Chapter 197: Why Are You So Skilled? (1)


    "Hello? Annie, this is Eddie, Eddie Brock. Please don''t hang up, give me three minutes, I have something very important to tell you."


    "Just yesterday, I was attacked by two unidentified assassins and now I''m on the run. There is evidence to suggest that these killers may be rted to Drake, the boss of the Life Foundation, whom I interviewed previously."


    "The two assassins who attacked me are from a mysterious organization called The Hand. The people investigating this organization saved me and told me that The Hand and the Life Foundation may be plotting a big conspiracy."


    "The reason I called you is that I hope you can help me. I need more materials rted to Drake."


    "I know I should apologize for looking at the materials on yourputer without permission, but things have developed to this point. They sent assassins to kill me, and if I don''t solve this problem, I''ll never be safe."


    "So I hope you can provide me with some information you know. You don''t have to answer me right away, just take care of yourself. Goodbye."


    Eddie hung up the phone and stared at his mobile phone. After a few seconds of standing there, he covered his eyes and muttered, "Oh God! How could I talk to Annie in such a tone? She will think I''m crazy..."


    "What am I? Am I an FBI agent?" Eddie took a deep breath. "I can tell you don''t understand women at all," Venom''s voice sounded in Eddie''s mind. Eddie was about to argue with him when the phone rang, and Annie''s anxious voice came from the other end.


    "Eddie, are you okay? Are you really being chased? Where are you now? Hello? Answer me, you should call the police...""Calling the police won''t help, Annie. The police can''t handle The Hand''s killers. Their previous partner was King Pin, the mastermind of the entire East Coast criminal empire. They have targeted me, so I have to leave here for a while..."


    "Wait! Eddie!" Annie''s voice came from the phone, with a hint of disbelief. "Eddie, if your voice hadn''t been the same, I would have thought it wasn''t you. You''ve never spoken to me in such a calm tone before."


    "Listen, I know the Life Foundation is not a righteous organization. The legal dispute they asked me to resolve for them is also rted to human experimentation. But them sending assassins to chase you? I find it hard to believe. But if it''s true, you''d better hide quickly."


    Annie was indeed an elitewyer. Although her tone was a bit anxious, her thinking was still clear. She said, "I know Drake is not a good person, but my boss asked me to defend him. That''s howwyers work. We don''t look at the client''s position."


    "But personally, I support you punching him. And then I''ll be angry because you invaded my privacy and did it withoutmunicating with me. I''m angry that you don''t trust me and act recklessly..."


    "Annie, my time is tight. We''ll talk about our issuester."


    Annie was silent for a moment on the other end, sighed, and finally said, "The Life Foundation researcher I contacted, Dora, has a wavering attitude. When we contacted each other privately, sheined to me that her boss was too cold and only pursued profits."


    "She once revealed to me that she didn''t want to work for Drake anymore. I can give you her contact information, she should have the information you want."


    Annie heard no response from the phone, and asked, "Eddie, are you okay? Eddie! Answer me... are you in danger?"


    "No, I''m not." After a while, Eddie''s voice came from the phone, and Annie heard his low voice, "Wait until I get rid of these troubles, then I''ll deal with our issues. If I''m still alive then."


    There was a busy tone on the phone, and Annie took a deep breath, threw her mobile phone on the bed, leaned against the head of the bed, and covered her eyes with some pain.


    "Eddie, if only you could be this calm earlier." Annie said softly.


    After hanging up the phone, Eddie also sighed painfully and muttered, "Why was she so angry before? What were we arguing about?"


    "You really don''t understand why she was angry? Do you think she broke up with you because she supported Drake?"


    Eddie opened his mouth, and Venom continued in his mind, "Obviously, she just wanted you to exin to her, to calm down andmunicate with her, and tell her why you did what you did. But you didn''t do anything."


    Just as Eddie was about to retort, his mobile phone vibrated and Annie sent him a text with the contact information of Dora, a researcher at the Life Foundation.


    That night, in front of an apartment building in Manhattan, Dora was flipping through her purse looking for her key card while a ck figure stood at the end of the alley. The light from the streetmp cast a long shadow in front of him like a dark de slicing through the fence surrounding the alley.


    "What is this thing?" Eddie looked down at his palm, his hand covered in ck gauntlets. He turned to look at the reflection of himself on the window of the adjacent apartment building.


    Eddie was wearing a ckbat suit with a soft lining on the inside and a thin armor covering on the outside. He also had a cape attached to his back.


    The mechanical helmet of thebat suitpletely covered Eddie''s head, making him look like a robot. However, the robot head had two pointed ears.


    "That''s the key," Venom firmly said to Eddie. "As long as you have those ears, you''ll never die because you are Batman...Venom."


    "Venom? That name sounds too evil...okay, what do we do next?"


    "If you don''t know what to do, just look at the symbol on your chest and follow your instincts. It will give you the answers."


    Ten minutester, Dora opened the door to her apartment with her key, but she heard some noise behind her. When she turned around, a tall ck figure appeared in the shadow of the hallway.


    Before Dora could scream, the ck figure appeared behind her and covered her mouth. "Don''t make a sound. We''re going in."


    He pulled Dora into her apartment and closed the door behind them. Dora was so frightened that she copsed on the floor. Eddie removed his mechanical helmet and said to Dora, "You should know me. I''m Eddie Brock, the journalist who punched Drake in the face during the interview a few days ago."


    Dora widened her eyes and stood up with the support of the sofa''s backrest. She trembled and said, "You...you do look like Brock, but..."


    Eddie''s voice was low as he said to Dora, "Because I exposed Drake''s despicable behavior of experimenting on humans, I''m in trouble now. He''s working with another evil organization, and their assassins are after me."


    Dora pushed her sses up and stood up straight. "Actually, I was nning to find you, but I didn''t expect you toe to me first."


    "Why were you looking for me?"


    Dora sighed and rxed a little after realizing that Eddie was not a kidnapper. She then pointed to the switch on the wall behind Eddie''s back and said, "Press the switch to turn on the light. Thank you."


    Eddie then realized that there was no light in the apartment, but he could see clearly. When did he develop night vision?


    He turned to follow Dora''s instructions and turned on the light. The sudden brightness made Eddie cover his eyes with his arm. He found that he was somewhat sensitive to light.


    Dora sat on the sofa, but Eddie did not move and still stood in the corner of the room. Dora turned her head and said to him, "Although I don''t have much to offer as a host, please sit down and have a drink."


    She wiped her hands on her pants with embarrassment and said, "I don''t have many friends, and people rarelye to my ce. I apologize for not being able to entertain you properly."


    Eddie remained silent and shook his head. Dora turned around and leaned on the back of the sofa, looking at Eddie. "You arepletely different from what I imagined. I thought you would be...someone with a sense of justice."


    "I''m the kind of person who acts impulsively."


    "No, that''s not what I meant. Actually, I think you did the right thing with that punch. It was satisfying."


    "You seem really unhappy with your boss."


    Dora pursed her lips, her expressionplex. She turned away from Eddie and said, "I don''t know how to describe it. As a boss, he''s not bad. He pays me a high sry."


    "But he''s not a good person, in fact, he can be quite evil. You don''t know what he''s been doing in theboratory..."


    "I was actually hoping to hear about that part."


    Dora bit her lip, seeming conflicted. Then Eddie''s voice came through, "You don''t have to worry at all. If there was even a chance that I would agree with Drake''s methods, I wouldn''t have risked ruining my career by punching him in front of so many people."


    Dora seemed to understand this reasoning too and sighed, "He''s actually been conducting experiments on human subjects, and they''re extremely cruel and inhumane."


    "What kind of experiments?"


    "You should have heard of the Immortality Factor, right?"


    "I''ve heard a lot of people mention it."


    "Drake is extracting the Immortality Factor from an unidentified organism."


    "But I heard it was extracted from vampires?"


    "That''s true for normal Immortality Factor, but vampires are heavily regted by the government. The only ones left are either with Stark Industries or Osborn Industries, and the Life Foundation can''t get their hands on them."


    Dora pushed her sses up and continued, "But Drake saw the huge potential in the Immortality Factor field and wanted a piece of it too."


    "The Life Foundation and Osborn Industries arepetitors, both developing biotechnology. Osborn Industries wouldn''t give them precious vampire materials."


    "But I heard the Life Foundation also created an Immortality Factor medicine."


    "That''s correct, but that medicine isn''t extracted from vampires. Ites from another type of alien creature."


    "What kind of creature is it?"


    Dora turned to Eddie again and said, "I can''t describe it to you, but I can take you to see it."