Taming Venom

Hughie also wanted to introduce him to Starlight, but Lu Wen refused.

He did not want to meet anyone else over the next couple of days, but what he actually said was...

"Do you really want a third wheel in the room when you two are pouring your hearts out and whispering sweet nothings until you're ready to bang?"

After leaving Hughie's place, Lu Wen did not go far. Instead, he found the rooftop of another tall building.

He had to admit, here in America, rooftops really were great places to get things done in peace.

After making sure no one around would notice him, he reached into his system storage and took out the metal bucket. He shook it, but nothing stirred inside.

Thinking that the blob inside might not have woken up yet since he had just taken it out of system storage, he waited a little longer.

Half an hour later, Lu Wen picked up the bucket and shook it again. There was still no movement inside.

"Stop pretending. I know you're awake."

Although the big mass of Venom in the main world had been killed, he was certain this little blob contained some of Venom's consciousness too.

The bucket remained silent for two seconds, then gave a faint tremor, as though the thing inside was slowly wriggling. Something pushed against the metal sealing the opening from within, raising a small bump before pulling back.

Lu Wen tore open the top of the bucket and set it on the floor, then stepped back, crouched down, and stared at it.

"I'm giving you a chance. Come out and talk properly! If you try to jump onto me again, I'll roast you again."

The bucket stayed quiet for a few seconds. Then the metal over its opening was slowly pushed aside from within, and a small blob of black slime squeezed through the gap.

It lingered tentatively at the edge of the bucket. Rather than launching itself at him immediately, it slowly stretched outward and spread across the floor into a palm-sized puddle of black matter.

Lu Wen did not move or fire his chest cannon. He stayed crouched, watching the little fragment of Venom slowly wriggle across the wooden floor.

After being roasted by the radiation from his chest cannon, the piece of Venom he had torn off had shrunk to roughly a third of its original size. It was also noticeably less active than it had been in the world of Spider-Man 3.

After spreading out, it tentatively extended a thin filament toward Lu Wen, but drew it back before touching the tip of his shoe.

It seemed to have learned its lesson.

"I know you can understand me," Lu Wen said. "You've been inside Eddie, and you've been inside Peter too. You should know what communication means. I'm not planning to destroy you or slice you up for research."

Venom did not respond, but it did not retreat either. It quietly curled up on the floor like a puddle of black oil deep in thought.

Lu Wen patiently waited a little longer, giving the little blob of Venom some time to think.

After nearly a minute, the little blob on the floor began to contract. Like a mushroom sprouting, it raised a tendril, then swelled at the tip and formed a crude face. The part that barely resembled a mouth produced a string of unintelligible sounds.

"Goojiligualanilaguaji*%&**"

Lu Wen was speechless...

"Look at you, looking like a blob of goo. What the hell are you babbling about?"

What the hell was it saying? Even his forced translation could not translate it...

The stalk of Venom on the floor collapsed back into a puddle, then painstakingly, barely managed to piece together a few words in succession.

"Weak... going... to die..."

All right! This time he understood.

"Got it. I can save you if that's what you want, but let's get this straight first! If I let you onto my body, behave yourself. Don't try anything with my mind. I know your weaknesses very well, and I have plenty of ways to kill you!

"I'm telling you, I'm very sensitive. If I notice you trying to control me, you can look forward to being tortured with sonic waves and flames for ten thousand years before you die."

Faced with Lu Wen's threat, Venom, which was on the verge of dying from weakness, hurriedly nodded.

It could no longer worry about anything else. As long as it could survive, it would do anything!

Seeing that Venom knew how to behave, Lu Wen wasted no more words. This was exactly why he had brought this little piece here, so he immediately reached out to grab it.

As for loyalty, that was no problem either. Once he returned to the Marvel Universe, he would have plenty of ways to train it.

The moment Venom touched his skin, it eagerly burrowed into Lu Wen through his pores! It began drawing life energy from his cells to repair itself.

That first draw was incredible. It felt as though it was back inside Peter's body! Such immense vitality, such powerful genetic compatibility! He was every bit as good as its dear little Peter!

He was so much better than that scrawny weakling Eddie! That useless bastard had needed it to feed energy back to him. If his genetic compatibility had not also been so high, it would have sucked him dry long ago.

For Symbiotes like it, a more suitable host allowed them to wield greater power, and a host's superior genes could also grant them new evolutions.

Peter, whom it had possessed first, had given it the same Spider-Man abilities, while that fellow Eddie had needed it to acquire a simplified version of Spider-Man's superpowers.

The only thing worth praising was Eddie's intense emotional output, which had given it the means to survive. A Symbiote's symbiosis with its host was not merely a physiological union, but also an emotional fusion. They were particularly fond of intense emotions.

Because Symbiotes were also empathic creatures, they instinctively matched their hosts' inner obsessions, negative emotions, and other mental traits.

Only hosts like that allowed them to maintain a stable symbiosis.

Unfortunately, little Peter's body had been perfect, but he had not resonated with it mentally. Eddie had resonated with it mentally, but his body had been far too lousy.

This was a great host! His physical capabilities were almost on par with Peter's, and judging by their earlier interactions, he was also someone with a very intense mental state. This was an absolute jackpot!

"Squeak, squeak, squeak!"

"What the hell are you screeching about now?"

"Boss, your chest is too hot! I'd only just recovered a little when I got burned again! I couldn't help it." Venom's slightly raspy voice rang out in Lu Wen's mind.

"Oh? You even know to call me boss! You catch on pretty quick. Then stay away from my chest. Isn't there enough room everywhere else?"

"Got it, boss," Venom said meekly.

"Just stay put for now. I can't control this. You'll get used to it. It might even help you overcome your weakness to fire."

"Hey, you might be right! Thanks, boss!" Venom's voice clearly carried a note of sudden realization.

Lu Wen suddenly remembered something. These Symbiotes could apparently read their hosts' memories.

"By the way, don't go snooping through my thoughts for no reason. That makes me feel like I have no privacy, got it?"

"Understood, boss! But boss, I'd like to point out that I can't read your thoughts at all!"

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely! I can only establish a mental connection with you. I can't share your thoughts and memories like I could with my previous hosts."

"Boss, you're special!"

Hearing Venom's words, Lu Wen thought for two seconds. When he remembered the quiet system, he immediately decided to believe Venom.

As if sensing its host's thoughts, the system panel suddenly popped up.

[Protocol one: The system's sole bound host possesses access to all system functions and final decision-making authority. The system will not forcibly interfere with any of the host's personal actions or choices.]

[Protocol two: The system automatically constructs a mental barrier for the host to resist conventional mental probing, thought reading, soul attacks, and other forms of nonphysical harm. This also serves to preserve some of the secrecy surrounding the system's own existence.]

[Protocol three: All transactions within the system follow the principle of free pricing. Both the host and users may independently set listing prices for items or traits. The system collects a fixed percentage of each transaction as commission. The points obtained are used to maintain system operations and reduce the total points in circulation to ensure economic stability. Points cannot be created out of nothing and always correspond to the value of assets in the system warehouse.]

Huh, it actually looks pretty legitimate! But why didn't I see this when I checked the system panel before? Lu Wen thought.

[The host did not ask.]

Lu Wen: "..."