As the night fell, the Bronx was noticeably darker than the other areas of New York. The locals were accustomed to returning home early, the deteriorating safety conditions exerting pressure on everyone, including not just the citizens, but also the police.
Increasing protests made everyone nervous. Police had to deploy a third of Bronx's forces for night patrol. Almost every main street was dotted with blinking police lights. Pedestrians bowing their heads scurried past, angered by the scrutinizing gaze of the police, but helpless to do anything about it.
An elderly and a younger cop leaning on their patrol car, half-closed their eyes for a moment's rest. Suddenly, they heard a greeting. Looking up, they saw a young Chinese man standing in front of them, holding a heap of food boxes.
"Officers, your dinner."
"Oh, aren't you the cook at the restaurant at the end of Chinatown? We didn't order anything from your place today." The younger cop said with confusion.
The older cop, however, had already effortlessly taken the stack of meal boxes. The younger officer looked a bit puzzled at his actions. The older cop took a puff of his cigarette, looking at the young man saying, "Don't worry, there are people guarding both ends of the street in Chinatown. No troublemakers will reach your area."
"Oh, by the way, you need to open your shop two hours later tomorrow morning. Some henchmen from Dark Street will be passing by your front street. They will definitely shoot, tell your boss to stay in the shop and not come out, otherwise, he might get shot."
The young Chinese man, laying his hand on his chest, breathed a sigh of relief, "Thanks so much, officer. If it weren't for your warning, I'd be planning to deliver food tomorrow morning."
While opening the food boxes, the older officer said, "You're Chinese, right? Don't worry, the Chinese mob is well-known and feared. Fang and his men wouldn't dare offend your boss in Chinatown. Just hide, and no one will bother you."
The young Chinese man immediately expressed his gratitude with a smile, but it was soon replaced by a somewhat troubled look. He took two boxes of food from the parcel behind his bicycle and said, "Officer, I'm afraid I need to trouble you. This is Officer Juliette's order from our restaurant, but she seems to be deep in the main street area."
With a somewhat impatient wave of his hand, the older officer set down the food, moved aside the roadblock, and said, "Just deliver it to her yourself. And don't expect any tips from her. She's been quite irritable all day because of what happened. After delivering the food, leave as soon as possible. Beware of that alcoholic crazy woman causing trouble for you."
"Thank you, thank you! As soon as I deliver the food, I will leave immediately."
The young man, pushing his bicycle, entered the cordoned-off area. He softly chuckled and thought to himself, "I told you, I didn't need to knock down the cops. I hate violence."
A sneer resonated in his head. Venom grumbled, "If it wasn't for your insistence on eating, checking-in, lesson planning, we would have finished this hours ago!"
"And you Asians are always like this, taking the long way to avoid conflicts, efficiency! We need efficiency!"
"Don't be like that, Venom, isn't this efficient enough? I just went back to the restaurant where I worked as a cook and made an extra 8 meals while the boss was out. Of course, they only ordered 7...so, do you want one?"
"I want the sweet and sour pork loin and black chicken soup!"
"You sure know how to choose". Xu Shang-chi reached into the parcel hanging at the back of his bike, took out two piping hot meals, and tucked into a corner of the building. Instantly, Venom enveloped his body and swallowed the two boxes of food.
"It's hot hot hot!!!"
Venom shrieked. He took a deep breath while chewing on his mouthful of food and said, "Of course, I've been to a Chinese restaurant with Eddie too. But everything there was too expensive, and after Eddie quit his job, he didn't have enough money to eat there."
"So, you ended up eating all those Chinese meals?"
"Pretty much. He said he has a small appetite and left a pile every time. I was the one who finished it all." Venom licked his fangs, but unexpectedly, Xu Shang-chi said, "Then he must really love you. My mom also used to say she had a small appetite and couldn't finish, and then she gave the delicious dishes to me."
After a silence, Venom asked, "Is your mother still waiting for you at home?"
"Maybe she is, but she might never see me again." Xu Shang-chi shook his head, then asked with a hint of puzzlement, "Can't you access my memories? Can't you see my past?"
"I have no interest in the past of a head of lettuce"
"Alright."
"Wait a minute, you don't mind me calling you a head of lettuce?"
"I quite like lettuce. It's tasty and nutritious."
Then Venom kept quiet.
He realized that this young man was extremely good-tempered, even submissive, unlike any of the other hosts he had encountered. Even Peter, who was the least argumentative, didn't let people mock him like he did.
Soon, with meal delivery as an excuse to enter into the cordoned-off area, Xu Shang-chi reached the front of a building in the Bronx. The security line here was denser, and there were two more cop cars. A blonde policewoman with a stern expression stood at the entrance.
"Excuse me, who is Officer Juliette?" Xu Shang-chi shouted loudly, "Your order is here. Should I open it now?"
The policewoman turned her head and signaled to her subordinates next to her, but after thinking about it, she came forward and took the meal box from Xu Shang-chi. As Xu Shang-chi helped her to open the food box and unpack the chopsticks, he asked as though a little curious, "Officer, what happened here?"