The silence of the forest was pierced by the crisp snap of a dry branch.
Wednesday's breath froze instantly, her body rooted to the spot as if turned to ice; only the heart within her chest cavity slammed violently against her ribs, its dull, rapid thumping sounding like the beating of war drums in her own ears.
She turned slightly, pressing her eye to a crack in the weathered wooden boards, the cold wood pressing hard against her brow bone.
What was outside? Was it those guys in the Plague Doctor masks? Or... that Joseph Crackstone, whose gaze was as pitiless as a law of physics?
A strange, scalding emotion suddenly seized her—for the first time ever, she actually found herself wishing Victor Black's noisy figure was by her side.
The moment the thought emerged, it triggered a surge of intense self-loathing that rose in her throat like bile.
Cowardice.
She cursed herself coldly in her heart.
She had already resolved to be the one to sever the chains of fear for him, yet now she craved the very person she had pushed away to serve as her shield? Absurd! Ridiculous!
Just then, the light outside the crack dimmed.
A massive, lidless, bloodshot eye suddenly pressed against it, perfectly blocking the gap and colliding directly with her gaze!
It was it! The monster that had appeared in the forest on the night of the Harvest Festival!
Unexpectedly, Wednesday's taut nerves relaxed for a brief moment.
A nearly absurd sense of "relief" replaced her extreme fear—compared to those unknown, cold, and despair-inducing "Plague Doctors" and Creston, who were like fate itself, the monster before her, radiating a bloody and savage aura, seemed... simple and direct. Familiar, even.
However, her reason quickly overrode this absurd comparison.
Just because Victor and Venom could play with it like a toy didn't mean she could.
Her strategy became clear in an instant: she had to evacuate, now.
Just as Wednesday lowered her center of gravity, her muscles tensed to sprint toward the dense forest behind her—
A dull whimper, tinged with a hint of grievance, rolled out of the monster's throat. Then, a familiar voice full of playful amusement, which she never expected to hear at this moment, spoke lazily:
"Hey, sweetie, peeking isn't a very good habit~"
Wednesday's movements jerked to a halt, her entire being seemingly frozen in an instant.
In the next second, accompanied by the crackling of splintering wood, the already precarious low wooden wall in front of her was completely smashed open by a tyrannical force, sending wood chips flying everywhere!
As the dust settled, the scene gradually became clear—
Venom's massive, hideous black form stood tall like an iron tower, one of its palms easily clutching the giant monster's throat, lifting it high like a tattered doll.
The monster kicked its legs in vain, letting out muffled whimpers.
"Victor!"
Wednesday didn't even realize that she had blurted out the name, her tone carrying a trace of urgency so faint that even she had never experienced it before.
The corner of her mouth quirked upward into a tiny, almost imperceptible curve, so fast it seemed like an illusion.
"Miss Wednesday Addams," Victor's voice rang out deeply, mixed with Venom's unique, gravelly resonance, carrying a mock-aggrieved accusation.
"Firing your Watson and then withholding his wages... that's not something a respectable employer should do, is it?"
Without waiting for Wednesday's response, he slowly turned his head back to look at the monster struggling in vain in Venom's grip, a researcher-like, almost cruel curiosity glinting in his eyes.
"Hey, big guy. To better 'taste' and 'understand' you, I specifically went to the library to look up some information." He tilted his head, his tone as light as if they were discussing a dinner menu.
"Hyde, right? Such a... name full of classical tragic beauty."
He leaned in closer. Although the monster's face was distorted from suffocation, Victor's smile grew even brighter.
"While I'm hungry enough right now to swallow a whole little dessert like you, well, before enjoying dessert, I usually prefer to have some... main course first."
His voice suddenly dropped, carrying an unquestionable threat: "Can you tell me who let you out of your cage? Or, those bastards in the plague masks—where is their kitchen... er, I mean, their lair?"
Venom cooperatively opened its bloody maw, thick saliva dripping onto the ground with a faint "hissing" sound. Its long, forked tongue licked across its jagged, sharp teeth.
"It's fine if you don't talk," it growled deeply. "I don't mind... adjusting the order of the courses."
Just then—
Bang!
A crisp gunshot tore through the forest air!
In a flash, as if he had long anticipated it, Victor moved so fast he left only an afterimage.
With just a slight shift of his arm, he used the massive Hyde as a meat shield, precisely positioning it in front of himself.
The bullet instantly sank into Hyde's thick shoulder blade, erupting in a small burst of blood.
The monster let out a suppressed, agonized roar!
"So noisy," Venom grumbled dissatisfiedly. Its other hand flashed out to scoop up a large clump of wet mud covered in rotten leaves, crudely stuffing it into Hyde's mouth as it tried to roar, completely silencing it and preventing any possibility of it spitting out another Flashbang.
Half of Victor's face was visible as he looked toward the direction of the gunshot, his expression filled with exaggerated, insincere "surprise" and deep mockery.
"Whoa! Seriously? Again?"
He drawled, the disdain in his tone almost overflowing.
"The same trick, against the same person, twice? Has your creative department gone on a collective vacation, Mr. Plague Doctor? Or is your budget only enough to buy this one 'Introductory Guide for Villains'?"
Clap, clap, clap, clap—
A slow, clear sound of clapping came from the deepest shadows of the forest.
A figure wearing the signature Plague Doctor mask stepped out unhurriedly, his posture as composed as if he were attending a banquet.
"Oh, look at you," his voice came through the mask with a strange, metallic buzzing resonance. "C-136, C-137. Long time no see. You really are... as difficult to 'archive' as ever."
Victor rolled his eyes exaggeratedly, not even bothering to fully step out from behind Hyde.
"Wow. Slow clapping? Stepping out from the darkness? Seriously, man?" He drawled, the disgust in his tone almost tangible.
"This outdated villain entrance routine isn't even used in third-rate B-movies anymore, okay? What century was your script excavated from?"
The Plague Doctor didn't seem angry; the gaze beneath the mask even held a hint of a peaceful smile.
"Really? That's a pity then." He actually shrugged with quite some regret. "Personally, I rather like this classic way of appearing."
His beak turned slightly toward Victor, as if he were sniffing carefully.
"The last few times I 'observed' you, my instruments could capture the rich, mellow aroma of fear emanating from the depths of your soul from miles away. But now..."
He paused, a hint of genuine confusion creeping into his tone. "I can hardly smell it anymore. Are you no longer afraid, C-136?"
"Hahaha—" Victor burst into a fit of laughter, the hand gripping Hyde's neck shaking in mock coordination. "Afraid! Of course I'm afraid! Can't you see my hand clutching this 'little dessert' is trembling with fear?"
He shifted gears, his tone suddenly becoming flippant and dangerous:
"You know? Before coming here, a 'Da Vinci' with prophetic dreams showed me a painting of what I'd look like strapped to your operating table in the future, covered in tubes like a circuit board. Whoa, I was so scared I almost wet my pants!"
He tilted his head as if in serious thought, and Venom's large white eyes blinked in unison.
"But then again, on second thought..." The corners of Victor's mouth pulled back into an extremely crazed grin, a desire for destruction burning in his eyes that was almost pleasurable. "If that blind old hag, Lady Luck, is destined to throw me back onto your chopping block..."
His voice suddenly dropped, filled with an unmistakable, suicidal determination:
"Then before that happens, I'll have to turn your 'kitchen' upside down, let all the 'ingredients' loose, and smash your precious instruments to smithereens!"
Venom cooperatively opened its massive maw, its bone-white teeth glinting with a cold light as thick saliva dripped down.
"That's right," it growled deeply, its voice filled with greedy anticipation. "If we bite, we'll bite off the biggest, fattest piece of meat!"
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