"Now we can have a proper chat. Young people, don't be so impulsive. People in your line of work are always going to find themselves in danger. You never know when someone might knock you down."
Renzo patiently persuaded the man and the symbiote.
"With a troublemaking personality like yours, you're going to suffer plenty in the future. Fortunately, I educated you in advance. Next time, pay closer attention to the people you meet. If a vampire or something else suddenly appears out of nowhere, you'll be completely blindsided."
Eddie nodded quickly, like a good student eager to learn. It would have been more convincing if he didn't have such dark circles under his eyes.
Renzo nodded in satisfaction and casually shook the Coke bottle in his hand. The black liquid swirled inside, looking as though it might explode at any moment.
Eddie looked sympathetically at Venom trapped inside the bottle, then stared at the man on the sofa in horror. God knew what had just happened. In an instant, he had been separated from Venom, and then the extraterrestrial symbiote had been stuffed into the bottle. The whole process had gone smoothly without a single mistake.
"You said you're from the multiverse?"
"Yeah." Renzo straightened up, set the bottle down, and poured Venom out. The frightened symbiote immediately rushed back into Eddie without saying a word. "Then why did you come here... to see me?" Eddie pointed at himself with a puzzled expression.
"Of course not." Renzo rolled his eyes. "It's because I can't find the coordinates to go home, so I can only search for them slowly. I'm just spending some time in this universe, storing energy and preparing to leave."
What Renzo said was true.
He really couldn't find the coordinates to return home. His battle with Chthon had scattered all the coordinates engraved on the Space Stone, and he couldn't locate them anymore. Moreover, as one of the six original Infinity Stones of the universe, the Space Stone was called the "Infinity Stone," but even its energy had limits.
Restarting a planet to its state more than a month in the past wasn't something that could be done casually. Even the Infinity Stones needed time to recover. Unlike his confrontation with Infinite Ultron, when he had only rewound time by less than a minute, this time he had reversed tens of thousands of minutes, consuming an unprecedented amount of energy.
All three Infinity Stones were slightly dimmed.
Yes, there were three of them. Renzo had returned the Reality Stone to the Illuminati. He had also taken the opportunity to ask Captain Carter for a photograph and planned to bring it back to Steve, which could be considered fulfilling his wish.
Eddie's mind was a complete mess, and he was utterly confused. After all, he wasn't a scholar, didn't have an advanced education, and certainly wasn't a genius. He was just a reporter. The concept of the multiverse hadn't become common knowledge, and there was even less that he understood about it.
Venom had heard something about it, but he didn't know much either. He was practically an outcast even among the symbiotes, with a status even more awkward than Eddie's on Earth. When two losers met, who knew what would happen?
"So! I want to stay at your place for now. Hurry up and clean up a room for me. I'm sleepy."
"Wang Defa!" Eddie was dumbfounded. Sure, this guy was powerful and had come from somewhere far away, but he couldn't just take over Eddie's house. He should at least let Eddie clean the room for him.
"Okay! I'll go right away."
Before Eddie left, he didn't forget to grab Venom and stuff him into his pocket like a little hamster.
Renzo stretched. A human body was still more comfortable to use than Vision's body. He hadn't felt sleepy in a long time, but now he genuinely wanted to sleep.
This body had been transformed by the Reality Stone, combining the advantages of vibranium and the human body. After the transformation, it had become more like Superman's body of steel. Renzo clenched his palms, feeling the strength coursing through them, and felt almost like Superman himself.
Renzo spent his first night in this world.
In the previous world, Renzo hadn't slept at all, and even the surviving superheroes hadn't slept. Renzo didn't need to sleep, while the others didn't dare to. They feared that if they fell asleep, Wanda might break into the survivors' base, and they would die helplessly in their dreams without even realizing what was happening. That wouldn't have been worth it.
Renzo was lying in the master bedroom. This was Eddie's room, but it now belonged to him.
The white ceiling was almost painfully bright. Renzo recalled the plot surrounding Venom. According to the current point in time, Venom had already been with Eddie for quite some time, and the crisis involving the extraterrestrial symbiotes had been resolved. Renzo felt a little regretful. He wanted to find the white symbiote, Riot, whose attributes were more than a little stronger than Venom's.
Renzo really wanted to obtain Riot. If he could coexist with him, his strength would rise even further.
He had a way to eliminate the evil aspects of Riot and was confident he could suppress him. Once he returned to his own universe, he could use the Reality Stone to eliminate the symbiote's weaknesses.
Not long afterward, Renzo fell into a deep sleep. This was his first time sleeping in the Marvel world, and it was an unusually deep sleep.
But Eddie and Venom on the couch didn't feel the same way.
Multiverse, cosmic traveler, world-destroying villain... those words buzzed around the man's head like flies, refusing to go away no matter how hard he tried to swat them.
"You believed him?"
"I have no idea..."
Eddie couldn't sleep at all. He was just an ordinary reporter who had accidentally become the host of Venom six months ago. Then his girlfriend had broken up with him, and he'd ended up fighting Dr. Drake and his foundation. Who could have imagined fighting a monster that had arrived on a rocket? Eddie certainly hadn't.
The experiences of the past six months had been too surreal. If it weren't for the big black-mouthed creature sitting there eating potato chips, he might have thought the whole thing was a dream.
"Go to sleep, Eddie. Maybe when you wake up tomorrow, you'll find out it was all a dream..."
"Ah."
...
Renzo was awakened by the sound of gongs and drums. He irritably knocked on the door, only to see Eddie and Venom arguing. The sofa was a complete mess, one of the windows had been smashed, and the refrigerator door was hanging open, with eggs scattered across the floor.
"Quiet!"
Renzo called out softly a few times at first, but neither of them responded. The corners of his eyes twitched several times before he finally shouted.
Eddie and Venom were startled. Then they realized there was another person in the house.
"Why are you still here?" Eddie stammered, accidentally knocking over another cup. Quick as a flash, Venom extended a black tentacle, caught the falling cup, and gently returned it to the table.
Renzo was a little confused about how the two of them got along. Were they sworn enemies? An unlucky couple?
He couldn't tell.
Renzo was too lazy to bother with this strange pair. He waved a hand. "Take me to Dr. Drake's foundation."
Venom and Eddie were both surprised by Renzo's words.
"Why do you want to go there?" they asked, puzzled.
Although the symbiote incident had been reported in the news, government interference had kept most of the details hidden. Aside from the soldiers and civilians who had actually witnessed Venom's appearance, hardly anyone knew that the symbiotes existed.
Dr. Drake's foundation was involved in space engineering. The spacecraft that had returned with four symbiotes more than six months ago was one of the foundation's projects and one of its top-secret programs.
Renzo simply wanted to find the remains of the other symbiotes in the foundation's laboratory. Two of the symbiotes had apparently died not long after arriving, while Riot had survived and moved throughout the laboratory. There should have been traces left behind. After all, Venom himself had left a drop of symbiote material in the bar for some time.
Renzo wanted to carefully search the laboratory for any symbiote remnants. Perhaps he could still find one that had survived.
The blue and yellow symbiotes were also among Renzo's targets. Their corpses and the bodies of their hosts should have been preserved carefully, but there would certainly be traces left behind. There was no such thing as a perfectly cleaned crime scene in this world.
Venom made his objections very clear, but to no avail.
The two symbiotic beings swaggered out of the house, while the bright sunlight shone over the pedestrians, giving the street a warm atmosphere.
Eddie lowered his head. He was quite tall, around 1.8 meters, and stood slightly taller than Renzo, but when the two walked down the street together, Renzo somehow looked taller.
"I'm going to Mrs. Chen's shop first to buy some chocolate for Venom."
Renzo was also very interested in Mrs. Chen. It was rare for him to encounter Chinese people in the Marvel Universe, especially Chinese people who spoke Mandarin. He normally had no opportunity to meet people from his own background. When he had gone out with Wanda on a date, they had chosen a Chinese restaurant, but it had only had a Chinese name, spoken somewhat inauthentic Mandarin, and served dishes covered in ketchup and heavy sauces.
Wanda had liked the food very much, though, and that was what mattered.
Eddie entered and exchanged greetings with Mrs. Chen. To his surprise, the chocolate was in stock.
This was great! It meant Eddie wouldn't have to risk being chased by the police while smelling like chicken manure just to find something for Venom to eat. Mrs. Chen was an angel!
"Hi, Mrs. Chen." Renzo leaned against the counter and greeted her with a smile.
Mrs. Chen looked slightly surprised when the man spoke to her in Chinese. She answered with a smile in Chinese. "It's rare to see someone Chinese around here. Did you come with Eddie?"
"Yes. I'm staying at his place for now." Renzo nodded.
The two soon began chatting. Perhaps because they were accustomed to seeing people from so many different backgrounds, meeting someone who shared their language and cultural roots made them feel instantly more familiar with each other.
"I'm here to work for Stark Industries."
"Oh! Really? I've never heard of it. I remember Eddie was a reporter. How did you two meet?"
"Yeah, arms syndicate."
The two chatted enthusiastically, and Mrs. Chen covered her mouth to hide her laughter. As she listened to Renzo talk about how much had changed in his homeland over the past decade, nostalgia filled her eyes. She had grown up there, speaking in the rough local dialect and working in the rice fields. Fortunately, she had done well in school and had been given plenty of opportunities. She eventually married a foreigner and moved with her family to San Francisco.
The first half of her life had gone well, but unfortunately, they divorced not long afterward. Fortunately, Mrs. Chen had obtained a U.S. green card. Otherwise, she might have been forced to return to her homeland. She had sold her family's property before coming here, arriving with dreams of a new life in America, only to eventually become the owner of a convenience store.
Renzo sympathized with Mrs. Chen's experience. Divorce was common enough, and her story was not unique among people who had moved abroad for marriage. A small number of wealthy families could maintain marriages through powerful alliances, but most ordinary people were ultimately left to manage their own lives and relationships.
Some people had also married for what they thought would be love or a better life, only to find themselves far from home and facing an entirely different reality.
Renzo couldn't understand what some of those people had been thinking. Each seemed more reckless than the last.
"Check out." Eddie glanced strangely at the two of them. He had no idea what they were talking about, but two people who had never met before were somehow chatting so happily. Maybe this was what people meant by a shared connection. After all, it probably was exciting to encounter someone from a familiar background while living abroad.
"I'm sorry. I'd like to stay and chat for a while, but I have to go now."
The two of them drove straight toward Drake's secured laboratory.
Don't ask why they didn't use the Space Stone. The answer was simple: there was too little energy left to support spatial teleportation.
There was also the Black Lantern Ring. Ever since his battle with Wanda, Renzo had kept the ring in the storage space inside the Space Stone. He had decided not to use it again unless the world itself needed to be destroyed.
Its power was simply too terrifying, almost enough to swallow his sanity. It could instantly make a person cold and rational, transforming them into a murderous maniac with extremely clear logical thinking. It was practically a combination of Batman and the Joker—absolute rationality combined with a relentless killing instinct.
Renzo still felt a little frightened whenever he thought about it. He had already become a devil once. He couldn't become one a second time.
The two quickly arrived at the laboratory, but the place had been heavily guarded and completely sealed off. Armed soldiers were everywhere. Not even a fly could get inside. An ordinary person would die just approaching the place. The soldiers wouldn't care who came near. Their orders were simple: kill without mercy.
"Let's go. Don't make too much noise."
"Don't worry."
Golden light flashed across Renzo's forehead. The energy instantly spread throughout the laboratory, with the surrounding fifty meters enveloped in its radiance.
"This... this..." Eddie stared in shock as all the armed soldiers collapsed simultaneously, unconscious.
"Let's go!" Renzo walked straight through the front entrance without even removing the seals. He simply passed through them and entered. Eddie followed behind him, his jaw hanging open in disbelief. Was he a ghost? How could he move through things like one?
"What's wrong with them? Nothing's going to happen to them, right?"
"Mind control. They're only unconscious. When they wake up, they won't remember what happened. At most, they'll have a slight headache."
Renzo didn't look at Eddie. Instead, he searched room after room for traces of the symbiotes. The Mind Stone could sense living creatures, but not the dead. He could only search everything carefully with his eyes.
Soon, the two found the experimenter's sealed laboratory. Renzo suddenly remembered the scene from the movie where one of the blue symbiotes had possessed a homeless man before dying.
Renzo went straight inside. Eddie couldn't enter with him and could only watch as Renzo searched every inch of the place like a spy, even finding traces left behind by several dead symbiotes.
But soon, the man emerged with a disappointed expression and shook his head. The two continued searching the next room.
Unfortunately, they searched every room and still couldn't find any remains left by the symbiotes. Those government people had done a thorough job.
It was already dark when the two returned. There was almost no one on the street. Aside from a few opportunistic looters, no one dared approach Eddie when they saw his intimidating appearance. His face was already familiar enough that there was no need to take any chances.
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