A Universe Destined for Doom

Xiao Han hovered above the ruins, the setting sun stretching his shadow out long.

He did not deliberately use his superpowers to scan, his gaze simply taking in everything before him.

The entire New York had turned into a dead silent graveyard, with only sporadic zombies wandering in the distance.

[Sir, abnormal energy fluctuations detected.] JARVIS's voice came through the watch.

[Coordinates locked near the Statue of Liberty.]

Xiao Han nodded, his super-sight piercing through several kilometers to see an eerie purple light flickering at the base of the Statue of Liberty.

A robed figure was kneeling there, surrounded by a complex magic circle.

"Are there still living people?"

He accelerated instantly, landing at the foot of the Statue of Liberty in less than a second.

It was a thin, middle-aged man with messy hair and one cracked eyeglass lens.

He was frantically carving runes onto the stone slab, muttering under his breath.

"Doctor Strange?" Xiao Han recognized the wizard who protected Earth.

Strange snapped his head up, his eyes bloodshot: "Who are you... cough, cough..."

He staggered to his feet, his withered fingers pointing tremblingly at Xiao Han, "Help me... I must fix all of this!"

Xiao Han noticed that his left hand had already rotted and was wrapped with magic: "Your virus..."

"Unimportant!"

Strange shouted hysterically, pointing to the magic circle on the ground, "I found a way to restart the timeline, but it requires massive energy! There is a lot of energy in your body!"

Xiao Han narrowed his eyes slightly, sensing that something was amiss.

Strange suddenly knelt, two lines of bloody tears streaming down his rotting face: "I'm begging you... let me save them... save Christine..."

Xiao Han was silent for a moment, then reached out and pressed the center of the magic circle: "What do you need me to do?"

Hope flared in Strange's eyes, and he immediately began instructing Xiao Han to adjust the magic circle.

As the final rune was completed, the entire magic circle lit up with blinding golden light.

"Now! Infuse the energy!"

Xiao Han aimed the white light in his hand at the magic circle, and dazzling energy surged out.

The magic circle began to spin, intense energy going into operation.

"It worked!" Strange shouted in ecstasy, "The timeline is about to res—"

His cheers abruptly cut off.

The magic circle suddenly turned blood red, and Strange's body began to rot at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"No... that's not right..."

He looked in horror at his rapidly skeletonizing hands, "This isn't time magic... This is..."

"The Devouring Curse." Xiao Han said coldly.

"You've been controlled by the virus, Strange. This magic circle will devour my energy."

Strange's expression shifted from shock to ferocity: "Clever human... but too late!"

His body suddenly burst, and countless black tentacles shot toward Xiao Han!

Xiao Han had been prepared, his eyes blazing with golden light as he unleashed his magic heat vision to the maximum!

BOOM!!!

Pure solar energy collided with dark magic, reducing the Statue of Liberty to powder in the shockwave.

When the light dissipated, only a huge, charred crater remained on the ground.

[Sir, energy readings have dropped to zero.] JARVIS reported.

[New York is beyond saving.]

Xiao Han fell silent, suddenly failing to understand the point of the system sending him to this universe.

Taking one last glance at the roaring zombies below, Xiao Han expanded his super hearing.

Sounds from all over the globe began to flood into his perception.

Suddenly,

he found the anomaly.

Xiao Han opened his eyes.

"Wakanda."

A golden portal opened, and Xiao Han flew out from it.

He hovered high above Wakanda, the golden sunlight washing over his black battle armor.

Below, Wakanda's energy shield flickered with a deep blue light, keeping tens of thousands of zombies at bay.

His super-sight penetrated the shield, and he saw inside the Wakandan royal palace.

A battle was underway inside; it seemed things were not peaceful here either.

Outside the shield, the zombie horde roared, continuously battering the energy barrier.

The Scarlet Witch Wanda drifted in the air, chaos magic distorting space.

Black Widow twisted her body in a strange posture, her ferocious face devoid of much flesh.

Further away, Captain Marvel Carol Danvers burned with energy, ready to unleash a destructive strike at any moment.

Xiao Han did not linger, waving his hand to open a portal.

Passing through the portal and stepping into the grand hall of the Wakandan royal palace, Xiao Han quietly gazed at the scene before him.

The air was thick with the scent of blood and decay, the floor littered with spent casings and broken vibranium spears.

The Wakandan royal court, which should have been heavily guarded, was currently in utter chaos.

"Bang!"

A gunshot echoed from a side hall, and Xiao Han instantly teleported over.

T'Challa half-knelt on the ground, his Black Panther helmet shattered, black blood seeping from the corner of his mouth. There was a gruesome bite mark on his arm, and his skin was already turning a grayish-blue.

Beside him, Okoye's abdomen was pierced, yet she still gripped her spear tightly, standing in front of T'Challa.

And their enemy was Winter Soldier Bucky Barnes, who had been completely zombified and enhanced by the virus.

His metal arm was stained with blood, his eyes were scarlet, and a beast-like low growl rumbled in his throat.

"T'Challa... hold on..."

Okoye gritted her teeth, but her voice was already trembling, her own wounds worsening.

"Bang!"

Another gunshot, the bullet precisely piercing Winter Soldier's knee, but he merely staggered, then lunged forward with a roar!

Xiao Han's figure flashed suddenly, grabbing Winter Soldier by the throat with one hand and slamming him hard into the ground.

"Crack!"

With a crisp snap, Winter Soldier's cervical vertebrae were directly crushed. His body twitched a few times before finally going still.

T'Challa raised his head, his pupils already dilating, but he forced himself to stay conscious, his voice hoarse.

"Who... are you?"

"Xiao Han." He answered briefly, his gaze sweeping over everyone present.

Gwen Stacy curled up in the corner, her web-shooters broken, a deep scratch on her arm with skin turning black at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Agent Coulson leaned against the wall, his face deathly pale, a piercing wound through his chest with blood turned dark red.

Vision hovered mid-air, the Mind Stone on his forehead glowing faintly, his skin color also darkened.

He was the only one uninfected, but his mechanical body was covered in battle scars.

It seemed he had fought something even more terrifying.

"You're all infected." Xiao Han said in a deep voice.

"We know..." T'Challa smiled bitterly, the energy of the Black Panther suit rapidly fading.

"We... can't hold on much longer..."

"There is no cure." Vision's voice was low, filled with regret.

"The virus has completely altered their cellular structure; reversal is impossible."

"We know." Okoye gritted her teeth, gripping her spear tightly.

"We've known all along."

"Then let us die like warriors." T'Challa struggled to his feet, the energy core of the Black Panther suit flickering erratically.

Xiao Han watched them in silence.

He knew these people were beyond saving.

"The zombies outside are breaking through the shield." Vision looked up toward the palace exterior.

"Wanda, Natasha, Captain Marvel... They'll break through soon."

At that, Vision gazed blankly at Wanda, yet said nothing.

"Then don't let them in." Coulson coughed up a mouthful of black blood, tremblingly raising his pistol.

"At least... don't let them destroy this place."

Gwen took a deep breath, forcing herself to stand, even though her skin was already turning blue-green.

"We... can't become like them."

Xiao Han took a deep breath, his calm gaze sweeping over each person.

"What do you want to do?"

T'Challa raised his head, the light in his eyes not yet fully extinguished.

"Put us out of our misery."

"Then, end all of this for us."

The air froze for a second.

Xiao Han slowly nodded.

"Alright."

The next second,

"Buzz!"

His eyes flared with scorching golden light, his heat vision piercing precisely through the hearts of T'Challa and Okoye.

Their bodies trembled slightly, then collapsed—no pain, no struggle.

Coulson closed his eyes, a trace of relieved a smile touching the corner of his mouth.

"Thank you."

"Bang!"

A tiny beam of energy shot from Xiao Han's fingertip, piercing through Coulson's glabella.

Gwen looked at her fallen comrades, took a deep breath, and finally looked at Xiao Han.

"Don't let me turn into a monster."

Xiao Han raised a hand, gently pressing it against her forehead.

"Sleep."

A gentle golden light flashed, and Gwen's body slumped softly, life extinguishing in an instant.

Vision watched this silently, finally murmuring, "They wouldn't want to remain a threat after death."

Xiao Han nodded, raising a hand with a sweep of golden flames that engulfed all the corpses, incinerating them completely.