Chapter 129: The Invisible One, Fusion
The bus continued driving toward downtown Los Angeles. The high-rises on both sides of the main road grew more and more numerous.
Suddenly, Xi Nian felt a weight on his right shoulder. Glancing to the side, he saw Lorna with the lollipop stick still in her mouth, her eyes closed as she drifted into a drowsy sleep. Her little green-haired head leaned against his shoulder.
Sunlight poured through the window, falling across her small face, making her look even purer and younger.
This boss—was she really here to fight extraordinary battles? Or was she here for a vacation?
Xi Nian felt a little speechless, but he let her continue to rest on him.
Lorna's body hadn't completely recovered yet. He wasn't sure how much of her powers she could even use.
So when it came to facing whatever terrifying organization might be lurking ahead, Xi Nian still thought it best to handle it alone.
Right now, he had three options.
First: let Xiao Huang, the little Flerken cub, bite him, then have her parasitize him so he could transform again into the triple-fusion "Venom-Cat Xi Nian" mode.
In that state, no matter if it was cyborgs or terrorist groups, he could crush them all with overwhelming strength. But the risk of losing control was real, and the dark, violent tendencies of that form made it unsuitable while he was also taking care of a fragile "little patient" like Lorna.
Besides, if the triple-fusion form appeared in this city, Iron Man might decide to make him the priority target.
Second: let the Venom symbiote inside Xiao Huang parasitize him directly, and then let him, in symbiote form, bond with Lorna.
That would definitely be strong enough, and it would give Lorna the satisfaction of taking revenge herself. But there was still the problem—Lorna was too weak right now. Xi Nian had no intention of counting her as combat strength.
Others might see Lorna as a powerful leader of mutants, but in his eyes, she was just a girl who needed protecting.
Of course, if Lorna knew what he was thinking, she'd definitely explode with anger.
The last choice: take Lorna's powers for himself.
With the strength of her ability, as long as Xi Nian used it normally, anything short of an alien invasion like the Battle of New York could be handled easily.
Xi Nian lowered his head suddenly. In the sunlight, her lips gleamed faintly from the syrup of the lollipop, translucent and glossy.
Ahem. For the record, he really wasn't a pervert.
…
The bus kept moving forward. But as they reached a large bridge across the river, traffic began to jam up, and the bus slowed to a crawl.
By the time they got near the middle of the bridge, the bus had completely stopped. Cars were jammed tightly in every direction, and impatient drivers leaned on their horns.
Xi Nian frowned. A wave of heavy, stifling heat rolled in through the window.
Outside, the sun shone brightly. But even though it was only February, it suddenly felt like the middle of summer.
Drip.
A bead of sweat fell from Xi Nian's chin. Looking down, he saw his palms were slick with sweat.
He wasn't the only one. Many passengers on the bus were wiping their faces with tissues, muttering complaints.
Glancing at Lorna, he noticed she was still fast asleep, completely unaffected, not a single bead of sweat on her.
He had to admit, when she was asleep, she actually looked very well-behaved.
Another five minutes passed.
The traffic jam didn't ease one bit. If anything, it got worse.
The driver finally opened the bus doors to let in fresh air. People from nearby vehicles were already climbing out.
"Xi Nian, something's wrong." Suddenly, Jarro's voice echoed in his mind.
"What did you sense?" Xi Nian narrowed his eyes.
"Not sure yet. It's a bit far—I need to get closer." Jarru replied.
"What's wrong?" Lorna had woken up now. Rubbing her eyes, she asked sleepily.
"Stay here. Don't move. I'll go check." Xi Nian stood up, but Lorna immediately clutched his arm tightly.
"I told you, don't leave me," she muttered. "Besides, when it counts, don't you need me?"
"…Fine. Together then."
Knowing he couldn't persuade her, Xi Nian led Lorna off the bus and onto the crowded bridge.
Looking around, he saw streams of pedestrians all moving toward the center of the bridge. The atmosphere was almost lively.
"Looks like there was a car accident ahead."
"Let's check it out. It's boiling in these cars."
"Come on, bro, let's get a video of it!"
Excited chatter buzzed from people passing by.
"Jarro, the problem you sensed—it's connected to the accident up ahead?" Xi Nian asked in a low voice.
"The direction is right," Jarro said, "but it's not the accident itself. Something else is there."
"Then maybe we should just stay in the bus."
Xi Nian knew his body naturally attracted extraordinary trouble, especially from women with powers. Best not to go poking trouble head-on.
But Lorna's gemstone eyes lit up with curiosity. "What happened up there? Little brother, let's go see!"
Her frail body tugged on his arm, urging him forward.
Xi Nian sighed. If it really was extraordinary trouble, it wasn't like he could avoid it anyway. So he followed the crowd forward.
Near the middle of the bridge.
Xi Nian saw several cars wrecked and overturned. One overturned muscle car was blocking almost the whole bridge. That was the cause of the traffic jam. Around it, crowds of people had formed a human wall, snapping pictures and recording videos.
"Little brother, look to the right. What's that?" Lorna suddenly pointed.
Following her finger, Xi Nian's eyes widened.
It was a bald, shirtless giant!
Unlike an ordinary man, his arms, torso, even his face looked like they were made of rough brown stone. His huge, hulking body was bulky and monstrous, his appearance downright terrifying.
The Thing?
Before Xi Nian could think further, Jarro's voice came again. "Another strange presence is coming this way!"
"Where?" Xi Nian scanned the crowd, but saw no one.
Then—something strange happened.
The crowd in front of him suddenly cried out, stumbling to the sides as though shoved by an invisible force, creating a clear path.
Xi Nian didn't have time to dodge before he bumped into something soft and warm, with a cushion-like resistance. From the empty air came the faint gasp of a woman!
"Someone's there." Lorna's eyes gleamed curiously at the empty space. "Invisible?"
"Who's here?" Instinctively, Xi Nian stretched out his hand and grabbed hold of something hot, soft, and smooth. It felt like the slender waist of a woman.
"Let go!" the invisible woman shouted, flustered and embarrassed.
"Oh, sorry!" Xi Nian quickly tried to pull his hand back. But his palm seemed stuck, clinging to her body. When he drew back, he yanked her with him—
Thud!
Xi Nian fell backward onto the bridge. The invisible figure landed on his chest—then both of them vanished into thin air.
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