Zombie Marvel? Luckily, I'm Superman!

Parallel universe.

Earth 69061B (I won't write "Erath" since it's Earth). The Grandmaster's game universe.

Lin Yi ultimately did not accept the Ancient One's suggestion to rest for two days. Instead, after returning to the main universe with Tony and resting for two days, he and Scarface Strange came to this universe.

As for why we can now know the universe's number, it's because of the time management bureau's teleporter, a gift from Möbius, which has a number and location for almost every universe.

It's worth mentioning that Lin Yi's main universe is Blue Star 199999X, while the cinematic universe is numbered 199999. Lin Yi feels that he has traveled to a variant of the cinematic universe, but let's leave that aside for now.

According to Scar Strange, this universe is entirely under the control of the Grandmaster.

This cosmic elder turned the entire universe into a playground, forcing countless life forms to participate in various cruel competitions, with their home planet as the stake, as mentioned before.

"Games are mainly divided into three categories: racing, gladiator combat, and cognitive deception, which respectively represent extreme speed, pure power, and higher-dimensional intelligence."

"The competition is not ongoing, but held once every ten years. Each competition consists of three stages: qualifying rounds, preliminary rounds, and the final round."

"Each race, whether voluntarily or involuntarily, can select a team of up to six people to participate in the competition, and their performance in each match will be broadcast live to all participating planets."

"In each competition, 1098 inhabited planets will participate in each category. The qualifying rounds will select the top 298 planets to advance to the final battle."

Scarface Strange continued his commentary.

"1098, or per item? Didn't you tell Tony before that you'd catch a few every now and then? Now it's ten years again, and 1098 again. You're being a bit... 'conservative'..."

Lin Yi stood beside him, looking at the huge void on the Black Continent of Blue Star, his expression somewhat complicated.

Strange's earlier words were a mix of truth and falsehood; he knows the art of conversation. Did he think that telling the truth would deter anyone from approaching?

The two were currently in a high-synchronous orbit around Earth.

Scarface Strange showed no embarrassment at being teased by the cricket. "It was my fault, and I apologize. I'll continue with the game."

"Aside from the 298 selected planets, the remaining 800 planets will face two possible fates."

"In the first scenario, their planets will be the final spoils, available for the top three finishers to choose from. The first-place winner can choose three planets, the second-place winner two, the third-place winner one..."

"There's one thing to mention: besides the planet selection, the top three winners also receive a special reward from the Grandmaster. But apart from the top three winners each year, no one knows exactly what it is; they keep it a secret..."

"We suspect that the Grandmaster is collecting and integrating something..."

"The remaining unselected planets will become the High Priest's slave planets, producing various materials and energy for his use. The resources of the mother planet will be gradually drained, turning it into a dead star."

"However, during this period, their home planet remained intact, unlike the 298 planets that participated in the competition..."

At this point, Scarface's eyes darkened.

"Through the 298 planets in the selection competition, once participants enter the battle, they will be bound to their home planet. Damage suffered during the competition will be reflected back to their home planet in real time. Take the racing event we are participating in now, for example. Every collision will damage an area on the home planet, perhaps causing a volcanic eruption or a tectonic plate collapse."

"Our current situation is extremely dangerous. If we don't achieve a ranking, things will be much more complicated. The competition will determine 19 teams to participate in the final round, while the 279 eliminated teams, along with their home planets, will be transformed into cosmic fireworks by the Grandmaster to celebrate the 19 inhabited planets entering the final round..."

The cruel rules reduced countless life forms and their home planets to toys that the Grandmaster could dispose of at will.

"So, that huge black hole in Black State was caused by your loss in the game, or rather, by the collision that occurred during the game?" Lin Yi asked, pointing to the black hole on Blue Star and the surrounding craters that were visible to the naked eye.

On the continent of Black Continent, a massive hole, approximately three thousand kilometers in diameter, pierced through the Earth's crust. It wasn't an impact crater; it was a true disappearance. It was as if something had magically scooped a piece out of thin air, leaving clean edges, and even allowing one to see the mantle layer beneath.

It's quite... peculiar that Earth can still maintain normal operation and a habitable environment under these circumstances.

Scarface sighed, "That's right. In the fifth round of the competition, Tony and Steve's vehicle was almost destroyed on the spot. As reflected on Earth, this is what you're seeing."

"Sometimes I've even wondered if being chosen as the prize by the final winner would have been a better future."

"Because even if we are chosen as a prize, at least our home planet can be preserved intact and we will still have the opportunity to participate in the next competition, as long as we can get through the ten-year gap in the middle, as long as we can reach an agreement with the winner who chose us."

"But I know we have no leverage to negotiate with them, so we can only... rely on ourselves."

"That planet is already so destroyed, even if we win, there's no way to undo it, right? Are we just going to relocate everyone to the prize planet?"

Scarface Strange shook his head: "The Grandmaster will intervene to repair the planet for the top three. This is more like temporary destruction, a reminder that this is not just a game, but a contest where our race and our home planet are at stake..."

Lin Yi fell silent, and the two flew towards Blue Star.

On the surface, at the Avengers base.

Tony Stark of this universe was already waiting at the entrance, surrounded by automated machines of all sizes, transporting supplies back and forth within the base.

This is the third Tony Stark Lin Yi has met. There's the one from his own universe, the one from the old universe, and now this one, the Tony from universe 69061B. Their appearances aren't drastically different, but this Tony has a colder, more hardened demeanor, his eyes filled with scrutiny and wariness.

However, as soon as he opened his mouth after meeting, that familiar feeling came through.

"You went across the universe for help, and this is what you got..." Tony looked Lin Yi up and down: "...A kindergartener?"

Lin Yi's eye twitched, and he immediately felt an itch to give him a big slap.

Scarface Strange shook his head: "This time is different, Tony."

"What's the difference?" Tony scoffed. "Do I need to remind you? You're a magician. You used my skills and hired seven so-called 'helpers,' and they lost horribly. I told you long ago, in the end we could only rely on ourselves. You still don't understand?"

Fortunately, since the transaction wasn't completed, Tony didn't provide the technical details.

After saying that, he turned to Lin Yi and said, "Kid, I advise you to go back to where you came from. This isn't child's play. No kindergarten teacher will protect you."

Lin Yi tilted his head slightly. Why did Tony, who was all prickly, sound so familiar? Where had he heard him before?

Scarface's expression darkened. "Tony, believe me, this time it's really different. With him, we can try to apply to change the competition to gladiator combat. He's strong, I'm serious."

"How strong?" Tony crossed his arms and looked Lin Yi up and down again, as if trying to find something about him that made him different from ordinary people.

"Stronger than any contestant we've ever seen," Strange said. "Including those alien races with bizarre abilities."

Tony's smile faded slightly, then he laughed even wider, but it wasn't a happy laugh; it was more like, "Are you guys kidding me?"