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"Watching's boring. Why don't you go down there and try it for yourselves?"
He said it with a faint smile.
"Oh my God! He's threatening us? Kid, do you even realize the situation you're in?"
They were so close, guns pointed right at him. None of them believed this kid could pull off anything.
…
Venom's lips curled into a twisted grin. His pupils suddenly dilated.
The old woman who had been aiming at him instantly whipped around and blew a man's brains out with a single shot.
At the same time, the other two snapped into action, swinging their fists with brutal force straight into the temples of their comrades.
The sudden betrayal froze everyone around them in shock. No one understood what the hell just happened.
This was Venom's new trick—an ability he'd stolen from Alice: telekinesis.
He could use it to manipulate objects, but also to control people like puppets.Of course, there was a catch—the bigger or heavier the target, the harder it was to control.
"Oh my God, no, I didn't—I didn't mean to do this! Oh God!"
The old woman's words tumbled out in panic, her eyes blazing with both fury and fear.
"This is your doing! You made us kill them! What the hell are you?!"
Venom tilted his head and asked flatly, "I'm a monster? Then what does that make you?"
If slaughtering your own kind wasn't monstrous, what was?
Without waiting for an answer, his clothes melted into black liquid. Tentacles shot out, wrapped around the two survivors, and flung them straight into the pit nearby.
"No! No, please—ahhh!"
Their screams echoed from the pit, then went silent.
"You bastard! I'll kill you!"
The short, heavyset woman raised her shotgun and pulled the trigger—
—but the barrel had already twisted around. The blast tore through the last man instead, his head bursting like a watermelon, spraying red and white in every direction.
The woman's trigger finger snapped backwards under the recoil with a sharp crack.
"Ahhh!" she wailed in agony.
Venom's liquid armor sprouted more tendrils, coiling around her legs. He hoisted her upside down and dangled her above the pit.
Down below, zombie dogs prowled restlessly, staring up at her with glowing eyes and drooling bloody saliva.
"No! No, please—I'm begging you, don't kill me!"
Her last shred of confidence gone, the old woman screamed at the sight of the starving hounds circling below.
"Remember—only by experiencing it yourself can you feel the true thrill of the game."
Venom's smile widened, monstrous and cold. His tentacle uncoiled, and the woman dropped.
"Nooo!"
Her shriek was cut off as the rabid dogs lunged, ripping her apart in a frenzy.
Venom watched the feeding for a moment, then turned and walked away, his steps calm and steady.
…
When Venom was gone, Alice stepped onto the scene.
…
Venom climbed to the top of a hill, where a striking sight stretched out below him.
At the base of the slope stood a tall, barbed-wire fence enclosing a small wooden cabin in the middle of the wasteland.
Inside the perimeter, a helicopter marked with the Umbrella logo sat quietly.
Outside the fence, an endless sea of zombies clawed at the wire, packed so densely they looked like a living black tide.
Rough estimate? At least a few hundred thousand.
Even Venom knew barging in head-on would be a nightmare.So instead, he chose a different approach—take the skies.
The black suit rippled and spread from his back, stretching into a pair of massive wings.
He tested them with two strong beats, then leapt off the slope.
A dark blur shot upward. Venom soared over the horde, angling straight for the wooden house in the desert.
Dust flared as he landed hard, one knee down. The wings melted back into his body.
Morphing. Venom could shape his body however he wanted—turning hands into blades, sprouting wings, even forming shields and armor when needed.
(Author's note: Before anyone asks "How's he doing this?"—just look up Venom's powers. Seriously, Google it.)
Venom straightened up and started toward the cabin. But something caught his eye. He turned sharply and walked to the edge of a ditch.
Inside lay nearly a hundred corpses, twisted in death, the stench of blood thick in the air.
Every single one of them wore a red dress.Every single one of them looked identical.
If Alice were here, she'd be stunned—they all looked exactly like her.
The truth was cruel: all these corpses were Alice clones. And what Alice herself didn't know… was that she was a clone too.
Venom didn't react much when he saw it. He just turned calmly and headed for the cabin.
Once inside, he shoved the chair in the middle aside and slammed his fist into the floor.
The wooden boards shattered instantly, revealing a pitch-black tunnel below, like the gaping jaws of some beast waiting to swallow everything whole.
Venom didn't hesitate—he jumped straight down.
"....."