Hyde Gardens, Manhattan.
Hyde Garden Villa was one of the most famous luxury villas in Manhattan, located in the northern part of the bustling Upper East Side.
And tonight, it was the residence of a cheater.
"William Smith, Senator from New York?"
Finnian Murdock raised a brow, a little surprised.
Was his firm really that famous now?
The intel had been gathered by Skye after she received the commission. For someone so young, she dug into the target with impressive thoroughness. That girl really was a born hacker.
In the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. show, it was exactly her hacking that got Coulson to recruit her into SHIELD.
Under the cover of night, Finnian cooled his body temperature to match the air outside.
Yes, taking secret photos was technically illegal—but how to put it? For the happiness of the client and for the $200,000 payout, Finnian was willing to bend the law a little.
Maybe it was luck, but within two hours he had the evidence both sides wanted. Right at that turning point, the system's mall refreshed.
[Skill: Unlimited Fighting Master, Price: $100,000]
[Item: Black Widow Stockings, Price: $1]
[0.9% Off Super Special: Alpha-Level Mutant Ability – Energy Absorption (absorbs and converts all forms of energy), Price: $5,000,000]
"Yes!" Finnian's eyes lit up.
Mutant powers. Now we were talking.
Compared to random superpowers across the MCU, Finnian had always preferred mutant abilities. Simple reason: they were strong.
Energy absorption was the signature skill of the mutant Black Emperor, Sebastian Shaw. He didn't just absorb kinetic energy from bullets—he absorbed all forms of energy, whether electricity, magic, or explosions.
"Buy energy absorption."
Ding. Purchase successful.
From that moment, Finnian would never die a dumb death from a stray bullet like poor Quicksilver.
Of course, even without it, his Perfect Spider Serum already gave him radar senses and super reflexes. Dodging bullets wasn't exactly an issue.
But with energy absorption, he was now completely immune to damage from thermal weaponry and explosions.
The guy was practically unkillable.
"Praise Tony Stark," Finnian muttered sincerely. "Thank you, dog tycoon."
Before meeting Stark, his life had been… bleak. Years of working small commissions, scraping together money, not even able to afford a hotel room with his ex-girlfriend, or a damn box of small umbrellas.
Now? Dinner at his brother Matt's place one night, dinner at Karen's the next.
He didn't regret the past—it was just the path that brought him here. But after crossing paths with Stark, Finnian finally realized: making money didn't have to be hard.
The difference between before and after was night and day.
Of course, the good days couldn't last forever.
At least not this year. His White Can armor and mechanical dog were already rented out. He had nothing new that could interest Stark.
And you can't exactly resell Black Widow stockings.
"Buy Black Widow stockings."
Ding. Purchase successful. Item has been stored in your system space.
Finnian glared at the system. "Really? Dog system. Why not refresh literally anything else?"
These same damn stockings had shown up twice in a row, eating up his refresh slots.
Were they even Black Widow's size? They looked like something for short legs.
Back at the office, he pulled them out, sighed, and muttered, "It's… slippery, I'll give it that."
On the second floor of Nelson & Murdock, Finnian stared at the option for Unlimited Fighting Master. He hesitated. The deposit from his last two commissions added up to exactly $100,000.
The truth? Alone, that skill wasn't that appealing. This was Marvel. A world with gods, aliens, sorcerers, and creator deities. Pure martial arts didn't exactly rank high.
But paired with the Perfect Spider Serum?
That was a game-changer.
Imagine it: Spider-Man with Bajiquan, Omega-level freezing, Alpha-level energy absorption, and now every martial art on Earth at his fingertips.
The scene was already forming in his mind.
American "Ass"? Taskmaster's mimicry? Clay pigeons. Clay dogs. Garbage.
"Buy Unlimited Fighting Master."
A flood of images and techniques surged into his brain. Countless fighting styles became instinct.
"Phew." Finnian blew into the mouth of his beer bottle, and the warm drink instantly chilled into a perfect cold one.
"Next step… find the right opportunity to boost popularity."
He hadn't forgotten why he joined SHIELD in the first place: a stepping stone to the top. To become a boss in his own right. To earn enough system-recognized credits to keep powering up.
To become invincible and break the fourth wall itself.
Hell, he even had a campaign slogan ready.
By the time Thanos snapped his fingers and erased half the planet, Finnian would be old enough to meet the U.S. presidential eligibility requirements.
That's when he'd announce his candidacy.
His slogan: Bring back half the missing population, and make America great again.
Moral blackmail at its finest.
Don't vote for him? What, you don't want your spouse back? Your kid? Your best friend? What kind of monster were you?
Blue state, red state—didn't matter. If you didn't vote Murdock, you weren't even human.
Ross could be president, but he couldn't? Please.
As long as he could bring people back, how could he lose?
With a grin, Finnian fell asleep.
The next morning, he woke right on time.
"Skye, here's the evidence for the client. Make sure they pick it up."
"Got it, boss."
Skye's sleepy eyes suddenly lit up as she noticed a line scribbled on the file bag.
"It's better for four people to go together."
…
SHIELD underground parking lot.
Finnian parked his second-hand Mazda neatly in the spot. Just as he stepped out, a man approached.
Tall, white, sunken eyes, black earpiece.
"Hey. New here?"
Finnian nodded after recognizing the face.
"Yeah. Just joined a few days ago."
The man extended a hand, smiling. "Rumlow. Captain of the Rapid Response Special Forces."
"Finnian Murdock. Rank… to be determined."
HYDRA. Right on schedule.
Which meant—easy money.
Finnian's moral bottom line had always been flexible. Pay-to-win cheats weren't cheap.
Hearing "to be determined," Rumlow's smile widened. In all his years, he'd never seen a status like that in the SHIELD database.
As the two rode the elevator, chatting casually, Finnian remembered that elevator scene—the one where Captain America dismantled a dozen goons in close quarters. He could almost hear the line: Hail Hydra.
The elevator dinged. They stepped onto the Rapid Response floor.
Rumlow clapped him on the shoulder. "Come by more often. You're welcome here."
Finnian gave a polite nod and smiled.
"Sure. Good."