Chapter Summaries

Alvin learned that Zhou Hailun’s Cradle of Life had healed Lin Shaoqing’s injuries but left him unable to use the power of the Iron Fist. He invited Zhou to visit his school and discuss treatment and her technology, where she asked whether Thor would be there.

• Zhou Hailun brought a gift from the Gun Club and explained that her Cradle of Life project needed technical help and investment.
• Lin Shaoqing said Zhou’s nanomaterial treatment had healed his body but blocked his energy and cost him the power of the Iron Fist.
• Stark scanned Lin Shaoqing and examined the nanomaterial repairs in his lungs.
• Alvin offered to connect Lin Shaoqing with his school nurse and invited Zhou to visit his school to help treat him and discuss the Cradle of Life.
• Zhou Hailun accepted Alvin’s invitation and shyly asked whether Thor would be there.

After a spicy Chengdu dinner left the group nursing sore backsides, Alvin teased Richard about his troubles and reassured Little Ginny. Before the group headed to Wolong Panda Base, Alvin opened a Space Gate so Zhou Hailun and Lin Shaoqing could return to the school, where Lin thanked Alvin for helping him escape his miserable life.

• The group woke up sore after eating Sichuan food, and Alvin teased Stark and Nick about their discomfort.
• Richard bumped his head on the RV, and Alvin privately offered to help him through his teenage troubles.
• Alvin reassured Little Ginny that everyone faced worries growing up, and she suggested Richard visit Yad's Nightclub.
• Alvin tucked the Source Pearl into his pocket as the group prepared to leave for Wolong Panda Base.
• Alvin opened a Space Gate to the school, where Lin Shaoqing thanked him for pulling him back from the abyss and hoped to find a new job.
• Alvin sent Zhou Hailun through the Space Gate and joked that she could talk with Dr. Jane Foster about Thor.

Alvin and the others arrived at Wolong Panda Base with Big White disguised as a panda, astonishing the staff and visitors. Little Ginny helped Big White touch up his makeup after he shoved aside a visitor, and the group prepared to head inside so he could see his girlfriend.

• Wolong Panda Base staff saw the group arrive and mistook disguised Big White for a polar bear in makeup, prompting Old Li to summon security.
• Alvin watched visitors gather around Big White, who eagerly urged the people in the motorhome to get out.
• Little Ginny emerged, hugged Big White, and agreed to let a visitor take a picture with them.
• Big White shoved the visitor aside and smudged his makeup, causing her to fall with a paw print on her face.
• Little Ginny brushed the smudged spot, kissed Big White, and said they should go see his girlfriend.

Alvin and his family visited a panda facility, where researcher Old Zhang encouraged them to interact with the pandas and suggested Big White could meet the female pandas. As the children began an activity to take care of panda cubs, Alvin sensed something strange from Big White.

• Old Li stormed off after Alvin proposed letting Big White meet the female pandas, leaving Old Zhang to guide the group.
• Old Zhang explained that normal creatures could not cross reproductive barriers and led Alvin and the others into the Panda Villa.
• The visitors watched a keeper lure a mother panda away from her cub, and Big White sniffed the cub before wandering deeper into the building.
• Old Zhang had Xiao Zhao organize an activity in which the children would take panda cubs and care for them.
• Alvin helped Stark free Captain from little Morgan’s grasp and advised Stark to let his daughter experience being refused.
• Alvin suddenly sensed something strange from Big White.

Alvin visited the panda sanctuary with Big White and discovered Lamei, a huge panda with an Ancient Bloodline whom Zhang Song hoped to save from extinction. Zhang Song asked Alvin to use the Gun Club's Source Pearl to help fertilize Lamei's stored eggs, while Big White eagerly watched her.

• Alvin followed Professor Zhang into the sanctuary and saw Lamei, a muscular, enormous panda behind thick glass.
• Professor Zhang explained that Lamei had an Ancient Bloodline, was being trained for rewilding, and had become increasingly irritable and powerful.
• Alvin refused to leave Big White at the sanctuary as a breeding stud but agreed to let the bears spend time together.
• Professor Zhang revealed that he was Zhang Song, Zhang Qiang's uncle, and that Lamei's ancestors had once belonged to the Bear Army.
• Zhang Song asked Alvin to use the Source Pearl to help fertilize Lamei's stored eggs, saying ordinary panda sperm might work with its help.

Alvin learned that Professor Zhang was developing a cultivation method in which humans and beasts grew stronger as partners, and he shared his theories about the return of spiritual energy. Professor Zhang saw new answers in Alvin’s account, while Alvin began considering whether the method could help Richard.

• Professor Zhang explained that the Gun Club’s Source Pearl was reserved for a heavily funded experiment, and that he wanted to prove his research into Lamei and other beasts could succeed.
• Professor Zhang revealed that his method built a bridge between a person and an animal partner, letting them cultivate with each other’s energy, and said he had succeeded with Lamei half a year earlier.
• Professor Zhang told Alvin that Gesang had been a true Beast Knight who helped develop the method, and described how he hoped to recover the power of ancient inheritances through intelligent beasts.
• Alvin connected Professor Zhang’s success to the stars falling and the return of the Earth’s spiritual energy, then shared his knowledge and theories with him.
• Professor Zhang became excited by Alvin’s information, and Alvin considered using the human-beast cultivation method to help Richard draw on a beast’s spiritual energy.

Alvin visited the panda facility, where Big White approached Lamei while Professor Zhang discussed the Source Pearl and Beast Knight training with him. After the group played with the pandas, Alvin prepared to head to Xi'an, where a possibly living super-big shot awaited.

• Little Ginny and Morgan fed and tussled with the pandas while Alvin watched Big White approach Lamei, who shoved him aside.
• Professor Zhang tested the Source Pearl and thanked Alvin, who offered to find beasts for Richard to train with under Zhang's guidance.
• Professor Zhang told Alvin that suitable beasts might be found in South American rainforests or African jungles, including a giant python or an enormous black panther.
• Wu Lie asked Alvin whether he should report Zhang, and Alvin explained that Big White was a monstrous beast and mocked Wu Lie for suspecting the professor.
• Xiao Zhao led the children to feed and measure adolescent pandas, and Alvin watched the group enjoy themselves on the lawn.
• Alvin decided the group would head to Xi'an next to seek a super-big shot who might still be alive.

Alvin and Stark discussed China’s growing mysterious forces and whether the Avengers should prepare for new threats. On Nidavellir, Steve and Lennox discovered giant Bugs had destroyed a Bio-Men camp and ordered the area bombarded so they could investigate the underground threat.

• Morgan fought the pandas for her bottle and her mother’s attention while Alvin watched the caretakers weigh and measure them.
• Stark worried that mysterious powers were emerging and proposed recalling the Avengers, while Alvin argued that new forces should not be treated as enemies without cause.
• On Nidavellir, Steve and Lennox found a Bio-Men camp of nearly fifty thousand wiped out, with the bodies missing and strange spikes left behind.
• Steve’s squad entered a warehouse and found giant Bugs pushing Bio-Men corpses into a deep pit, then fought off the creatures.
• After spikes shot from the pit and the surrounding ground began collapsing, Steve ordered the team to withdraw, report the coordinates, bomb the area, and establish observation posts.

Alvin and his companions left the pandas behind, while Nick and Richard tried Professor Zhang’s Knight Training Method with their animal companions. Nick began to bond with Wilde, but Richard struggled to connect with the Pachycephalosaurus as Alvin planned to use dragon-bone powder to help them succeed.

• Alvin and Frank discussed the failed attempt to get Lamei pregnant, the Source Pearl, and Nick’s hopes of becoming a Dragon Rider.
• Nick gave Wilde fresh dragon-bone powder and tried to synchronize his breathing and heartbeat with the Triceratops, while Richard made the same attempt with the Pachycephalosaurus.
• Wilde fell asleep beside Nick, and their heartbeats began to synchronize as Nick entered a calm, unfamiliar state.
• Wilde woke and licked Nick’s face, and Nick believed he had made progress, though he noticed no physical change.
• Richard struggled to connect with the Pachycephalosaurus, while Lin Hai supervised Ginny’s homework and joked that drinking ink could make her smarter.

Alvin arrived in Xi'an with his family and met Zhang Qiang, who was preparing an expedition into the Qin Emperor's Underground City. Zhang Qiang reassured himself that Alvin would respect the tomb, while introducing the archaeological specialists who would guide Alvin and Shang-Chi.

• Richard gave up trying to bond with the Pachycephalosaurus, while Nick continued finding a connection with Wilde through the Dragon Bone powder.
• Alvin sent the Pachycephalosaurus back to Stark Estate, where it happily reunited with Butler Albus.
• Alvin arrived at a secluded mountain villa near Mount Li, and Zhang Qiang said preparations for the expedition would take two days and only Alvin and Shang-Chi could enter.
• Alvin assured Zhang Qiang that he wanted to retrace Shang-Chi's father's path and avoid disturbing the Qin Emperor, though the possibility of two Source Pearls troubled him.
• Zhang Qiang introduced Gun Club archaeological experts, including Hu Jianjun and Fatty Wang, who explained the Four Schools' roles in exploring the Underground City.

While Alvin served lamb soup, the Gun Club's experts used the meal to press Zhang Qiang for better benefits and permanent jobs. Alvin offered to hire them for expeditions abroad, and the chapter ended with Hu Jianjun laying out their terms to Zhang Qiang.

• Alvin served the group lamb soup and teased Nick for wanting more meat.
• Fatty Wang and the other experts complained about their pay and benefits, and the Northeastern man threatened to leave the Gun Club.
• Alvin offered the experts annual salaries of $500,000, or $600,000 if they covered their own insurance, to join his foreign tomb expeditions.
• A skinny old man mocked Zhang Qiang over housing benefits and the vice president's sister-in-law, prompting Zhang Qiang to threaten to resign.
• Fatty Wang and Hu Jianjun asked Zhang Qiang to secure housing or permanent positions, while promising the experts would still answer future calls from the Gun Club.

Alvin watched Zhang Qiang negotiate with the Gun Club’s archaeological specialists over their roles in the dangerous Tomb of the Qin Emperor expedition. Zhang Qiang secured Lu Tong’s help by promising him a new identity and freedom to leave afterward, while Hu Jianjun and Fatty Wang remained silent.

• Alvin offered the disgruntled specialists places on his archaeological team, prompting Zhang Qiang to defend their importance and explain that he would try to get them permanent positions.
• Zhang Qiang urged the specialists to prove themselves on the Qin Emperor expedition, and the skinny old man and Brother Yang withdrew from taking part while agreeing to help if needed.
• Lu Tong agreed to join the expedition after Zhang Qiang promised him a new passport and identity, along with freedom to leave once the expedition ended.
• Alvin realized Zhang Qiang had deliberately steered the negotiations to identify who still wanted to participate and secure Lu Tong’s cooperation.
• Alvin admired Zhang Qiang’s handling of the situation and glanced at the quiet Hu Jianjun and Fatty Wang.

Alvin recruited Lu Tong and agreed to bring Hu Jianjun and Fatty Wang along to explore the Tomb of the Qin Emperor. Hu Jianjun negotiated a payment for his fallen comrades’ families and an apology from Professor Yan, then chose to work with Alvin as an independent consultant.

• Alvin invited Lu Tong to work with him, and Lu Tong accepted, explaining that the Xiling school specialized in breaking formations and severing dragon veins.
• Hu Jianjun offered to join the expedition with Fatty Wang and asked for five million in cash and a personal apology from Professor Yan if they returned alive.
• Zhang Qiang agreed to Hu Jianjun’s terms, noting that the money would support the families of his fallen comrades.
• Hu Jianjun declined regular employment and offered to help Alvin with overseas tombs and ruins as an independent expert.
• Alvin shook Hu Jianjun’s hand and welcomed him to join the expedition at Mount Li.

Zhang Qiang showed Alvin and the others the Gun Club’s scans of the underground city beneath the Tomb of the Qin Emperor and asked them to help resolve the threat there. Hu Jianjun concluded that the city was only a decoy above the true tomb, protected by mercury, quicksand, and a force field, leaving the group to figure out how to enter and reach the Underground Palace safely.

• Zhang Qiang took Alvin, Hu Jianjun, Lu Tong, and Fatty Wang to discuss the tomb, while Fatty Wang boasted about his tomb-robbing experience and Hu Jianjun clarified that their role was support.
• Zhang Qiang projected a three-dimensional scan of a vast underground city, and Alvin questioned whether the group could survive its size and lack of air.
• Hu Jianjun and Lu Tong noticed that the scan did not show the Qin Emperor’s actual burial place and reasoned that the Underground Palace lay deeper below the city.
• Zhang Qiang explained that a force field blocked scans beneath the city and showed the surrounding waterways, which Hu Jianjun identified as mercury channels beneath quicksand.
• Hu Jianjun warned that the underground city was a decoy and said the real challenge was entering alive, reaching the Underground Palace, and avoiding whatever special defenses protected it.

Zhang Qiang explained the dangers and layout of the Qin Emperor’s underground city, then recruited Hu Jianjun, Lu Tong, and Fatty Wang to help Alvin reach the underground palace. The group agreed to prepare thoroughly for the expedition, which was set to begin after they gathered equipment and supplies.

• Zhang Qiang warned Hu Jianjun and the others about the dangers beneath the underground palace, and Hu Jianjun, Lu Tong, and Fatty Wang agreed to go.
• Zhang Qiang showed the passage into the underground city and explained that the Qin Emperor’s palace had multiple gates and that Shang-Chi’s father had retreated before entering it.
• Zhang Qiang said the mission was to take Shang-Chi along his father’s route, obtain two Source Pearls if possible, and stop the annual Night Parade by having Alvin speak with the Qin Emperor.
• Alvin assured Hu Jianjun and Lu Tong that he would protect them and urged them to request equipment from Zhang Qiang.
• Hu Jianjun requested sealed Combat Suits and a rifle for Fatty Wang, while Zhang Qiang and Alvin offered to provide weapons and other supplies.
• Lu Tong showed off his collapsible Luoyang Shovel, and Alvin gave the group a day to decide what else they needed.

After touring Xi'an with his family, Alvin prepared to return to the Tomb of the Qin Emperor with Hu Jianjun and the others. Stark gave him a specialized exploration kit and Frank gave him a new Harpoon, while Alvin said goodbye to his family and friends before setting out.

• Alvin and his family visited Xi'an's landmarks, and the children especially enjoyed Mount Hua's cliffside plank walk.
• Stark gave Alvin an exploration kit with scouting drones, Gamma Rays detection, communications equipment, and image reconstruction software for the underground city.
• Frank gave Alvin a Harpoon made by the Dwarves and urged him to fight decisively; Alvin told Frank to watch over the students during exams.
• Alvin opened a Space Gate to Hell's Kitchen, said goodbye to Jessica, Shang-Chi, Fox, and the children, and warned Nick that the students had to pass their exams.
• Alvin returned to the Manor in Xi'an, said farewell to Stark and the others, and prepared to leave with Hu Jianjun and his team for the tomb.

Alvin and his companions reached the Tomb of the Qin Emperor's escape entrance after taking a long detour to spare Fatty Wang from crossing a dangerous ravine. They found a sliced-up corpse and uncovered a narrow tunnel, then prepared to enter the tomb with weapons and equipment.

• Alvin persuaded Lu Tong to abandon his rope bridge and take detours so Fatty Wang would not have to cross the ravine, and the group reached the escape exit after nearly eight hours.
• Hu Jianjun found a skeleton near the entrance, and the corpse split apart when he touched it, revealing a clean cut that Alvin and Lu Tong suspected came from a powerful attacker.
• Alvin worried that the tomb's ghost warriors or Terracotta Warriors might be able to leave the tomb, while Old Hu found the hidden tunnel behind vines on a nearby mountain wall.
• Shang-Chi used his ice sword to clear the tunnel entrance, and Alvin handed Electromagnetic Rifles to Lu Tong, Old Hu, and Fatty Wang while warning them not to damage the underground city's ceiling.

Alvin equipped Old Hu, Fatty Wang, Lu Tong, and Shang-Chi for an expedition into a poisonous underground palace. After Old Hu discovered the entrance held toxic gas, the group prepared to descend, with Lu Tong volunteering to lead.

• Alvin gave Lu Tong a telescoping Luoyang shovel and shared food, supplies, and communicators with the expedition team.
• Old Hu warned Fatty Wang not to show off and advised him to rely on his wits around Shang-Chi.
• Old Hu tested the cave entrance with a pigeon and discovered poisonous gas inside, prompting the group to check their compressed air canisters.
• Alvin provided extra canisters and gave Shang-Chi and Lu Tong alien protective suits that supplied air and insulation.
• Old Hu warned that other dangers might lurk inside and hoped the creatures tied to the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons would remain asleep.
• Lu Tong offered to lead the way, and Old Hu assigned Lu Tong to go first, himself second, and Fatty Wang last.

Alvin and the expedition reached the Tomb of the Qin Emperor’s entrance, where Lu Tong triggered deadly mechanisms in a narrow passage. Old Hu identified a likely way to disable the traps, while Alvin’s Venom distracted the group.

• Alvin led the group through cramped tunnels until Lu Tong found a passage blocked by dozens of corpses, and Alvin burned them away with lightning.
• Lu Tong identified the wider passage as a route for transporting materials, while Old Hu recognized that they were in the Death Gate area and warned of mechanisms ahead.
• Lu Tong triggered bronze arrows and hidden blades, but dodged the traps and broke one blade with a punch.
• Old Hu spotted an Emei Piercer and a hole in the ceiling that he believed controlled the mechanism, then explained how the weapon could disable it.
• Alvin praised Old Hu and showed Venom to the group, but tossed the Emei Piercer at Venom when it began an absurd dance.

Alvin and his companions entered the underground military city and found Shang-Chi’s childhood acquaintance Uncle Man-Bear dead after apparently holding off terracotta figures. As Alvin launched scouting drones to map a safe route, a terracotta figure hidden nearby opened its eyes.

• Venom used the Emei Piercer to stop the bronze arrows, and the group emerged onto the wall overlooking the underground city.
• Alvin warned everyone to stay close after they found corpses scattered across the wall, and Old Hu cautioned Fatty Wang not to touch anything.
• Shang-Chi recognized the giant corpse as Uncle Man-Bear, and Lu Tong recalled his strength and how he had once stopped armed smugglers with his Golden Melon Hammers.
• Alvin released four drones under Angel’s control and asked Old Hu to use their map to find a safe route through the city.
• A terracotta figure’s head, hidden in a shadowed corner, opened its eyes.