Marvel's Venom, starting with a Hydra undercover agent.

Just then, a clear voice suddenly came from the side: "Gwen!"

Holm looked in the direction of the voice and saw a girl with long, light blonde hair, wearing a black strapless dress and dressed very elegantly, looking at Gwen sitting opposite him with a surprised expression.

"What a coincidence! I didn't expect you to be in this coffee shop too." The girl said as she walked towards them.

"I only recently discovered this store. I was planning to invite you to come with me next time, but I didn't expect to run into you today."

Seeing the girl approaching and hearing what she said, Gwen also stood up in surprise and smiled, "Hello Felicia, I didn't expect to run into you here."

After a brief greeting, Gwen was about to introduce them to each other, but the girl named Felicia didn't bother Gwen. Instead, she extended her hand to Holm and smiled, saying, "Hello, my name is Felicia Hardy. I'm Gwen's classmate and friend."

"Hello, my name is Holm Clint, Gwen's friend." Holm also gently shook Felicia's hand and introduced himself.

"Is he your boyfriend?" Felicia asked with a hint of teasing as she looked at Holm and Gwen.

Faced with Felicia's teasing, Gwen instantly felt a little embarrassed, a faint blush rising on her face, and she wanted to speak up in her defense.

But before she could even open her mouth, Holm said, "They're just good friends."

Upon hearing Holm's answer, Gwen pursed her lips and nodded in return.

"Oh~ I see~" Felicia said as if she had just realized something, and her smile became even brighter.

After the brief introduction, seeing that Felicia showed no sign of leaving, Gwen invited her to sit down next to her.

"Are you here to go shopping today?" Gwen asked curiously, looking at the few shopping bags Felicia had placed at her feet.

"Yes, because staying at home was too boring, so I came out for a walk."

Felicia nodded, then picked up a package and continued, "By the way, this is something I bought especially for you. I was planning to give it to you in class next week, but I didn't expect to run into you here."

"You can try it out here. If you don't like it, I'll take you to pick another one."

As she spoke, Felicia opened the exquisite gift box in the packaging bag and took out a dazzling diamond necklace.

"No, no, this is too expensive, I can't accept it..." Upon seeing that the gift was such a beautiful diamond necklace, Gwen quickly waved her hand and refused.

Across from them, Holm was also looking at the diamond necklace with some surprise. He hadn't expected this girl named Felicia to be so generous.

Although Holm had already deduced from her attire that she came from a wealthy family when he first saw her, this way of giving gifts still surprised him.

When Gwen refused, Felicia explained, "It's just a necklace, it's nothing. Aren't we good friends? Isn't it normal to give gifts to good friends?"

"Or do you not want to be friends with me? You were just lying to me when you promised to be friends with me a few days ago."

As she spoke, Felicia lowered her eyes, looking very dejected. Combined with her beautiful features and expression, she looked so pitiful and endearing.

"Tsk tsk tsk, quite the skill level. Gwen is about to be outmaneuvered," Holm thought to himself, observing the scene before him.

The simple-minded Gwen couldn't resist such teasing, especially since the person opposite her was such a beautiful and lovely girl. All she wanted was to be friends with her and give her a gift.

Just as Holm had predicted, Gwen didn't hold out for long. Faced with Felicia's increasingly compelling reasons and smooth moves, she was quickly outmaneuvered.

After Gwen finally agreed, Felicia smiled even more brightly and personally placed the necklace around Gwen's neck.

“Not bad, it’s barely good enough for you,” Felicia said, looking at how the necklace looked on her.

"However, it doesn't quite match your current outfit. Why don't you come shopping with me later, and I'll pick out some accessories that would suit your current look..."

“No, no, no, this is already very valuable.” Gwen refused without even thinking.

But Felicia wouldn't give up, still trying to persuade her: "Oh, they're really not valuable at all, just some little trinkets..."

Holm was starting to wonder if she liked Gwen, since even between opposite sexes, it wasn't unusual to spend so much money to make friends.

But he could also sense that Felicia didn't have any bad or strange intentions towards Gwen; she simply wanted to become good sisters and friends with her.

Faced with this situation, he was even more confused. After thinking it over, he could only think that perhaps wealthy people like Felicia had such unique ways of making friends.

Holm was happy that Gwen had made new good friends and had good sisters and best friends, because he knew that Gwen also longed for true friends.

Although he could be considered one, he was, after all, of the opposite sex, so there were still some topics and conversations that couldn't be initiated.

With that thought in mind, Holm told Gwen and Felicia, then got up and prepared to leave, taking the clothes Gwen had given him, leaving them alone.

As he got up to leave, he exchanged a glance with Gwen about what he had just said, indicating that she didn't need to worry too much.

After the conversation, Holm waved to Gwen, smiled politely at Felicia, and then left the coffee shop.

Chapter 150, Garrett is back.

As Holm walked away, a hint of displeasure flashed in Felicia's eyes.

She didn't actually like Holm. Partly because he was close to Gwen, and she didn't believe a man and woman could be friends with someone with ulterior motives. Another reason was that she thought Holm was being a bit too much.

This guy's relationship with Gwen is definitely not that simple, because when she arrived, she saw them holding hands.

But when she asked, Holm completely distanced himself from the matter...

"As expected, no man is any good," Felicia thought to herself.

“Felicea, would you like something to drink?” Gwen asked Felicia, who was leaning against her, while looking at the menu.

Upon hearing this, Felicia snapped out of her sullen cursing of Holm and, with a bright smile still on her face, looked at Gwen and replied, "A glass of juice will do."

"So how about we go for a walk together after we finish drinking? It's so rare for us to run into each other today, and it's so boring for me to wander around alone~" Felicia said, blinking her big eyes at Gwen.

Faced with such coquettishness, Gwen could only give in and agreed to go shopping with Felicia later.

Looking at Felicia's captivating charm and her ever-changing temperament—sometimes lively, sometimes cute, and sometimes intellectual and elegant—Gwen couldn't help but feel a little envious.

Felicia's personality and temperament unintentionally attracted a large number of suitors, although she herself had always been dismissive and even somewhat disgusted by them. This also shows how powerful her type is in attracting men.

Thinking of this, and remembering what Holm had just said about them being just ordinary friends, Gwen couldn't help but bite her lip.

If she were as charming as Felicia, Holm probably wouldn't have said that, or even if he did, he certainly wouldn't have thought it that way.

Holm had no idea what kind of impact his usually measured words would have on Gwen's heart.

At that moment, he was driving home, swaying and staggering.

"That pretty woman doesn't seem to like you very much," Venom said as he rolled around in the passenger seat.

Holm nodded in agreement and said, "I felt it too. Although she seemed very polite and enthusiastic, I could still see the hidden awkwardness and the occasional flashes of disgust."

"But that's okay. She's Gwen's friend, not mine. As long as she gets along well with Gwen, that's fine."

"Speaking of which, Gwen is usually busy enough. I didn't expect her to be able to make friends. Next time we meet, I must ask her how she became friends with that girl named Felicia."

As they chatted, Holm had already arrived near his home.

Just after crossing the street corner, Venom and Holm both sensed something at the same time. Venom then returned to Holm's body with a whoosh, and Holm immediately adjusted his expression and state, pretending to be nonchalant, and drove to the parking spot.

"Why are these people here today?" Venom said in his consciousness after returning to Holm's body.

Hearing its words, Holm was also somewhat surprised and said, "I didn't expect it either. I thought he would come in a couple of days. I didn't expect him to be in such a hurry."

As soon as he turned the corner, he sensed that there were many more people hiding around him. He knew without even trying that the familiar grand procession meant that John Garratt had come to see him again.

He had expected Garratt to come back tomorrow or the day after, but he didn't expect him to come today, even though he had just returned today.

So, is Sokovia's mission really that important to them? Or is there some new matter they need him for?

Holm casually parked the car and went upstairs while pondering his thoughts, not even taking the clothes and gifts Gwen had given him.

When he opened the door and went into his room, he saw Garrett sitting on the sofa in the same familiar posture, with his hairstyle and clothes still impeccably styled.

"Sir! What brings you here! I'm so sorry to have kept you waiting." Holm said to Garrett with surprise and apology.

Although it wasn't his fault, since Garrett neither told him he was coming nor gave him any notification, under these circumstances, as a subordinate, this was the only thing he could say to express his attitude.

Sure enough, seeing that Holm's attitude remained so humble, Garrett's eyes subtly changed.

He pointed to the sofa next to him and, as always, asked Holm to sit down and talk.

After Holm sat down, he immediately said, "You did a great job with the Sokovia matter. Although there were some unexpected changes along the way, you still completed the mission successfully."

“Now that Strucker is dead, the situation at Sokovia Hydra has become chaotic, and our people inside are gradually taking control of the situation. This is all thanks to you for completing the mission.”

Hearing Garrett's praise, Holm lowered his head slightly and said, "I just did what I was supposed to do, there's nothing to be proud of."

“Haha, you should be proud.” Garrett chuckled, a rare occurrence for him. “I saw the results you left behind there. Well done, very cleanly.”

"It's a good thing you were sent; otherwise, anyone else probably wouldn't have been able to even break through the outer perimeter, let alone complete this mission."

Faced with Garrett's praise once again, Holm continued to respond humbly, while secretly being wary of what this guy was up to this time.

He had never failed a task in the past, and could be said to have completed each one perfectly, but he had never said much, so there must be a reason for his unusual behavior today.

With that in mind, Holm took out his special camera, which contained photos and some information.

He originally intended to compile the information before submitting it to Garrett, but he didn't expect the other party to come to him today, so he just took out the information directly to avoid having to compile it again later.

“These are the records I made during the mission, and I’d like to give them to you for your review…” Holm said as he handed the items to Garrett.

Seeing this, Garnett took the camera and then held it to his eye to look through it.

A moment later, he put down his camera and continued looking at Holm, asking, "By the way, you must have spoken with Strucker during the mission, right? What did you say? Given that guy's personality, he would never obediently go to his death; he must have said a lot of persuasive things."

Chapter 151, Pierce's Lunch Invitation

Seeing Garrett's slightly sharpened gaze fall upon him, Holm nodded without hesitation and replied, "Your understanding of him is correct; he did indeed utter a lot of nonsense before he died."

Holm then recounted Strucker's recruitment of him and his evaluation of Pierce in detail, without altering a single word except for omitting some necessary exchanges.

As Garrett's expression grew increasingly grim with each word he spoke, Holm remained outwardly composed, but inwardly he was already laughing.

I wonder how this guy will respond to his opponent's remarks about his boss?

"...Actually, I didn't even know who Pierce was, so after taking care of that invisible man, I immediately went after Strucker."

"He initially tried to escape through the secret passage when he sensed the situation was turning against him, but I snapped his neck in one go..."

As Holm finished speaking, Garrett angrily slammed his fist on the sofa, then gritted his teeth and cursed, "Good riddance! That damned bastard dared to say such things to slander Lord Pierce! That damned bastard! He'll go to hell!"

After he finished yelling, Garrett realized he had lost his temper, so he let out a long breath to calm himself down.

After making the adjustment, he explained to Holm, who looked somewhat bewildered, "You were right not to listen to that guy's nonsense; everything he said was utter rubbish!"

"Lord Pierce is the current leader of Hydra and our superior. He is not what that damned Strucker said. On the contrary, he cherishes talent and values ​​young people. Therefore, your future is definitely immeasurable and will not be what Strucker thinks."

Hearing this, Holm quickly nodded and said sincerely, "I understand. I have always been grateful to the organization for its training and high regard for me, and I believe that I can fully demonstrate my abilities, do more for the organization, solve problems for Lord Pierce, and share your worries."

Hearing Holm's response, Garrett nodded in satisfaction and said, "Your intelligence is what I've always admired most; the organization needs people like you."