Chapter 100: A World-Ending Crisis Silently Approaches
In Washington, D.C., a massive military force formed a defensive line to hold back the incoming horde.
Despite deploying their full arsenal, their weapons proved woefully ineffective.
Corvus Glaive led a squad of super-soldiers to the front lines. Clad in vibranium-alloy armor, they formed a human barrier, their blades swiftly dismembering the infected one by one.
Suddenly, a figure leaped high, clearing the wall of super-soldiers and descending upon the regular troops behind them.
Corvus, overseeing the battle, unsheathed his glaive and charged forward.
With a single slash, he carved through the attacker's chest, leaving a deep wound but deliberately avoiding a killing blow.
"The Winter Soldier?"
Though Bucky's face had become grotesque and decayed, Corvus recognized him instantly.
Without his vibranium arm, Bucky was incredibly savage, his emaciated body somehow capable of unleashing tremendous strength, even matching Corvus blow-for-blow.
"Sir, we're receiving orders from the White House. It's time to fall back."
Upon hearing this, Corvus immediately withdrew from direct combat, grabbed an RPG from a nearby soldier, and fired at Bucky.
BOOM!
Bucky was thrown back by the explosion. Just as he began to rise again, Corvus appeared behind him.
SHLASH!
A cold flash of his glaive sliced through flesh and bone, instantly severing Bucky's arms and legs at the joints.
"Retreat! Secure the specimen!"
"Yes, sir!"
The military withdrew in fighting formation. President Ross evacuated from the White House aboard Air Force One first, with Corvus following closely in a military transport.
Far away on Celestial Island, Ryan had already received video feeds from the mainland.
Seeing the infected humans on the screen, Ryan was stunned. "Am I not in the MCU? How did this turn into a zombie apocalypse?"
The federal capital, Washington D.C., had fallen after a 32-hour defense, and President Ross's whereabouts were unknown. The news shocked the world.
Corvus brought the captured Winter Soldier—now missing all four limbs—back to Celestial Island. Ryan immediately began studying Bucky's condition.
"Blood sugar index is zero?"
"Metabolic rate is zero!"
"Cell activity... this is strange."
The fluid flowing through Bucky's body could no longer be called blood—it was a thick black ichor similar to oil.
Ryan ran extensive tests but couldn't identify what was maintaining cellular activity.
Normally, without energy intake, there's no energy output. Bucky was still able to move, which meant he must have an energy source. The problem was, Ryan couldn't find it.
Ryan removed his gloves and walked outside the containment lab, asking Corvus, who was waiting, "Have you contacted Ross?"
Corvus shook his head. "Air Force One has lost contact. It's very likely—"
"Keep searching. Even if Air Force One crashed, Ross must be found. Arrange another aircraft for me. I'm going to the New Jersey military base."
Ryan had always believed his timeline was the prime MCU reality, so this couldn't be the Marvel Zombies universe. He had to find out what was happening.
"Boss, I'm coming with you," Corvus said.
Ryan waved his hand dismissively. "Go prepare."
Just as Ryan prepared to investigate the zombie outbreak's origin at the New Jersey base, the Avengers encountered their own problems.
Tens of thousands of infected swarmed Manhattan, forcing the Avengers to destroy all connecting bridges and tunnels, temporarily isolating the island from the mainland.
Doctor Strange mobilized dozens of sorcerers from the Mystic Arts to open sling ring portals, evacuating uninfected civilians in massive numbers.
The frantic evacuation continued while the Avengers gathered to discuss their next moves.
Suddenly, a red and blue figure swung down on webbing, landing steadily before them—Spider-Man, Peter Parker.
"Hey everyone, what's going on? I just—"
Peter had been escorting his friends and Aunt May to safety when he'd learned the Avengers were coordinating the evacuation.
Dr. Banner spoke gravely. "Everyone's seen how infectious these creatures are. We need to warn the entire world."
Hawkeye Barton, checking his phone, looked up grimly. "Too late. Similar outbreaks are happening globally."
Seeing no one paying attention to him, Peter anxiously interrupted, "Hey guys, isn't there some kind of cure?"
Everyone turned to look at him.
Under their scrutiny, Peter said awkwardly, "I mean, they look diseased. Maybe we can develop an antidote or something?"
Everyone then turned to look at Banner, the most scientifically knowledgeable person present.
Bruce Banner smiled bitterly. "I have seven PhDs, but none in biology or medicine. Biology is an incredibly broad field with many specialists. But if you're asking who the world's foremost authority is, I do know one person."
"Who?"
"Ryan."
Everyone: "..."
Banner spread his hands. "It's a fact. Currently, no one on Earth surpasses Ryan in genetic engineering and biomedical science. His research achievements speak for themselves."
Ryan had evolved from an ordinary human to someone comparable to Thanos through biological genetic engineering alone. Even their enemies couldn't deny Ryan's expertise in this field.
"But what if he created all of this?"
Everyone fell silent again.
Just as the Avengers reached an impasse, a phone rang.
"It's Nick Fury."
"Put it on speaker."
The call connected, and Nick Fury's voice came through clearly.
"I just received intelligence. Russia deployed tactical nuclear weapons three minutes ago. The launch codes for the U.S. nuclear arsenal are with the President, but the President has lost contact. If we can't find a better solution, we must locate President Ross immediately."
Everyone exchanged shocked glances. Spider-Man, unable to control himself, blurted out, "If nuclear weapons are launched everywhere, won't Earth be destroyed?"
"If they're not launched, humanity will definitely die. If they are, at least some will survive!"
Another impossible choice—the trolley problem on a global scale.
"It will take approximately 24 hours to evacuate New York's population. Carol, you find President Ross. Banner will investigate the virus's origin. Everyone else focuses on evacuation operations."
Nick Fury issued his orders and disconnected.
Captain Marvel checked the list of secure locations Fury provided, searching for Ross, who might become the last President of the United States.
Banner headed alone to the New Jersey military base.
The century-old installation was reduced to rubble, with aircraft and armored vehicles reduced to charred wreckage.
The barracks lay in ruins. Only a single laboratory building remained partially standing, with several shambling infected in lab coats wandering aimlessly before it.
Banner, transformed into the Hulk, leaped a hundred meters in a single bound, landing with a ground-shaking thud before the laboratory entrance. This immediately attracted the infected's attention—they rushed toward him, mouths agape and moaning.
With a casual wave of his massive hand, Banner dispatched several of them, then climbed into the laboratory building.
Minutes after Bruce Banner entered the facility, a military aircraft slowly landed on the base's runway.
Corvus led the squad, clearing out scattered infected before following Ryan into the laboratory building.
"Boss, someone recently passed through here."
The marks at the entrance were obvious.
Ryan didn't mind. With the federal capital already fallen, it would be strange if no one came to investigate.
Ryan, familiar with the facility's layout, entered and headed straight for the elevator shaft, pried open the doors, and dropped down.
Corvus ordered two super-soldiers to guard the entrance while the rest of the squad followed closely behind.
The military base's underground laboratory was extensive, and the area where Ryan had once worked was only a small section of it.
Upon entering, Ryan noticed no signs of infected. He turned and said, "Corvus, check the surveillance systems. The rest of you split up and search for clues."
"Yes, sir."
Ryan first visited his old laboratory, which remained unchanged. He then moved to another experimental wing.
As he passed through a corridor, Ryan found Angus's body lying on the floor, partially consumed.
This was the only corpse in the entire underground facility, indicating the problem must have originated here.
Ryan had some recollection of Angus, though not much.
Stepping past Angus's remains and through the open doorway, Ryan's eyes met another pair of eyes.
"Banner?"
"Ryan!"
Ryan hadn't expected to encounter Bruce Banner in such a place, and Banner clearly hadn't expected to find Ryan either.
The atmosphere grew tense.
Banner had attacked Ryan three times: during the Battle of New York, during the assault on the military base, and finally during the encirclement operation in Greenland's Arctic Circle.
All three attempts had failed.
Ryan glanced at the documents Banner held and asked with a slight smile, "Find anything useful?"
Banner replied quietly, "A scientist named Angus caused this entire crisis."
"Angus? That body outside the door is Angus."
Banner's heart sank. His purpose in coming here was to find whoever was responsible—hoping that person might know how to stop it. Perhaps there really was a cure, as Peter suggested.
Now that he was dead, any hope of an antidote seemed doomed.
Then a thought struck him. Banner suddenly looked at Ryan with desperate hope. "Ryan, you're the world's foremost biologist. Do you have any ideas?"
Ryan neither nodded nor shook his head—he wouldn't commit until he was certain.
"Help me organize Angus's experimental data first. I need to review everything before I can make an assessment."
It wasn't that Ryan had forgiven the Avengers; he simply didn't want to waste time on a confrontation now.
While he was confident he could defeat Banner, a fight between them would destroy this facility. The most urgent priority was investigating the cause of the outbreak.
Ryan and Banner reached this understanding tacitly.
One wanted to know the truth, the other wanted to save the world. Soon they had compiled all the research data on the lab table.
"This is all the test data. I'll help you organize it chronologically. Please, Ryan."
Ryan said nothing, carefully reading through Angus's experimental logs.
[May 13th: Research progress is slow. President Ross has demanded results within six months.]
[May 25th: I discovered a flaw in the cellular reanimation technique. Even if cells are reactivated, they cannot survive without metabolic processes.]
[June 4th: I found a way to keep cells active. Since I cannot restore metabolism, I'll simply extend cellular lifespan indefinitely.]
[June 5th: Black coral can survive up to 4,000 years. If I integrate black coral genes into human cells, I can achieve the goal of non-metabolic cellular persistence.]
[July 9th: I finally succeeded.]
After reading Angus's notes, Ryan couldn't help but curse aloud: "What a goddamn idiot!"
End of Chapter 100
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