Concern

Chapter 263: Concern

"It looks like you two have quite a lot to say."

Looking at Jason Todd and Black Canary, Zhang Ye felt a little sentimental. These two heroes from different worlds had finally come together.

Thinking back on their adventures in the wasteland, Zhang Ye felt a pang of emotion.

Back when he had still been an ordinary person, he had been fascinated by things like wastelands. A world without law, overflowing with endless chaos, always gave people the sense of freedom to do whatever they wanted.

But after experiencing it himself, Zhang Ye realized he had merely been like the man who loved dragons from afar. This godforsaken place really was no place for humans. Just look at Jason Todd—even with his abilities, he had nearly died here, let alone Zhang Ye himself.

Zhang Ye asked himself: if this had been the first world he had crossed into, he might not have survived.

"I spoke with Jason just now. I told him some things about you all, as well as part of this world’s history and the backgrounds of Red Skull and Hydra. Most of that intelligence came from Kate Bishop."

Black Canary answered. They had already calmed down from the excitement of their reunion. Black Canary returned to her composed, intellectual demeanor, while Jason was extremely reserved, giving off the feeling that he kept everyone at arm’s length.

"Hydra is history now. Red Skull has fallen. We finally did something good," Old Barton said cheerfully.

"Dad, you don’t think this ends here, do you?" Ashley frowned at his words.

Old Barton froze when he heard that, then fell silent as well.

"Ashley is right. The collapse of Hydra’s empire will cause even greater chaos. The Hulk Gang in the west is stirring, Doom’s side isn’t very peaceful either, and that’s not even counting all those families and gangs. After today, every faction will probably start a massive reshuffling."

Frank, who had remained silent nearby, finally spoke slowly. He had remained in contact with the remnants of S.H.I.E.L.D. over the years, so he had a clearer grasp of the global situation.

"What should we do next? Do we have enough people to deal with the problems here?" Pietro looked toward Zhang Ye, hoping he would make the call.

But Ashley spoke first. "Don’t we have Osborn City? It’s called Blood Nest now. It can serve as our base. Blood Baron is bound by Zhang Ye’s contract anyway, so we don’t have to worry about him disobeying.

And Hydra is finished, the world is falling into chaos, and we can take this opportunity to recruit people. For those who can’t see any hope, as long as someone is willing to shelter them, they’ll give their lives for it. Besides, don’t we still have the Avengers and Bishop Sanctuary?"

Zhang Ye raised an eyebrow and looked at Ashley in surprise. "Not bad. You’re starting to have the air of a gang queen. I didn’t expect you to have such a clear understanding of territorial power."

"Of course. Whose daughter do you think she is?" Old Barton puffed out his chest proudly.

"I-I just picked it up from being around Hammerfall City back then." Ignoring her adoptive father, Ashley felt her cheeks grow a little hot. This was the first time someone had praised her.

"This is your talent," Zhang Ye said seriously. "Some people are born with the qualities of a leader and can attract many followers. But remember, as a leader, choosing the right path is the most important thing."

"I understand." Ashley inclined her head slightly.

Zhang Ye could tell that Ashley was genuinely reflecting on his words. That was a good thing. Perhaps this time, she could walk toward a new future.

"Back to the subject. Ashley is right, and I’ll add something. This world no longer needs heroes. What it needs are warriors, and revolutionaries willing to throw themselves into danger. If we want to restore order to this nightmare of a world, we have to eradicate chaos completely."

Zhang Ye paused, his gaze sweeping across everyone’s faces before he continued.

"You’re all seasoned veterans. You should understand what I mean. There will no longer be any righteous side or villainous side. What awaits this world is a massive war—the kind where countless people will die. And justice can only be written by the victors."

"I can help you, but Zhang Ye, you promised me." Black Canary could not help speaking up.

Hearing Black Canary’s words, Zhang Ye naturally understood what she was thinking.

If time truly passed at the same rate, then Black Canary’s universe was probably already in its third year after the Apokolips War. Who knew how far the plot had progressed? If something went wrong over there again, this side might be affected as well.

"I was just about to bring that up."

Zhang Ye rubbed his chin and spoke solemnly.

"We still can’t be sure what state Ms. Dinah’s and Mr. Jason’s universe is in. Perhaps compared to this place, theirs is even worse. To prevent that universe from crashing into ours head-on, I’m planning to go take a look."

"You’re going with us?"

"You’re leaving this universe?"

Black Canary and Barton cried out at the same time, then both fell silent.

After a moment, Barton finally asked, "Things are about to descend into chaos here. A world war is about to begin. If you leave now, what are we supposed to do?"

"That’s nothing to worry about. Right now, the fighting is mainly focused on all sides carving up Hydra. No one will start a war at a time like this. Any faction that attacks others will be targeted by everyone else. That’s the common understanding."

Zhang Ye picked up his glass and took a sip before continuing his explanation.

"I’ll notify Blood Baron. Your task is to gather as many supplies as possible and preserve yourselves until I return. Ideally, connect Bishop Sanctuary, Blood Nest, and the Avengers into one area. That way, ordinary factions won’t dare provoke you."

Barton did not answer, seemingly considering whether that was feasible. On the other side, Frank spoke. "Have you estimated how long you’ll be gone?"

"I’ve considered that. Since we don’t know the actual situation over there, I’ll leave myself as much time as possible, but it probably won’t take more than a month."

Zhang Ye changed the subject.

"And you don’t need to worry. If anything unexpected happens, I can come back at any time."

It just costs a bit of power.

Zhang Ye added silently.

Since neither universe had been perfectly recorded by Zhang Ye’s Time Twister, he could not set a temporal anchor. Naturally, he could not do what he had done in Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe—set an anchor, wander off for more than a decade, and return to the same point in time.

But the good news was that the two universes were now close enough to each other.

Like trains running on two sets of tracks, they were so close he could almost see what instant noodles the people in the opposite carriage were eating. This allowed Zhang Ye to use the Time Twister to establish magical cross-universe communication.

That meant that even if Zhang Ye went to that universe, he could still communicate with the people in this universe through the Raven Marks he had left behind. This would allow him to better understand the intelligence of both universes.

What Zhang Ye feared most now was that after finally saving the Wasteland Universe, before he could even catch his breath, the Apokolips War universe would derail and crash into this one, causing both universes to perish together.

And that was why he was preparing to leave immediately.

Good night.