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Lin Mo woke up freezing.

Whoa—so cold, so cold, so cold! The chilly rainwater felt like a large cluster of mischievous little ice-needle sprites, giggling as they jabbed into his exposed arms, every single one shouting, "Time to get up, get up!" He struggled to force his eyelids open, and the world before him looked as though someone had aggressively slapped a gray filter over it—the sky was murky, and the clouds were so fat they seemed on the verge of collapsing, pressing down so hard that the entire alley could barely catch its breath.

Hiss... ouch, ouch, ouch! He drew a sharp breath, wanting to sit up, but every bone in his body went on strike simultaneously, letting out creaking protests of "creak, creak." Looking down, he saw that the short-sleeved T-shirt he was wearing, which read "Beijing Roast Duck," was completely soaked through, clinging tightly to his skin all wrinkled up, looking for all the world like an old pickled vegetable dried out after soaking for three days and three nights. To make matters worse, there was a small tear right at the neckline, and the cold wind whistled right in, feeling like some invisible little demon blowing air conditioning down his neck.

He glanced left and right, realizing he was lying in a narrow little alley flanked by high red-brick walls. The walls were covered in colorful graffiti, some of it so blurred it looked as though it had been clawed by a cat, leaving behind only the faintest tails of rainbows. The bumpy ground beneath his feet was filled with pooled water, and the surface floated with strange smells: spoiled food, rust, and just a tiny hint of something that smelled like someone had sprayed too much perfume and forgotten to put the cap back on...

"Where... is this?" Lin Mo muttered under his head, his brain feeling as though a tangled ball of yarn had been shoved inside, a complete mess that he couldn't straighten out at all. He clearly remembered being in his rented room grinding away at a project report, getting so sleepy that he slumped over his desk and fell asleep, so how was it that the moment he opened his eyes, he had time-traveled into this cold, dirty, broken rainy-alley dungeon?

He hurried to pat down his pockets, wanting to find his phone or wallet to save his life, but both pockets were turned completely inside out, with a few tear marks still lingering at the edges as though some mysterious thief NPC had casually looted a round of gear.

Lin Mo's heart sank with a thud, an ominous premonition shrouding the top of his head like dark clouds.

Right at that moment—ding! A figure tottered in from the alley entrance. It was a homeless man with hair greasy enough to fry three dishes, wrapped in a tattered overcoat of an unrecognizable original color. He was dragging a deflated liquor bottle, walking unsteadily and humming an out-of-tune song.

He spotted Lin Mo lying on the ground, his turbid eyes suddenly flashing with the light of someone who had "struck gold," and he staggered closer.

Lin Mo instinctively shrank back, his gaze as alert as a startled little hamster. Before he could even speak, the older man made a swish and snatched the plastic bag clutched in Lin Mo's hand—that was his rain-sheltering artifact just picked up from the ground!

"Fuck off!" the homeless man roared, crumpling the bag into a ball and throwing it on the ground, even kicking Lin Mo in passing before leisurely sauntering deep into the alley to continue humming his unidentifiable crooked tune.

"Ngh..." Lin Mo let out a muffled groan from the kick, his ribs aching as though being gnawed on simultaneously by ten irritable hamsters. He wanted to curse back, but his throat was so dry it was smoking, only allowing him to produce rattling, cracked sounds.

Watching the receding figure of the homeless man, he felt both angry and wronged, yet he was utterly unable to move, as if even fate were bullying him as a newcomer player.

Right at that moment—static... static... a disjointed television sound drifted through the curtain of rain. The sound came from the convenience store across from the alley entrance; through the glass door and the roaring sound of the rain, the anchor's excited voice could be vaguely heard:

"...According to the latest news, Stark Industries CEO Tony Stark was attacked while on official business in Afghanistan and is currently missing. A Pentagon spokesperson stated that the military has launched a full-scale search and rescue operation..."

"Tony Stark?!" Lin Mo jerked his head up, his heart grabbed slap just like that by an invisible hand. He knew this name way too well! Iron Man! The Marvel Universe's top-tier male idol! How could he possibly appear in real-world news?!

He struggled to sit up, his eyes fixed dead on the direction of the convenience store. Through the blurred curtain of rain, he saw a photo of Tony playing on the television screen—that handsome face with a hint of a wicked smile, exactly the same as in the movies!

Right then, his gaze swept across a poster at the alley entrance—

It was promotional artwork for the Captain America Memorial Museum! Printed right on it was Cap wearing his star-spangled uniform, the star on his shield gleaming brightly in the dim light, looking so handsome it was as if he had filters turned on!

"Boom—!" Lin Mo's brain felt struck by a bolt of lightning, exploding instantly! Tony Stark, Captain America, the attack in Afghanistan... Piecing these keywords together pointed to a conclusion that made his scalp tingle—

He had time-traveled! He had really time-traveled! And it was even the Marvel Universe's newbie village!

It wasn't a movie, it wasn't a comic book, but a genuinely existing world! Here there were superheroes, aliens, mutants, magic, Infinity Stones... and also crises that could claim lives at any moment.

Enormous shock and chaos flooded him in an instant. He felt breathing become difficult, his chest feeling as though a oxygen-absorbing boulder had been pressed down upon it. He knew how wonderful this world was, and he also knew how dangerous it was—New York would be bombed by the Chitauri, and Thanos would snap his fingers to clear out half of all life...

And as for him? Lin Mo, a plain and ordinary office drone newbie, without any golden finger, without backing, and not even a dry set of clothes, had parachuted naked straight into this SSS-difficulty dungeon.

"Good old heavens, are you treating me like an experience card to grind plot points?" Lin Mo gave a bitter smile, his eye sockets getting a bit warm. He had fantasized about time-traveling, but his dreamed-up version was to transmigrate into a rich second-generation heir holding beauties in both arms while drinking milk tea, not like this, acting as a drowned rat in a rainy alley.

The rain was still falling, and it was coming down harder. Lin Mo's teeth chattered fiercely from the cold, his body shaking as if set to vibration mode. He couldn't stay here anymore, he had to find a place to shelter from the rain, otherwise he would be KO'd and eliminated by the cold system before even meeting a villain!

He leaned against the wall, standing up tremblingly, every step feeling like he was playing a "pain simulator." He shuffled step by step toward the alley entrance, his eyes scanning wildly along both sides of the street. This was a typical New York alley flanked by old apartments, neon-flashing pubs, and a few tightly shuttered shops.

Almost nobody was on the street, save for a few cars driving past that kicked up massive splashes of water. The air mixed the dampness of the rain with the city's unique clamor, completely unlike any city in his memories.

Lin Mo took a deep breath, only to choke on a cold raindrip, coughing so hard that tears almost came out. He wiped his face, his mind a complete ball of tangled yarn. What should he do now?

Go look for Tony Stark? Stop joking around, the guy was a billionaire top-tier star, and looking like this, he probably couldn't even make it into the trash cans of Stark Industries.

Look for S.H.I.E.L.D.? He didn't even know if S.H.I.E.L.D. was hidden underground, let alone how to prove he was a time-traveler.

Could it be that he could only eke out a living on the streets like a homeless person, waiting to be accidentally injured by some BOSS's AOE skill or wiped out as background scenery by an alien fleet?

Right when Lin Mo plunged into despair—

Hum!

A slight burning sensation suddenly came from his wrist, as though someone had gently pressed a warm patch onto it.

He blinked in a daze, looking down—to find that at some unknown point, a small light-blue dot of light had appeared on his wrist, like a mini star tattoo that you wouldn't even notice unless you looked closely!

Before he could even react, a cold and mechanical voice suddenly rang in his mind:

[Ding! Detected the host's strong will to survive, meeting binding conditions, the Marvel Check-in System is activating...]

[Activation successful! Host: Lin Mo. Current world: Marvel Cinematic Universe (Timeline: 24 hours after Tony Stark's attack).]

[Newbie quest issued: Survive in Queens for 24 hours. Quest reward: Unlock the first superpower—Basic Phasing. Failure penalty: System unbinding, host will lose all system-related enhancements.]

Lin Mo froze entirely, wondering if he had frozen into having hallucinations. A system? Check-in? Superpowers? Weren't these treatments reserved only for light-novel protagonists? How could it ever fall to him?

He pinched himself hard—

"Ow!!" He jumped from the pain.

It wasn't a dream! It was real! That mechanical voice was still echoing in his head, and the dot of light on his wrist grew brighter and brighter, emitting a soft blue glow that looked exactly like a game loading screen!

"System?" he tentatively shouted in his mind.

[Hello, host. I am the Marvel Check-in System, at your service.]

Lin Mo's heart thumped wildly, a surge of wild joy exploding in his chest like fireworks! He wasn't alone anymore! He had a golden finger! In this crisis-laden Marvel world, he finally had hope of staying alive!

"Basic Phasing... what kind of power is that?" he asked impatiently.

[Basic Phasing: The host can phase through non-energy solid matter with a thickness of no more than 1 meter. Each phasing duration lasts no longer than 10 seconds, with a cooldown of 30 seconds. As the host's level increases, the ability can be further strengthened.]

Lin Mo's eyes lit up! Although it didn't sound invincible, to him right now, it was simply charcoal provided in the snow! At least he could phase through walls to find a place to hide from the rain, and wouldn't have to take a bath in the middle of the street anymore!

"Queens..." he muttered to himself. He remembered Queens was the hometown of the Spider-Man little angel Peter Parker, and compared to places like Manhattan where big-shot powerhouses clustered, the safety coefficient should be +1!

He looked up and saw a street sign at the alley entrance—"Queens, Astoria Street."

Whoa! Luck +10! Right within the quest range!

"Great! I accept the quest!" he declared loudly in his mind.

[Quest confirmed, timer starting. Remaining time: 23 hours, 59 minutes, 45 seconds.]

The notification sound dropped, and the dot of light on his wrist gradually dimmed before finally disappearing, as if it had never appeared at all. But Lin Mo could clearly feel that a wonderful power had been added to his body, like a faint wisp of electric current waiting to be awakened.

He took a deep breath, suppressing his excited emotions. The most urgent matter right now was to find a place to shelter from the rain and get some food and drink. He looked toward the convenience store at the alley entrance, its lights shining warmly in the rain curtain like a little sun.

"Let's go check out the convenience store," he thought to himself. Even though he had no money, maybe he could hide from the rain at the doorway or see if there were any discarded bread crusts.

He leaned against the wall, slowly standing up. Basic Phasing wasn't quite familiar yet, so he wouldn't take risks trying it out just yet, lest he get stuck inside a wall and turn into a "sandwich person."

He shuffled step by step out of the alley, and the rainwater poured onto his body once more, but he wasn't quite as cold anymore. The little flame of hope burning inside his chest crackled merrily away.

Reaching the convenience store entrance, he pushed the door—it was locked. Through the glass, the clerk was dozing off on the counter, and the store was completely empty.

Lin Mo sighed, having no choice but to lean against the wall and gaze at the heavy rain outside. The pooled water had already submerged his ankles, and occasionally cars drove past, kicking up massive splashes of water that looked just like trap mechanisms in a game dungeon.

Right at that moment—his gaze was firmly drawn by a recruitment notice at the street corner!

It was posted by a Chinese restaurant, written in both Chinese and English on red paper:

"Hiring dishwasher, room and board included, monthly salary $2,000. Requirements: good health, capable of enduring hardship."

Lin Mo's eyes lit up instantly! Like two little stars popping out!

A dishwasher? Hard work was hard work... but! Room and board included! For him right now, it was simply an SSR-grade benefit!

He looked along the direction, and the Chinese restaurant was not far away, hanging red lanterns at its entrance that looked exceptionally warm and eye-catching in the rainy night.

"Charge!" Lin Mo made up his mind. With empty pockets right now, he had to find a job as soon as possible and solve his survival problem. As long as he stayed at this restaurant for a full 24 hours, the newbie quest should be completed!

He straightened out his wrinkled "Roast Duck T-shirt," and though he knew his image was tragic, he still squared his shoulders and walked toward the Chinese restaurant.

The rainwater beat against his face, bone-chillingly cold, but his gaze was as resolute as if he had turned on cheats.

Marvel Universe, here I come!

Lin Mo said silently to himself: no matter how many BOSSes, traps, or hidden plots lay ahead, he was going to survive! And he was going to survive brilliantly!

Relying on this check-in system, he was going to carve out a legend of his own in this world!

The rain was still falling, but inside Lin Mo's heart, sunlight had already spilled everywhere.

His Marvel journey officially began right here from this roast duck T-shirt in the rainy alley—