Along the way, Blaine's laughter could be heard through the Hunter suit. It was too easy to make money by exploiting the bug of knowing the plot in advance.
Earning money was one thing, but Blaine hadn't forgotten about the system update. This time, he deliberately told them to transfer the payment after ten days, keeping that in mind.
By then, the system upgrade would be complete, and once they sent the money, there should be no problem.
Thinking of his own cleverness, Blaine wanted to praise himself.
Since becoming a bounty hunter, his intelligence seemed to have improved a lot.
The last class in the afternoon had been picked up by Natasha. He stayed at Nick Fury's house for two hours and spent another hour on the road. He hadn't expected the day to end so quickly. Now it was already nine in the evening—far too late.
On the way back, passing by a convenience store, Blaine grabbed some food to fill his stomach before returning to the villa.
Lying on the bed, Blaine began to reflect on what had happened today.
First of all, since Blaine had revealed HYDRA's undercover agents, Captain America should have already realized that the masked man with the metal arm he'd seen on TV a few days ago was the Winter Soldier. That meant Fury's Avengers were about to gain another ally.
All of this should have proceeded in order according to the plot. Captain America would have eventually uncovered the Winter Soldier's true identity without Blaine's interference. Blaine had only accelerated the timeline.
Sometimes Blaine wondered whether his time travel had affected the Marvel world's plot development. But after thinking carefully, he decided that influence or not, it wasn't his concern.
Blaine's purpose for existing was the bounty. As long as someone dared to release a mission and the reward was high enough, even if it broke the plot, so what?
If he was strong enough, even destroying the Earth wouldn't be impossible.
The present issue was still HYDRA's infiltration. According to the plot Blaine knew, HYDRA had already obtained Loki's scepter—in other words, the scepter embedded with the Mind Stone.
If he guessed correctly, HYDRA was preparing a major secret: two new test subjects.
Blaine believed he would soon come into contact with them.
They were the siblings Pietro Maximoff (Quicksilver) and Wanda Maximoff (Scarlet Witch).
One possessed immense latent magical power, with the potential of an Omega-level threat. The other had superhuman speed.
Moreover, Pietro's power was definitely not as simple as it appeared on the surface.
As a time traveler, Blaine understood that beyond Wanda's magic, Quicksilver's speed was terrifying.
Quicksilver could easily exceed the speed of sound. The sheer magnitude of that speed was astonishing. Blaine's own ability could only barely compare.
As for why it usually took him an hour or more to catch up, it was simply because Blaine didn't want to waste his energy. He could maintain supersonic speed, but the cost was enormous. Just a few months earlier, during his clash with Loki, Blaine had saved Natasha at supersonic velocity.
But the mental energy required was overwhelming, and meditation alone couldn't replenish it fast enough. If Blaine hadn't been prepared, he wouldn't have risked it again.
In addition, Quicksilver could run across water and up vertical walls. There were accounts of him covering half the globe in under two minutes. His speed allowed him to blur through obstacles, almost as though phasing through objects.
This kind of ability resembled DC's Flash. If Quicksilver pushed himself, time travel and breaking spatial barriers weren't out of the question. Which made his canonical MCU death by bullets all the more absurd.
For Blaine, such speed was still out of reach.
As for Wanda Maximoff's immense magical power, that needed no explanation.
Had she not been interrupted, she could have torn Thanos apart with her bare hands.
Thanos was a Titan with godlike durability—even Thor's Stormbreaker couldn't finish him with a direct strike.
And every one of Wanda's breakdowns risked catastrophic destruction. In the MCU, her powers had been heavily toned down—by hundreds of times, Blaine believed.
If she unleashed her full potential, splitting the Earth itself wouldn't be impossible.
At this very moment, the twins were likely imprisoned at a HYDRA base, undergoing experiments that amplified their powers through the Mind Stone's influence.
Still, Blaine was looking forward to meeting them.
He was fascinated by their powers—Wanda's raw magic and Pietro's speed. If his Copy Eyes could analyze and replicate them, he would gain tremendous profit.
"..." Blaine sighed. "It seems I need to strengthen myself urgently. The Marvel world runs too deep. The Avengers are growing stronger fast. I have to move quicker—I can't let them surpass me."
But with the system still upgrading, there was nothing he could do. All he could do now was sleep and wait out the ten days.
…
He slept until noon the next day. Then he went to the villa's entertainment area: horse riding, swimming, bowling. If not for the bonfire and pool parties planned at the racetrack that evening, Blaine might have died of boredom.
Though he said he was only looking for fun, Blaine had long grown tired of such events. No matter how enjoyable they seemed at first, they were only temporary distractions—something he couldn't stand to indulge in every day.
Another day passed. This time Blaine woke up early on purpose. As he opened his eyes, the sun had just risen. He still planned to go back to school today.
Arriving at the school, Blaine went straight to the principal's office. He presented his views on donating a new building, the upcoming end-of-semester exams, graduation ceremonies, and certificates.
The building donation was no issue, but failing to graduate was out of the question. He absolutely refused to let anyone—least of all Fury—use that as a joke against him.
Naturally, as a principal in a capitalist country, there were countless ways to flatter Blaine. With smiles, words of praise, and tea service, they sought to please him. Blaine accepted it readily.
When leaving the principal's office, Blaine noted one piece of advice the principal emphasized:
Try not to skip classes these days.
*************************************
You can get access to early chapters on patr*on
If you like my work and you want to support me then you can become my patron on patre*n.
My patr*on account is Lord_Immortal_0170