Chapter Summaries

Meng Zu completed an assassination mission at the Exploding Wolf Gang headquarters, collected his payment, and used a disguise to return home. After a lucky ordinary draw strengthened his attributes and gave him a Vitality Ring, he reflected on his past and his decision to survive in the dangerous Marvel world as a mercenary.

• Meng Zu killed the gunmen guarding the Exploding Wolf Gang headquarters, assassinated his target, confirmed the mission, and took money from an unlocked safe.
• Meng Zu arranged for a cleanup crew to remove the bodies, then drove home in a sedan with a changed color and license plate and removed his human-skin mask.
• Meng Zu spent 1,000 Contract Points on an ordinary ten-pull and received attribute boosts plus a Vitality Ring that restored Health.
• Meng Zu recalled how lightning killed him in his previous life, how he was reborn in the United States and adopted by Zhang Jun, and how he became a mercenary after Zhang Jun's death.
• Meng Zu explained that his system rewarded completed missions and that he stayed a mercenary to grow stronger and protect himself in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Meng Zu accepted a missing-person commission to find Sam Fox and used his Clue Guidance skill to trace him to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. After learning from Officer Ryan that Sam and his friends had last headed toward Lake Superior near Marquette, Meng Zu left to investigate there.

• Meng Zu visited Free Detective Agency and accepted the Foxes' $50,000 commission to find their missing son, Sam Fox.
• The system assigned Meng Zu a mission worth 50 Contract Points, and his Clue Guidance skill pointed toward Sault Ste. Marie.
• Meng Zu flew to Sault Ste. Marie, rented a car, and questioned Officer Ryan at a coffee shop.
• Officer Ryan told Meng Zu that Sam and his friends had last been seen heading toward Lake Superior near Marquette, and Meng Zu left to follow the lead.

Meng Zu tracked Sam’s disappearance to a secluded bar and confronted the vampires connected to it. He knocked four vampires unconscious and prepared to question them inside the closed bar.

• Meng Zu followed Clue Guidance to a bar and recognized the bartender and four patrons as vampires.
• Meng Zu showed the long-haired vampire Sam’s photo and asked where Sam and his friends had gone, but the vampire denied knowing him.
• Meng Zu attacked the four vampires, knocking them unconscious in a fight that destroyed several tables and chairs.
• The vampire bartender closed the bar and agreed to let Meng Zu question the vampires there, while requiring him to pay for the damage.

Meng Zu learned that Sam and the other children had been taken to Ravensfair to be traded for Soulstones, and he hurried there to assess the danger posed by a suspected black witch. The bartender killed the four vampires and warned Taylor about the hunter, while Meng Zu sped toward Ravensfair.

• Meng Zu tortured the long-haired vampire with a silver dagger until he revealed that Sam and the other children had been taken to Ravensfair three hours earlier.
• The bartender explained that Soulstones were made from tortured people’s souls and warned that absorbing them could turn creatures of darkness into violent monsters.
• Meng Zu paid for the damage and left to find Ravensfair, while the bartender beheaded the four vampires and called to warn Taylor about a hunter.
• Meng Zu studied his map as he drove, planning to rescue Sam if he could avoid confronting the suspected black witch.
• A young police officer recorded Meng Zu’s car speeding past at 217 kilometers per hour but gave up when it was already out of sight.

Meng Zu investigated Sam’s disappearance in Ravensfair and learned from Sheriff Donnie about the town’s deadly curse linked to Mary Shaw and her dolls. Donnie’s warning left Meng Zu asking why the residents had not fled.

• Meng Zu sensed an eerie aura from a burly man outside the supermarket, then heard Emma warn him to leave Ravensfair before nightfall and stay silent if anything strange happened.
• Hotel owner Matthew called Sheriff Donnie, who visited Meng Zu and repeated the rules about staying indoors after dark and making no sound.
• Meng Zu revealed that he had come to find Sam, and Donnie mistakenly thought the boy had been missing for three days before learning he had arrived only an hour or two earlier.
• Donnie explained that Mary Shaw had been murdered by villagers after a child mocked her ventriloquism, and that her dolls later appeared in homes before residents were killed and had their tongues torn out.
• Meng Zu asked Donnie why the townspeople did not leave Ravensfair.

Meng Zu learned from Sheriff Donnie that Mary Shaw trapped Ravensfair in a cycle of fear and targeted outsiders, then drove to her abandoned theater to search for Sam. He spotted a watcher in an upstairs window and activated Clue Guidance as he prepared to find out whether Sam was inside.

• Sheriff Donnie explained that Ravensfair residents who tried to leave returned in a daze, while people who left town forgot Mary Shaw and could not transmit warnings about her.
• Meng Zu learned that someone in Ravensfair was bringing outsiders to Mary Shaw, and that Mary Shaw killed only after dark.
• Sheriff Donnie directed Meng Zu to Mary Shaw's abandoned theater and warned him to leave before nightfall if he could not find Sam.
• Meng Zu drove to the theater, saw a figure watching him from a second-floor window, and watched it vanish.
• Meng Zu activated Clue Guidance to determine whether Sam was inside the theater.

Meng Zu followed a clue into an abandoned theater, found Mary Shaw’s journal, and fought off her three attacking puppets. He discovered a secret chamber and found Sam alive but unconscious, then woke him with a slap.

• Meng Zu entered the theater after preparing his weapons and energy, then followed the red arrow backstage to a dressing room.
• Meng Zu read Mary Shaw’s journal and learned she had been researching a Perfect Puppet.
• Mary Shaw appeared in the mirror as three puppets approached Meng Zu, but he destroyed all three and made her vanish.
• Meng Zu found a hidden passage behind the mirror and followed it through a puppet-filled room to a secret chamber.
• Meng Zu found Sam unconscious among seven people and woke him with a slap; Sam mistook him for a vampire.

Meng Zu prepared to escort Sam and his friends out of Ravensfair, accepting Anna, Amy, and Brian as clients for additional payment. He also agreed to bring along three newly awakened captives, though he warned everyone to stay quiet and left them without a promise of protection.

• Meng Zu refused to take Sam’s friends at first, but agreed after Sam insisted and the others hired him for fifty thousand dollars each.
• Meng Zu woke Brian, Anna, and Amy, and warned them he would protect only Sam unless they hired him; all three agreed, adding 240 Contract Points to his mission.
• Sam persuaded Meng Zu to wake the three unconscious adults, who introduced themselves as Jamie, Lisa, and Ella and said four men had kidnapped them while they were ice fishing.
• Meng Zu agreed to let Jamie, Lisa, and Ella come along, warned everyone not to scream, and gave Tiger Knuckles to Sam and Brian.

Meng Zu led the group out of Ravensfair, but Mary Shaw attacked them on the road in the form of monsters and disguised herself as Ella. Meng Zu killed Mary Shaw and Jamie and Lisa, then faced a new attacker: Jason.

• Meng Zu guided the group through the theater and drove them toward Sault Ste. Marie, where the system erased Mary Shaw’s attempt to alter his memories.
• A black van tried to ram their car, so Meng Zu threw four grenades at it and fought the four monsters that crawled from the wreckage.
• Mary Shaw, disguised as Ella, attacked Meng Zu while Jamie and Lisa transformed and went after Anna and Amy, but the blessed crosses protected the women.
• Meng Zu identified Ella as Mary Shaw and shot her, then killed Jamie and Lisa with two more shots.
• A masked, hulking man attacked Meng Zu with a machete, and Meng Zu recognized him as Jason.

Meng Zu tried to escape Jason and Mary Shaw with Sam, Anna, Brian, and Amy, but Mrs. Voorhees appeared and made his Holy Light Bullets and grenades ineffective. As Meng Zu prepared to use Teleportation, a portal opened and an old man and a fat man stepped through.

• Meng Zu shot Jason and Mary Shaw with Holy Light Bullets, then escaped with Sam, Anna, Brian, and Amy in Anna's car.
• Jason and Mary Shaw recovered and caught up with the group, joined by the old woman Mrs. Voorhees.
• Meng Zu used bullets and a grenade to attack the trio, but Mrs. Voorhees blocked his weapons with black mist and restored Jason.
• Mary Shaw and Mrs. Voorhees revealed they wanted Meng Zu's body and soul, so Meng Zu drank his last Blue Potion and prepared to use Teleportation.
• A sparkling ring of fire appeared, and an old man with a long white beard and a buzz-cut fat man stepped out.

Meng Zu watched Wong and The Ancient One defeat Mary Shaw, Mrs. Voorhees, and Jason, then met the Sorcerer Supreme and learned that a New York Sanctum could help with his energy problem. The Ancient One gave him an address and sent him to find Sorcerer Daniel, while Meng Zu returned to finish his mercenary mission.

• Mrs. Voorhees summoned a red phantom with a soul sacrifice, and Mephisto briefly descended through it.
• Wong bound Mary Shaw, Mrs. Voorhees, and Jason, while The Ancient One's presence caused Mephisto to vanish; Wong then blasted the three and the phantom into dust.
• Meng Zu stopped Wong and The Ancient One as they were leaving and learned that they were from Kamar-Taj.
• Meng Zu asked to learn magic, but The Ancient One said he was not suited for it and offered to solve his energy problem.
• The Ancient One gave Meng Zu a card with the address 177 Bleecker Street and told him to find Sorcerer Daniel, then she and Wong disappeared.
• Meng Zu headed back to the car to take Sam and the others home and complete his mercenary mission.

After completing the mission and returning to New York, Meng Zu visited the New York Sanctum to learn meditation from Sorcerer Daniel. Daniel began the lesson by striking Meng Zu in the chest, leaving his purpose unclear.

• Meng Zu brought Sam and the others back to their families, collected his reward, and fell asleep after returning home.
• The next day, Meng Zu used The Ancient One's business card to reveal the New York Sanctum at 177A Bleecker Street.
• Sorcerer Daniel and Sorcerer Ruo Ya welcomed Meng Zu, and Daniel invited him to drink tea that increased his Spirit.
• Sorcerer Daniel explained that meditation could strengthen Meng Zu's special energy despite his inability to learn magic.
• As Meng Zu followed Daniel's instructions to calm his mind, Daniel suddenly struck him in the chest.

Daniel took Meng Zu's soul to the Dimensional Energy World to help him find energy that could solve his unusual energy problem. Meng Zu absorbed unfamiliar energy, increased his energy limit, and received a mark that would let him absorb more after they returned.

• Meng Zu experienced his soul leaving his body, and Daniel warned him about the dangers of straying too far from it.
• Daniel brought Meng Zu to the Dimensional Energy World and explained that its mixed energies might include the unusual energy Meng Zu needed.
• Meng Zu used Clue Guidance on Daniel, then waited until misty energy began flowing into him and replenishing his system energy.
• Meng Zu's energy limit increased from 60 to 65 as he absorbed the unfamiliar energy, which Daniel did not recognize.
• Daniel marked Meng Zu so he could absorb energy from the Dimensional Energy World again, then prepared to return.

After leaving the New York Sanctum, Meng Zu returned to his work as a detective and Continental Hotel assassin while slowly absorbing magical energy. He went with Yang Hai to a freestyle wrestling tournament, though Meng Zu had little interest in the event.

• Mage Daniel told Meng Zu how to absorb energy through his mark and offered to help if Meng Zu faced another dangerous problem.
• Meng Zu left the New York Sanctum and thanked Mage Daniel for his help.
• At the Continental Hotel, Charon said Meng Zu could not receive qualifying mission details on his phone because the rules required on-site review.
• Over the next six months, Meng Zu absorbed one stream of energy every half month and saved 2,910 Contract Points.
• Meng Zu met Yang Hai at the Free Detective Agency, and they drove together to a freestyle wrestling tournament.

Meng Zu and Yang Hai watched Juggernaut defeat several opponents at an underground wrestling venue. When the host introduced the next challenger, Meng Zu recognized the masked Spider-Man as Peter Parker.

• Meng Zu and Yang Hai took their seats as Juggernaut and Beast entered the ring for a no-rules match.
• Juggernaut knocked Beast down with a headbutt, stomped his abdomen, and won when the referee stopped the fight.
• Meng Zu judged Juggernaut’s abilities and watched him defeat three more challengers.
• The host announced a three-minute steel-cage challenge for a three-thousand-dollar prize and introduced Spider-Man as the next contestant.
• Meng Zu sprayed soda on a spectator when he recognized Spider-Man as Peter Parker.

Meng Zu recognized Peter Parker as the Spider-Man from the Tobey Maguire films as Peter entered a cage match against Juggernaut. Peter dodged Juggernaut at first, but two women grabbed his legs, letting Juggernaut knock him down and repeatedly strike his back with a chair.

• Meng Zu recognized Peter as Spider-Man and recalled the Maguire trilogy while Peter corrected the announcer that his ring name was the Human Spider.
• Peter entered the cage reluctantly as the crowd mocked and threatened him, while Juggernaut promised to beat him within three minutes.
• Peter leaped onto the cage to evade Juggernaut, then taunted him and dodged his charges and chair swings.
• Two women grabbed Peter's legs as he reached the ring edge, and Juggernaut seized the chance to knock him down and repeatedly hit him with the chair.
• Meng Zu wondered why Peter was not fighting back as Juggernaut continued beating him.

After defeating Juggernaut, Peter Parker celebrated his victory while Meng Zu considered but rejected saving Ben Parker. The next morning, Pepper Potts hired Meng Zu to find the missing Tony Stark, and he began discussing the commission with her and Happy.

• Peter Parker knocked out Juggernaut and won the fight as the crowd cheered for Spider-Man.
• Meng Zu recalled that Ben Parker was about to die but decided against saving him because using a healing potion could bring unwanted attention.
• Yang Hai told Meng Zu that Pepper Potts was offering five million dollars to find Tony Stark, who had been missing for more than two months.
• Meng Zu arrived at the company and met Pepper Potts and Happy, then asked Pepper to explain Tony's disappearance.
• Pepper said Tony had vanished after a terrorist attack during a weapons demonstration in Afghanistan, and Happy said he had referred her to Meng Zu through mercenary contacts.
• Meng Zu agreed to discuss the terms of the commission.

Meng Zu accepted Pepper Potts's commission to locate Tony Stark for five million dollars or bring him back safely for ten million. He planned to prepare before meeting Pepper at Stark Tower in an hour, while Uncle Yang warned him to put his safety first.

• Pepper offered Meng Zu five million dollars to find Tony Stark, and he negotiated a ten-million-dollar reward for bringing Tony back safely.
• Meng Zu's system generated two contract missions, rewarding 500 points for locating Tony and 1,000 points for safely returning him to New York.
• Pepper signed the contract and arranged to meet Meng Zu at Stark Tower in an hour.
• Uncle Yang warned Meng Zu that the terrorists were dangerous and advised him not to take unnecessary risks.
• Meng Zu reassured Uncle Yang that he would prioritize his safety and left to prepare for the mission.

Meng Zu traveled to Afghanistan to search for Tony Stark, using Clue Guidance to find a route the military had missed. After reaching a town near the Ten Rings’ hideout, he disguised himself as a local to move without attracting attention.

• Pepper and Colonel James Rhodes arranged for Meng Zu to fly to the U.S. military base in Afghanistan, where Rhodes supplied him with a motorcycle and map.
• Meng Zu refused Rhodes’s tracking phone and left the base, then used Clue Guidance to discover that Tony’s trail led in a direction the military had not searched.
• Meng Zu suspected Obadiah had tipped off the Ten Rings about the military’s search and continued toward the indicated location despite wondering whether rescuing Tony would change Iron Man’s future.
• After four hours, Meng Zu reached a town where armed Ten Rings sentries and local thugs were present.
• Meng Zu knocked out three men and changed his face and clothes to resemble one of them so he could approach the Ten Rings’ headquarters unnoticed.

Meng Zu infiltrated the Ten Rings base and found Tony Stark secretly building the Mark 1 armor in the cave. He reached Tony and Dr. Ethan’s sleeping quarters and revealed that he knew they were awake.

• Meng Zu observed the Ten Rings settlement, confirmed Tony Stark was inside the cave, and waited until night to approach.
• Meng Zu disabled the generator with a thrown stone and slipped past the distracted guards into the cave.
• Meng Zu followed Clue Guidance to a camera-monitored room, covered the camera, and found blueprints showing Tony was building Mark 1.
• Meng Zu entered another room and found Tony Stark and Dr. Ethan, then told them he knew they were awake.