Chapter Summaries

After three months in the Marvel Universe, Lin Xiao tried for the seventeenth time to get a clerical job at S.H.I.E.L.D. His extreme strength accidentally wrecked the interview, but Coulson hired him as an assistant, and the system rewarded him with even more strength.

• Lin Xiao recalled how the system had repeatedly put all his growth points into strength, turning him into a towering, heavily muscled man.
• Before his interview, Lin Xiao frightened the other applicants away by punching three holes in the office door.
• Lin Xiao told Coulson and the other interviewer that he wanted a stable clerical job and described how he had stopped a street fight by threatening the brawlers.
• During a strength test, Lin Xiao punched the tester through a wall and triggered alarms across the floor.
• Coulson hired Lin Xiao as his assistant to keep him close, and the system rewarded Lin Xiao with twenty more strength points.

After S.H.I.E.L.D. accepted Lin Xiao, his daily good deed mission sent him back to an alley, where he stopped three robbers and saved May Parker. May thanked him but fled in a taxi, and Lin Xiao received a strength increase that left a hole in the wall.

• Lin Xiao left the S.H.I.E.L.D. Building and started walking home after accepting Coulson’s offer.
• The system triggered a mission to stop a crime, so Lin Xiao returned to an alley where three robbers were threatening May Parker.
• Lin Xiao knocked out all three robbers, took the cash from their wallets, and introduced himself to May.
• May thanked Lin Xiao but turned down his offer to escort her home and escaped in a taxi.
• The system awarded Lin Xiao five strength points, and he punched a large hole in the wall.

After Lin Xiao’s noisy upstairs neighbors prompted him to break into their apartment, he accidentally exposed a possible affair and fled as the men fought. Back in his room, he confronted Doupao about its apparent desire to turn him into a natural disaster and decided to move out at daybreak.

• Lin Xiao went upstairs to complain about the nightly noise and accidentally broke the neighbors’ door open.
• Lin Xiao found two men together and learned that the white man had just returned from an eleven-month deployment in Afghanistan.
• The white man confronted his boyfriend about Lin Xiao’s claim that he heard noise every night, and the two men began fighting.
• Lin Xiao escaped to his apartment and decided to move out, planning to ask Coulson for money.
• Lin Xiao checked his system stats and accused Doupao of trying to turn him into a walking natural disaster; Doupao denied understanding what he meant.

Lin Xiao left his dangerous apartment, got a personal loan from Coulson, and rented a room in Forest Hills. There, he recognized Peter Parker and tried to greet May, who fled after recognizing him from the previous night.

• Lin Xiao moved out of his apartment and left $147 under the doormat for its owner.
• Lin Xiao visited S.H.I.E.L.D. and persuaded Coulson to lend him two thousand dollars, then nearly crushed him in a grateful bear hug.
• Lin Xiao rented a one-bedroom apartment in Forest Hills Community for six hundred dollars a month with no deposit.
• Lin Xiao recognized Peter Parker as May scolded him on the street and imagined becoming Peter's uncle by pursuing May.
• May recognized Lin Xiao from the alley and hurried away with Peter before he could greet her.

Lin Xiao stopped two armed men from robbing Ellie Jewelry, earned an S-rated mission reward, and injected himself with a serum that activated regeneration. He left for Forest Hills unaware the serum might someday change someone’s fate.

• Lin Xiao followed the system’s route to Ellie Jewelry and found two masked robbers fleeing with stolen jewelry.
• Lin Xiao survived a shotgun blast, lifted the robbers’ Ford, and hurled it into the road, knocking both men unconscious.
• Lin Xiao took the stolen jewelry, evaded arriving police, and received an S-rated reward of three strength points and a Perfect Lizard Regeneration Serum.
• Lin Xiao questioned the serum’s safety, injected it, and learned his regeneration ability had activated.
• Lin Xiao walked toward Forest Hills, unaware the serum was spreading through his body in an unexpected way.

After the Perfect Lizard Regeneration Serum transformed Lin Xiao’s appearance and physique, he learned how the system rated items and missions. He ended the chapter furious after Doupao compared his combat ability to Spider-Man’s Rhino.

• Lin Xiao discovered that the serum had erased his scars, optimized his muscles, and raised his Charisma to 17.
• Lin Xiao learned that rewards ranged from F to SSS rank and that harder missions could yield rarer items from other worlds.
• Doupao rated a mission to kill Kingpin at five and a half stars because of Kingpin’s powerful network and Lin Xiao’s weak mental power.
• Doupao assessed Lin Xiao’s combat ability as roughly equal to a top-spec Rhino, prompting Lin Xiao to demand that Doupao come out and duel.

On his first day at S.H.I.E.L.D., Lin Xiao impressed his coworkers by sorting more than two thousand files in two hours and earned a system reward that included Natasha's lace armband. Natasha Romanoff then sensed that something was missing as Lin Xiao secretly kept the item.

• Lin Xiao arrived at the Triskelion looking handsome, and Coulson struggled to reconcile him with his old ID photo before welcoming him to work.
• Coulson assigned Lin Xiao more than two thousand old files to sort and archive by the end of the day.
• The system triggered the temporary mission "First Impression," requiring Lin Xiao to sort every file within two hours while colleagues watched.
• Lin Xiao sorted 2,347 files with remarkable speed and precision, earning an S rating and Strength +3.
• The system rewarded Lin Xiao with Natasha's Lace Armband, which granted Charisma +1 when equipped, and he discreetly tucked it into his shirt.
• Natasha Romanoff, reviewing a mission list on the seventh floor, suddenly felt as though something was missing from her body.

Lin Xiao welcomed May into his apartment after she brought him waffles to apologize for misjudging him when he saved her. After May left, Lin Xiao discovered that Nick Fury and Agent Coulson were watching him from a nearby rooftop, and he decided their interest could be useful.

• May brought Lin Xiao waffles and apologized for fleeing from him after he saved her in the alley.
• Lin Xiao convinced May that his frightening appearance that night had been special-effects makeup for an acting job.
• May and Lin Xiao shared waffles and talked about her work as a nurse and her nephew Peter Parker.
• May invited Lin Xiao to dinner before returning home for the night.
• Lin Xiao sensed he was being watched and spotted two figures on a nearby rooftop.
• Lin Xiao asked Doupao to identify the watchers and learned they were Agent Coulson and S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury.

Lin Xiao met the Ancient One in a dream, admitted that his system was called Doupao, and asked her to become his godmother. She agreed only to keep an eye on him, then sent him back to wakefulness, where Coulson recruited him for perimeter security at Tony Stark’s weapons demonstration in Afghanistan.

• Lin Xiao encountered the Ancient One in a star-filled dream and immediately asked to take her as his godmother.
• The Ancient One questioned Lin Xiao about the higher-dimensional aura around him, and he admitted it came from Doupao.
• The Ancient One said she would keep an eye on Lin Xiao, revealed she could hear his thoughts in the dream, and woke him.
• Coulson called Lin Xiao and asked him to provide perimeter security for Tony Stark’s weapons demonstration in Afghanistan.
• Lin Xiao protested that he was a desk worker, then agreed after Coulson canceled his debt and offered him a buffet meal.

Lin Xiao wore Natasha Romanoff’s Black Widow’s Armband to Stark Industries’ weapons exhibition, where his boosted charisma drew the crowd’s attention away from Tony Stark. Tony retaliated by inviting him to accompany a Stark Industries demonstration in Afghanistan, while Natasha recognized her missing armband on his arm.

• Lin Xiao equipped the Black Widow’s Armband, gained one charisma point, and went to the Stark Industries exhibition after telling security he was assigned by S.H.I.E.L.D.
• Coulson directed Lin Xiao to stand inside the banquet hall and smile, following Nick Fury’s order to observe him in an uncontrolled setting.
• Lin Xiao drew reporters and guests away from Tony’s presentation, and Tony invited him to travel to Afghanistan for a weapons demonstration.
• Coulson reported that Lin Xiao had angered Tony, and Nick Fury ordered him to arrange the Afghanistan assignment.
• Natasha Romanoff spotted the distinctive armband Lin Xiao wore and decided to find out who he was.

Lin Xiao used a dinner with Coulson to learn that Nick Fury had arranged his Afghanistan assignment as an assessment and was offering him a hundred thousand dollars and a car. Though Lin Xiao saw through Coulson’s act, he appeared to accept the deal, then left Coulson with a massive personal bill.

• Lin Xiao took Coulson to a Chinatown restaurant, where Coulson praised the food and shared drinks with him.
• Lin Xiao pretended to feel wronged about being sent to Afghanistan, prompting Coulson to reveal Fury’s interest in him and the agency’s plans for his assignment.
• Coulson told Lin Xiao that Fury would offer him a hundred thousand dollars, an assigned car, and agent development if he completed the mission; Lin Xiao suspected Coulson was feigning drunkenness but acted grateful.
• Lin Xiao ordered expensive food and takeout, and Coulson paid a personal bill of $6,842 plus a case of Moutai and ten cartons of cigarettes.
• Coulson tried to submit the bill for reimbursement, but S.H.I.E.L.D.’s system rejected it for exceeding the monthly meal limit.

Lin Xiao brought Peter food and encouraged him to focus on building a foundation before trying to help others, then received a goodnight kiss from May. At Stark Tower, Tony learned that Lin Xiao was being assigned to accompany him to Afghanistan and decided to investigate him himself.

• Lin Xiao visited Peter and gave him Buddha Jumps Over the Wall while May was working a night shift.
• Peter told Lin Xiao that he worried about May working so hard, and Lin Xiao advised him to study and wait for the right time to act.
• May returned home, thanked Lin Xiao for keeping Peter company, and kissed him on the cheek before he left.
• Tony confronted Nick Fury about Lin Xiao's role in his Afghanistan trip and insisted that Lin Xiao follow his orders.
• Fury received Coulson's report about Lin Xiao's expensive meal and stolen alcohol and cigarettes, then left Stark Tower in anger.
• Tony asked JARVIS to investigate Lin Xiao and, learning S.H.I.E.L.D. had restricted his file, looked forward to meeting him in Afghanistan.

Lin Xiao suspected that flight attendant Ella was using repeated visits to get close to him and might be connected to the Ten Rings. After turbulence made Ella fall into his arms, he watched her leave and remained suspicious.

• Lin Xiao received a phone number from Ella and questioned Doupao about her repeated visits to his seat.
• Lin Xiao reasoned that Ella might be seeking information about Tony Stark or have ties to the Ten Rings.
• The plane jolted, and Ella fell into Lin Xiao's arms as he steadied her and caught her drinks cart.
• Ella apologized and hurried away, while Lin Xiao watched her with growing suspicion.

Lin Xiao exposed Ella as a Ten Rings agent trying to compromise him with a hidden camera, then defeated her accomplices and revealed the operation to Hawkeye. Hawkeye reported that Lin Xiao had dismantled the plot, while Ella remained tied up awaiting the authorities.

• Lin Xiao recognized Ella’s flirtation as an attempt to compromise him and discovered that hidden cameras were recording their encounter.
• Lin Xiao confronted Ella, identified her as a Ten Rings agent targeting Tony Stark, and explained that he had played along to expose the plot.
• Ella attacked Lin Xiao with a steel needle, and he punched through the wall to reveal five Ten Rings men monitoring them.
• Lin Xiao subdued all five men, seized the recordings, and signaled Hawkeye, who had been watching from across the street.
• Hawkeye revised Lin Xiao’s assessment and reported the operation to Coulson, while Lin Xiao left Ella tied to a chair awaiting the police.

After feeling used and out of place, Lin Xiao decided to live by his own values instead of seeking others’ approval. Tony apologized for mistreating him and invited him to attend a weapons exhibition as his friend, then asked him to join the party.

• Hawkeye paid Lin Xiao five thousand dollars and took Ella away with S.H.I.E.L.D.
• Tony learned Lin Xiao had uncovered the flight attendant’s plot and realized Lin Xiao had prevented a disaster.
• Lin Xiao reflected on feeling like a tool in a world where he did not belong, then burned the money and resolved to live as himself.
• Tony visited Lin Xiao, apologized for sending him to Afghanistan and mistreating him, and offered him a better room.
• Tony invited Lin Xiao to the weapons exhibition as a friend and asked him to join the party.

Lin Xiao let Tony Stark leave the Bagram weapons showcase without warning him about the armed observers, then learned that Tony had been kidnapped and received a ninety-day mission to rescue him. He prepared to act while Tony worked toward his escape from captivity.

• Lin Xiao woke in a Bagram hotel suite after a night of drinking with Tony Stark and left money for the four women sleeping beside him.
• Tony invited Lin Xiao to sit with him in the front row at the weapons showcase and introduced him to a general as his brother.
• During Tony's presentation, Lin Xiao spotted armed observers outside but decided not to intervene, reasoning that Tony needed to be captured to become Iron Man.
• Lin Xiao declined Tony's offer to get a drink, claiming he had to wait for his evaluator, Hawkeye, and watched Tony's convoy leave the base.
• Lin Xiao burned paper to bid Tony safe travels, then told Hawkeye he had stayed behind to wait for him.
• After Hawkeye walked away, Lin Xiao received a five-star mission to rescue Tony Stark within ninety days and began planning his response.

After Tony Stark disappeared, Lin Xiao secretly searched for him by taking on missions and fighting militants, while Hawkeye and S.H.I.E.L.D. mistook his efforts for a determined rescue operation. Lin Xiao earned a permanent S.H.I.E.L.D. appointment and a salary advance, while Tony remained captive and wondered what his friend was doing.

• After Tony Stark went missing, Hawkeye watched Lin Xiao leave Bagram each day and return battered, then followed him to an abandoned village and saw him defeat militants, take their money, and mark the location on a map.
• Hawkeye upgraded Lin Xiao’s assessment to A rank and recommended him as a permanent agent, praising his combat ability, search efforts, and loyalty to his friends.
• Lin Xiao checked his growing strength, acquired a Blink Dagger, and drank a mental potion that raised his mental power to 13.
• Coulson told Lin Xiao that his probation had ended, Fury would mentor him, and he could receive a month’s salary in advance; Lin Xiao said he would stay until Tony was found.
• In a cave, Tony worked on his escape with Yinsen and wondered what Lin Xiao was doing, calling him an idiot but a good one.

Lin Xiao completed missions across Afghanistan for nearly three months, building his strength and collecting money and unusual items while waiting for a chance to save Tony. He refused Doupao’s advice to enter Taliban territory and decided to continue toward his rescue goal before returning to New York.

• Lin Xiao punished six American soldiers for disturbing May and collected three thousand dollars from them.
• After completing a three-star mission, Lin Xiao learned that his strength had reached 500 and rejected Doupao’s suggestion to pursue missions in southern Afghanistan.
• Lin Xiao returned to Bagram Air Base with three hundred thousand dollars and reviewed the items he had collected, including a stun-gun watch, a magical transformation device, a workout USB drive, and Lingbo Weibu.
• Lin Xiao drank an agility potion, raising his agility from 16 to 21.
• Lin Xiao considered returning to New York but decided that he still needed to save Tony.

Tony Stark and Yinsen prepared to escape the Ten Rings camp in the newly assembled Mark I, but Lin Xiao suddenly arrived and began taking down the militants. Tony recognized his old friend, and Lin Xiao reached the cave entrance as Tony recovered enough to joke with him.

• Tony finished assembling the Mark I and told Yinsen they would escape during the next shift change.
• Yinsen refused to wear the armor and leave with Tony, insisting that Tony had a better chance of survival alone.
• An explosion shook the cave, and Tony and Yinsen heard gunfire and a familiar voice outside.
• Lin Xiao crashed into the Ten Rings camp, found Tony behind the cave bars, and fought off the militants.
• Lin Xiao asked Tony about the reactor in his chest and reached the cave entrance, where Tony laughed with relief and asked what Lin Xiao was wearing.

Lin Xiao broke Tony Stark and Yinsen out of captivity, overwhelming the camp's guards as Tony fought in the Mark I armor. With more enemies closing in, Lin Xiao activated an embarrassing magical backup plan, leaving the escape in progress.

• Lin Xiao smashed open the cave gate, reunited with Tony, and told him that he had already dealt with the first guards outside.
• Lin Xiao and Tony revealed the Mark I armor Tony had built, and Tony prepared to fight while Lin Xiao protected Yinsen.
• Lin Xiao hurled Tony in the Mark I into the camp, where Tony attacked the armed men as Lin Xiao carried Yinsen outside.
• Lin Xiao spotted incoming reinforcements, then drew a pink magic wand and activated it as the group faced another wave of enemies.