3 Sleeping Alone

Russell felt as though a bucket of ice water had been poured over him. The chilling sensation instantly dispelled all his impulses, leaving him as calm as a sage who had seen through the world's illusions.

"Though this thing might look a bit disgusting, it truly is my superpower, a newly awakened one!"

The effect of the Lasso of Truth, which made him tell the truth, disappeared from Russell.

The system, which wasn't very present most of the time, surprisingly countered the Lasso of Truth's ability in an incredible manner.

Russell's expression was now sincere, appearing completely truthful.

In fact, he wasn't lying.

He was selectively speaking a portion of the truth.

Diana might have never anticipated that the Lasso of Truth could lose its effectiveness one day. Hearing Russell's response, her expression softened significantly.

"What does this ability do?"

Diana continued to inquire.

No need to hide this.

Russell didn't hesitate, briefly explaining the abilities gained after bonding with the Venom symbiote.

Diana listened attentively, occasionally casting glances at the Venomous head that had emerged from Russell's left shoulder.

After Russell finished, she asked again, "What's the deal with the guy you kidnapped?"

Uh...

This was getting to the heart of the matter!

Originally, Russell's plan was to use the new awakened ability as an excuse to explain the bodily changes resulting from activating the "Venom Symbiote" reward.

However, he never imagined that Diana would appear right after he activated the reward, before he could master its control.

Worse still, Diana saw Eddie Brock, the man he had kidnapped.

Two men were confined in a room within an abandoned building.

One was bound to a chair, while the other bore a strange and abnormal creature on his body.

No matter how you looked at it, this scene felt completely off!

This led Russell to abandon his original plan of explanation.

Although the situation was tricky, he quickly devised an alternative plan.

It wasn't entirely novel, just revealing partial truth to Diana while concealing the existence of the system.

"So, it's like this—I have superpowers, as you know."

"I lied to you. My superpower isn't about having physical attributes far beyond normal humans."

"In reality, my superpower is about gaining new abilities whenever I perform specific actions."

"To put it simply, it's somewhat like losing weight by eating less and exercising more."

"Do specific things and then get specific rewards."

"The man who was kidnapped is the person I needed to interact with to awaken this new ability."

At this point, Russell's explanation was almost as good as full confession.

Aside from replacing the system with superpowers, everything else was pretty much the same.

Strictly speaking, the system was indeed his superpower.

But compared to the system, the concept of superpowers was much easier for Diana to grasp.

Russell thought that at this level of explanation, Diana should understand why he had acted this way.

However, reality proved that he underestimated the differences in thinking between men and women.

"You... actually lied to me!"

Diana's expression, which had just eased, turned incredibly serious again.

Really?

Wasn't the main issue here something else?

Russell was about to explain, but Diana pulled her right hand back, causing the Lasso of Truth entwined around him to visibly contract.

Ouch, ouch, ouch...

Russell instinctively struggled, yet his struggles were less effective than he had imagined against the Lasso of Truth.

His face started to flush, and his expression turned grim.

The "Blessing of Wonder Woman" and the "Venom Symbiote" rewards, which granted him extraordinary physique, still couldn't free him from the Lasso of Truth.

As he began to consider how many bones he might break this time, the Lasso of Truth suddenly loosened.

Phew...

Saved!

How could Diana, his gentle and wise girlfriend, possibly want his life?

Thinking about it, it was clear this was impossible!

It was normal for girls to throw a little temper; it wasn't a big deal!

In his mind, Russell consoled himself, while also using his newly acquired Venom abilities to mend the injuries on his body.

Seeing Russell unconsciously rubbing his arms, Diana put away the Lasso of Truth.

"Let this incident go. If something like this happens again, you better not hide it from me!"

Diana said gently.

"Okay, Your Majesty!"

Russell replied earnestly.

Seeing his serious facade, Diana began to regret retracting the Lasso of Truth.

"Starting today, you're sleeping in the guest room!"

"Until you completely control these things on you, don't touch me!"

After saying this, Diana didn't give Russell a chance to respond. She turned and left, walking into the master bedroom without looking back.

Uh...

When Diana's graceful figure vanished entirely from his line of sight, Russell turned his head with a wry smile to look at the Venom head that had emerged from his left shoulder.

It wasn't exactly a biological entity, and now the Venom head turned to look at him. Their eyes met.

Not wanting to sleep alone, Russell didn't hesitate. He immediately began to master his new abilities.

Since he now only possessed the abilities that came after bonding with the Venom symbiote and not the true symbiote itself, he could only rely on himself to control this not-exactly-symbiotic symbiote on his body.

He felt like a baby elephant that hadn't figured out how to control its trunk yet.

Or perhaps more like a kitten that hadn't quite figured out how to control its tail.

As he rapidly adjusted to his new abilities, Diana removed her battle armor, slipping into a sexy yet modest black silk nightgown. Her dark, sleek hair cascaded naturally.

The hem of the nightgown was just slightly longer than the skirt of the armor, revealing her pair of straight and fair long legs without any concealment.

From the hem upward, past her slim and flexible waist, it led to those shapely peaks.

Russell, who had been trying hard to adapt to his new abilities, saw Diana's appearance and the recently retracted Venom head emerged again.

Unlike before when it emerged from his left shoulder, this time the Venom head emerged from his chest, its unnaturally large white eyes fixated on Diana.

Russell was about to speak, but Diana tossed the nightgown she was holding toward him, and it landed perfectly on the Venom head.

Was she suggesting they take a bath together?

Russell came up with a very reasonable association.

However, reality proved him wrong.

Diana didn't say anything. She lifted her right hand and pointed toward the guest room and guest bathroom.

Subsequently, with her alluring waist swaying like a water snake, she returned to the master bedroom, closing the door behind her without looking back.

Click!

The sound of the door being locked resounded instantly.

Hope shattered!