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[email protected]/Heroicverse
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Dr. Curt Connors saw that the other party seemed intent on avoiding his question, but he wasn't anxious. He explained with a beaming face:
"The group's senior management has just approved the next phase of primate experiments, and I believe the day for officially commencing human trials isn't far off!"
Then, with a grateful expression, he continued,
"And to have progressed so smoothly to this stage in such a short time is all thanks to Peter successfully deciphering the 'Decay Rate Algorithm'... That's why I felt I absolutely had to personally inform you of this good news."
"Well, congratulations, Dr. Connors."
Facing the praise, Peter Parker scratched his head with a slight shyness, as if instantly reverting to the timid youth he once was.
Seeing this, Dr. Curt Connors struck while the iron was hot, "How about coming to my place for dinner to celebrate in advance?"
Seeing that it was hard to refuse such a warm invitation, Peter Parker could only nod in agreement.
Soon, the two took a taxi to Dr. Curt Connors's home.
Mrs. Connors seemed to have been prepared, as the dining table was quickly filled with a lavish spread of delicious food.
During the meal, Dr. Curt Connors, with ulterior motives, frequently poured wine for Peter Parker and subtly steered the conversation towards the riot that had occurred in Hell's Kitchen half a month prior.
He also spoke highly of the heroic deeds of Spider-Woman and the Lizard Man!
Peter Parker, who had not yet entered society and was completely guileless, quickly admitted under the influence of alcohol and the other party's deliberate flattery and Induction that he was the Lizard Man!
And before completely passing out, he generously wrote his self-developed serum formula on a napkin.
Then he slumped over the table, dead drunk...
"Martha, please take good care of this child."
Dr. Curt Connors carefully put the napkin with the serum formula into his pocket, then eagerly took a taxi back to his laboratory to begin trying to decipher the formulas within.
Although he knew that his actions were highly unethical, a deliberate theft of Peter Parker's research findings,
his research into "Inter-species Gene Experiments," on which he had gambled his life's work and spent most of his life, had always yielded nothing.
No one could truly understand his impatient and urgent obsession with restoring his severed limb.
It was only with Peter Parker's appearance that a glimmer of hope was injected into his despairing life.
Therefore, at this moment, to quickly restore his missing right arm, enduring infamy and losing face meant nothing to Curt Connors.
It was even insignificant!
However, Curt Connors only wanted to restore his arm, not turn into the Lizard Man.
So he needed to further optimize the serum that Peter Parker had developed.
This was by no means a small undertaking!
And tonight, besides Dr. Curt Connors, who was engrossed in scientific research, for some people in New York, it was also destined to be a sleepless night!
...
Manhattan, Upper East Side.
In a dilapidated warehouse filled with miscellaneous items.
"..."
When John Jameson regained consciousness, he found his vision completely dark, as if something was covering his eyes, and tape was on his mouth. His body was tightly bound to a cold chair by something resembling ropes.
John Jameson: Hmm, good, looks like I've fortunately been kidnapped!
That's right, just a few minutes ago.
When John Jameson, who had been working late as usual, finished his busy day and went down to the underground parking lot alone in the elevator, preparing to drive home,
he was unexpectedly ambushed and knocked unconscious from behind, then directly brought to this warehouse.
And the one who did it was, naturally, the resentful Eddie Brock.
However, what surprised him was that John Jameson, upon regaining consciousness, not only showed no signs of panic but was surprisingly calm.
He neither struggled wildly nor tried to make a sound to call for help, simply sitting quietly on the chair, waiting for the "kidnapper" to speak first.
This abnormal behavior immediately extinguished Eddie Brock's initial interest in enjoying the other party's embarrassing struggle for survival upon waking.
And, whether it was an illusion or not,
he always felt as if the other party had already anticipated being kidnapped!
Impossible.
Absolutely impossible!
"John Jameson, I'm going to rip the tape off your mouth now."
Eddie Brock warned in a very stern tone: "But if you dare to shout, I will not only kill you, but before you die, I will make you truly taste what cruelty is, and record the entire process on my phone and post it online..."
"If you understand, nod!"
John Jameson immediately nodded, indicating agreement.
So Eddie Brock ripped the tape off the other party's mouth, and with a sinister grin, continued, "Very good, for both of us, this is a pretty good start."
"Don't worry, as long as you cooperate, I promise not to harm you..."
However, before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by John Jameson's calm voice: "Let's get straight to the point... Eddie Brock!"
Σ(⊙▽⊙"a???
What's going on?
He... he actually knows who I am?
How come I don't remember saying who I was just now?
Is this blindfold transparent?
Eddie Brock instantly felt a nervous, on-edge sensation.
But then he heard Anti-Venom say: "Useless Eddie, you're too timid. Since he's already guessed your true identity, there's no need to keep hiding."
Then Anti-Venom directly took control of the body, reached up and tore off the blindfold from John Jameson's face, and with a mouthful of fangs, said:
"Old man, I know you have a very close relationship with that monster... Karl Merks!"
"So, if you don't want me to eat your brain, you'd better immediately call your subordinates at The Daily Bugle and have them publish an article slandering Karl Merks and Sokovia."
Before taking action, Eddie Brock, as a reporter, had specifically devised a simple and crude plan!
That was to first publish false news targeting Karl through The Daily Bugle, stirring up buzz while backstabbing him.
Then, when the time was ripe, he would kill John Jameson, frame Karl, further ignite public opinion, and thereby guide and utilize The Daily Bugle's huge fan base to cyberbully Karl and Sokovia!
Although the plan seemed full of holes,
it was the simplest, most effective, and safest counterattack Eddie Brock could think of at the moment.
After all, besides hiding in the shadows and making insidious small moves, neither he nor Anti-Venom had the courage to personally go to Sokovia to cause trouble for Karl.
John Jameson did not rush to answer, but instead looked at Anti-Venom with interest, cleverly changing the subject:
"It was as I suspected, the true culprit behind the attacks on police officers on the street and the subsequent series of headless murders was you... Eddie Brock!"
"That's right, it was me." Anti-Venom said nonchalantly: "Human brains are deliciously crunchy; once you've had one, you just can't stop."
"Hold on, old man, I'm clearly interrogating you right now!"
"Alright, then I'll answer your question from just now."
John Jameson said with a calm expression: "Firstly, I'm not very familiar with Mr. Karl Merks... Secondly, I won't let my subordinates report false news."
"After all, as professional journalists, The Daily Bugle's tradition has always been to uphold ethical boundaries and professional integrity."
"Bullshit!!"
At this moment, Eddie Brock, driven by anger, momentarily regained control of his body and roared furiously:
"Don't think that just because you've coincidentally reported a few big news stories, you can cover up the fact that you're a third-rate tabloid that started by relying on low-brow gossip... So stop trying to glorify yourselves."
"Also, you'd better not try to casually gloss over things. From the beginning with Sokovia, to the later Godzilla incident... Don't think I can't see that The Daily Bugle has always been subtly and overtly helping that guy Karl Merks set the narrative!"
"Especially concerning the Life Foundation incident, you actually blamed all the guilt on me alone, which completely ruined my life because of it..."
John Jameson clearly disagreed with the other party's words, raising an eyebrow and sharply retorting: "So, to vent your personal anger, you've been maliciously slandering and personally attacking Mr. Karl Merks online under the username 'Strongest Avenger'?"
"That's right."
Eddie Brock stopped pretending and roared hysterically: "I just want that guy to taste what it's like to be utterly defeated... And you and The Daily Bugle are my most powerful weapons against him!"
"Tell me, what could be more interesting than being backstabbed by your own people?"
"You... are you worthy?!"
Just then, accompanied by a cold voice, Selena, holding a holographic recorder and dressed in a tight black leather suit, stepped out of the darkness not far away like a ghost.
"Who are you, and why are you here?"
Eddie Brock was startled; he clearly remembered checking this warehouse earlier and finding no one else!
However.
Selena on the opposite side ignored him directly, swaying her figure, and walked straight towards the bound John Jameson as if no one else was present.
While untying him, she asked with a somewhat puzzled expression:
"Mr. Jameson, I really don't understand. If you merely wanted to know why he was slandering Boss, then you only needed to hand him over to me for an interrogation.
But why did you go to such great lengths to... suffer yourself?"
"Hehe." John Jameson first shook his arms, which were somewhat numb from the ropes, then grinned indifferently and said:
"Miss Selena, don't forget, this guy is a reporter, and he's incredibly cautious. If I didn't do this, he wouldn't have taken the bait at all..."
"What's more, as long as we can catch this scoundrel who dared to slander Boss, no matter how great the cost, it's worth it."
Selena looked at the other party with some surprise.
Their contact time hadn't been long; they had first collaborated during the chaos caused by Shou in Hell's Kitchen.
Previously, Selena's first impression of John Jameson wasn't very good.
She felt he was a loud-mouthed, extremely bad-tempered, sharp-tongued old White man.
So, a few days ago, when he suddenly contacted her, proposing to use public opinion to force Eddie Brock, who had been secretly slandering Karl and Sokovia, to come out, and then seize the opportunity to obtain evidence of his evil deeds, she didn't take it very seriously.
She merely perfunctorily agreed to protect his safety and cooperate with his actions at the time.
But who would have thought that this sharp-tongued old man would actually disregard his own safety and put himself in harm's way? This couldn't help but greatly change Selena's impression of him. She immediately smiled charmingly, "Very good, Mr. Jameson... You are very loyal!"
John Jameson immediately puffed out his chest, saying with an arrogant expression: "I am willing to bleed for Boss, I want to make achievements for the group!"
Although these words sounded a bit cheesy,
they were the truest thoughts in old Jameson's heart.
No choice.
It was simply that Karl gave too much on a daily basis...
So much so that if they, as subordinates, didn't seize this opportunity to show off, their consciences would be condemned!
"Hey, hey, hey, wait a minute, what kind of crazy talk are you two even saying?!"
Eddie Brock on the opposite side couldn't believe his ears. His face immediately twisted, and he retorted hysterically:
"How could he have been intentionally kidnapped by me? I clearly watched him in secret for several days before making my move!"
"That's right." Selena looked at him with an expression of looking at an idiot, "I also watched you in secret for several days, and my patience was almost exhausted..."
"If it weren't for not wanting to ruin Mr. Jameson's plan, I would have already dragged you back for interrogation!"
Σ(⊙▽⊙"a???
Impossible.
Absolutely impossible.
Eddie Brock's mental state instantly collapsed!
So, his meticulously planned kidnapping turned out to be a trap that had been set up by them in advance?
Tell me, who could bear such a huge blow of disparity?
I'm tired, let's just destroy it!
Anti-Venom's consciousness immediately regained control, looking at the two people opposite him, and threatening fiercely: "You two had better accept the proposal that Mount Eddie just made, otherwise... Poof!!!"
Accompanying a flash of cold light.
Selena had already used the long cross sword in her hand to successfully sever Anti-Venom's neck?