Eddie Brock's living conditions were still quite good.
At this point in time, he hadn't been fired from his job yet, and his girlfriend was still lying peacefully in his arms.
The night outside was quiet and still. The city had gone to sleep, but Luke Yale had not.
He stood in front of a modest apartment door, wearing a calm smile as he gently knocked. Behind him, a sleek yellow sports car gleamed under the streetlight, and Doggo, the round, fluffy husky, was seated obediently on the sidewalk, his tongue slightly sticking out.
The gentle knocking echoed louder than expected in the dead silence of midnight.
Inside, Eddie Brock stirred at the sound, jolting slightly. He nearly rolled off the bed in surprise, mumbling groggily. Half-asleep, he fumbled for a coat, shrugged it on without buttoning, and padded barefoot toward the door.
He squinted through the peephole with sleepy eyes.
A stranger was standing there.
The lighting in the hallway was dim, but Eddie could make out the figure of a young man wearing a casual smile. Behind him, the unmistakable shape of a sports car gleamed, and a plump husky sat calmly beside it.
Eddie blinked, then frowned.
What kind of combo is that?
Still, curiosity nudged him. He unlatched the door and opened it just a crack.
[Ding~ Congratulations to the host for meeting Eddie Brock, a core protagonist of the world, for the first time. 2 plot points obtained!]
Luke's smile widened slightly as the system's mechanical voice echoed in his head.
'Two points, noice.'
Meanwhile, Eddie, still rubbing sleep from his eyes, didn't bother hiding his irritation. "Who the hell are you? What do you want knocking at someone's door at this hour?"
He wasn't afraid of anything, even without the symbiote, Eddie had never been the kind of guy to back down. His bold personality was precisely what got him into trouble more often than not... and also what made him such a compelling figure.
Luke didn't mind his grumpy tone. In fact, he found it refreshing.
At least this guy wasn't pretending. He wasn't wrapped in hero slogans or false pleasantries. Just real, raw honesty.
"It's nothing urgent," Luke replied coolly. "Just something I thought you ought to know."
Eddie narrowed his eyes, suspicion growing. "About what?"
Reporters often received anonymous tips at weird hours. His first instinct was that this was another one of those.
Luke got straight to the point. "Do you know the Life Foundation?"
At the mention of that name, Eddie's expression tightened, barely noticeable, but Luke caught it. That reaction said everything.
Of course Eddie knew it. In fact, just earlier that day, his boss had ordered him to conduct an interview with the CEO of the Life Foundation tomorrow.
"I've heard of it," Eddie answered carefully, feigning disinterest. "Why?"
Luke gave a slow nod, then leaned in slightly.
"They're doing human experiments," he said. "On homeless people. Secretly, in an underground lab inside their headquarters."
Eddie blinked. He was stunned, but schooled his face into neutrality, unwilling to show emotion.
That reaction alone told Luke his message had landed.
Eddie stared at Luke for a few seconds. Then, trying to remain casual, he asked, "That's a pretty big accusation. You got proof?"
Luke held back a smirk. This was all going exactly as planned.
"I don't," he said, glancing left and right before lowering his voice. "But I saw it. I saw them take people off the street with my own eyes. I don't trust the police with this, too much corruption, so… I thought of you."
Luke played his role perfectly, a scared citizen with nowhere else to turn. But Eddie didn't care for the theatrics.
Even without concrete evidence, his gut told him this tip was real.
For a moment, Eddie stood in the doorway, his mind racing. He'd long suspected the Life Foundation was up to no good, but this, this was next level.
Luke could see the gears turning behind his eyes. That was enough.
He clapped Eddie gently on the shoulder. "Mr. Brock, I really respect your work. I think you're one of the few people with the guts to do something about this. I hope you'll seek justice for those who can't speak for themselves."
And just like that, he turned, walked back to the car, and got in.
Doggo grunted softly, struggling a bit to climb into the passenger seat before finally managing it. The car's engine purred to life, and the two slowly rolled away into the night.
Eddie stood on the doorstep, watching them disappear into the night.
Then the sports car growled, flames roared from six thrusters on its back, and with a fiery boom, it shot up into the sky like a rocket, vanishing above the clouds.
Eddie blinked again, unsure if he was still dreaming.
Inside the car, Luke was grinning.
That trip had been worth it. Not only had he scored three plot points for meeting Eddie Brock and Carlton Drake, but he'd also successfully nudged the symbiote storyline into motion, and he was now just four points away from triggering his system's advancement.
More importantly, the timeline had been pushed forward. Venom's origin was about to begin.
Luke tapped a finger on the steering wheel. "Bee, you uploaded Eddie's clearance into the Life Foundation system, right?"
Bumblebee's voice responded smoothly, "Done, boss. Full access, completely undetectable."
Luke nodded in satisfaction. "Perfect."
When Eddie walks into that building to investigate, every door will open for him like magic.
Now all Luke had to do was wait.
When the confrontation between Eddie and Carlton Drake began, Luke would know about it instantly, whether he was on a mission, shopping, or lounging in the helicarrier's pool.
That was the beauty of having Bumblebee constantly watching the Life Foundation building.
"Keep monitoring everything," Luke instructed. "Alert me the moment things get interesting."
"Roger that," Bumblebee said cheerfully.
…
Meanwhile, back at Eddie's place, sleep was now impossible.
He lay awake, staring at the ceiling. The stranger's words kept echoing in his head like a curse he couldn't shake.
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became.
The Life Foundation had ruined lives, he knew that much from personal experience. He'd interviewed victims, seen tears, heard horror stories.
And now? Human experimentation?
That's crossing a damn line.
Eddie clenched his fists beneath the sheets. He didn't care if this tip cost him his job. Someone had to expose the truth.
Even if it meant going up against a corporate monster.
Tonight would be a sleepless night.
And he wasn't the only one.
At that very moment, Carlton Drake was wide awake in his office, pacing like a man possessed.
What Luke had shown him, the symbiote's power, had shaken him to his core… and thrilled him at the same time.
That very night, he summoned all the company's core personnel and every off-duty security guard for an emergency meeting.
The instructions he gave were chilling.
"Go out," he said, voice calm but eyes wild. "Bring me some test subjects. I don't care how. Homeless, protestors, volunteers, anyone. Bring them all."
Some employees hesitated. One raised his hand nervously to object.
That was a mistake.
Drake calmly ordered the guards to seize him, and made it clear the man would be part of the next round of experiments.
As the others watched in horror, Drake smiled.
Why waste time hunting down homeless people when he could just use his own employees?
After all, a few of his employees had already died that night, so a few more deaths meant nothing in the pursuit of greatness.
…