Chapter 677

After hearing those burps, several people beside the energy core froze; as Shiler roared, Strange raised his staff and slammed it hard against the ground:

"Immediately find out where this branch channel leads!"

Ancient One had narrowed her eyes; a faint magical glow shimmered on one hand—should she hear that the other side was a demon god from any dimension, she would instantly trace the line and chop them into pieces.

Loki crossed his arms, looking disappointed; he would never miss an opportunity to accumulate capital for Asgard, so he participated in human organizations' plans, lending them his endorsement as Prince of Asgard.

Nick's expression remained calm; this director had seen too many storms to be shaken—he was confident no one could steal his electricity beforehand, and if they did, he'd simply take back several times over.

All of them regarded the early electricity thief as an enemy; after all, a plan failing at the last moment always looked like sabotage—human civilization had progressed too smoothly to this point, and it was time for some setbacks.

Each had their own thoughts, when suddenly a mage stepped out of a portal and said: "Supreme Sorcerer, we've traced it—the energy channel never left Earth; its endpoint is somewhere on the planet."

Instantly, all narrowed their eyes, expressions filled with suspicion; they feared no external enemy, only a traitor within—if a villain lurked among the people, that was the worst possible outcome.

"Can you pinpoint the endpoint?" Strange asked the mage seriously; Nick stepped forward directly: "Give me an address—no matter where he is, S. . . . . . agents will arrive immediately."

If someone had remained on Earth the whole time, secretly observing all four of their plans, stealing the fruits at the final moment, and never been detected, this would be a massive problem.

Soon, Strange closed his eyes and meditated to connect with Earth's magical defense network, then traced the branch of the energy channel to its endpoint; since it never left Earth, he located it almost instantly.

He waved his hand, opening a portal; except for Ancient One, who remained in Kamar-Taj to hold the line, the others stepped inside—fists clenched, teeth gritted.

If the plan had been difficult from the start, failing at the end wouldn't have been so infuriating; if it had been too simple, they might have suspected a trap and not been surprised by being outmaneuvered.

But this plan was one with challenges to overcome, solvable with current technology, possibly encountering setbacks but overall progressing smoothly—such plans were highly deceptive, making the outcome feel hard-won yet rightfully theirs.

So when the result fell short, it provoked exceptional rage.

They followed the network to the target location; as they passed through the portal, they imagined countless scenarios—like three hundred axe-wielders surrounding them upon landing, or a colossal demon resembling Mephisto seated on a throne, radiating menace.

But the moment they landed, they saw Eddie Brock slumped on a sofa, hugging a large bucket of cheese balls, just opening a can of beer and pouring it into his mouth as they arrived.

Leading the group, Strange froze, staring at Eddie: "What are you doing here?"

Shiler was already scanning the surroundings: the apartment was decently furnished, and although close to Hell's Kitchen, it was in a high-rent district that matched Eddie's current income level; his relaxed posture suggested he felt at home—this was clearly his current residence.

Clearly, Eddie had no motive to steal electricity; if anyone did, it was undoubtedly…

"Venom, come out, we need to talk!" Shiler stepped forward to Eddie, who shook his head: "He's asleep."

"Asleep? Why would he sleep?" Shiler narrowed his eyes at Eddie, for he knew symbiotes only slept to digest after absorbing massive energy.

Shiler scanned the room again—clearly, more than one person had been here; Venom must have collaborated with someone. Suddenly, Shiler crouched, reached under the sofa, and wiped his hand across the bottom.

His hand held nothing, but the Mist sensed it and whispered in his mind: "…Symbiote. This symbiote residue… belongs to the one we encountered before… Blue Spirit?"

"Come out, Venom—I know you're not asleep. Don't think hiding behind Eddie makes you safe." Shiler sneered, turning to Nick, who cleared his throat: "The Globe's stock price hasn't been looking good lately—the management seems to be considering salary cuts for editors across all sections…"

"Fine, I'm out," Venom's hoarse voice emerged from Eddie's throat, though his weariness was unmistakable; Shiler stood with arms crossed before him:

"You stole my electricity??"

"My electricity? Did you pray for it?" Venom retorted.

"Of course not—but who do they pray to? Isn't it the Bat totem?" Shiler pressed.

"Is the Bat totem yours?" Venom countered.

"I ask you—why did the Bat totem come into existence?" Shiler stared at Venom; before he could answer, Shiler continued: "If I hadn't launched my vampire-hunting plan back then, how would the Bat God have been born? If the Bat God hadn't been born, how would the Bat totem have appeared? If the Bat totem hadn't appeared, who would they pray to? If they didn't pray, where would the electricity come from? So I say this electricity is mine—what's wrong with that?"

Venom was stunned by his audacity, but he wasn't easily outmaneuvered: "You devised the plan—but who carried it out originally?"

"Without my plan, how could you execute it?"

"Without me executing it, how would your plan have succeeded?"

"Mist, bite him!"

Instantly, a black mist and a black sludge burst through the window; the other three stood in a line by the window, watching the two symbiotes chase each other across the New York skyline; Nick glanced at his watch and muttered: "I'd guess five minutes max…"

"Underestimated them—two minutes max," Strange waved his hand; the half-eaten bucket of cheese balls flew into his grip. He tossed one into his mouth, chewed—before he could swallow, both symbiotes burst back through the window.

Shiler, back in human form, clapped his hands; Nick stepped forward, lowering his voice: "How much did you get?"

"Thirty percent, plus half a percent late fee," Shiler said; Nick nodded, clearly satisfied; Venom, walking ahead, snorted: "I worked my ass off stealing this electricity, and now I'm paying this much tax? A bunch of idle bloodsuckers!"

"Don't think I don't know—the other symbiotes who left? They're carrying some of the electricity you stole. If you complain again, I'll add their share to your tax—35% total, plus full late fees…" Shiler didn't even look at Venom, just sat down on the sofa.

Nick narrowed his eyes at Venom: "You're using this method to evade taxes? How much energy did they carry? Did they have at least 50% of what you're carrying? Tax Bureau? Where's the Tax Bureau?!"

"Of course not—and they've already left the planet. If you want to recover it, go search outer space," Venom said with confidence.

Venom, inheriting parts of Batman's and Stark's personalities, knew the value of preparation—or rather, he knew to flee immediately after committing a crime.

He stayed here only to draw their attention, allowing the other symbiotes carrying large sums of energy to escape quickly.

Venom understood these people's psychology perfectly: as long as they weren't all fleeing with the money or refusing to pay, they wouldn't face disaster—only a little bloodletting.

If he could give them another clue to divert attention, this whole matter might be settled. So Venom spoke up:

"There's one thing I must tell you: while stealing the faith energy, I noticed someone may have acted before me." He paused, then added: "I assumed it was you—but now it seems someone else did."

The others exchanged glances; Shiler fixed Venom with a stare: "You mean someone stole this energy before you? How do you know?"

"When I meditated, I could see the Bat totem. At first, the faith energy clinging to it was thick—almost enough to fully control it. But when I checked today, it had thinned drastically—barely a whisper, like it had just begun accumulating, nothing like the deep, long-term buildup before."

Venom described what he'd seen and offered his analysis: "During the time I wasn't observing the Bat totem, someone else—using a method similar to mine—must have drained the accumulated faith energy from these worshippers…"

Finally, Venom stated the key point: "And I'm certain—they took more than I did."

Without delay, they returned to Kamar-Taj; they recalled the other branch line they'd observed on the energy channel—though they hadn't seen energy flowing through it then, that meant they had acted earlier.

And if, as Venom said, they stole more energy, then they owed more tax.

After carefully examining the energy channel, Strange confirmed traces of faith energy had passed through it; as for who it was, no deduction was needed—they could guess easily: the Bat God was composed of two beings—one was Venom, the other was Peter.

As Strange opened the portal, Shiler said: "Peter wouldn't think of stealing electricity—he's too innocent, too pure. So who guided him? It's obvious."

Ten minutes later, Pikachu was lifted by his tail; he flailed his four tiny legs and shouted: "It wasn't me!"

Shiler gripped his electric tail, holding him close, staring into his dark, round eyes: "If not you, then who? Every bad habit Peter has came from you. Did he ever stay up gaming until 2 a. . before?"

The Vegetable Skeleton's Extraterrestrial Colonization

Shiler interrogated Pikachu; Strange patted Peter's shoulder: "No matter what Pikachu told you, Peter—forget it. That's wrong. Don't learn from him—he's an adult… I mean, an adult rat. But you're different—you've just started college…"

"Hmm…" Peter wore a conflicted expression, but seeing Pikachu, whose face was being relentlessly pinched by Shiler, he couldn't lie to his conscience—he spoke: "Actually, it wasn't Pikachu's plan…"

"Not Pikachu? Then who?" Strange asked, startled.

"It was… Helen."

Everyone froze. Loki, hearing the name, stepped forward: "Who? Helen? But she was just born a few days ago!"

"Uh, yes—but she's growing very fast, and…"

Before Peter could finish, a beam of light descended in the center of the room; a tiny figure appeared within it—Helen floated in midair, stunned by the sudden crowd in the lab.

She glanced nervously at them all, then fixed her gaze on Loki; Loki suddenly felt dread, stepped back two paces—but still couldn't stop Helen from launching herself at him.

With a thud, Helen slammed into Loki, pinning him against the wall; a piercing, earth-shattering scream echoed across New York:

"Mama… Daaaaad—!"