Three blocks away, in the ruins of Central Park in Manhattan, a dozen pairs of eyes of different colors converged in the darkness.
The Zombie Hawkeye crouched on the broken stump of a dead tree, tilting his head and fiddling with a broken arrow with his remaining half-finger.
His right eyeball had turned white and cloudy, but his left eye still retained some of the sharpness it had when he was alive.
"West." His throat was parched, like two pieces of sandpaper grinding against it, and the words he uttered were indistinct, "Three... alive ones."
The Zombie Black Widow leaned against an overturned taxi, her red hair knotted and half of her scalp turned upside down.
Upon hearing Hawkeye's words, she tilted her neck, her joints making a cracking sound.
Are three enough?
"Not enough." The Zombie Wolverine emerged from the darkness, its three claws still adorned with bits of flesh and blood of some unknown substance.
His healing factor, after turning into a zombie, became a twisted entity; wounds would heal, but the decay would not stop.
He lived in an Infinity cycle of decay and Infinity, and his hunger was hundreds of times stronger than that of any other zombie.
"First come, first served."
Zombie Kingpin's massive body emerged from behind the rubble; his suit was tattered, revealing his grayish-green skin and bulging belly.
A trace of his former authority still lingered; he spoke with his chin slightly raised.
"Rules still need to be in place. Whoever bites first gets to keep it."
Half of the Zombie War Machine's face was hidden behind the shattered visor. The ammunition in its shoulder armor had long been emptied, but the powered exoskeleton was still running, the hydraulic system hissing.
He didn't say anything, but simply moved his shoulder joints a few times in place.
The Zombie Falcon folded its wings and landed on a crooked lamppost.
The Zombie Iron Fist's right hand was still emitting a faint yellow light.
The Zombie Daredevil stood on the outermost edge, his head turning aimlessly from side to side—he was blind in life, and his condition didn't improve much in death.
Zombie Jessica Jones stood with her arms crossed and expressionless, as if she were waiting in line for her number to be called.
A dozen or so super zombies moved westward in unison.
The Zombie Shadowcat walked at the very front.
She was the most suitable one among these zombies to be the vanguard—her ability to become ethereal allowed her to pass through all obstacles and approach her prey silently.
Two minutes later, she saw people.
A red-haired woman, a silver-haired woman, and a motionless man.
Shadowcat didn't hesitate at all.
Her body instantly became ethereal, passing through three crumbling walls, and hurtling straight towards Felicia.
Felicia's hair stood on end instantly.
The feeling was eerie; it wasn't a threat coming from directly in front, nor from flanking from the left or right, but from directly below—no, from inside the wall.
She instinctively took a step back, and the Zombie Shadowcat's hand emerged directly from the broken wall in front of her, its fingertips grazing her throat, less than two centimeters from her skin.
"They're here!" Felicia shouted.
Wanda was already prepared.
From the moment Thor closed his eyes to comprehend, she never relaxed her senses.
The power of Vishanti flowed within her, and the laws of the Mirror Dimension awaited her at her fingertips.
The Sorcerer Supreme's perception range covers an area of three kilometers within Midtown Manhattan.
She monitored the entire process of the zombies gathering and moving.
The Shadowcat's sneak attack was just an appetizer; the real problem was the dozen or so that followed.
The second Zombie Wolverine charged out, its three claws aimed directly at Thor's back.
The Zombie War Machine's powered exoskeleton unleashed maximum thrust, closing in at high speed from the side.
Zombie Kingpin surprisingly agile, his 130-kilogram body nimbly weaving through the rubble.
A dozen or so super zombies attacked simultaneously.
Wanda slowly raised her hands.
There were no spells, no magic circles, and no fancy rituals.
Chaos Magic and the power of Vishanti erupted simultaneously, and a crimson magic circle burst forth from beneath her feet, expanding outward at an incredible speed.
Mirror Dimension -- On.
Reality, in Wanda's hands, was stripped into two layers.
The first floor was the normal world. Thor was still meditating with his eyes closed, Stormbreaker standing motionless on the ground.
On another level, Wanda, alone with a dozen or so super zombies, was dragged into the Mirror Dimension.
The whole process took less than half a second.
Before Felicia could even react, all the zombies in front of her vanished.
Only a ring of scarlet afterglow remained in the air as it slowly faded away.
She stood there, stunned.
The overwhelming murderous intent and stench that had just filled the air vanished instantly, leaving an unnatural silence.
"Don't worry."
Without looking up, Valeria swiped a few times on the holographic projection panel, and a pale blue energy barrier spread out between her, Felicia, and Thor.
A hemispherical force field enveloped the three of them, and dense streams of data floated on the light screen.
"How much impact can this barrier withstand?" Felicia asked.
"A full-power punch from Hulk, plus a full -Thor power punch from Thor, roughly that level."
Felicia's lips twitched, but she didn't reply.
She did the math in her head: the destructive power of Hulk's full-force punch, combined with Thor's lightning, was basically the ceiling of conventional combat power.
This little girl casually pitched a tent and it's this level of defense?
Wanda, needless to say, dragged more than a dozen super zombies into another dimension with a single wave of her hand.
The difference is so vast that it leaves one utterly speechless.
Latveria.
Doctor Doom's castle, the highest monitoring room.
A 360-degree holographic projection screen filled the dome of the rotunda with real-time images of the entire North American Continent.
Every satellite signal still in operation, every remaining electromagnetic wave, is captured, analyzed, and presented by Doom's system.
Doom stood in front of the control panel in the center of the hall, his iron-gray visor reflecting the cold light of the screen.
His hands were behind his back, and he stared intently at the scene in Manhattan, New York.
Morgan le Fay leaned against the edge of the control panel, one hand supporting her chin, her long emerald green dress trailing on the metal floor.
Her other hand hovered in the air, a strand of dark purple magic thread wrapped around her fingertips, unconsciously weaving something.
" Doom," she said, a hint of languor in her voice, "You've been staring at that screen for six minutes now."
Doom ignored her.
In the video, a sixteen-year-old blonde girl is operating a holographic projection panel.
She had grown taller than I remembered, and her features had become sharper than before.
But that habitual head tilt, the gesture of manipulating the data stream with one hand, and the slightly upturned chin when speaking—
Doom will not admit his mistake.
Doom's fingers twitched slightly behind his back—a very subtle movement, but Morgan caught it.
"Someone I know?"
" Doom's goddaughter," he finally spoke.
Two words, without any unnecessary embellishments.
Morgan raised an eyebrow. She didn't ask which goddaughter, because Doom had only ever had one goddaughter— Valeria Richards, the genius brat who gave the Richards a headache.
In this universe, Valeria died at the hands of the She-Hulk when she was only three years old.
The person in the picture is at least sixteen years old.
"From another universe," Doom concluded.
Morgan lowered his hand from his chin and took a closer look at the screen.
The ripples from the shattering of the Mirror Dimension, the technical parameters of the energy barrier, and the blond man who was meditating with his eyes closed.
"The energy level is not low." Her fingertips traced Wanda's figure in the image, the dark purple threads trembling slightly. "That red-haired woman, with Chaos Magic combined with the power of Vishanti... is Wanda Maximoff from another universe."
Doom did not answer the question.
He had already turned away from the control panel, his dark green Cloak drawing an arc behind him.
"Go to Doom."
Morgan straightened up, her skirt trailing an elegant arc on the ground.
I'll go too.
Doom stopped, his iron-gray visor slightly turned, and glanced at her.
Then continue walking forward.
Morgan's lips curved into a smile. Her emerald green dress transformed into a cloud of dark purple smoke that enveloped her figure. When it solidified, it had changed into a set of form-fitting dark combat attire.
A portal ripped open in the center of the hall, golden light and dark purple magic intertwining, revealing the desolate ruins of Manhattan behind it.
New York.
The sound of the Mirror Dimension shattering exploded overhead.
Felicia instinctively looked up and saw a huge crack appear in the sky. Crimson light burst out from the crack, and then the crack widened, shattered, and collapsed.
The zombie corpses began to fall.
One, two, five, ten.
The Zombie Hawkeye's body was twisted at an impossible angle and slammed to the ground, every bone shattering.
The Zombie Wolverine's claws were all broken, and its healing factor completely stopped functioning after its chest cavity was torn apart.
Zombie Kingpin his 130-kilogram body, fell from a height of 20 meters, splashing all over the ground.
The Zombie Shadowcat's ability to become ethereal was completely sealed, and her body fell to the ground with countless cuts.
Finally, there's Wanda.
She floated slowly down from the shattered Mirror Dimension, and the crimson magic circle beneath her feet vanished in a flash as her feet touched the ground.
He was completely unharmed, not even a single hair was disheveled.
The entire process should take no more than four minutes.
Felicia looked at the zombie remains lying scattered all over the ground, then glanced at Wanda.
She turned to Valeria.
"Are all the people in your universe this strong?"
Valeria shook her head, her finger still tracing patterns on the holographic projection panel.
"I'm not from their universe. But I've studied their Avengers— "
She paused for a moment, recalling for a second.
"It seems like everyone here is a super soldier."
Felicia was stunned.
"... What's the meaning?"
"Literal meaning. Each person probably has tens of tons of strength, but I haven't measured it exactly." Valeria shrugged.
Felicia's expression froze.
Tens of tons per person, and Spider-Man per person.
Having spent so many years on the streets of New York, her strength, amounting to tens of tons, is enough to qualify her for the Avengers ' core roster in this universe.
But over there, is this just a threshold?
Even more absurd is this—wasn't Tony Stark one of the most opposed to bio-engineering?
How do you create a team where everyone is a super soldier, with unwavering faith in technology and armor?
She didn't have a chance to ask her question.
A deep, metallic voice sounded behind the three of them.
" Doom didn't expect to see familiar faces in these ruins."
Felicia froze, her hand already reaching for the grappling hook at her waist.
Valeria looked up.
He wore a dark green Cloak and an iron-gray mask. Behind him stood a dark-dressed, black-haired woman with a hint of magic in her emerald eyes.
Doctor Doom Victor, Victor von Doom.
Valeria blurted out, "Godfather?"
He had just said it when he swallowed it back.
She glanced at the data on the holographic projection board and quickly compared the energy characteristics and dimensional coordinates of this Doom.
Not the one from her universe.
It belongs to this universe.
Biological testing – No infection; neither of them showed any signs of the zombie virus.
Valeria removed the defensive barrier.
Doom stood still, his eyes behind the iron-gray visor fixed on Valeria.
He didn't speak, remaining silent for a full three seconds, before finally speaking.
" Doom's castle can accommodate you. Latveria is the last pure land on this planet."
Valeria's eyes darted around, glancing at Thor remained motionless in place.
"Let's wait for Thor." She looked away and said to Doom's visor, "He's awake, let's go together."
Doom followed her gaze.
The blond man, leaning on a battle axe, stood amidst the remains of zombies, his eyes closed, his presence almost nonexistent.
But Doom's magical senses detected something amiss—
This man was emanating some kind of extremely terrifying aura.
Beneath the iron-gray visor, Doom's pupils contracted by a millimeter.
Morgan le Fay sensed it too. She took half a step forward, and dark purple magic threads unconsciously emerged from her fingertips, wrapping around her wrist—a subconscious action when she was on guard.
"What is he doing?" Morgan asked in a low voice.
No one answered her.
Because in that instant, the air around Thor began to distort.
Valeria's holographic projection panel was bombarded with warning messages, and a deluge of data flooded the screen; she couldn't keep up with it even with both hands.
Thor's right index finger twitched.