Chapter 79 Savior
Spider-Man knew there was no other way.
The zombie virus had been ravaging this Universe for too long, and all known medical means could not cure the infection.
There was only one dose of the antidote, and faced with two infected people, he could only save one.
Choose Gwen and Aunt Mei would die, choose Aunt Mei and Gwen would die.
One of them had to die...
This sense of powerlessness was like an invisible hand, tightly gripping his throat.
He once thought he was Spider-Man, a hero who could save everyone.
But now he found that he couldn't even protect the person he loved most.
Gwen looked at his back, her eyes full of heartache.
She wanted to stand up, but the wound on her leg made it impossible for her to exert any strength, so she could only lean against Aunt Mei and speak in a low voice.
"Peter, Peter, look at me."
Spider-Man slowly turned around, his eyes under the mask bloodshot.
He didn't dare to look into Gwen's eyes or at Aunt Mei's face.
He was afraid he would break down.
"You've tried your best," Gwen said. "No matter what choice you make, I won't blame you."
"I blame myself," Spider-Man said in a hoarse voice.
Aunt Mei gently patted Gwen's hand and then looked at Spider-Man.
"Child, come here."
Spider-Man walked up to her and squatted down.
Aunt Mei reached out and tremblingly removed his mask.
Revealing the young and weary face beneath, with swollen, red eyes and cracked lips.
"You're a good boy," Aunt Mei looked at him. "Always have been."
"Aunt Mei..."
"Don't cry." Aunt Mei wiped the corner of his eyes for him. "I've lived for so many years, it's enough. Gwen is still young, she still has a long way to go, you save her."
"No." Spider-Man shook his head. "I... I don't know what to do..."
Just at this moment.
A figure descended from the sky.
Spider-Man suddenly stood up, instinctively blocking in front of Gwen and Aunt Mei.
Spider-Sense did not sound an alarm, but his body remained tense as he vigilantly looked at the newcomer.
"Who are you?"
Arthur looked at him, and then glanced at Gwen and Aunt Mei behind him.
His gaze lingered on the two people's wounds for a second, and Arthur used the loan feature, directly borrowing the system's reward out.
Spider-Man said with a full face of vigilance: "Who are you?"
"Just passing by." Arthur handed over a tube of blue potion. "This can clear the zombie virus in their bodies."
Spider-Man took the potion, hesitating slightly.
"Really?"
"I never lie."
Seeing that Arthur's face was full of sincerity, Spider-Manimmediately rushed in front of Gwen and Aunt Mei, injecting the zombie serum.
Instantly, the wounds on their bodies began to heal at a speed visible to the naked eye.
The wounds bitten by the zombies quickly closed, scabbed over, and fell off.
Their pale faces regained a rosy hue, and their weak breathing became steady and powerful.
"This..." Gwen widened her eyes, touching her intact arm, "How is this possible?"
Aunt Mei was also stunned. She moved her right leg and found that the wound had completely disappeared, and even the pain was gone.
Spider-Man stared blankly at all this, then abruptly turned his head to look at Arthur.
"Why do you have this kind of serum, and who are you?"
"Arthur Stark, older brother of Iron Man Tony Stark." Arthurtilted his head. "From another Universe."
"You come from another Universe?" Spider-Man was a bit nervous; could this zombie virus have come from another Universe?
"Don't be nervous," Arthur continued. "I mean you no harm.
I originally wanted to go back to my own Universe, but the Space Stone's positioning deviated and dropped me here."
He looked around, gazing at the ravaged city, the wandering zombies on the streets, and the lead-gray sky.
"How long has the zombie virus in this Universe been spreading?"
"Three years." Spider-Man's voice was very low. "Three years ago, a UFO crashed in Central Park, carrying a virus never seen before."
At first no one took it seriously, but soon, the infected people began to mutate.
They lost their minds and attacked all living things.
People who were bitten would also be infected and then turn into the same things.
"What about the Avengers?"
"Mr. Stark was infected the earliest." Spider-Man's voice choked a little. "He was bitten in a fight."
He thought he could isolate the virus with his armor, but the virus entered his body.
Then came Captain America, Hawkeye, Black Widow... one after another.
"I've already dealt with Hulk and Iron Man," Arthur raised an eyebrow. "Captain America too."
Spider-Man was stunned for a moment, then slowly lowered his head.
"Thank you."
"How many survivors are left in this Universe?"
"I don't know." Spider-Man shook his head. "I've been operating in Manhattan, occasionally running into a few living people."
But most people were infected or dead.
I heard there is a survivor camp over in New Jersey, but I can't get in touch with them.
Arthur raised his head, Super Vision piercing through the clouds and sweeping across the entire city.
Super Hearing captured the sounds of every corner, searching for the heartbeat of survivors.
"There are thirty-seven survivors left in Manhattan," Arthursaid. "They are mainly concentrated in three places."
There's a group in the underground subway tunnel, a few in an apartment building in Queens, and some in the basement of Grand Central Station.
Spider-Man widened his eyes: "How do you know?"
"I can hear their heartbeats." Arthur withdrew his gaze and looked at Spider-Man.
"I will clear out the zombies in this city and take the survivors to a safe place, but I need you to help me do something."
"What is it?"
"You are the Spider-Man of this Universe," Arthur said. "You know this city and these people better than I do."
I need you to help me organize the survivors, comfort their emotions, and ensure they won't get hurt in the chaos.
Spider-Man glanced at Gwen and Aunt Mei. Gwen was looking at him with eyes full of encouragement, and Aunt Mei also nodded at him.
"Okay." Spider-Man took a deep breath, "I'll help you."
Chapter 80 Survivor Settlement, Zombie Wanda?
After hearing Spider-Man's words, Arthur glanced at him in surprise.
"Are you sure? Those zombies outside don't look like the street punks you used to deal with."
"I know." Spider-Man nodded, his tone heavy, "But I know this city better than you. I have a rough idea of where people are hiding and where small groups of survivors are.
You have no problem clearing out zombies alone, but when it comes to finding people, I'm more efficient than you."
Arthur raised an eyebrow, not expecting Spider-Man to demonstrate his usefulness so quickly.
What was this?
Was it because he found someone stronger and was eager to prove his worth?
Spider-Man turned around, walked over to Gwen and Aunt Mei, knelt down, and spoke softly:
"Aunt Mei, Gwen, you stay here for now."
"What about you?" Gwen grabbed his wrist.
"I'm going with him to clear out the zombies and bring back the other survivors along the way."
Spider-Man patted her hand, wearing a reassuring smile.
"Don't worry, I won't be in any danger, and we'll also take care of the zombies around here."
Aunt Mei looked at him, words hanging on her lips, but ultimately just nodded.
"Be careful."
Spider-Man stood up, put his mask back on, and walked toward Arthur.
Arthur took a Senzu Bean out of his pocket and tossed it to him.
"Eat it. This thing can restore your stamina. Even though you're weak, stepping up at a crucial moment… means you live up to the title of a superhero."
Spider-Man caught the Senzu Bean, hesitated for a second, and then shoved it into his mouth.
The moment the Senzu Bean slid down his throat, a warm surge of energy spread through his body, completely wiping away his accumulated fatigue, hidden injuries, and mental exhaustion.
"This thing is insane." Spider-Man's eyes lit up, his face filled with surprise.
He had originally felt as if his body was about to collapse, filled with exhaustion from head to toe.
Yet now, with a single bean down his stomach, everything had changed.
Not only was his entire body refreshed, but even his previously hazy mind had now become exceptionally clear.
"Let's go."
Arthur raised his hand, a blue light enveloped Spider-Man, and the two instantly vanished from the spot.
In this Universe, New York was filled with all sorts of zombies.
And with Spider-Man in tow, Arthur's first stop was Queens.
"On the third floor of the building to your left, there are four survivors." Arthur hovered in mid-air, scanning the surroundings with his Super Vision.
"The entrance to the underground parking lot on the right is blocked by a truck, and there are a few inside as well."
"How do you know so clearly?" Spider-Man swung on his webs behind him.
"I can hear their heartbeats, and my Super Vision can see right through buildings."
"What about my clothes…"
"Yes." Arthur said noncommittally, "You're no different from running around naked in front of me."
Spider-Man: "…"
Aren't you being a bit perverted?
After a moment of silence, Spider-Man swung toward the building on the left.
A few minutes later, he came out of the building with four dust-covered civilians—two men and two women who looked like a family.
They were sent by Arthur to the rooftop of the Empire State Building using the Space Stone.
Gwen and Aunt Mei had obtained the supplies that Spider-Man and Arthur had previously scavenged from the supermarket, and were currently handing out Water and food to them.
"Oh my god, thank you, thank you so much!"
"I never expected that after the zombie outbreak, there would still be kind-hearted people like you. Thank you so much…"
"…"
Listening to the people's gratitude, Spider-Man felt a bit bitter inside.
He couldn't put into words what that feeling at the bottom of his heart was; he only knew it felt suffocating.
It was like an afternoon when you bombed an exam, with dark clouds pressing heavily down on the sky. When you jogged back home, howling winds and pitch-black darkness raged outside.
The entire world became a complete mess, yet you had no way to change it.
Spider-Man swung back to Arthur's side and took a breath.
"Let's go, let's head elsewhere. There are still quite a few survivors here in New York, but in other places…"
Spider-Man paused, then looked up and sighed.
"I don't know what the situation is like in other places, but it's probably even worse than we imagine."
Noticing the suppression and helplessness deep in the young man's eyes, Arthur reached out and patted his shoulder.
"Don't worry, everything will get better."
"Why?" Peter looked up at him, his eyes filled with confusion.
In the years following the outbreak of the zombie virus, there was no shortage of superheroes who wanted to save this devastated world.
"Because I am here." Spider-Man heard the God Among Men say to him.
He stared dazedly at the tall figure before him, watching him soar into the sky and charge toward an abandoned church a few streets away.
Heat Vision erupted, tearing several zombies to shreds, and then he flew out holding a pair of mother and daughter.
"What are you still standing there for? Settle them down." Arthur flew in front of Spider-Man and set the mother and daughter down.
Their faces were filled with a discordant expression of mixed terror and joy.
Yet it was precisely this discordant expression that formed the backdrop of this man-eating world.
"It's okay." Spider-Man walked up to the mother and daughter and said in a low voice, "You're safe."
Over the next two hours.
Cooperating with each other, Arthur and Spider-Mantracked down all the remaining survivors across New York.
A total of forty-two people were placed on the rooftop of the Empire State Building.
As for Arthur's other Shadow clones, after the zombies in New York were dealt with, they headed off to other cities in America.
For a time, countless zombies were being slaughtered by the God Among Men.
And Arthur…
During this time, he also eliminated some entities whose power was even more formidable than other zombies.
"Two powerful zombies are coming this way."
Spider-Man was sitting on the ground drinking Water, and upon hearing this, he raised his head to look at Arthur:
"What?"
"There are still two special infected individuals in this city." Arthur looked into the distance. "They used to be superheroes, one in the direction of Chinatown and the other in Brooklyn."
Spider-Man's expression sank: "Who?"
"One is the Scarlet Witch," Arthur said. "I'm not entirely sure about the other yet, but its energy fluctuation is very strong."
"Wanda…" Spider-Man clenched his fists. "She used to be the strongest among us in the Avengers."
"I'll handle it." Arthur turned around and flew outward.
"I'll go with you." Spider-Man stood up.
"No need, these two aren't something you can handle." Arthur tilted his head and glanced at him.
"Stay here and help me protect these people well.
If anything gets close, call out to me."
Spider-Man hesitated for a moment, and ultimately nodded.
Arthur leaped forward, transforming into a streak of golden lightning, and flew toward Chinatown.
…
Chinatown, abandoned theater.
A red figure was wandering aimlessly on the stage.
She was wearing a red bodysuit, and her cape dragged on the ground, already tattered and ruined.
Her dark red hair stuck messily to her face, and her eyes glowed with a murky red light.
Her hands waved wildly, uncontrollably releasing the aftermath of Chaos Magic, tearing the surrounding seats and walls to pieces.
Boom!!
A figure descended from the sky, landing steadily on the ground.
Dust flew everywhere, roaring outward in all directions.
Zombie Wanda abruptly turned her head, her crimson eyes looking toward the direction the commotion came from.
And then…
Even more crimson eyes peered through the shadows, staring straight at her.
Zombie Wanda: "…"
Hiss, can we reconcile?
Chapter 81: Human Extinction? Zombie Sentry!
Arthur landed at the entrance of the theater, looking at the figure on the stage.
He remembered Wanda Maximoff.
In his Universe, Wanda was one of his women, and the power of Chaos Magic was enough to distort reality.
But in this Universe, she had turned into a zombie, and Chaos Magic had lost control, unconsciously destroying everything around her.
"Wanda."
The Zombie Scarlet Witch raised her turbid red eyes and looked at Arthur.
"Roar!!"
She let out a low roar, and Chaos Magic condensed in her palms, instantly turning into a red Shockwave blasting toward Arthur.
Arthur raised his hand and caught the Shockwave. The energy of Chaos Magic exploded in his palms, but it couldn't shake him in the slightest.
The Power of a Million Suns easily suppressed, absorbed, and dissolved that chaotic power.
"Rest in peace."
After sighing, Arthur's eyes lit up, and Heat Vision shot out, piercing through the Zombie Scarlet Witch's skull.
Her body stiffened, the light of Chaos Magic rapidly dimmed, and finally, her entire body collapsed on the stage.
Staring at the corpse in front of him for several seconds, Arthur suddenly thought of his own Universe.
Unexplainably, a surge of worry suddenly welled up in his heart.
Just like a child's worry about their own toy.
He didn't know when he had also developed a trace of a sense of belonging to that Universe.
Perhaps it was when Tony insisted on standing by his side regardless of any obstruction.
Or perhaps it was when Wanda and Hela, worried about whether he could return safely, each wove a towel and a wristband for him.
But Arthur knew that from now on, he would well protect his Universe.
A sense of responsibility is just like that, unexplainically born. When it appears, it is like the bamboo shoots in early spring.
Just as it sprouts, in a couple of days it is taller than a person.
...
Brooklyn.
Arthur landed on the rooftop of the Empire State Building, and Spider-Man immediately greeted him.
"Resolved?"
"Resolved." Arthur nodded, "The zombies in Manhattanhave been basically cleared out. The rest are just stragglers, and my Shadow clones will handle them."
Over the next few days, Arthur led the survivors to transform the Empire State Building into a temporary base.
Spider-Man was responsible for organizing the survivors to distribute food and Water sources, and Gwen and Aunt Mei helped take care of the wounded and the elderly.
Soon, the survival base of the survivors gradually took shape.
And survivors from all over the world were also brought back by Arthur's Shadow clones.
However, just when everyone thought that all this was heading toward a bright future,
Spider-Man was patrolling on the rooftop when he suddenly stopped in his tracks.
His body suddenly tensed up, his Spider-Sense went crazy with alarms, and a stabbing pain spread from the back of his head to his whole body, making him almost unable to stand steady.
"What's wrong?" Gwen rushed over to support him.
Spider-Man couldn't speak. He found that his body was beginning to turn transparent, like a fading shadow.
"Peter!" Gwen was shocked, "Peter, what's wrong with you?!"
Arthur suddenly turned his head and saw that Spider-Man's body was fading bit by bit, as if being erased from this reality by something.
"Peter!"
Gwen grabbed his hand tightly, but her hand passed right through his body.
Spider-Man looked down at his gradually disappearing hands, his face full of shock and confusion.
"I... I don't know..."
He looked up at Arthur, his face filled with helplessness and bewilderment.
"Mr. Arthur... save me, I don't want to die, I..."
Before he could finish speaking, Spider-Man instantly turned into a dark shadow and completely disappeared from the world.
Gwen knelt on the ground, her hands still maintaining the posture of grabbing something, tears flowing silently.
Aunt Mei stood behind her, her face pale and her lips trembling.
Arthur stood in place, his brow suddenly furrowing.
What was going on?
How could such a situation suddenly happen to Spider-Man out of nowhere?
Just as he was wondering in his heart,
"Aunt Mei, what's wrong with you?"
Gwen's startled voice interrupted his thoughts.
Arthur turned his head to look in the direction of Aunt Mei and Gwen, only to see Aunt Mei's body also gradually turning pitch black and transparent.
Soon after, Aunt Mei, just like Peter, disappeared from the spot.
Gwen knelt on the ground, tears still hanging on her face, completely dumbfounded.
First Peter, then Aunt Mei.
The two people closest to her successively turned into dark shadows and disappeared within a few seconds.
She raised her head to look at Arthur, her lips trembling, wanting to say something but unable to speak.
"Stay here." Arthur's voice was very deep.
He no longer had time to comfort Gwen, because his Super Hearing had captured even worse information.
Below the rooftop, those survivors he had rescued from all over Manhattan were disappearing one by one.
The sound of heartbeats went out one after another like a pinched-out candle flame.
Every time a person disappeared, a trace of extremely faint dark energy remained in the air.
An exclamation came from behind Gwen.
A middle-aged man was drinking Water in the corner of the rooftop when his body suddenly began to turn transparent.
He looked down at his hands, and before he could let out a complete scream, his entire body turned into a dark shadow and dissipated.
Then came the woman next to him, then the elderly couple, and then everyone else.
Within a few seconds, of the more than forty survivors on the entire rooftop, only Gwen was left.
Gwen collapsed on the ground, her eyes hollow, as if her soul had been sucked out of her.
Arthur's Super Vision penetrated the clouds and looked deep into the Universe.
Golden light flickered wildly deep within his pupils, sweeping across every inch of space and every corner.
Finally.
He saw it.
Outside the low Earth orbit, a figure was floating in space.
That person wore a tattered uniform, the red cloak was mostly shattered, and the golden patterns were dim and devoid of light.
The skin was grayish-white like paper, multiple parts of the body were decayed, and bones and muscles were exposed over large areas.
But on his body, a very faint layer of golden halo still lingered.
Power of a Million Suns.
Zombie Sentry.
He was devouring the vitality of this Universe in some incomplete and distorted way.
"So it's you."
Arthur's voice was cold to the extreme.
No wonder Spider-Man's Spider-Sense went wild with alarms before he disappeared, and the survivors turned into dark shadows and dissipated one after another.
Because the Zombie Sentry had locked onto them and was erasing them from reality in some way.
No matter why he did this, whether he did it intentionally or unintentionally.
He touched Arthur's people and blocked Arthur from completing his mission.
He was dead for sure!
"Gwen." Arthur spoke, his voice calm, "Stay here, don't move."
Gwen didn't answer; she just curled up on the ground, her shoulders trembling slightly.
Golden light erupted from the body of the God Among Men, like a supernova igniting, wrapping his entire person within it.
With a leap, the earth cracked beneath his feet, the air exploded into sonic boom clouds behind him, and his entire person turned into a pillar of golden light, shooting straight into the clouds.
In space, the Zombie Sentry seemed to sense something, and his turbid eyes slightly rolled.
He saw a streak of golden light rushing toward him at an incredible speed.
That light carried the power of a million stars and a fury sufficient to crush stars.
The Zombie Sentry instinctively raised his hands, wanting to block this punch, but Arthur's fist had already arrived.
Boom!!
The golden pillar of light suddenly pierced through space.
The Zombie Sentry flew backward, resembling a shattered meteor.
A huge hollow appeared on his chest, and golden energy constantly leaked from the wound.
But the Zombie Sentry did not die.
The healing factor and the Power of a Million Sunsintertwined within his body, and the wounds began to slowly heal.
Arthur hovered in space, looking at him expressionlessly, his voice echoing faintly.
"Zombie Sentry... You must be the chief culprit who caused the zombie crisis outbreak in this Universe..."
Chapter 82: Arthur vs. Zombie Sentry
The Zombie Sentry floated in space, a golden halo flickering uncertainly across his decaying body.
He could sense a familiar fluctuation emanating from Arthur.
A million stars burned simultaneously within the same physique, resembling a miniature Universe, exactly identical to the power he once possessed.
Yet this power was purer and more complete than his own.
The Zombie Sentry let out a low roar, a trace of instinct flashing through his murky eyes.
That was an emotion originating from the very foundation of life.
Even though his reason had long been devoured by the zombie virus, the fighting instincts engraved deep within his cells were still at work.
The Zombie Sentry abruptly rushed toward Arthur, moving so fast that even the light in space seemed to be distorted.
His entire body was like a golden cannonball, crashing straight toward Arthur.
His fist condensed the Power of a Million Suns, and wherever the wind of his fist passed, even space itself emitted an unbearable hum.
Arthur raised his right fist, likewise condensing the Power of a Million Suns, and met him head-on.
The two fists collided in low Earth orbit.
Boom!!
An Shockwave sufficient to shake the entire Solar System!
The Shockwave diffused outward from the point of collision like a supernova exploding in space.
The nearest International Space Station was swept head-on by the Shockwave, its solar panels shattering instantly.
The cabin emitted a harsh metallic screech, but fortunately, the main structure barely held.
The lunar surface was brushed by the aftermath of the Shockwave, kicking up moon dust hundreds of kilometers high.
The night sky on Earth was illuminated in that instant.
The golden light poured down from space like a second sun rising.
Everyone looked up and could see that huge ball of golden light in low Earth orbit.
On the roof of the Empire State Building, Gwen knelt on the ground, looking up at that radiance, tears hanging on her face, her expression dazed.
The Zombie Sentry's body retreated several kilometers, his right fist shattering in the collision, decaying muscle and bone fragments drifting in the vacuum.
But he did not care at all; his healing factor restored his fist to as good as new within seconds.
"Roar!!"
His roar could not travel through the vacuum, but that tyrannical energy fluctuation spread outward like substance.
He rushed forward once more.
His fist smashed toward Arthur's head with an aura of destroying everything, every single punch carrying enough power to pulverize an asteroid!
Arthur frowned and caught the Zombie Sentry's second punch.
Third punch, fourth punch, fifth punch...
Every collision stirred up a massive energy storm in space, causing the night sky of the Earth below to flash once.
The Zombie Sentry's power was truly terrifying.
He retained the Sentinel's original peak combat power, and even because he lost all restraint and hesitation after becoming a zombie, his punches were even fiercer and reckless.
This crazy fighting style made his combat power much higher than that of a normal Sentinel.
However, Arthur was not an ordinary Sentinel after all.
He not only possessed the Power of a Million Suns, but also the power of the Body of Superman, Turtle School Qigong, six Infinity Stones, the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, and the virgo gold cloth.
Oh right, there was also the Magnetic Field Rotationcopied from Magneto.
His body's sturdiness and energy reserves far exceeded those of the Zombie Sentry.
All in all, no matter how strong the Zombie Sentry was, it was impossible for him to be stronger than Arthur!
Rumble!!
The Zombie Sentry punched toward Arthur's abdomen. Arthur sidestepped to avoid it and slapped the Zombie Sentry's chest with a backhand strike.
The Power of a Million Suns surged into the Zombie Sentry's body, blasting him back more than ten kilometers.
The Zombie Sentry steadied his figure, a huge depression having been slapped into his chest, but his healing factor operated frantically, the depression quickly recovering.
His eyes became murkier, his roar lower, and the aura emanating from his entire body even more tyrannical.
He rushed up again. This time his fist changed direction, changing from a frontal straight punch to a horizontal sweep.
That punch missed Arthur, but struck an abandoned satellite behind Arthur.
That satellite was blasted into fragments by the punch, the debris falling toward the direction of Earth.
But more seriously, the wind of this punch grazed the edge of Earth, piercing through buildings for half a block.
On the roof of the Empire State Building, Gwen felt the vibration under her feet.
She lowered her head, looking through the floor slab at the buildings on the street that had just been cleared by Arthur.
Several of them had their upper halves directly sheared off by the aftermath of the punch's wind.
Rubble and dust soared into the sky.
And right inside a shelter beneath that street, several survivors who had not yet been discovered by Arthur were huddled together.
Cracks appeared in the concrete overhead under the Shockwave of the fist wind.
When immortals fight, mortals suffer.
Gwen's heart tightened abruptly.
"Arthur!" she shouted toward the sky, her voice hoarse, "There are people below!"
In space, Arthur's Super Hearing caught Gwen's shout.
His gaze swept downward.
His Super Vision penetrated the smoke, dust, and rubble, seeing the survivors in that underground shelter.
The concrete was still cracking. If there were another aftermath like this, the entire shelter would be crushed flat.
Yet the Zombie Sentry showed no intention of stopping.
He lunged forward once more, his fist held high, carrying an even more terrifying power.
If this punch missed, the fist wind would sweep directly onto the surface, crushing those few survivors along with the entire block.
In an instant, Arthur's gaze changed.
He no longer gave ground, fiercely rushing forward to meet the Zombie Sentry.
The Zombie Sentry's fist smashed down, and Arthur took the punch head-on with his own shoulder.
The Power of a Million Suns erupted within his body, bearing the full force of that punch.
His body sank slightly, but the space beneath his feet was stabilized by him using Magnetic Field Rotation, not retreating half a step.
"You've hit enough."
Arthur's voice was icy to the extreme.
His left hand reached out, his five fingers locking onto the Zombie Sentry's wrist.
"Now... it's my turn!"
The Zombie Sentry tried to break free, but found that Arthur's hand was like cast iron, unmoving.
Arthur clenched his right fist, merging the Power of a Million Suns, Magnetic Field Rotation, Small Universe, and Turtle School Qigong's Qi all into this punch.
Boom!!
The fist shattered the vacuum, striking squarely in the center of the Zombie Sentry's chest.
The Zombie Sentry's body flew backward into the depths of space like a baseball hit with full force.
The speed was so fast that it was almost about to break away from the Solar System's gravity range.
However, Arthur did not give him the chance to leave.
The next second, he had already appeared behind the Zombie Sentry, stepping on the Zombie Sentry's spine with one foot, pinning his entire person in space.
The Zombie Sentry struggled and roared, his healing factor operating frantically trying to repair the cavity in his chest.
But Arthur's foot stepped on his spine, the weight of the Power of a Million Suns pressing down so hard that he couldn't move at all.
The Zombie Sentry's eyes were murky, filled with madness and hunger.
He could no longer recognize who the person before him was, nor could he understand any language.
He was left with only the instinct to destroy all life.
Yet Arthur knew that this person was once the Sentinel.
A superhero possessing the Power of a Million Suns, once just like him...
"If the zombie virus invades my Universe..."
Arthur imagined this situation, his eyes suddenly glowing with a beam of light sufficient to ignite the stars.
"I won't let such a situation appear before me!"
"Rest in peace."
Sizzle!!
The Heat Vision, carrying a terrifying temperature sufficient to ignite stars and even the Universe, instantly pierced through the Zombie Sentry's head.
The healing factor attempted repairs, but the continuous scorching of the Heat Vision caused the regenerative cells to be burned away again as soon as they formed.
One second.
Two seconds.
Three seconds...
The Zombie Sentry's body stopped struggling.
Chapter 83: The plan to destroy the multiverse was made by the God of Stories!
[Ding! Completed the "Purge the Zombie Universe" mission]
[Rewards obtained: Silver Superman Template fragments * 5, Zombie Virus Antibody (usable in any Universe)]
[Silver Superman Template fragments: 38 / 100]
A few days later.
Relying on his Shadow clones, Arthur completely purged all zombies in the entire zombie Universe.
Blue light flickered.
Arthur walked out of the spatial passage, his soles landing on the slippery tiles.
The steam from the hot water filled the bathroom, blurring the vision.
Before he even had time to see the surrounding environment clearly, he heard a familiar voice.
"Yo."
In the bathtub, Carol Danvers was leaning against the edge of the tub, her golden hair draped wetly over her shoulders, her azure eyes looking at him with the corners of her mouth slightly upturned.
Her body was wrapped in only a layer of bubbles, and the hot water washed over her collarbone, revealing a slender neck and rounded shoulders.
"Do you really like watching other people take a bath?" She tilted her head slightly, her tone carrying a trace of banter, "Or did you specially target this place?"
Arthur: "..."
Would you believe me if I said this was a mistake?
But looking at it now, he and Carol really hadn't tried the bathroom scenario yet.
It's not too late to try it now.
Before Carol could react, Arthur had already squatted down, pinched her chin with one hand, and lowered his head to kiss her.
The hot water wetted his shirt, but he didn't care at all.
Carol was stunned for a moment, then reached out and wrapped her arms around his neck.
The two of them went from the bathtub to the shower room, and then from the shower room to the sink.
The hot water kept running, and steam filled the entire bathroom.
Carol's fingers dug into his back, leaving behind faint red marks.
A night of passion is priceless.
...
The next morning, sunlight filtered in through the frosted glass window, casting a patch of soft light on the bathroom floor.
Arthur's shirt and pants were scattered at the doorway, crumpled into a ball after being soaked in water.
Carol stood in front of the mirror wrapped in a bath towel, drying her hair.
The traces of last night still lingered on her neck, and the red marks on her neck and shoulders were clearly visible.
"How long have you stayed outside?" She asked without turning her head.
"About half a month, just got back yesterday." Arthur leaned against the edge of the bathtub, with only a bath towel covering his body, "The Space Stone positioning was off again."
"It's off quite well." Carol turned around, looked at him, with the corners of her mouth slightly upturned, "You didn't get lost for too long this time."
"Mhm." Arthur looked at her, "How was Earth when I was away?"
Carol's expression restrained a bit, and her hand drying her hair paused.
"It's not peaceful." She said, "During the time you disappeared, dimensional rifts have become more and more frequent."
Tony deals with all kinds of small-scale invasions every day, and Hela also has troubles on her side.
The reconstruction of Asgard had just been half completed when it suffered an attack.
"Who attacked?"
"I don't know." Carol shook her head, "The other party came fast and retreated just as fast."
Hela said it was some kind of dimensional creature, not belonging to this Universe.
Arthur frowned slightly.
The time he left was not long, but obviously Earth was not idle.
The rifts in the multiverse continue to expand, and more and more things are pouring into this world.
"There's one more thing." Carol put down the towel, turned around to face him directly, "Your brother looked for me."
"Tony?"
"He said people from the Green Lantern Corps contacted him." Carol said, "They want to talk to you about something."
"About the rifts between Universes, and an existence called the 'God of Stories'."
Arthur's gaze sank.
The God of Stories.
He had a vague feeling about it when he was in the zombie Universe.
That mastermind who fused Darkseid and Galactustogether, that existence capable of manipulating destiny across the Universe.
It not only laid out plans in other Universes, but also stretched its hands here.
"Where is Tony?"
Carol replied: "He has been staying at Stark Tower these past few days, almost drinking the coffee machine in the lab empty."
Arthur stood up, picked up his shirt from the ground, shook off the water, and put it right on.
The wet clothes clung to his body, but he didn't care at all. He walked over to Carol and lowered his head to kiss her on the forehead.
"I'll head over first."
"Go ahead." Carol leaned against the sink, looking at him, "Will you come back tonight?"
"Depends on the situation."
Arthur walked out of the bathroom, walking along the corridor towards the elevator.
His Super Hearing had already captured the commotion in the top-floor laboratory.
Tony was arguing with someone, his voice very agitated.
"I said, that signal frequency is wrong. If they are friends, why deploy a fleet on the periphery of the Solar System?"
Another voice responded to him, deep and unfamiliar.
"Because they are afraid; the thing they are afraid of is bigger than we imagine."
Arthur walked into the elevator and pressed the top floor.
When the elevator door opened, he saw Tony, as well as a figure standing opposite Tony.
That was a man wearing a green uniform, with a Green Lantern insignia printed on his chest.
His skin was dark purple, his eyes were large without pupils, and there were a few raised lines on his forehead.
A real Green Lantern.
"Arthur!" Seeing him, Tony let out a sigh of relief, "You're finally back!"
The Green Lantern turned around and looked at Arthur. A trace of awe flashed in his eyes, but it was quickly suppressed.
"You must be Arthur Stark?" The Green Lantern spoke, "I have come representing the book of oa."
"The book of oa?"
"An ancient book recording all known Universe events," said the Green Lantern. "It prophesied a disaster. A disaster affecting all Universes."
He raised his hand, and green light poured out from his ring, projecting a huge holographic image in mid-air.
That was a star map of the multiverse.
Countless Universes floated like bubbles in the void, connected to each other by tiny rifts.
But in the center of the star map, a black vortex was slowly rotating.
It was devouring the surrounding Universes, tearing open the rifts of those Universes one by one, and then devouring them.
"This is..." Tony stared at the vortex, his face turning pale.
"The God of Stories of your multiverse," the Green Lanternexplained. "It is devouring everything."
Chapter 84: The God of Stories Is Devouring, Chaos Is Coming"
"How do you know about the God of Stories?"
Arthur nodded, looking at the God of Stories before him, his voice cold.
"If I remember correctly, you should have come from another Universe."
"Logically speaking, you shouldn't know about the God of Stories in our Multiverse."
"Because our Universe was also affected by the God of Stories," Green Lantern replied.
"The book of oa began to malfunction three months ago, and the pages recording the history of the Universe are turning white one by one."
"Furthermore, rifts leading to other Universes have appeared. We sent seven exploration teams into the rifts, and only one returned."
"The person who returned said that deep within the rifts, he saw a gigantic entity devouring reality itself."
"What happened to that person later?" Tony asked.
"He disappeared," Green Lantern said, "on the third day after returning."
The laboratory was silent for a few seconds.
Arthur looked at Green Lantern, his expression unchanged.
But Tony knew that this expression meant he was already thinking seriously.
"I see," Arthur spoke, "go back first and tell your people that I need time to consider."
"Consider?" Green Lantern frowned, "There is no time for you to consider this matter—"
"When I say consider, I mean consider."
Arthur tilted his head and glanced at him, carrying a sense of oppression that sent chills down Green Lantern's spine.
"Go back and tell the Guardian that if they want to cooperate, they should show some sincerity in cooperation."
"Don't just send a messenger over and expect me to risk my life for them."
Green Lantern opened his mouth, but ultimately did not retort.
"I will convey it."
He raised his hand, and the Green Lantern Ring lit up, green light forming a pillar of light around his body.
The next second, he flew out through the laboratory window.
Tony looked at the spot where Green Lantern had disappeared, fell silent for a few seconds, and then turned to look at Arthur.
"Are you really going to consider it?"
"Mhm."
"Do you believe what he said?"
"Fifty-fifty, Tony. Do you remember Thanos?"
"Of course. Wasn't that guy beaten to death by you?"
"Right, but I heard news about the God of Stories from him."
Tony fell silent.
Arthur walked to the window, looking at the night view outside.
"Tony," he suddenly spoke, "have you felt anything unusual lately?"
Tony was slightly stunned.
"What do you mean?"
"Besides those rifts and invaders, is there anything else?" Arthur turned around, looking at his younger brother.
"For instance, things in our memories are decreasing, or some events clearly happened, but everyone has forgotten them."
Tony's expression changed: "How do you know?"
"I felt it too," Arthur said. "The advantage of a super brain is that no subtle change can escape my perception."
"In the past few days, some fragments in my memory have been fading."
"Not many, but they are indeed changing."
Tony's expression sank.
"You mean, that God of Stories is not only devouring the Universe, but also devouring—"
"Memories," Arthur took over his words. "Or rather, he is erasing things that have already happened."
That night, Carol was in a guest room at Stark Tower.
This room was her temporary residence, simply furnished with only a bed, a desk, and a floor-to-ceiling window.
Outside the window, Manhattan's night view could be seen, brilliantly lit and with a bustling stream of traffic.
When Arthur pushed the door open and entered, Carol was leaning against the head of the bed, browsing through the communication logs of the Nova Corps.
She raised her head to glance at him, then moved aside to make room for him.
Arthur lay down beside her, and the two leaned against the head of the bed side by side.
"How did the talk go?" Carol asked.
"Not very smoothly," Arthur said, resting his hands behind his head and looking at the ceiling. "The Green Lantern Corps wants to cooperate, but I don't know if they are trustworthy."
"You let that Green Lantern go back?"
"I let him go back to deliver a message," Arthur said. "Let's see what they do next."
Carol put down the communication logs, turned to lie on her side, and looked at him with one hand supporting her head.
"There is something I must tell you."
"What?"
"Over at the Nova Corps, something has also happened recently," Carol's expression turned serious. "One of our patrol fleets was attacked near the Andromeda Nebula."
"Who did it?"
"Thanos."
Arthur turned his head, looking at her with a surprised expression: "But Thanos was already killed by me."
"I know," Carol nodded, "that's why the patrol team panicked even more."
"The Thanos they saw wore the Infinity Gauntlet, brought the Black Order, and had the exact same fleet."
"But according to our records, Thanos was blasted into ashes by you months ago."
"Thanos from another Universe," Arthur suddenly realized.
"Right," Carol looked at him. "And there's more than one."
"Within three months, the Nova Corps' detectors captured at least three cosmic energy signals of different frequencies, each corresponding to a Thanos-level entity."
"They come from different Universes, but they are all moving in the same direction."
"Which direction?"
Carol fell silent for a second.
"Here," she said, "Earth. Earth in our Universe."
Carol continued: "The Commander of the Nova Corpsanalyzed that these Thanos might have been summoned by something."
"They are like a group of refugees driven out of their respective Universes, pushed by some force to run in the same direction."
"The God of Stories," Arthur spoke in a low voice.
"Right," Carol nodded. "We also detected an entity named the God of Stories. He seems to be devouring those Universes, herding the strongest entities in those Universes together."
"Just like driving a flock of sheep into a pen, and then—"
"Wiping them all out in one sweep," Arthur took over her words.
The two fell silent for a long time.
Outside the window, Manhattan's night view remained peaceful.
But beneath that peace, something seemed to be brewing.
"I feel something I have never felt before," Carol spoke.
"What?"
"Fear, fear of everything."
"I have never felt such fear that everything might be doomed."
She turned her head, looking at Arthur's profile.
"But this time, I really feel that perhaps all of this might actually be doomed."
"What kind of nonsense are you talking about?"
Arthur reached out and pulled her into his arms.
Carol leaned against his chest, listening to his heartbeat.
"Be it the God of Stories or the Thanos from other Universes," Arthur's voice was very calm, "no matter how many come, I will kill them all."
Carol was silent for a moment, then let out a soft laugh against his chest.
"You guy, sometimes you're really arrogant enough to make people want to punch you."
"Arrogance requires strength to back it up." Arthur lowered his head and looked into her eyes. "Do you think I lack strength?"
Carol raised her face, looked at the serious expression on his face, and then kissed him.
"Of course I think you have it, it's just that sometimes—"
"Arthur, I think we need to prepare for a rainy day."
Chapter 85 Universe Collision
A few days later.
In the conference room on the top floor of the Stark Industries Building, the atmosphere was somewhat subtle.
Tony sat at one end of the long table, with a cup of completely cold coffee in front of him.
Arthur leaned against the floor-to-ceiling window, hands in his pockets, looking at the Manhattan skyline.
Carol stood beside him, arms crossed, with a calm expression but a vigilant gaze.
Opposite them sat three Oan aliens.
The leader was tall, with dark blue skin and several deep lines on his forehead, resembling some kind of ancient totem.
His eyes were pure white without pupils, and his gaze was calm and profound.
The other two Oan aliens stood behind him, both being leaders of the Green Lantern Corps.
"Arthur Stark." The leading Oan alien spoke, "I am one of the Guardians of Oa, Caron. We have come this time to seek cooperation with you."
"Seek cooperation?" Arthur tilted his head, "Since when do you Green Lantern Corps need to cooperate with others?"
"When the enemy is so powerful that we cannot handle them ourselves." Caron did not evade the question.
"The existence of the God of Stories has already threatened the survival of all Universes, and we are not his match."
"So you came to find me." Arthur looked at him, "What do you think I am?"
"The book of oa has recorded your power." Caron said.
"You are one of the most powerful existences."
And you have already destroyed the core of a Universeeroded by the God of Stories; we know about this matter.
Arthur raised an eyebrow.
It seemed that the news of the Green Lantern Corps was more well-informed than he thought.
"My power is indeed enough." Arthur walked to the table, pressed his hands on the tabletop, and looked down at Caron.
"But the premise of cooperation is mutual trust. How much do you know about me? And how much do I know about you?"
"What do you want to know?"
"What on Earth is the God of Stories?" Arthur was straightforward.
"Your book of oa records the events of all known Universes, so there should be records of the God of Storiesas well.
Tell me, what is it? Where does it come from? What is its purpose?"
"The God of Stories..." Caron slowly began, "An existence older than the multiverse itself.
It was born in the void before the birth of the Universe, and it is a kind of existence more fundamental than time, space, and reality.
It has no fixed form, no understandable motive, it is just... devouring."
Isn't it Loki?
Arthur was slightly stunned. In the TV series he watched in his past life, Loki finally became the God of Stories.
But now...
Could this God of Stories sweeping across multiple Universes be different from what he knew?
"Devouring what?"
"Everything." Caron said, "It devours the Universe, reality, memories, and existence itself.
Every time it devours a Universe, it becomes stronger.
And now, it has devoured thousands of Universes."
Tony's expression changed: "Thousands?"
"At least." Caron nodded, "Our records can only trace back to a certain point in time; before that, the God of Storiesalready existed.
It may have devoured even more, but the traces of those Universes have been completely erased and cannot be traced."
"It is devouring the multiverse." Carol spoke, "Then why is there Thanos in so many Universes?"
"Because Thanos is a universal-level variable on your side." Caron glanced at her, "In many Universes, Thanos is one of the most powerful existences.
When the God of Stories devours a Universe, the strongest existences in those Universes are not swallowed immediately, but are pushed out and pour into neighboring Universes.
Just like... pouring water from one cup into another."
"So those Thanoses were squeezed into our Universe." Tony said.
"Yes." Caron nodded, "And as the God of Stories devours more and more Universes, more and more Thanoses will be pushed over.
Eventually, this Universe will not be able to bear it."
"I have another question." Arthur spoke.
"Please speak."
"Why does the God of Stories do this?" Arthur turned around and looked at Caron, "An existence older than the multiverse, why does it care about devouring these Universes? What is it after?"
Caron was silent for a long time, and finally spoke:
"We don't know, but there is a saying that the God of Stories... is looking for something."
"Looking for what?"
"An ending." Caron said, "Or rather, a story that can end itself."
Arthur frowned: "It wants to be ended?"
"We are not sure." Caron shook his head, "But this is a possibility.
The God of Stories is'story' itself, and every story needs an ending.
It has devoured countless Universes, yet never found an ending of its own.
Perhaps it is searching for someone who can put a period to it."
The God of Stories wants to be ended.
If this statement is true, it means that the God of Storiesitself is also waiting for someone, someone who can end it.
Could that person be him?
As Arthur was thinking, he suddenly sensed something.
Super Hearing captured an abnormal frequency.
The sound came from the depths of the Universe, deep and continuous.
As if two huge celestial bodies were approaching, emitting gravitational waves.
And that frequency was rapidly increasing.
"Arthur?" Tony noticed his expression.
Arthur raised his head, and Super Vision penetrated the ceiling, clouds, and atmosphere.
Then...
He saw it.
In the sky, a huge phantom of a celestial body appeared.
The volume of that planet was more than ten times that of Earth, and its surface was covered with dark red lines, like a cooling molten lava planet.
Its gravitational field was disturbing the orbit of the entire Solar System, the Moon began to deviate from its original orbit, and Earth's magnetic field was also fluctuating violently.
Arthur's expression instantly became solemn.
Where did this planet come from?
No, that's not right.
This didn't seem to be a planet, but rather...
A Universe!
Another Universe was trying to collide with this Universe.
The barrier between the two Universes became thinner and thinner under the devouring of the God of Stories, and finally a huge crack was torn open.
And at the other end of the crack was an entire Universebeing pushed over.
"Tony." Arthur's expression changed instantly, "Activate all defense systems. Carol, contact the Nova Corps."
"What's wrong?" Tony stood up.
"Something is coming." Arthur turned around and walked towards the door, "It's huge."
Right at this moment, the system panel lit up in front of his eyes.
[Ding! Current task refreshed: Prevent Universecollision]
[Task Description: Another Universe is being pushed towards this Universe by the God of Stories. The collision of the two Universes will lead to the simultaneous destruction of both sides.
Please enter the collision area, host, and prevent the merger of the two Universes.]
[Task Rewards: Ben's watch (can switch between multiple alien forms), Silver Superman Template fragment * 5]