If you want to help me financially, you can do it on
https://ko-fi.com/neverluckysmile
Beep… Beep… Beep…"
Arthur listened to the dial tone humming in his ear, expression blank.
He had barely said the words "You might need help" before the other end of the line abruptly hung up.
"Well… either she thought I was just another scam caller," Arthur muttered, "or… something's really going on, and she's scared."
Either way, the situation needed eyes on it, soon.
The case file had Eddie Brock's address and contact info all neatly documented. No need to chase shadows.
And this wasn't something that could be put off. The sooner, the better.
Only problem? He didn't have a teleportation circle set up in San Francisco.
So he went with Plan B: the Quinjet parked at the Camp Lehigh base.
Before departure, Arthur briefly considered bringing along the newly-inducted Black Panther for a leg-stretching outing… but decided against it. He still wasn't sure how serious this thing really was. If it turned out to be a false alarm, dragging someone else into it would just be embarrassing.
So that idea passed through his mind and was promptly discarded.
Around 10 PM, Arthur arrived in San Francisco.
First thing he did? Found a quiet spot and drew a teleportation circle; no sense in going through this much hassle again if he needed to return.
Bucky was piloting the Quinjet.
After exchanging brief words with him, the ship took off, cloaked itself, and remained on standby in the sky above.
Arthur glanced at the address: Shule Apartments.
Changing into civilian clothes, he reached into his Disassemble Space and pulled out a sleek black vehicle, placing it in a secluded spot. As the car door opened, his AI assistant "Little Black" flickered into motion, vanishing into the night like a phantom.
The destination was already uploaded into Little Black's system. Within 0.1 seconds, the city was fully scanned and mapped, and the route calculated.
Auto-pilot engaged.
Arthur sat back and pulled the case file out again from the Disassemble Space, focusing on the section about the Life Foundation.
This Carlton Drake guy, he was no ordinary man.
Simply put: a genius.
Barely in his twenties, he had already founded a vast, well-funded research empire, the Life Foundation.
Drake's belief? Earth's environment was slowly degrading, and humanity's survival in space was no longer optional, it was imperative.
He was obsessed with preparing the human race to live in the cosmos.
And to his credit, he was also a leading expert in genetics, pioneering medical tech for treating cancer and other deadly diseases.
On the surface, the file looked clean, sterile even.
But six months ago, Eddie Brock had interviewed him, and immediately afterward, was blacklisted and booted from his job.
Was it Drake's fury over a false accusation? Or had Eddie touched on something far too close to the truth?
It was hard to say.
"This… needs a much closer look."
Just then, Little Black's voice came through his earpiece:
"Sir, we've arrived."
Arthur looked up to see the car parked across from a very ordinary apartment building.
He stepped out, entered the building, and had barely walked a few paces when he was hit by a wall of sound.
Blasting music, so loud it shook the entire structure.
"…That's excessive."
Digging a finger in his ear, Arthur ascended the stairs. As he reached the upper level, a guttural roar tore through the hallway, inhuman, more beast than man.
He looked up to see a man clawing at the edge of a doorway, snarling inside like a rabid animal.
Whoever was inside the room immediately folded.
"Okay! Okay! I'm turning it off!"
The door slammed shut. The music vanished instantly.
The man at the door stood there, his pale face gradually regaining composure. But even so, he didn't look well.
Ghostly complexion. Subtle panic in his expression. Eyes unfocused, confused.
He turned, about to re-enter the apartment across the hall,
And found Arthur standing casually at the stairwell, watching him.
"You got woken up too?"
The man looked at Arthur and gave a tired shrug.
"He's… probably done now, right?"
Arthur studied the man for a moment, then gave a slight smile.
"You're… Eddie Brock, aren't you?"
The man blinked. "You came here looking for me?"
"Mind if we talk?" Arthur smiled again. "I mean no harm."
Brock gave a dry laugh. "I doubt I'm in a position these days for anyone to want to harm me."
With a small sigh, he added, "Come in… if you don't mind the mess."
The two entered, Arthur following behind.
Within seconds, he realized that "mess" was putting it way too mildly.
Honestly, had he not seen it himself, he might've thought Tony Stark had crossed into this reality, crashed here for the night, and brought an entire multiverse war with him.
The place was wrecked.
Still, the man before him had survived this chaos, so he clearly had a cockroach's tenacity, if nothing else.
"Sorry… just sit anywhere," Brock offered, an awkward look on his face.
Arthur gave the room a once-over and nodded. "…Alright then. Let me introduce myself. My name is Arthur."
As with most people who heard that name, Brock paused, then repeated it to himself a couple of times, trying to place it. Eventually, he nodded and extended a hand.
"Nice to meet you. You already know who I am, but what I don't know is why you're here."
Arthur's mind spun rapidly. He couldn't be too blunt.
Whatever Brock was dealing with, he wasn't in any condition to handle a direct shock. This had to be handled carefully.
"Well…" Arthur began smoothly, "I've recently started building my own media company. Everything's in place… except for one thing."
He gestured slightly.
"I'm missing a talented investigative reporter. I scoured a lot of old records and… eventually, I found you. So…"
He trailed off, the implication was clear.
Brock's eyes widened. "Are you serious? Like, for real?"
"Of course. I have no reason to lie to you," Arthur said with a small, amused smile, casting a glance at the disarrayed surroundings.
He added tactfully, "Given your current situation, I don't think I have much incentive to deceive you."
Brock gave a bitter laugh. "Touché."
Taking a deep breath, he asked, "So when do I interview?"
"Right now," Arthur replied, then leaned forward. "But I do need to ask you about something. Specifically, the truth behind your interview with Carlton Drake six months ago. If you can clarify that for me, your prior experience will more than qualify you."
At the mention of the name, Brock's expression hardened.
"Drake!" He clenched his jaw, inhaled sharply.
"He's a liar. A complete fraud. And you're in luck, I just got my hands on the key evidence proving he's been conducting illegal human experiments!"
Arthur's eyes sharpened.
"Oh? Mind if I take a look?"
He could already feel it, things were accelerating.