Separate

"Eddie?"

Jameson's eyes flickered. The man from earlier truly overlapped with the image of Eddie in his memory.

Although he had only met Eddie once, the information he had gathered on him had already etched Eddie's appearance deeply into his mind.

"That man was Eddie?"

Even so, Jameson still found it hard to believe.

The sight of that kick sending the heavy iron gate flying was like something from old footage of Captain America seventy years ago.

"That's right. It was Eddie."

Anton nodded. "Eddie infiltrated the Homeless Home, which was how we got our footage. But afterward, he became a volunteer and was brought into the experimental base."

He kept it brief and to the point.

In just a few sentences, Jameson understood the situation.

"So Eddie's transformation is connected to Drake's research."

Jameson stroked his chin, suddenly enlightened. He muttered, "No wonder Norman Osborn was willing to bleed so much money to acquire the Life Foundation. This is clearly more complicated than I thought."

"You mean Norman Osborn knows what's going on inside the Life Foundation?"

Anton was surprised.

"Almost certainly. Norman knows something, at least. Otherwise, he wouldn't have come to us at this moment and let us name such an outrageous price."

Jameson snorted. "You should know that Norman Osborn isn't an impatient man."

"They're all old foxes."

Anton shook his head, deeply realizing that he was still too inexperienced.

If the Osborn Company had not caught wind of things during the height of the public outcry and pushed from behind the scenes, the Life Foundation would probably not have been as easy to deal with as he had imagined.

They returned to the Daily Bugle.

As he got out of the car, Jonah Jameson waved his hand and drove away, showing no attachment to the place where he had worked for decades.

Anton went upstairs and found his colleagues looking excited.

"Anton, we did it!"

Someone cheered. "The Life Foundation is finished!"

They had watched the press conference and saw straight through Carlton Drake's stubborn denials. To some extent, it was practically an admission of defeat.

Still, they were also eagerly discussing the sudden incident at the end of the press conference.

"Doesn't that guy look a little familiar?"

"A man carrying a woman out of the experimental base—it feels like a beautiful love story."

"No matter what, it's now an undeniable fact that the Life Foundation was conducting some kind of special experiment internally."

"The Life Foundation is finished!"

Everyone talked over one another.

"Alright, this is only the first stage of our victory. We still have a lot to do."

Anton motioned for everyone to quiet down and raised his voice. "Next, we press our advantage and crush Drake completely through public opinion. We can't give the Life Foundation any chance to turn things around."

After a pause, he added, "When this is over, everyone's bonuses will be doubled!"

"The boss is generous!"

Everyone cheered.

Anton smiled as he entered his office, but once he sat in his boss's chair, his expression turned grave.

He called Phil.

"Boss, did you see that just now?"

At that moment, Phil had left the experimental base and was standing at the entrance to the Golden Gate Bridge, his face still filled with barely concealed shock.

His tone was utterly incredulous. "That man was Editor-in-Chief Eddie. There's no mistake. It had to be Editor-in-Chief Eddie."

"I know."

Anton replied, "The Life Foundation may have lost to us in public opinion, but they won't let Eddie go easily. Stay in San Francisco and keep looking for him. I'll do everything I can to help you."

"Understood."

Phil nodded heavily. "I'll definitely find Editor-in-Chief Eddie."

Beep beep.

After ending the call, Anton rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on.

Venom!

He could almost certainly conclude that Eddie had already bonded with the symbiote and gained the ability to become Venom.

That did not mean it was over. On the contrary, it was the beginning of something else.

However, once the Life Foundation resorted to force, the room he had to maneuver would be drastically reduced.

He could only hope that Eddie could withstand the pressure.

Perhaps Eddie would only be temporarily safe once the Osborn Company launched its acquisition of the Life Foundation and seized control of it from Carlton Drake.

Otherwise, Eddie would have no choice but to follow the movie's path and use Venom's power to completely end Carlton Drake.

No one could say for sure.

The current situation had already diverged from the movie's plot.

The Daily Bugle had gotten involved, and the Osborn Company had thrown itself into the mix, thoroughly muddying the waters.

The future could no longer be judged through the original lens.

"Waiting like this isn't going to work."

Anton frowned tightly and muttered, "I need to redeem the Batman armor as soon as possible. If I can gain Batman's power, even if it's only the basic armor, I won't be so passive..."

He immediately made a call and learned that the film crew had entered its final stretch.

Thanks to the visual effects plan that had been designed long ago, more than half of the effects work had also been completed.

Once those two tasks were finished, only editing and promotion would remain in post-production.

As for the novelization of Batman Begins, which had been released early, its serialization in the Daily Bugle was likewise nearing its conclusion.

Its gripping plot and excellent quality had gradually made the novel popular throughout New York, drawing the attention of many book lovers.

Checking Batman's fan value, it had already reached more than 210,000.

That progress was not slow at all.

Yet Anton was still impatient. It felt as though a huge stone hung over his heart, leaving him without a sense of security.

He summoned Betty and instructed her, "Contact the advertisers and increase the promotion for the Batman novel. Before the movie premieres, I want everyone in New York to know Batman's name."

"That'll cost quite a bit, Anton. There's already no money left in your personal account."

Betty spread her hands, indicating that there was nothing she could do.

"Why would we use my personal account?"

Anton was extremely displeased and nearly started swearing. "The Batman novel is being published by a publishing house controlled by the Daily Bugle. Can't the publisher do something for a book written by its own boss?"

"You're the boss. What you say goes."

With that, Betty had no reason to refuse. She swayed her hips as she left the office.

Elsewhere.

San Francisco, in a corner of the city.

Eddie set Dora down and said gravely, "We have to split up."

"Why?"

Dora was horrified. "Are you going to leave me behind to run for my life alone?"

"No."

Eddie explained, "Carlton Drake won't let me go, but you aren't Drake's target. You can find somewhere safe to hide and come out once this is over."

"No. My daughter is still in Drake's hands."

Dora refused without hesitation. "As a mother, I can't gamble with my daughter's life."

After thinking for a moment, Eddie suddenly said, "As a senior researcher, you should know a lot about the Life Foundation's secrets, including Drake's, right?"

"What are you trying to say?" Dora asked warily.

"Don't forget, I used to be a reporter." Eddie said, "You can go to the Daily Bugle and reveal that information. With the power of public opinion, Drake won't dare lay a hand on you. As far as I know, you're far from the only one whose family he has under his control."

"What about you?" Dora asked again.

After a brief moment of thought, Eddie had basically figured out his situation.

"I'm in danger right now. I can't appear in the public eye."

He gave a bitter smile. "You know Drake is a madman. So far, I'm the only human to have bonded with a symbiote. He won't let me go easily. His pursuit of me will only stop once he loses his power."

"This..."

Dora gritted her teeth. She was not stupid, and this was not the time for a tearful melodrama. She decisively said, "Then we'll part ways here."

"You'd better give me a way to contact you."

After a pause, she added, "If you need anything, I'll help as much as I can. After all, my understanding of symbiotes is far beyond yours."

Eddie nodded. "Alright. I have a private email address. Write it down."