Chapter Summaries

After more than a month without Jigsaw or Batman, Gotham improved under Bruce Wayne’s leadership as Jigsaw’s works and influence reshaped the city. Li Si and Bumblebee left the instance, while Gotham’s online entertainment market and Bruce’s plans for the city continued to evolve.

• Bruce Wayne joined Harvey Dent and Commissioner Gordon to stabilize Gotham, acquired Jigsaw, and turned its works into a nationwide success.
• Gotham’s residents credited Jigsaw with improving their lives and petitioned for his return, while criminals and struggling citizens found new livelihoods through webnovels.
• Li Si learned that Joker had written the poorly received One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, then shifted to writing Criminal Life after his schemes against Batman failed.
• Li Si and Bumblebee vanished from a Jigsaw secret room when the instance countdown ended.
• Joker’s Criminal Life overtook Batman in sales before Bruce Wayne’s short-form videos helped him reclaim market share.
• Bruce Wayne pursued political and economic reforms in Gotham and began pushing to reinstate the death penalty.

After completing the Gotham instance with an SS rating, Li Si spent his points on attribute boosts and technical knowledge before discovering several strange items linked to people he had encountered. The settlement left him browsing familiar-looking materials and questioning their authors.

• The system awarded Li Si 162,562 total points, first place, and an SS rating for disrupting fate lines and obtaining the Legend of Judgment Knight Jigsaw.
• Li Si opened the instance shop and bought Achievement Points, Intelligence and Spirit enhancements, Memory Fiber, and Fear Toxin knowledge experience.
• Li Si noticed Magnetic Storm Infantry development data and suspected it had appeared because he had beaten Professor Yang in Arkham.
• Li Si found two supplementary editions of A Brief Discussion of Sound Waves, Matter, and Biological Organisms and wondered whether its author was deliberately selling the material in volumes.

Lee Stein spent his remaining points on technology and attributes, then opened an SS-rank treasure chest and obtained the Legendary Superhero template. Its bonuses revealed that his fame had given him powerful Genius Scientist and Jigsaw abilities, which he began considering how to exploit against future enemies.

• Lee Stein bought the Magnetic Storm Infantry Set technology and two sonic knowledge supplements, then spent his remaining points on Constitution and general experience.
• Lee Stein opened the SS-rank treasure chest and received the Legendary Superhero template.
• Lee Stein's template granted him Intelligence and learning-speed bonuses as a Genius Scientist, along with a computing-ability bonus as a Mechanic.
• Lee Stein discovered that his Jigsaw legend level granted Chamber Judgment, which let him mark chambers and teleport himself or eligible targets into them.
• Lee Stein imagined using the ability to trap powerful opponents in lethal environments and decided to revise Skull Island's modification blueprints.

Lee Stein returned to New York after the dungeon and watched Spider-Man battle a headless player whose attacks were powered by Chinese idioms. He reunited with Stan Lee, who recognized him and bragged about his own legendary toughness.

• Lee Stein returned to downtown New York with Bumblebee and greeted Pandora through her projection.
• Lee Stein saw Spider-Man fighting a headless player who used bizarre attacks based on Chinese idioms.
• Lee Stein avoided interfering and joined Stan Lee among the spectators to watch the fight.
• Stan Lee recognized Lee Stein and joked that his name resembled his own.
• Lee Stein claimed he had kept Tony Stark at a disadvantage, and Stan Lee offered to help him in future fights.

Lee Stein used the Hope Cannon to stop a Headless Horseman player before leaving to avoid the angry crowd demanding access to his virtual game. Peter Parker learned that Lee and Tony Stark’s armors might be operated by artificial intelligence, leaving him envious of their high-tech advantage.

• Peter Parker spotted Lee Stein in the crowd and called him over to help catch the Headless Horseman player.
• When the flying head lunged at him, Lee Stein summoned Pandora's Box, transformed it into the Hope Cannon, and forced the player and his headless body to surrender.
• Peter Parker agreed to take the player to a special prison for superpowered individuals, and Lee Stein flew away in Project Armor as the players shouted after him.
• The Headless Horseman told Peter Parker that he had seen an Iron Man Armor buy burgers and apparently operate without a pilot.
• Peter Parker realized Lee Stein and Tony Stark might be letting artificial intelligence operate their armors and lamented that his mutation left him working harder.
• The Headless Horseman mocked Peter Parker's hopes for a battle armor, so Peter sealed his mouth with webbing.

Lee Stein returned to Stein Tower and learned that Doctor Otto and Peter had defeated Kingpin, whose gang was retaliating against Stein Group while the military sought Doctor Otto’s research. Lee proposed recruiting the strange newcomers with points and company rewards, leaving Gwen to consider his plan.

• Lee arrived at Stein Tower and found fans gathered outside to praise Stein Enterprises and Doctor Otto’s team.
• Lee reunited with Gwen in her office and asked why Doctor Otto and the others had attracted a crowd.
• Gwen explained that Doctor Otto and Peter had defeated Kingpin, who was now imprisoned, but his gang was attacking Stein Group’s businesses and the military was pursuing the team’s research.
• Lee told Gwen not to worry about the military and proposed recruiting the newcomers in New York to handle Kingpin’s gang.
• Lee suggested paying recruits with points redeemable for company products, card packs, vouchers, and Azeroth-Marvel closed beta access.

Lee visited the laboratory, where Curt Connors and Dr. Sterns showed him new applications of Life Leap Technology and their research into Hulk genes. The chapter ended with Lee naming their radiation-absorbing biological armor Nuclear Flame Demon Victor and asking for its appearance to be adjusted.

• Dr. Sterns showed Lee a serum combining Kingpin’s and Bullseye’s genes and began planning to create genetically enhanced “New Humans.”
• Curt Connors told Lee they could mass-produce the Green Goblin enhancer and showed him a red biological armor clone made from Hulk and Abomination genes.
• Curt Connors explained that Hulk genes could adapt to their host and that a recessive gene could absorb radiation, store gamma energy, and strengthen the armor.
• Lee offered to send the lab another emotion-catalyzed gene sample for comparison and asked Connors to adjust the armor’s cells and design.
• Lee named the armor Nuclear Flame Demon Victor, and Connors agreed that the name suited its radiation-fueled heat.

Lee Stein accelerated his god-making plan and ordered Otto Gunther to upgrade reconnaissance bees into Magic Web sub-units, citing future invasions as the reason. He then worked with Pandora to build the Azeroth-Marvel virtual world, packing it with a chaotic mix of storylines, characters, shops, and monetization features.

• Lee Stein told Curt Connors to explore hybrid biological armor and compact parasitic battle suits.
• Lee Stein told Otto Gunther that the god-making plan would begin early and that the mechanical bees needed to become Magic Web sub-units.
• Otto Gunther agreed to accelerate the work after Lee Stein warned that Earth would face powerful invasions, while Max pledged to defend it.
• Lee Stein asked Otto Gunther to upgrade Project Armor and uploaded additional technologies to the laboratory's encrypted database.
• Lee Stein and Pandora designed the Azeroth-Marvel virtual world with recruit Players, invasion storylines, and mash-up versions of famous characters.
• Lee Stein added shops, prize wheels, Hearthstone taverns, crystal-powered skills, and top-up purchases to the virtual world.

Two weeks after the mission boards appeared, the Azeroth-Marvel Continent closed beta was about to begin, prompting Players to gamble for slots and buy Virtual Game Pods. Li Ritian and Ye Xi secured pods and started recording Haotian Daily’s special report as they entered the game.

• Players crowded the Lee Stein Industries Mall to open card packs and pursue closed beta slots after the Merchant announced the beta would begin at two o’clock.
• Li Ritian and Ye Xi bought two Virtual Game Pods, using slots they had obtained early with help from Li Ritian’s father.
• Li Ritian and Ye Xi began recording a Haotian Daily special about exploring Azeroth-Marvel Continent at 1:55 in the afternoon.
• Li Ritian entered his pod, endured the setup as a tube was inserted into the back of his head, and slowly lost consciousness.

Li Ritian entered Merchant’s Azeroth-Marvel Continent, chose the Magic Network Mage class, and discovered that its energy and skills came with costs. After saving Sailiya from goblins, he realized she was staging the encounter as a repeatable tutorial for new Players.

• Li Ritian created the character Hao Bruce, chose Magic Network Mage, and received 100 Energy Balance and a hammer disguised as a novice staff.
• Li Ritian arrived on a prairie, met Sailiya fleeing four goblins, and purchased the Electrotherapy skill for 10 Energy.
• Li Ritian spent one Energy to strike down a goblin with lightning, causing the others to flee.
• Sailiya introduced herself as a quartermaster and offered Li Ritian a 1% discount before directing him toward the recruit camp.
• Li Ritian passed through an invisible barrier and watched Sailiya stage the goblin attack again for another Player.

Li Ritian joined the Little Broken Ball Human Federation’s XF-26 garrison, explored its fortress, and learned about the Federation’s conflict with an invading orc army. A D-rank emergency mission then assigned him to intercept the orcs under warlord Hulk Grom.

• Li Ritian entered the fortress and overheard guards betting on how many recruits Sailiya would bring to their garrison.
• The Strategic Command Nexus registered Li Ritian as recruit XF-26-891 and assigned him to the XF-26 garrison.
• Li Ritian explored the fortress, played Hearthstone in a tavern for over three hours, and asked its NPCs about the world’s background.
• The innkeeper told Li Ritian that the Federation had come to colonize Azeroman but was fighting both its powerful natives and an invading orc army.
• The Strategic Command Nexus issued a D-rank emergency mission and assigned Li Ritian to Squad No. 18 to intercept Hulk Grom’s troops.

Li Ritian’s Haotian Daily video revealed how Azeroth-Marvel Continent’s War Terminal could guide players’ combat and potentially train real-world skills. Viewers argued over whether the technology could be made outside the game, while players posted claims that its combat abilities and training skills already worked.

• Players who lacked closed beta access flocked to Li Ritian’s special Haotian Daily video for a look at the game.
• The video showed Li Ritian’s party fighting green-skinned enemies, with each teammate using a distinct combat style.
• Li Ritian explained that the new players’ War Terminals provided real-time prompts and calculations that helped them fight without Earth OL’s automated combat skills.
• Li Ritian suggested the War Terminal’s algorithms could potentially be recreated in real-world devices, shocking viewers.
• Skeptical commenters challenged Li Ritian’s claims, while other viewers argued back and players reported seeing Lee Stein use Gun Kata and training with the Mechanical Mind skill.

Li Si tested Immersive Command Mode by controlling the Hulk against simulated enemies and refining the system’s class-conversion response. On Azeroth-Marvel Continent, Kratos and the Anti-Pay-to-Win Alliance encountered a powerful mutant orc and fled after their tank was overwhelmed.

• Li Si instructed Pandora to link the Hulk projection to his neural signals and run a trial of Immersive Command Mode.
• An Engineering Robot attacked the Hulk, and Li Si observed it dodge before directing Pandora to account for movement inertia during class conversion.
• Pandora changed the robot into an exoskeleton-equipped unit, which fired a Gatling gun at the Hulk.
• Kratos and the Anti-Pay-to-Win Alliance fought a mutant orc mini-boss while completing the quest [Unusual Movements of the Orc Legion].
• The mutant orc overwhelmed Kratos, and his teammates ran away while arguing about whether he should become a mage.

Li Si explained how Azeroth-Marvel Continent’s Immersive Command Module used Players’ simulations to generate optimal commands for Engineering Robots and planned to turn Players into workers and mercenaries. The system announced that two templates had fused, and Li Si eagerly opened his template panel to see what he had obtained.

• Li Si defeated the Engineering Robot with the Hulk projection and decided to gather more Player data and recruit more Players.
• Li Si described how the Immersive Command Module selected Players’ successful actions and adapted them into commands for Engineering Robots.
• Li Si planned to use virtual raids to train mechanical legions and bring game technology into the real world, turning Players into a mercenary workforce.
• The system notified Li Si that the Arkham Patient and Genius Scientist templates had fused into the Mad Genius Scientist template.
• Li Si celebrated the fusion and opened his template panel.

Li Si gained the Legendary Mad Genius Scientist template and discovered that its emotion-manipulation skills could greatly amplify his abilities. He injected the Green Goblin Enhancer, endured hours of pain, and emerged with sharply increased physical and mental attributes.

• Li Si examined the Mad Genius Scientist template and realized Desire of Disorder let him control his emotions while Heart of Frenzy could absorb and release others’ emotions.
• Li Si recognized the template’s potential for copying personalities and improving his research by adopting other people’s thought patterns.
• Li Si decided to improve his physique and retrieved a dose of Green Goblin Enhancer from Curt Connors's workshop.
• Li Si injected the enhancer without gamma radiation and endured hours of severe pain as it altered his body.
• Li Si reviewed his upgraded character panel and celebrated his increased strength, constitution, intelligence, and spirit.

Lee Stein flew to Osir Tower and stopped a distraught young man from jumping after learning his girlfriend had left him. He brought the man into Jigsaw’s chamber to test Tireless Teaching, leaving him questioning why he needed a girlfriend at all.

• Lee Stein flew over New York to clear his head and noticed a crowd gathered beneath Osir Tower.
• Lee Stein landed on the tower roof and learned the bespectacled young man was threatening to jump because his girlfriend had left him for someone else.
• Lee Stein caught the young man as he rushed toward the suited negotiator, then carried him into an empty room in Osir Tower.
• Lee Stein used Chamber Judgment to turn the room into Jigsaw’s chamber and persuaded the young man, Yin Zhiping, to reconsider suicide.
• Lee Stein tested Tireless Teaching by arguing that Yin Zhiping could spend time with male friends instead of seeking a girlfriend, and Yin began agreeing with him.

Li Si learned that Tony Stark had created Ultron, then discovered Stark had contacted him to ask for access to his virtual game. The chapter ended with Lee Stein demanding thirteen million for a gaming pod.

• Li Si returned to Stein Tower, where Pandora reported an intrusion that turned out to be an exchange of memes.
• Li Si ordered Pandora to bombard the intruder with memes, and the other side quickly requested a video call.
• Tony Stark appeared and revealed that he had upgraded Jarvis into Ultron.
• Li Si asked about Ultron’s core directives, and Tony said he had kept weapons under his own control.
• Tony asked to try Li Si’s virtual game, and Li Si offered him a gaming pod for thirteen million.

Li Si gave Tony Stark a neural-interaction watch and brought him into the virtual Azeroth-Marvel game. Tony discovered that Players recognized him as the Steel Baron, a boss modeled on his appearance, and confronted Li Si about it.

• Li Si delivered Tony Stark a neural-interaction watch and offered to share his neural-signal algorithm in exchange for Tony's shock-absorption technology.
• Li Si and Tony entered the virtual world, where Tony tried the beginner exoskeleton and met the NPC Sailiya.
• Li Si led Tony through the XF-26 recruit camp as Players called out missions involving the Iron Baron Stark.
• Tony realized Players thought he was the Steel Baron, and Li Si admitted the character was inspired by him while insisting the boss was impressive.

Lee showed Tony Stark the game and revealed that he planned to use the radio network to create an Earth-born god. He then brought Tony to meet the Steel Baron, where the game’s delegations included figures modeled after familiar actors and gods.

• Tony asked Lee whether the game’s equipment used real magic, and Lee explained that he was gathering intelligence through the radio network to create a god for Earth.
• Lee invited Tony on a mysterious trip beyond Earth, but did not reveal the destination.
• Lee and Tony toured the game before following Players to the Steel Baron’s territory, where Tony complained about his greedy counterpart.
• The Steel Baron prepared to welcome delegations from the elves and dwarves, and Tony recognized the dwarven King of the Hill as resembling the Hammer God.
• Tony questioned Lee about the familiar-looking dwarf and elf, and Lee insisted the dwarf was based on Chinese actor Xu Jingjiang.

Lee and Tony Stark tested their upgraded armor in a simulated New York, but Lee used a special interference round to seize control of Tony's body. The chapter ended with Tony involuntarily singing and dancing in his assembled Hulkbuster Armor.

• Lee changed the simulated setting to an empty New York street and challenged Tony Stark to show off his new armor.
• Tony connected Ultron to Pandora, summoned his red-and-gold armor, and called Veronica to drop an external suit around him.
• Lee fired an interference round that stuck to Tony's forehead, then activated it after a countdown.
• The round made Tony's body convulse and forced him to sing and dance to a Chinese song about meowing.
• Veronica's armor components battered the flailing Tony as they assembled around him, leaving him meowing inside the Hulkbuster Armor.