"Om~~~~"
Red lights flashed wildly, and nonstop sirens filled every corner of the base, mixed with hurried, chaotic footsteps and a constant stream of exclamations.
"Damn... several satellites have lost contact. Someone has breached our space systems!" The soldier operating the console shouted, overwhelmed by the constant warning alarms. No one had ever dared to do something like this. It was a direct challenge to the country's security!
"Find the intruder's location immediately! I'll make him pay for breaking into our network!"
Even so, Contempt's level was obviously far higher than that of these network security officers. Even if all of them worked together to find the intruder, it would be useless. But they had finally found some clues.
Contempt had been in too much of a hurry. After sensing Gnar's arrival, they had fallen into chaos and hadn't even had time to erase the traces they left behind on the network, inadvertently exposing their coordinates.
"San Francisco... the intruders are in San Francisco!"
"Dispatch the special police stationed in San Francisco immediately..." The commander shouted into the microphone, his angry voice filling the entire communications channel. His subordinates also acted quickly, immediately notifying the FBI in San Francisco and the special police to monitor the entire network.
There was a super-hacker hiding in the shadows who had breached the country's network and even hacked into the satellite system. For a superpower, this was like having someone press its face into the ground and stomp on it. The commander was frightened and immediately ordered his people to place the nuclear weapons systems under strict surveillance.
According to the security officer, this hacker's abilities were practically bottomless, surpassing every hacker in the world and even seeming to belong to another era.
If such a talent could be properly utilized and firmly brought under their control, they would possess a secret weapon powerful enough to intimidate the entire world. It could inflict devastating damage on both strategic and economic levels.
But if that power couldn't be controlled...
Ultron was proof of what could happen: a technological intelligence capable of controlling nuclear launches around the world. With a single thought, it could turn the Earth into a dead world, plunging civilization into nuclear winter almost instantly.
Tread, tread, tread!
"No! Sir!" A soldier burst into the room, gasping for breath.
"If you have something to say, say it properly. What's the point of standing there panting?" The commander looked extremely displeased and glanced at the soldier with irritation. "Speak. What's happened?"
"The space station... the space station has lost contact..."
"What?!"
The commander's eyes suddenly widened.
The space station wasn't solely an American project. In order to acquire more technology and expertise while strengthening international cooperation, the United States had allocated access to other countries as well. Astronauts from those countries could also travel into space alongside American astronauts, with the participating nations contributing money, technology, and personnel.
Once the space station lost contact, it meant the United States would bear much of the responsibility. If something happened to the astronauts aboard...
The United States wouldn't be able to absorb the enormous losses.
"Why didn't you report something like this earlier?!"
The commander roared and shoved aside the soldier, who had been frozen in fear by the sudden outburst. He was going insane. As the person in charge of the aerospace department, he would certainly be held responsible. He might even be imprisoned and become the scapegoat who carried the blame for the disaster.
"Look! Look! Look!"
The security officer at the console suddenly shouted. The final seven-second video transmission from the space station had arrived just before contact was lost.
The commander pushed everyone aside and crowded in front of the screen, their faces almost touching it. The security officer opened the video with trembling hands. He had already watched it once, and the sight had shaken him so badly that he could barely move his hands.
Zzzzt!
A burst of static sounded as the video began.
A pitch-black object of unknown origin was flying toward the space station. In the vastness of space, darkness was the universe's dominant backdrop. A strange and enormous object suddenly emerged from that darkness.
The commander's expression immediately relaxed.
"Is it just a meteorite?"
Not only was he relieved, but if it was merely a meteorite, it could be treated as an accident. At worst, he'd have to stand before the United Nations and make a formal statement. If his position were downgraded, so be it. At least he'd still be free.
Then his eyes suddenly widened, and the faces of everyone watching around him unconsciously filled with shock and panic.
"Then... what is that?"
The commander's voice trembled, unable to believe what he was seeing.
"Is that a dragon?"
A gigantic black creature floated silently in space, blending perfectly into the vast darkness of the universe. That was why the commander hadn't noticed its true shape immediately.
They suddenly realized that the space station hadn't been struck by some wayward meteorite.
It had been attacked by this enormous, dragon-like creature!
"Has extraterrestrial life invaded Earth?"
The commander immediately ordered the security officer to send the video back to headquarters while strictly preventing the footage from leaking. This video absolutely could not be allowed to reach the public. Otherwise, it would cause massive panic.
At the same time, he ordered the military to prepare for battle against this uninvited visitor from space.
Of course, the United States wasn't the only country to discover the symbiote dragons. Almost every nation with satellites in orbit eventually detected the enormous, mysterious creatures. They all hurried to take defensive measures and prepared to capture one alive.
It was an extraterrestrial life-form from outer space.
Except for certain people in the United States, the vast majority of people in this world still didn't know that supernatural powers truly existed. Even governments outside the United States knew little about them.
And now, a group of alien creatures had already arrived on Earth.
"How long ago was this video recorded?" the commander asked.
"Ten minutes ago."
"Damn it!"
The commander tore off his hat, clenched his fist, and slammed it against the table.
"What are you all standing around for? Move! Quickly, quickly, quickly! If you don't want to die, act now!"
Why did creatures like this exist in the world?
They were completely beyond human understanding.
So the ancient legends had not been mere legends after all.
Dragons were real!
But what they didn't know was that if the video had continued for another five seconds, they would have seen what followed behind the giant dragon.
Densely packed dragons, each no smaller than the first, all black with red and white markings. Their pupils contained no light at all, yet they gazed toward the blue planet at nearly the same time, moving with eerie coordination.
"You need to get out of here right now!"
"Put your luggage down! I'm not going anywhere. This is my home. I've already paid off one-fifth of the mortgage! There's no way I'm abandoning my house and leaving!"
Annie went over and tried to pull Eddie away. She had no idea what had gotten into her ex-boyfriend. Not only had he smashed the window while transformed into Venom, but now he was trying to force them to leave with him without even giving them a choice.
"Eddie Brock, I know you and your... kids are great, but if you don't let go of my fiancée and leave this house right now, I'll call the police and report you for breaking and entering!"
Dan naturally stood on Annie's side and angrily punched Eddie. Of course, the blow did nothing to the man, but it only made him more irritable.
"The Earth is going to die! Aliens are attacking the planet! You need to get to a shelter now, or leave the country!"
"Are you kidding? Aliens... Hahaha, are your Venom friends planning to take over the place?"
Annie laughed when she heard this, amused by what she thought was Eddie's ridiculous lie. "Listen, Eddie, I know you're still interested in me, but it's impossible for us. I already have a fiancé, and we've been living together for a long time! No matter what you do, I can't leave Dan behind."
Annie spoke earnestly, and her confident declaration almost made Venom laugh.
Humans were generally very confident...
Venom silently recorded that observation. It might come in handy someday.
"Annie... he might be telling the truth."
Dan tugged on his fiancée's sleeve. Eddie's serious expression had suddenly made him realize that this might not be a lie after all.
Eddie couldn't afford to waste any more time. He simply threw their luggage downstairs, then broke through the door with Dan and Annie. He violently stuffed the two of them into the car and pressed his monstrous Venom face against the window.
"Take her somewhere safe!"
Dan understood and nodded seriously, promising that he wouldn't let anything happen to Annie. He stepped on the accelerator and drove toward the airport.
They were temporarily leaving the country and heading for the other side of the world.
Because these alien creatures were all coming for Eddie.
Eddie actually had no confidence that he could win this battle. He didn't even know how many of them there were. Gnar's oppressive presence alone was enough to make Venom, Contempt, and the others reluctant to confront him directly.
Taking advantage of the fact that their courage hadn't completely deserted them, Contempt and the others began hacking into electronic devices and evacuating people, spreading warnings that aliens were about to invade Earth.
But the result was that everyone treated them like lunatics.
Venom's monstrous appearance finally attracted the attention of people on the street. Instead of panicking as expected, the crowd pulled out their phones and pointed them at Venom, taking pictures.
The flashes made his eyes hurt.
To ordinary residents who knew nothing about supernatural powers, Venom was obviously some kind of performance artist in a costume, perhaps part of a promotional stunt for a store or movie.
In short, nobody thought it had anything to do with aliens.
Venom looked around, feeling a deep sense of helplessness.
He couldn't evacuate this many people like this.
It seemed there was only one way left!
Eddie returned control of his body to Venom, and the symbiote's nature immediately revealed itself.
"I'm going to eat your heads!"
Venom's cold, hoarse voice filled the entire street. Every time his massive feet struck the ground, they left deep craters. One punch slammed into a car, immediately caving in its sturdy hood.
Venom picked up the car and threw it toward the pedestrians watching from a distance.
Of course, he had no intention of actually hitting them.
He deliberately missed by a certain distance, using the attack to frighten the people away from the area.
Gnar was coming for him, so the main attack would undoubtedly fall on him. Since there was no way to evacuate a larger group of people, he could at least drive away everyone within sight!
Seeing the rampaging monster, the pedestrians panicked and fled in all directions, screaming.
They finally realized that this wasn't a movie.
No one was cosplaying.
Real alien monsters had invaded Earth!
What made Eddie anxious was that some people were still hiding in distant corners to watch the spectacle, while many others had already called the police.
Eddie didn't want large numbers of police officers coming here. That would only attract more people.
It would do more harm than good!
Suddenly, what sounded like a car accident occurred not far away, blocking the road leading to the street. Thick black smoke slowly rose into the air, and the smell of burning drifted toward Eddie on the breeze, filling his nose.
Contempt walked out from the side, holding her head with her right hand, as though she had caused the accident herself.
"What did you do?" Eddie asked.
"Thank Tesla," Contempt replied.
The two didn't speak again. Instead, they looked toward the sky at the same time.
A black speck had appeared against the blue sky.
Slowly, it broke through the white clouds, as if a crack had opened in the heavens.
Then darkness spread across the sky.
The pressure was so intense that pedestrians stopped to stare. Many even pulled out their phones to take pictures, thinking they were witnessing a solar eclipse, laughing and talking excitedly.
But gradually, they realized something was wrong.
Why did the dark sky seem to be getting closer and closer?
It was as though countless maggots were squirming through the darkness, rapidly descending toward the surface of the Earth.
"Oh my God?! Look at the sky! What are those things?!"
A woman had just raised her hand and pointed toward the sky when, in the next second, a ferocious symbiote dragon descended upon the Earth.
The destruction caused by its massive body could not be described in simple words.
It slammed into the ground with tremendous force, and the entire street fractured into a spiderweb of cracks. The earth collapsed, and the surrounding buildings were shaken by the impact.
"Ah!!!"
Everyone screamed in terror and scattered in every direction.
Aliens had really invaded Earth!
But they didn't realize how much their screams irritated the symbiote dragon.
It lashed out with its tail in annoyance, smashing through a house in a single blow. Those who had failed to escape in time were buried beneath the rubble. Then the dragon stepped down on the fallen, unconscious bodies, crushing them completely beneath its feet.
The dragon roared, and dozens of black symbiotes split from its enormous body.
Unlike Venom, they had only a ferocious mouth on their faces, along with large red circles emblazoned across their bodies. Their hoarse voices were unbearably shrill as they crazily slaughtered the fleeing crowd.
In an instant, the entire street became a living hell.
Blood soaked deeply into the ground, marking the bodies of those who had fallen like stains that could never be removed.
The giant dragon raised its head and roared toward the heavens. Its violent cry resounded throughout the city.
Even people on the opposite side of the city could clearly hear the roar of this monstrous creature!
A tall, gaunt man tore open the dragon's belly and emerged from the disgusting stomach cavity, covered in mucus. He stepped out leisurely, his wild white hair floating ferociously behind him.
The man threw back his head and let out a chilling, maniacal laugh.
The God of Symbiotes—Gnar!
He had arrived!
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