Anton put down his phone, feeling satisfied and happy.
However, when it comes to wealth, it's Gotham's Bruce Wayne who truly has the fortune. Anton is far from matching him.
A man whose superpower is defined as "being rich"—terrifying indeed! In the Marvel universe, only Tony Stark and the future king of Wakanda could barely reach that level of financial prowess.
One is as wealthy as a nation, and the other takes it a step further—he is a king.
"That's a big shot we need to stick close to!"
In Eddie's mind, Venom voiced his amazement.
"As if you need to tell me."
Eddie reflexively replied aloud.
Realizing that the others were now staring at him, Eddie wished he could find a hole to crawl into, and he flashed an awkward smile.
"Let's continue our discussion! Where were we? Oh, right, the symbiotes' weaknesses are sound and fire..."
Eddie hurriedly picked up the previous topic, hoping they'd drop his strange comment.
…
Meanwhile.
A young girl walked out of San Francisco Airport.
She slipped out of her mother's grasp and disappeared into the crowd.
Ten minutes later.
While her mother was still frantically searching for her at the airport, the girl miraculously appeared on the Golden Gate Bridge.
From the airport to the bridge is about a 30-minute drive, yet the girl managed to arrive within ten minutes—a miraculous phenomenon.
Some bystanders noticed the pale-faced, expressionless girl and were curious.
But no matter how they called out, she ignored them, heading toward the Life Foundation's experimental base near the bridge.
Only the girl knew that the person she was looking for—and her companion—were there.
To the creature inside her, this world was beautiful and impossible to resist destroying.
"Hold it, little one! Where did you come from?"
A security guard at the entrance saw her, frowning as he approached, sounding impatient. "Your mom isn't here. If you're lost, I can call 911."
"Hmm?"
The girl stopped, looking at the tall, gun-carrying man in front of her.
"What's with that look?"
The guard felt a chill, sensing something was wrong.
Boom!
The girl suddenly transformed into a monster.
Though only about the size of an adult, her sharp teeth and huge mouth reminded the guard of one terrifying figure.
"No way...not again..."
The next moment, a blade-like arm from the girl pierced his chest, then tossed him aside.
The man, who had been lucky enough to survive Eddie's earlier attack, couldn't escape this time.
What goes around, comes around.
Beep, beep, beep!
The Life Foundation's experimental base was once again filled with alarm bells.
Everyone was shocked, fearing another incident like the one caused by Eddie.
That terrifying creature struck fear into all of them.
Many researchers, even those who only watched the surveillance footage, felt their hearts race and their scalps tingle.
That thing had eaten someone alive!
Boom!
The security team quickly gathered and rushed to the alarm site.
When they arrived, they saw a creature about the size of an adult, almost identical to the one Eddie had transformed into. They breathed a sigh of relief.
Thankfully, this one didn't seem as dangerous!
They had no idea it was only because it was bonded with a little girl.
When it came to combat power, Riot was probably even stronger than Venom.
…
Back with Anton and his group, their discussion didn't last long.
The plan was simple.
Once Riot appeared, they'd use his contact with Carlton Drake as an opportunity to take out both of them in one go. Time-saving and efficient.
Not that they couldn't go after Drake beforehand.
The issue was that as long as Riot remained hidden, he would continue to be a threat.
The best course of action was to wait until both targets exposed themselves.
That way, they could kill two birds with one stone and eliminate future dangers.
"By the way, Anton, when will our backup arrive?"
Eddie asked, curious.
He couldn't help but wonder.
"Things haven't been quiet in New York lately. I saw on the news that the Life Foundation sent people after the Daily Bugle. How's that going?"
After a pause, Eddie added, "I know what the Continental Hotel is. Don't forget, I worked in New York for the Globe for a long time. Our backup—is it the Batman who showed up out of nowhere and took down all the hitmen at the Continental Hotel in one night?"
Anne and Dan exchanged puzzled looks.
Not as familiar with New York and the Continental Hotel, they struggled to catch Eddie's point.
However, they immediately understood the mention of "Batman."
Batman was a hot topic on the internet.
Since he appeared in Manhattan two nights ago, Batman's photos had gone viral, even becoming memes.
After two days of going viral, Batman's coolest images had garnered countless fans.
Americans love cool guys.
If Batman wasn't cool, then no one in this world was!
As for Tony Stark, he wasn't cool—he was flashy.
Additionally, fueled by online gossip and the outstanding movie batman directed by Anton, many people believed Bruce Wayne was a real person.
Some even suspected that Anton was Batman, with Bruce Wayne being a cover he created to hide his identity.
The reasoning was extensive.
It was undeniable that the concept of Batman was first introduced by Anton.
Furthermore, Tony Stark and Anton were "friends," with "friends" emphasized in quotes.
With Tony Stark's genius mind and Stark Industries' technology, creating Batman's equipment wasn't impossible.
The only reason people didn't believe Tony Stark could be Batman was that everyone knew he could never be.
Batman and Tony Stark didn't fit—not only were they from different worlds, but they were almost different species.
So, out of the two, Anton was Batman.
Anton had seen a post with this theory and was tempted to comment, "You're way off."
Back to the story.
The fans' theory did have an irrefutable point.
Batman had dealt with the Life Foundation's hitmen who went after the Daily Bugle.
Could it be any clearer?
Then there were those who refused to believe Anton was Batman, also with solid arguments.
Anton's life story had been thoroughly investigated.
Many concluded, sealing the verdict: he was just a lucky, spoiled kid without any remarkable accomplishments—flirting didn't count, and anyone could spend money.
Yet, somehow, this spoiled kid dropped out of school and produced an exceptional movie, creating the superhero genre and defining it.
Many believed Batman was someone Anton knew.
Anton's success had to be thanks to this "Bruce Wayne" guiding him. Otherwise, how could a rich kid suddenly become a genius director? With the right backer, even a pig could fly!
Both sides argued fiercely, each refusing to back down.
Due to Eddie's relationship with Anton, Anne and Dan had also followed the Daily Bugle saga. Naturally, they were highly interested.
Both now looked at Anton, eager to hear the answer.
Anton smiled and spoke calmly.
"Batman?"
"In fact, he's already here!" He paused, a mysterious smile spreading on his face. "Whenever you need him, he'll appear right in front of you."