The Beginning of the Plot

A new week arrived.

It was the same old routine: classes, meals, sleep, and studying materials. Everything was so mundane.

Li Si had assumed things would continue this way, allowing him to keep enriching himself step by step. However, on this Friday, the game system gave him a surprise—or more accurately, a shock that far outweighed the surprise.

"Eat it, eat it, eat it!"

On the playground of Zhongcheng Technology High School, a group of people gathered and cheered. It was a carnival, a carnival of bullying the weak.

"Eat your lunch, Gordon, hurry up!"

In the center of the crowd, a blond white youth with a buzz cut held a scrawny youth upside down, shoving the boy's face hard into a lunch tray on a picnic table. Yellowish grease smeared all over his face.

This was a typical case of school bullying, yet it was an event that caught Li Si completely off guard.

Because this meant the plot of the first Spider-Man movie was about to begin!

It was starting so abruptly, before he had finished his self-improvement and before he had completed his first primary weapon.

"Damn it, how could it be this fast!"

Seeing Peter Parker already approaching the crowd with his camera, Li Si confirmed his suspicion, and his expression turned grim.

This was at least half a month earlier than he had anticipated.

After all, his memories of the movie from before his transmigration had grown blurry, and in his previous life, he had joined the military immediately upon entering the game, never having had the chance to participate in the Spider-Man storyline.

"Hey, Parker, come on, take a picture!"

"No, I won't take pictures of this. Let him go, Flash!"

"Come on, just one!"

"..."

Familiar dialogue, familiar lines.

As Peter Parker raised his voice in a stern rebuke, the white youth named Flash grew angry, and the dispute officially escalated.

With a look of displeasure, Flash threw the scrawny youth to the ground and walked over to Peter Parker, throwing a sudden, unprovoked punch toward his head.

Peter Parker was currently nothing more than a "combat level five" weakling; he couldn't withstand such a heavy, powerful punch and was knocked flat onto the ground.

"Come on, get up, Parker!"

Flash, large and hulking like a gorilla when enraged, hammered his fists together and kicked Peter Parker in the stomach, causing him to curl up in pain.

Just as the still-fuming Flash was about to deliver another kick, a not-so-tall Asian youth stepped in front of him.

"Want to fight? How about you fight me instead?"

Li Si opened his right hand, a smile on his face, though his eyes held a hint of coldness.

Even though he was caught off guard by the start of the plot, he couldn't just watch Peter Parker get beaten; after all, their relationship was decent enough.

"Bring it on!"

Seeing the surrounding crowd stop their cheering, Flash, feeling he had lost face, let out a roar and swung a heavy punch at Li Si.

Flash was big and athletic, and this punch was heavy and powerful. If Li Si were actually hit, it wouldn't feel good.

After all, he had poured all his general experience into academics, and his base template level hadn't increased at all; his various attributes weren't much higher than Peter Parker's current stats.

Unfortunately, thinking he could hit Li Si with such a disorganized punch was nothing but wishful thinking.

Combat Mastery and Ranged Mastery were the two general skills every player had to master.

Although he didn't currently possess these skills, they had both been maxed out before his rebirth. Ignoring the gap in physical stats, he could easily thrash combat experts like Captain America or Batman.

Furthermore, once all players unlocked the full-dive virtual mode in the later stages, these two skills transformed from temporary system-implanted instincts into learning ability buffs, just like his current academic knowledge. Being proficient in over a dozen fighting styles was no joke.

He simply looked on with a calm expression, casually grabbing Flash's fist and pulling it to the side. Not only did he easily dodge the punch, but the momentum of Flash's own swing caused him to lose his balance and fall face-first into the dirt.

"Whoa...!"

"My god, is that Chinese Kung Fu?"

"Come on, Flash, can't you beat a skinny Asian kid?"

"Hit him, hit him!"

The onlookers exclaimed in shock. Both boys and girls, they were the type to thrive on chaos, jeering from the sidelines. Some even laughed and cheered Flash on.

"Roar!"

Consumed by shame and rage, and having lost face, Flash's eyes turned red at the sound of the surrounding mockery. He scrambled up from the ground and charged at Li Si like a wild bull.

However, the previous scene played out once more. Li Si didn't even move his feet; he simply sidestepped the charge and delivered a kick to Flash's backside, sending him into another classic face-plant.

"You still have a chance to admit defeat!"

Having vented the slight irritation in his heart, Li Si's expression softened slightly.

He didn't have particularly strong feelings about this white youth—neither good nor bad.

By nature, Flash wasn't a truly evil person. At his core, he was just a "chuunibyou" high schooler who loved saving face and forming cliques to show off. Who hadn't been like that once upon a time?

"You...!"

Climbing up from the ground once more, Flash finally regained some clarity, staring at Li Si with a mixture of shock and suspicion.

"If that wasn't enough, we can go again."

Li Si cast a sidelong glance at him, casually helping Peter Parker up before picking up the camera from the ground and placing it into his arms.

Even after he had finished all of this, Flash still did not make a move.

However, at this very moment, an unexpected change occurred.

"Watch out!"

"Li, watch your back!"

Two cries of alarm rang out; one from Gwen, who had just arrived, and the other from a pale-faced Peter Parker.

"Flash, we're here to help you."

With a few bursts of laughter, a gust of wind struck before the voices had even fully arrived.

Courting death!

A cold glint flashed in Li Si's eyes as he turned his head to look at the three people swinging iron pipes toward him. Instead of retreating, he surged forward, slamming into the chest of one of them with an Iron Mountain Lean, sending the man flying.

Having dealt with one, he leaped into the air and delivered two consecutive whip kicks. The remaining two were sent spinning backward three hundred and sixty degrees, crashing onto the ground unable to even crawl, left with only the strength to clutch their faces and groan in pain.

Only then did Li Si have the time to size up the three people who had suddenly rushed out.