At this moment, they finally understood why Lin Feng had said that these zombies could transform the world into a terrifying zombie apocalypse.
Even seeing it firsthand was disgusting.
As superheroes, they had encountered all sorts of extraordinary beings—Dark Dimension overlords like Dormammu, cosmic tyrants like Thanos, god-kings like Odin—but those were just powerful; they weren't truly disgusting.
These zombies, however, were the real nightmare.
The thought that these zombies would eat people, that they might eat them, sent a chill down their spines.
Tony Stark, after overcoming his initial disgust, focused intensely on the scene unfolding on the screen.
From the footage, zombified versions of himself, Doctor Strange, and the Sorcerer King were attacking two unknown subordinates of Thanos. In just ten seconds or so, the virus had completed its infection.
Not only humans but even aliens couldn't resist the virus.
No wonder Lin Feng was so wary. Even beings of immense power, nearly non-human, felt a chill when confronted with the quantum virus.
Even gods like Thor, who could usually be said to be immune to almost all poisons, were useless against this quantum virus brought from the quantum realm.
Once bitten or cut, infection was instantaneous.
What puzzled him even more was that, despite becoming monsters, they could still use their former abilities—retaining some basic instincts.
Tony immediately realized he had to impose restrictions on his armor: if he became a zombie, his armor's control must immediately terminate, and it should prevent him from opening the suit and letting himself out.
Biologically, he might become a zombie—but J.A.R.V.I.S. was an AI, and there was no risk of it turning.
It was a precautionary measure. Even if he never had to use it, at least it might reduce the number of zombies, the one thing he could do as a superhero.
It also seemed that the zombie virus spread through contact, likely through blood exposure—not the worst kind, the airborne type.
If it were airborne, he'd need a completely separate air filtration system. But if it spread through bites, there was hope: proper protection could preserve humanity's light.
Although, perhaps it had dual transmission modes—the airborne method just slower. Otherwise, how did the first carrier appear?
Questions swirled in Tony's mind, almost causing an information overload.
Meanwhile, Bruce Banner stared in shock at his former teammates-turned-zombies. "I really can't believe it," he muttered.
Even in his worst nightmares, he never imagined his friends—his allies—turning into zombies. The thought that the entire Earth could fall was terrifying.
Once-bustling New York was now eerily silent—a sign of how serious the situation was.
Suddenly, zombified Iron Man lunged at him.
At the critical moment, it was Doctor Strange's Cloak of Levitation that saved him. Being a magical artifact, it was unaffected by the quantum virus.
The cloak wrapped around zombified Tony Stark, tripping him up and preventing him from attacking Bruce.
It then flung zombified Tony into the already zombified Dark Dwarf, causing them to crash heavily.
Meanwhile, zombified Doctor Strange tried to cast a spell but was restrained by the cloak.
Another zombie—the Sorcerer King—began casting a spell as well.
Bruce screamed in panic, "No! No!"
He ran forward, glancing behind him, unaware that a magical circle had appeared in front. The zombified Sorcerer King leapt from it, blocking his escape, ready to devour him.
"Don't eat me!" Bruce shouted.
At the last moment, the cloak restrained the Sorcerer King, preventing him from killing Bruce and even severing his head in the process.
One down.
Terrified, Bruce kicked the Sorcerer King's head away.
Elsewhere, zombified Iron Man continuously fired repulsor blasts, trying to hit the cloak mid-air. The cloak, however, swung zombified Doctor Strange around relentlessly—no mercy for its former master.
The scene was both thrilling and terrifying, especially for Bruce, who watched a version of himself almost get eaten.
Everyone exhaled slightly in relief. Seeing Tony, Strange, and the Sorcerer King as zombies had been utterly hopeless—if Bruce himself were infected, there would be a zombified Hulk. Humanity would have no hope.
Suddenly, Tony remembered Lin Feng's notes on the "protagonist aura."
He finally understood: in the correct timeline, the protagonist aura could protect them—even from nuclear strikes. But stepping out of the correct timeline rendered it ineffective.
Even the hardest-to-kill superhero could perish easily.
Bruce Banner, seeing another timeline's version of himself, muttered in relief, "Good thing for the cloak, or I'd be dead!"
Surprisingly, the cloak seemed sentient, not quite AI, yet functioning similarly.
However, their relief was short-lived. Zombies including Ebony Maw, the Dark Dwarf, and Iron Man charged at Bruce.
He struggled but was easily restrained by Ebony Maw.
"No! Don't eat me!" he panicked.
At the last moment, countless bees swarmed in, devouring Ebony Maw.
Bruce fell from mid-air, stunned. "Oh my… what just happened?"
All zombies except Iron Man were consumed by the swarm.
Zombified Iron Man wasn't spared either—Wasp appeared suddenly and decapitated him in one strike.
"I can't take this—I'm going to vomit!" Bruce exclaimed, watching the head of his friend Tony get devoured by a giant ant.
Though he knew it wasn't the real Tony anymore, seeing a friend meet such an end was unsettling.
The Wasp wore a suit similar to Ant-Man's, capable of instant size changes.
Bruce realized she must be Hope Van Dyne, the second-generation Wasp, who calmly instructed, "Follow them—it's safe with them."
"Follow these giant ants? Who are you?" Bruce asked, puzzled. Could this be a new Avenger?
(End of Chapter)