Not too long after, in a cramped and tiny bedroom on the second floor of a store, a long-haired girl, soaked to the bone, was sitting on the floor. It was obvious she had just been doused with water. She was glaring at the two young men in front of her with indignant eyes. Xu Shang-Chi shook his head and said, "Miss Jessica, if you hadn't tried to go mad and hit us, I wouldn't have used a water spelled to douse you. Are you a little calmer now?"
With a dismissive "pft", Jessica behaved like the usual Hell's Kitchen female hoodlum, vigorously shook her head, slinging her wet hair behind her ears. She took a deep breath and said, "It's not the water that really woke me up, but the way you cast your spell. Monsters can't cast spells, at least not magically, without dark power."
"Can you tell us what's going on? We've already introduced ourselves, we're superheroes from another world and we've only just arrived."
"Soon you'll have to stay here forever." Jessica uttered with a cold smile, "You guys have just taken on those monsters right? Just wait, it's just a matter of time before you go mad."
Riley and Xu Shang-Chi glanced at each other. Kneeling half-way down, Riley gazed directly into Jessica's eyes and said, "That's why we want to know more about what's happening here, considering the fact that we saved you."
"You didn't save me, I was hiding just fine until you dragged me here."
"But you couldn't hide there for long." Xu Shang-chi emphasised, "The monsters would have eventually found you, and there aren't enough survival resources here."
"Either way, sooner or later I'll go mad. Hiding for a while is still hiding." Jessica said with resignation. She tossed her old shotgun to the side, clasping her own legs, and said, "If you must know the desperate reality, I don't mind repeating it."
"As you can see, this world has gone mad. The madness started with the superheroes - Iron Man, Captain America, Spider-Man, all the superheroes people usually read about in the newspapers, they've all turned into monsters."
"Then came the ordinary people. A terrifying infectious madness began to spread among the crowds. One by one, people turned into monsters and began to wreak havoc."
"At first, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the army were somewhat useful. They used massive firearms to clear out the affected areas, but then people discovered that the method of transmission wasn't through wounds, but through the mind."
With a grimace on her face, Jessica spoke with a desperate expression, "Just by looking at them, or even getting close to them, you gradually get infected with the madness. An irresistible dark force corrodes your soul, ultimately turning you into a monster like them."
"By the time the government realised this, it was too late. Many of them had already turned. Yes, someone pressed the nuclear button. Luckily, their chaotic minds couldn't target the bombs properly, but the oceans and groundwater have been polluted."
Riley and Xu Shang-Chi's faces turned stern, while Jessica turned pale. She muttered, "There are still some surviving organisations resisting in some Asian countries, alliances of survivors in Texas and Florida, but New York is completely lost. You know why."
They knew all too well, New York was the place with the most intense superhero activities. If the superheroes were the source of infection, there was almost nothing left here.
"So you..." Xu Shang-tsung uttered hesitantly. He was worried that Jessica's unstable mental state would be aroused yet again, so he was particularly cautious.
Jessica lowered her head with a wry smile and said, "I suppose I'm fortunate that for a long time before this, I was controlled by a super villain called the Purple Man. He created a mental barrier in my mind."
"When the catastrophe struck, he was the first to die at the hands of a superhero. His mental control over me didn't completely end as the barrier still existed. With my own special ability, I managed to scare away two monsters and hide."
Jessica pointed to her head and said, "He was a terrible sadist, controlling every part of my thought process and depriving me of the ability to think independently. But, that's what saved my life. Because of his lingering influence, the madness the monsters bring can't fully control my mind, which is why I can confront those monsters without going mad."
"But what you said is correct," Jessica's tone took on a note of despair, "This is not a sustainable plan. As I gradually recover, sooner or later the madness will invade here. I will become a monster like the League of Murderers."
"The League of Murderers?" Riley seemed puzzled as he echoed the words. Jessica glanced at him, quickly retracting her gaze, and muttered, "Yes, the League of Murderers. You might even find some old friends there, Iron Man, Captain America, Thor."
Riley and Xu Shang-Chi both gaped in shock. Xu Shang-Chi swallowed, and said, "Well, it makes sense for Iron Man and Captain America; they are humans after all. How did Thor...?"
"I mean, that guy who walks around with a hammer." Jessica shook her head and said, "I don't know much about him either, the newspapers don't cover him much. Is he special in any way?"
Of course, he is. Riley thought to himself, he glanced at Xu Shang-Chi and clearly, he thought the same. It seemed Jessica didn't know that Thor came from Asgard, but both they did.
If even the gods of Asgard have fallen, the enemy must be far more powerful than they could imagine. They had to reassess the scale of the situation.
"How did you get to this universe? Never mind, it's pointless to ask. Leave before you get infected." Jessica waved her hand and got up. She picked up the old shotgun again, and said, "I have a special ability, it's just that the Purple Man's control over me is preventing me from fully utilizing it. If I go mad, I might hurt you. You better get lost."
Having said that, she picked up her gun, about to walk out. Riley stopped her and asked, "What you're implying is that looking at these monsters directly might lead to infection? But we just slew two creatures."
"Yes, one resembled a zombie, and the other looked somewhat like a cobra, but with a lot more tentacles," Xu Shang-Chi elaborated.
Jessica paused, then turned to look into Xu Shang-Chi's eyes, "You locked eyes with them?"
"Of course. The zombie must have had at least eight eyes. It would have been difficult to avoid," answered Xu Shang-Chi honestly.
Jessica took a step back, looking at them as if they were monsters. She shivered and said, "Didn't you see anything, any horrifying illusions? Such as sudden dizziness, multiple pairs of eyes staring at you, tentacles, slime, and various dreadful insects?"
Seeing Jessica's pale face, Riley could sense she was describing something she'd seen herself. Yet, he was flabbergasted while Xu Shang-Chi appeared equally puzzled.
"That embodies dreadful psychic contamination," Jessica shook her head, "They can corrode your brain, slowly dragging you into the whirlpool."
"Psychic contamination? Where?" Xu Shang-Chi queried instinctively.
"I didn't see anything," shrugged Riley, "At that moment, I was busy determining whether my Spider-sense was working."
Xu Shang-Chi tried to recall, before saying, "I was inspecting the flow of energy at that time while chanting my mantra mentally. You know, revisions are necessary before examinations. I didn't want to recite the wrong spell on my first try."
Jessica was then struck by the sincerity in their expressions. The black-haired girl contemplated at them curiously, "Are you two immune to that contamination? But why? Surely it's not due to your being from another cosmos."
Riley and Xu Shang-Chi exchanged glances. They had arrived at the same conclusion—perhaps the contamination did occur but was so faint that they didn't notice it.
They reminisced about the overwhelming gratitude they felt upon realizing that they could physically touch the monsters and zombies in this world. They contrasted this with the serene horror during the hellish nights within the Dream Universe and the warm scene of sunlight and gentle breezes now. They felt like fist-bumping in celebration.
Riley choked down his excitement while Jessica misinterpreted his action as worry and fear. She hoisted her gun on her shoulder, stating, "I don't intend to drag you down, nor do I need anyone's rescue. If this is the fate of this cosmos, well, fuck it, there's no need for more victims."
Having finished, Jessica turned to descend the stairs. Before she could, Xu Shang-Chi stepped to the staircase's opening from the side, blocking her way. He said, "Wait a moment, I've had a plan but haven't yet carried it out."
He glanced at Riley, who obviously knew what Xu Shang-Chi was referring to. Riley shrugged and said, "Alright, do as you wish. Let's hope we can find some survivors to foster our Doomsday Shelter's resources."
"What are you two planning?" Jessica's gaze kept alternating between the two young men, seeming to guess their relationship, and pondering her own relation to their plan.
Regardless, the three of them marched out of the shop together. The instinct to survive always takes precedence, and Jessica knew that, in a way, these two had saved her. If they did indeed have a chance of not being contaminated, then that would indeed be a lifesaver.
"So, this place is Hell's Kitchen?" asked Xu Shang-Chi.
"Isn't that obvious?" Jessica stroked her shotgun barrel, "The police cars you saw weren't there to rescue civilians, only to control the riots. This area was the first to plunge into chaos."
"If there is a safe house here that we can use, it must be..." Xu Shang-Chi looked at Riley. Riley, remembering the stories he had once told Xu Shang-Chi, thought for a moment and then came up with the answer, "Kingpin's palace."
Upon hearing this familiar name, Jessica raised an eyebrow. She seemed to have guessed what these two were up to, yet still warned, "I must stress to you, in this world, whether villain or superhero, are now all monsters."
"That terrible mob boss and his henchmen have definitely turned into beasts. They have not only guns but tentacles, and perhaps other unexpected aids," she said.
"Aren't you coming?" Riley looked at Jessica and asked, smiling.
Jessica snorted coldly, quickly racking the bolt on her gun. To the slightly surprised gaze of Riley and Xu Shang-Chi, she leapt into the air, before echoing coldly, "Just as I said before, fuck it!"