New York City, 1 AM.
Most buildings had turned off their lights and closed their doors. Only a few 24-hour stores still had some activity. Neon lights on the streets emitted a dim yellowish glow, and occasional empty taxis marked “off-duty” passed through the main roads.
A young man in jeans and a hooded windbreaker wandered along the quiet street. His hands were in his pockets, slightly bent at the waist, and his face was hidden in the shadow of his hat, resembling a vagrant.
Eddie. His current situation was not much different from Thor’s in Mexico.
As a recent graduate from the University of California, he had only been reporting for the New York News Company for a couple of days. He had imagined promotions, salary increases, marrying Ms. Perfect, and reaching the pinnacle of life. However, overnight…
Not only did his temporarily rented room explode, but he also became a murder suspect by the New York police. The main issue was that his body still hosted a Symbiote life form that didn’t care whether he lived or died.
“Fuck, today is just the worst!” Eddie lamented in a low voice.
Suddenly, his mind buzzed, and then a hoarse voice, like a voice in his heart, countered, “Hey, hey, watch your language. Becoming my host is the day you undergo a transformation.”
“Heh.” Eddie forced a smile.
Venom was dissatisfied and said, “Cheer up. In New York, there are many examples of ordinary people becoming superheroes, like Captain America, Symbol of Peace, and so on…”
“Do you think… with our transformation appearance, we look more like a righteous hero or a villainous monster?” Eddie weakly retorted.
“Though you say that, what you’re about to do is a significant event to save New York and world peace!” Venom coughed lightly, explaining seriously, “In the recent battle, I consumed part of the extraterrestrial Symbiote’s body, gaining fragments of its memories. They came to Earth to inspect it in advance, intending to colonize it. If one of them returns to their home planet, thousands of Symbiotes will come to attack Earth.”
“The monster from just now is already dead, isn’t it?” Eddie asked in surprise.
Venom bluntly said, “Yes, but there were four of them in total. One is dead, leaving three.”
“To deal with those powerful monsters, the three remaining ones, you might as well ask me to commit suicide.” Eddie wailed in pain before he stopped in the corridor and began to scratch his head in frustration.
He startled a stray dog, which glared at him angrily, drooling with disgustingly viscous saliva, its beastly eyes emitting a cold green light in the blink of the night.
“Get lost! Don’t mess with me!”
Eddie glared back angrily, his face under the hood transforming into the distorted visage of a black monster—
Long and protruding white eyes brimming with fierceness and killing intent, a blood-dish-sized mouth capable of biting off a human head, and internally, a set of sharp and varied ferocious fangs.
“Howl…” The Dog, with its tail tucked between its legs, retreated in fear, its four limbs unsteady, quickly disappearing at the intersection.
“Sigh.” Eddie reverted to his normal expression, sighing helplessly, and continued walking aimlessly.
Venom said while comforting his host, “Don’t worry. They have a very significant weakness— fire and sound-based attacks. As long as we use this point wisely, hunting down those three Symbiotes is not that impossible.”
As a journalist, Eddie, sensitive to cognitive gaps, skeptically asked, “Wait a minute. Aren’t you the same kind as them? Why are you thinking of helping Earth in return? It sounds too fake.”
Venom fell silent.
After a while, Venom coldly said, “To be honest, Earth has nothing to do with me. I’m only searching for the meaning of my own existence. Although we belong to the same race as those Symbiotes, we come from different planets.”
“In other words, you’re not on the same side as them? So, are you here to find your parents?” Eddie said, feeling even more incredulous.
An extraterrestrial tadpole looking for its mother?
This question seemed to touch a sore spot for Venom. Annoyed, it said, “I don’t know. Stop asking me, or I’ll bite your head off!”
Eddie shrugged and said, “You can’t bite me anymore. Besides, I’m your host now. We share one life. If I die, you won’t survive either.”
Venom was speechless.
It didn’t expect that not only was its adaptability strong, but Eddie, this human, also had formidable adaptability.
“You…”
Just as Eddie was about to say something, a black tendril suddenly extended from behind, bounced, and stretched into the nearby alley, pulling his entire body quickly inside.
“What’s going on?”
While Eddie was still puzzled, after a few seconds, he saw an unmarked police car slowly driving over the road, as if patrolling and searching for something.
“The police… are they still hunting me all over the city?” Eddie was terrified and anxiously asked Venom, “What should we do? Before we find and eliminate the Symbiotes, the New York police might take us out first.”
“And you sear them? You don’t have to fear anything with me here,” Venom coldly snorted. Eddie’s physical qualities were decent, but his mindset was unstable, needing some proper training.
“Do you still want to kill people?” Eddie sighed again for who knows how many times, turning around to leave the alley. However, with a blink, three black-clad individuals inexplicably appeared at the alley entrance.
“Be careful; they’re not ordinary people,” Venom’s voice echoed in Eddie’s mind.
Taking a step back, Eddie vigilantly assessed the three blocking his way.
There were two men and one woman, the men were tall and burly and the woman was slender. They were all dressed in black combat leather suits and wore devilish masks with sinister smiles.
Their equipment was also peculiar— some carried Barrett sniper rifles on their backs, some had cold weapons like swords at their waists, and others had metal twin guns with massive gun barrels strapped to their legs.
“F-Team, target located, at the alley near Hadast Street, No. 654,” The leader of the three quickly reported to a high-tech communication watch.
The female figure, Red Eleven, looked at Eddie and said sweetly, “Let me introduce ourselves first. We are the Carl Family’s Cards. I’m Red Eleven.”
“Red Ten.” “Red Nine.”
The other two Cards introduced themselves.
“Little brother, I advise you to give up now.” Red Eleven continued.
Eddie didn’t answer and muttered to himself, “What should we do?”
“What else can we do? We Fight!”
As if complying with Venom’s impatient response, Eddie let out a low growl. His body quickly underwent a transformation, expanding and revealing a dark keratin layer. Muscles exploded like an armed suit and a terrifying exoskeleton enveloped his once-human form.
“Attack!”
Facing this situation, the three Cards exchanged glances, and without saying much, they initiated a coordinated attack. Their response was swift, efficient, and effective.
A fierce battle unfolded on the quiet streets of New York City in the dead of night.
(End of this chapter)
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