Chapter 106: Saving the World Isn't Simple
Strange now faced two options: tell Wanda the location of the Darkhold and work together to save the world, or fight Wanda with virtually no chance of winning, then reveal the Darkhold's location after losing.
Neither option appealed to Strange.
"Wanda, why do you want the Darkhold?"
Wanda was about to answer when she caught herself, shaking her head. "None of your business."
Strange considered for a long time, and just as Wanda grew impatient, he spoke. "I can tell you where the Darkhold is, but only after we resolve this global zombie crisis first."
Of course, Strange wasn't being cooperative—he'd promise anything to anyone to buy time, especially with Wanda.
An agreement was reached, and Wanda officially joined the crisis response team.
She would accompany elite troops to the front lines, halting the infected hordes and buying time for civilian evacuation.
Meanwhile, Ryan was working to identify the pathogen responsible for the zombie virus.
Ryan had already isolated the filovirus structure. The next step was removing the protein membrane, peeling back the pathogen's outer shell and retrieving its genetic core.
To neutralize the virus, the first step was finding a chemical compound capable of inhibiting it.
There were no shortcuts—they had to systematically test each possibility.
Cassie abandoned her own research to help, labeling various chemical compounds and distributing them to Ryan and Maya Hansen for testing.
Compound testing lasted a full week, but still no element was found to inhibit the zombie virus.
Maya Hansen and Cassie fell asleep exhausted on the lab sofa, while Ryan sat at his computer, deep in thought.
They'd tried nearly every known compound, but none had any effect on the zombie virus.
"Am I wrong?"
Ryan rubbed his chin and shook his head. "No, the serum Angus created isn't a traditional zombie virus. It triggered a different chemical reaction in Steve Rogers' enhanced physiology."
Ryan slapped his thigh in realization. "This isn't a conventional pathogen at all! I've been approaching this wrong!"
From a biological perspective, zombies were organisms that had lost self-awareness but could still follow base instincts.
But Angus's creation was different. No consciousness, no bodily instincts—truly dead, yet cellular tissue remained active.
While the two appeared similar, they were fundamentally different.
Ryan immediately went to cold storage, retrieved various blood and serum samples, and resumed experimentation.
His hypothesis: if the zombie virus was a mutated enhancement serum, then a higher-tier genetic sequence would be sufficient to suppress it.
An hour later, all ten test samples had completed their reactions.
Ryan began observing each result.
"Beast gene—failed."
"Eternal gene—failed."
"Hulk gene—failed."
"Red Hulk gene—failed."
"Enhancement Serum Formula 1—failed."
"Formula 2—failed."
"..."
"My own gene... damn, the cure is me?"
When he considered it, only a handful of beings in the universe possessed a higher genetic sequence than Ryan's.
Thanos himself was a brilliant geneticist who'd enhanced his own biology.
Ryan had used gene-replacement technology to enhance himself, and his genetic sequence was already remarkably close to Thanos's baseline. Then he'd incorporated Celestial genes, officially establishing a bridge to cosmic energy—a dual pathway of physical and metaphysical power.
Theoretically, Ryan's genetic tier had reached its peak. Further advancement was impossible without incorporating additional Celestial genetic material.
"Huh!"
Ryan exhaled, glanced at the sleeping Cassie and Maya Hansen, and returned to the next experimental phase.
To create the cure, he first needed to extract the active compounds from his own serum. The purification process was tedious and time-consuming.
Hours passed in what felt like moments.
Cassie and Maya Hansen slept until they woke naturally, their exhaustion finally gone.
Sitting up with disheveled hair, Cassie found Ryan still working at the lab bench.
She smoothed her hair, stood up, poured two glasses of water, and placed one beside him without disturbing his concentration.
"Did you sleep well?"
Ryan didn't turn, but he knew it was Cassie beside him.
"Yeah, really well. You've been working for days straight. Don't you want to rest?"
"Almost done," Ryan replied, eyes fixed on the microscope.
With steady hands, he slowly extracted the desired substance using the precision extractor and placed it in a culture tank. Once finished, he activated the automated synthesis machine.
The machine hummed briefly, and a vial of pale blue serum emerged.
Cassie, seeing the freshly prepared serum, asked in surprise, "Is this... the cure? You actually created it!"
Ryan smiled faintly at the vial. "We'll know if it works after testing."
Actually, this serum couldn't strictly be called a cure—it was more like a targeted poison.
The zombie virus killed its host, then infected surviving cells to maintain animation. The serum Ryan created would kill the zombie virus—effectively killing the infected host's reanimated tissue.
Maya Hansen, hearing the cure was ready, immediately perked up and joined them.
The three proceeded to the containment facility where the infected Winter Soldier was imprisoned.
Despite being limbless, Bucky still retained considerable vitality, his eyes rolling wildly and roaring, as if desperate to devour anything in sight.
Ryan retrieved a spray apparatus, filled it with diluted solution, then sprayed the aerosolized serum onto the restrained infected Bucky.
Injection wasn't feasible because too many people were infected globally—individual injections would be impossible to implement.
Therefore, aerosolization was the optimal delivery method.
Ryan, Cassie, and Maya Hansen watched intently.
As the aerosolized serum settled on Bucky's exposed tissue, it immediately reacted, rapidly decomposing his necrotic skin as if exposed to acid, transforming it into black liquid.
Then, starting from the contaminated area, the reaction spread outward, radiating throughout the body until the entire corpse had liquefied.
"It works! It actually works! Ryan, you're incredible!"
Cassie leaped with excitement and hugged Ryan.
Ryan smiled too. If he could help it, he certainly didn't want to live in an apocalyptic hellscape.
He handed the remaining serum to Maya Hansen with instructions. "Take this to the culture tanks and begin mass production. First, test it extensively on non-infected humans to ensure it's harmless to normal tissue before proceeding to full-scale production."
Ryan's lab wasn't equipped as a production facility, so its manufacturing capacity was inherently limited.
This life-saving compound gave humanity a fighting chance—as long as there was hope, it was worth pursuing.
With the cure formulated, they could finally rest.
Ryan and Cassie chatted and laughed as they exited the lab. Upon emerging, they encountered a pair of furious eyes.
Scott's heart was breaking as he watched his daughter—who hadn't been home in days—laughing with this man.
"Dad!" Cassie stuck out her tongue sheepishly, waved goodbye to Ryan, and immediately went to meet her father.
Ryan chuckled and turned away.
After returning to his residence, Ryan summoned Corvus and Anthony.
After spending days in the lab, the first thing he needed was a status update on external developments.
"Boss."
"Come, sit down," Ryan gestured, inviting them to sit.
Anthony glanced at Corvus and spoke first. "Boss, let me report."
Ryan nodded.
Anthony continued, "Nick Fury has been lobbying government officials worldwide to coordinate civilian relocation. A significant portion of the population has already been evacuated. Reportedly, high-ranking officials and wealthy donors who contribute resources receive relocation priority."
"We contacted President Ross three days ago. He's established a provisional government in an underground bunker and is directing military cleanup operations. Results haven't been impressive, but intelligence suggests he's considering tactical nuclear deployment."
"Also, Japan was completely overrun. With no strategic depth, they had nowhere to retreat after the outbreak. Large numbers of survivors have fled to Celestial Island, begging for work in the mining operations."
"The settlement is running smoothly otherwise."
Anthony finished his report, and Ryan turned to Corvus.
Corvus said coldly, "I received intelligence yesterday that the Avengers have suffered catastrophic losses. The only active members are Thor, Wanda, Doctor Strange, Bruce Banner, and a few Guardians. Everyone else is gone."
Ryan clicked his tongue. So few of the mighty Avengers remained?
He'd been preparing for war with the Avengers, only to have them decimated by Angus's mad science!
"Boss, I believe now is the optimal time to destroy the Avengers and New Asgard. I request permission to lead the assault."
Corvus didn't fully understand Ryan's conflict with the Avengers, but anyone who opposed Ryan was his enemy—and must be eliminated.
Ryan didn't agree immediately. "The cure is ready. Let's restore the federal government's strength first, then we can discuss military action against New Asgard."
If they wanted war, they'd have to strike both New Asgard and Wakanda simultaneously.
To avoid draining Celestial Island's forces, they'd naturally need the federal military's support.
Understanding Ryan's intention, Corvus immediately responded, "Understood, Boss. I'll dispatch operatives to protect President Ross."
Three days later, the first batch of diluted cure was ready and delivered to the federal military.
Completely eradicating the infected from cities was no simple task. Many were hiding in buildings and concealed locations. Aerial spraying of the cure would inevitably miss pockets of infection.
A thorough cleansing would require substantial time and coordinated effort.
Batches of cure were shipped from Celestial Island to locations worldwide. Humanity sounded the horn for counterattack and entered the Great Purge era. Everyone joined forces to search for and eliminate infected hiding throughout urban areas.
The zombie crisis officially entered its final phase.
Of those relocated to Thanos's retirement planet, only a fraction returned. The majority remained, intending to establish it as humanity's new homeworld.
In just over a month, Earth's population of eight billion had been reduced by nearly half. Of the survivors, another half relocated permanently, leaving approximately two billion scattered across five continents.
Factories shut down, schools remained closed, cities became ghost towns.
Industry and agriculture regressed dramatically, and many regions descended into complete anarchy.
The crisis was resolving, but humanity faced even greater challenges ahead.
Before the zombie crisis was completely eliminated, before human society could fully rebuild, a pre-war council convened in the magnificent palace on Celestial Island's eastern shore.
The agenda: the complete annihilation of Wakanda and New Asgard.
End of Chapter 106
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