‘Pietro’?

Zhang Ye had far too many secrets to share with outsiders.

If there was anything that could make Venom so terrified, the most likely reason was that he had once torn apart an entire timeline. One normal universe had continued on peacefully, while the contaminated one had been stored within his bottomless abyss.

But the problem was that this had happened in another universe. The number of beings who could retain memories of that universe could be counted on one hand. Zhang Ye did not believe that Venom from this universe could see through such secrets.

Although Symbiotes across parallel universes had a chance of influencing one another, the universe where Deadpool slaughtered the Marvel Universe was an exception. That universe was filled with Cognitive Contamination and twisted information. Once others "saw" that contamination, they too would fall into deep corruption.

That was probably why there were no so-called Watchers in that universe. Or perhaps the Watchers there had died before they could be contaminated. Otherwise, that place would not have gradually fallen into decay and lost control.

So the question was, since Venom knew nothing about other worlds, why was it so afraid of him?

At this point, Zhang Ye was merely an ordinary Black Wizard. He knew a little more and was somewhat stronger, but he truly could not compare to those higher-level beings. Under normal circumstances, an ordinary person like him would have been on Venom’s menu. Why was he so special?

Moreover, throughout the years Venom had constantly changed hosts, its original goodness and innocence had gradually been tainted by this dark and chaotic era. Everything on the wasteland was filled with brutality and bloodlust. After being influenced for so long, it had probably lost its original reason long ago.

Yet this very existence, one that had fallen into madness, had suddenly "woken up" the moment it saw him. That alone was worth pondering.

Zhang Ye watched Ashley, who was still fooling around with Venom as it continually dodged her, and slowly spoke.

"Alright, stop. There are some things I want to discuss with you."

Venom reacted first. It immediately froze, though Ashley still landed a punch on it. It was the only attack of hers that connected.

After punching Venom in the face, Ashley quietly calmed down as well. No matter how foolish she was, she could see how severe Venom’s fear of this man was.

To be honest, when Venom had approached Ashley and promised her unparalleled power, she had been ecstatic. She knew Venom well. She knew all the stories about her grandfather Spider-Man’s youth.

After experiencing the immense power Venom gave her, Ashley had instantly become consumed by her desire for strength. She felt that if she could control Venom, she would accomplish something even her grandfather had failed to do.

After all, Venom had only left Spider-Man because it thought Spider-Man hated it, and it had left him without hesitation.

But Ashley was not completely brainless. After obtaining the Venom suit, she became even more determined to kill Zhang Ye. She believed that if she wanted to fully control a Symbiote like Venom, she had to learn magic. Otherwise, it would be difficult to restrain it.

Ashley was not wrong, but she might have chosen the wrong person.

Seeing Venom betray her the moment it faced him, Ashley naturally understood that in a one-on-one fight, she could never be this wizard’s opponent. And he might have been far more powerful than she had imagined.

After struggling with herself for a while, Ashley gradually began to show obedience as well.

"Nice to meet you, Venom. Your reaction seems a bit excessive to me." Zhang Ye spoke calmly, slowly enunciating every word, yet the person and the Symbiote before him felt the pressure growing heavier and heavier.

"Is it? I don’t think such a tiny gesture is enough to express my lofty respect for you. Since nothing’s wrong, I’ll be taking my leave. It’s not safe out here in the wilderness." Venom shrank into a lump and lay limply across Ashley’s shoulder.

"No rush. I’m rather curious about you. In this universe, not even Count Nefaria or Eyeball Man saw through me. How did you determine my abilities?" Zhang Ye narrowed his eyes slightly.

Eyeball Man’s Eye of the Watcher was currently sitting in his magical space. Even an object of that level had failed to investigate him. What gave this little Venom the right to see through the aura around him?

"Ah, well…" Venom stammered as black slime continuously churned.

Upon hearing Zhang Ye’s question, even Ashley cast Venom a curious look. She did not possess Venom’s abilities, so naturally she had no way of knowing why it was terrified to this extent.

After trembling in fear for quite some time, Venom finally muttered softly.

"Although I possess no great power, as a Symbiote, I can still distinguish the aura of a host. There are remnants of energy from at least six dimensions lingering on you. Perhaps you cannot feel it, but I can hear countless demons’ wails echoing around you.

"I humbly speculate that you and your followers do not come from here. Their auras are extremely complicated, so complicated that I cannot tell whether they truly exist. That woman’s hands are stained with traces left behind by dead Symbiotes, and that man…"

Listening to Venom’s explanation, Zhang Ye nodded thoughtfully. It seemed he had not concealed himself well enough. It was not that Eyeball Man and Count Nefaria could not see through him, but that they were not qualified to peer upon an existence of such a level.

The Eye of the Watcher did possess that ability, but Zhang Ye could imagine that the instant Eyeball Man saw those forbidden things he could not comprehend, his brain would be burst apart by endless information.

At that thought, Zhang Ye raised his head again. "What about the man?"

Zhang Ye knew Venom was referring to Pietro.

"There is some other ‘thing’ within him. I cannot fully describe the feeling. It is like a world beyond the world, a reality born before reality itself. Just looking at him makes me feel as though I have returned to the days when I forged the Necrosword.

"But the difference is that when I forged the Necrosword, I had not yet developed intelligence. Now, however, I am experiencing that heart-wrenching, gut-twisting pain with complete clarity."

As Venom spoke, its viscous body began to tremble uncontrollably. Ashley’s outer garment started unraveling and weaving itself into cocoons, while its color shifted constantly.

Seeing this, Zhang Ye immediately frowned and turned back to look at Pietro, his eyes filled with shock and suspicion.

Noticing Zhang Ye’s gaze, Pietro spread his hands in surprise and shrugged. He had no idea what Venom meant.