Latveria.
Wanda repeated the word, her tongue rolling over each syllable, without any sense of familiarity.
She looked at Felicia.
Where is that?
Felicia paused, a hint of confusion flashing in her grey-blue eyes.
She put down the communicator and turned to look at Wanda.
"You do not know?"
Wanda leaned against the wall with her arms crossed.
Should I know?
Felicia opened her mouth, then closed it again, as if she was organizing her thoughts.
" Latveria is the country of Doctor Doom, Victor von Doom, a small country in Eastern Europe, where he is the dictator." She paused.
"He's the archenemy of the Fantastic Four, skilled in both technology and magic, so he's... a villain, I suppose."
Wanda quickly processed the information: a master of both technology and magic, a dictator, a villain. The amount of information wasn't large, but it was enough to outline a character.
However, she got stuck on another word.
Who are the Fantastic Four?
Felicia's expression changed.
It wasn't surprise, it was the kind of speechless feeling that makes you think, "Are you kidding me?"
She stared at Wanda for three seconds, making sure the other wasn't pretending, then placed the communicator on the control panel next to her and turned to face Wanda.
"A superhero team. Four people, like your Avengers. One can set fires, one can turn into Thing, one's body can stretch like rubber, and the other can manipulate force fields and become invisible."
After Felicia finished speaking, she tilted her head slightly.
"Your universe doesn't have that?"
Wanda ran through the list in her mind: the archives of Kamar-Taj, the Avengers ' database, all the random multiverse stories Thor had told her—none of them matched up.
"No."
Felicia pursed her lips and sent out another message.
" Mister Fantastic, Reed Richards. Claimed to be the smartest man in the world, even smarter Tony Stark. Does your universe really not have one?"
Wanda shook her head.
"Never heard of it."
That's not surprising.
That's how the multiverse works; some people are legends in one universe, but disappear without a trace in another.
Thor had told her something similar.
but--
"You mean that Doom, who's skilled in both technology and magic?" Wanda raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that just like Tony Stark in our universe?"
Felicia was stunned.
"... What?"
"Our universe's Tony is a master of both technology and magic," Wanda said calmly, as if stating common sense.
Felicia remained silent for several seconds.
"Your universe is quite strange."
Wanda ignored this and steered the conversation back on track.
"So this person, who's supposedly the smartest in the world, couldn't solve the zombie virus?"
Felicia's shoulders slumped slightly, a very subtle movement, but Wanda noticed it.
"Don't even mention it."
She leaned against the edge of the control panel, supporting herself with her hands behind her.
" The Zombie She-Hulk — Jennifer Walters—ate Reed's son Franklin and daughter Valeria."
Wanda remained silent.
"Then Reed went mad." Felicia raised her chin slightly, her gaze falling on a non-existent point on the ceiling.
"He deliberately allowed himself to become infected and joined the zombie army. The world's most brilliant mind is now a thinking, mindless zombie."
The room fell silent for a few seconds.
Wanda mentally reviewed the name she had just heard.
Valeria.
Thor's Knowhere, a place that houses countless variants of the multiverse, where a top scientist, a seventeen-year-old girl, is mentioned.
She didn't think too much about it; this wasn't something she should be worrying about right now.
Felicia noticed her momentary lapse in concentration.
"What, you know him?"
"I've heard of him. Not really." Wanda cut the subject. "Let's get down to business. What exactly is this signal?"
Felicia picked up the communicator again and pulled up the transcript of the looping broadcast.
"Someone is calling for survivors. They say Latveria is now humanity's last refuge, inviting all the living to seek refuge there and fight against the zombies together."
Wanda glanced at her.
Do you think we should go?
Felicia shook her head directly, decisively and cleanly.
"No way. Latveria fell the day after the zombie outbreak. This is clearly a trap, designed to lure the remaining survivors there as food."
Logically, it makes sense. A country that has already fallen suddenly issuing a refugee signal seems like a trap.
But Wanda did not draw a conclusion immediately.
If Doom is truly the kind of dictator Felicia described—a master of both technology and magic—then he might not have been so easily overwhelmed by the zombie horde.
Such people either die immediately or are the last to fall.
Just as the two were about to continue their discussion, the communicator suddenly emitted a piercing electrical noise.
The loop broadcast has been cut off.
Instead, a new audio clip was used, in real time.
A man's voice came through the communicator.
Calm and dignified, each word carries an undeniable weight, with a subtle metallic resonance beneath, like the filtering effect of a mask or helmet.
"Listen, you remaining humans."
Felicia's fingers tightened, her nails digging into the edge of the worktable.
"This world has long been devoured by the decaying flesh and blood of heroes. So-called justice and so-called protection have long since turned into fangs that gnaw at our own people."
Wanda straightened up, her back away from the wall.
The voice didn't pause, didn't hesitate; every syllable was an overwhelming declaration.
"Only Doom-- "
The metallic resonance within the communicator was amplified, as if the speaker was deliberately lowering their frequency.
"--This is your last chance to survive."
Felicia turned to look at Wanda, her grey-blue pupils reflecting the green light flickering on the communicator screen.
Wanda didn't look at her.
She stared at the communicator that was still continuously sending signals, her mind racing.
This isn't a recorded audio loop; it's a live broadcast.
A living person is sitting somewhere in Latveria, shouting to the whole world.
Felicia said that Latveria fell the very next day.
However, the owner of this voice clearly disagreed with this statement.
On the communicator, the man who called himself Doom was still speaking, while Wanda's right hand had unconsciously touched the outline of the Eye of Agamotto below her collar.
To go or not to go?