Spider Man and the local Spider Man had been busy working around the device for half a day, finally producing a trial antidote. After thinking for a bit, the local Spider Man suggested, "I know I might sound callous saying this, but I think it's best for us to test the antidote on a zombie that was an ordinary person."
The local Spider Man sighed, "On one hand, ninety-nine percent of this world's population are ordinary people, superheroes and mutants are the minority, we need to create an antidote which can be used by the majority first."
"On the other hand, the attributes of superheroes are too complex, some have genetic mutations, some are altered, some are mutants, we don't have time to develop a unique cure for each."
"But we need more hands that can help." Spider Man calmly watched the local Spider Man say, "If we can find Doctor Connors or Dr. Ethan, perhaps we can figure out what that mysterious ingredient is and expedite the development of the antidote."
Now it was the local Spider Man's turn to be astonished; he stared at Spider Man, saying, "I thought you would accuse me of not saving my friends first, or think that I want to use ordinary people as guinea pigs."
"With the limited number of doses, some people will inevitably be saved first, some later; this is unavoidable, we can't change it, we can only adapt, we can use only the best choice, to ensure that even the last person is saved as soon as possible."
Spider Man opened his hands and said: "Someone once told me not to emphasize procedural justice too much. I don't completely agree, but in the present situation, he's right; this world's Earth has already decayed to such a state that rapid improvement is the primary goal."
The two extraordinary Spider Men reached an agreement in the shortest possible time; they decided to first save some of the research personnel from Stark Group whom the local Spider Man could identify. This way, they could iterate the antidote versions faster, subsequently speeding up the rescue process.
At that moment, the light of the portal behind the two Spider Men flashed and Iron Man from this universe finally arrived.
"Thanks, Peter, whichever Peter you are, my stomach finally stopped hurting terribly." Iron Man shook his head and said, "Don't bother explaining, my consciousness has been clear from beginning to end, now, I just want to know where you got the antidote."
The local Spider Man closed his mouth, but couldn't help adding, "Do you also know about our universe cycle?"
"Huh?"
About half an hour later, Stark and the two Spider Men headed towards Stark Group's lab, where they possessed more professional equipment and a better enclosed environment.
The non-flying local Spider Man was responsible for staying in the lab to produce the first batch of usable antidotes, while Spider Man and the local Iron Man were in charge of injecting the produced antidote into the zombie researchers with medical research backgrounds.
This arrangement was not inefficient, and they were able to save a significant number of medical researchers who could participate in the development of the antidote in no time. Once manpower was sufficient, Iron Man began showing concern regarding the ingredients in the antidote.
Unfortunately, the useful ingredients in the antidote did not show any special characteristics; the whole research team from Stark Group had researched for half a day and, in the end, only managed to confirm its usability.
They could only guess that it was a unique virus that could devour other zombie viruses and yet would not affect the human body when existing independently. But urgency takes precedence, so for now, solving the problems in this universe was more important.
But as the research deepened and the effects of the antidote were further confirmed, Stark began to be dissatisfied with injecting one person at a time and developed an atmospheric circulation device to thoroughly kill the zombie virus by broadly disseminating the antidote throughout the entire Earth.
Although Spider Man believed this method was somewhat risky, after all, the local Iron Man and Spider Man were the indigenous residents of this universe and he himself was an outsider; it wasn't his place to comment on these matters.
Soon, the atmospheric purification system took effect, and the antidote, containing a mysterious substance, was spread to every corner of the Earth. The ordinary people, who had been in a stupor due to the zombie virus infection, soon came to their senses.
How incredibly devastated and heartbroken they are when faced with the sudden ruin and the fearsome wreckage everywhere is another matter entirely. After Spider Man whispered a few words to the local Spider Man, the local Spider Man said to Stark:
"Mr. Stark, I'm very sorry, but I don't think I can help restore the world order with you. My companion from another universe told me that many zombie universes are facing catastrophic disasters, we want to borrow this atmospheric purification device, compress it using their technology, and bring it to other universes to solve their problems."
"I am truly sorry." The local Spider Man hung his head, biting his lip, appearing very guilty and apologetic, "Actually, I've been awake for a while now, but I really can't…"
He felt a hand on his shoulder, Captain America was standing behind him saying, "Don't say that, Peter. I remember you alerted us ahead of time, it's our fault we didn't act."
"Don't always blame yourself, kid, we never expected you to save the world, that's a grown-up's job." Stark held out a finger and said, "You have given us the biggest surprise this century, we never thought you could singlehandedly turn the tide."
"By the way." Stark, as if remembering something, asked, "What became of the prime culprit? That robot that fell from the sky that day…"
The local Spider Man was slightly stunned, he remembered the zombie sentinel also went to another universe, but by the end, the scene of the large-scale war was too chaotic, and he did not confirm whether the sentinel had been purified.
"Never mind, the situation in the other zombie universes is more urgent," Captain America interrupted local Spider Man's thoughts. "You go ahead, we'll take care of things here."
Without much consideration, two Spider Men traveled to other universes via the Spider Totem's portal. Spider Man already had a target in mind. It was clear that Nick's Central Universe promotional plan was working well, as at the moment one Spider Man was calling for help in a group chat.
To be precise, it was not recent, but a few days ago. The private chat windows of several key Spider Legion members had received messages from the same Spider Man. The sender seemed very urgent, sending several messages in quick succession.
Upon closer inspection, they realized that their universe had also been hit by a zombie virus. Nick felt it was not a coincidence and immediately wanted Spider Man to go rescue them.
However, the zombie virus was a troublesome thing. If Spider Man got bitten, it could potentially only escalate the problem instead of aiding in the rescue. Hence, he sent Peter to a universe within which the zombie virus had already erupted and been successfully dealt with, to obtain the antidote. He then rushed to another zombie universe to remedy the situation as swiftly as possible.
After Spider Man departed, Stark voiced his unease. "Something isn't right. Where did the zombie virus originate from? And where has that Sentinel disappeared? Could there be a connection between these two?"
Steve pondered the situation and spoke with furrowed brows. "We have to find that Sentinel first before we can ascertain any information."
"I know what is going on," a voice came from behind them. Steve and Stark turned around to see the landing figure of Magneto.
"I introduced the zombie virus with the intent of destroying the human race, but I have to say, the Sentinel Robots that you developed are the true culprits. You brought it upon yourselves."
The two Spiders who left arrived at the distress signal's universe in record time only to realize they were still a step too late and found an overwhelming horde of zombies wreaking havoc on the city buildings.
Spider Man immediately opened his smartphone to use the local communication features and, not long after that, received the satellite coordinates from the universe's ill-fated Spider Man.
The catastrophe of this universe did not last long; the satellites had not entirely given out. But the two Spiders only arrived just in the nick of time; by then, this universe's Avengers had been cornered in a military base.
Zombies surrounded them. Hope was prepared to sacrifice herself to make an escape path for the others. Fortunately, the two Spiders arrived in time.
Spider Man quickly retrieved an atmospheric purification device developed by Iron Man of the other zombie universe and poured the antidote they had acquired into it. After activating the device, the unidentified component in the antidote was dispersed into the Earth's atmosphere.
What astounded the two Spiders was the effectiveness of the antidote and its immediate results.
"Is this the same virus?!" Spider Man stared incredulously at the civilians slowly awakening and rising from the ground. He took a deep breath and said, "How could two universes so far apart be infected by the same zombie virus?!"
"Something's not right, alarmingly so," the Spider Man from the zombie universe remarked. "We need to catch a zombie and study the virus inside it. If it turns out to be the same as in our universe, this means what the Braniac said was true: someone intentionally spread the zombie virus here."
"But for what motive?" Spider Man asked.
"I have no idea; he might be set on destroying the universe." The Spider Man from the zombie universe frowned deeply. "If he's become powerful enough to traverse the Multiverse at will, then why resort to poisoning instead of direct attacks?"
"The transmission of the zombie virus must hold significance to him," hypothesized the Spider Man from the Zombie Universe. "The infected Avengers also seek to open portals to other universes. If left unchecked, countless universes would be infected."
"What exactly is the essence of a zombie virus?"
No one was available to answer this question. It was apparent that apart from the Spider Man from the Central Universe, everyone else was weighed down with problems and didn't have the luxury to dig into the matter. They could only start by dealing with their own universe's impending extinction.
At that moment, Hope let out a lamentable cry from within the team. She slowly knelt down and crumbled to the floor, her hands covering her face as she began to cry. The others quickly rushed over to comfort her.
The Spider Man of this universe then explained to the two others, "Hope's father, Dr. Pym, unfortunately fell into the Quantum Realm in an attempt to rescue her amidst the previous chaos. Is highly likely he won't be able to return."
Spider Man suddenly recalled a universe Natasha had mentioned during a chat, so he quickly retrieved his phone to inquire.
Soon after, he raised his head and said to Hope, "Ma'am, there happens to be a Dr. Pym in another universe who has lost his own daughter and is currently immersed in grief. He even almost made a terrible mistake."
"If you're able, could you visit his universe and meet him? Perhaps this could be a reunion for you both."