When Wednesday snapped her eyes open, her vision hadn't yet fully cleared, and the first thing she saw was Victor's face, magnified to the extreme.
He was too close—close enough that she could see his long lashes and those bright eyes, currently brimming with a certain wicked amusement.
Seeing Wednesday wake up, he didn't back away; instead, he pushed his luck and leaned in a few inches closer, his lips curling into a smile that could only be described as bewitching.
"Wait, what are you trying to do?" Wednesday's breath hitched instinctively. She forced down the heart that had begun to drum wildly and disobediently in her chest, raising her hand to precisely block his chin and forcefully twisting his face to the side.
There was no helping it; with his full face exposed, his madness retracted, and only focus and a certain illusion of tenderness remaining, Victor at this moment was like a living, breathing human incubus, radiating an astounding level of attraction.
"In fairy tales..." Victor submissively allowed her to push him away, though his tone remained that irritatingly lighthearted lilt.
"Doesn't a sleeping princess always need a true love's kiss from her Prince Charming to wake her up?"
"First of all," Wednesday's voice sounded as if it had just been fished out of an ice cellar. She nimbly flipped over and stood up, brushing off non-existent grass clippings from her person.
"I am not a princess. Secondly, if your lips dare to touch me, I will let you experience firsthand the fundamental difference between sleeping and eternal rest."
"Alright, alright," Victor raised his hands in surrender, though his face showed not a hint of regret. Instead, he grinned like a cat that had successfully stolen a treat. "Your way of waking up really isn't romantic enough, Miss Wednesday Addams."
He changed the subject: "During your... well, 'nap,' the other teams have already set off with their flags for quite some time. If we still want to win, we need to speed up."
Before his voice had even faded, pitch-black symbiotic matter surged from his neck, quickly covering his entire body.
Venom's massive form coalesced. It looked down at Wednesday, its giant white eyes blinking.
In the next moment, one of its thick, flexible tentacles expertly and indisputably wrapped around Wednesday's waist. Before she could even voice a protest, it easily lifted her off the ground and steadily 'fixed' her onto its broad, muscular shoulders.
"Is this posture absolutely necessary?"
Wednesday's voice came from behind Venom's neck, cold as an icicle, though she adjusted her seating position to make herself more stable.
"Hey! This is a VIP exclusive ride!"
Venom twisted its massive head, grinning with a mouth full of sharp teeth. Its voice was deep and full of banter. "That Victor kid was just shouting in my head, saying he'd much rather use a bridal carry—"
"This posture is fine." Wednesday interrupted decisively, her fingers instinctively grasping the cool, elastic'skin' on Venom's shoulder.
"Speed. Now."
"Aye aye, Captain!" Venom let out a rumbling laugh and said no more. Its massive body exploded with a terrifying speed completely at odds with its size, like a bolt of black lightning skimming the ground, it suddenly lunged into the woods, hurtling toward the shore!
The wind howled past Wednesday's ears, and the trees on either side turned into blurred streaks of green.
She squinted slightly, feeling this extraordinary mode of transport, and ruthlessly suppressed the strange emotion rising in her heart due to the high speed and turbulence (and perhaps something else).
Like a black hurricane, Venom carried Wednesday back to the shore of the Black Lake, stopping steadily beside their canoe.
"Victor! You're finally back! What happened? Why did it take so long?" Enid immediately rushed forward, her face written with worry and urgency.
She was worried about their safety and anxious about the extremely unfavorable situation—the shadows of the golden beetle and several other boats had already become small dots in the middle of the lake!
"No need to worry, Enid," Victor's voice came from beneath the gradually receding form of Venom, carrying his usual, infuriating leisure. "Let the bullets fly for a while longer."
As soon as he finished speaking, Venom fully retracted into his body. Losing her support, Wednesday suddenly fell from mid-air—
Only to land precisely in Victor's already open arms, caught by him in a perfectly standard bridal carry.
"See," Victor looked down, smiling at the instantly stiffened Wednesday in his arms, his beautiful eyes flashing with a successful, delighted light. "As expected, I still prefer this posture."
Wednesday reacted as if she had been touched by a red-hot iron, launching herself out of his arms with a speed that exceeded human limits. She even stumbled slightly when her feet hit the ground.
She whipped around to face away from him, trying to cover her momentary panic with a cold command: "Depart. Immediately."
Her voice was still icy, and her posture of giving orders remained indisputable, but her slightly faster-than-usual speech and her deliberate avoidance of his gaze betrayed a rare trace of unnaturalness.
Victor looked at her and let out a low laugh. In high spirits, he was the first to jump onto the boat. "Aye aye, Captain~"
Under the effect of several tentacles split off by Venom churning the water like biological propellers, the black cat shot out like an arrow from a bow, breaking across the lake surface at an incredible speed.
Soon, the figures of the contestants ahead, who were rowing hard and thinking victory was in sight, became clearly visible.
"Oh my~" Victor stood at the bow, shading his eyes with his hand as he looked out, his tone full of feigned regret:
"The speed of the return journey isn't proportional to the speed of the desperate escape earlier... It seems everyone has become a bit slack. You need a little 'motivation' to pick up the pace."
He grinningly pulled a round, "chocolate-flavored grenade" from within Venom, weighed it in his hand, and showed a smile as innocent and cruel as a child's.
"The final carnival game begins now~"
However, as if he had suddenly thought of a brilliant idea, his movements paused. He turned around, his gaze falling on Enid, who was rowing hard, and his eyes lit up.
He pulled out another grenade and stuffed it into Enid's hand.
"Hey, Enid!" His tone was as relaxed as if he were inviting her to play catch. "Don't just watch, you throw a few for fun too!"
Enid looked at the heavy, black, dangerous object in her hand. Her scalp instantly went numb, and she shook her head like a rattle. "No, no, no! Victor! This definitely won't do! I—I'll cause trouble!"
"Oh, come on~ just try it~" Victor instantly leaned in close, like a large, clingy black cat, gently rubbing his shoulder against Enid's.
Victor's voice softened, carrying a sweet, drawn-out lilt. Those beautiful eyes blinked, filled with pure expectation. "Please, please~ it's really fun~ I'm begging you~ baby~"
That word "baby" acted like a magic spell. Combined with his highly deceptive face and coquettish tone, it hit Enid with pinpoint accuracy.
She felt as if her bones had lost several pounds of weight. Her cheeks instantly turned beet red, and her head felt dizzy, as if she were drunk.
"O... Okay..."
With a dazed look in her eyes, she almost instinctively and confusedly gripped the grenade tightly, even subconsciously mimicking Victor's manner by hooking her finger through the small pin.
Wednesday watched Victor's smooth-as-flowing-water process of "casting a spell" with an expressionless face, her lips slightly pursed.
This guy really pushed his physical attributes and acting talent to an outrageous extreme within the limits of the situation.