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A flash of light blinked on the ground, and two people appeared out of thin air.
Brook looked around at the environment, then turned to Arthur with a dazed expression:
"Are you sure this room can save me?"
Arthur had told him there was a place that could save him.
And now? What else could Brook say?
He obediently followed along. The teleportation array on the ground was pretty impressive; the blinking light made it feel like a demon could pop out of it at any moment.
But after stepping on it, he ended up in this place. If one step had taken him to a golden palace, or even straight to Hela…
Brook wouldn't have found it strange at all.
But this? A room with no signs of life?
He needed to confirm whether Arthur was pulling his leg.
"This room obviously can't save you," Arthur said helplessly. "This is my bedroom."
"No one can save you!!!!!!"
A furious roar rang out, clearly, the thing inside Brook wasn't pleased.
Arthur smiled faintly. "That's too absolute. I have plenty of ways to kick you out of his body."
"Then why haven't you done it yet?" Brook asked, shocked.
"…Obviously, I have my reasons," Arthur replied.
"He's lying to you!!!!" Venom's voice rang out again.
"I think you're right," Brook said, eyeing Arthur suspiciously. Unclear identity, unclear intentions… If Arthur really had a way to save him, then why all this roundabout nonsense? And what exactly was he after?
There was this lingering feeling… like he was about to get sold out.
"Wait, can we slow down a bit?" Arthur seemed a little overwhelmed by the chaotic situation. "Who did you just say was right?"
"Venom," Brook blinked. "Are you lying to me?"
Arthur paused to think, then scratched his head. "You have no money, and… uh, sorry, you're not my type. So honestly, I can't think of any reason I'd need to lie to you."
Brook nodded vigorously. Arthur made sense.
Wealth and lust, those are the roots of all interests.
"You possess me!!!!" Venom still insisted on shouting everything.
Brook looked puzzled after hearing that: "You're definitely the most restless parasite I've ever seen. Also, didn't you say I belong to you?"
"Is your logic falling apart now?" Arthur said, pushing open the door. "I have a feeling we're running out of time. Otherwise, the Symbiote might end up being played to death."
"No, I can't do it!" Brook suddenly exclaimed as he followed Arthur out.
Arthur turned back, just in time to hear Brook say, "He wants me to bite off the heads of everyone except you."
"That one sentence reveals a lot… Like the fact that when it comes to eating, you clearly haven't done much research," Arthur said. "I once heard a man at the top of the food chain say: 'Just take the head off, and it's ready to eat.' But you… you prefer eating the head itself."
"Trust me, he doesn't just like heads. He has a lot of other hobbies too… Like biting off everyone's head, piling up the corpses in one pile, and the heads in another..."
Brook didn't hold anything back. But soon, he found himself speechless again.
Camp Lehigh's construction had never been personally overseen by Arthur, but the people who had built it were all geniuses.
The whole architectural style was sleek and futuristic, leagues beyond what the Life Foundation could ever compare to.
And once they stepped out of the room, the view instantly opened up.
Amid the flow of people, there were not only humans, but also robots moving around.
Although Tony kept insisting that Jarvis's mainframe absolutely could not be hosted here, he still transferred a portion of the system's permissions to this location. The robots present were responsible for tasks that would be considered heavy labor for ordinary people.
The entire scene looked like something straight out of a futuristic world.
Brook was stunned speechless. "I remember… you said you were planning to start a media company, right? If this is what your media company looks like, I think you could just leak some juicy info about yourself every day, and that alone would be enough."
"…Obviously, none of what's here can be revealed to outsiders." Arthur smiled.
"FOOD!!!!!!" Venom roared.
Suddenly, a Šumer drone flew over from midair, scanned Brook with its camera, and zipped away.
Within less than three seconds, entire squadrons of Šumer drones swarmed in above Arthur and Brook, all with their guns trained directly at Brook.
A synthetic voice echoed:
[Intruder detected near highest-authority personnel. Shall we open fire immediately or upload data to the database?]
Arthur responded calmly: "Šumer, upload his data to the database first, but mark him for priority monitoring. If he makes any move that endangers Camp Lehigh, open fire immediately! Use maximum force... cripple him!"
Arthur added, "Also, note: the target has strong regenerative abilities. Even if crippled, he might still get back up. So unless it's absolutely necessary, do not engage at close range. The primary directive is to restrict his movements. Immediately contact combat personnel if a situation arises."
[Šumer received. Executing now!]
With a whoosh, the majority of the Šumer drones flew off, leaving just two floating in the air, one to Brook's left, one to his right. Wherever Brook went, they followed.
Brook was dumbfounded. "Cripple me? Isn't that a bit too much?"
"…I don't think so," Arthur replied. "Come with me."
They took the elevator down to the underground level. Along the way, Arthur contacted Tony, Banner, and even reached out to Harry's side.
When it came to lifeform genetics, the Osborne Group were the true experts.
Arthur needed to fully understand Venom's traits, and more importantly, establish real, effective communication with it.
Once they arrived, Arthur was surprised to see someone unexpected.
Dr. Skirth!
"I asked her to come," said Natasha, who was sitting in a chair flipping through a document. Upon hearing the elevator, she looked up at Arthur and said,
"Although we have many experts, I believe Dr. Skirth may be the scientist who understands Symbiotes the best."
Arthur smiled and extended his hand to Dr. Skirth. "Nice to see you again."
Dr. Skirth looked dazed. What does he mean 'again'? This was clearly their first meeting. His attempt at a pickup line… honestly, kind of boring.
Still, under someone else's roof, you bow your head. She shook Arthur's hand anyway, and then turned to look at Brook. For a moment, she felt a sense of shared misery, two people both trapped by the Symbiote's madness.
(End of Chapter)