Apokolips War

Chapter 240: Apokolips War

Yeah, it had been more than three years.

If other superheroes had truly had a chance of reaching this universe, they could not have left behind no trace at all.

After all, these heroes from the DC Multiverse were no pushovers. Like Red Hood, they could not possibly watch this world fall into such a state and remain indifferent.

Even people like Black Canary, who had stayed hidden in a shelter ever since crossing over, would have rushed to New Babylon the moment they saw Red Skull’s declaration of execution to the entire world, searching for a way to save Red Hood.

For no other reason than that Red Hood came from the same universe as them. That simple reason alone was enough to make them pay any price.

But unfortunately, from the time Zhang Ye arrived in New Babylon until now, he had never sensed a single presence that did not belong to this universe. With Miss Minutes’s help, Zhang Ye could use less than 1% of the Time Twister’s charge to conduct large-scale soul scans.

Yet the results were disappointing. Quite a few people had come here over the past few days, including some restless members of the Hulk Gang who had come to join the fun, but Zhang Ye had never found a single suspicious person who might have been a traveler from another universe.

Zhang Ye had no choice but to prepare for the worst. There were now only two possibilities for those DC superheroes: either they had failed to cross universes and reach this world, instead being torn open by countless Doomsday Para-demons and dying on the spot.

Or, after arriving in this world, they had died for some reason before they could accomplish anything or stir up any waves. They might have been heroes with abundant experience, but across so many universes, there had never been a shortage of heroes who met their end through a moment of carelessness.

Neither possibility was good news for Zhang Ye, Black Canary, and the others, because it meant the paths to destruction of both universes were accelerating. Before long, the two universes would walk hand in hand toward ruin.

"Is it even possible to resolve something like two universes about to collide in space-time?" Kara looked at Zhang Ye worriedly.

Zhang Ye fell silent for a moment before answering calmly. "I’m not sure. If I get the chance to successfully record this universe, then this timeline will be under my control. At that point, I can use this universe’s origin power to forcibly alter its course and prevent the destruction of both universes.

"You can think of it as two trains gradually moving onto the same track. Without an outside force, neither will change direction or slow down. To save these two timelines, gaining control of one of the universes is the only way."

"I understand. So what we need to do now is wait for the ‘recording’ opportunity you mentioned, right?" Kara nodded.

"You could say that. I was lucky before. When I devoured some magic-side people in this world, some of their memories were preserved as well. That will be a great help in recording this universe and can shorten the process considerably," Zhang Ye said softly.

Listening to Kara and Zhang Ye’s conversation, Black Canary finally could not help speaking up.

"Mr. Witch Raven, this is our first time meeting, but you make me feel as if you have known me for a long time. I don’t know what kind of power you possess, but Kara and Pietro both speak highly of you. I really want to know—do you have a way to send me back to my world?"

Zhang Ye did not answer directly. Instead, he asked her a question.

"You know there is almost no hope left for saving your universe, right? The Justice League no longer exists. Even if I can send you back, given that the two universes are progressing side by side, their flows of time are nearly identical. In other words, I can only send you to three years later in that universe. If my estimate is correct, Earth three years from now will no longer be suitable for human habitation."

"You know what happened in our universe?!" Black Canary’s eyes widened as she suddenly realized the meaning behind Zhang Ye’s words.

"Mm, you could say that." Zhang Ye did not deny it. Or rather, there was no need for him to hide it.

After learning about Black Canary’s origins, Zhang Ye had already known what kind of place her universe was.

Like most universes on the verge of destruction, Black Canary came from the DC animated movie universe of Dark Justice League: Apokolips War. At the same time, it was also a universe declared for reboot.

This universe began with The Flash’s Flashpoint Paradox and was a universe fated for destruction. Apokolips War was the historical endpoint of this universe. Its conclusion lay in The Flash rebooting it once again. From that moment on, the universe vanished beyond reality, unable to be observed by any being.

Although this universe originated as a "dystopian" universe, its actual development had been exceedingly strange.

Now Zhang Ye understood why Apokolips War and the Wasteland Universe had come into contact with one another. Because in the instant the two universes touched— the Justice League’s intelligence had been divided up among the Wasteland’s villains.

If the Wasteland Universe had come about because its villains suddenly broke free from their original paths, joined forces, and defeated the superheroes they could not otherwise overcome, then Apokolips War was the complete opposite. The Justice League’s heroes had actually thought of gathering together to attack Apokolips, where Darkseid was located.

The final result was naturally that no one survived.

Although the battle could be explained by saying that Superman had been stubborn and, because he was not close enough to Batman, had completely ignored Batman’s warnings, while Cyborg had been monitored by the Mother Box, causing the plan to leak ahead of time, overall, it was undoubtedly a catastrophic failure.

"I keep saying the Justice League should not group up. This is common sense learned from experience." Zhang Ye shook his head helplessly.

"Mr. Witch Raven, what did you mean when you said Earth is no longer suitable for human habitation?" Black Canary asked.

"Darkseid built a device that extracts Earth’s core. It has completely destroyed the planet’s ecology. Although there are still quite a few resistance groups on Earth, unfortunately, their resistance is ultimately meaningless. Even if they truly succeed, Earth’s resources can no longer support human survival."

Zhang Ye spread his hands, then looked directly into Black Canary’s eyes and continued, "If you stay here, I can guarantee the safety of you and Red Hood. But if you want to go back, it is no different from sending yourselves to your deaths. So, now that you understand this, are you still willing to return to your universe?"

"Of course!"

Black Canary did not hesitate in the slightest. She spoke earnestly.

"That is my world. Even if it is already riddled with holes and cannot be saved, then even if I die, I want to die there."

"Because… the people I love are there."