"Hello? Annie, it's me, Eddie, Eddie Brock, don't hang up just yet. Give me three minutes. I've got something really important to tell you."
"Yesterday, I was attacked by two unidentified assassins, and I am now on the run. There's evidence suggesting a possible involvement of Drake, the CEO of the Life Foundation who I previously interviewed."
"The assassins who attacked me belong to a mysterious organization called Hand Union. The people investigating this organization saved me, and they told me Hand Union and the Life Foundation might be brewing a major conspiracy."
"The reason I called you is because I need your help. I need more information about Drake."
"I know I owe you an apology, I shouldn't have snooped through your stuff on your computer, but things have escalated to this point. They've sent killers after me, and I won't have a moment's peace until I deal with this trouble."
"So, I was hoping you could give me any information you might have. You don't have to answer me right away. Take care of yourself. Goodbye."
Eddie hung up the phone, staring blankly at it. After a few seconds of stunned silence, he covered his eyes, muttering, "God! How could I have spoken to Annie like that! She'll think I've lost my mind…"
"What was I saying? I told her my name is Eddie Brock…" Eddie took a deep breath, saying, "Who do I think I am, FBI Agent?"
"It's very clear you have no understanding of a woman's heart." Venom's voice echoed in Eddie's brain. Just as Eddie was about to argue back, his phone rang. It was Annie's anxious voice on the other end:
"Eddie, are you okay? Are you really being hunted? Where are you? Hello? Answer me, you should call the police…"
"Calling the police won't do any good, Annie. The police can't handle the assassins from Hand Union. Their last partner was Kingpin, the controller of the whole East Coast Crime Empire. They've got their eyes on me, so I need to leave here for a while…"
"Wait! Eddie!" Annie's voice came through the phone, incredulous. "Eddie, if your voice hadn't stayed the same, I might have thought you weren't you. You've never spoken to me in such a calm tone before."
"Listen, I also know the Life Foundation isn't some righteous organization. The legal disputes they've asked me to handle for them are related to human experimentation. But them sending assassins after you? That's a little hard for me to believe. Nevertheless, if that's really the case, you'd better hide right away."
Annie, the elite lawyer she was, sounded anxious, but her thought process was still clear. She said, "I'm aware that Drake isn't a good person, but my boss asked me to defend him. That's how the legal world works. We don't consider our clients' views."
"But personally, I really support you punching him. The reason I got so angry later was because you invaded my privacy and did whatever you wanted without even talking to me about it first. I was angry because you didn't trust me, and you took matters into your own hands impulsively…"
"Annie, I'm running short on time. We'll talk about us later."
There was silence on the other end. After a pause, Annie let out a sigh and finally said: "The Life Foundation researcher Dora who was coordinating with me is a bit fickle. During our private conversations, she complained to me that her boss was too indifferent and only chased after profits."
"She once revealed that she didn't want to work for Drake anymore. I can give you her contact information. She should have the information you're looking for."
There was no response on the phone, and Annie asked, "Eddie, are you okay? Eddie! Answer me... Are you in danger? "
"No, I'm not." After a while, Eddie's voice came through. Annie heard his voice, somber, as he said: "When I've gotten rid of these troubles, I'll come and sort out the things between us... if I'm still alive by then."
Annie heard the busy tone on the phone when he hung up. She took a deep breath and tossed her phone on the bed. Leaning against the head of the bed, she relied her eyes, in pain.
"Eddie, I wish you could have been this calm earlier." Annie murmured softly.
After hanging up the phone, Eddie was also out of breath, muttering to himself: "She gave me useful information so easily. What were we arguing about earlier?"
"You really think she was so mad at you before because she supported Drake, and that's why you two broke up?"
Eddie opened his mouth, Venom continued in his mind, "You deserved to get dumped, obviously. All she wanted was for you to explain, for you to calm down and talk to her. To tell her why you were doing this. But you said nothing."
Just as Eddie was about to argue back, his cell phone vibrated. Annie had sent him a text message. On it was the contact information for Dora, the Life Foundation researcher.
That night, in front of an apartment in the Manhattan Area, Dora was trying to find her access card in her bag. A shadowy figure was standing at the end of the alley. The street light cast a long shadow in front of him, with the shape of a dark blade cutting across the bricks of the alley walls.
"What the hell is this?" Eddie looked down at his palm. There was a layer of black armor on the back of his hand. He turned to look at the window of the adjacent apartment building, his reflection staring back at him.
At that moment, Eddie was wearing a dark battlesuit. The suit was overall black with a soft inner lining and a thin outer layer of armor. He even had a cape on.
Eddie's head was completely wrapped in mechanical armor and on his chest was a bat-like symbol, surrounded by web-like patterns.
He had to admit, the suit looked pretty cool with its sleek lines, futuristic mechanical joints, and gothic patterns. Eddie thought it would be absolutely 'cool' to save the world in it. The only problem was…
"But what's with the ears?" Eddie asked Venom, baffled.
The helmet of the suit completely covered Eddie's head, making him look like a robot, but the robot head had two protruding pointy ears.
"Those ears are key." Venom told Eddie confidently, "As long as you have these two ears, you'll never die. because you're Bat... Venom."
"Venom? That name sounds awfully sinister... Alright, what's the next step?"
"If you don't know what to do, just glance at the emblem on your chest and follow the guidance of instinct. It will give you an answer."
Ten minutes later, as Dora was opening her apartment door, she heard some noises behind her. She turned around to see a tall, black figure appearing in the hallway shadows.
Just as Dora was about to scream, the dark shadow emerged to her back and muted her, saying: "Don't make a sound, let's go in and talk."
He took Dora into her apartment, and as soon as the door closed, Dora collapsed from fright. Eddie removed his helmet that wrapped his head and said to Dora, "You should know me, I'm the reporter who punched Drake a few days ago during the interview. My name is Eddie, Eddie Brock."
Dora widened her eyes. Leaning on the back of the sofa, she stammered, "You... You indeed look like the Brock, but..."
Eddie's voice was very low as he told Dora, "Because I exposed Drake's despicable act of using human bodies for experiments, now I am in trouble. He has teamed up with another evil organization and their assassins are after me."
Dora adjusted her glasses and stood erect, saying, "Actually, I planned to find you, but didn't expect you to come to me first."
"Why are you looking for me?"
Dora sighed. After realizing that Eddie was not a kidnapper, she gradually relaxed. Then she pointed to the wall behind Eddie and said, "Can you turn on the light switch over there? Thank you."
Only then did Eddie realize that there are no lights on in the apartment, but he could still see everything very clearly. When did he acquire the ability of night vision?
As Dora directed, Eddie turned around to turn on the lights. Suddenly, the room was brightly lit and Eddie shielded his eyes with his arm, realizing that he was rather sensitive to the light.
Dora sat down on the sofa, but Eddie stood still in the corner of the room. Dora turned around to look at him and said, "Although I don't have much to offer guests, at least you could sit down for a glass of water?"
With that, she rubbed her hands awkwardly on pants, saying, "I don't have many friends and I rarely have visitors. Please forgive me if I was a poor host."
Eddie silently shook his head. Dora turned around, leaned on the back of the sofa and looked at Eddie, saying, "You are nothing like I imagined. I thought you would be more... righteous."
"You can just say I'm rather impulsive."
"No, that's not what I meant. I actually think it's right. It was so satisfying when you punched him."
"Seems you're not happy with your boss."
Dora pursed her lips. Displaying a complex expression, she turned around with her back to Eddie and said, "I don't know how to describe it. He's not a bad boss. He pays me well."
"But he is not a good person. He's even evil. I can't begin to tell you everything he has done in the lab..."
"That's exactly what I want to know."
Dora bit her lip, seeming rather conflicted. Then Eddie's voice echoed, "You do not need to worry at all. If I agreed with Drake's approach in any way, I wouldn't have risked my career to punch him in front of everyone."
It seemed like Dora also understood this logic. Sighing, she then said, "He really is using human bodies for experiments, and the experiments are extremely cruel and inhuman."
"What kind of experiments, specifically?"
"You've heard about the Eternal Life Factor, right?"
"I've heard a lot of people mention it."
"Drake extracted the Eternal Life Factor from an unknown organism."
"But I thought that the stuff comes from a vampire?"
"Normally it does. But vampires strictly controlled by officials and the few left are held by the Stark Group or the Osborn Group. The Life Foundation can't get any."
Dora adjusted her glasses again, continuing, "But Drake saw the immense potential in Eternal Life Factor and wanted a piece of it."
"The Life Foundation and Osborn Group are rivals. They are both developers of biotechnology and the Osborn Group wouldn't hand over precious vampire material."
"But I heard the Life Foundation has also developed Eternity Factor Potions."
"True, but that potion is not made from a vampire. It comes from another extraterrestrial organism."
"What exactly is that?"
Again, Dora turned to Eddie, saying, "I can't describe it to you, but I can show you."