By the time Lin Ze, Deadpool, and Eddie and Venom reached the "battlefield," the world had become a chaotic ocean of terror, its surging waves made up of people's panic and helplessness.
Cries of alarm erupted from the crowd like sharp bolts of lightning, instantly tearing through the once-peaceful air.
Young children squirmed like trapped animals in their parents' arms, their little faces flushed red, tears and snot streaming down.
Elderly people struggled like fragile dead leaves in the surging crowd, their frail bodies shoved back and forth.
Cars careened through the streets without any semblance of order. The piercing screech of brakes and the heavy thuds of collisions tangled with people's wails and shouts, together playing a terrifying symphony of the apocalypse.
Eddie helped an old man who had fallen by the roadside. The man sat trembling against a wall and thanked him in a hoarse voice. "Run, son!! If you don't leave now, it'll be too late. I haven't got many days left anyway. If I die, I die. Don't worry about these old bones. Go!!"
As he spoke, the old man even gave Eddie a push.
Even though Eddie already knew these people were nothing but illusions, the man's utterly lifelike reaction still pierced straight into his heart like a sharp sword, stirring a bitterness he couldn't put into words.
Looking at everything around him, this was a scene that should have unfolded on Earth.
Eddie's thoughts churned as sorrow welled up inside him. Then, without warning, his vision went black. When he blinked again, the old man sitting against the wall was gone.
"Venom!!!"
Eddie cried out in horror, his voice tinged with anger and disbelief.
Venom smacked his lips.
"What!?"
Venom answered with an innocent look. "He said it himself just now. He didn't have