American comic book: My Father is Superman, am I just an NPC?

Chapter 151 Tony's Daughter! Ian Returns!
The scene of the hall, built with a lot of second-hand medical equipment, is quite frightening.

It has a style reminiscent of a super insane asylum.

Especially when Ian, wearing gold-rimmed glasses and a white coat, snatched Mjolnir from Thor, his eager and expectant expression really gave off the vibe of a psychiatrist.

There should perhaps be a more reasonable way to punctuate this sentence.

“I’ve watched a lot of movies and TV shows about doctors, like Grey’s Anatomy, House, Nurse in Charge, and everyone’s favorite Night Shift.” Ian knew that the first step in diagnosis was to test the patient’s knee-jerk reflex, so he grabbed Thor’s hammer and gently tapped Thor’s knee.

It didn't take much effort.

However, Thor's knee was attacked, so he still performed a kneeling scene on the spot.

"Round-faced mortal! How dare you smash my knee with Mjolnir?!" Thor clutched his knee, wincing in pain. His condition had improved slightly. Although he hadn't regained consciousness on the spot, he no longer addressed the pillar but instead questioned the clock on it.

then.

Ian tapped Thor's other knee.

This time.

Thor immediately knelt down, a newfound clarity appearing in his previously clouded eyes. Seeing this, Ian wished he could immediately bestow upon himself the title of Marvel's God of Healing.

"..."

Gwen rejected Ian's suggestive glances, indicating that she should play the straight man.

Zhao Hailun did not respond to Mr. Ian's expectations. Instead, she covered her forehead and said, "I can't believe that I, the future star in the eyes of my teachers and classmates, am now watching this kind of thing in this place... Damn it, you ignorant evil god over there, you need to make your patient sit on a chair where his legs can be put on a stable position."

As an expert in the cutting-edge field of biological sciences, Zhao Hailun certainly has some medical common sense.

“Oh, okay.” Ian nodded vigorously without arguing. He knew he was still practicing medicine without a license, so he needed to demonstrate his diligence and eagerness to learn.

"Come on, let's switch to some professional equipment!"

He enthusiastically helped Thor up, half-dragging and half-pulling him onto the multi-functional hospital bed. The belt automatically fastened to his wrists, and the shackles clicked to lock his ankles.

Music that makes your heart race and your eyes water automatically starts playing.

"Damn it! Didn't I ask the store to change the music to the 'Hannibal' playlist? I even gave them a list of the music I needed. These Indian guys who only take money and don't do anything are unreliable!"

Ian quickly unplugged the speaker that came with the hospital bed. He turned around and looked at Gwen and Zhao Hailun, who had strange expressions, and unwittingly gave himself away.

"Don't get me wrong, this isn't a hospital bed I found at a secondhand sex shop... It's brand new, and it even has a lot of real medical equipment added, which is why it's so expensive."

Ian began to explain in a serious tone.

“But we didn’t ask you. Shouldn’t Tony be the one questioning whether you’ve taken kickbacks?” Gwen rubbed her temples, responding with a helpless tone.

“I can read your eyes.” As soon as Ian finished speaking, he saw Gwen take out two pairs of sunglasses from the drawer next to her, put on one pair herself and handed the other pair to Helen Zhao.

Are you questioning my super eyesight?

Ian looked at Gwen suspiciously.

"No, we hope you can pretend you can't see our eyes."

Gwen answered with ease.

"Makes sense."

Ian thought Gwen had become much smarter, and he nodded with satisfaction. Then he looked again at Thor, who was struggling on the hospital bed and looked like he was about to destroy the entire bed.

"If you struggle again, I'll tell everyone about how you were beaten up by the giant octopus in the kitchen." Ian's threat was very effective, and Thor immediately froze on the hospital bed.

“I feel completely healed! You don’t need to keep testing my knees!” Thor was now fully awake, and his eyes were finally able to see the correct Ian in the right place.

however.

Ian, slightly excited about being a doctor for the first time, ignored everything else, took out paper and pen from his white coat pocket, and sat down next to the hospital bed, imitating Hannibal Lecter.

“I don’t believe you unless you prove you’re really cured.” Ian still loved to pretend; he scribbled in his notebook but didn’t record any useful information.

The main problem was that Dr. Hannibal never showed him his medical records.

How can this be proven?

Thor was dumbfounded.

"Very simple."

Ian pointed to the fifty batteries in the corner. "Do you think my idea of ​​partnering with you to start a power company and making those outdated power companies owe us a huge amount of electricity bills is brilliant enough?"

His words made Thor, who was already dumbfounded, almost pop his eyes out. No, he's the God of Thunder, not the God of Electricity or an electric rat that can work at a power plant!
I was internally ranting and raving.

However, as Thor watched Ian's increasingly suspicious and somewhat restless eyes, he subconsciously shuddered and chose to live rather than follow his heart or lie.

"This idea... is brilliant, no need to say more." Thor swallowed hard, glancing nervously at Ian. His praise caused a dramatic change in Ian's facial expression.

"Completely cured! Discharged from the hospital! I really am a miracle doctor!"

Ian happily helped Thor free himself from his restraints, and as he helped the Asgardian prince up, he thoughtfully brushed the dirt and debris off the prince's body.

Simultaneously.

He also put away conventional medical instruments such as chainsaws, bone drills, skull forceps, amputation knives, and bone chisels, and personally returned Thor's Mjolnir to Thor.

The moment this double-dealing hammer touched its owner's skin, a tiny electric current crackled and pulsed between them, as if protesting the humiliating experience of being used to strike the knee.

"Why did I have to go through all this?" Thor looked at the hammer in his hand, his feelings were very complicated. He couldn't understand why Ian was qualified to pick up his hammer. Wasn't the way to determine whether someone was qualified to use a hammer to see if they were qualified to be the King of Asgard?

At this moment.

Even Thor couldn't figure out this rather philosophical question.

Ian's chatter kept ringing in his ears.

"Think about it, the power of lightning isn't just for fighting monsters and showing off."

“I’ll provide the creative ideas, you provide the lightning, and we’ll split the profits 50/50. I’ve even thought of a name: ‘Thunder Power Kent Group,’ focusing on clean energy, green energy, and future energy!”

"Later, I tried my best to improve my skills, to super-evolve, so that the company could be opened in my world. At that time, my factory's electricity supply would definitely be guaranteed."

"And we won't be held hostage by the Wayne Group, who are jealous of my cheap labor." Ian's grand plan is indeed grand enough, as he actually wants to transmit electricity across universes to the DC Universe.

“We can start by developing home lightning charging stations. I’ve even thought of the advertising slogan: ‘Thor’s Electricity, which prolongs your life more than collecting Odin’s beard and putting it under your pillow.’” Ian had already pulled out his homemade PPT and projected it on the wall. Perhaps, there always needs to be a capitalist with such a big enough ambition in the world.

Since my intelligence doubled.

Ian's thinking speed had indeed become much more agile. As for why intelligence didn't increase his wisdom level, Ian now understood: it must be because his wisdom was limited from birth.

Nothing more can be added!

"No??? You want to use my father's beard to swindle an old man in the countryside???" Thor was shocked to hear this, and his eyes were filled with terror as he looked at Ian.

“If it really works, then it’s not a scam.” Ian solemnly emphasized that he was a capitalist with a conscience and would never make false claims when designing products.

"..."

Thor seemed to see the tragic life his poor father might face after being targeted by an evil god. He really couldn't understand why Ian had so many wicked "ghostly" ideas today.

"If I agree to let you start an electric company, will you spare my father?" Thor looked pitifully at the evil god, making the evil god feel like he had become the big villain.

This filial son truly has a heart full of filial piety.

"That project was just something I mentioned casually. Don't worry, I'm not greedy for money. If your father doesn't agree, I certainly won't force him."

Ian was moved by the other person.

He made concessions.

Thor, on the other hand, was hesitant to imagine what would happen if Ian didn't compromise. He was still somewhat dazed from the "Thor's Fall."

"Why did you move these batteries in front of me?" Thor looked at the busy Ian, and he had a bad feeling. Sure enough, the god of mischief spoke up again.

“Believe in your potential, dear God of Thunder. Let’s start by charging these little guys. Once they’re proficient, we’ll have the new Tony tell the congressmen that he’s discovered a perpetual motion machine.” Ian explained his plan while placing fifty industrial batteries in front of Thor.

They surrounded Thor like metallic beasts waiting to be fed.

"I believe you will definitely be my best believer." All sorts of manipulative words came out of Ian's mouth, making Thor feel like his brain was about to give out again.

“This is probably what they call brainwashing.” Dr. Helen Zhao’s eyes were filled with complex emotions as she quietly tugged at Gwen’s sleeve. “Is he really a legitimate evil god?”

"The kind of person who knew Lucifer? Sigh, why am I, a scientist, talking about such feudal and superstitious things here?" Zhao Hailun still couldn't process the truth for a moment.

Gwen's lips twitched as she watched Ian, who was making grand promises to Thor and saying he would admit to Hela that Thor was her favorite follower.

“Ian Kent’s lies could fill the Mariana Trench, but the part about self-aggrandizement…” she gestured with a swaying scale, her tone complex.

"This part is often surprisingly true. Yes, he's always been honest about self-praise," Gwen replied with a touch of感慨 (gan3kai3, a Chinese expression of deep emotion or reflection).

"You seem to know him very well?"

Helen Zhao keenly grasped the information revealed in Gwen's words.

Gwen didn't answer immediately, but instead looked at Ian, who was instructing Thor on how to properly be a "human charging station," with an indescribable emotion in her eyes.

"We used to be very familiar with each other."

She ultimately said the same thing.

"You two knew each other when you were little? I mean, you knew him when you were little?" Zhao Hailun asked in great surprise. She didn't think Ian's age was close to his appearance.

If evil gods truly exist in this world, Ian might be thousands or even tens of thousands of years old—Dr. Helen Zhao, who has no experience with such matters, lacks some of the imagination she possesses on the scientific side.

Hear the words.

Gwen shook her head, her voice lowering.

“It was even longer than that.”

Gwen's eyes and tone were filled with a complex emotion.

The air became quiet for a moment.

"Well, it seems that you strange guys all have your own secrets in this so-called evil god church." Zhao Hailun is an extremely intelligent female scientist.

She realized that some topics shouldn't be pursued any further. It was like working for those big tycoons; knowing things you shouldn't know could very well lead to your demise someday—some truths are like Pandora's box; once opened, it means you can never return to the ordinary world, and you can't leave even if you want to.

Who in this world doesn't have secrets?

Gwen chuckled softly.

Zhao Hailun neither confirmed nor denied it.

"Can I draw some of your blood for research? I'd like to see your current genetic structure." She paused for a moment, then changed the subject to express her curiosity.

Gwen's smile faded slightly.

She looked down at her arm, a moment of hesitation crossing her face.

"Would you run away the day after you find out the truth?" Gwen asked half-jokingly, her eyes full of suspicion as she looked at Helen Zhao.

Zhao Hailun shrugged.

“If Tony can give me some extra compensation for emotional distress, I don’t think I’ll run away anytime soon. After all, I’m quite interested in people like you. And I can’t find a better research project if I leave this environment.” Her tone sounded sincere, even a little helpless, but it was this frankness that made Gwen lower her guard a bit.

She slowly stretched out her arm, revealing her fair wrist:
"Then let's draw it."

Zhao Hailun nodded, took out a blood-drawing needle, and moved with practiced gentleness.

The moment the needle pierced her vein, Gwen closed her eyes.

She remembered many things—memories she thought she had forgotten, battles and losses in another era, and rebirth in the apocalyptic world after death.

“Ian Kent… I always felt a deep familiarity with his name, even before I first met him during the apocalypse.”

This was something Gwen couldn't understand even after fusing with the memory fragments—after all, they were just memory fragments. At that moment, Helen Zhao, having carefully sealed away her blood, looked at Ian.

His eyes gleamed with the greed of a scientist.

"May I also ask for a share of your blood?" Zhao Hailun approached Ian cautiously and politely, making her request, though she didn't know the proper way to ask for Ian's blood.

and so.

“Studying the blood of evil gods is not something a smart person should do.” Ian put his hands in his pockets, tilted his head and looked at her, showing a serious face that he wasn’t trying to please.

"why?"

Zhao Hailun spoke in astonishment.

"Because my blood is full of 'antibiotics,' which will only lead your biological research astray. If you were a character in a movie, you might very well start an apocalyptic frenzy because of this."

Ian was not exaggerating.

His blood could even poison the god Cthulhu.

This can be seen.

Just how potent was that poison? However, Zhao Hailun, who didn't know much about Mr. Ian, didn't believe it, assuming that Ian simply had some reservations about it.

"Alright, then forget it. I was just curious about the genetic structure of the evil god." Zhao Hailun wasn't a mad scientist, and she wasn't too obsessed with research projects she couldn't obtain.

"It's good to be curious. I suggest you study the mutants in the dungeon. They're more suitable for satisfying your curiosity. I really hope you can make a delicious enhancement potion soon."

Ian's tone was full of longing and yearning.

"Huh? Delicious enhancement potion? How can these two words be connected?"

Zhao Hailun was taken aback.

She had absolutely no idea why he suddenly looked so expectant. She stared at Ian's face for a few seconds, trying to discern any hint of a joke in his expression.

however.

Ian is genuinely looking forward to it.

"come on!"

He even gave Zhao Hailun a boost.

“I’ll go check on those mutants.” Zhao Hailun gave Ian a strange look, but finally nodded in agreement. Having failed to get what she wanted, she could only return to the tunnel with Gwen’s blood in her hands.

Gwen watched the scientists leave.

He turned to look at Ian.

"You've captured quite a few mutants?"

Her tone was somewhat surprised. She was unaware of what had happened while she was unconscious. The girl's memory was still stuck a few days before mutants became scarce.

"Yes, it was to save you, and also for myself." Ian always only claimed credit for what he deserved, and his elaborate efforts to bring the mutants back to the Justice League were certainly not due to his principle of not killing.

Rather, it was because he hoped that Zhao Hailun's research team could develop some enhancement drugs that would be useful for his upgrade. In the end, Ian was also engaging in a sophisticatedly self-serving operation.

As for the no-kill principle, it may only apply to normal people, or ordinary people, or even only to the DC universe, in any case, before Ian builds the prison in Hell.

The relevant bottom line can actually be very, very flexible.

“I remember you do seem to like drinking some random stuff, could it be…” Gwen was about to ask more when the holographic projection in the room suddenly started flashing.

It was the new Tony Stark, who had finished his campaign and returned to the New Justice League. Dressed in a suit and tie, he looked around before his gaze finally settled on Gwen.

"Gwen, congratulations on waking up."

He nodded slightly.

After Gwen responded to him, the highly anthropomorphic artificial intelligence looked at Thor, who was squatting on the ground studying how to charge a battery.

"Thor, what are you doing?"

His tone carried a sense of astonishment that data could not deduce Thor's behavioral logic. Thor didn't look up, intently focusing on the battery in front of him as he experimented.

"The evil god next to me told me that this is a training. When I can charge a button battery, I will become the truly invincible Thor."

He has clearly been successfully brainwashed and believes Ian's manipulation tactics. Of course, this might not be a deception, just a tempting but difficult-to-achieve promise.

The new hairstylist remained silent for two seconds upon hearing this.

"Have you found your father? What about Stephen Strange?" His tone became increasingly strange, and the conclusion drawn from all the information was that Thor shouldn't be so calm.

As it turns out, the new Tony teacher's derivation was correct.

It simply ignored some special impact information.

I saw.

Upon hearing this, Thor's hands suddenly froze.

"Oh my god! How could I forget why I returned to Earth! Damn it! It's all that spaceship's fault!" He suddenly stood up, looking annoyed.

The battery crashed to the ground with a loud bang.

"I was hit by a speeding spaceship and my memory is all messed up! I'm here for help! Doctor Strange is in trouble too!" He finally explained why he was in such a sorry state.

"Yes, I've come to you for help." Thor slapped his forehead, instantly becoming anxious. His sudden change in mood left the new Tony Stark speechless for a long time.
"..."

He felt he might have overestimated Thor's intellect. "You're only getting to the point now? You really do seem to have a mental illness." Gwen couldn't help but rub her forehead, her tone remarking that she was agreeing with Ian's earlier assessment for the second time.

"I was hit by a spaceship! Haven't you guys seen Korean dramas? When you get hit, you lose your memory!" Thor attempted to use his knowledge from when he was a chef on Earth to argue his point.

"Makes sense."

Ian first gave his approval.

"Isn't that spaceship cool?"

He then asked the question that concerned him most.

In high spirits.

After all, not many little boys can refuse a spaceship, just as not many priests can refuse a little boy; this is an eternal truth in the universe.

"Perhaps you should pay more attention to Doctor Strange."

Gwen offered a silent reminder.

Ian, however, waved his hand calmly: "Don't forget I am the God of Evil. I can sense that Odin, who betrayed me, and Doctor Strange are both alive and well."

His words made Thor's eyelids twitch.

The word "betrayal" terrified this Asgardian chef.

of course.

Now is not the time to discuss these issues.

"But my father and Strange have disappeared, along with the homeland of the Frost Giants!" Thor, whose mind was no longer muddled, spoke with great tension.

"Although we are all very smart, you need to explain the ins and outs of things clearly." This was the reminder from the new Tony teacher; no matter how powerful its computing power is, it still needs basic background information.

Thor took a deep breath.

Let's begin the story.

“Strange and I went to find my father, but when we arrived at Jotunheim, the place where the great Odin and his guards disappeared, we found no clues.”

“It’s all gone now, as if a great battle has taken place there. There’s not even dust left, just a black hole.” He clenched his fist and spoke in a low voice.

"Strange thought he could unravel the mysteries of black holes, but he was sucked in as soon as he got close to one, without even having a chance to call for help."

Thor made a "whoosh" gesture.

It is used to express that things happen very quickly.

"And then you ran away?"

Gwen raised an eyebrow curiously.

“What can I do if I don’t run? Get sucked in with Strange? I have a much clearer understanding of myself than he does!” Thor said with an air of self-assurance.

"Have you ever thought that your father might have been sucked in too?" Ian's question made Thor's expression freeze again; his reaction said it all.

"So that's it?"

Thor was worried, but at the same time, he suddenly realized something.

"..."

"..."

"..."

Not only was Ian speechless, but even the AI, the new Tony, seemed at a loss for words.

"It must be all that stuff you've been stuffing into my head that's been taking up too much of my brainpower." Thor was a little ashamed when he saw this, and he quickly shifted the blame, trying to make Ian take responsibility for his slow realization.

"The movies and TV shows I put in weren't even one percent used. If I don't use them, you probably won't use them in your entire life!" Ian, who dislikes taking the blame for others and only likes others to take the blame for him, was speechless. Faced with Thor's slander, he naturally had to refute it based on facts.

"Then I must have been driven mad by that damn spaceship." Seeing that his attempt to shift the blame had failed, Thor immediately launched into a second round of explanations.

"You mean you were hit by a spaceship, flew across nine star systems, and fell to Earth?" Ian didn't believe Thor's nonsense.

However, this does not affect Thor's stubbornness.

"Yes, that's right, that's exactly it. You've never been hit by a spaceship, so you don't know how powerful spaceships are." Thor insisted that it wasn't his fault.

"I've never seen anyone more shameless than me! As expected! You truly have the talent to be my number one fanatic!" Ian couldn't help but give Thor a thumbs up.

"Can you two stop being so stubborn? We're here to save people, aren't we?" Gwen rubbed her temples, trying to keep up with the group's pace.

What exactly is inside that black hole?

She looked at Ian.

They were trying to get a useful answer from the dimensional evil god.

"I don't know, maybe it's linked to Happy Planet?" Ian spoke the truth. He didn't like to be mysterious, and he would occasionally admit to things he didn't know.

"Happy Planet?!"

Thor slapped his thigh, suddenly realizing, "No wonder my invincible father god hasn't come out! He must be having a great time inside, that's why he hasn't come out!"

As a son who has always idolized his father.

He was clearly unwilling to accept the fact that his father was trapped.

"..."

Gwen couldn't quite understand this conflicting emotion. She took a deep breath and patted her forehead. "Thor, can't you tell he's just talking nonsense?"

Hear the words.

Thor stood there, stunned.

His expression gradually shifted from excitement to confusion.

“Ian’s guess might not be unreasonable.” The new teacher Tony suddenly spoke up at this moment, as if he had just been mobilizing his computing power to perform some kind of calculation.

Gwen turned her head abruptly, her eyes filled with a strange expression.

"Have you also been corrupted by the evil god?"

The girl glanced at Ian beside her again.

The new Tony teacher made no comment, only chuckled, and moved his projected finger in the air to bring up a set of holographic data: "Ever since Ian revealed about the dimensional demons and the existence of universes beyond universes, Strange has been trying to travel through dimensions using his soul."

His voice carried a serious tone.

A flicker of interest crossed Ian's eyes.

"What's abnormal?"

The Supreme Master did indeed embark on the right path.

This greatly encouraged Ian.

He'll eventually unlock the Mage class from the Sorcerer Supreme.

“Some anomalies that we weren’t aware of before,” the new Tony teacher replied, pausing before continuing, “Since you said that the multiverse no longer exists, Strange didn’t actually find other universes, but he did discover another very strange phenomenon.”

“In our universe, there are many ‘gaps’ that exist outside of reality.” New Tony explained as he pulled up the data stream and organized the information.

Ian, of course, couldn't understand those data and information.

However, he could understand human speech.

"The cracks in reality? The kind of place where the Dark God Nar resides?" Ian stroked his chin, recalling his experience fighting Little War Slaughter.

He was almost fed by the Dark God Nal, but unfortunately the other party was too stingy and only fed him a tiny bit of pure energy. Then he became a coward and ran away with his tail between his legs.

"Maybe close enough." The new Tony wasn't too sure either, but his projection had already floated to the center of the room, remotely controlling a robot covered in magical symbols to activate a hidden magic circle.

The runes on the floor lit up one by one.

A deep hum resounded, the air began to distort, and blue energy lines intertwined to form complex geometric patterns. Illusory images gradually emerged in the air.

It's like a painting that's been soaked in water, blurry yet its outline is still vaguely discernible.

"This is the closest 'reality gap' to us. It is special because it is right in the structure of our universe, but it cannot be detected by conventional means."

The new Tony's voice lowered.

"How special?"

Ian's curiosity was successfully piqued.

"You'll know it when you see it."

The new teacher, Tony, didn't rush to answer. Instead, he turned his gaze to the rising magic circle. The space in the picture kept changing, and the lines slowly outlined clear images in the air.

Within the illusory image projected by the magic circle, light gradually converged, outlining a bedroom that was both whimsical and technologically advanced. Iron Man graffiti adorned the pink walls, and various mechanical parts and unfinished armor models were piled up in the corners.

"I woke up on Saturday!"

A little girl, about seven or eight years old, jumped up from the oversized round bed and stepped barefoot onto the soft carpet. She had fluffy brown curly hair and her eyes were sleepy but full of energy.

"Good morning, Miss Morgan." A gentle electronic female voice sounded in the room. "The outdoor temperature is 23 degrees Celsius today, and the zombie activity is at a moderate level. The MK-42 mini armor and the 'Little Pepper' vehicle have been prepared for you."

Morgan excitedly raised his little fist.

"I'm sure I can take down even more zombies today! Maybe I can even break the record!"

She is full of confidence.

Ten minutes later, a streak of golden-red light streaked across the sky above the ruins of New York.

"Full power thrusters!" Morgan sat in his miniature battle suit, only two meters tall, his small hands deftly maneuvering the control stick. Azure flames erupted from the thrusters on the back of the suit, instantly breaking the sound barrier, and the glass shop windows of the street below shattered.

Hordes of zombies, their rotting faces raised, were blown to pieces by miniature missiles falling from the sky before they could even react.

"Thirty degrees to the left, saturation attack!"

The shoulder armor of the battle suit slid open, revealing a honeycomb-shaped miniature missile bay.

Whoosh whoosh!
Dozens of palm-sized missiles, trailing fiery exhaust, rained down, creating a series of fireballs on the street. Burning pieces of corpses fell like raindrops.

Morgan's eyes were resolute in the cockpit.

"Kill all the zombies, and Mom and Dad will come back!"

The armor suddenly spun around.

The robotic arm extended a high-frequency cutting blade, cleaving the charging mutated giant corpse in two at the waist. The putrid entrails splattered onto the bulletproof glass, only to be instantly cleaned by the automatic cleaning system.

"The residual rate in Zone B has been detected to be below 5%," the report stated on Saturday. "Switching to ground mode is recommended."

"Yay! Get on the chariot!"

The miniature armored vehicles landed in the center of Times Square.

With a mechanical creak, it reassembled into a pink armored vehicle equipped with a Gatling gun. Morgan slammed on the gas, the tires crushing the shattered zombie skulls.

The car stereo was playing the theme song from "Frozen".

Let it go~ Let it go~

The machine gun spun and preheated; the next second, a metallic storm swept down Broadway. Shell casings cascaded like a golden waterfall, and the zombie horde fell in rows like harvested wheat. A small zombie in a tattered Star Wars t-shirt tried to climb onto the roof, but Morgan simply pressed the red button—

boom!
The electromagnetic mesh that popped out from the roof of the car blasted it into a charred corpse.

"Perfect ten out of ten!"

She made a V-sign at the rearview mirror.

As dusk fell, Morgan piloted her armor back to the safe house atop Stark Tower. She removed her helmet; her face was flushed, and her bangs were matted with sweat.

"We took down 322317 today!"

She slumped into the soft sofa, picked up her Iron Man plush toy, and said, "You said Mom and Dad would come back on Saturday after I cleared out all the zombies in the world, right?"

“Of course, Miss Morgan.”

The voice of artificial intelligence is gentle yet firm.

“The agreement set by Mr. Stark is very clear.”

Hearing this, Morgan's eyes lit up. She kicked off her shoes, curled up on the sofa, and counted on her fingers: "I haven't seen them for 367 days... Dad promised to take me to Disneyland, and Mom said she'd teach me how to bake an apple pie..."

The holographic fireplace lit up automatically, and steaming cream of mushroom soup and cheeseburgers rose from the dining table. Morgan devoured the lavish meal.

only.

In a somewhat deserted restaurant.

She suddenly looked up.

"How many zombies are left on Saturday?"

The girl asked a question.

"According to the latest scan, there's only a little bit left."

The answer was provided by artificial intelligence.

"You will see them soon."

Its voice had a calming quality, and the girl's eyes filled with anticipation. She turned on the TV and started watching some videos her father had recorded for her.

On a holographic projector.

She pressed play.

The image of Tony Stark appeared in the air—he was wearing a casual T-shirt, with a sun-drenched villa garden in the background, a stark contrast to the zombie-infested world he now lived in.

“Hey, Pepper Potts 2.” Tony crouched down in the projection, his gaze level with the camera, a familiar, slightly roguish smile on his lips. “If you see this, it means Daddy’s late again—sorry, you know, saving the world always seems to happen at the worst possible time.”

Morgan stretched out her small hand, her fingertips passing through the illusory image, but she couldn't feel any warmth.

Tony's projection continued, his tone relaxed, but his eyes were heartbreakingly tender: "But don't worry, Daddy has left you a gift—he'll take care of you on Saturday. The armor and vehicle are both set to 'Morgan's exclusive mode.' Remember not to use the thrusters above level three; last time you scared them so much they almost crashed..."

Tony Stark's raised eyebrow was rather frivolous.

However, Morgan found it incredibly heartwarming.

“My mom and I are just temporarily held up by something.” Tony in the projection suddenly leaned closer to the camera and lowered his voice, “So you have to do me a favor—clean up all that ‘dirt’ outside, and once the progress bar reaches 100%, we can…” The image suddenly froze, and Tony’s lips stopped at the word “home.”

But the audio has turned into electromagnetic noise.

He ultimately seemed to have failed to utter that promise. Outside the window, the charred corpses of zombies were gradually becoming transparent. And three blocks away in Times Square, a new horde of zombies appeared out of thin air as if generated by a 3D printer. They twisted and rose, varying in their degree of decay, yet all turned in unison towards Stark Tower.

It seemed endless. On the distant horizon, where the Avengers' base should have been, there was only a distorted, flickering black mosaic-like area.

In front of the magic circle.

Looking at it all.

Gwen's eyes widened.

“Those zombies…are respawning?! That’s not the real world at all!” She suddenly turned to the new Tony teacher, but he didn’t offer any comment.

"Who is that?"

Thor asked, puzzled.

“Morgan Stark…Tony’s daughter.” Ian’s eyes flickered slightly. “It seems he has woven an absolutely safe but deceptive paradise for his daughter.”

At this moment.

Ian didn't know how to evaluate Tony Stark's "personal" act, which was quite touching, showing that some people, while being superheroes, haven't forgotten that they are also fathers.

"Tony's actions are always so unpredictable." Ian looked at the little girl in the picture and roughly understood that Odin and Doctor Strange might have fallen into a similar situation.

Trapped in a real-world predicament.

“I think I know what’s going on. The dimensional rift… We’ll definitely be able to find Odin and Doctor Strange, but unfortunately, I don’t have much time left.” Ian clearly remembered how long he could stay in the Marvel Universe.

He glanced at the time on his hand and sighed.

"Then what should we do next?"

Thor looked at Ian with great anxiety.

"Rely on yourself, or wait for me to come back."

The words fell.

Ian disappeared from the Marvel Universe.

(End of this chapter)