On the evening of Charles's return, a spacecraft belonging to the Life Foundation, Life-I, had just completed its sample collection work in outer space and was returning.
"Life-I calling Foundation Control Center, sample collection complete, returning."
"Received, Life-I, prepare to re-enter the atmosphere."
"Understood, initiating re-entry program."
"Coordinates zero point four one zero three."
"Oh, damn it. Close it, hurry up, close it!"
At this moment, the Foundation Control Center said, "Calling Life-I, signal unstable, please respond."
"SOS, Life-I, SOS!"
"Control Center calling Life-I, please respond!"
Eventually, the Life-I spacecraft crashed in a forest in East Malaysia.
…
The next day-
Charles had spent the night drinking with Tsunade, and he hadn't lost a single game of dice while gambling with her.
Now Charles woke up from his room, shaking his somewhat groggy head, then got up from bed and started to freshen up.
Just as he finished freshening up, the electronic mechanical voice of the Red Queen sounded from the room.
"Master, Eddie Brock, a reporter from the Daily Globe, wants to apply for an interview with you. This is his seventh visit."
"Just tell him I'm not here and I won't accept the interview."
Upon hearing about interview, Charles instinctively wanted to refuse. Even if it was the seventh time, he didn't want to see him.
After all, when he had just become famous with Iron Man, a large number of reporters camped outside his agency every day just to take his picture or conduct an interview.
However, after Charles casually refused, he remembered the name Eddie Brock.
Eddie Brock from the Daily Globe, this guy seemed to eventually become the host of Venom, becoming an anti-heroic figure.
For symbiotes, Charles didn't care much. First of all, their weaknesses were obvious—they were afraid of fire and sound waves. Secondly, in terms of symbiotic mode, some people died as soon as they bonded, losing consciousness.
Some people, on the other hand, remained unharmed. He didn't quite understand their symbiotic and host selection patterns.
But symbiotes also had many advantages. They could enhance the host's abilities in all aspects, change into various cold weapons for combat, and instantly recover from serious injuries such as fractures.
At the same time, Charles also thought of the planet where the symbiotes were located.
If it was just an ordinary life planet, it would be very suitable for planting the Chakra Tree. But if it was the prison of the symbiote god, then it would be troublesome and couldn't be easily moved.
He also didn't know if the universe he was in had the existence of the symbiote god.
In the blink of an eye, Charles thought of many things, then spoke up, "Red Queen, where is Eddie Brock currently? Is he outside the base?"
"Master, Eddie Brock is currently outside the main gate of the base."
Charles didn't expect that this reporter had found their base, although they hadn't hidden it, they hadn't announced it either.
"Red Queen, take him to the reception room. I agree to his interview."
"Yes, Master!"
…
Outside the base gate-
At this moment, Eddie Brock felt somewhat discouraged after his request was rejected again.
As a journalist who was quite famous on television and had a large number of fans, Eddie Brock could be said to be at the peak of his career.
He had exposed many big shots, and his career was flourishing. Interviewing Charles Doyle was not only a requirement from his company but also out of his curiosity.
In Eddie Brock's impression, Tony Stark was more like a superhero driven by interests. He was a super-rich second generation, a playboy, a scientist who, through his inventions, created a powerful combat armor to save the world and fight evil to satisfy his spiritual needs.
But as for Charles Doyle, Eddie Brock was more curious. He couldn't find any information about him before he became famous on the internet. He didn't know which university he attended, his high school, or even his early life trajectory.
It seemed like overnight, Charles Doyle had become famous, becoming a shareholder of Stark Industries, a philanthropist, and a superhero promoted by the government.
But his agency wasn't like Tony's, offering free assistance to the masses. It was more like a governmental department; they only solved your problems if you paid them.
Although Eddie Brock was a well-known journalist with some connections, he didn't understand the dark world, didn't have any informants in the assassin world, and didn't even know about the Continental Hotel.
Otherwise, with just the coins issued by the Continental Hotel, he could walk into the hotel and, for the price of one coin, have someone tell him the story of the legendary assassin Charles Doyle for a night.
After all, in the assassin world, and even in the underworld, Charles Doyle's name had long become a legendary figure, the lifelong goal of all assassins.
Seeing himself rejected again, Eddie Brock glanced at the tall iron gate in front of him, the towering walls, and the heavily armed guards at the gate. He withdrew his gaze and turned to prepare to ride his beloved motorcycle and leave.
He had failed today, and he could only return to the Daily Globe to see if there were any new stories to uncover. As for sneaking into this place, he didn't have the ability.
Just as Eddie Brock sat on his motorcycle, before he could put on his helmet, he saw a guard at the gate suddenly running towards him.
"Mr. Eddie Brock."
"Our boss has agreed to meet with you."
Upon hearing the guard's words, a smile immediately appeared on Eddie Brock's face. He thought to himself, could it be that the boss was moved by my diligent attitude?
After all, he had been visiting every three days for almost a month now.
Eddie Brock put down his helmet and said excitedly, "That's great."
He picked up a large backpack from his motorcycle and got off the motorcycle.
At this moment, Eddie Brock glanced at his motorcycle and then asked, "Hey, where should I park this bike?"
The guard took a look and then replied, "Just push it to the entrance, you can ride it away when you leave later."
"Thanks!"
Back at the gate, the guard looked at Eddie Brock's backpack and said, "We need to check your belongings."
Eddie Brock smiled and said, "Sure."
He handed the backpack to one guard at the gate for inspection, while another guard began to search Eddie to ensure he wasn't carrying any dangerous items.
Seeing the guards' strict demeanor, Eddie couldn't help but marvel at the meticulous security work around high-profile individuals.
Soon, Eddie's backpack was thoroughly inspected. Inside were photography equipment, recording devices, and other tools.
With his personal inspection complete, a guard handed the backpack back to Eddie and said, "You can go in now."
Eddie took his backpack and put it back on. One guard approached the gate and, with a series of actions, slowly opened the gate.
Eddie entered through the gate and found another group of guards inside. There were also several electric sightseeing cars at the entrance, and beyond them was an incredibly vast lawn that seemed endless.
"Mr. Eddie Brock, please come and take the sightseeing car. We'll take you where you need to go."
Surprised by what he saw, Eddie nodded appreciatively and said, "Thank you."
He then got on the sightseeing car, heading towards a building deep inside the base.
…
Meanwhile, on the other side of the base-
Charles had already left his room and arrived at the dining area for breakfast. He also checked in for the day and received the sign-in reward, copper coins.
After breakfast, Charles went to the meeting room, where Eddie Brock had been waiting for a while.
Seeing Charles enter, Eddie stood up immediately.
"Hello, Mr. Charles Doyle, I'm Eddie Brock."
"I once had the honor of meeting you at Mr. Tony Stark's press conference."
Seeing Eddie Brock extend his hand, Charles knew that this guy hadn't been fired yet, indicating that the incident hadn't happened and he hadn't become the host of Venom.
Charles shook hands with him and smiled, "Hello, Mr. Brock."
Then Charles sat down on the sofa nearby and said, "I heard that you've visited me seven times recently."
"Yes, Mr. Charles, although there have been numerous reports about you in the media, there have been very few formal interviews with you personally."
"I want to do a column about you and introduce you personally."
Hearing Eddie Brock's proposal, Charles didn't mind. Instead, he smiled and said, "I've heard about you. Are you here specifically to dig up dirt on me?"
Eddie Brock smiled awkwardly. "Mr. Charles, you're a superhero, a philanthropist, and a capitalist."
"If there's no dirt on you, then there's no news. But I promise I'm not here to dig up dirt. I just want to write an honest story about you."
Charles smiled and didn't mind. After all, his closet was still empty to hold a few skeletons, but the thing was, he didn't need to worry about it. S.H.I.E.L.D. wouldn't allow it.
"Let's start the interview for today. I have other matters to attend to later."
Eddie Brock nodded and took out a recording pen from his backpack, placing it on the table. He then powered on the set-up camera.
As it was an unprepared visit, Eddie wasn't sure if he would get to interview Charles. Therefore, he hadn't brought an assistant and had to operate everything himself.
Soon, Eddie had everything set up and began, "At the age of 21, you became a shareholder of Stark Industries and earned a substantial fortune. Could you please talk about your rise to wealth?"
Hearing Eddie's question, Charles didn't refuse but began, "During Tony's absence, I bought many short contracts, which made me a significant profit."
"However, when Tony returned and announced the closure of the weapons division, my profit from those contracts skyrocketed even more."
"And before Tony announced himself as Iron Man, due to my trust in him and belief that he could lead the company out of the crisis, I sold all my short contracts and bought stocks in Stark Industries."
"With a few such transactions, my net worth soared significantly."
Listening to Charles's narrative, Eddie's eyes lit up, and he continued, "I remember you were Tony's friend. Your actions seem to comply with securities trading laws, but did you have any insider information that led to these transactions and substantial profits?"
Looking to delve deeper, Eddie asked, "Are you sure you didn't use any insider information to make these moves, reaping significant profits?"
Smiling at Eddie's probing, Charles replied, "There was no insider information. Before these transactions, I didn't even know Tony Stark."
"All of this was based on my analysis and went through SEC scrutiny."
"Mr. Charles, to amass such wealth in the stock market, you must have needed substantial capital. Could you tell us about your previous rise to wealth? I believe many of your fans are curious."
"Fans? Do I have many fans?"
Eddie Brock earnestly responded, "Yes, a lot, a tremendous amount. On YouTube alone, you have over ten million fans, and they've even created a dedicated official website for you as the base of the fan club."
Hearing this, Charles was somewhat surprised but also felt it was reasonable.
He then continued, "As everyone knows, I have a agency named after myself. The income from there is not low."
"That's where I started. Once, I took on a job that brought in $100 million."
Eddie had some understanding of the services offered by Charles Agency. Hearing that a single job brought in $100 million, he couldn't help but find it unbelievable, thinking to himself, "Can this thing really make so much money?"
"Wow, such a high value. Do you pay taxes on time?"
Eddie Brock then quickly said, "Haha, I was just kidding, Mr. Charles, please don't mind."
Charles replied seriously, "All my businesses pay taxes regularly."
"Okay, so at the age of 21, at such a young age, you had such a huge fortune. Then, you spared no expense and established a Heart-to-Heart Charity Foundation, dedicated to rescuing and caring for orphans."
Charles smiled and said, "Those who know me know that I am a compassionate person. My childhood experiences have left me deeply moved by these young children. I hope to give them a bright future."