After finalizing the specific details, the subsequent transactions proceeded exceptionally smoothly.
Bai Qi handed over the Reality Stone he possessed, and the World Will, through its authority, extracted one-sixth of the world's origin and gave it to Bai Qi.
Watching Bai Qi pocket one-sixth of the world's origin made the World Will's heart ache. It decisively chose to leave. Although it had no substantial effect, at least it was out of sight, out of mind.
Alas, our Zombie Iron Man had to bear the pressure that was far beyond his age.
As a precaution, Bai Qi intended to eliminate the Zombie Iron Man before him. Unexpectedly, the World Will descended upon him. While completing the transaction with Bai Qi through the Zombie Iron Man's mouth, it also exerted immense pressure on the Zombie Iron Man's body. This pressure not only caused irreparable and significant damage to his body but also turned his precious brain into a paste.
Now that the World Will had departed, the Zombie Iron Man died along with it.
"This way, things are getting more and more interesting."
Looking at the corpse of the fallen Zombie Iron Man, a slight smile played on Bai Qi's lips. Indeed, even the World Will could be short-sighted at times, discarding such a promising subordinate without a second thought.
"In that case, I'll take a few useful individuals with me before I leave. I doubt you'll mind."
Even with the Time Stone being troublesome, with thorough preparation, its absorption would take at most four days. The reason Bai Qi requested an additional ten days from the World Will was to stir up some trouble during this period.
However, to be safe, Bai Qi decided to prioritize absorbing the Time Stone. He would cause trouble after completing the absorption.
Without the World Will's interference, Bai Qi's absorption of the Time Stone's energy became much more stable. Over four days, Bai Qi spent the entire duration absorbing the Time Stone's energy into his body, transforming it into his own power. Afterward, he spent another day completely repairing his body, which had been damaged during the absorption process.
With all this done, Bai Qi began to cause trouble.
Consider this: besides the Infinity Stones and the world's origin, what other scarce resources in this world could catch Bai Qi's eye?
Some might say Vibranium.
Vibranium was indeed rare and a strategic resource, but it wasn't Bai Qi's top priority.
In Bai Qi's opinion, the most scarce resource was people.
Of course, by "people," Bai Qi didn't mean the ordinary individuals one could find everywhere. He meant those at the forefront of various scientific research fields.
This was precisely what Bai Qi intended to do over the next ten days: recruit the elite talents of this world. If any of them had turned into zombies, he would use his magic to turn them back into humans before subjugating them and making them his own.
Bai Qi arrived at a mountaintop, relaxed his mind, and spread his spiritual power outward from his center, quickly covering the entire Earth.
Although the quantum virus had ravaged human civilization beyond recognition, and many people had left their cities to flee or wander as zombies, it did add some difficulty to finding individuals. Bai Qi, however, used the simplest and most brute-force method.
He covered the entire globe with his spiritual power, placing the Earth under his surveillance. This way, finding someone was as easy as lifting a finger.
After determining his next objective, Bai Qi instantly vanished from the mountaintop and reappeared outside a research institute.
The first person Bai Qi intended to recruit was currently busy in the laboratory.
This person was none other than Reed Richards, also known as Mr. Fantastic, the rubber-man from the Fantastic Four.
As a doctor with doctoral degrees in multiple fields such as engineering, mathematics, and physics, Richards' research capabilities were beyond doubt. Even though he had been infected and turned into a zombie, he had awakened his intelligence far earlier than others.
However, unlike others who passively accepted their fate, Richards deeply detested his current state, especially when he saw his wife, Sue Storm Richards, also known as the Invisible Woman from the Fantastic Four, who was also a zombie but had not awakened her intelligence.
Due to their transformation into zombies, both had lost the ability to express their love physically, completely extinguishing the possibility of them having children.
Richards clearly remembered that night when Susan leaned into his arms and said she wanted a baby. The arrival of the quantum virus had turned all of that into a bubble.
Therefore, after awakening his intelligence, Richards had been tirelessly researching the quantum virus, hoping to find a way to turn zombies back into humans.
Unfortunately, even though he had worked day and night, resisting the urge to feed, and researched frantically for seven days and seven nights, it was still like a drop in the ocean for the vast undertaking of the quantum virus.
Richards realized that with his intellect and the current level of technology, it would take at least twenty years to fully understand what the quantum virus was. The difficulty of creating an antidote that could transform zombies back into humans would increase exponentially, and it would be impossible without seventy to eighty years.
But what could he do even if he knew?
Let alone seventy to eighty years, even for a hundred years, Richards would have done it for his beloved. The problem was that time was running out for him.
After all, zombies, being dead entities, were constantly decaying. Only by feeding could the decay be slowed down. In fact, consuming a large amount of food, or high-quality meat, could reverse the decay process.
However, during this time, Richards had been engrossed in his research and had no time to eat. Moreover, as time went on, there were fewer living people left. The outside world was filled with zombies like himself. Eating their flesh might temporarily suppress the urge to feed, but it wouldn't slow down the rate of decay.
Richards picked up a nearby testing instrument. The needle at the tip pierced his skin, collecting some tissue samples from his body. After a few minutes of waiting, the diagnostic results quickly came out.
Compared to seven days ago, Richards' corruption had increased by another twenty percent, reaching a terrifying thirty-two percent.
And don't think thirty-two percent is a small amount.
This isn't like downloading a game where it ends at one hundred percent. As the corruption level increases, Richards would be correspondingly affected. It was estimated that once it reached fifty percent, Richards would be unable to continue his experiments. At seventy percent, he would become completely paralyzed, unable to move, and could only watch as his body gradually rotted away and eventually died.
Looking at the distant and uncertain progress of his experiments, even as a zombie, Richards could still feel a deep sense of powerlessness.