Chapter Summaries

After earning a fortune selling customized gear, Li Si used Li Ritian’s boastful forum post to draw players to New York and prepare for his next scheme. He left the story waiting on their arrival next Sunday.

• Li Si counted the money from his sales to Ye Xi and Li Ritian, then ordered more parts for his business.
• Li Si found Li Ritian’s pinned forum post bragging about the Thunder King Battle Suit and mocking other players.
• Li Si anonymously revealed that Li Ritian had been spotted at Osir Tower in New York, prompting players to plan trips there.
• Li Si explained that he had counted on Li Ritian’s boasting and the forum’s outrage to gather players in one place and create more business.
• Li Si decided to stock up before the players arrived next Sunday.

Li Si intervened when Flash bullied Peter Parker, easily defeating Flash before three men attacked him with iron rods. He knocked all three down and then looked over his attackers.

• Li Si realized Peter Parker’s first Spider-Man story had begun when Peter confronted Flash over bullying Gordon.
• Flash punched and kicked Peter, and Li Si stepped in to challenge him.
• Li Si dodged Flash’s attacks and knocked him down twice, then helped Peter up and returned his camera.
• Gwen and Peter warned Li Si as three men rushed him with iron rods.
• Li Si charged one attacker and kicked the other two down, then examined the men.

Lee rescued Peter Parker from three street thugs and unlocked a clue for the Street Thug template, which he dismissed as a poor fit. Worried that the Spider-Man story’s dangerous events were only days away, he hurried to get Bumblebee built.

• Lee used a scouting spell to inspect Jack Frank, Charlie Hunters, and Billy Parbol, then warned them and helped Peter Parker to the infirmary with Gwen.
• Onlookers praised Lee’s fighting, while Gwen and Peter asked about his martial arts and Lee offered to teach them.
• Gwen asked Lee what was wrong, and he admitted he had a bad feeling that something big was coming.
• Lee read the system notice revealing the Street Thug template clue and decided its drawbacks outweighed its small Strength bonus.
• Lee recalled that Peter Parker would soon be bitten by a spider and that the Lizard would attack New York, so he called parts suppliers to speed up Bumblebee’s construction.

Li Si discussed Tony Stark’s disappearance and a potential investment with Gwen before following her to a tour of Osborn Corporation’s cross-species genetics lab. There, he spotted Peter Parker among the interns on the day Peter was about to become Spider-Man.

• Li Si and Gwen discussed Tony Stark’s presumed death and whether to buy Stark Group shares.
• Li Si told Gwen he was finishing the robot toy he had promised to show her.
• Li Si reminded Gwen that she was late to lead interns on a lab tour.
• Li Si followed Gwen to the cross-species genetics lab, where she introduced herself to the interns.
• Li Si spotted Peter Parker hiding near the back of the intern group.

Li Si let Peter Parker enter Osborn’s genetics lab, then prepared to build a Transformer control program as Peter discovered research on genetically modified spiders. After work, Li Si visited a crowded player trading market to raise money by selling parts of his Thunder King Battle Suit.

• Gwen led the interns on a tour of the genetics lab while Li Si watched Dr. Connors introduce his research.
• Li Si stopped Gwen from confronting Peter Parker and warned Peter not to enter restricted areas.
• Peter Parker found research files on genetically modified spiders and followed Norman Osborn’s representative toward the Green Goblin Bio-Web Production Room.
• Li Si took three days off and prepared for intensive work on the Transformer control program, needing funds to pay for incoming parts.
• Li Si set up a stall in the packed underground player trading market, where several players soon noticed his Thunder King Battle Suit parts.

Li Si sold battle suits and gloves to players in the underground parking garage, then gave Ye Xi a custom outfit commissioned by Li Ritian. The other players complained about the difference, but Li Ritian’s group stopped them from starting a fight.

• Two players recognized Li Si as the hidden merchant from Osir Tower and drew a crowd by asking for the Thunder King Battle Suit.
• Li Si announced the prices and sold several suits and gloves to players who could pay.
• Li Ritian arrived with Ye Xi, and Li Si handed her the custom battle suit she had ordered.
• Players who received scraps complained that Ye Xi had been given a better outfit, but Li Ritian said she had paid two thousand game coins to customize it.
• After a player recognized Li Ritian as Hao Bruce and threatened to attack, Li Ritian warned that anyone who started a fight would be barred from the area, and his black-suited allies formed up behind him.

Li Si tricked Li Ritian into accepting a green battle suit by claiming it was a matching set with Ye Xi’s, then continued trying to sell suits to the players. When sales stalled, Li Si apologized and began talking about the dream that had first led him to become a scientist.

• Li Si gave Li Ritian a green battle suit and matching weapons, then persuaded him to accept the outfit by saying it matched Ye Xi’s suit.
• Li Si revealed that the suits contained linked tactile simulation systems and recalled that Li Ritian had pursued Ye Xi before his rebirth.
• Li Si resumed selling Thunder King Battle Suits, but only eight or nine of the nearly forty suits sold.
• Li Si apologized to the players, said he had remembered his dream, and declared that he had a dream.

Li Si returned to the players with a plan to fulfill his promise of affordable armor, only to reveal that he would sell chances to win it through a raffle. The players realized his heartfelt speech had been a sales pitch, and the chapter ended with Li Si asking a bespectacled young man whether he was related to Prime Minister Zhuge.

• Li Si gave an impassioned speech, apologized for his greed, and promised to find a way for everyone to get armor affordably.
• After two hours, Li Si returned with two Osir Tower security guards and led the waiting players to a rented office floor.
• The players found the floor packed with cardboard boxes, which Li Si revealed contained armor for a box-opening raffle.
• Li Si announced that each draw cost five thousand U.S. dollars and could win a two-piece suit of armor worth twenty-six thousand.
• The players regretted believing Li Si had changed, and Li Si asked a bespectacled young man what relation he had to Prime Minister Zhuge.

Li Si ran a paid lucky draw for battle armor, encouraging players to keep buying boxes as he celebrated each winner. After the players fought over the last box, he put it away and sold it at a discount to an unlucky player.

• Li Si invited players to pay five thousand for a chance to choose a box from behind the red line.
• A middle-aged player followed what he thought was Li Si’s hint, but his first box was empty, so he kept paying for more draws.
• The middle-aged player eventually won a set of battle armor and celebrated, while Li Si pretended the prize had cost him dearly.
• Li Si hyped the winners and urged the crowd to keep drawing as he collected their money.
• When only one box and one armor set remained, Li Si removed the box to stop the players from fighting over it.
• Li Si sold the final box at a twenty-percent discount to an unlucky player.

Li Si deposited the more than five million dollars he had earned by selling goods to players and began preparing to finish Bumblebee before the Lizard appeared. The next morning, he and Max started assembling the robot in the garage, aiming to complete it within three days.

• Li Si left Osir Tower with the players’ money, deposited it at a bank, and paid the two guards who had protected him.
• Li Si returned home and reflected that his five-million-dollar profit would make his plans easier to carry out.
• Li Si woke early on Monday and went to the garage, where Max arrived with breakfast after taking time off work.
• Li Si told Max they had three days to build Bumblebee, and Max said he had prepared new circuit diagrams.
• Li Si assembled and calibrated the mechanical parts while Max handled the wiring, and Bumblebee’s frame gradually took shape.

Li Si and Max completed Bumblebee’s power-on, voiceprint, transformation, and performance tests, then finished coating the robot and celebrated their success. Bumblebee was ready for action, and Li Si took Max for a drive in its vehicle form.

• Li Si reviewed news about the Justice Kid and began another round of Bumblebee tests with Max recording.
• Max failed to use special commands because Bumblebee rejected his voiceprint, while Li Si successfully ordered Bumblebee to transform into vehicle mode.
• Li Si and Max confirmed Bumblebee’s transformation and performance tests had succeeded.
• Li Si and Max applied Bumblebee’s shock-absorbing yellow coating and reviewed its strength, armor, weapons, and limited-use electric discharge system.
• Li Si invited Max into Bumblebee’s cockpit, and they drove away at high speed.

Li Si drove Bumblebee at extreme speed through New York, leaving two street racers and a traffic cop stunned, then brought Max to the underground market in Osir Tower. The players recognized Li Si as Merchant and protested his loot boxes while Max wondered what he had sold them.

• A young traffic cop stopped his pursuit after seeing a streak of yellow light race past.
• Tom Cruise challenged Reed to a street race, but both saw a yellow sports car speed ahead of them and disappear.
• Li Si parked outside Osir Tower, where Max got out of Bumblebee and vomited after the ride.
• Li Si took Max into Osir Tower's underground garage, where Max recognized the players' stalls as a black market.
• The players called Li Si Merchant and complained about his loot boxes, while Li Si denied selling fakes and tried to distract Max with the goods.

Li Si bought a perfect-quality forged architect certificate and used it to obtain the rare New York Architect template. He refused to make it his locked identity, keeping his Student Template instead.

• Li Si searched player stalls for a forged architect's license that could register with the authorities.
• Li Si bought the perfect-quality certificate from a player for five hundred dollars and left with Max.
• Li Si used the certificate in New York and triggered the hidden requirements for the New York Architect template.
• Li Si reviewed the template's Rapid Construction skill, which doubled a team's construction speed for 24 hours.
• Li Si refused to lock in the New York Architect template because its construction-based experience tasks were too slow and unrewarding.

Li Si and Max were followed by six players hoping to rob them and steal the secret of his equipment. Li Si summoned Bumblebee’s battle mode, leaving the attackers staring at its weapons as their confidence crumbled.

• Max warned Li Si that people had been watching them, and Li Si reassured him before driving Bumblebee away.
• Li Si spotted a white minivan following them, pulled over, and waited with Max for its occupants.
• Six players climbed out, including three injured thugs Li Si had beaten before, and the thugs aimed revolvers at him.
• The bespectacled leader recognized Li Si as a player and demanded to know how he made two pieces of equipment.
• Li Si summoned Bumblebee’s battle mode, and the robot transformed into a towering machine.
• The bespectacled man claimed Li Si would not dare attack them in the city, but Bumblebee revealed Gatling guns and micro-missiles.

Li Si and Max subdued a group of players, and Max accidentally injured their bespectacled leader while beating him. After Li Si and Max walked away, Bumblebee killed the survivors, and Li Si admitted what had happened as he tried to prepare Max for the consequences of power.

• Li Si beat the bespectacled man while Bumblebee held the other players at gunpoint, then let Max take a turn.
• Max accidentally kicked the bespectacled man in the groin, and Li Si led Max away on foot while Bumblebee stayed behind.
• The five survivors realized Bumblebee was still there, and an explosion sounded after Li Si and Max had gone some distance.
• Li Si ordered the surrounding surveillance footage replaced and admitted to Max that the survivors were dead.
• Li Si explained that he wanted Max to get used to such actions so he would not become consumed by revenge and destruction.

Li Si encountered Peter Parker harassing a frightened man and warned him that his power came with responsibility. Peter reflected on his uncle Ben’s death and regretted failing to stop the robber who killed him.

• Li Si explained to Max that the people called natives were not exactly aliens and that he did not know what the players truly were.
• Li Si and Max came across Peter Parker pinning a frightened blond man to a wall with webs after disarming him.
• Li Si called Peter a wounded, irritable beast and reminded him that great power came with great responsibility.
• Peter listened to a voicemail from his late uncle Ben and remembered that he had let the robber escape instead of stopping him.
• Peter blamed himself for Ben’s death and wished he had heard Ben’s words sooner.

Li Si received an Achievement Point after helping Peter Parker find purpose as Spider-Man, then returned to school after his leave and drew attention by arriving in Bumblebee. He left the crowd of admirers behind and headed into the school, pleased with the attention.

• Li Si received the hidden Soul Mentor achievement and one Achievement Point after encouraging Peter Parker to fight crime.
• Li Si reflected that he had not regretted letting Ben Parker die and criticized Ben’s sanctimonious behavior.
• After his leave ended, Li Si drove Bumblebee to Midtown School of Science and Technology.
• Students gathered around Li Si, praising his car and speculating about his wealth and martial arts background.
• Li Si encouraged the crowd to keep praising him until they dispersed, then headed into the school.

Li Si returned to class and comforted Peter Parker, then had to explain his absence and the attention from girls to a jealous Gwen. Gwen invited him to a family dinner that evening, and Li Si agreed.

• Reed recognized Bumblebee from dashcam footage and called Tom about stealing the car.
• Li Si overheard Reed and the thief planning to steal Bumblebee through his earpiece and went into class.
• Li Si comforted Peter Parker over his uncle's death, then asked Gwen what was wrong when she turned away from him.
• Gwen accused Li Si of vanishing for three days, flirting with girls, and smelling of alcohol; Li Si explained and promised she was the only one he had been with.
• Gwen told Li Si to take her home that night for a family dinner, and he agreed.

Dr. Connors told Norman Osborn’s representative that the Lizard Modification Serum was far from ready for human trials, but Norman ordered the research rushed ahead. Norman’s representative forcibly injected Connors with the serum and left with the remaining serum and backup data.

• Dr. Connors reported that the serum had regenerated a white mouse’s leg, while Norman Osborn’s representative demanded faster progress.
• Connors refused to begin human trials, explaining that the serum was untested beyond one mouse and would need extensive adjustment.
• Norman Osborn spoke through the lab’s camera and ordered Lada to begin human trials, including using Connors and wounded veterans as test subjects.
• Norman’s representative seized Connors and forced a syringe of Lizard Modification Serum into him.
• Norman’s representative left with the remaining serum and backup data as Connors writhed on the floor and lost consciousness.

Lee Stein joined Gwen Stacy’s family for dinner, where he nervously faced questions from her father, George Stacy, and struggled with the meal. The conversation turned to Spider-Man, and Lee criticized the vigilante’s methods in front of George.

• Lee arrived at Gwen’s apartment and met her mother and two brothers.
• Lee chatted with Gwen’s brothers while they waited for George Stacy to come home.
• George questioned Lee about his studies and work until Gwen’s mother called them to dinner.
• Lee struggled to eat the lemon sea bass, peas, and rice with a knife and fork.
• Gwen’s younger brother asked George whether he had caught Spider-Man, and George called Spider-Man a dangerous thug.
• Lee said Spider-Man’s actions undermined public trust in the police and justice system.