Chapter Summaries

After Professor Charles fell silent, Lin Ze noticed that his mission was in danger and rushed to check on Tony. He found Obadiah had stolen Tony’s arc reactor, but Qiqi healed Tony long enough for Lin Ze to retrieve the old reactor and put it back in place.

• Lin Ze saw that his mission indicator had turned red and hurried toward Tony’s room.
• Obadiah stopped Qiqi, claimed Tony had gone to bed, and sent her back to her room.
• Lin Ze returned to Tony’s room and found him paralyzed, gravely ill, and missing his arc reactor.
• Qiqi used her Cryo ability to heal Tony temporarily, and Tony told her where to find his old reactor.
• Lin Ze retrieved the reactor, smashed its glass case, and placed it backward into Tony’s chest.

Professor Charles warned Coulson not to investigate Qiqi’s memories, while Potts discovered Obadiah’s role in Tony’s kidnapping and theft of his reactor. Tony suited up and flew to help Potts, leaving Rhodey with Qiqi, who demanded that he take her to Tony.

• Professor Charles told Coulson that Qiqi was not a mutant and warned him that investigating her further could attract a powerful being.
• Potts learned that Obadiah had arranged Tony’s kidnapping and hurried to confront him with Coulson’s help.
• Rhodey reached Tony’s workshop and told him that Potts was safe with five agents who planned to arrest Obadiah.
• Tony put on his armor, asked Rhodey to keep others from interfering, and left Qiqi in his care before flying off.
• Qiqi drew her sword against Rhodey’s neck and ordered him to take her to find Tony.

Obadiah attacked Tony and Potts in his oversized armor, turning the fight into a deadly street battle. After Obadiah launched Rhodey’s car at Tony, Qiqi freed Rhodey with her icy sword, leaving the car’s fate unclear.

• Obadiah cornered Potts, but Tony crashed into him and carried their fight into the street.
• Obadiah hurled a car at Tony, forcing him to catch it as his armor’s power dwindled.
• Obadiah recognized Rhodey and Qiqi in their car, then threw it into Tony, sending both the car and Tony flying.
• Rhodey found himself trapped in the wreckage and worried about Qiqi, but she appeared outside and used ice to ease his injuries.
• Qiqi raised her sword, told Rhodey to listen as she counted to three, and slashed at the car.

Qiqi rescued Rhodey from the explosion and protected Tony from Obadiah’s attack, using her Cryo powers and swordsmanship to disable Obadiah’s armor. Tony celebrated Qiqi’s victory as Obadiah was left trapped in the frozen suit.

• Qiqi pulled Rhodey from the car just before it exploded as Obadiah overwhelmed Tony.
• Qiqi entered the flames and shielded Tony, allowing him to emerge unharmed with her on his shoulder.
• Obadiah attacked Tony again, but Qiqi dodged him and struck his armor with her sword and Cryo abilities.
• Qiqi froze Obadiah’s armor completely, shutting down its lights and systems and trapping him inside.
• Tony picked Qiqi up and praised her for protecting him and defeating Obadiah.

Tony and Qiqi returned to Stark Tower after Obadiah was captured, sharing a quiet flight beneath the stars. When Rhodey warned Tony that Obadiah had escaped, a missile struck Qiqi’s room, and Tony staggered through the wreckage to find her.

• Qiqi forgot how she had threatened Rhodey, and Rhodey took the blame for the damage she had caused to Tony’s cars.
• Tony and Qiqi flew back to Stark Tower while Qiqi watched the stars and rested against his armor.
• Tony went to his workshop after seeing that Rhodey had left his luxury cars intact.
• Rhodey called Tony to warn him that Obadiah had escaped, and Tony rushed to Qiqi’s room.
• A missile exploded through Qiqi’s room, injuring Tony and throwing Qiqi across the room.
• Tony searched the rubble for Qiqi and froze when he found her.

Qiqi died in Tony's arms after the ceiling collapsed, and Obadiah attacked Tony while he was unable to reach his armor. Lin Ze arrived and killed Obadiah, then left with Paimon as an unidentified figure watched from above.

• Tony freed Qiqi from the rebar and held her as she apologized before dissolving into ice-blue light.
• Obadiah taunted Tony, bombarded him, and knocked him unconscious near the flames.
• Lin Ze appeared and used Wind Blades to drive Obadiah out of the building and tear through his armor.
• Lin Ze stabbed the fallen Obadiah with the Dull Blade, killing him as an unidentified figure watched from a broken window.
• Paimon asked Lin Ze if he was finished, and he left with her.

Lin Ze and Paimon left the park to find food, but discovered they had no money in this world. Steve Rogers approached them and asked them to buy him breakfast, offering a banknote.

• Lin Ze caught Paimon after she floated through the park, then reflected on Qiqi’s death and his nearly completed mission.
• Lin Ze washed the blood from his clothes and carried hungry Paimon toward the park exit.
• Steve Rogers watched Lin Ze and Paimon from a distance, then followed them when they left the park.
• Lin Ze and Paimon realized they had no Mora or usable money and found that Coconut Milk did not satisfy their hunger.
• Steve Rogers introduced himself and gave Lin Ze a banknote, asking him to buy breakfast.

Lin Ze and Paimon accepted Steve’s help, shared breakfast with him, and agreed to stay at his apartment. After Paimon spotted Steve’s shield, Lin Ze realized that Steve was Captain America.

• Steve paid Lin Ze and Paimon to buy him breakfast, and they chose burgers for all three of them.
• Over breakfast, Lin Ze claimed that he and Paimon were orphaned siblings with nowhere to stay, and Steve invited them to his apartment.
• Lin Ze accepted Steve’s offer and promised to cook in exchange for their stay.
• Steve brought Lin Ze and Paimon to his clean apartment, where Paimon explored and noticed his history books.
• Paimon tripped over Steve’s shield, and Lin Ze recognized its design and realized Steve was Captain America.

Steve gave Lin Ze and Paimon a place to rest, helped Lin Ze clean up and get dressed, and planned to take them shopping for clothes. As Steve and Lin Ze prepared lunch, a woman arrived at the apartment door carrying a basin of clothes.

• Steve showed Lin Ze and Paimon to a guest room, where Paimon went to sleep.
• Lin Ze asked Steve for clothes to wear after showering, and Steve lent him a hoodie and sweatpants before going out to buy food.
• Steve returned with groceries, then offered to take Lin Ze and Paimon shopping for clothes after lunch.
• Steve dried Lin Ze's hair and braided it, recalling his days performing for the army.
• A woman carrying a basin of clothes knocked at Steve's door and called to him.

Lin Ze and Paimon woke from a short nap at Steve’s apartment and began preparing lunch, while S.H.I.E.L.D. watched Lin Ze and monitored Tony Stark’s condition. The chapter ended with Lin Ze seeing a news report about Stark’s press conference the next day and deciding to fry eggs.

• Kate visited Steve to use his washing machine, met Lin Ze, and invited Steve to try her coffee.
• After returning to her apartment, Kate reported to her handler as Agent 13 that she had found Lin Ze at Captain Rogers’s home and was told to keep watching him.
• Nick Fury discussed Stark’s injuries and grief over Qiqi’s death with Coulson, then ordered him to watch Stark’s press conference the next morning.
• Lin Ze woke after two hours of sleep, checked that it was still noon, and got up with Paimon to make lunch.
• Lin Ze and Paimon found Steve and Kate gone, turned on the television, and heard that Tony Stark would hold a press conference the next day.
• Lin Ze remembered the eggs Steve had bought and told Paimon he would fry some for lunch.

Lin Ze, Steve, and Paimon shared a meal and went shopping before spending time at a park, where they met Sally searching for her missing daughter, Otilia. Paimon revealed that she had just met a girl named Lucy who gave her candy, leaving the group with a possible lead.

• Lin Ze cooked dinner for Paimon and Steve, who praised his food.
• Steve took Lin Ze and Paimon shopping, and Paimon picked out a white dress.
• Steve brought Lin Ze and Paimon to a park, where Paimon played while Lin Ze rested.
• Sally told Lin Ze and Steve that Otilia had disappeared from the park two weeks earlier after playing with a girl named Lucy.
• Paimon said she had just met Lucy at the carousel, and that Lucy had given her candy.

Lin Ze, Steve, and Paimon realized Lucy might be luring children to a fireworks show for a trafficking ring, possibly including Sally’s missing daughter, Otilia. They planned to use Paimon as bait that night and follow the traffickers to their hideout.

• Paimon told Sally that Lucy had invited her to the fireworks show, and Sally recognized Lucy as the girl connected to Otilia’s disappearance.
• Lin Ze and Steve suspected the fireworks crowd was part of a child-trafficking scheme, while Steve worried that involving the police might alert the criminals.
• Sally begged Lin Ze and Steve to help find Otilia, and Paimon reassured her that the Traveler would protect her.
• Lin Ze proposed bringing Paimon to the fireworks as bait, and Steve agreed after Lin Ze promised he could keep her safe.
• After they finalized the plan, Sally left to play her part, and Lin Ze told Steve and Paimon to go home and prepare.

Lin Ze and Paimon met Nicole and Lucy at the fireworks show, where Nicole lured Paimon with a cupcake and later staged a stomachache to leave Lucy with Lin Ze. When Lin Ze took the crying Lucy to find her mother, an unseen attacker struck him in the restroom and his vision went dark.

• Lin Ze and Paimon went to the park for the fireworks while Steve secretly tracked and watched them.
• Nicole introduced herself as Lucy’s mother and invited Lin Ze and Paimon to sit with them.
• Paimon ate one of Nicole’s cupcakes, but nothing unusual happened during the fireworks show.
• Near the end of the show, Nicole pretended to have stomach pain and left Lucy with Lin Ze.
• After Nicole failed to return, Lucy cried until Lin Ze took her and Paimon to look for her in the restroom.
• An unseen attacker pressed something cold against Lin Ze’s neck, and his vision darkened.

Lin Ze and Paimon were captured by a child-trafficking ring, but Lin Ze stayed conscious and Steve secretly followed the truck. The kidnappers brought their captives to a warehouse, where they prepared to unload them.

• An old man seized Paimon while Nicole checked Lin Ze, and Nicole sedated Paimon after the cake failed to make her sleepy.
• Frank arrived at the restroom, and the group loaded Lin Ze, Paimon, and other drugged children into a cargo truck.
• Steve followed the truck on his motorcycle while Lin Ze secretly listened to Nicole and the old man discuss selling children and organs.
• The truck stopped outside a warehouse, and Frank ordered everyone to unload the captives.

Lin Ze escaped captivity and helped Steve rescue the children and dismantle the trafficking ring. After a long night at the police station, Lin Ze realized Tony's press conference had already begun and turned to Steve for help.

• Lin Ze switched to Qiqi to slip free of his handcuffs, then used Elemental Sight to locate Steve and the room holding the children.
• Lin Ze broke out and defeated Nicole's thugs and the Black-Market Doctor, while Steve and the FBI arrived and subdued the criminals.
• Lin Ze freed the children, and Sally found her daughter Otilia among them.
• Lin Ze, Steve, and Paimon gave statements at the police station, and the police moved against the child-trafficking and organ-trading networks.
• After leaving the station, Lin Ze realized Tony's press conference had already started and asked Steve for a favor.

Tony struggled with Qiqi’s death but attended the press conference about Obadiah’s death, where he declared, “I am Iron Man.” Lin Ze returned to the Transmigration Management Bureau, took two days off, and then departed for a new mission.

• Tony tried to hide his grief over Qiqi from Potts, while Coulson prepared an alibi for him before the press conference.
• Tony read his prepared statement at the press conference, then remembered Qiqi and declared, “I am Iron Man.”
• Lin Ze and Paimon could not enter the press conference, so they said goodbye to Steve and returned through the Stone Gate; Steve ran after them, but they vanished.
• Lin Ze returned to the Transmigration Management Bureau, received an A-rated mission report, and took two days off to play Genshin Impact.
• Lin Ze tapped the tablet to select his next mission and entered the spacetime gate as “The Frost Comes” began.

Thor, Loki, and their companions fled the Frost Giants and entered a mysterious floating castle called the Immernachtreich. They found its doors sealed, but a raven named Oz arrived and opened them, inviting the group into Fischl’s realm.

• Thor’s attack on Laufey’s Frost Giants turned the Asgardians’ visit into a desperate battle, and Hogun was wounded.
• Thor and Loki escaped with Sif, Volstagg, and Hogun as the Frost Giants pursued them and Heimdall failed to open the Bifrost.
• A floating castle appeared above the abyss, and Thor’s group ran up its vanishing staircase while the pursuing Frost Giants fell into the depths.
• The five Asgardians reached the castle doors, but they could not open them, and Thor’s hammer had no effect.
• Oz, a giant raven, appeared and warned them not to damage the gates of the Immernachtreich, then opened the doors with a command.

Thor and Loki entered Fischl’s deserted castle, where she welcomed them in grandiose language and Oz explained that she had noticed their arrival during the storm and avalanche. Thor’s crude offer to find Oz a mate angered Fischl, but she forgave the visitors and left them struggling to understand her words.

• Thor and Loki entered Fischl’s castle and found her waiting on the throne with Oz.
• Fischl welcomed the visitors in elaborate language, and Oz clarified that she meant they were safe and welcome.
• Thor praised Oz and asked whether he could take the raven to Asgard to find him a mate, enraging Fischl.
• Loki apologized for Thor and asked how Fischl knew they were coming.
• Fischl answered in cryptic phrases, while Hogun, Volstagg, and Thor struggled to understand her.
• Oz explained that Fischl had seen the visitors after thunder, rain, a collapsing mountain, and an avalanche woke her from her lie-in.

Fischl summoned the moving Night Raven subjects of the Immernachtreich and ordered them to help Thor and his companions. A medical raven led them to a chamber, but after refusing to treat Hogun herself, she left Loki to handle the strange supplies.

• Fischl summoned the Night Raven statues, which moved and pledged obedience to her.
• Loki realized the statues were living beings, and a medical raven offered to take the injured Hogun for treatment.
• The medical raven led Thor, Loki, Sif, and Volstagg to a side chamber and told them to treat Hogun themselves.
• Sif argued with the medical raven, who stormed out after insisting her wings could not move.
• Loki examined the medical supplies and found an odd assortment of tools, including a hammer, mallet, nail clippers, chew stick, and ear picks.

Oz arrived after the Night Ravens mishandled Hogun’s injuries, and Fischl hosted Thor, Loki, and their companions for tea at Immernachtreich. Their meal was interrupted by Odin, who demanded his sons return home for dinner; after disciplining Thor, he was welcomed into the castle.

• Oz apologized for the Night Ravens’ inadequate medical supplies, and Sif apologized for mistaking their cleaning frustration for hostility.
• Fischl invited the group to afternoon tea, where everyone enjoyed her homemade food and Hogun and Volstagg argued over the leftovers.
• Thunder and a strange light outside the gates prompted Fischl to send Oz to investigate, then confront the visitor with her bow.
• The visitor identified himself as Odin and demanded that Thor and Loki come out, while Fischl vowed to protect her friends.
• Odin called Thor and Loki home for dinner, then disciplined Thor when he flew out to check on the commotion.
• Fischl put away her bow, opened the gates, and awkwardly welcomed Odin into Immernachtreich.