Time to Switch Cars!

After Anton finished speaking, Eddie and the others felt a bit more at ease. From his words, they were confident that the recently viral superhero, Batman, had arrived in San Francisco.

However, Batman would only appear at the most critical moment, not now.

Of course, influenced by online discussions, Anne and Dan had suspected that Anton could be Batman, but they thought it was unlikely.

Anton's past twenty years had been scrutinized thoroughly, and he seemed like nothing more than a wealthy rich kid.

Public opinion leaned toward Anton having some connection with Batman, possibly even acting as Batman's representative.

But whether Anton was actually Batman remained uncertain.

"Before you arrived, I almost thought you really were Batman, Anton."

The conversation had become friendly, and Anne even joked.

"Maybe you're right," Anton replied, shrugging. "Of course, my biggest dream is still to be a spoiled rich kid and inherit my father's billion-dollar fortune."

"I get it," Eddie said, believing Anton's words wholeheartedly.

Looking back on everything, Eddie knew that Anton had only become entangled with the Life Foundation because of him.

Facing threats from assassins, Anton had to enlist a helper like "Batman."

Eddie felt deeply moved. Having such a boss provided an immense sense of security.

"Oh... he really loves you."

Venom commented in his mind, "This must be love, right? Eddie, I like your boss."

"Shut up!"

Eddie's mouth twitched, instinctively scolding.

"Hmm?"

His outburst caught the attention of the others.

"Uh..."

Feeling their stares, Eddie froze, his face reddening with embarrassment as he waved his hands. "No, no, I wasn't talking to you guys. You know, it was Venom!"

"We understand," Anne replied, her eyes gleaming. "Actually, we'd love to know—what did Venom just say?"

…

The next day.

Anton headed to Stark Industries' San Francisco branch to pick up the weapons.

Meanwhile, Eddie and the others, in disguise, began scouting around the Life Foundation's headquarters and the experimental base.

The Life Foundation's rocket project base was located near the experimental site.

Golden Gate Bridge.

Drake had truly put in considerable effort at this iconic San Francisco landmark.

The project, involving hundreds of billions, possibly trillions, had gone into research and production.

Unfortunately, the Life Foundation was on the brink of collapse, and Oscorp was eager to step in as a savior.

There's a reason why the Green Goblin is called the Green Goblin.

It's not just his love for the color green.

In the original Spider-Man, the second Green Goblin, Harry Osborn, was "betrayed" by his best friend Peter Parker in his relationship with Mary Jane.

It runs in the family!

At this moment, Eddie was observing the rocket project base and the towering rocket when Venom suddenly spoke.

"Riot has arrived in San Francisco!"

The deep voice echoed in Eddie's mind.

"How do you know?" Eddie was startled, whispering back. "You've been with me all this time, haven't you?"

"I saw him!"

Venom's tone was heavy. "Right in front of you."

At those words, Eddie focused and saw Carlton Drake emerging from one end of the rocket base, his pupils contracting sharply.

"What?"

His shock was overwhelming, immediately understanding Venom's implication.

Drake had already joined with Riot and become its host!

This was happening too quickly!

Beep, beep, beep!

Suddenly, his phone rang in his pocket. It was Anne calling.

"Eddie, we just found out that Drake has restarted the rocket launch plans. Something's wrong! He might have become Riot's host!"

Anne sounded frantic.

"I know, I know, I already know!"

Eddie was about to reply when he suddenly felt a chill and looked up to see Drake's gaze in his direction.

Whoosh!

The gaze was as sharp as a blade, cutting through the trees and locking onto the figure hidden within.

…

"Prepare the rocket for launch immediately. I'll pilot the ship myself; I don't care about configurations or testing. I just want the rocket to take off. Understood?"

Drake, who had just arrived to inspect the rocket base, paused, glancing in a certain direction with a cold smile.

"Venom?"

"Tris, gather everyone, bring weapons, and seal off the area, especially that part of the woods."

He took the lead, heading toward the area his gaze had marked.

"Understood."

The head of security, Tris, who finally had a name, didn't dare question it and nodded directly.

Boom!

In the next moment, Tris watched, astonished, as Drake bent his legs and leapt into the air, soaring dozens of meters before landing in the forest.

Eddie couldn't escape and stood face-to-face with Drake, his expression serious.

"Venom!"

Drake transformed into Riot, nearly three meters tall with bulging muscles, sharp fangs, and a massive maw. Apart from a slight color difference, he was almost identical to Venom.

"Come with me."

Riot's voice was deep, his smile sinister, carrying a mesmerizing tone. "Let's bring our kind here and take over this planet."

"No."

Venom rejected him without hesitation. "I won't let you destroy this world."

"You're truly pathetic!"

Riot's hideous face twisted in rage and disdain. His hands morphed into giant axes, and he lunged at Venom like a fierce tiger. "Then die."

…

Anton, completely unaware that Eddie had transformed into Venom and was now clashing with Drake, who had become Riot, near the Golden Gate Bridge.

He had just driven away from Stark Industries' San Francisco branch, with a sonic weapon and flamethrower in the back—both prepared overnight by Stark Industries.

The technology involved wasn't particularly advanced, and with Anton paying handsomely, he was able to place an order in the early morning and have the weapons by evening.

Had the weapons been more technically complex, the timeline would have been longer.

The symbiotes' weaknesses were, without a doubt, very exploitable.

Anton suspected that even if Drake managed to bring all the symbiotes from the comet to Earth, it would cause chaos at most, not destroy the planet.

Civilization, refined over thousands of years, was hardly that fragile.

Ring, ring, ring!

Suddenly, his phone rang.

"Anne, I've got the weapons… what? Eddie might be in trouble? Drake has already become Riot's host?"

Anton's expression changed slightly as he reassured her. "Don't worry, I'll be there immediately! Don't come; it's too dangerous… alright, I'll notify Batman to assist Eddie right away."

Hanging up, he glanced at the route, then slammed on the brakes and pulled over in a secluded area.

Seeing no one around, he focused his thoughts and summoned his "vehicle."

It was time to switch cars!

To one that could fly!