look at Harry and said in a softened voice to comfort him, "Don't worry, he's so green that he'll definitely be able to cure you.
By this time, Harry had long been submerged in extreme pain; his vision began to blur, the sounds in his ears became indistinct.
He knew that he and Finn had been saved by Spider-Man.
But Harry couldn't hear the conversation between Finn and the others clearly at all.
The curse within his body seemed to know he had escaped death once again, it was lashing out like a madman, its sharp pain gnawing at his internal organs. Every breath brought a tearing sensation of agony, the mutations within his body continued to spread relentlessly.
At Finn's request, Spider-Man used web to drag the Osborn brothers back to the CEO's office on the 105th floor once again.
Max had already cleaned this place up to ensure Young Master Finn wouldn't be frightened, tidying it so thoroughly that not a single person remained. Only a mess was left behind, with glass shards scattered across the floor and the lingering scent of gunpowder and blood permeating the air.
Finn had Max check the current status of the various laboratory levels within the Osborn Group to see which one was most suitable for treating Harry Osborn's medical condition. Of course, having a laboratory alone was not enough; the researchers who had previously been responsible for studying the Osborn family's genetic diseases also needed to be gathered. Finn directly compiled a list for Max, instructing him to go and fetch them with lightning speed.
Only after Harry was placed on the sofa did a sliver of sanity slowly return to him from the extreme chaos.
He lowered his eyes and looked at his own hands.
These hands had once held control over the Osborn Group and supported a vast business empire. But now, they were covered in green scales, hideous and ugly, possessing a monstrous ferocity, even the fingernails gleaming with a dark green luster.
Marcus was very successful.
He used that catalyst not only to crush his body but also to utterly shatter his self-esteem.
This was the sight Harry Osborn loathed and feared most; it was the brand of the Osborn family curse, a destiny he wanted to escape for the rest of his life but could never ultimately outrun. He tried every possible way to control his own fate, to break free from this damned curse. He worked hard to be the best, worked hard to control the Osborn Group, worked hard to make himself invincible.
But in the end, he still could not escape it.
The intense pain throughout his body continued to surge, as if he were trapped in an endless purgatory, never to be released.
What meaning is there left in a life like this?
With such an ugly, cursed appearance that even he loathed, what was the need to continue living?
In the corner of Harry's eye, he caught a glimpse of a gun lying on the ground.
Almost by instinct, he struggled to reach out and pick up the gun, pointing the muzzle at his own throat.
What are you doing! Harry!" Spider-Man shouted in panic as he realized, "Calm down!
Harry, the crisis is over." Finn, who had just found the box, was also stunned. He looked at the gun in Harry's hand, then at the deathly stillness and despair in his eyes. "Put the gun down. Your illness can be cured; I have already found a way.
Harry gasped for air, his chest heaving violently.
Every breath brought intense pain, everything in his field of vision was swaying.
But Harry's gaze was exceptionally calm, so calm it was almost deathly.
He did not know what he looked like right now, but he could imagine it was surely extremely hideous, a sight even he could not bear to look at. He was about to become a monster a hundred times more pathetic and miserable than the state of his father's final death.
Harry did not believe Finn's words; Finn could always hold onto such unrealistic hope.
That's enough, Finn," Harry said, his voice heavy with extreme exhaustion. "Let's end it here.
He had enough.
He was tired of the day-to-day torment of illness, tired of the shadows of the curse that followed him like a ghost, tired of living in endless fear and anxiety; but most of all, he was tired of how every time he lost control of his emotions and reached the limit of his suppression, he would uncontrollably and against his will hurt Finn.
As long as he is alive, he will only continue to drag Finn down.
Intense self-loathing gripped Harry's heart, making him want nothing more than to find complete release in this very second.
I've already made my will." Harry's knuckles turned white from gripping the gun handle so tightly, his joints protruding, as his blurred gaze attempted to focus and see Finn clearly. "The Osborn Group is yours. Everything is yours.
Rather than clinging to a miserable existence in the form of a monster, he would rather end everything right now.
"I don't want to." Finn rejected decisively.
I'm not asking you if you want to anymore." Harry struggled to maintain his sanity through the pain, saying coldly and resolutely, "You are my brother, you were always the heir to the Osborn Group.
"This illness can be cured—" Finn's voice was urgent, wanting to convince him, wanting him to put down the gun.
I don't deny that idealism is a beautiful quality, but I don't have it," Harry interrupted him, his tone calm yet heavy with despair, "Finn, you have no idea the agony of being tormented by illness.