Making Trouble

In the dead of night, the disciplined American military base lay silent beneath the darkness, except for the subtle sounds that kept coming from a certain officer's private room.

Under the dim yellow light, Kyle wore the Venom Suit and warmed up in his single room—using the entire ironwood bed as a barbell to acclimate himself to his newly amplified strength.

As the muscles on his abdomen flexed rhythmically and his limbs kept moving through high-intensity warm-up exercises, the suit gradually conformed to Kyle's body as its host. Like a layer of black leathery skin, it clearly outlined the perfect muscular contours beneath it.

"Venom, you're happy, aren't you?" Kyle said with a smile. Not only could he clearly feel the joy Venom conveyed through the suit, but that joy also left him energized and in high spirits.

After Venom fused with its host, their strength and emotions intertwined, influencing each other and evolving on that foundation.

Today was also the first day of the newborn Venom's existence. On top of its first symbiotic fusion with the cardholder of a Super Soldier physique, it was far too excited to calm down.

But there might be news about Red Skull tomorrow. With the mission drawing near, he could not keep indulging it.

Kyle let out a breath of hot air and lowered the single bed to the floor. He comforted the Venom Suit, "All right. I'll take you out tomorrow. If we keep this up, neither of us will get any sleep tonight."

Just as he was about to take off the Venom Suit, someone knocked on the door.

"Who's looking for me this late?" Kyle asked in surprise. He patted the Venom Suit reassuringly before walking over and opening the door.

When he saw the young man outside wearing sleepwear, he asked in astonishment, "Steve, what are you doing here this late?"

"I should be asking you that! It's the middle of the night, and you're still awake. What were you doing in there..." Steve yawned sleepily, his blond hair a complete mess. He had clearly just been woken from his dreams by the noise.

Right, Steve's single room was directly below mine on the first floor.

Kyle remembered and shrugged. "There was a cockroach in my room, so I got up to kill it."

"You're sure you were killing a cockroach..." Steve looked oddly at him, then swept his gaze over Kyle's Combat Uniform and said speechlessly, "Anyone who didn't know better would think you'd just come back from the front lines."

Kyle spread his hands helplessly. "You know I don't have many clothes to wear. Sometimes I just sleep in my Combat Uniform, so I can be ready to deploy at any time."

"Fine. Get some sleep early. We might be moving tomorrow." After saying that, Steve rubbed his bleary eyes and headed back to his room downstairs.

After closing the door, Kyle finally let out a sigh of relief. That had been close. If Steve had entered the room and seen the original Combat Uniform hanging on the rack, Kyle would not have known how to explain it.

"Guess it's time to sleep."

Kyle muttered to himself. Just as he was about to turn Venom directly into a card, another knock came from outside.

Again?

This time, Kyle was more alert. He quickly extracted the original Combat Uniform on the rack into a card before going to open the door. "Steve, why are you here again instead of sleeping—"

The moment he saw who was standing outside, his words came to an abrupt stop.

"Carter? What are you joining in on this late at night?" Kyle asked, tugging at the corner of his mouth.

That was right. The person knocking at the door was Carter, dressed in simple long-sleeved sleepwear.

The small patch of skin exposed at her neck was fair and smooth, while her short blond hair draped lazily over her shoulders. Compared to her cool beauty during the day, she now possessed an entirely different kind of charm.

Was anyone going to get any sleep tonight?

Kyle grumbled inwardly. Seeing that Carter did not speak, he asked directly, "Want to come in and sit for a while?"

"In your dreams." Carter rolled her eyes at him, then turned and leaned against the wooden railing of the second-floor corridor. Her back seemed ready to melt into the night. "There's something I want to tell you."

"Don't worry." As if remembering something, Kyle stepped into the corridor and leaned beside Carter. Facing the star-filled night sky, he said softly, "Tomorrow will be the same. No matter how many times it takes, I'll bring Steve back."

Carter was silent for a moment. Her beautiful eyes flicked toward Kyle as she said coldly, "Aren't you afraid that you won't come back?"

"Not come back?" Kyle froze slightly, then shook his head. "I honestly haven't thought about that. I don't want to jinx it in advance, but I do have some confidence in my own strength."

That was not arrogance. It was based on his understanding of the Marvel world, as well as his assessment of his own abilities and equipment combined.

A Super Soldier physique, dozens of fighting techniques, a carbon-sodium steel sword, the Vibranium Bracer, and the Venom Suit he had drawn tonight. Not to mention other life-saving trump cards like Blue Eagle and Senzu Beans.

If Red Skull was supposed to be the villain at this stage, Kyle truly did not take him seriously. The moment they met, Kyle would just charge him head-on and see whether he could withstand it.

Carter continued, "Confidence is a good thing, but there's always a chance something could go wrong. Kyle, every time you charge ahead so recklessly, aren't you afraid that one day you'll stumble?"

"You're worried about me? Afraid I'll die on the battlefield?" Kyle blinked in surprise. This woman seemed a little unusual tonight.

"Of course!" Carter nodded in admission, then clarified, "You're one of my candidates for compiling complete Super Soldier data. If you don't return, it will also be a major loss for our military."

"So I only have research value? I'm a major and an American Hero now. Show a little more respect when you talk to me," Kyle shot back.

At the same time, he seemed to sense that something was wrong with the Venom Suit on his body and subconsciously glanced behind him.

At some point, a thin black line of liquid had split off from the back of the Venom Suit, slowly extending toward Carter's body like a tentacle.

Carter had both hands on the railing, one palm supporting her chin. She had no idea that Venom was probing her from behind.

Don't make trouble, Venom!

Kyle's scalp went numb. He knew Venom meant no harm; it had merely encountered a female human for the first time and was extremely curious about her body structure.

"What's wrong? Why do you look so pale?" Carter asked, giving Kyle a puzzled glance.

"It's nothing. Don't worry, I'll definitely come back safely tomorrow..." Kyle replied perfunctorily. From the corner of his eye, Venom's liquid tentacle had already neared Carter's back and was about to cover her out of curiosity.

Stop right now!

Kyle shouted inwardly. His right hand quickly reached for Venom's extended probe, his two fingers accurately pinching the tip of the black strand and merging it back into the manifested glove on his hand.

But then his hand continued forward and lightly smacked Carter's butt.

Smack!

The crisp sound of the slap rang out in the night, and the atmosphere between them instantly froze.

A stunned expression first appeared on Carter's beautiful face, quickly turning into wintery coldness. Her beautiful eyes glared fiercely at Kyle nearby.

"Um, this is a misunderstanding. There was... there was a mosquito." Kyle awkwardly withdrew his hand. Even he did not believe his own excuse—where would a mosquito come from in the freezing winter snow?

"Go to sleep." Carter snorted coldly, turned, and left down the corridor toward the stairs. She tossed back icy words, "American Hero? Major? I can see it now. You're nothing but a hooligan!"

"Forget it. Sleep, sleep."

Kyle shook his head and sighed, wanting to fall asleep as soon as possible and bring this utterly exhausting night to an end.