In the editor's office of The Global Times, Eddie placed his cup on the desk, took off his coat and hung it on his chair. Then he sat down in his office chair. A young employee knocked on the door and entered, saying, "Editor, the material for tomorrow's edition will be delayed. There is some issue with the printer."
"The printer is broken again? Alright, have Damon call the logistics department to have it repaired."
After the employee left, Eddie sighed, picked up a recent issue of the magazine from his desk, and began to read.
Yes, after the recent storm, Eddie had become the news and politics editor for The Global Times.
The military's attempt to find an agent to support the Life Foundation was a complicated process, albeit a simple issue to state.
Regardless, due to Eddie's interference, the plan did not succeed. Disregarding the countless backup plans during the process, the net result was that the Life Foundation's agent got the boot, as did the editor-in-chief of The Global Times, who was Eddie's immediate superior.
During the time that Drake's black history of conducting human experiments on the homeless was still undiscovered, Eddie's boss had written many praises for Drake.
After the black history was exposed, Eddie's reputation was completely reversed. He became a heroic journalist, unafraid of the powerful and a voice for the lower class citizens. Conversely, the editor-in-chief became a rat that everyone wanted to strike, and the reputation of The Global Times suffered along with him.
In an attempt to reverse the public's opinion, The Global Times had no choice but to contact Eddie once more and invite him to be the editor of the news and politics section. They hoped that the reputation of Eddie, the heroic journalist, could clear the tarnished name.
Eddie was proud indeed, but the offer was simply too generous for him to refuse.
Even with Venom, Eddie was still a human. He needed to eat, drink, and pay rent. Without a stable job, his car loan and the accompanying late fees, which were already overdue by several months, would lead to his complete bankruptcy. So, to prevent this situation from happening, Eddie became an editor for The Global Times.
Venom could be described as feeling let down in Eddie.
Sitting in front of his office desk, Eddie took a sip of his coffee and sighed contentedly. Meanwhile, Venom commented in his mind, "You're the least ambitious host I've ever had."
"I don't know what your previous hosts were like, but I'm very content with this," Eddie reclined in his comfortable chair, saying. "Having been tortured by that damn apartment in Hell's Kitchen, I now know how comfortable a Midtown Apartment is."
"And this office." Eddie looked around, saying, "Nice lighting, sufficient heating, and very spacious."
He threw the magazine on the desk, adding, "Most importantly, the salary is quite attractive."
"Huh." Venom responded with a cold laugh. After all, all his previous hosts were either saving the world, or on the way to do so. But now, Eddie spent his days in the office doing nothing, or driving around purposelessly.
The work of an editor is not easy, with many things to oversee and numerous tasks to do. However, The Global Times hired Eddie, not because they wanted him to be a good editor, but to buy his reputation. Thus, Eddie wasn't very busy and even had the time to mend his relationship with his ex-girlfriend, Annie.
Just like many other days, Eddie slacked the day away in his office until knock off. As he left the office building, Eddie looked at his watch and said to Venom, "You should know, I was supposed to have a date with Annie tonight."
"And then you'd annoy her again with your mindless chatter…"
Eddie helplessly shook his head and greeted Hill, who was waiting at the door. He said, "Let's go."
About half an hour later, they arrived at the S.H.I.E.L.D. base. Hill addressed the Venom inside Eddie, saying, "There's more residual power in Riot than we thought…"
"But you actually don't have a way to extract it, do you?"
They stopped at the entrance of the lab. Hill looked into Eddie's eyes and said, "I admit that the research process hasn't gone smoothly. Humans have almost no control over this near-magical force."
"Frankly, we are taking advantage of you, but the price we're offering is quite low. Trust me, it's a fair deal."
Once inside the lab, they saw Riot enclosed in a jar. His main body was still grey, surrounded by some black fog, just like the chaos power that had appeared on him that day.
The Phantom speaking through Hill said, "How do you plan to absorb it? Even though you're not a member of the Cosmic Special Agents, I should tell you that, in the current symbiont mainstream society, we don't encourage devouring one's own kind."
"It's not because of ethical standards, but because absorbing too much genetic selection from one's own species all at once may cause mental disorder in the symbiont."
"I have a way to strip out this energy, but I must be separated from my current host to do so," Venom shook his head, saying, "I won't put myself in such a dangerous situation, especially not under the surveillance of S.H.I.E.L.D."
"Even though I've asked many times…" Phantom was quite confused, saying, "Are you really Venom? How come you're so…"