"Well, well, Detective Donovan? What's this... late-night room service?"
On his shoulder, Venom obligingly poked out its head. Its huge white eyes fixed on Tyler, its tongue licking over sharp teeth as it rasped:
"How terribly considerate."
"No! I beg for your mercy!"
Donovan abruptly lifted his head. His forehead was already bruised and scraped from the force, seeping blood.
"I don't want my child locked away in a pitch-black psychiatric hospital, only to hear one day that he 'committed suicide' or 'died of illness'! Just like his mother!"
"I know, only you... only you have the power to protect him!"
"Use him however you want! Treat him like a beast of burden! I just beg for him to live! Please!"
As he spoke, Donovan began banging his forehead against the floor, one heavy thud after another. The dull impact sounds were starkly clear in the silent night, blood smearing on the floor.
The lazy expression on Victor's face gradually faded, replaced by impassivity.
Venom also retracted, muttering disdainfully:
"Tsk... making it all so tragic, I've lost my appetite. What a buzzkill."
After a few seconds of silence, Victor finally waved a hand impatiently, his tone icy:
"What a downer. Fine, leave him. Now you can get lost."
Donovan felt as if granted a great reprieve. Tears and snot mingled with the blood on his forehead as he kept repeating: "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you..."
He struggled to his feet, staggered away, and at the doorway, took one last look back at his unconscious son, his gaze profoundly complex.
Finally, gritting his teeth, he closed the door, his footsteps fading down the corridor's end.
After confirming Donovan was gone, Victor walked over to Tyler and nudged him with his toe, not too lightly, not too heavily.
"Cut the act, Tyler. I don't believe a mere sedative shot could knock out a 'little monster' like you."
Tyler Galpin slowly sat up. His face was pale, his eyes shadowy like a sea before a storm, fixed intently on Victor.
Victor looked down at him, hands in his pajama pockets, his tone flat yet carrying an undeniable pressure:
"Well then, because you have a good father, I'm giving you two choices now."
"One, obediently become my Underling Number One. If I tell you to go east, you don't go west. If I tell you to steal a chicken, you don't touch the dog."
"Two..."
A dangerous curve touched the corner of Victor's mouth. Venom cooperatively poked its head out again, emitting a threatening growl, its crimson long tongue brushing past Tyler's cheek.
"Be Venom's dessert. You know he's wanted to eat you for a long time."
Tyler's Adam's apple bobbed. His shadowy gaze shifted between Victor and Venom.
Finally, that flicker of madness was deeply suppressed, replaced by a resigned stillness.
He lowered his head, squeezing out a muffled syllable from his throat:
"I choose one."
..."Family love, how enviable. Good thing I have some too."
Victor's lips curled upwards. Casually, he stuffed the loot, ahem, the spoils into Venom's body, leaving only his fingertips nimbly juggling three warm, smooth talismans—
The Sheep, the Monkey, and the Rat. They refracted a mysterious luster under the sunlight.
"Honestly, getting these talismans was a breeze," Victor smacked his lips, somewhat unsatisfied.
"Thought there might be a whole trilogy to play out, but it ended as soon as it began. This generation of Dark Hand villains really isn't up to snuff."
He was pondering how exactly to use these little stones. Try embedding them on Venom to test the effects?
Or maybe just grind them into powder and mix them into chocolate to see if eating them grants superpowers?
Just then, a clear, urgent female voice interrupted his thoughts.
"Uncle jackie! Uncle jackie! Look over there!"
Victor followed the sound. He saw a little girl in a bright orange-red hoodie tugging hard at the sleeve of a black-haired man wearing a blue short-sleeved knit sweater, his hair a bit messy.
Her other hand pointed unceremoniously at Victor... more accurately, at the three talismans in his hand.
The man called "Uncle jackie" turned around helplessly, muttering:
"Jade, I've told you many times, you can't be so impulsive, you have to..."
His words cut off abruptly the moment his gaze landed on the talismans in Victor's hand, replaced by a cry of disbelief.
"Aah! The talismans!"
The expression on Jackie Chan's face instantly turned to one of extreme shock and tension.
He almost instinctively took a swift step forward but slammed to a halt a few paces away from Victor.
Maintaining a safe distance that was neither intrusive nor too far to react if needed.
"Uh... young... man?"
Jackie Chan tried hard to make his voice sound gentle and reliable, though the anxiety in his eyes was practically overflowing.
"Those little stones you're holding... where did you find them? Could you... let me take a look? Please rest assured, my name is Jackie Chan. I'm an archaeologist. I'm absolutely not a bad person!"
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