Exchange System

"Getting home later and later lately! I'm starving... starving!"

The moment Sean stepped through the door, he felt the deep resentment of a certain blonde little girl. Mindy, eating ice cream, rolled around on the couch, using this method to protest the late return of her babysitter-cum-chef.

"Hey, hey, be reasonable, Mindy McCready. I give you enough allowance every day—at least enough for you to stuff yourself at a Chinese restaurant in Chinatown or the nearby Burger King."

Sean shut the door and looked speechlessly at the relentlessly complaining little girl. This Hit-Girl, who had once killed without batting an eye, had now completely turned into a lazy couch potato who only knew how to act cute and whine. Living a comfortable life where clothes were handed to her and meals were served to her, Sean felt that taking her in had been an utterly terrible decision.

"I'm practically becoming your housekeeper, Miss Mindy," Sean muttered, though his body honestly put on an apron and began preparing dinner.

"Sean, besides being the most considerate babysitter in the world, you're also the best chef and the most generous ATM!" Mindy, lying on the couch and watching "How I Met Your Mother," did not hold back her praise.

"Oh, right, did you get into a fight today?" The little girl turned her head and asked.

Sean, busy in the kitchen, gave a grunt. Mindy was extremely sensitive to the scent on him. As long as he had taken part in a fight or killing, she could detect it.

"I helped a superhero take care of a major villain while I was at it. I think the New York Police Department should give me an award certificate to commend my selfless act of standing up for justice!"

Mindy snorted at Sean's shameless self-glorification, making her contempt and disdain clear. The Wilson Fisk assassination that had shocked New York last week had still not died down. The mayor and the police chief had jointly released a statement, declaring that they would definitely catch the murderer and bring this cruel, terrifying criminal to justice under the law.

Because of this, every gang in Hell's Kitchen had been affected to some degree. Under pressure from above, the police had begun investigating like mad, refusing to overlook even the slightest clue. They had practically turned New York's underworld upside down. The Irish and the Japanese Hand, who had originally thought they had gained a huge advantage, were probably nursing headaches right about now.

"The police are still investigating Kingpin's assassination?" Sean turned his head and asked.

He had still underestimated the impact the death of a famous real estate tycoon would have. And this had not been a simple assassination. Heavy weapons like rocket launchers had been used, making it practically a terrorist attack. No wonder the New York Police Department had nearly gone mad.

"Don't worry. They're still using the same outdated investigation methods—starting with the weapons, tracking black-market arms dealers, monitoring recently arrived retired soldiers or assassins... At the rate they're going, they won't trace it back to us even by the end of the world."

The battle-hardened little Mindy looked utterly calm. Her father had once been an elite police officer, so she knew the police's methods inside and out. Hacking into the New York Police Department database was something she could do in minutes.

"I'm not worried about the police. We cleaned up the clues thoroughly. I'm mainly worried that organization might get involved. That would be a real headache..." After finishing a lavish dinner, Sean hauled the lazily reclining Mindy off the couch and over to the dining table.

He did not want to draw S.H.I.E.L.D.'s attention too early. Being watched by that one-eyed Black director was bound to lead nowhere good.

"Remember to wash the dishes after you eat... Don't try acting cute. We agreed to take turns, and today it's your turn!" Sean looked at those watery eyes without the slightest stir in his heart. He might not be a Saint Seiya warrior, but the same move stopped working after being used too many times.

The night gradually deepened. After dinner, Sean glanced at Mindy obediently clearing the plates and heading off to wash them, feeling secretly satisfied. The road to training a troublesome child was still long, but he was already quite gratified that she had reached this point.

Back in his room, Sean was preparing for his usual physical training when he frowned. Something strange seemed to be stirring faintly in his mind. He had felt it after killing Kingpin and Bullseye last time, and after personally taking care of the Green Goblin tonight, it had become even clearer.

"What's going on?"

Calming himself, Sean closed his eyes and carefully sensed the soft white light in his mind. After a long absence, the system panel appeared once more. Besides the card option activated last time, another option had appeared within its hazy, blurred frame, along with a string of clear data.

"...Points Exchange?" As his consciousness sank into it, Sean felt puzzled. What was this?

Ever since he had accidentally activated the card option, Sean had spent some time studying the system in his mind, which came from a virtual fighting game. Other than the mysterious potion from the beginning, the system had always had a very weak presence. It neither issued missions nor gave any instructions. It did not even have a dialogue function.

For a time, Sean had thought he had received a fake system. He had also tested the newly activated card option many times. It required a famous figure from this world—such as a superhero or popular character—to willingly offer some kind of teaching or guidance before cards of varying grades could be generated. They were roughly divided into two categories: "Skill Cards" and "Item Cards."

Simply put, if Tony Stark willingly told Sean how to make an Arc Reactor, then he would obtain an "Arc Reactor" blueprint. If the Sorcerer Supreme far away in Nepal were willing to accept Sean as a disciple and teach him profound, mysterious magical knowledge, then he could gain a whole pile of magic Skill Cards...

It was basically a cheat for learning quickly...

However, after repeated experiments, Sean discovered that card generation was chance-based rather than guaranteed. So after studying it for a while, he put the matter out of his mind again.

At this stage, after all, he could neither go seek out the Sorcerer Supreme to become his disciple nor brazenly rush up to Tony Stark and demand to know how Iron Armor was made.

"Points Exchange... Could it be like a game, where I can use points to exchange for mission items?"

Sean felt a faint surge of excitement. He remembered that the original game store had contained mission items from all kinds of virtual worlds. If he could exchange for them, they would be enough to become the most powerful trump card in his hand!

"Defeated D+-rank character: Bullseye. Reward: 80 points!"

"Defeated C+-rank character: Kingpin. Reward: 100 points!"

"Defeated B-rank character: Green Goblin. Reward: 200 points!"

"...System Store initialization complete!"

Suppressing his excitement, Sean quietly opened the System Store, which glimmered with a hazy white light. A dazzling list of data filled his mind—the core items from various virtual worlds—

"Terminator World: Skynet, a computer-based artificial intelligence defense system created by humanity in the late twentieth century..."

"Star Wars World: The Force, a supernatural yet omnipresent power with tremendous room for growth..."

"Limitless World: NZT-48, it could unlock the brain's potential, open every neural pathway, and grant photographic memory and extraordinary intelligence..."

Sean's breathing grew slightly heavier. He could almost hear the violent pounding of his heart. This was simply an inexhaustible treasure vault where he could take whatever he wanted. The technological power and crystallized civilizations of different worlds were like goods displayed in glass cases, waiting for him to exchange for them. It was equivalent to having the cores of countless worlds supporting him from behind.

"Maybe my path won't be limited to just this world..."

The wild joy lasted only a few seconds before Sean quickly calmed down. He calculated how to make the best use of the few points he had, his gaze sweeping across rows of shimmering data until it finally settled on one item.

"With this, the Osborn problem becomes simple."

Sean let out a breath. His young face was filled with longing and anticipation for the future. The Avengers, the Infinity Stones, the Cosmic Overlord... none of them would be the end of his journey. Infinite wonders were waiting for him to explore!

P.S. Thank you to the esteemed readers for your generous rewards. As a newbie about to enter my final year of high school, I'll continue working hard on writing during the time I should be attending tutoring classes.￣ω￣=

Also, one more thing: this story will not become an infinite-worlds story. At most, I'll make a guest appearance on the neighboring DC set...