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

"It is not only a human invention, but also my life's achievement, and a key that can unlock the door to the future."

"I am limited by the technological development of my time, so I have no way to achieve it, but one day you will understand all of this."

"At that time, you will change the world."

At this point, Howard Stark smiled, a rare sight, his face showing a tenderness Tony had never seen before: "Tony, I've never told you before, but my greatest creation is actually you."

After the sudden display of emotion, the video abruptly stopped, the entire video had finished playing, and the projector's cover popped open automatically.

Tony was still holding the glass of chlorophyll juice, staring blankly at the curtain, his mind replaying his father's last words.

The father in the picture was completely different from the one he remembered. The Howard Stark he remembered was very strict and harsh towards him, and had never said anything about loving him or expressing any other affection.

However, judging from Nick Fury's earlier message and the emotional outpouring at the end of the film, his father did not dislike him or not care about him; he simply did not know how to express it.

Perhaps only when facing an empty camera can his father reveal his deepest thoughts and express his expectations and love for him.

In an instant, his mind raced with countless memories, including his father's scolding and stern face when he was a child, the last time he saw his parents at home when they were about to leave, and the unspoken "I love you" they had at that time.

Tony leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and thought about his past interactions with his parents and the words he had just heard in the film. His throat bobbed, as if he were about to choke up.

Just then, the laboratory door rang, and Holm walked in carrying a large dinner platter.

Upon hearing the sound, Tony quickly wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes, then turned around as if nothing had happened and said, "Is this breakfast? Has time flown by?"

Listening to Tony's words, Holm placed the tray on the messy table in the lab and said, "It's 3 a.m., and according to regulations, I have to come down and check on you."

"What? Are you afraid I'll do something rash and commit suicide, or are you afraid my palladium poisoning symptoms will suddenly worsen and I'll die in the lab?" Tony said with a nonchalant air, cracking his own vicious joke.

Holm smiled and shook his head upon hearing this, opened a small box on the plate, and took out the syringe inside to examine it.

"I don't know the specific reasons, but I think the second possibility should definitely be considered."

"This is lithium dioxide. You'll need an injection every morning and evening to suppress the palladium poisoning in your body."

“I know this stuff, this morning… Ouch! Why is this your style of giving injections?!” Before Tony could finish speaking, Holm suddenly smacked him on the neck.

Listening to Tony's complaints, Holm put the syringe back in the box and continued, "After all, if I prepare you mentally, you might feel more pain."

"How was it? Did you get anything out of the day? I think you've basically looked through everything in the box."

Hearing Holm's question, Tony shook his head, took a sip of coffee from his plate, and said, "I have no clue. I think these things are just junk. I don't know what your chief wants me to find out from here."

Hearing this, Holm paused for a moment, then composed himself and said, "That shouldn't be the case. According to our director, your father had already sorted out some of these things before he passed away, and he specifically instructed that they be handed over to you later, so there must have been something important left in there."

At this point, he pointed to the Arc Reactor on Tony Stark's chest and said, "Perhaps the clues about the Arc Reactor are hidden in those documents. After all, it was your father who conceived of it and first built it."

"When the director talked to you today, he kept saying that your father believed he was limited by the times and could not realize his great ideals, so he left them all to you to realize."

"In that case, given your father's intelligence, he should be able to see the flaws in the Ark Reactor. So he may have already found a new energy source that can replace palladium energy, but you just haven't found it yet."

Upon hearing Holm's interpretation, Tony paused, holding his coffee, realizing that his thinking had indeed been limited.

His father was a scientist even greater and more groundbreaking than him; how could he not see the flaws in the Ark Reactor?

If he really did leave him some clues about this, where would those clues be?

As Tony pondered this, he frowned slightly. Holm, seeing this, didn't say anything more, but simply took his things and left the laboratory.

He's given enough hints. As long as Tony's mind is still sharp, he'll figure it out soon and be able to discover that crucial clue.

Chapter 180, The Bargain for Subduing the Sandmen

After leaving the laboratory, Holm put his things in the kitchen and then walked towards his room.

As he passed Daisy's room, he sensed that she was fast asleep and muttering something in her sleep.

After returning to his room, he locked the door and went to the adjacent balcony.

"Phew~ I hope everything goes smoothly, so I can catch up on some sleep when I get back." Holm muttered to himself, then jumped off the balcony.

Half an hour later, in a sea area near New York, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Helicarrier was anchored.

With a soft splash, Holm emerged from the sea and submerged into the space carrier.

In the monitored area, a tall, thin man sat in front of an area, dozing off with his chin resting on his hand. Behind the special glass opposite him, an hourglass was continuously turning.

A moment later, a burly man with a full beard walked in through the door. He tapped on the tall, thin man's table and said, "It's time to change shifts. Go back to sleep."

Hearing the bearded man's reminder, the tall, thin man rubbed his eyes sleepily, then nodded, stood up, and walked outside drowsily.

As he approached the door, he suddenly turned back as if remembering something and said, "Oh, right, remember to give him the nutrient solution. When you change shifts later, remember to remind him too."

"Okay, no problem." The bearded man nodded and gave an OK sign.

Before long, the footsteps faded into the distance and disappeared, leaving only the bearded man in the area.

The bearded man looked up at the hourglass behind the specially made glass, and his previously honest and simple expression instantly changed.

This bearded man is Holm, and his purpose in coming here is self-evident: to bring the Sandmen under his control.

Since Bronsky also moved into the surveillance area of ​​the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier, the Sandman's guard force, which had been constrained by special devices, has been reduced and has been redeployed to Bronsky's side.

That's why Holm was able to seize this opportunity to come here and carry out his plans.

"Is that him in that hourglass? He looks so lifeless, completely different from before," Venom said to Holm in his mind, looking at the ordinary sand in the hourglass.

Upon hearing this, Holm took out a nutrient solution from the cabinet next to him and replied, "Don't you think about how long he's been locked up? It takes physical strength and willpower to make sand condense into a shape. If he were still trying to make the hourglass take shape, S.H.I.E.L.D. wouldn't have sent just two people here to watch over him."

“That’s true. It seems this guy has completely lost his fighting spirit,” Venom nodded and said.

Holm smiled and walked toward the special glass with the nutrient solution in his hand, thinking to himself, "So I'm here to reignite his fighting spirit and cheer him on."

"Stab!"

"Glug glug glug!" Holm stood in front of the special glass and poured the nutrient solution into the opening in front of him.

The nutrient solution flows into the hourglass through the opening, and then seeps into the pipes connected to the hourglass, gradually wetting the slowly flowing sand inside.

These sands seem to breathe, absorbing all the nutrient solution. In no time, they absorb an entire bottle of nutrient solution and then return to dryness.

Seeing that the sand was completely still, Holm opened his clothes and stood with his back to the camera, revealing a photo of himself standing with his chest exposed.

"I wonder if this little guy has given you the motivation to get back on your feet." As Holm's voice rang out, the sand in the hourglass began to tremble.

"Don't get agitated, don't show any unusual behavior," Holm gently reassured the trembling sand.

Upon hearing his voice, the sand gradually calmed down, then subtly coalesced into the shape of a mouth, which opened and closed, uttering, "What do you want to do?"

“My daughter is dead. No matter how much the person in your photo looks like her, she is not my daughter.”

Hearing William Baker's response, Holm smiled and continued, "Of course this can't be your daughter. After all, how can the dead come back to life? But this little one does look like her, and she's just as well-behaved and sensible."

"You may not know this, but this little girl grew up in an orphanage. The other children in the orphanage didn't like her, which made her withdrawn. As a result, no one has ever adopted her."

“She is now 14 years old, and the orphanage’s maximum age is 16. So if no one adopts her, she may be kicked out of the orphanage in a little over a year and then have to struggle alone in this cruel society.”

"You should know how much darkness is hidden in this city, and you can imagine what such a beautiful and helpless child would encounter in this disgusting world."

“Although you are not a good person, you are a very good father. You lost your daughter and she needs a home. In my opinion, you two are the perfect match.”

"It's just a pity that you're still trapped here. Even if this child dies a violent death in the street or is humiliated and tries every means to survive, you'll still be stuck here and never be able to get out, right?"

Holm could sense the intense emotion William Baker was trying to suppress, so after a pause, he also dropped that card and turned to talk about William Baker himself.

"Of course, it's fine if you really have no interest in this child, but you should still have some expectations for your own freedom."

"Spinning...falling, spinning...falling, trapped in this ridiculous machine every day, living like a puppet year after year on this nutrient solution, and being dragged out to do experiments from time to time, are you satisfied with this kind of life?"

"Or to put it another way, can you bear to spend the rest of your life in this pitiful little jar?"

After Holm finished speaking, William Baker asked in a hoarse voice, "So what do you want me to do? And how will you help me get out of this predicament?"

Hearing his words, Holm continued to open another bottle of nutrient solution, pouring it in as he spoke: "I need you to work for me, to sell your life and soul to me. In return, I will give you power that you can never attain in this lifetime, as well as the freedom and warm family you crave."

The silence lasted a long time, until Holm had almost finished pouring out the nutrient solution, before William Baker finally responded in a deep voice, "I accept."

Upon hearing his reply, Holm smiled and subtly mixed the small venom clone in his hand into the nutrient solution.

Chapter 181, Acquaintances within the Stark Group.

The next morning, as the sun rose above the sea and the salty sea breeze and sunlight entered the room, there was a sudden, loud knocking on Holm's door.

Holm rubbed his sleepy eyes as he opened the door, only to see Tony standing there with dark circles under his eyes and messy hair, looking at him excitedly and saying, "I know! I've got a lead on the clues my father left behind!"

"But unlocking this secret requires some tools, so I need your permission to go to Stark Industries and retrieve some items!"

As he was speaking excitedly, the door not far away opened, and Daisy, dressed in pajamas, stood with her arms crossed, looking at Tony with an unfriendly expression, and said, "Mr. Stark, it's barely dawn, and you're making such a racket so early in the morning. Don't you get any sleep?"

Before she could finish speaking, Tony turned his face. Seeing the dark circles under his eyes and his tired expression, Daisy swallowed her remaining complaints and said with some surprise, "You really didn't sleep!"

"Why don't you go get some sleep? In your current state, I'm afraid you'll die from lack of rest before you even figure out what's wrong with you," Daisy said with considerable concern.

Tony's dark circles were indeed very noticeable, making him look quite frightening.

Holm then added, following Daisy's words, "You do look a bit unwell. Why don't you go and rest for a while?"

"Just tell me what you need, and I'll send someone to Stark Industries to get it for you. It should arrive by the time you wake up."

"No, no, no, I have to go find it myself." Tony hurriedly waved his hand as soon as Holm finished speaking.

"If you're worried about me going alone, send some people for me, or you can come with me."

Faced with Tony's request, Holm could only nod: "I can go with you, but you need to rest for a while first, you're in terrible shape."

"It's okay! I'm fine! Let's go now!" Tony didn't think there was anything wrong with him at all, and pulled Holm to leave.

Seeing this, Holm gave Daisy a wink, and Daisy understood. She walked behind Tony and then reached out and knocked him unconscious.

"Finally, it's quiet. This guy is really something, he looked so pale but still wouldn't rest," Daisy said helplessly, looking at the unconscious Tony.

Seeing this, Holm helped Tony to the sofa in the living room, then shook his head and said, "He must have barely slept for the past two or three days. It seems that what has happened recently has really made him very anxious."

"Hey, what nonsense am I talking about? His life is already on a countdown before a solution is found. How could he not be anxious?"

Holm rubbed his face and then sat on the sofa chatting with Daisy until noon when Tony finally woke up.

As soon as he woke up, he hurriedly asked Holm to go to Stark Industries with him. Seeing that he didn't even want to eat, Holm had no choice but to give him two hamburgers and then take him to the garage.

On the coastal highway, Tony, while taking a bite of his hamburger, turned to Holm and urged, "Can you drive a little faster? This is a sports car, but you're driving it like a school bus taking students to school."

The rest he had just taken and the hamburger he was eating finally eased Tony's tension. Although he was still a little anxious, he was at least able to joke around with Holm.

Holm smiled and said, "I was just worried you'd choke because you hadn't finished eating."