"Hmm?" Peter's movement caught Marcus's attention. "Reconnaissance mission?"
Observing Peter swinging through abandoned buildings on web-lines, Marcus raised an eyebrow slightly.
He understood these people's thinking reasonably well. When checking the timeline earlier, he'd witnessed Vision transmitting signals.
However, Vision's communications weren't entirely truthful. While the android had discovered the Mind Stone could suppress zombie virus spread and maintain undead calm, he wasn't implementing this knowledge.
First, he lacked sufficient power. His abilities originated from the Mind Stone itself. Using that power was manageable, but stimulating large-scale Mind Stone energy was beyond his capabilities alone.
Second, he'd found zombie Wanda's power was too overwhelming. He was already exerting maximum effort preventing her from rioting.
Even then, he required additional assistance—specifically, the flesh and blood all zombies craved.
In Base 1, besides imprisoning Wanda, he also confined another individual: Black Panther T'Challa from Wakanda.
One of the panther's legs had been cooked by Vision as food, specially prepared to feed Wanda.
Because of his love for her, he couldn't bring himself to kill Wanda. So after her zombification, he continued seeking ways to cure her while providing sustenance.
He deliberately broadcast Base 1 signals. During this period, survivors arrived continuously—all were attacked by him and became feasts for zombie Wanda.
Marcus felt relatively indifferent about their actions. After all, zombies weren't the only entities consuming humans.
This world had collapsed after viral spread. All previous social structures had become meaningless. No one would observe past rules and regulations.
When hungry, they'd dare consume anything except zombies.
Currently, Marcus watched Peter and others from a distance with enhanced vision. They had now gathered together, traveling to Base 1 by train.
"Ha... Tony didn't survive to this world's end, but Happy became a survivor."
On the train, Happy wore an Iron Man suit gauntlet, relying on its repulsor beam to survive until now.
"It seems I'll encounter Zombie Wanda shortly. This woman is truly unfortunate," Marcus observed.
Countless tentacles erupted from his vicinity. Increasing numbers of zombie heroes and villains were impaled by appendages, their bodies rapidly changing.
As Marcus continued advancing, surrounding areas became enormous flesh-and-blood hatcheries.
Many infected mutants evolved, spewing countless spores. After landing, those spores frantically absorbed nutrients from the biological incubators.
Within moments, spores burst open and joined the mutant army in various forms.
Marcus paid no attention to these developments. The Infestation virus hadn't reached peak potential yet. Once achieving maximum saturation, this planet would become a living world.
"Does this count as creating the Infested landscape?" Marcus muttered to himself.
If this armor wanted promotion, it had to approach from this direction. The consequence would be transforming the entire planet into his domain.
"Never mind. There's no Entrati family here—even as an Infested realm, it would be primitive."
After self-reflection, Marcus resumed advancing. What Earth became was irrelevant to him. Only when the universe filled with zombies could his armor complete promotion.
"I wonder whether the zombie virus will destroy the universe first, or if it'll be consumed by these flesh pillars."
Marcus walked slowly toward Base 1 amid waves of roaring.
Simultaneously, outside Wakanda's defensive barriers, Thanos and his forces who'd come to Earth were also suffering zombie attacks.
Thanos and his army, failing to avoid zombie assault in time, were all infected. Within moments, they became powerful undead.
After zombification, Thanos immediately issued orders to his forces. The army began attacking Wakanda's defensive barriers while he retreated through portals to other locations.
Base 1
"Vision?" everyone exclaimed upon arriving at Base 1, shocked by the android who greeted them. "Have you discovered methods to treat or suppress zombies?"
Facing their questions, Vision nodded.
"Perhaps because I'm synthetic, the zombie virus has no effect on me, allowing concentrated research."
His words won unanimous approval. While Vision appeared no different from humans except for coloration, he remained fundamentally robotic.
His body was constructed from Wakandan vibranium—the world's hardest material.
Zombies couldn't even bite through Bucky's metal arm, let alone Vision.
Moreover, Vision possessed no biological tissue. Even standing among zombies, none would show interest in him.
"However, my research derives from the Mind Stone in my forehead!"
Vision explained the Mind Stone's effect on zombies to everyone. Within the gem's power range, undead refused entry, showing strong repulsion to its energy.
However, he hadn't had time for deeper investigation. Only weeks had passed since zombie outbreak.
"Why don't you remain and study with me? Together we might develop countermeasures more rapidly."
"No, we don't have sufficient time. While traveling here, we encountered..." Peter and others related everything they'd witnessed.
There was something strange preying on zombies, still spreading outward. They needed immediate departure.
After hearing everyone's account, Vision's expression became particularly strange, as if worried about something.
Everyone noticed this reaction. They didn't understand Vision's concern, but genuinely lacked time.
If Vision joined them, survival would become much easier. They also wanted to understand those flesh pillars.
"What's with that expression? Don't you want to leave?"
Everyone felt confused by Vision's demeanor. While zombies couldn't enter here, the strange tentacles and flesh pillars were spreading toward this location. Soon this place would be devoured by those entities.
While talking, Peter suddenly stepped forward, tilting his head as if listening to something.
"What's wrong?" Hope asked with confusion.
"I hear someone calling for help—that person seems to be inside the base..."
Peter pushed open the base door, preparing to investigate.
But the moment he was about to act, Vision suddenly blocked him.
"You can't enter!"
After these words, everyone felt even stranger. Why was Vision preventing Peter? Was something shameful inside?
During apocalypse conditions, Vision was synthetic—what could concern him about their observation?
"I hear it again—that voice is familiar. It must be someone we know."
Peter spoke again, ignoring Vision's obstruction and entering the base. Everyone followed.
The moment they entered, everyone was stunned by the interior situation.
"T'Challa? You're here!" Okoye from Wakanda rushed forward.
She'd ventured here because Wakanda's king was missing—she'd been searching for his location.
Originally believing Black Panther was trapped somewhere, now it appeared he'd been imprisoned here with one leg severed.
"Okoye? Beware of Vision—he did this to me!"
Black Panther reacted immediately upon seeing everyone, loudly warning that current Vision wasn't the peacetime android.
"He's raising zombies, using my legs!"
Upon these words, everyone turned toward Vision with wariness. His expression finally returned to normal.
"I didn't want to do this!"
The Mind Stone on his forehead blazed as tremendous energy prepared for release.
"ROAAAAAR!"
BOOM, BOOM, BOOM...
When they stood on the verge of combat, roars and wall impacts came from the adjacent door.
Hearing such sounds, Vision's expression instantly changed—he knew Wanda had awakened from deep sleep.
"You shouldn't have disturbed her!"
Vision watched the gate emitting red light vigilantly—zombie Wanda was about to break free from containment.
BOOM!
Accompanied by violent sound, the barrier exploded away as crimson energy spread instantly.
"ROAAAAAR!"
Zombie Wanda sensed human scent—her stomach was hungry again.
"It's Wanda—she's also become a zombie!" Peter's expression changed drastically upon seeing the undead.
They all knew Wanda's tremendous power.
Now that she'd become a zombie, their escape probability was virtually zero.
"Return, Wanda!" Vision's forehead radiated light, giving orders to zombie Wanda.
Though Wanda had zombified, as a synthetic being, he could barely communicate through the Mind Stone.
Perhaps due to retained intelligence, Wanda still harbored love for Vision.
After hearing his words, Wanda suddenly stopped, standing quietly while observing everyone.
Stranger scents attracted her. She simply wanted to feed now, but didn't want to disappoint Vision.
"Huff..." Wanda dispersed hand energy, stepping backward gradually.
Her love overcame appetite as she obeyed Vision's commands.
But everyone remained vigilant. After all, Wanda was a zombie—an undead with terrifying abilities.
Just when everyone thought Vision had tamed zombie Wanda, Black Panther's wound reopened while being supported.
Blood flowed from the injury, and the metallic scent spread instantly, making zombie Wanda's hunger surge.
"ROAAAAAR!"
Seeing zombie Wanda raise her head and release crimson energy again, everyone's expressions changed drastically.
They knew Wanda's flesh-and-blood craving had been aroused.
"Go. There's a quinjet in the base that can evacuate you," Vision declared.
Witnessing zombie Wanda's rekindled appetite, he understood the truth he'd been unwilling to accept. The woman he'd always loved had truly become a zombie—an undead possessing tremendous power and devouring flesh.
The Mind Stone on Vision's forehead blazed instantly, shooting a beam from his brow.
The ceiling above everyone was severed immediately, opening passage to a safe area.
"Move!"
Everyone acted immediately, not concerned about Vision's welfare.
Among them, Vision possessed the strongest combat capabilities and was constructed from vibranium—his safety wasn't a concern.
Rather than worrying about Vision, they should consider escape methods. After all, living survivors were what made zombie Wanda so agitated.
BOOM!
As they acted, zombie Wanda released her abilities. Crimson energy erupted instantly, turning their location into ruins.
After accepting Wanda's zombification, Vision had resolved to help everyone escape while remaining buried here with her.
Vision exerted all strength, pushing Mind Stone power to extremes. Tyrannical mental force temporarily suppressed rampaging zombie Wanda.
"GO!" Vision commanded painfully while grasping the Mind Stone on his head.
This was something beneficial to everyone—all he could accomplish now.
"Hmm... Mind Stone power."
Marcus, continuing forward, suddenly sensed Mind Stone energy. Only Vision possessed such capability in this world.
Enhanced vision activated instantly, allowing Marcus to witness Vision's suicide through countless obstacles.
He was removing the Mind Stone from his forehead—the price being death.
For Vision, the Mind Stone was equivalent to human soul. Losing it meant losing consciousness.
With high-precision technology, he might save himself, but lacking time now, he could only choose brutal extraction through suicide.
After throwing the gem to Peter and others, light in Vision's eyes quickly faded as he fell heavily before Zombie Wanda.
Seeing the figure collapse before her, Zombie Wanda froze, violent eyes showing sadness.
The next moment, red light burst from her eyes as tyrannical crimson energy formed a hemisphere, spreading wildly and flattening everything nearby.