Chapter Summaries

The author announced that the story was going premium at midnight and asked Li Si to promote subscriptions in a bonus chapter. Li Si delivered a sales pitch, then ended in despair after the author threatened him with losing his girlfriend and being paired with Max if the book flopped.

• The author thanked Yuanzheng, the editors, and readers, explained that the story had reached a difficult transition point, and said the next update would appear after midnight.
• The author pressured Li Si into begging readers to subscribe, threatening to kill off his girlfriend if he failed to promote the chapters.
• Li Si pitched VIP chapters and Qidian’s daily red-envelope lottery, urging readers to subscribe and describing how they could read for free or cheaply.
• Li Si asked the author to set him up with another girl, but the author threatened to take away his girlfriend and pair him with Max if the subscriptions did not come in.
• Li Si collapsed in despair and begged readers across the heavens to subscribe.

After passing the breakthrough assessment, Li Si improved his knowledge and began planning new research projects. He tested early virtual-space technology on his dog Hulk and prepared to pursue genetic fusion through his Life Leap Project.

• Li Si passed the breakthrough assessment, learned Ion Thruster and Mini Arc Reactor technology, and raised his Commoner Template to Lv. 5.
• Li Si spent experience to raise his Mathematical Knowledge to Lv. 4.
• Three days later, Li Si used a helmet-based virtual-space device to let Hulk run around and interact with a simulated version of him.
• Li Si planned to investigate genetic fusion by combining beneficial ordinary genes from individuals of the same species and named the project the Life Leap Project.

Li Si invited Peter Parker and Max over to celebrate Peter getting paid and served them homemade hot pot. Peter struggled with the unexpectedly spicy broth and tried to convince Max to taste it too.

• Li Si prepared lunch at home to avoid crowds recognizing him in public.
• Bumblebee admitted Max and Peter Parker into the house, and Peter greeted Li Si and picked up Hulk.
• Li Si told Max that his meal was authentic Chinese hot pot, then brought out a pot of red, oily broth.
• Peter tried the hot pot, found it extremely spicy, and gulped down a glass of water.
• Peter pretended the hot pot was delicious and offered Max a slice, leaving Max hesitant to try it.

Li Si, Peter Parker, and Max shared a painfully spicy hot pot dinner, and Max got drunk and talked nonstop. After learning that Li might be able to make him a metahuman, Max eagerly agreed despite the risk of becoming visibly inhuman, leaving Li Si resolved to protect him from being rejected.

• Peter Parker and Max forced themselves to eat Li Si's spicy hot pot, then Peter brought out beer to cool their mouths.
• Max drank too much beer and trapped Peter in a nonstop monologue until Li Si left to answer Gwen's call.
• Gwen told Li Si that Mr. Pierce wanted him to give a speech as the graduating class representative at the next day's ceremony, and Li Si agreed.
• Li Si asked Max whether he would accept becoming a metahuman if the transformation made him look inhuman and caused others to shun him.
• Max eagerly said he would accept the change so he could become a superhero, and Li Si toasted him while vowing not to let others reject him.

Li Si woke up with Bumblebee’s help and headed to his high school graduation with Gwen, though he fell asleep during the drive. When they arrived, they found a crowd gathered around Bumblebee, with banners celebrating both Li Si and Peter Parker.

• Gwen arrived at Li Si’s home, and Bumblebee used mechanical arms to wash and dress Li Si after he refused to wake up.
• Li Si joked that laziness drove technological progress, then left with Gwen as his animated blanket went outside to sun itself.
• Li Si brought his dog Hulk along, and Gwen held and petted him during the ride.
• Bumblebee drove to Zhongcheng Technology High School while Li Si slept in the driver’s seat.
• Gwen woke Li Si at school, where graduates, parents, and students had gathered around Bumblebee and displayed banners praising Li Si and Peter Parker.

At Midtown School of Science and Technology’s graduation ceremony, Lee Si escaped his enthusiastic fans and shared a quiet moment with Gwen, who confessed she felt she was falling behind him. He tried to give her a ring and invite her to lead Lee Stein Industries, only to learn she had already begun studying business administration.

• Lee Si and Gwen left a crowd of fans, including Flash, who bragged that he had sparred with Lee Si.
• Lee Si and Gwen walked around the school field, where Hulk ran off to play with nearby children.
• Gwen told Lee Si she felt he was drifting away while she struggled to catch up with him.
• Lee Si tried to give Gwen a small box, but children repeatedly interrupted him while playing with Hulk.
• Lee Si frightened the children by having Hulk bark at them, and Gwen pulled him away.
• Gwen tried on the liquid-like green-stone ring as Lee Si offered her the CEO position at Lee Stein Industries, and she revealed she had started studying business administration two months earlier.

Gwen brought Lee to Midtown School of Science and Technology’s graduation ceremony, where he reluctantly gave an improvised speech about how laziness had driven his inventions and success. He finished by dodging a graduate’s teasing question about whether he had simply been too lazy to write a speech.

• Gwen reminded Lee that she had volunteered him to speak as the graduates’ representative and led him to the ceremony.
• After the administrators’ speeches, Lee took the stage without prepared remarks and promised to explain the secret to success.
• Lee argued that productive laziness spurred invention and described how it had shaped his studies and decision to build Bumblebee.
• Lee said his childhood dream of saving the world led him to combine a sports car with a robot rather than build one from scratch.
• A graduate asked if Lee had been too lazy to write a speech, and Lee replied that he was too lazy to answer.

After Li Si’s graduation speech sparked online discussion, he struggled with the knowledge that Max would be transformed into Electro on his birthday. He wished Max a happy birthday and urged him to come home early, but ultimately let him leave for work, deciding that Electro’s power was too valuable to give up.

• Li Si finished his graduation speech, and the graduates collected their diplomas.
• Peter Parker blamed Li Si’s hot pot for giving him diarrhea before going up to receive his diploma.
• A video of Li Si’s speech spread online, and five days later his Genius Scientist template reached 2% progress.
• Li Si brought Max a birthday cake and suggested celebrating after work, while Max asked him not to serve hot pot.
• Li Si called after Max to tell him to come home early, then let him leave for work.
• Li Si decided that Max needed to become Electro to help fight the Hound Organization’s Hunter squad, and went back to bed.

Norman Osborn died after revealing to Harry that the Osborn family’s hereditary disease would soon affect him. As Harry inherited Oscorp and Mendel Stromm showed signs of ambition, Max was ordered to fix a power problem in the Genetics Laboratory, delaying his birthday plans.

• Harry visited the dying Norman, confronted him over his neglect, and learned that Retroviral Hyperplasia was hereditary and would begin at his age.
• Norman Osborn died, Harry inherited his estate, and Oscorp called a board meeting to stabilize the company and appoint Harry chairman.
• Mendel Stromm revealed his ambition after Norman was no longer there to restrain him.
• Max prepared to leave Oscorp for his birthday but Smith ordered him to repair a power problem in the Genetics Laboratory.
• Max reluctantly went to the laboratory and called Gilbert to shut off power to Section 32, but Gilbert said he had already left.

Li Si stormed into Oscorp’s Genetics Laboratory to retrieve Max Dillon’s body, fighting the men Mendel Stromm had sent to conceal the accident. After defeating them, Li Si carried Max’s corpse toward the elevator.

• Mendel Stromm ordered his bodyguard to keep Max Dillon’s death quiet and make sure he remained a nobody.
• Li Si arrived at Oscorp Tower and knocked out the guards blocking the Genetics Laboratory.
• Li Si refused to take Mendel Stromm’s call and attacked the men cleaning up the lab.
• Li Si dodged their gunfire, severed the attackers’ trigger fingers with Metal Playing Cards, and knocked them unconscious.
• Li Si picked up Max Dillon’s dried-up corpse and headed for the elevator.

Li Si waited for Max to awaken after his transformation and helped him control his irritability. When Max worried that Li Si would see him as a monster, Li Si transformed into a giant Lizard to reassure him.

• Li Si sat beside Max and reflected on his anger and guilt while Max lay unconscious.
• Blue light filled the room as Max's charred shell cracked, and he jolted awake with electricity coursing through his body.
• Max remembered his transformation and grew irritable, but Li Si guided him until he calmed down.
• Li Si explained Max's mutation, and Max joked that he should call himself Electro rather than Electric Eel Man.
• Max asked whether Li Si would see him as a freak, so Li Si used his serum to transform into a towering green giant.

Li Si demonstrated his reversible Lizard transformation to Max and explained how it drained his body. He then suggested Max could use his electricity powers to restore a human appearance and perhaps develop energy-matter conversion technology, leaving Max eager to study and experiment.

• Li Si transformed into a giant Lizard-man to cheer Max up, but Max joked that Li Si was uglier.
• Li Si injected himself with reversal serum and explained that the transformation consumed energy and left most of its broken-down nutrients as waste.
• Max envied Li Si's ability to change back, and Li Si said Max's altered body was less unfortunate than becoming the Thing or Sandman.
• Li Si told Max that his ability to become electricity suggested he could convert electricity and matter into cells and tissues, potentially restoring his human form.
• Max became excited by the possibility of becoming a scientist more famous than Tony Stark and vowed to study his powers.

Li Stein prepared to expose Oscorp’s crimes and declared war on the company, while Max and Dr. Connors helped him publish evidence. The videos went viral overnight, leaving the public stunned and eager to see what Li would do next.

• Li Stein reassured Max that Oscorp would regret retaliation and told him the exposure could clear his and Dr. Connors’s names.
• Li Stein ordered Bumblebee to upload the recordings as he prepared to expose Oscorp.
• Jared saw Li Stein’s post and watched Dr. Curt Connors describe Norman Osborn forcing him to use an unfinished serum and conducting experiments on veterans.
• Jared watched Max Dillon reveal that Oscorp had stolen his power-grid design and kept his death secret.
• Li Stein accused Oscorp of covering up Max’s death and turning Dr. Connors into the Lizard, then declared war on the company.
• Jared and countless other viewers reacted to the videos, which sparked widespread controversy and anticipation.

Li Si and Gwen traveled to Malibu to visit Tony Stark after Li Si’s public accusations against Oscorp sparked a media storm and caused its stock to plunge. Li Si arrived planning to repay a debt and borrow something, while Tony greeted him with irritation.

• Li Si’s tweets about Oscorp’s treatment of the Lizard and his declaration of war dominated the news, and Oscorp’s stock price fell sharply.
• Li Si received calls from Nick Fury, Jonathan, and George Stacy, while Gwen visited him; Peter Parker did not contact him.
• Li Si drove Gwen to Tony Stark’s Malibu villa, saying he intended to repay a debt and borrow something.
• Tony Stark refused to welcome Li Si, but Pepper Potts let Li Si and Gwen inside.
• Li Si and Tony traded barbs while Gwen and Pepper chatted together.

Li Si offered Tony Stark five percent of the Stark Group to repay his debt, but Tony proposed waiving the debt in exchange for two conditions. Li Si realized Tony’s six-month delay was tied to his worsening palladium poisoning.

• Li Si offered Tony Stark a five-percent share transfer to cover his debt and interest.
• Tony Stark offered to waive the debt and transfer additional shares if Li Si fulfilled a promise to step up when needed.
• Tony Stark said he would reveal a second condition in six months and offered the suit technology if Li Si agreed.
• Li Si understood that Tony Stark had set the six-month timeframe because palladium poisoning threatened his life.

Li Si rejected Tony Stark’s offer to take over as Iron Man and dismissed the armor as something he could build himself. As Pepper Potts reviewed the stock transfer contract, Li Si hinted that Tony would soon meet someone even more shameless than him.

• Li Si realized Tony Stark was preparing to leave behind the Iron Man identity in case his palladium poisoning killed him, and privately questioned why Tony insisted on wearing the armor himself.
• Li Si rejected Tony Stark’s conditions, saying he did not want to become a superhero or be tied to the Stark Group.
• Li Si said he could build his own armor and claimed he had miniaturized a Cold Fusion Reactor, but Tony Stark did not believe him.
• Tony Stark asked Pepper Potts to review the stock transfer contract while Gwen stood beside Li Si.
• Li Si teased Tony Stark about his inexperience with shameless people and hinted that he would soon meet someone worse.

Li Si asked Tony Stark to lend him staff and named Pepper Potts as the manager he wanted, then revealed Tony’s palladium poisoning to secure Pepper’s attention. He offered to save Tony by using a perfected serum before removing the shrapnel around his heart, and Pepper agreed to provide the staff after arranging a handover.

• Tony Stark signed the share transfer contracts, and Li Si asked to borrow financial and legal advisers, experienced managers, and Pepper Potts.
• Tony Stark refused to lend Pepper, so Li Si revealed that Tony’s Palladium Reactor was poisoning him and that he was dying.
• Pepper Potts confronted Tony for hiding his condition, while Li Si offered to save him if she agreed to his terms.
• Li Si explained that his Self-Healing Serum could be used before surgery to remove the shrapnel around Tony’s heart, eliminating the need for the Palladium Reactor.
• Pepper Potts accepted the plan after Li Si said the serum had no side effects and asked for Tony’s genetic sample, and she agreed to arrange the staff in a couple of days.

Li Si asked Gwen to help run his new company as he prepared to acquire Oscorp. At Oscorp, Harry Osborn discovered his father’s hidden research files, but Mendel Stromm had him fired and removed from the building.

• Li Si told Gwen he planned to acquire Oscorp and asked her to manage his company with help from Pepper Potts, and Gwen agreed to try.
• Harry Osborn found that his hereditary illness was worsening and activated a hidden interface using the cube Norman Osborn had left him.
• Harry discovered records of Oscorp’s spider and lizard gene experiments, realized Mendel Stromm had destroyed the research, and planned to seek Peter Parker’s blood.
• Mendel Stromm entered Harry’s office with security guards, accused him of covering up an employee’s death, and fired him.
• Harry broke free and lunged at Mendel, but the guards restrained him; he then insisted on walking out by himself.

After Osborn appeared to contain its scandal, Lee Stein quietly launched Thunder Industries and revealed his plan to take Osborn private. He left Pepper Potts to arrange financing while hinting that the military could end its dealings with Osborn.

• Harry Osborn apologized publicly, shut down the cross-species experiments, and was fired as Osborn's stock stabilized.
• Online commenters mocked Lee Stein for staying silent, while cryptic supporters warned that Osborn would face trouble from the Merchant.
• Lee Stein established Thunder Industries in two floors of Osir Tower, where Pepper Potts began recruiting staff.
• Lee told Pepper Potts that he planned to take Osborn private and fold it into Thunder Industries.
• Pepper Potts warned that the buyout would cost over two hundred billion dollars and face military-related resistance, and Lee suggested the military might end its dealings with Osborn.
• Lee asked Pepper Potts to handle financing negotiations, admitting that he lacked a useful team.

After the military ended its contracts with Oscorp and awarded them to Thunder Industries, public speculation swirled over the company’s mysterious medicine and Lee Stein’s possible role. Lee confirmed Thunder Industries was his and announced a product launch, vindicating Jared’s belief that he had orchestrated Oscorp’s downfall.

• The military announced it was ending all cooperation with Oscorp and awarding medical and weapons contracts to Thunder Industries, sending Oscorp’s stock into free fall.
• Netizens debated Thunder Industries’ origins and whether Lee Stein had persuaded the military to abandon Oscorp, while most dismissed the idea.
• Jared argued online that Lee had arranged the military’s move and developed Thunder Industries’ medical products, but other users mocked and ignored him.
• Lee Stein posted that Thunder Industries was his company and would hold a product launch the day after tomorrow.
• Jared retweeted Lee’s announcement, prompting many users to apologize, express admiration, or defend him.