"What do you want to do?" Justin's sharp voice rang out, a hint of panic on his face. "We can join forces... join forces to rule this world and make the people here submit to their fate."
"Fate... what is their fate?" Renzo stepped forward, slowly approaching Justin. The man tried to retreat, but his foot slipped, and he fell backward into the swimming pool with a tremendous splash.
Justin struggled in the water for a while before slowly calming down. He wrapped his arms around the edge of the pool and gasped, "Of course it's the fate of being enslaved. Have you never read the novels? These stupid people can't see the future. They deserve to be enslaved by us time-travelers. They're ignorant and clueless. Even the protagonists of this world were frightened by a few words from me and didn't dare lay a finger on me."
"Believe me, I can understand the plot of Venom clearly, and I've read the Venom comics as well. Together, we'll definitely make the world a better place. Don't you yearn for greater power?" Seeing that Renzo didn't move, Justin thought he had figured him out. As for his silence, he probably just wanted more benefits...
Justin sneered. No matter who he was, he couldn't escape the desire to become stronger. His tone suddenly changed, carrying a hint of temptation. "Venom has evolved now and will soon reach Gnar's level. We can work together to kill Eddie and take Venom for ourselves. The Dark Avengers under my command are very strong. They're more than capable of hunting down a symbiote."
"You don't know yet... I've developed an instrument that can confine a symbiote's activity. That's how I subdued that idiot Eugene. The symbiote inside him was merely a semi-successful product created by fusing various animal genes in our laboratory. It's simply no match for Venom."
"I can give you Carnage... Carnage. That lunatic Kasady is still in prison. I can secretly execute him, and then Carnage will fall into our hands. You should eliminate Carnage's power. With him on our side, in less than a year, we can seize power by force, bring the United States under our control, and build our own empire."
"We're both Chinese. How could we not want to take control of this place? Let these people see who the real protagonists of this world are!" The man's feet left trails of water across the floor, and his wet hair clung to his scalp. Renzo then noticed that the man's hair was extremely sparse, probably a result of his former drug addiction.
"Why should I agree to you? Oh, no, no, no... Let me change the question. Why do you want to win me over? Judging from the current situation, the resources you've developed seem quite impressive. If this continues, the military will trust you more and more. With that clean-cut appearance, no special background, and the way you carry yourself, you look like some kind of fanatical American..."
Renzo suddenly looked at him mockingly. "You seem more suited to this country than you realize. You're basically no different from those disgusting politicians. You're just as unpleasant."
Justin's face darkened. His eyes widened angrily as he shouted, "What do you mean? What do you mean! I was speaking to you politely, and you insulted me the moment you arrived. I don't see any sincerity from you at all." There was a hint of threat in his voice. He still believed that this elusive man wanted to join him. The provocation was merely an attempt to gain more leverage, and he was actually just another greedy person.
Justin didn't panic because Renzo had exposed his past. Instead, he quickly calmed down. He estimated that this person had obtained some kind of cheat ability, most likely mind-reading. Otherwise, how could he know so much?
Thinking of this, Justin suddenly lost his sense of nervousness. It was only mind reading. There was nothing to fear. One shot would send him to the next life. Perhaps he could even travel to a safer world without any threats, and maybe even find a way to travel back...
"I'll give you another chance. Join us. Join the Dark Avengers. Otherwise..." Justin suddenly pulled a red button from somewhere on his body. "As long as I press my finger lightly, at least thirty soldiers outside will rush in fully armed. Each one of them could drown you in a mouthful of spit. If you change your mind then... I'm sorry... it'll be too late!"
Hum~~~
"Ah... ah! Ah!" Justin covered his hand and wailed in pain. The red button in his palm had melted into a puddle of liquid, giving off a pungent odor. His palm looked burned, a circular scorch mark appearing across it as blood and liquid mixed together, burning into the wound.
He hadn't expected this person to attack him without hesitation. Wasn't he a mind reader? Why did he also have the ability to attack? Was it some kind of high-tech weapon? Damn, damn, damn, damn! I must twist his head off and feed it to Carnage!
Justin stared viciously at the man in front of him, the distance between them less than three meters.
The golden light slowly faded, and a pair of ancient eyes stared indifferently at the man. Renzo had originally thought Justin would be intelligent, but he was far more foolish than expected—talkative, selfish, and utterly delusional.
Renzo didn't like interfering in other people's lives. Everyone had their own way of living, and he couldn't simply dislike someone and condemn them because their views differed from his.
But there were always people whose beliefs had strayed far beyond what he could accept. Tigers did not devour their own cubs, and creatures of the same kind did not normally prey upon each other. Yet there were always human beings who took pleasure in exploiting their own kind. The worse they saw the people around them living, the happier they became. That deeply distorted way of thinking had completely destroyed this person.
They hated everything around them and everyone who was doing better than they were. They would kick even a stray dog in the street. They enjoyed mocking other people's shortcomings and did everything they could to avoid contributing effort or money. They wanted to reap the rewards of victory without paying any price, believing in fantasies of effortless success rather than putting in even the smallest amount of work.
Justin obviously belonged to this kind of person. Perhaps the pleasure brought by time travel had made him believe he was the protagonist of the world, with everything revolving around him.
Renzo's disgusted gaze remained fixed on Justin. Suddenly, the man's entire body trembled. An overwhelmingly dangerous aura struck him, and even his injured hand stopped shaking. Justin suddenly realized how ridiculous it was that he had been threatening this man.
"That's..." Justin's eyes suddenly widened.
The appearance of the man before him was changing little by little. The familiar Eastern features gradually became more Western, with deep-set eyes and a high nose bridge. Justin was stunned. The face before him became increasingly familiar, as though he had seen it somewhere before.
Golden light suddenly appeared, and a dazzling golden gem materialized majestically on the man's forehead.
Justin was completely stunned. His mouth hung open from the shock, his pupils filled with disbelief and surprise—and, more than anything else, fear.
"Vision... How could it be Vision?! Isn't this the Venom Universe? Vision should have died at Thanos's hands by this point! The Mind Stone also has the ability to travel across universes..." A mass of questions raced through the man's mind, and his heart felt as though it had been struck by a heavy blow.
"Surprised?" Renzo raised an eyebrow and asked, already knowing the answer.
In fact, Justin was more than surprised. He was nearly scared to death. Everyone knew how powerful Vision was. With the Mind Stone and his seemingly endless energy, he was almost impossible to deal with. If not for Corvus Glaive's weapon, Vision might have been able to fight Thanos even when Thanos possessed five Infinity Stones.
In the world of What If...?, the five-Stone Thanos had been effortlessly torn in half by Ultron with a single Stone. Although there were subtle differences between universes, Thanos was still a top-tier powerhouse no matter which universe he inhabited. If he could be dealt with that easily... it was enough to demonstrate how terrifying Vision's body could be.
Justin wasn't sure whether the person before him was Vision, a fellow time traveler, or Ultron... But given Ultron's character, he should have driven humanity out entirely rather than merely demonstrating his power now.
He preferred to believe that he had traveled into Vision.
A powerful hand seized the man's wrist tightly. With a little force, his entire forearm was crushed.
Justin screamed in pain and dropped to one knee, a powerful sense of hatred rising within him. He was also a time traveler. Why did this man possess such overwhelming power? Why could he hurt him so easily?
That should have been his!
I am the protagonist of this world! Everything that appears in this world should belong to me!
Justin's mentality suddenly collapsed. The intense pain gave birth to a surge of courage. He pointed at the man's face and cursed, hurling every kind of obscene insult he could think of. Spittle sprayed across Renzo's face as he went from madness to hysterical laughter and back again.
"It's embarrassing." Renzo shook his head.
Justin had made the same mistake so many people made. It was easy to go from simplicity to luxury, but difficult to return from luxury to simplicity. The sudden change in his circumstances had caused him to lose himself in fantasy and forget who he really was.
Renzo suddenly fell silent.
He seemed to have gradually lost himself as well beneath the weight of his growing power. The old loser who had done nothing but watch movies and play games had been replaced by who he was now...
But he hadn't truly lost himself. He had simply changed. He had become more responsible, more upright, and stronger.
Unlike Justin, who only acted for himself, he did it for peace.
Pfft!
The man fell unconscious into the swimming pool, and Renzo successfully obtained the information he wanted. What had once been an uncertain suspicion was now confirmed, and there was no longer any reason for him to be afraid.
Half a day later, when military personnel forced their way inside, they discovered that Justin had drowned in the swimming pool. The murderer, however, had already disappeared without a trace.
The incident was kept strictly confidential. Leadership of the Dark Avengers was taken over by Justin's deputy, the black officer. The military had lost a useful tool and was somewhat displeased, but that was all.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A violent knock sounded against the door.
Eddie slowly opened it. Standing outside were his ex-girlfriend, Anne, and her current boyfriend, Dan.
"Why are you here?" Eddie asked in confusion. He had tried every possible way to forget her and wish her well. Even the long battles and intense training had kept Anne from crossing his mind for a long time. Yet she had appeared at such a critical moment.
Eddie was both angry and nervous.
He understood that he was like a dung beetle trapped in a cesspit. If Anne became involved... Eddie would never forgive himself for the rest of his life.
"I tried to persuade her, but she insisted on coming," Dan said helplessly, a hint of jealousy in his voice. Who could be happy knowing his fiancée was still thinking about her ex-boyfriend?
Eddie ignored the faintly jealous man and kept his eyes on the woman. "Let's go. Now isn't the time for you to be here. Dan, take her back."
His tone left no room for argument. He pulled Anne aside, intending to push the two of them back outside.
"Look at this." Anne shook off Eddie's hand.
She opened her palm, revealing a letter.
The tawny paper looked old, with large traces of graffiti across it. It had probably been reused from something else. The envelope, however, was brand new.
Eddie took the letter. Written across it in large letters were the words: "To Eddie Brock."
Whose letter was this?
A large question mark appeared in Eddie's mind. He opened it and read carefully.
"Eddie Brock,
I'm sorry that I couldn't deliver this letter to you in person. Military and FBI agents and spies are watching your house. If anything happens, they will report it immediately. It's extremely dangerous.
I had no choice but to send this letter through your ex-girlfriend. All communications concerning you are being monitored, so we can only use this old-fashioned method.
The military is planning to have the Dark Avengers capture you. I also saw the battles a few days ago, so the military has decided to act ahead of schedule. Three days from now, at night, a large number of troops will surround your home and arrest you. At the same time, the Dark Avengers will also take action. Although you and Venom have evolved into higher-level symbiotes, you have no chance of winning against a large number of soldiers and superpowered individuals.
Leave your house immediately. If a fight breaks out... you won't be the only one who gets hurt.
In order not to reveal any information to you, these bastards haven't even dispersed the crowds around you. Once a firefight begins, there will definitely be heavy casualties!
Let's go!"
Eddie stared at the unsigned letter in shock.
"When was this letter written?"
"November 3rd." Anne's pupils trembled.
"Then the military will surround this place... tonight!"
Boom!
Before he could finish speaking, a missile with a flaming tail shot rapidly toward the house.
Venom instantly transformed, wrapping himself around Anne and Dan to protect them. Morbius teleported away.
Crackling rubble and flames erupted from the impact. Soon, the entire house was engulfed in fire. The small building trembled and began to collapse beneath the flames.
"It hit the target, but didn't cause any obvious damage," Felicia said coldly.
"Then continue." The black officer gave the order. "Rhino is ready to enter. Chaos is ready to support."
"Scream, disrupt the target's movements."
The one-eyed woman glanced at the black officer with disgust, but she had no choice but to lower her head beneath his authority. Her husband was still in their hands, after all. If she wanted to save Cassady's life, she could only do as he ordered.
Harsh, shrieking howls surged forward. The swaying house was surrounded by powerful sound waves and collapsed completely.
Dust filled the sky.
Dense infrared beams were aimed at the ruined house. No one knew how many living people were buried beneath the rubble.
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