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

Although he didn't like associating with these people who reeked of sourness, he had no better options at the moment.

He had to hide himself in order to survive the rest of his life.

Nathan Landis skillfully told lewd jokes, and together with the short man, he leered at the voluptuous figures of the young female workers, and then discussed them without restraint.

Some of the female workers avoided their harassment and quickly left the factory.

Some of the bolder, more unrestrained individuals would directly meet Nathan Landis's eyes and send him primal signals with their hooked gazes.

Nathan Landis saw all of this, but that was all he saw.

"Aren't you really going to come have a drink with us? You know Nadaya will be here soon, along with her sisters." The short man said, gesturing to his chest with his hand while raising his eyebrows and grinning lewdly.

"Nadaya really likes you. If you go over and have a few drinks with her, maybe you can sleep with her big breasts tonight."

“There will be another chance in a few days. My room isn’t ready yet. I can’t let Nadaya sleep on the floor with me, can I?” Nathan Landis winked and said in a very lewd manner.

After telling a few more pointless dirty jokes, Nathan Landis finally said goodbye to the short man and walked into the low, dilapidated alleyway toward his home.

He was expressionless, as if he weren't the same person who had just spoken to Tim.

"Squeak!" Accompanied by an unpleasant sound, the dilapidated door was slowly pushed open. Nathan Landis, as usual, checked his own arrangement to make sure everything was in order before opening the door.

He stood at the door for a moment before slowly walking into the house and closing the door.

He took off his sweat-soaked shirt and threw it on the ground, then started unzipping his pants as he prepared to go into the bathroom for a shower.

But just as he turned around, the bathroom door slowly opened.

Chapter 21, The Secret

"You're in good shape, but you look a bit thin. It seems being a factory worker is harder than being a secret agent," Holm said, looking at Nathan Landis, who had a horrified expression and had his hand on his watch.

"I've already defused the bomb, so you don't have to keep that stupid pose anymore."

Nathan Landis watched Holm warily, his hand movements remaining unchanged; he wouldn't trust Holm so easily.

“You should already be dead.” Nathan Landis’s eyes were like nails fixed on Holm’s face, as if trying to see through whether the face was a disguise or not.

“You said it yourself, it’s only right. People who should have died didn’t die, isn’t that normal?” Holm pulled over a stool and sat down, saying.

"If people who are meant to die would die, the world would be a peaceful place long ago."

"Especially people like you and me, we should have died long ago."

"Alright, let's end the discussion on philosophy here and get back to our own topic."

“Nathan Landis, you should know why I’m here. Hand over the stuff, and I promise you a quick death.”

Holm sat casually in the chair, his relaxed demeanor as if this were his territory, a stark contrast to the extremely vigilant Nathan Landis.

Nathan Landis remained silent in response to Holm's request, only silently pressing the button on his watch.

No tremendous roar or raging flames appeared; only a quiet silence spread throughout the room.

A few seconds later, pale-faced Nathan Landis slumped to the ground, his eyes gradually turning despair and emptiness.

“I just want to live,” Nathan Landis murmured almost pleadingly.

"I just want to live," Holm replied in a similarly somber voice.

"Take the stuff out. You'll have to talk sooner or later. We know all about those methods; no one can withstand them."

"So we can save each other some trouble; it's easier for you and more convenient for me."

Holm's words went unanswered; Nathan Landis remained silent, his lips pursed.

After a moment, he lowered his head as if resigned to his fate, and said in a somewhat hoarse voice, "I hope you can keep your word."

After he finished speaking, he began to feel around on the floor in front of Holm, and then slowly lifted up a wooden plank.

He first took out a folder, and then continued to take things out.

Just as the object he was holding was about to be revealed, he twisted his wrist, and a dark gun muzzle was aimed at Holm.

"Click! Click! Click!" Nathan Landis pulled the trigger repeatedly, but no bullet was fired; only the crisp sound of the trigger echoed in the room.

Nathan Landis's face turned deathly pale.

"Ha, I thought you would have sensed something was wrong when you got the gun, since the weight is different. It seems the current situation has made you a bit too nervous." Holm laughed as he looked at Nathan Landis, whose face was pale.

"Stop trying to play any tricks. My patience has its limits."

After Holm finished speaking, he also took out a bottle of medicine and a syringe from his pocket.

"Either you tell me, or I'll use it; you choose."

Hearing Holm's words, Nathan Landis forced a smile and said, "Even if I told you, you would still use it. Don't forget I'm an agent too."

After he finished speaking, he looked up at Holm and said with a mix of reminiscence and emotion, "I knew about you before, but I didn't expect you to be a Hydra too."

"Even the director probably doesn't know whether S.H.I.E.L.D. belongs to him or Hydra."

Upon hearing Nathan Landis's words, Holm raised an eyebrow slightly. Was this guy not Hydra?

What's going on here? Holm always thought Nathan Landis was a traitor to Hydra, which is why Grant Ward sent him to deal with him.

It turns out this guy was actually a genuine S.H.I.E.L.D. agent?

“You don’t know? Ha! You think I’m Hydra too? Hahaha!” Noticing the change in Holm’s expression, Nathan Landis suddenly laughed happily as well.

“I get it, I get it, ha! What a Grant Ward.”

After saying that, Nathan Landis smiled at Holm and said, "Since I'm not going to live anyway, I'll answer your question for free."

Holm didn't speak, he just stared at him expressionlessly.

Nathan Landis didn't care whether Holm wanted to listen or not, and simply leaned against the dilapidated cabinet behind him to begin his story.

Just as Holm thought, Nathan Landis was a genuine S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and had nothing to do with Hydra.

The reason why things have developed to this point can be traced back to a few years ago.

At that time, Nathan Landis, like Holm before him, was extremely eager to climb the ladder.

However, his abilities were average, and he didn't perform well in completing the tasks, so he didn't achieve any results despite his efforts for a long time.

By chance, he inadvertently discovered the secret of his colleague Grant Ward, who turned out to be a Hydra spy.

Nathan Landis's first reaction was to report the other party so he could get credit, but after careful consideration, Nathan Landis had a bolder and more perfect idea.

He confronted Grant Ward, revealing that he already knew Grant Ward's identity as a Hydra agent.

He then made some threats, gave Grant Ward a few hard blows, and then proposed the idea of ​​cooperation.

Grant Ward had no objection to this, after all, being exposed would be a big problem, but developing an informant within S.H.I.E.L.D. was a great achievement.

One is a huge problem, the other is a huge achievement; even a fool could figure out the right choice.

From then on, Grant Ward and Nathan Landis began a mutually beneficial collaboration, each playing their part to help the other accomplish their mission more successfully.

After working together for several years, they both managed to climb the corporate ladder as they had hoped.

However, despite their mutual exchange of resources, Grant Ward, who performed better, climbed the ladder faster than Nathan Landis due to the difference in their individual abilities.

Nathan Landis certainly didn't think he was less capable than Grant Ward. He believed that it was because Grant Ward had held back from him that his progress was slower than the other's. Therefore, Nathan Landis made even more outrageous demands of Grant Ward.

Grant Ward had reached his limit in his tolerance of Nathan Landis, who was incompetent and lacked self-awareness.

Grant Ward could tolerate it when Nathan Landis could still provide assistance.

But as the gap between them widened, and Nathan Landis not only couldn't help much but also kept harassing and threatening him, Grant Ward finally couldn't take it anymore.

Chapter 22, Grant Ward's Methods

He first used a series of methods to make Nathan Landis's missions fail repeatedly, and then fabricated and listed a series of evidence to secretly report him, causing him to be investigated.

Grant Ward concealed himself well while doing all this, so Nathan Landis had no suspicion of him and even asked him for help so that he could get out of trouble as soon as possible.

Grant Ward readily agreed to his request, but then intensified his efforts to solidify his identity as a traitor.

Nathan Landis had no idea that he had been proven to be a traitor, and he was still waiting for Grant Ward to help him with this.

Taking advantage of this information gap, Grant Ward fabricated a mission abroad to trick the other party into carrying it out, promising that as long as the mission was completed, he could make amends and let bygones be bygones.

Nathan Landis believed Grant Ward's arrangement, but his act of leaving the country was defined as fleeing from justice. By the time the plane landed, his name had already become a fugitive wanted by S.H.I.E.L.D.

Making Nathan Landis a wanted criminal was not the end of the matter; it was merely a summary of Grant Ward's earlier plans.

Grant Ward wanted Nathan Landis to disappear from the world, taking their secrets to hell with him.

Holm knew what happened next without needing to explain. Because he was unable to move around easily and could not use too many people, Grant Ward arranged for him to kill Nathan Landis. However, he failed the first time and was even killed by the cunning guy.

“Hehehe, Holm Clint, you should know what will happen if you hear these things. Do you think he won’t kill you just because you’re a Hydra like him?” Nathan Landis looked at Holm, a smile of pleasure and relief appearing on his pale face.

"You have no idea how amazing what I have is. If S.H.I.E.L.D. or Hydra finds out, he will die a horrible death."

"No, that's not right. It should be that even wanting to die isn't that easy. It's many times more painful than me, hahaha."

Even now, Holm remains expressionless on the stool, as if Nathan Landis's words were nothing but a fart.

He seemed not to grasp the meaning behind Nathan Landis's words at all, or rather, he simply didn't take them seriously.

Nathan Landis felt very uncomfortable with Holm's reaction; it was not what he wanted.

He dragged Holm into this mess, but Holm remained completely calm, showing no reaction whatsoever.

After pondering for a moment, Nathan Landis still couldn't figure out why, so he decided to use his last trump card.

He was lying on the ground in a strange position, his buttocks sticking up high, while he put his hand into his mouth and pressed his throat as if to induce vomiting.

Seeing his action, Holm, who had been expressionless, was finally moved. Although the change was not significant, Nathan Landis could still see the shock in his eyes.

Nathan Landis was pleased with Holm's reaction; he had finally gotten the guy to respond.

Thinking of this, he worked even harder, and the sounds of gagging became more and more frequent.

"Holy crap, this guy is disgusting! If I'm not mistaken, he must have put the thing in his stomach. He's a real ruthless guy!" Even though Holm tried to remain calm, he couldn't hide the shock in his eyes.

He genuinely hadn't expected Nathan Landis to do something like this; it completely shattered his worldview over the past two lifetimes, it was utterly absurd.

He considered that the item might not be hidden in the house, but in a place known only to Nathan Landis. He also wondered if it might be stored in that unknown bank, or even entrusted to a secret friend for safekeeping.

But he never imagined that this thing was on Nathan Landis's own body, or even inside his stomach.