Tony Stark nodded. Indeed, the current scientific community knew almost nothing about the microscopic world. They could only speculate using certain mathematical models and physical theories—it was extremely difficult to observe directly.
At scales small enough, even the macroscopic physical laws of our universe might not fully apply.
"Previously, science had no consensus. But now, we can almost conclude that such a microscopic universe does exist. But what's inside it… that's much harder to say. For example, a zombie virus," Tony explained.
Hawkeye, Barton, opened his mouth slightly—he realized that what Tony said was basically saying nothing at all. All he could understand was: there might be a very, very tiny universe out there.
**[To avoid the risk of a zombie universe forming later, should we just get rid of Ant-Man? Prevent him from releasing the quantum virus? No. Ant-Man is too crucial to future events—even Kang the Conqueror is related to him. Interfering now would completely disrupt the timeline. We can only pray for luck. This is a zombie-universe timeline, but it's a very niche one. The probability is extremely low—one in a hundred million, maybe? Just some risk.
Moreover, these zombies lack intelligence. If we are careful, it's not a big problem—much better than neighboring universes, where intelligent zombies, driven by endless hunger, even devour gods.
For those superheroes, it might be better to die instantly than to live painfully as a mindless zombie. So our timeline should be… safe… right?]**
Undoubtedly, this was explosive information. One previously unimaginable problem after another now erupted all at once.
"The quantum virus… so that's what it's called? And what exactly is its form of existence?" Tony stroked his chin. "Does it really exist, or is it in a quantum state, or… something else?"
"I feel like I understand this world less and less. Do I need to pursue a higher degree?" Hawkeye muttered, half-joking.
Everyone laughed.
Meanwhile, Lin Feng kept introducing new concepts, including the quantum virus.
And there was Kang the Conqueror—a name that clearly didn't belong to a good guy.
"One in a hundred million… that means there are that many timelines?" Bruce Banner said. "This is unbelievable!"
Everyone nodded. They understood the principles behind timeline formation: every new choice could spawn an entirely new timeline. So theoretically, timelines could be infinite.
But understanding that logically wasn't enough—the sheer scale of "one in a hundred million" was staggering.
"No matter what, the source of the problem lies with Hank Pym and his family. I'll assign someone to monitor them," Nick Fury said.
Without Lin Feng's warning that Ant-Man played a critical role in future events, Nick Fury might have preemptively eliminated the entire Pym family—a risk he was capable of taking.
Though unlikely, the Pym family could potentially turn the entire world into a zombie apocalypse. Facing such a future, he wasn't willing to gamble… yet now he had no choice but to.
Even Lin Feng recognized the danger of the zombie universe, yet couldn't intervene due to Ant-Man's importance in future events. Therefore, he acted cautiously, and so did they.
They trusted that Lin Feng, having crossed into their universe for some reason, now shared the same stakes: if their universe—or this timeline—was destroyed, it would offer him no benefit and might even kill him.
"So, compared to mindless zombies, the real horror is intelligent zombies from neighboring universes," Natasha Romanoff (Black Widow) said.
The thought of becoming a bloodthirsty monster made her shiver. She couldn't even imagine it. If that day came, it would be better to die.
Even with her experience, seeing corpses and carnage, this microscopic, nerve-penetrating scenario was disgusting beyond measure.
"The problem is, we don't know the virus—whether the zombie virus or the so-called quantum virus. Its nature and mechanism are beyond our preparation," Tony groaned, rubbing his forehead.
Involving the microscopic universe and the quantum field went far beyond his comprehension—it was completely unmanageable.
"Also, in this universe, Tony, you haven't exactly been idle… you devoured the entire universe!" Natasha said, glancing at him before continuing solemnly.
Tony himself felt a chill run down his spine. He knew he had strong willpower. Even if he became a zombie, unless his consciousness was completely gone, he should still be able to control himself.
Yet… he ended up, under the hunger drive, consuming all life in the universe. That kind of hunger was unimaginable.
And he wasn't alone—many other superheroes and supervillains had become terrifying zombie super-beings.
"Before, we thought Thanos' slaughter was terrifying. Now, we're far worse!" Bruce Banner said. "At least Thanos didn't devour the entire universe!"
Everyone considered this—he was right. Thanos had destroyed half the universe, but he hadn't eaten it all.
"Later, Thanos himself became a zombie. This virus is unstoppable," Hawkeye said. "Could it be that one day, zombies from other universes will consume one universe after another, and eventually reach ours?"
Everyone gasped. That was far more terrifying than just becoming a zombie.
"If that happens, we can only fight as best we can. There's no better option," Nick Fury sighed.
As they discussed, a video appeared in the diary.
It began with a voiceover:
"Time!""Space!""Reality!""Not a straight line, but like a prism reflecting countless possibilities. A single choice can create endless realities, beyond your perception, forming a whole new world. I am the Watcher, and now I will take you into these vast new worlds. Follow me and contemplate: what if…?"
The Watcher?
Everyone's hearts skipped a beat. Could this Watcher truly observe the multiverse? Different timelines? Different universes?
Even Thor of Asgard looked at his father Odin, asking, "Father, do you know this Watcher?"
"I don't," Odin replied, frowning.
Ever since seeing the diary, the all-knowing All-Father seemed reduced to an old man ignorant of everything.
Everything Lin Feng had mentioned about universe-level beings suddenly seemed trivial—a single entity, a single event, could surpass even the All-Father's knowledge.
From the Watcher's words alone, it was clear: this being could observe the multiverse, an existence far beyond many gods.
More frighteningly, the universe Lin Feng was in had also been observed by this Watcher. The sheer scale of that universe was terrifying.
The video began showing the Bifrost, traversing the cosmic void. In it was none other than Hulk.
"Why the Bifrost? Did he come to visit Asgard?" Thor asked, puzzled.
Hulk crashed violently into the New York Sanctum, reverting back to Bruce Banner. The video continued unfolding.
Banner muttered to himself, "Thanos is coming… he's almost here!"
Hawkeye suddenly asked with a smirk, "Banner, I've been wondering—where do you even get your underwear? It never rips when you transform!"
Everyone laughed, and Banner felt a bit embarrassed. It was the first time he realized just how resilient his pants were—they had nearly torn before, but never in front of anyone.
He muttered for a while, looking around the empty Sanctum, and finally called out, "Hello? Anyone? Can someone give me some clothes?"