Bai Qi, suspended in mid-air, looked up. The other end of the spider silk was attached to someone wearing a red and blue tight-fitting suit, with a spider emblem on the back.
That's right, the one who "saved" Bai Qi from the zombie horde was none other than this world's Spider-Man.
Incidentally, arriving in this world had consumed a significant amount of Bai Qi's strength and dark energy. To preserve what remained and accelerate his own recovery, Bai Qi had maintained a human state since waking up. It was precisely because of this that the Spider-Man patrolling the city mistook him for one of the few survivors.
Perhaps it had been too long since he'd seen another living person, but Spider-Man was a chatterbox on their way, prattling on non-stop. Bai Qi didn't mind, listening to him and occasionally offering a response or two.
Through their disjointed conversation, Bai Qi gained some understanding of the world's state.
Firstly, this world had indeed been engulfed by a virus. Nations worldwide, unable to withstand the sudden viral onslaught, were largely in a state of anarchy. Over eighty percent of humanity had been infected, transforming into zombies, and as time passed, the remaining survivors dwindled in the jaws of the undead.
Under the guidance of the young Spider-Man, the two soon arrived at their survivor camp located on the top floor of the Empire State Building.
The moment they landed, Happy, who had been waiting, rushed over. He circled the young Spider-Man, examining him with a worried expression, like a fussy mother.
"Uh... Mr. Happy, there's really no need for this. I'm an adult and can protect myself."
Happy ignored the young Spider-Man's words, continuing his meticulous inspection. Only after confirming the young man was truly unharmed did he heave a sigh of relief.
"I told them before, how could they assign such a dangerous task to a child? They just wouldn't listen. I don't know what these guys are thinking. If anything were to happen to you, how would I explain it to your Aunt May... Ah, never mind."
Perhaps reminded of something, Happy ultimately didn't finish his sentence and changed the subject. "Alright, let's not talk about this. Bucky said they received this morning..."
At this point, Happy noticed Bai Qi standing behind the young Spider-Man. He paused for a few seconds before continuing, "We received a distress signal. They're discussing it now. You young people have more ideas, go take a look."
Hearing that someone needed help, the young Spider-Man, embracing the principle of "with great power comes great responsibility," nodded and quickly walked towards the exit. After two steps, he seemed to remember something, and as he turned to speak to Bai Qi, Happy interjected first. "I'll handle his arrangements. You go ahead."
After the young Spider-Man left, Happy approached Bai Qi, sizing him up. "Come with me. I'll show you where you'll be staying."
As New York City's tallest landmark, the Empire State Building possessed natural advantages in this zombie-infested apocalypse.
Firstly, it was tall enough to keep the zombies on the ground at bay. Even if you were dancing on the top floors, the zombies on the street wouldn't hear or see you, thus not attracting a horde.
Secondly, the Empire State Building was built robustly. Coupled with the fact that the five floors below were completely piled with debris, even if the zombies discovered the survivors on the roof and launched a frontal assault, it would take a significant amount of time.
Furthermore, besides the bottom five floors used for storing debris and blocking zombies, there were over thirty floors above, capable of accommodating a large number of survivors.
Finally, and most importantly, was the power supply. After the outbreak, humans turned into zombies, and for a short period, the city's power grid could operate independently. Over time, lacking human maintenance, the power system would fail. The Empire State Building, however, had its own independent power source.
Happy remained cautious with Bai Qi, thoroughly inspecting him for any scratches or bites before escorting him inside the building. He found an unoccupied room, handed Bai Qi the key and access card, and then turned to leave. As he departed, he reminded Bai Qi which areas were off-limits and that someone would arrive in two hours to assign him work.
Yes, work.
Don't think that the end of the world means no need for work. On the contrary, after the apocalypse and the massive loss of life, many positions would become vacant, requiring the surviving humans to fill them, often with individuals holding multiple roles.
If you possessed indispensable technical skills, like an electrician or someone who could forge weapons, you might find a relatively comfortable job. Your irreplaceability could even grant you a certain status among the survivors.
If you possessed no skills, then unfortunately, you'd be relegated to heavy labor or extremely dangerous tasks, such as digging traps, repairing defenses, or venturing out to find supplies.
If you claimed to be able to sing, dance, or play a musical instrument, then I'm sorry, those were matters of peacetime. In an era where survival itself was a major issue, the demand for such spiritual sustenance was almost zero.
Of course, you could belt out a tune while hauling bricks, perhaps for your own enjoyment, or sing a song while being chased by zombies to boost morale and, incidentally, attract a horde.
Therefore, friends who harbor unrealistic fantasies, wake up quickly. Perhaps you're just a cog in the machine now, but in an apocalypse, you might not even be that.
Returning to the present, after settling Bai Qi, Happy hurried to the conference room.
After entering the conference room with his access card, he found a group of superheroes already waiting.
Among them were Bucky Barnes, the Winter Soldier and a close friend of Captain America; Hope van Dyne, the Wasp; Scott Lang, Ant-Man; Okoye, the Wakandan general searching for the missing king; Sharon Carter, an Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.; Dr. Banner, who couldn't transform into the Hulk; and the young Spider-Man, who had just returned from his outing.
As Happy entered, Bucky, standing by the door, glanced at him before returning his gaze to the computer being operated by Carter.
Happy didn't mind Bucky's indifferent reaction, as more pressing matters were at hand.
"How is it? Can you confirm?"
Not long before, they had received a telegram stating that a survivor claimed to have made progress in developing a cure.
Unfortunately, the transmission was incomplete, cutting off before they could finish.
Just moments ago, Carter had finally managed to decrypt the location of the transmission. The sender was from the Caspian Sea in New Jersey, which was also S.H.I.E.L.D.'s first base.