American Comics: Multiverse of Madness

Strolling through the streets of New York, Alex continuously sensed his surroundings, searching for any traces of people who might have survived this apocalyptic crisis.

The contamination was spreading even faster than he had imagined. The Avengers were the first to fall, but they wouldn't be the last. At this moment, most ordinary people had already been devoured, leaving behind nothing but scattered remains.

Even those who weren't completely consumed had risen again, joining the ranks of the undead and further spreading the infection to others.

Under such circumstances, Alex's plan to locate survivors had become incredibly difficult.

[No sign of the source of contamination—or rather, contamination is everywhere. Every infected zombie carrier is part of the contamination, which disrupts my ability to detect it.]

From the very beginning, Alex had tried to have Miss Minutes use the timepad to locate the primary source of the contamination, but now it was clear that this task was far from simple.

"This is the problem—the Zombie Sentry infected the entire Avengers team, but where is he now?"

Alex narrowed his eyes, his fists gradually tightening.

In this universe—this one infected by the zombie virus—everything stemmed from the arrival of the Zombie Sentry. The crucial detail was that this Zombie Sentry wasn't native to this universe. In fact, this universe hadn't even had a Sentry.

The Sentry, whose real name was Robert Reynolds, was a drug addict in other universes. During one of his attempts to steal drugs, he accidentally entered a laboratory and consumed a mysterious serum, granting him immense power.

The serum's energy imbued him with the strength of millions of suns, the source of his unparalleled power.

Along with awakening his invincible power, Robert also unleashed one of the most enigmatic entities in the cosmos—The Void.

Some claimed that The Void was simply Sentry's dark personality, but no one could definitively confirm its origin. Even Doctor Strange could only seal it temporarily, unable to eliminate it entirely.

From this, it was evident that the Sentry's powers didn't solely come from the so-called "serum," and The Void wasn't merely his dark side but rather something far more sinister. However, in this universe, due to the timeline and circumstances, the Sentry had not yet been born, and The Void was non-existent.

The Zombie Sentry who had arrived here with a bolt of purple lightning, bringing widespread contamination, was actually the Sentry from another universe.

In that universe, the zombie apocalypse had erupted not for any other reason but because the zombies there had discovered a way to travel between universes, spreading their contamination.

Sentry had been infected in that world by Worldbreaker Hulk, transforming into the most powerful zombie ever known. He then attempted to detonate the millions of suns' worth of energy within his body to create a breach in the multiverse's reality barriers, enabling the spread of more contamination.

At this critical moment, a Watcher who had been silently observing finally intervened, transporting the Zombie Sentry back to the beginning of this universe. With the arrival of the purple lightning, a perfect closed-loop cycle began.

On the surface, this troublesome situation seemed to have been resolved. However, in reality, a new problem had arisen.

As both the first and final infected, the Zombie Sentry—who was the origin and culmination of all this—was now missing.

After successfully infecting the Avengers in this world, he neither expanded the contamination further nor participated in subsequent events. In fact, in the following events, the Zombie Sentry was completely absent.

It was as if he had vanished into thin air, as though his sole purpose in coming to this world had been to spread the contamination.

"So... where are you now?"

Alex raised his arm, and a black raven seemed to respond to his call. It flew over and perched steadily on his elbow.

A ghostly blue light emanated from the raven's eyes, an indescribable energy spreading out and quickly connecting with Alex's magic.

The moment the two energies intertwined, Alex immediately accessed the shared vision provided by the Watcher's Eye. The entire world—even the entire timeline—became transparent, like an open book for Alex to freely browse.

Under normal circumstances, with the Watcher's perspective, Alex could see everything happening in this universe—past, future, and even the movement of a single speck of dust. Nothing could escape his gaze.

But now, an unusual sensation emerged, as if a dense fog had descended in the dead of night. The imagery of this universe became blurry and unclear.

"Caw! Caw!"

The raven opened its beak and let out a sharp screech, flapping its wings as if trying to clear the unseen obstructions clouding its vision.

"Just as I thought... this timeline has also been contaminated."

Alex furrowed his brows. He realized that the cycle had already begun. The Zombie Universe and Universe Z were now fully linked, with both timelines entirely shrouded in contamination. This was why the Watcher's Eye's power had been compromised.

[No wonder I've been continuously disrupted... Wait, if the timeline is contaminated, then the source of the contamination could appear at any point in time. Finding it will be an incredibly challenging task.]

"No, I can feel it. The Zombie Sentry hasn't left here. That much stellar energy isn't something that can be hidden easily. He must be hiding somewhere around here—I just haven't pinpointed where yet."

Alex stroked his chin thoughtfully. Suddenly, a distant explosion caught his attention.

Two blocks away, a massive explosion erupted. Even from afar, Alex could feel the ground trembling slightly, while the surrounding windows shattered into fragments.

Gazing at the thick smoke billowing from that direction, Alex's expression turned curious.

Although he didn't know who might be fighting the zombies, Alex didn't mind taking a look. Perhaps he might even stumble upon something interesting.

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Aboard the Helicarrier

To assist Reed Richards in researching a cure, Nick Fury had specifically set up a laboratory for him.

This lab brought together all the cutting-edge technology SHIELD had to offer. Moreover, Nick Fury went out of his way to provide Reed with any equipment he requested.

Under normal circumstances, SHIELD's operations would have faced some difficulties. But now, with the world in chaos and the U.S. military struggling to maintain control, advanced tech from various factions had become ownerless.

Wearing his quantum goggles, Reed Richards carefully observed the zombie specimen in front of him.

The specimen was an ordinary person infected by the zombie virus. With a team of superheroes at his side, capturing him hadn't been particularly difficult. Reed had used several serums to barely suppress the zombie's movements.

Killing a zombie, especially a regular infected one, wasn't particularly hard. However, to Reed Richards, a dead infected was of no research value. To discover a "cure," he needed to conduct live experiments.

"How's it going, Reed? Any findings yet?"

The Thing asked, unable to contain his curiosity after watching Reed study the zombie for hours.

Hearing this, Reed Richards snapped out of his concentration. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and shook his head slightly.

"This virus… its origin is strange. I can't..."

Rubbing his temples, Reed's eyes regained some clarity.

"I can't determine the exact nature of this virus. At first, I thought it would spread through the bloodstream, attacking the brain and damaging neural functions—like what you see in movies."

"Go on."

The Invisible Woman, Susan Storm, approached, curious to hear what Reed would say next.

Reed didn't hold back. With a serious expression, he began explaining.

"But that's not it. This virus is far more bizarre than I initially thought. Once it enters the bloodstream, it rapidly expands, replicates, and replaces cells, ultimately creating an entirely different set of cells and neural structures."

"And what does that mean?" The Thing asked, still not fully grasping Reed's point.

"Have you heard of the 'Ship of Theseus' paradox?"

Reed Richards raised his head and looked at the rest of the Fantastic Four. Pointing at the zombie specimen in front of him, he spoke carefully, emphasizing every word.

"At first, it simply mimics cells. Gradually, the virus evolves to simulate other materials. Once everything in a person's body has been replaced, it can even mimic their personality and soul.

When that happens… are they still them?"

Hearing Reed explain this terrifying concept in such a calm tone, everyone present felt cold sweat forming on their foreheads. Their expressions grew grim.

"So, you're saying this virus consumes and replaces life itself—like the Skrulls—but it inherits all the infected individual's thoughts and memories, even though it's no longer truly them?" Susan asked, her brows furrowed.

"Exactly! That's it. And the virus contains unique elements that leave the infected in a perpetual state of hunger, driving them to devour all living things around them."

Reed Richards shook his head slightly.

"This… this isn't something science can solve. I need to inform Nick Fury about this. Those people outside—they can no longer be considered 'human.' There's no saving them!"

---------------------------

At the lab entrance

A few SHIELD agents stood guard, peering through the glass at Reed Richards talking to himself inside the lab. Sharing a glance, they exchanged helpless looks.

"Mr. Fantastic is speaking in that language we can't understand again. I swear, it's not a language spoken in any country on Earth."

Another agent shrugged.

"Well, that's why he's the world's smartest man. If you could understand him, you wouldn't be stuck on guard duty. Forget about it. Until the other heroes return, we need to protect Mr. Fantastic and his research on the cure."

.....

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389. Traces of Contamination.

390. Chaos!

391. Contamination and Counter-Contamination.

392. The Grave Situation.

393. Infiltration.