Marvel: Apocalyptic Beginning, a High-Level Game!

Chapter 235 Another Universe, Are You Alright?

This isn't a no-go, it's a recommendation for the treasure book "Marvel: Apocalyptic Start, But a High-Level Game!"

"Hey! Tony? Tony! What's wrong?!"

Captain America strapped his shield to his wrist and darted through the ruins.

The Super Soldier Serum granted him not only strength, but also unparalleled agility and coordination—each step he took precisely on the intersection of gravel and steel bars, as if walking on flat ground.

He leaped into the air, easily clearing the entire double-decker bus that was blocking his way, landing without even kicking up any extra dust.

At least from Ant-Man Scott Lang's perspective—he was currently in miniature, crouching on Captain America's shoulder armor—his Captain America was just too cool!

But Steve Rogers himself felt uneasy at that moment.

Just now, the Iron Man who wouldn't obey his orders lost signal again.

Although he had gradually come to believe that his old friend was now mature enough, at this moment, he felt that all his trust had been wasted.

That's so unreliable.

He's just like a little kid again.

He quickened his pace while silently chanting to himself, his hands clenching slightly to ensure the shield could spring up at any moment to defend against attacks from any direction.

Just as he turned the corner of a collapsed building—

A figure almost collided head-on with him.

"Oh! Sorry—" Steve suddenly stopped in his tracks, his right arm instinctively raised to hold the shield across his chest, instantly entering combat mode.

But when he saw who it was, he paused slightly. "Wait, who are you?"

Standing in front of me was a young man wearing a beret and a neat military uniform.

In this desolate wasteland, this outfit looked completely out of place.

The young man looked at him with a complex emotion that was hard to describe.

“One…” John Walker tilted his head slightly, a somewhat meaningful smile playing on his lips, “someone who idolizes you.”

He stared at the man before him—through the mask, he could clearly see the weathered face.

With strong features, deep blue eyes, and an innate leadership quality.

Okay, okay, okay.

This feels pretty strange.

After all, in this world, the Captain America who was only half-finished was someone he personally ended up with.

Seeing Captain America alive and well for the first time now, I'm inexplicably feeling a bit of the excitement of meeting a fan.

But then another thought came to mind: the person in front of him, whom he once admired so much, now seemed to him to be nothing more than a tiny ant that he could easily swat.

Thinking of this, John suddenly found it somewhat ridiculous.

Perhaps it's for the other person, or perhaps it's for oneself.

Perhaps it's about the other party's abilities, or perhaps it's about one's own.

Anyway—

"If you're looking for your friend," he said, turning to the side and pointing to a fork in the road, "this road is faster."

Steve stared intently at him, his shield still held against his chest, his eyes unwavering in vigilance.

It's highly unusual for someone to suddenly appear in such a desolate place.

What's more, the other party was wearing a military uniform—but the style of that uniform was strangely familiar.

But that road... was indeed the direction in which Tony's signal last disappeared.

"Thanks."

He said in a deep voice, then stepped aside from John and continued running forward.

John watched the figure disappear from his sight.

Soon, he noticed that the figure changed direction quickly after turning the first street corner—instead of following the route he had indicated, it chose another route that allowed it to take a roundabout way to monitor the area.

Very normal.

I don't feel any psychological burden.

This is the vigilance a soldier should have.

John shook his head slightly, a faint, ambiguous smile playing on his lips.

With a slight push of his legs, in the next instant, his entire body vanished into space like a phantom—perhaps in less than a breath, he had already appeared on the top of a high-rise building hundreds of meters away.

He looked down.

In his eyes, the entire city seemed to have become a three-dimensional, dynamic map.

A red dot of light was moving rapidly through the ruins; it was Captain America—advancing along his predetermined route.

Of course, he also diverted some of his attention to another direction.

That strange giant octopus.

However… he felt he didn't need to watch anymore. Didn't he see Spider-Man physically beating that octopus like crazy?

That's too brutal!!

Yes.

That's too brutal.

At least that's what Iron Man saw when he pushed the car off him.

Tony used his throbbing left arm to brace himself against the car body, and with the help of the booster, he easily pushed away the wreckage that was pressing down on him.

Before he could even begin to feel the pain of the same spot that had been injured countless times in the past.

He stomped his feet, the thrusters spewed blue flames, and he instantly rose into the air again.

He originally wanted to settle scores for himself and, incidentally, find that little spider—

But when he flew high enough and could see the area below, he was stunned.

Smoke, debris, and mangled pieces of tissue formed a visible gray cloud in mid-air. And at the center of this cloud—

"ah--!!"

Spider-Man's fighting style had become completely ferocious. He had been told that this was a uniquely evil creature and should not be treated in any way that humans would be treated—

This thing doesn't even have a brain!

So he completely let go.

After all, this guy doesn't even count as a life, does he?

He grabbed one of the octopus's tentacles with one hand, his fingers sinking deep into the slippery skin, and then with a sudden burst of strength—with a tearing sound, the tentacle was ripped off.

The octopus let out a shrill hiss, and its remaining tentacles twitched wildly, trying to retreat.

But it was too late.

Chapter update reminder: Chapter 234 Another Universe, Are You Alright?, Read here.

The little spider picked up the thick tentacle and, like swinging a giant baseball bat, slammed it hard into the octopus's enormous eyeball.

The ball of flesh was sent flying like a bowling ball, crashing through one wall, then another—

Before it even landed, the little spider pushed off the ground with its feet and chased after it at an even faster speed.

He leaped above the octopus, twisting his body in mid-air to gather his strength—

He kicked it down.

boom--!!

Tony hovered in mid-air, clearly feeling the ground beneath his feet trembling.

The reinforced concrete road surface collapsed as if struck by a meteorite, forming a pit with a diameter of more than ten meters.

Looking at the little spider that had completely overwhelmed its opponent with absolute power, he suddenly had an urge to run away.

Are you kidding me?

In his memory, his pajama baby's punch had a force of about twenty tons.

But what's in front of me—

"Sir," Friday's voice rang out at the right moment, "according to calculations, this Spider-Man's peak force just now exceeded three thousand tons."

Furthermore, based on the current level of muscle tension, his strength ceiling is still increasing.

I detected an unknown energy flowing within his body, which is comprehensively enhancing all his physical functions.

He paused for a moment, then added, "Also, sir, I suspect he has already seen you."

"Haha." Tony chuckled dryly. "Thank you so much, it's just in time, Friday."

below.

The little spider casually grabbed a twisted telephone pole and, like throwing a spear, stabbed it into the octopus's enormous eyeball.

laugh--!!

A viscous liquid splattered out.

The strange feeling that had driven him to madness finally receded like the tide.

The little spider stood still, panting heavily.

He looked down blankly at his hands, then looked up at his surroundings—

The ground was covered with sticky flesh and blood, with all sorts of tissue fragments connected together, like a surreal slaughterhouse.

Is he... really that violent?

As the gold and red armor slowly landed in front of him, Spider-Man was still clutching half an octopus tentacle. He looked at the person emerging from the armor, at that familiar face, and suddenly felt the atmosphere become incredibly awkward.

He casually tossed the tentacle aside and kicked it, as if destroying evidence.

"Um..." He scratched his head, his voice trembling slightly through his mask, "Would you believe me if I said I was in a bad mood just now?"

He felt it necessary to defend his innocence.

But Tony Stark's expression... well, how should I put it, was a little subtle.

Spider-Man decided to make his claim more convincing. He raised his hand and openly removed his Spider-Man mask, revealing his young face underneath.

That was a face Tony knew all too well.

Tony looked at that face, at those reddened eyes, at that somewhat restrained, somewhat expectant, and somewhat bewildered expression—and he finally let down all his guard.

The armored visor rose.

What was revealed was a face that had also been weathered by time.

The two of them just stared at each other like that.

Silence spread through the ruins, with only the smoke and dust in the distance still slowly drifting down.

Finally, Spider-Man spoke first. His voice was a little hoarse:

"……How are you?"

Tony did not answer the question.

He simply tilted his head slightly to examine the young man.

"What has happened in this world..." He paused, "?

The little spider opened its mouth, wanting to say something, but felt a thousand words stuck in its throat, not knowing where to begin.

He looked at the person in front of him—

This man who was once like a father to me, this man who reached out to me in my most helpless moment, this…

The person he can never forget.

His eyes grew increasingly red.

"It's hard to say," he finally managed to squeeze out, his voice trembling, "but now we can..."

He didn't finish speaking.

He simply opened his arms.

It was a very simple gesture, yet it carried a clear sense of restraint, as if afraid of being rejected, yet also as if anticipating something.

Tony Stark looked at him.

Then he smiled.

He stepped forward and pulled the little guy into his arms.

That hug that never happened.

"Remember this," he whispered in the little spider's ear, "this is just a one-time thing, don't make it a regular occurrence."

The little spider didn't speak.

He simply buried his face in Tony's shoulder armor, his shoulders trembling slightly.

Venom Spider-Man stood on a distant rooftop, watching this scene unfold.

A complex mix of emotions welled up inside him.

In his world, it was his own stupidity that led to Tony Stark being bitten by Phoenix and turning into a zombie.

After that, everything fell apart.

Although his teammates didn't put pressure on him, the pressure he put on himself was enough to crush him countless times.

Seeing this scene now...

Everything is fine.

he thinks.

Footsteps came from the end of the ruins.

Captain America—Steve Rogers—has finally arrived.

Behind him followed Scott Lang, who had just recovered from his miniature state.

They witnessed that touching scene: two figures embracing each other, one in gold and red armor, the other in red and blue combat clothes.

Steve stopped, his gaze sweeping over the ravaged battlefield, over the black figure on the distant rooftop, and over the desolate, suffocating city.

Then he looked up at the gray sky and spoke softly, as if asking himself, and as if asking everyone:

"What...world is this?"