Loki (Part 1)

In the editor-in-chief's office of the Global Times, Eddie put his cup on the table, took off his coat and hung it on the back of his chair, then sat down in his office chair. A young employee knocked on the door and came in, saying, "Editor-in-chief, tomorrow's materials will be a little late; there's a problem with the printer."

"The printer is broken again? Okay, have Damon call logistics and send someone to fix it."

After the employee left, Eddie sighed and picked up a recent magazine to read.

Indeed, after this incident, Eddie became the editor-in-chief of the news and politics section of the Global Times.

The military's desire to find an agent to support the Life Foundation, though only briefly mentioned, involved a rather complicated process.

Regardless, the matter failed due to Eddie's interference. Putting aside the countless backup plans that were implemented along the way, the result was that the Life Foundation's agent was fired, along with the editor-in-chief of the Global Times, Eddie's former boss.

Before Drake's dark history of using homeless people for human experiments was exposed, Eddie's boss wrote many articles praising Drake.

After his dark past was exposed, Eddie's reputation was completely reversed. He became a heroic journalist who was not afraid of the powerful and spoke out for the people at the bottom. On the contrary, the editor-in-chief became a pariah, and the reputation of the Global Times also plummeted.

In an effort to reverse public opinion, the Global Times had no choice but to contact Eddie again, inviting him to become the editor-in-chief of the news and politics section, hoping that Eddie's reputation as a heroic journalist could wash away this stain.

Eddie is actually quite principled, but principled as he is, they have given him far too much.

Even with Venom, Eddie is still a human being who needs to eat, drink, and rent a place. Without a stable job, his car loan, which is several months overdue, and the associated late fees will bankrupt him. To prevent this from happening, Eddie became the editor-in-chief of the Global Times.

Venom can be described as someone who is disappointed in his own shortcomings.

Eddie sat at his desk, took a sip of coffee, and sighed contentedly. Venom thought to himself, "You're the most unambitious host I've ever met."

"Although I don't know what your previous host was like, I'm already very satisfied with this." Eddie leaned back in his comfortable chair and said, "After the ordeal of that lousy apartment in Hell's Kitchen, I now know how comfortable an apartment in Midtown can be."

"And this office," Eddie said, looking up at the room. "The lighting is just right, the heating is great, and it's spacious."

He threw the magazine he was holding onto the table and said, "The most important thing is that the salary is quite good."

"Heh." Venom's response was only a cold laugh. After all, all his previous hosts were either saving the world or on their way to save the world, while Eddie was either slacking off or on his way to slacking off every day.

In fact, the job of an editor-in-chief is not easy. There are many things to keep an eye on and a lot of miscellaneous tasks to do. However, the Global Times hired Eddie not because they wanted him to be a good editor-in-chief, but simply to buy his reputation. Therefore, Eddie's work is not busy, and he even has time to rekindle his relationship with his ex-girlfriend Anne.

Just like many days before, Eddie slacked off in his office until the end of the workday. As he walked out of the office building, Eddie glanced at his watch and said to Venom, "You know, I was supposed to be on a date with Anne tonight."

"And then you make her angry again with a bunch of mindless idiots you say..."

Eddie shook his head helplessly. Hill, who was waiting at the door, shook his hand and said, "Get in the car first."

About half an hour later, the two appeared at the S.H.I.E.L.D.. base. Hill said to the Venom inside Eddie's body, "The remaining power within Riot body is more than we thought..."

"But you actually have no way to get it out, right?"

The two stopped at the laboratory door. Hill looked into Eddie's eyes and said, "I admit that the research process has not been smooth. Humans have almost no control over this kind of almost magical power."

"To be honest, we are indeed using someone else's money to give to someone else, but the price we offered is low enough. Believe me, it's a fair deal."

Upon entering the laboratory, Riot was found inside a jar. His true form remained gray, but he was surrounded by black mist, just like the chaotic power that had appeared on him that day.

The Phantom Demon, speaking through Hill, said, "How do you plan to absorb it? Although you're not a member of the Agents of the Cosmos, I still have to tell you that in the current mainstream society of Symbiote, we don't advocate devouring our own kind."

"This is not because of any moral principles, but because receiving too much genetic selection from the same species at once may cause the Symbiote to become mentally confused."

"I have a way to extract that energy, but I would have to be separated from my current host to do so." Venom shook his head and said, "I wouldn't put myself in that dangerous situation, much less do it under S.H.I.E.L.D.. surveillance."

"Although I've asked you many times..." Phantom Demon said with great doubt, "I still have to say, are you really Venom? How can you be so..."

"Don't talk nonsense... I plan to absorb this power within the host's body."

"No, you can't do that." The Phantom Demon controlled Hill to step forward, trying to stop him. "First, your host absolutely cannot withstand two Symbiote parasitizing his body at the same time. Second, the process of the Symbiote devouring each Symbiote will be extremely violent, and his body absolutely cannot withstand such an impact. Third, the power of chaos will impact a person's mind and drive them insane."

"In short, your current body absolutely cannot support you doing this, and I will not allow you to harm your human host; that violates the code of conduct for Agents of the Cosmos..."

"Who said I was going to do this inside this host's body?"

The Phantom Demon shook its head again and said, "Even if you change your host, the result will be the same. An ordinary human body could never withstand this kind of impact."

"I know you previously parasitized a child named Peter. Although he possessed powerful physical abilities, the impact of chaotic power on the mind is magical in nature, and he still couldn't resist it. This would be very risky."

"If humans can't do it, what about the Asgardian?"

The Phantom Demon was stunned. He looked at Venom and said, "The Asgardian? Are you crazy? Their God of Thunder almost killed us all!"

"Look at your gene pool. It clearly records the power of that thunder. The vast majority of Symbiote are allergic to the Asgardian ..."

"I am not allergic to any living creature except for the mentally challenged."

"But where are you going to find it... You wouldn't happen to be trying to parasitize the Prince of Asgard, would you???" the Phantom Demon said incredulously, "You're really insane! Odin won't allow any of this to happen."

"Odin is asleep."

"But... even if Odin doesn't care, they won't agree to you parasitizing them, right? Their senses are much more sensitive than humans', so it's impossible for them to secretly parasitize without being discovered."

"So I don't plan to secretly parasitize him; I plan to negotiate with him."

As the sun gradually sets, the larger the skyscraper, the longer its Shade will be. These Shade are like fences passing through a river, through which the setting sun flows and is combed into fine golden lines.

Manhattan is bustling during rush hour. Most of the smartly dressed professionals carrying briefcases hurry along the streets. The coffee shops and restaurants along the roadside are packed with people. Loki glanced around but couldn't find a place to avoid the crowds, so he finally decided to take a taxi.

The taxi stopped outside an apartment building on West Central Station Street. By the time Loki entered the building, it was almost dark.

As soon as he opened the door, he saw Thor sitting on the sofa, drinking beer and eating fried chicken. Loki didn't even have time to scold him before he quickly walked to the entryway, opened his briefcase, took out his laptop, and dialed his cell phone, saying, "Excuse me, Mr. Hall, I'm home now. Let me continue explaining our quarterly plan to you..."

Loki was operating the computer while talking into his phone, listening to the "click-click-click" and "thump-thump-thump" sounds coming from Thor's end.

Finally, he couldn't take it anymore. After hanging up the phone with the client, he turned to Thor and said, "Why didn't the All-Father see you like this? I really should..."

"I've paid the rent, so you can't tell me what I do in this house," Thor said, taking another bite of fried chicken. "Besides, unlike you who sits in an office, car repair is hard work. If I don't eat more, where will I get the energy to work the night shift?"

"I..."

Loki covered his forehead, deeply regretting his earlier failure to control the fire and the resulting explosion that destroyed the house.

After causing trouble in their previous apartment building, they had to move. Although Odin had paid foster care fees, S.H.I.E.L.D.. refused to let them live separately. Nick's reason was that S.H.I.E.L.D.. was short-staffed and could not provide them with two separate groups of people for protection. But Loki knew that Nick simply thought Odin was not paying enough.

So the two of them still had to live together.

Loki was determined to make a name for himself on Wall Street, so he worked very hard and achieved remarkable results. He had many large clients, and other retail investors were also willing to work with him, so he was very busy now, working more than 18 hours a day.

Thor continued working at the same repair shop, but he went from being an assistant to a full-time worker capable of performing repairs independently.

It's impossible to compare which job is harder. In the short few weeks since Loki joined Wall Street, he has witnessed the diversity of human species. Every night, he wonders why he isn't God of Thunder, who can strike down some difficult clients with a bolt of lightning.

Thor faced the same problem. Because he often had to physically communicate with car owners, he was frequently docked pay. If it weren't for the fact that the repair shop boss thought he was burly and could keep the shop in check, he would have been fired long ago.

These two people each have their own way of being busy and tired, but strangely enough, this busyness and tiredness have actually improved their relationship a little bit. After all, the resonance between two office workers is very subtle, but also very solid.

After dealing with a bunch of troublesome clients, Loki sat down on the sofa. He took a can of beer from the pile of beer next to Thor, opened the can, and poured it into his mouth. Thor took a bite of fried chicken and said, "I used to look down on you for needing a glass to drink. You were nothing like an Asgard warrior. But you're much better now."

Loki didn't really want to pay attention to him. He was currently pondering why humans could ask one question after another that was beyond his comprehension. Even when he stood on the branches of the World Tree and looked out over the endless, vast starry sky of the Nine Realms, he had never thought about the truth and origin of the universe so profoundly as he did today.

Loki took another big gulp of beer and thought, "Wall Street is really a great place for a sorcerer to cultivate. Just working here for two months will allow you to reach a whole new level of understanding of the universe."

The living room of the apartment was dark, with only the flickering light from the television. Thor looked away from the variety show on TV and asked hesitantly, "How is Asgard doing lately?"

Loki put down the can, wiped his lips, glanced at his shirt dripping with beer, and said, "What happens to Asgard is none of your business, you can't go back anyway."

Thor squeezed the can hard, and beer gushed out, splashing onto his hand and dripping onto the floor. Loki glanced at the floor and said, "You mop the floor tomorrow."

Just as Thor was about to continue speaking, a ringtone echoed through the empty living room. Loki took out his phone and said, "Hello, this is Odin's son..."

Upon hearing his self-identification, Thor squeezed the can again, poured the remaining liquid into his mouth, and said nothing.