Chapter 190 Early Graduation
After spending a long time earnestly persuading the Mind Stone, Finney finally gave up on the idea of having it help him voluntarily and began to think about other ways.
As for Tony, he was responsible for researching the spaceship, considering revenge, and modifying his armor, so he definitely wouldn't have time to help.
If Banner were still alive, he could probably give it a try, but unfortunately, he had gone into exile and no one knew where he was now, and even if they went to him now, he might not cooperate.
As for the Ancient One, she had always warned against abusing the power of the Mind Stone and the Space Stone, so she probably wouldn't help either, and besides, everyone has their own expertise, so she didn't think she could necessarily help.
As for finding Nick Fury, Finney felt it would be better to take the scepter directly to Hydra's base and have Sitwell send some people over; it probably wouldn't make much difference.
However, he didn't want to get too involved with Hydra, especially since he had already told Tony about Bucky, and the disappearance of Hydra and S.H.I.E.L.D. shouldn't be too far off.
After much deliberation, Finney decided to conduct his own research for a while first. He didn't necessarily need to create Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver anyway.
Besides, their attitudes weren't clear yet, and he didn't want to create trouble for himself.
The next day, Finney contacted Sitwell again to inquire about Alexander Pierce's reaction to the Sokovia affair.
"He suspects a traitor within his ranks and is currently investigating internally. By the way, Baron Strucker seems to have escaped and is also investigating your identity!"
"Do they suspect you?"
Finney looked at the cautious Sitwell.
"No, not at all." Sitwell shook his head, explaining, "I was promoted by Pierce, and I didn't leave any trace of these things, so they can't suspect me."
"Oh!"
Finney nodded, observing his expression while also scrutinizing Sitwell's appearance.
A bald head, a round face, thick eyebrows, and large eyes, wearing a pair of scholarly glasses—while not as kind-looking as Coulson, he still appeared honest and reliable, making him unlikely to be suspected of being a traitor.
"Anyway, keep a low profile for now. I won't contact you again for the time being. Be careful!"
Summer vacation was almost over, and Finney was about to start school. He planned to put everything aside for the time being and focus on preparing for graduation.
"Yes!"
Sitwell quickly nodded, feeling touched by Finney's arrangement. Being an undercover agent wasn't easy; the more you met, the easier it was to be exposed.
"Alright, I'm leaving now!"
Just as Finney got up to leave, Sitwell hesitated and called him back, saying, "But what if there's a very urgent situation that requires contacting you?"
"Hmm… a very urgent situation!"
Finney stroked his chin, worried about missing some important intelligence. After thinking for a moment, he gave Sitwell his phone number.
"Don't bother me unless it's an emergency, understand?"
Finney instructed.
"Okay!"
Sitwell nodded without hesitation, relieved, feeling that he had passed the test and truly become Finney's subordinate.
On the last day of summer vacation, Finney also went to see Tony.
Wanda and Pietro were staying in a villa arranged by Tony. Tony had also used special means to solve their identity problems and had not restricted their freedom, even allowing them access to Stark Tower and his villa.
Neither of the siblings possessed any superpowers at this time, and even without Finney, getting past their bodyguard Happy would be difficult enough for revenge.
As for Tony, the development of the spaceship was basically halted, and the armor was nearly finished. Finney knew he was definitely reinvestigating the truth of what happened back then and Bucky's location.
Unfortunately, Tony didn't know that Finney's unpredictable appearances had caused Alexander Pierce and the other Hydra agents to panic.
Therefore, not only was Bucky, the last Winter Soldier, refrozen, but the other Hydra agents were also forced into deeper hiding, each investigating where the problem lay.
Hydra's ability to infiltrate for so many years undetected demonstrates their exceptional skill in concealment and handling the aftermath.
So, after a long investigation, Tony only knew that the Winter Soldier seemed to exist, but he couldn't determine which organization he belonged to or where he came from.
Finney didn't say much; he had done all he could. On Captain America's side, he not only spared Bucky but also pleaded for him, helping him considerably except for not unleashing his power.
On Tony's side, there was no need to say much; he had informed him of the truth beforehand, saying everything he could except explicitly stating that Hydra was the mastermind.
So, although he gained nothing from either side, he owed neither.
With the start of the semester, Finney became busy, putting their affairs aside. Graduating early proved much more difficult than he had imagined.
Three months later, with Christmas approaching, his experience from his eighth extraction was still lacking.
Of course, this was also due to his increasing strength and the faster he defeated other mages, resulting in less experience gain.
After three months of relentless effort, Finney finally accumulated enough credits to graduate early.
Because it wasn't during the normal graduation season, almost no one graduated at this time; the only one who did was making up for insufficient credits.
As he prepared to leave school, Finney suddenly felt a pang of reluctance. Nearly three years had passed since the start of the semester.
Looking back, Finney felt he had had a pretty happy time. He had a talkative friend, Billy, and a group of girls who always wanted to ask him out during holidays, though he had never successfully accepted their invitations.
Therefore, when he left school, he didn't inform anyone except Billy.
At the school gate, Billy looked at Finney, who had suddenly graduated, feeling a sense of unreality and reluctance: "What are you planning to do next?"
"Go home!"
Finney looked around the campus, feeling a mix of nostalgia and a sense of freedom.
"I mean, what are your plans to improve your strength next? And could you let me know in advance if you appear next time?"
Billy asked in a low voice. Since learning about Finney's enemy, he had rarely inquired about such matters, but seeing that Finney was about to leave, he couldn't help but ask.
"Going to space!"
Finney glared at Billy irritably, then stepped forward and patted him on the shoulder, saying, "Cherish what you have now. Don't go looking for trouble. This world is still quite dangerous. Protect yourself!"
"You too!"
Billy was somewhat touched and wanted to give Finney a hug, but Finney noticed and refused with a look of disgust.
After saying goodbye to Billy, Finney returned home. Thinking that he wouldn't have to go to school after tomorrow, he suddenly felt a little uneasy.
However, thinking that so much time had passed and he still hadn't been able to draw his eighth skill, he felt a sense of urgency.
Although the Battle of New York was over, Dormammu's arrival was getting closer and closer, and he didn't know when that female leopard would come to Earth. He had to hurry up and improve his strength.
Thinking this, Finney summoned the Blue-Eyes White Dragon card and looked at the clearly visible fourth star.
After several months of intermittent feeding, the Blue-Eyes White Dragon was finally close to evolving to four stars.
Uh, if there's anything unreasonable about the graduation method… emmm… whatever!
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(End of Chapter)