Li Gui Meets Li Kui

"Hey, Lee, where do you live? Want to walk together?"

Lee Stein was just about to leave when a voice he didn't expect called out to him.

It was actually Peter Parker.

This was quite rare. In his view, the current Peter Parker was a social outcast in class. Such people existed in almost every school and mostly shared common traits: poor social skills, a bit withdrawn, or simply unable to integrate into other circles.

Could it be that because I'm the new guy, he wants to make a friend?

Lee Stein's thoughts raced, but his face remained calm. He revealed a hint of helplessness and said:

"Sorry, Peter, I'm renting a place in Queens. But I haven't finished my enrollment paperwork yet; I need to find Mr. Pierce to sign up for electives. Besides, I plan on heading to the library."

"Oh, alright then!"

Peter Parker looked slightly disappointed, but still said, "I live in Queens too. Since you're busy, go ahead. Let's hang out next time!"

"Sure."

Lee Stein nodded, bid farewell to Peter Parker, and then headed toward Pierce's office.

His words just now weren't just an excuse; he really did need to sign up for electives. The mandatory science classes only taught basic knowledge, while specialized, in-depth subjects like mechanics, energy, and networking required elective enrollment.

The elective registration went smoothly. After all, this was part of the background identity implanted by the game system; he only needed to fill out a form.

Leaving Pierce's office, Lee Stein headed straight for the school library without delay. A massive wave of experience and knowledge awaited him there, and he was already prepared to lose himself in his studies until he withered away.

The library at Midtown School of Science and Technology was not large, and it was quite deserted.

After all, the space, roughly the size of a classroom, was lined with bookshelves. Although there were tables and chairs in the middle, such a cramped place wasn't suitable for quiet study. Even if students wanted to read, they would usually check books out and head to the playground.

Right now, there was only one person in the entire library, the librarian—an elderly man with white hair who wore large headphones and listened to music all day long.

"How could I have forgotten about this?"

Seeing the old man, Lee Stein slapped his forehead, his expression incredibly vivid.

He had almost forgotten that this big shot was in the Midtown School of Science and Technology library.

The Father of Marvel, the King of Cameos, Stan Lee.

This man was the founder of Marvel and was extremely fond of cameos; he had a background role in almost every Marvel movie.

The reason Lee Stein chose "Lee Stein" as his game name was out of a mix of homage and mischief, but now, the "fake" had met the "real" deal.

However, the old man was clearly immersed in the world of music, head bobbing passionately while wearing his large headphones, completely unaware of Lee Stein's arrival.

Seeing that the man hadn't noticed him at all, Lee Stein sheepishly put the library card he had prepared back into his pocket. After wandering around for a bit, he pulled out a large stack of books, found a seat, and picked out Basic Mechanical Design: Third Edition to start reading quietly.

His Mechanical Knowledge hadn't been unlocked yet, and his Intelligence was only slightly higher than an average person's, so his efficiency was really nothing to write home about. Still, he braced himself and read on, bit by bit.

Nearly an hour passed, and he had read through a third of the mechanical design book when the long-awaited system notification finally chimed.

[Notification: You have read Basic Mechanical Design: Third Edition, gained Directed Experience (Mechanical Knowledge) +10. You have unlocked the skill: Mechanical Knowledge.]

Mechanical Knowledge LV0: (10/100)

"Finally unlocked. There are more ways to improve Biochemical Knowledge later, so I'll focus on Mechanical Knowledge for now."

Hearing the notification, Lee Stein smiled slightly, refocused his attention on the book in his hands, and simultaneously split his focus to add the General Experience he had previously obtained into his Mechanical Knowledge.

This was a little trick he had learned before his rebirth. In full-immersion virtual mode, using General Experience to upgrade knowledge triggered a short period of heightened brain activity. The more experience added at once, the higher the brain's activity level, lasting for about a minute.

Utilizing this short window after adding points to study corresponding knowledge was the most efficient method; both memory and comprehension received a massive boost.

His 150 points of experience were enough to last exactly two and a half hours. This time was absolutely precious, so Lee Stein summoned 120% of his focus and completely submerged himself in the ocean of knowledge.

Time seemed to have lost all meaning. It had taken him an hour to read the first third of Basic Mechanical Design, but he finished the remaining two-thirds in just half an hour.

Yet, Lee Stein had no intention of stopping; his eyes didn't even flicker. As if numb, he casually pulled out another mechanical book and continued his struggle, maintaining his posture without moving a muscle from start to finish.

With the constant addition of General Experience, combined with the Directed Experience gained from reading, the Mechanical Knowledge in his skill tab silently rose to LV1. His reading speed increased once again, making him even more unable to pull himself away.

His brain operated at high load, fully memorizing and parsing the knowledge before his eyes. There was almost no idle processing power left, and even his five senses seemed to have been completely shielded from the outside world.

The two and a half hours passed in a flash. It wasn't until he subconsciously tried to add more experience and received a failure notification that Lee Stein's train of thought stalled. The interruption of his continuous flow of ideas, combined with the end of the heightened brain activity period, finally allowed him to gradually wake up.

His five senses returned, and all sorts of external information flooded into his brain.

Hunger, mental exhaustion, and the various aftereffects of his brain operating at overload came crashing down on him, nearly causing him to faint. Fortunately, his strong willpower allowed him to barely hold on.

"Lee, are you okay?"

The chair he was about to tip backward in was steadied by a fair, slender arm, and an exclamation reached Lee Stein's mind.

"Gwen? When did you get here?"

Lee Stein looked at Gwen Stacy, who was steadying him, and was stunned for a moment.

"I've been here for a while, but you didn't react when I greeted you!"

Gwen Stacy wore a look of helplessness, stepped closer to check on him, and pulled a few pieces of chocolate from her pocket, handing them over. "You have cerebral ischemia from overexertion and a lack of nutritional supply. Eat something to fill your stomach."

"Uh... thanks!"

Lee Stein was indeed starving, and his brain was still spinning with dizziness. He hurriedly took the chocolate and wolfed it down.

"God, I've never seen anyone read as seriously as you. You didn't even react when I called your name, and you actually starved yourself until you fainted."

Gwen Stacy looked at Lee Stein, who was wolfing down his food, with a look of astonishment and sighed, "Lee, do you have hyperthymesia? Or are all you Asians like this?"

"I wish I had that kind of genius affliction, but unfortunately, the reality is that I just missed both lunch and dinner."

Lee put on an expression of deep regret and swallowed the last piece of chocolate in a few bites, finally letting out a sigh of relief as his body felt much better.

He hadn't expected that getting lost in his studies would have such side effects; it was truly because his constitution and intelligence were too low. It seemed he would have to keep some high-energy snacks on him at all times from now on.

"Pfft!"

Gwen Stacy covered her mouth and chuckled, saying:

"I don't think there's anything to regret there. Hyperthymesia isn't a good thing; a massive amount of useless memories taking up brain capacity can hinder thinking. Besides, sometimes being able to forget isn't necessarily a bad thing..."

When it came to topics involving biomedicine, Gwen Stacy spoke with ease, listing a whole heap of downsides and perfectly showcasing the knowledge base of a female honor student.

"Oh no, Gwen, I don't want to think about or memorize anything right now!"

Lee acted as if he had a headache, clutching his forehead as he said, "How about we change the subject?"

"Alright, I think I understand how you feel right now. So, Mr. Lee Stein, what topic would you like to switch to? Shall we talk about mechanics, which you're better at?" Gwen said with a smile.

"No, I don't want to engage in any thinking right now. The only thing I want to do is invite this beautiful lady in front of me to dinner... In fact, I feel like I could eat a cow right now!" Lee said with dramatic flair.

"I'm sorry, Lee."

Gwen Stacy wore a regretful expression and said, "My parents require me to be home on time for dinner every day."

"Fair enough. It seems I should consider changing the invitation to lunch next time."

Although he had been rejected, Lee didn't push the matter.

The reason he had invited her was simply because the moment felt right; if it succeeded, that would be great, but if not, he wouldn't waste his energy on it. The Spider-Man plot was still a long way off, and there would be plenty of opportunities in the future.

"See you tomorrow then, Gwen. I really must go replenish my energy."

"See you tomorrow, Lee!"