Symbiote and S.H.I.E.L.D.?!

Harry Osborn's brows knitted together into a knot.

S.H.I.E.L.D.?

How could they have shown up at his door?

Was it because of certain projects at the Osborn Group, or perhaps his collaboration with Stryker?

No.

That seemed unlikely.

The existence of Prometheus and the security surrounding its related data were extremely high-level.

As for the collaboration with Stryker, on the surface, it was a joint project with the military...

"SIR, the visitor is still waiting."

The voice of Prometheus interrupted Harry's train of thought.

"I know."

Harry took a deep breath, adjusted his expression, and deactivated the internal surveillance and alarm alerts for the laboratory, leaving only the standard external security system active.

He walked quickly out of the underground laboratory, crossed the luxurious villa foyer, and arrived at the front door.

Through the peephole, he confirmed once again the identity of the man outside, whose hairline was concerning but whose smile was warm.

Phil Coulson.

He was all too familiar with this face.

Harry reached out and opened the heavy villa door.

"May I ask who you are?"

Harry feigned confusion as he looked at Coulson outside the door, his tone carrying a hint of annoyance at being disturbed.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Osborn."

A signature, gentle smile appeared on Coulson's face, making one feel as if they were bathed in a spring breeze.

"I am Phil Coulson from the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division."

As he spoke, he produced his official credentials...

"That department name is certainly long enough..."

"So, Mr. Coulson, may I ask what business you have with me?"

"If this is regarding Osborn Group business, you should contact my secretary."

Harry glanced at the credentials and then asked.

"No, Mr. Osborn, I am here to see you specifically today."

"There are some... academic questions I would like to consult you on, as you are a genius biologist."

Coulson smiled and shook his head.

Academic questions?

Harry raised an eyebrow. Because he had solved the problem of cancer, his reputation in the scientific community, especially in the field of biology, was currently very high.

If that were the case, was S.H.I.E.L.D. asking for his advice on matters in this area?

Interesting...

"Oh?"

Harry remained noncommittal.

Coulson said nothing more, instead stepping aside to reveal a silver briefcase he had been carrying the entire time.

He placed the briefcase on the ground and entered a passcode.

"Click."

The case popped open.

A white mist of cold air instantly diffused from the gap in the case, carrying a faint chill.

Harry's gaze narrowed slightly.

This case was a specialized cryogenic storage unit.

Coulson slowly opened the lid.

The interior of the case was lined with thick shock-absorbent material, and in the center sat a transparent, sealed canister.

Inside the canister, soaking in liquid, was a fist-sized mass of black, viscous fluid resembling petroleum; its surface shimmered with an eerie luster, as if it were alive and slightly writhing.

"This is..."

Harry's pupils constricted slightly. This form, this method of preservation—was this some kind of biological tissue?

Where on earth did S.H.I.E.L.D. get their hands on this thing?

"Mr. Osborn, I don't think this is a good place for a conversation."

Coulson pointed at the contents of the case, then glanced around, his meaning clear.

Harry's eyes flickered.

He certainly understood what Coulson meant.

Something like this was truly not suitable for display at the doorway.

"Please come in, Mr. Coulson."

Harry stepped aside, gesturing for him to enter.

The item the other man had brought out had indeed piqued his interest.

The two walked one after the other into the villa's living room.

Harry signaled for Coulson to sit on the sofa, while he took a seat opposite him.

There was no polite pouring of water or tea; the atmosphere was subtly tense.

Coulson placed the briefcase on the coffee table, opened it again, and carefully removed the sealed canister, handing it to Harry.

"Mr. Coulson, what exactly is this?"

Harry took it, examining the black liquid inside the canister, and asked with some curiosity.

"Half a month ago, our people discovered traces of this thing in a forest park."

"In order to track and attempt to contain it, we lost quite a few men..."

Coulson's expression turned serious.

As he spoke, he took a tablet out of his pocket, swiped his finger across it a few times to pull up a video, and handed it to Harry.

"This is some of the recorded footage from the scene at the time."

Harry took the tablet.

The video footage was shaking violently, as if filmed with a handheld device, and was filled with chaos and panicked shouting.

In the dim woods, a black shadow darted at high speed like liquid; wherever it passed, fully armed operatives were torn apart and tossed aside like paper.

The black liquid organism displayed astonishing strength, speed, and shapeshifting abilities, even capable of morphing into sharp weapons.

It was bloody and brutal.

The video was short, ending abruptly the moment the black liquid lunged at the camera.

Harry returned the tablet to Coulson without changing his expression, though his heart was churning with waves of shock.

Because from this video, he had already recognized what this thing was...

"As you can see, this thing is extremely dangerous."

Coulson took back the tablet, his tone heavy.

"After paying a huge price, it seemed to have sustained some damage and escaped our tracking."

"We only found this remaining tissue sample at the scene."

He pointed to the black liquid in the sealed canister in front of Harry.

"Our biology experts have made a preliminary assessment that this might be a type of... extraterrestrial life form that arrived on Earth with a meteorite."

"They believe that if we want to fully understand the nature of this thing, and whether it still possesses activity or potential threats, it is best to consult a top bioengineering expert like yourself."

"Furthermore, through some... special channels, we have learned that you, Mr. Osborn, have had in-depth cooperation with Colonel Stryker in certain fields of special biological research."

"Regarding these types of anomalous matters, you should have quite extensive experience and unique insights."

Coulson's gaze remained fixed on Harry, slowly dropping a bombshell of information, not missing a single change in his facial expression.

Stryker!

This was both a compliment and an undisguised warning.

It demonstrated S.H.I.E.L.D.'s intelligence capabilities, showing they knew about the secret research between Harry and Stryker.

The corners of Harry Osborn's mouth slowly curled into a meaningful arc.

"Heh~"

"This is interesting..."

He reached out and took the cold, sealed canister.

It felt icy to the touch.

The black liquid inside the canister seemed to sense a new gaze, fluctuating slightly.

He had recognized the origin of this thing the moment he saw the video.

Symbiote!

And judging by this classic black color, it was nine times out of ten the infamous—Venom!

It was truly a case of someone bringing a pillow just as he was getting sleepy.

He had just launched the X-Kryonaut project and was worrying about not having high-end, unique enough biological material to verify and integrate the Unit G technology from the Kryonaut world within the Zhang Qi network.

The next second, S.H.I.E.L.D. personally delivered a sample of the Symbiote, a cosmic-level bug of a creature, right into his hands!

His first move had truly been worth more than its weight in gold; first the X-Gene, and now the Symbiote...

Thoughts raced through the mind of Harry, yet his face remained calm.

He toyed with the sealed canister in his hands, an inexplicable glint flickering in his eyes as he looked at Coulson, "This thing from outer space is indeed... something I am very interested in."