C114(3)

Still, Tony couldn't shake the lingering unease in his gut.

"I can't say who is good and who is bad, but anyway, the result is the top priority. As long as there are no mistakes, it can be called a great and hopeful invention."

"Then let's get to the key part."

Seeing that everyone was drawn in by his prelude, Otto continued to smile and turned toward the highlight of the event.

The nuclear fusion device.

Anton quietly took a seat off to the side to watch Otto's preparations. He subtly turned his head, glanced at Eddie behind him, and gave a "ready" signal.

Eddie, who had been keeping an eye on the crowd, immediately understood and paused for a moment.

Now, the changes on stage were already starting.

Four curved energy output devices projected energy, and the tritium element provided by Stark Industries, necessary for the experiment, was suspended in the air.

Boom!

Everyone felt an almost invisible sound in their heads, and the situation began to shift.

The element in front of them flared to life, and a sun-like red ball of light appeared, causing an uncontrollable exclamation.

"The energy of the sun is in my hands!!!"

Otto raised both his hands, and the mechanical tentacles behind him followed suit, as if they were holding the sun itself.

"Wrong, Otto. It's in our hands."

From the guest seats, Obadiah, sitting at the front, laughed.

He had already predicted that after today, Stark Industries' stock would soar to its highest value in history. Stark would leapfrog the arms industry and become the leader of the energy industry in one fell swoop.

Tony, sitting next to Obadiah, had a more serious expression. His demeanor was far less relaxed.

Although Tony could see that the experiment was going smoothly, he also understood that if the experiment failed, the consequences could be catastrophic.

Not to mention the artificial sun exploding due to instability—if that happened, New York could be destroyed.

Eddie swallowed hard.

Venom in his brain began to panic.

"Damn it, Eddie, what are you doing?! We're too close to this thing. If the energy reaches its peak, we'll be blown to bits with no trace left!!!"

Venom was losing control.

When Venom first arrived on Earth, he thought it was a safe place where he could rule.

But now, after all this time and witnessing the mutants and the level of black technology here, Venom realized just how fragile that belief was.

If this experiment truly expanded like the sun, it could easily destroy the entire city.

Compared to that, even an invasion by all the symbiotes seemed like a lesser threat.

The riot symbiote had actually tried to occupy Earth—but that was just a theory!

...

Anton remained calm, watching the developments in front of him, prepared to act at any moment.

For now, the experiment seemed to be progressing smoothly, and Otto's smile hadn't wavered.

But soon, Anton knew, that smile wouldn't last.

Sure enough, the magnetic field began to destabilize.

Reporters struggled to keep their cameras steady as they sensed the increasing instability.

The chairs in the guest seating area began to shake.

"Calm... quiet, it will stabilize soon!"

Otto shouted loudly, trying to reassure the crowd.

"Doctor, the energy is starting to leak!"

A research assistant, standing under the test bed, yelled in panic.

"Stay calm!" Otto yelled in response, his voice trembling as he tried to maintain control.

The scene became a bit chaotic.

Tony's expression hardened; he knew what was happening. He immediately stood up and shouted at Otto, "Turn off that machine!"

"No, I can stabilize it!" Otto flatly refused.

"Shit!!!" Even Obadiah could see the situation was going south. "I have to stop him!"

To be safe, Tony gestured to Happy, who handed him the Mark 5, which transformed back into a box. Tony was about to rush to the stage when—

Whoosh!

He was suddenly pulled away, flying to the side in a daze.

Turning around, he saw that it was Anton who had grabbed his wrist and was quickly pulling him away from the guest seats. Even Happy was stunned.

He almost felt like Anton had just taken over his role as bodyguard.

Shouldn't this be my job?

Looking down at his bulging belly… It seems I'm just the driver now!

Today's over, am I going to be unemployed?

Happy's mind raced, but in the next moment, he snapped back to reality and tried his best to keep up with Anton and Tony, who were in front of him.

"Wait for me!!"

On the other side…

"Shit! Anton, what are you doing? Let go of me! Why are you holding my hand?" Tony was furious.

"I'm saving your life!!!" Anton responded confidently and bluntly.

Tony was speechless. Then, no matter what he said, Anton kept pulling him into a frantic run, until they were far from the experimental platform.

While running, Anton glanced at Tony's other hand, which was holding the box.

Secretly, he thought, 'How can I let you take my spotlight?!'

At the same time, the reporters who had been gathered in a group scattered, running far away in fear of being caught in the unstable "artificial sun." 

They didn't continue running immediately because, even with their limited understanding of physics, they knew that if the experiment continued and they couldn't get out of New York quickly, they would be turned to ashes by the "artificial sun."

"Damn it, someone stop him personally!!" someone gritted their teeth.

"Where's Batman?"

"Where's Batman?"

For the first time, these people longed for Batman's appearance outside of a big news event.

Meanwhile, Eddie realized that Anton had prepared for this from the very beginning, and his surprise was evident.

Anton had predicted the failure of the experiment right from the start! How did he know?

As he thought about it, he held onto the camera tightly, worried that the intense magnetic force might rip it away.

Eddie understood what Anton was preparing for.

He wasn't going to let Venom come out and solve the crisis!

But what did that mean?

Ready to shoot, someone's coming out to play the role!

…

patreon.com/Vks_sh