Recaps

Meng Zu learned that assassins had placed John and Jane Smith on a bounty list and went to warn them, only for attackers to arrive at their home. He killed the assassins and left the Smiths to deal with the police and the aftermath.

• Charon told Meng Zu that John and Jane Smith had each been given a $500,000 bounty by another assassin organization.
• Meng Zu went to the Smiths’ house and warned John and Jane to leave before assassins arrived.
• Assassins opened fire as Meng Zu warned the Smiths, and he knocked them to the ground and returned fire.
• More assassins arrived with a grenade-equipped robot, but Meng Zu disabled it and moved through the house to shoot the attackers.
• Meng Zu killed the remaining assassins, told John and Jane to handle the aftermath, and returned home to sleep.

Meng Zu went to Randy Austin’s mercenary bar and recruited Frank Martin, who was ready to leave the courier business. Frank agreed to try working at Meng Zu’s private detective company, leaving the company with a new recruit.

• Meng Zu watched John and Jane Smith leave with packages, guessing they were going after revenge.
• At work, Meng Zu rejected a low-paying adultery investigation and suggested hiring more private detectives to handle routine jobs.
• Meng Zu drove to Hot Rose, where Randy Austin asked what mercenary job he wanted to take.
• Frank Martin told Meng Zu he planned to quit the courier business and return to Paris to work at an auto repair shop.
• Meng Zu offered Frank a position at his detective company, and Frank agreed to come by the next day and give it a try.

Meng Zu accepted a contract to protect Jack Byron’s research team as they searched Borneo’s primeval forest for the Blood Orchid, a plant he recognized from the film Anaconda. After learning the mission involved dangerous giant pythons, he prepared for the team’s trip to Palan Province and urged them to secure weapons.

• Meng Zu asked Randy about unusual contracts and accepted the job protecting Jack Byron’s group in Borneo.
• Meng Zu arranged for Frank to start at the Free Detective Agency, then met Jack’s team at New York Airport and flew with them to Borneo.
• Jack introduced the team’s search for the Blood Orchid, and Meng Zu realized the plant could extend cellular lifespan and attract giant pythons.
• Jack planned to travel to Palan Province, hire a guide, rent a boat, and search upriver despite Meng Zu’s warnings about the rainy season.
• Meng Zu insisted the group find a weapons dealer, and Jack explained they needed weapons for protection before everyone went to rest.

Jack and his companions traveled through heavy rain to a tavern in Palan Province to find a captain who would take them upstream in search of Blood Orchids. Jack agreed to pay Bill Johnson one hundred thousand dollars to guide them through the dangerous rainy-season rivers, and Bill offered to show them his boat, the Bloodthirsty Mary.

• Meng Zu asked why Jack was rushing to search for Blood Orchids, and Jack explained that their brief blooming season might already be underway.
• Jack, Gale, Gordon, and Meng Zu went to a tavern and learned that Bill Johnson was the only captain willing to sail upstream during the rainy season.
• Meng Zu advised the group to find Bill Johnson directly, and Jack paid the bartender a dollar to identify him.
• Bill offered to rent his boat for fifty thousand dollars but demanded one hundred thousand to accompany them upstream.
• Gale protested the price, but Jack agreed to pay Bill one hundred thousand dollars, and Bill offered to show them the Bloodthirsty Mary.

Jack’s group hired Bill and prepared to travel by boat to Satan Basin in search of the Blood Orchid. After Kerr plotted a faster route and Bill approved it, the Bloody Mary departed, leaving Meng Zu and Bill talking about their pasts as the group headed upriver.

• Jack chose to leave the next morning, and Meng Zu arranged for Bill to provide six shotguns and ammunition for the group.
• Meng Zu packed his own weapons from his storage space into a duffel bag, while Jack and the others prepared their belongings.
• Jack’s group boarded Bill’s boat, the Bloody Mary, and learned that Achuan was Bill’s assistant and first mate.
• Bill proposed a safe route to Satan Basin that could take up to two weeks, but Kerr calculated a route expected to take just under four days, which Bill approved.
• The Bloody Mary left the dock, and Meng Zu told Bill that Jack’s group was searching for the Blood Orchid.

Meng Zu and the others traveled deeper into the rainforest, where a crocodile attack nearly caught Gale and Meng Zu rescued her. After Bill drove the crocodiles away, Meng Zu warned the group to take the dangers of the rainforest seriously.

• Gale panicked when Xiaogang the monkey startled her aboard the boat, and Bill introduced the animal to the group.
• Meng Zu relaxed on the riverboat as Gordon and Gale handled work calls, while Achuan carved wooden figures and the group later heard an animal cry in the rainforest.
• Bill searched for Xiaogang the next morning, and Gale fell into the river while looking for a phone signal.
• Meng Zu jumped into the water to rescue Gale, then kicked away a crocodile that lunged at him as he climbed aboard.
• Bill shot a crocodile while others gathered near the boat, drawing the remaining crocodiles away so Achuan could get underway.
• Gale thanked Meng Zu, who warned the group to stay alert, and Gordon apologized to Gale for joking while she was in the river.

After their boat was wrecked by a waterfall, Meng Zu and the others salvaged guns and set out through the jungle to meet Bill’s friend and continue searching for the Blood Orchid. The group reached a river, where Meng Zu’s Danger Sense and Xiaogang’s warning cries alerted them to danger in the water.

• Xiaogang startled Jack and the others after dinner, and Jack later spoke with Bill in the wheelhouse.
• The boat’s engine liner broke, leaving the group unable to steer as they approached a waterfall; the boat struck a boulder, overturned, and began sinking.
• Meng Zu brought a case of guns and ammunition ashore, and Bill proposed crossing the jungle to meet his friend at Danaga Rock.
• Bill led the group through the jungle while Meng Zu guarded the rear and carried Xiaogang on his shoulder.
• The group waded into a large river, where Meng Zu sensed danger and Xiaogang screeched; Bill and Achuan ordered everyone to get ashore.

Meng Zu and Bill's group encountered a giant mutated anaconda, and Meng Zu helped kill it after nearly being crushed. Jack concluded that the snake had eaten the Blood Orchid and said the group was close to finding it.

• Meng Zu shot the giant anaconda as it attacked Ben, then grabbed its head to keep it from biting him.
• Bill stopped Kerr from shooting Meng Zu, and Bill and Achuan waded in to attack the snake with their machetes.
• The anaconda knocked Bill and Achuan into the water, but Meng Zu used a machete to cut off its head and escape its coils.
• Meng Zu, Bill, and the others fled the riverbank and reached a safe place to rest.
• Jack told the group the anaconda was likely mutated after eating the Blood Orchid, and said they were about to find the plant.

Jack's group lost their boat and learned that Giant Pythons were gathering for mating season, so they headed for the Lopa Tribe village to find another way out. They found the village abandoned and its boats gone, leaving Meng Zu to propose building a raft.

• Gordon found a leech on Kerr, and Meng Zu and Bill removed more than a dozen leeches from Kerr's back.
• Achuan found a Stone Spider in Gordon's shoe, but Meng Zu crushed it before Jack could capture it.
• An explosion destroyed the group's boat, and Achuan led them toward a nearby Lopa Tribe village in search of another boat.
• The group found Livingston dead and learned that multiple Giant Pythons might be gathering to mate; Meng Zu agreed they should leave the jungle rather than seek the Blood Orchid.
• The group reached the Lopa Tribe village and found a dead Giant Python, no villagers, and no boats, so Meng Zu suggested building a raft from the village houses.

Meng Zu and the others pursued Jack to the Blood Orchids, where Jack forced Meng Zu to collect the flowers above a pit of Giant Pythons. Jack was killed when the pythons attacked, and an explosion destroyed the Blood Orchids before the group escaped the ensuing mudslide by raft.

• Meng Zu's group discovered Gordon had been bitten by a Stone Spider and fought off a Giant Python, then found that Jack had stolen their raft and ammunition.
• Sam led the group along a shortcut to the Blood Orchids, where they found Jack and recovered the raft while Gordon was carried on a stretcher.
• Jack returned with Meng Zu's Remington M870, took Sam hostage, and forced the group toward the Blood Orchids.
• Meng Zu crossed a narrow log to collect more than twenty Blood Orchids, but a Giant Python climbed toward him as Jack demanded the backpack.
• The Giant Python seized Jack and fell into the pit, while Meng Zu escaped the breaking log and joined the others.
• Meng Zu used gasoline, a flare gun, and TNT to ignite an explosion that buried the pit and destroyed the Blood Orchids, then the group paddled away ahead of a mudslide.

After the jungle mission ended, Meng Zu kept the Blood Orchids hidden and returned to New York, where he persuaded his friends to invest in Stark Industries. He then went to the Continental Hotel and asked Charon for a bounty.

• Gale reported the mission and paid Bill and Meng Zu, while Gordon went to the hospital and the Byron-Mitch Biological Company suffered heavy losses.
• Meng Zu kept the Blood Orchids in his Storage Space and explained that he had destroyed their growing site to prevent powerful people from pursuing them.
• Meng Zu returned to New York and learned Yang Hai had bought two hundred thousand dollars' worth of Stark Industries stock.
• Meng Zu claimed Tony Stark had invented something important, persuading Uncle Yang, Yang Hai, and Frank to invest in the stock.
• Meng Zu visited the Continental Hotel, where Charon told him he had a suitable bounty.

Meng Zu accepted a low-value bounty on the assassin Leon, then survived an attack by seven Ten Rings gunmen sent with help from Obadiah. After learning why they targeted him, Meng Zu prepared to retaliate and arranged for a “deluxe dinner for seven.”

• Meng Zu accepted the bounty on Leon for 200 Contract Points after learning that other assassins had rejected it.
• Meng Zu noticed armed figures approaching his house, cut the power, and took cover behind bulletproof tables as the gunmen opened fire.
• Meng Zu lured several gunmen upstairs, killed the attackers downstairs, then shot the remaining men upstairs and captured one alive.
• Meng Zu learned that the attackers belonged to the Ten Rings and that Obadiah had supplied them with his whereabouts and weapons.
• Meng Zu gathered weapons, called for a “deluxe dinner for seven,” and left to take care of urgent business.

Meng Zu confronted Obadiah at Stark Industries, where Iron Monger threatened Pepper, and helped give Tony time to intervene. After Tony and Obadiah flew off and crashed, Meng Zu prepared to use freezing bullets against Iron Monger.

• Meng Zu followed Clue Guidance to Stark Industries and found Pepper facing Obadiah in Iron Monger.
• Meng Zu shot Iron Monger twice, drawing Obadiah's fire, until Tony arrived in Mark III and carried Iron Monger away from Pepper.
• Pepper thanked Meng Zu, and he explained that Obadiah had targeted him because he had rescued Tony.
• Meng Zu warned Pepper to take cover as Tony and Obadiah rose into the sky, then broke into a building and prepared his sniper rifle.
• Meng Zu watched Iron Monger fall, briefly slow its descent with a burst of fire, and crash to the ground.

Meng Zu froze Obadiah inside Iron Monger, saving Tony from being crushed, while Tony and Pepper regrouped on the rooftop. Meng Zu left before S.H.I.E.L.D. arrived, leaving Tony to decide what to do about his godfather and the authorities.

• Tony landed safely and spoke with Pepper, but Obadiah returned in Iron Monger and attacked him from behind.
• Tony's damaged Mark III could not match Iron Monger's strength, and Obadiah trapped him in a crushing embrace.
• Meng Zu fired freezing rounds at Iron Monger, encasing it in ice and shutting down its operating system.
• Tony and Pepper reunited, and Tony learned from JARVIS that the freezing energy was unknown.
• Meng Zu approached the frozen Iron Monger to check whether Obadiah was dead, while Tony warned him not to kill his godfather.
• After telling Tony to deal with the arriving government agents, Meng Zu disappeared into the darkness.

After the Iron Monger incident, Meng Zu strengthened himself with new equipment and skills, then went after the assassin Leon in Brooklyn. He found Leon with Matilda and prepared a disguise as Leon grew suspicious and began planning an escape.

• Coulson and Tony found Obadiah dead inside the Iron Monger, and Tony took its Arc Reactor back before leaving Pepper to handle the aftermath.
• Pepper told Tony that Meng Zu had saved her, while Tony remained wary of him and asked JARVIS to investigate Evan.
• Meng Zu bought a Laser Cannon and used his remaining Contract Points on draws, gaining Bullet Time, attributes, potions, and the skill Repeated Side-to-Side Jumping.
• Meng Zu tracked Leon to an apartment building in Brooklyn and used Clue Guidance to find his room.
• Leon sensed danger and prepared to leave with Matilda, but paused after the apartment manager delivered a water-shutoff notice.
• Meng Zu watched the manager make his rounds, then took out a human-skin mask and began applying makeup.

Meng Zu disguised himself as the building manager and confronted Leon and Matilda, but after testing them, he decided not to kill Leon and instead advised them to use the Continental Hotel to deal with the cop pursuing them. He left them bewildered, and they were left to relocate.

• Meng Zu knocked out the building manager, disguised himself as him, and went to Leon's room.
• Leon drew a hidden pistol when Meng Zu approached, but Meng Zu disarmed him and brought him and Matilda inside at gunpoint.
• Meng Zu made Leon and Matilda surrender their weapons, then claimed he had accepted a bounty to kill Leon.
• Leon offered Meng Zu his money in exchange for Matilda's safety, and Meng Zu pretended to shoot him before revealing the gun was unloaded.
• Meng Zu told Leon to use the Continental Hotel to deal with the cop pursuing them, then left as Leon and Matilda stared at each other in confusion.

Meng Zu bought a villa in Forest Hills and began preparing to move while Tony Stark publicly revealed that he was Iron Man. That night, Coulson visited Meng Zu and confronted him with evidence that he had frozen Obadiah.

• Meng Zu bought an unfurnished villa in Forest Hills for eight million dollars and began packing his belongings and preparing to move his teleportation point.
• Coulson and Colonel Rhodey brought Tony a prepared statement for the press conference about the battle between Tony and Obadiah.
• Tony ignored the prepared account and announced to reporters that he was Iron Man.
• After Meng Zu finished sorting through his basement, he found Coulson waiting in his living room and drew a gun on him.
• Coulson showed Meng Zu Tony's press conference and accused him of freezing Obadiah, claiming S.H.I.E.L.D. had video footage.

Coulson pressured Meng Zu into joining S.H.I.E.L.D. as an external contractor, and Meng Zu accepted while considering the Contract Points he could gain from future missions. He later told Winston about the arrangement and learned that John Wick had retired and Leon had killed Stanfield.

• Coulson showed Meng Zu surveillance footage and offered him a position as a S.H.I.E.L.D. external contractor, revealing that he knew Meng Zu was an assassin affiliated with the Continental Hotel.
• Meng Zu accepted Coulson's offer after learning he could refuse missions and receive help covering up the aftermath of completed assignments.
• At the Continental Hotel, Charon told Meng Zu that John Wick had retired after getting married and that Leon had completed a two-million-dollar contract on Stanfield.
• Meng Zu told Winston that S.H.I.E.L.D. had recruited him as an external contractor, and Winston confirmed the arrangement would not affect his hotel services but would end his chances of being recognized as a Legendary Killer.

Meng Zu refused Tony Stark’s payment for saving Pepper and instead gave him Blood Orchids to research in exchange for settling the favor. Tony took the flowers to Stark Industries, promising Meng Zu half the profits from any resulting products.

• Meng Zu arrived at his new home and found Tony Stark and Happy waiting for him.
• Tony offered Meng Zu fifty million dollars for saving Pepper, but Meng Zu refused the check and Tony’s offer to erase evidence of his past crimes.
• Meng Zu gave Tony a Blood Orchid and explained that it extended the lifespans of Mutant Anacondas, though the only known growing site had been destroyed.
• Tony agreed to research the flower, and Meng Zu revealed that he had twenty-seven more Blood Orchids in storage.
• Tony had Stark Industries bring a glass case for the flowers, promised Meng Zu half the profits from any products developed, and took the Blood Orchids away for research.

Meng Zu fought off a demonic attack at his new home and learned that the system could erase demons that tried to consume his soul. The next day, he discussed Stark Industries stock with Yang Hai while Peter Parker graduated from high school.

• Meng Zu saw Spider-Man leap across an alley while driving home from the supermarket.
• Three intruders entered Meng Zu's house, and he shot them when they reached the second floor.
• A Lesser Demon emerged from one corpse and entered Meng Zu, but the system erased it and awarded him 500 Contract Points.
• Meng Zu cleaned up the decomposing corpses and went back to sleep.
• At work, Meng Zu told Yang Hai that Tony Stark would not sell his armor and that Stark Industries stock could rise further.
• Peter Parker took a graduation photo with his classmates, teachers, and principal.

Peter Parker planned to work for the Daily Bugle during his graduation break to help pay for college, while Gwen Stacy chose to intern in Professor Curt Connors's lab. In Rio de Janeiro, Bruce Banner hid from the military and sought a job at a soda bottling plant.

• Peter Parker turned down Harry's invitation to go out, then told Aunt May he planned to earn money taking photos for the Daily Bugle.
• Aunt May reassured Peter that Uncle Ben's money could cover his college expenses and warned him to avoid dangerous places.
• George Stacy surprised Gwen after graduation, and she told him she had accepted Professor Curt Connors's invitation to work in his lab during the break.
• Bruce Banner hid in a Rio de Janeiro slum, exhausted from years of fleeing General Ross's military forces.
• Bruce Banner went to an employment agency and focused on a soda bottling plant job opening.

Meng Zu investigated a supposed cult, discovered it was a group of vampires, and hunted them down for a larger bonus from S.H.I.E.L.D. After he tried to leave a drunken woman somewhere safe, Peter Parker arrived and questioned him.

• Coulson asked Meng Zu to investigate a suspected cult, and Meng Zu accepted after negotiating a thirty-thousand-dollar reward.
• Meng Zu discovered that four vampires were behind the killings, killed one, and broke another's legs while the remaining two escaped.
• Coulson offered to triple Meng Zu's mission bonus if he eliminated the vampires, and Meng Zu pursued the escapees.
• Meng Zu shot one fleeing vampire with a Holy Light Bullet and chased Ryan, who attacked a drunken young woman for blood.
• Meng Zu killed Ryan before he could bite the woman, then lifted her to leave her where someone could find her.
• Peter Parker used webbing to pull the woman from Meng Zu's grasp and asked what he was doing with her.

Peter Parker sold his Spider-Man photos to the Daily Bugle, while Meng Zu encountered Spider-Man during a mission and later returned to his company. The chapter ended with Jessica Jones arriving drunk and Yang Hai confronting her about drinking again.

• Peter Parker persuaded J. Jonah Jameson to pay three hundred dollars for his Spider-Man photos, which appeared on the Daily Bugle's front page the next day.
• Peter began fighting crime during the day and encountered Meng Zu, who showed him an FBI badge and left a drunk woman in his care.
• Peter carried the woman to the police station, and Meng Zu gained two hundred Contract Points from the encounter.
• Meng Zu saw Jameson denounce Spider-Man on a plaza screen before returning to his company.
• Jessica Jones arrived at the company drunk, and Yang Hai asked why she had started drinking again after promising Uncle Yang she would quit.

After finishing work, Meng Zu went to a Sichuan restaurant for dinner, where two armed men began robbing the diners. The chapter ended with the white robber ordering everyone to hand their valuables to the waitress.

• Jessica returned to the office drunk, gave Yang Hai a cheap K-platinum ring to sell, and fell asleep on the couch.
• Frank returned with a completed assignment and told Meng Zu that Jessica had thrown up in his car on the way back.
• After lunch, Frank left for an investigation, Jessica slept until evening, and Yang Hai stayed behind to finish organizing files.
• Meng Zu drove to a newly opened Sichuan restaurant, ordered dinner, and put on earphones to block out the noisy diners.
• Two armed men entered the restaurant, and the white man ordered the diners to give their valuables to the waitress.