The young man's bones emitted a tooth-aching crack as his muscles swelled and twisted like inflating balloons, instantly bursting his clothes into shreds!
His skin rapidly transformed into an ominous, dead-rock grey. Sharp claws pierced his fingertips, and his teeth became jagged and menacing like a saw!
In just a few seconds, the skinny young man was gone.
Replaced by a massive, hunchbacked monster filled with pure destructive desire—
The Hyde!
That's right. The person here was none other than Tyler Galpin.
"ROAR—!!!"
The Hyde that Tyler had become let out a deafening roar, the sound waves nearly lifting the ceiling.
Its primal eyes locked dead onto all the "prey" ahead—
Shadow Ninjas, Hak Foo, and every living thing in its sight!
No tactics, no skills, just the rawest, most violent release of power!
Like a runaway heavy truck, it smashed violently into the group of ninjas. Where its claws waved, ninjas turned to smoke; where its giant palms struck, the hard floor cracked inch by inch!
Hak Foo's exquisite moves appeared pale and powerless before absolute strength and madness. In just one encounter, he was blown away again by the violent shockwave, slamming hard into the wall!
The existence of a Hyde was, in itself, a disaster.
And the instigator of all this chaos had already pushed his cart of "loot" and disappeared at the end of the corridor.
He hummed an off-key tune, his mood seeming to improve at the thought of the impending chocolate milkshake.
As if the hellish scene behind him was just slightly noisy background music unrelated to him.
Shendu roared futilely, Valmont looked heartbrokenly at his ruined office and the obviously out-of-control situation, while the real crisis—
The monster code-named "Hyde"—had only just begun its carnival.
"Looks like Minion No. 1 is having a blast."
Walking out of the Dark Hand headquarters building, Vic looked back at the top floor.
The huge floor-to-ceiling windows had shattered. Occasionally, Shadow Ninjas were thrown out by immense force, drawing parabolas in the air before dissipating into puffs of smoke with a poof before even hitting the ground.
The scene was quite spectacular, like an alternative fireworks show.
Honestly, Vic hadn't expected Sheriff Galpin to make that choice.
When Laurel Gates was arrested, the fact that she controlled the Hyde, and that Tyler Galpin was the Hyde, was exposed.
Although Sheriff Galpin repeatedly claimed he knew nothing of his son's crimes, it didn't change the fact that his son was a murderer.
Less than two hours after the news broke, he was decisively fired by the police department.
That afternoon, Sheriff Galpin sat in a dim room and smoked a whole pack of cigarettes.
The ashtray was overflowing with butts, mirroring his chaotic and despairing mood.
Finally, he made an extremely bold decision.
Late that night, when all was quiet.
Donovan found Vic.
Behind him was Tyler, comatose from the sedative Donovan had injected.
As soon as the door opened, Donovan dropped to his knees in front of Vic with a thud, his forehead pressed hard against the cold floor, his voice raspy and desperate:
"Please! Take him in!"
Vic, wearing pajamas and yawning sleepily, raised an eyebrow after seeing the unconscious Tyler on the floor and the kneeling Donovan:
"Yo, Sheriff Galpin? Is this... late-night food delivery service?"
On his shoulder, Venom poked his head out on cue. His massive white eyes stared at Tyler, tongue licking over sharp teeth, emitting a raspy voice:
"You're too kind."
"No! Please have mercy!"
Donovan jerked his head up. His forehead was bruised and bleeding from the force he used.
"I don't want my child locked in a dark mental hospital, only for news of 'suicide' or 'illness' to come out one day! Just like his mother!"
"I know, only you... only you have the power to protect him!"
"Use him however you want! Work him like a horse or ox! I just beg that he can live! Please!"
Saying this, Donovan slammed his forehead against the floor again and again. The dull thuds were exceptionally clear in the silent night, blood staining the floor.
The lazy expression on Vic's face gradually disappeared, replaced by blankness.
Venom also shrank back, muttering with disgust:
"Tsk... making it so tragic, I lost my appetite. What a killjoy."
After a few seconds of silence, Vic waved his hand impatiently, his tone cold:
"What a buzzkill. Fine, leave him, then get lost."
Donovan looked as if granted amnesty, tears and snot mixing with the blood on his forehead as he repeated endlessly: "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you..."
He struggled to get up, stumbling away. At the door, he looked back one last time, taking a deep look at his unconscious son, his eyes filled with immense complexity.
Finally, he gritted his teeth and closed the door, his footsteps fading at the end of the corridor.
Confirming Donovan was far away, Vic walked to Tyler and kicked him lightly with his toe.
"Stop pretending, Tyler. I don't believe a mere sedative can knock out a 'little monster' like you."
Tyler Galpin slowly sat up. His face was pale, his eyes shadowed like the sea before a storm, staring dead at Vic.
Vic looked down at him, hands in his pajama pockets, his tone flat but carrying undeniable pressure:
"So, because you have a good father, I'm giving you two choices."
"One, be a good Minion No. 1. If I tell you to go east, you don't go west. If I tell you to steal a chicken, you don't steal a dog."
"Two..."
Vic's lips curled into a dangerous arc. Venom cooperated by poking his head out again, emitting a threatening low growl, his scarlet long tongue swiping 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 shadowed gaze moved between Vic and Venom.
Finally, the madness was deeply suppressed, replaced by a resigned dead silence.
He lowered his head, squeezing a dull syllable from his throat:
"I choose one."
...
"Family love, huh? How enviable. Good thing I have it too."
Vic's mouth curved up. He casually stuffed the stolen goods—cough, loot—into Venom's body, leaving only three smooth talismans deftly flipping in his fingers.
Sheep, Monkey, Rat. They refracted a mysterious luster under the sunlight.
"Say, getting these talismans really took no effort at all," Vic smacked his lips, feeling a bit unsatisfied.
"Thought I'd get a trilogy out of this, but it's the finale right at the opening. This generation of Dark Hand villains isn't up to snuff."
He was pondering how to use these little stones. Embed them in Venom to test the effect?
Or just grind them into powder and mix them into chocolate to see if he could eat superpowers out of them?
Just then, a crisp and urgent female voice interrupted his thoughts.
"Uncle Jackie! Uncle Jackie! Look over there!"
Vic looked toward the sound. A little girl in a bright orange hoodie was tugging hard at the hem of a black-haired man wearing a blue short-sleeved sweater and slightly messy hair.
Her other finger pointed unceremoniously at Vic... more accurately, at the three talismans in his hand.
The man called "Uncle Jackie" turned around helplessly, still muttering:
"Jade, I've told you many times, you can't be so impatient, you have to..."
His voice cut off the moment his eyes met the talismans in Vic's hand, replaced by a gasp of disbelief.
"Ahhh! Talismans!"
The expression on Jackie Chan's face instantly became extremely shocked and tense.
He almost instinctively dashed forward, but slammed on the brakes a few steps away from Vic.
Maintaining a safe distance that wasn't offensive but allowed him to react to sudden situations.
"Uh... this... young man?"
Jackie tried to make his tone sound gentle and reliable, even though the anxiety in his eyes was overflowing.
"Those little stones you're holding, where did you find them? Could you... let me see them? Please rest assured, my name is Jackie Chan, I am an archaeologist, I am absolutely not a bad guy!"