Spider-Gwen

"No need. I didn't save you."

Li Chen shook his head. "Besides, I'm not lacking anything."

Talking to Tony Stark felt like begging him for something.

That annoyed Li Chen too.

Wasn't he rich too?

But Tony Stark didn't mind. He simply nodded and said, "Then tell me when you've made up your mind."

Then he moved off toward a blonde beauty.

Thanking Li Chen was secondary; relaxing was his main objective.

Besides, he offered his so-called gratitude without caring whether the other person would accept it.

Seeing Tony Stark leave, Justin Hammer, unwilling to be outdone, also came over to say hello.

"Honored White Rook."

"Mr. Hammer, thank you for your contributions."

Li Chen gave him due courtesy.

Hammer Industries donated plenty to the Hellfire Club every year, sometimes cash, sometimes arms.

It was precisely because of this relationship that Li Chen was so cordial to him.

Who would dislike their own benefactor?

Besides, these arms dealers really were rich. Anyone else would have taken a crippling blow after their company's stock kept falling.

Yet Tony Stark was still happily building his Iron Man Armor, as if unaffected.

It was mainly because his health bar was so thick.

Even Justin Hammer was still worth a fortune, though Hammer Industries wasn't as popular as Stark Industries.

After that, Li Chen found himself surrounded again.

As the Hellfire Club's White Rook, he was fawned over by these people here, no matter who they were outside.

The women and socialites gazed at him with burning eyes, as if they would obediently offer him everything with a mere crook of his finger.

Was this what power and status felt like?

Li Chen felt happy, and every trace of fatigue had vanished from his body.

No wonder so many people wanted power. It really was intoxicating.

Being admired by countless people made him feel like an emperor.

If this was how things were for the White Rook, what about the White King? What about the Supreme King?

Boom!

Just as everyone was drinking and enjoying the party, a tremendous boom suddenly came from the outside world, which seemed to have been forgotten.

It instantly brought everyone to their senses. Some even had looks of fear on their faces.

Li Chen immediately said, "Don't panic. Everyone, stay inside the club. Hellfire will keep you safe."

Hearing Li Chen's words, the wealthy guests and socialites gradually felt reassured.

Of course, this was the Hellfire Club. What place could be safer than here?

Even so, some of the bolder guests wanted to see what was happening.

Tony Stark, for instance, was very bold.

In America, you had to run whenever you heard an explosion, because a fight had most likely broken out.

Of course, things were different in China. Most people there would go over to see what the commotion was about.

But once they were sure they were safe, plenty of people still wanted to watch the spectacle.

They ran to the upper floors of the Hellfire Club, then stood on the balconies and looked outside.

The Hellfire Club was in an excellent location, close to the sea and the docks.

At that moment, someone with sharp eyes pointed at the docks and shouted, "Look over there! My God, a transport ship has sunk!"

Everyone spotted the astonishing sight and immediately began discussing it.

The bow was still above the sea, but the hull had sunk completely, and even out on the water, it was engulfed in raging flames.

Clearly, the explosion had occurred aboard the ship. Someone had deliberately sunk it.

Li Chen used his super vision, which worked like a telescope, and immediately saw what was happening.

The bow was swaying, yet people were still fighting on it.

Taking a closer look, he saw that one side was wearing familiar ninja outfits.

That reminded Li Chen of The Hand.

The White Queen had said that The Hand had also developed into a worldwide conglomerate. Though it was a mere ant in the Hellfire Club's eyes, compared with other forces, it was already a behemoth.

Li Chen didn't recognize the other side in the fight.

At that moment, a cacophony of sounds reached him.

The police had already been dispatched, but they would need time to get there.

Strangely, however, they hadn't asked the X-Men to intervene.

Perhaps it was because the X-Men had kept a low profile for so long, and they didn't want to get involved in this sort of thing either.

But someone would.

In his field of vision, Li Chen saw a figure in a white bodysuit swinging over on "webbing."

After hearing the explosion, Gwen Stacy immediately rushed over.

Not long ago, she had been bitten by a strange spider, and her body had changed.

She didn't dare tell anyone, not even her best friend.

As she went through these changes, she discovered that she had grown stronger and faster, and gained all sorts of amazing abilities.

For example, she could walk on walls as if she were stuck to them.

That reminded her of the spider that had bitten her. Didn't spiders have that very ability?

Then Gwen Stacy used her genius and spent a fair amount of her pocket money to make herself two web shooters.

After putting together a black-and-white Super Suit for herself, she put it on and decided to do some good deeds.

After all, she had loved reading superhero comics since she was little.

The culture of the Marvel Universe had been influenced by Captain America, Steve Rogers. Superhero culture was especially prevalent in America.

Almost everyone had fantasized about becoming a superhero as a child.

That was why Gwen Stacy had immediately made herself a skintight Super Suit.

Who would have thought she'd run into something this big on her very first outing?

She had only just gotten the hang of swinging on her webbing over the past few days, but she had still rushed over without hesitation. She was so excited.

She had only just decided to become a superhero, and she had already run into a major incident like this. Wasn't heaven itself helping her?

She had to come up with a good title for herself. How about New York Captain?

Just as she was getting excited by the thought—

"Aah!!!"

Gwen Stacy realized there was a problem.

There were no tall buildings by the docks for her to swing from, and she still had to make it all the way to the sinking ship.

But she had already swung herself out into the open and was high in the air. She frantically fired her webbing, but everything was too far away. Her webbing couldn't possibly reach that far.

With no other choice, she could only plummet toward the sea.

At that height and speed, all she could do was curl up. The physics she had learned flashed through her mind. Hitting the surface like this had to hurt, even if it was water!

Just as Gwen Stacy resigned herself to her fate, the pain she expected never came.

At some point, a pair of large hands had caught her and held her close. The warmth somehow made her feel safe.

"Are you all right, ma'am?"

Li Chen's voice reached her. Gwen Stacy looked up at him and was instantly transfixed.