Clang! Clang! Clang!
This was the sound of the train moving on the tracks.
Sharon Carter stood at the door of the last carriage, gazing at the sunset hanging between the city's skyscrapers outside. She let the wind blow through her long hair, feeling a sense of loss.
The beautiful world outside no longer belonged to them.
Sharon Carter then collected herself and turned to walk towards the front of the train, wanting to rejoin the others.
Crash!
But just then, a loud crash suddenly echoed, as if something heavy had slammed into the train car.
Sharon Carter's expression instantly changed.
She immediately raised her hand, opening the palm of the Iron Man suit she had snatched from Happy, and aimed the repulsor ray forward, on guard.
Crash!
Immediately, a large hole was smashed through the window by a powerful force, and a figure darted in, appearing before Sharon Carter.
Although the figure didn't show its face, everyone instantly recognized it: it was Captain America!
Because Captain America's uniform was simply too distinctive.
Next… "Ah!"
Sharon Carter's scream instantly echoed throughout the entire carriage.
This was as everyone expected; even as a zombie, Captain America's combat power was still not something ordinary people could match.
Sharon Carter was quickly taken down by him.
"Sharon! Sharon!"
Bucky, in another carriage, heard Sharon's scream and rushed over, submachine gun in hand.
He saw a figure hunched over on the ground, eating Sharon Carter's corpse.
"I think you've had enough, Captain!" Bucky said to the figure on the ground.
The figure then stood up,
and opened its mouth, letting out the unique roar only zombies make, directed at Bucky.
At this moment, the figure's face was finally revealed to everyone, and it was indeed Captain America.
But it was a Captain America with a face full of rotting flesh, as grotesque as a ghost.
"What the hell!"
"Holy crap!"
"Oh my god!"
Everyone in front of the screen cried out in unison. What in the world was this pile of rotten flesh? Was this really Captain America?
You're telling me this thing is Captain America?
If he really turned into this, he might as well have died.
"This is truly... unbearable to watch." Even Loki couldn't help but click his tongue repeatedly, his veins throbbing. This thing even disturbed him.
Captain America himself became utterly uncomfortable, nearly throwing up. Was this really him?
Are you kidding me?
He had an urge to rush into the screen and blast that thing into smithereens with a bomb.
On the screen.
After a brief standoff, Zombie Captain America and Bucky charged at each other.
Tat-tat-tat-tat!
Bucky, without hesitation, raised his submachine gun and mercilessly pulled the trigger on Zombie Captain America.
But Zombie Captain America held his shield horizontally in front of him, blocking all of Bucky's bullets.
Clang, clang, clang!
Sparks immediately flew from Zombie Captain America's shield.
Under these circumstances, Bucky and Zombie Captain America quickly clashed, engaging in close-quarters combat.
They fought back and forth.
It has to be said that Captain America was formidable; even as a zombie, his combat abilities were outstanding. He fought the super-soldier Bucky for quite a while before Bucky kicked him to the ground.
Zombie Captain America then got up and suddenly threw his shield at Bucky.
But Bucky caught it with his metal arm and, with a swift turn, threw it back at Zombie Captain America.
Thud!
The shield instantly passed through Zombie Captain America's body and pinned him to the carriage door.
Zombie Captain America was thus cut in half by the shield.
Immediately, both halves of his body fell out of the carriage, landing on the tracks outside.
"Sorry, brother, I guess this is the end for you." Bucky walked to the door, looking at the two halves of Zombie Captain America on the tracks, and said softly.
He then pulled the shield from the doorframe, slung it over his back, and walked back into the carriage.
The scene froze on Bucky's retreating figure.
The atmosphere in the room became somewhat quiet. The future conveyed in this footage was truly suffocating.
Captain America, Hawkeye Barton, Sam Wilson—even people like them had turned into zombies. Other clues indicated that Iron Man Tony Stark had also become a zombie.
So, who else could survive in this world?
How many survivors could there be?
"Judging by Peter Parker's age, the time of this future should be not long after the Endgame." Tony Stark's brows furrowed, resembling an old chrysanthemum blooming in late autumn.
"In other words, even after we've experienced Thanos's invasion, after billions of people were killed by Thanos, we still can't escape this 'zombie crisis'?" Nick Fury also felt a deep sense of dread.
What terrible things had humanity done to deserve such a nightmare?
It seemed like humanity was destined for extinction, one way or another, right?
"Sir, everyone, compared to Ultron and Thanos, this is the real crisis!" Black Widow said to everyone with a serious expression, "This is a crisis that could lead to the extinction of humanity!"
Everyone present couldn't help but look a little more solemn.
Because Black Widow was absolutely not exaggerating; a zombie crisis truly was an extinction-level event for humanity.
"Stark!"
After some deliberation, Nick Fury immediately said to Tony Stark with great solemnity, "After the quiz, I will have S.H.I.E.L.D. comprehensively monitor all biochemical research labs, virus research centers, and similar institutions worldwide, whether legal or illegal."
"But S.H.I.E.L.D. alone is far from enough for this kind of thing. I need your help."
"After the quiz, we'll discuss this issue in more detail." Tony Stark didn't hesitate and readily agreed.
This "zombie crisis" revealed by the quiz system had too few relevant clues, especially regarding the origin, which everyone was most concerned about, and there wasn't a single hint.
Aside from such broad preventive measures, there wasn't much else they could do.
[Please answer the question: The Sokovia Accords are a United Nations agreement to regulate superheroes. Which of the following events directly led to the implementation of this agreement?]
[A. In the Age of Ultron, the Avengers fought the Ultron army, leading to the destruction of Sokovia]
[B. During the pursuit of Crossbones, the Avengers accidentally killed 11 Wakandan citizens]
[C. The Hulk, whose mind was disturbed by Scarlet Witch, caused widespread destruction in a bustling city center]
[D. Spider-Man, in an attempt to stop Vulture from trading weapons, accidentally destroyed a cruise ship]
[Friendly Reminder: Correct answers will receive the reward of one Silver Blade; incorrect answers will result in a random deduction of one personal attribute, including but not limited to knowledge, experience, skills, possessions, etc...]
Before long, a new question appeared.
Everyone temporarily stopped discussing the "zombie crisis" and instead collected their thoughts, refocusing their attention on the latest question.
The Sokovia Accords?
Everyone was quite interested in this question.
This agreement had appeared multiple times in previous quizzes, and everyone knew it was a crucial agreement that led to the Civil War.
Everyone had also speculated about what this agreement actually was, and it now seemed their previous guesses were correct.
This agreement was indeed a UN agreement to regulate superheroes, and it was truly an agreement to restrict them.
"How did the Sokovia Accords come about? An interesting topic, but unfortunately..." Nick Fury couldn't help but shrug and sigh softly.
If this question had appeared earlier, it might have had some value to everyone, but now?
Cracks had already formed between Captain America and Tony Stark, so even knowing how the Sokovia Accords came about wasn't as significant anymore.
"This agreement is a UN regulatory agreement for superheroes, everyone, and this is the United Nations."
Hawkeye Barton was the first to look at the big screen and offer his opinion, "Whatever the superheroes did, it must have been something extremely significant, enough to attract international attention."
"Before this question, I always thought that the Sokovia Accords were enacted because of the Battle of Sokovia, but now, my view has wavered."
"Because this question asks for the direct cause!"
"I'm not nitpicking, but direct cause, fundamental cause, indirect cause, and so on... these are all different, right?"
"Exactly, Barton." Black Widow nodded from the side, agreeing with Hawkeye Barton's view, "The reason this agreement is called the Sokovia Accords might be because the Battle of Sokovia was the most representative! But it doesn't necessarily mean that the related agreement was enacted because of the Battle of Sokovia."
"It's possible that the Battle of Sokovia made superheroes truly begin to receive high international attention. After that, every move of the superheroes would be watched by countless eyes."
"After that, other things happened, and superheroes again attracted international attention, which led to the implementation of this regulatory agreement."
"Of course, it's also possible that we're overthinking it, and the Sokovia Accords were indeed caused by the Battle of Sokovia. That's what we need to determine."
"Option A, that's possible. We can't confirm or rule it out for now, so we'll leave it as pending." Captain America then said, "Option B, killing 11 Wakandan citizens?"
When he mentioned Option B, Captain America hesitated a bit, and the others present also weren't too keen on this option.
After all, to put it bluntly, the death of 11 people didn't really have that much impact.
Let alone superhero actions, even some actions by the American military sometimes caused more civilian casualties than that.
The possibility of it causing a media sensation in America wasn't very high, let alone attracting international attention.
"We don't know the identities of these 11 citizens yet."
Hawkeye Barton added from the side, suggesting that if any of them were important figures, it could still attract international attention.
"Sir, I remember Wakanda is a small African country, one of the poorest and most underdeveloped countries in the world, isn't it?"
Black Widow, however, recalled something and spoke to everyone.
Wakanda had appeared in previous quizzes; T'Challa's pursuit of the Winter Soldier during the Civil War was because the King of Wakanda was killed. So after the quiz, everyone had also coincidentally looked into this country.
The result was that Wakanda was currently the poorest and most underdeveloped small African country known internationally.
For such a poor African country, even if some important figures died there, it likely wouldn't attract much international attention.
The Civil War was a living example: the King of Wakanda died, and the Prince of Wakanda personally pursued the killer.
This spoke volumes.
If there had been any international influence, they would have gone through diplomatic channels. Would they have needed to do this?
Even the death of a king received such treatment, let alone anyone else.
"So I think Option B is unlikely."
Black Widow then said to everyone, pointing out Wakanda's international status was enough; everyone else understood the nuances and didn't need further explanation.
Everyone understood.
"Let's look at C."
Nick Fury said matter-of-factly, as Option B was dismissed, "Everyone knows the Hulk's destructive power. If he went on a rampage in a city center, I can't imagine the consequences."
Without deeper analysis, just looking at the event of "the Hulk rampaging in a bustling city," it was absolutely possible for it to attract international attention.
Because if the Hulk wasn't stopped in time, that guy could tear down an entire city!
"The Hulk definitely possesses that kind of destructive power, but everyone, I think the timing is off." Tony Stark immediately found a crucial point of entry. "Remember when we created Vision?"
Everyone present wasn't foolish; in fact, they all realized it without Tony Stark having to say much.
"When Stark was implanting J.A.R.V.I.S.'s consciousness into Vision, the Scarlet Witch and her brother, along with Captain America, went to stop Stark. At that time, they were already allied with the Captain."
"In the footage where Vision picked up Thor's hammer, the Scarlet Witch and her brother were even discussing fighting Ultron with everyone."
"They were already allied with the Avengers before the Battle of Sokovia occurred! They even fought Ultron in Sokovia with Vision and the Avengers!"
"After experiencing all of that, I think it's unlikely that the Scarlet Witch would use mind-altering tactics against Dr. Banner again."
"That's a tactic used against enemies, isn't it? Like when she fought the Avengers alongside Ultron."
"So the incident where the Scarlet Witch used magic to disturb Dr. Banner's mind should have happened before the Battle of Sokovia!"
Tony Stark stated his analysis under everyone's gaze.
..
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