Chapter Summaries

Qin Xiao and Black Widow shared a quiet, intimate night talking beneath the stars, strengthening their trust and affection. The next day, as Qin Xiao waited for Erik Selvig to come for Thor, Tony called to show him a change to his Arc Reactor.

• Black Widow joined Qin Xiao on a hillside and told him about her painful upbringing in the Red Room and why she trusted him.
• Qin Xiao joked with Black Widow as she rested her head on his shoulder, and they spent half the night together.
• Qin Xiao waited for Erik Selvig to come take Thor away, but nobody arrived by noon.
• Tony video-called Qin Xiao, asked about the hammer, and showed that his Arc Reactor had changed to a blue triangle.

Qin Xiao asked Tony for advice about securing the three billion dollars he had taken from drug lords, then helped Dr. Erik Selvig retrieve Thor from SHIELD's camp. Thor left with Selvig, while Coulson secretly had an agent follow them.

• Qin Xiao asked Tony which Swiss bank was safest for his three billion dollars, and Tony recommended UBS while mocking the amount.
• Qin Xiao recognized Erik Selvig and learned that Selvig had come looking for his friend, whom Qin Xiao identified as Thor.
• Qin Xiao sent a guard to tell Coulson that Thor's friend had arrived.
• Coulson brought Thor out to meet Selvig, and Thor agreed to leave with him after hearing Jane was waiting.
• Coulson let Thor and Selvig go without checking Selvig's identification, then secretly sent an agent after them.

Qin Xiao met Thor and Jane Foster at a restaurant, where he tried to calm their suspicions and challenge Thor's dependence on Mjolnir. He left them intrigued by claiming he knew how Thor could regain his hammer and powers.

• Qin Xiao found Jane Foster and Thor eating together and sat down beside them.
• Thor and Jane accused Qin Xiao of being a threat, but Qin Xiao said he had come alone and meant them no harm.
• Qin Xiao explained that he was only a S.H.I.E.L.D. consultant and told Thor that he had been banished for relying on his hammer and disrespecting humans.
• Jane asked whether Qin Xiao believed Thor was truly the God of Thunder from Asgard.
• Qin Xiao said he knew why Thor had been banished and how he could reclaim Mjolnir and his power.

Qin Xiao gained Thor’s trust by revealing Loki’s lies, but his meddling in Thor and Jane’s relationship ended with Jane throwing water in his face and leaving him to pay their bill. The next afternoon, Tony invited Qin Xiao to the Stark Expo, but Coulson brought him a mysterious business card bearing a Bleecker Street address, delivered through a portal above Mjolnir.

• Qin Xiao told Thor about Loki’s childhood trick and exposed Loki’s claim that Odin was dead, restoring Thor’s hope of returning home.
• Qin Xiao revealed Thor’s arranged engagement to Sif, prompting Jane to throw water in Qin Xiao’s face and storm away while Thor went after her.
• Qin Xiao received 500 system points, then paid the restaurant bill after Thor and Jane left without settling it.
• Tony invited Qin Xiao to the Stark Expo opening ceremony in New York, scheduled for three days later.
• Coulson showed Qin Xiao a business card with his name and the address 177A Bleecker Street, which had appeared through a portal above Mjolnir.

Qin Xiao visited the Ancient One at the Sanctum after she summoned him, expecting their meeting to concern Thor or Asgard. The Ancient One revealed that she was curious why Qin Xiao had appeared where he was not supposed to and why the Time Variance Authority had not taken him.

• Qin Xiao decided to visit the Ancient One at 177A Bleecker Street after learning S.H.I.E.L.D. had found nothing unusual there.
• Qin Xiao left Thor with Jane in New Mexico and traveled to the Sanctum in New York.
• The Ancient One brought Qin Xiao inside through a portal and silently read while he tried to provoke her by blowing cigar smoke her way.
• The Ancient One diverted the smoke through a portal to a snowy mountain, then spoke with Qin Xiao about why she had summoned him.
• The Ancient One said she had kept watch over Odin's exiled son and asked why Qin Xiao had appeared somewhere he should not have been and had not been taken by the Time Variance Authority.

Qin Xiao was confronted by the Ancient One, who sensed his mental communication with the system and examined his soul. After recognizing the Time Stone, she offered to teach him magic and revealed the stone as her reason.

• Qin Xiao failed to answer the Ancient One’s questions, and the system rewarded him for meeting her before starting a 48-hour upgrade.
• The Ancient One sensed Qin Xiao communicating with someone and restrained him to examine his soul and mental fluctuations.
• Qin Xiao challenged the Ancient One, who responded by conjuring a golden energy whip and activating the Time Stone.
• Qin Xiao recognized the Time Stone and claimed he could foresee the future through the Zhouyi and other Chinese divination methods.
• The Ancient One offered to teach Qin Xiao magic, then revealed the Time Stone and asked whether it was reason enough.

Qin Xiao left the Ancient One with unanswered questions about the Time Stone and the future, then met Tony Stark outside Stark Industries. The Ancient One secretly used the Time Stone, suffered a violent backlash, and reacted with disbelief and joy.

• Qin Xiao grew frustrated over the Ancient One's warnings, kicked a dumpster into the air, and took fifty dollars from a would-be robber, injuring his shoulder.
• The Ancient One used the Time Stone to investigate what had happened, then spat blood and laughed wildly.
• Qin Xiao took a cab to Stark Industries' New York branch after sending his driver away.
• Tony Stark offered to take Qin Xiao somewhere and promised him his dark-red Acura NSX if he agreed to help with something.
• Qin Xiao praised the car's color by claiming it reminded him of the yangmei from his hometown.

Qin Xiao was tricked by Tony into buying a luxury apartment and then discovered that the system upgrade had unlocked the Level 2 Shop. He bought an Intermediate Super-Soldier Serum that granted an Asgardian divine body, while his questions about the Ancient One and the Time Variance Authority went unanswered.

• Tony persuaded Qin Xiao to buy two top-floor duplex apartments, then revealed that one was actually in Tony’s name and that the building belonged to Stark Industries.
• Qin Xiao stayed in Tony’s presidential hotel suite while waiting for the system upgrade to finish.
• The upgrade unlocked the Level 2 Shop, and Qin Xiao spent 3,000 points on the Intermediate Super-Soldier Serum, leaving him with 500 points.
• The system explained that the serum had been upgraded to grant Qin Xiao an Asgardian divine body because he already possessed 30% of the Hulk’s strength.
• Qin Xiao asked the system about the Ancient One and the Time Variance Authority, but it said it could not answer; he suspected the divine body was connected to the Thor mission and a future reward from Odin.

After drinking the Intermediate Super-Soldier Serum, Qin Xiao felt tougher but only slightly stronger, then agreed to help Thor find work so he could learn to live as an ordinary person. Qin Xiao brought Thor money and documents instead, calling him his personal bodyguard and preparing to take him out into the world.

• Qin Xiao drank the Intermediate Super-Soldier Serum and felt his body become more resilient, with only a small increase in strength and speed.
• Thor called Qin Xiao and asked for help finding a job so he could support himself and take Jane out.
• Qin Xiao decided to go to New Mexico himself, concerned that Thor working while Loki sent the Destroyer could endanger innocent people.
• Qin Xiao warned Coulson not to pursue the organization at 177A Bleecker Street, saying its strength rivaled Odin's and that it had protected Earth for ages.
• Qin Xiao gave Thor Earth identification, a passport, and a bank card loaded with a hundred thousand dollars, then named him his personal bodyguard.

Qin Xiao invited Jane, Daisy, and Thor to Monaco for the F1 race, while Erik Selvig stayed behind to work with S.H.I.E.L.D. After Qin Xiao and Daisy began a fling aboard his private plane, the group arrived in Nice, where Qin Xiao unexpectedly encountered someone he knew.

• Qin Xiao invited Jane, Daisy, Thor, and Erik Selvig to Monaco, but Erik said he had joined S.H.I.E.L.D. as a consultant and would stay for a research project.
• Qin Xiao chartered a private plane, and Daisy teased him about rumors linking him to Tony Stark before making clear she was interested in a fling.
• Qin Xiao and Daisy spent the flight together in a bedroom while Thor took Jane into another, and the group did not emerge for more than ten hours.
• Qin Xiao and the others landed in Nice because Monaco had no airport, and Qin Xiao ran into someone he knew.

Justin Hammer invited Qin Xiao to help promote his armor at the Stark Expo by staging a public defeat, hoping to make it look stronger than Iron Man. Qin Xiao agreed in exchange for an exorbitant endorsement fee.

• Justin Hammer enthusiastically greeted Qin Xiao and invited him and his friends to ride in his helicopter to the race.
• Thor and Daisy voiced their dislike of Justin Hammer, but Qin Xiao accepted the ride.
• Aboard the helicopter, Justin Hammer told Qin Xiao that his company was developing combat armor with the Department of Defense.
• Justin Hammer asked Qin Xiao to stage a fight at the Stark Expo and lose to the armor so the public would see it as stronger than Iron Man.
• Qin Xiao agreed to the staged defeat and negotiated the most exorbitant endorsement fee in history.

At the Monaco Grand Prix, Tony Stark decided to race in place of his team's driver after joking with Qin Xiao about Justin Hammer's offer to have him endorse Hammer's armor. Ivan Vanko watched Tony take to the track and prepared to attack him.

• At the Hôtel de Paris, Justin Hammer greeted Tony Stark and Pepper Potts, and Tony left Hammer to speak with Qin Xiao.
• Tony told Qin Xiao that Hammer had offered him $350 million to lose publicly to Hammer's armor, and they discussed how he might turn the deal against Hammer.
• Tony announced he would replace his team's driver in the Monaco race and told Qin Xiao not to tell Pepper Potts until he had done it.
• Qin Xiao went to the hotel roof to watch while Thor, Daisy, and Jane remained at the bar.
• Ivan Vanko saw Tony enter the race on television and laughed as the glow of his Arc Reactor showed beneath his shirt.

Ivan Vanko attacked Tony Stark at the F1 track with energy-powered whips, while Justin Hammer recognized the potential of Vanko’s Arc Reactor. Qin Xiao stopped Vanko with a fast-moving object, leaving him unconscious beside the track.

• Ivan Vanko entered the F1 track with an Arc Reactor powering his whips and drew the attention of Justin Hammer, who saw a chance to acquire the technology.
• Vanko split a speeding car in half with his whip, and Happy took Pepper toward the track with Tony Stark’s Mark 5 Suitcase Armor.
• Thor left Jane to go help Tony Stark, whom he believed Vanko was targeting.
• Vanko cut the front off Tony Stark’s car, sending Tony crashing onto the track, then approached him through the chaos of colliding cars and explosions.
• As Vanko prepared to strike Tony, a dark blur hit him in the face and knocked him unconscious; Qin Xiao celebrated from the hotel rooftop.

Qin Xiao rescued Tony during the attack at the race, but Thor knocked Ivan Vanko unconscious just as Tony suited up to fight him. After the police arrived, Tony destroyed Vanko’s arc reactor, and reporters tried to photograph Tony and Qin Xiao together.

• Qin Xiao jumped down beside Tony and helped him up after the race car wreck.
• Ivan Vanko got back to his feet and cut Happy’s car in half with his whip, frightening Pepper Potts.
• Tony put on the Mark 5 while Qin Xiao protected Happy and Pepper, but Thor leaped over the fence and knocked Vanko out with a brick.
• Tony crushed the arc reactor on Vanko’s chest after the police arrived.
• A reporter asked Tony and Qin Xiao to pose together, and they answered her countdown with middle fingers and a shared curse.

After the Monaco race, Tony confided in Qin Xiao about his feelings for Pepper, then visited the awakened Ivan Vanko with him. Ivan revealed that Tony was suffering from palladium poisoning, but Qin Xiao already knew and only pretended to be shocked.

• After the race, Tony complained to Qin Xiao about being surrounded by affectionate couples and admitted he was afraid to confess his feelings to Pepper.
• Ivan Vanko stayed unconscious for three days before Qin Xiao and Tony visited him in the hospital.
• Tony and Ivan argued over whether their fathers had stolen the arc reactor design, then Ivan laughed and declared that Tony had already lost.
• Ivan told Qin Xiao that Tony was dying from palladium poisoning caused by the reactor in his body.
• Qin Xiao exaggeratedly pretended to be horrified, and Tony shoved him aside and criticized his acting.

After warning Tony that Ivan Vanko might escape, Qin Xiao helped him establish the Illuminati, an independent crisis-response organization. Ivan’s hospital exploded, leaving dozens dead and Tony and Qin Xiao to rescue survivors as Ivan went missing.

• Qin Xiao warned Tony that Ivan Vanko was dangerous and might attract others seeking his Arc Reactor.
• Tony proposed involving Nick Fury, but Qin Xiao cautioned that S.H.I.E.L.D. answered to the World Security Council and its politicians.
• Tony showed Qin Xiao the Illuminati app he had created for secure communications and sharing missions, and they agreed to form the organization.
• The hospital exploded, and Qin Xiao shielded Tony from debris before they were both thrown into the sea.
• Tony and Qin Xiao used the Mark 5 armor and worked with rescuers to save people trapped in the rubble.
• Tony reported that thirty-seven people had died, fifty-two were seriously injured, and one person was missing; Qin Xiao suspected the missing person was Ivan Vanko.

Qin Xiao and Tony suspected a Hydra faction was behind the attack by five super soldiers, while Alexander Pierce warned Baron Strucker to keep his people hidden and protect Project Insight. Senator Stern then introduced Justin Hammer to Francis Aubrey, who offered influence and help rescuing Ivan Vanko.

• Qin Xiao learned from Black Widow that Justin Hammer’s accounts and contacts showed no sign of involvement in the attack.
• Tony told Qin Xiao that a police officer had described five powerful intruders, leading Qin Xiao to suspect Hydra and the Siberian super-soldier base.
• Alexander Pierce angrily rebuked Baron Strucker for activating the Siberian base without permission, and Strucker promised to lie low and find Francis.
• Justin Hammer complained about Ivan Vanko’s escape while playing golf, and Senator Stern introduced him to Francis Aubrey, who offered help and influence in Europe.

Justin Hammer agreed to work with Francis, who arranged for Ivan Vanko to be delivered to Hammer Industries and planned to use Hammer as the public face of a new energy company. Meanwhile, Tony Stark and Qin Xiao decided to return from Monaco so Tony could enlist Rhodey and use JARVIS to track the materials needed to build armor.

• Justin Hammer accepted Francis's offer of future cooperation and prepared to receive Ivan Vanko while Francis's people kept watch over the Arc Reactor technology.
• Francis told Senator Stern that he had chosen him as a pawn and discussed using Project Insight to control the world while betraying Alexander Pierce.
• Hydra's people delivered Ivan Vanko to Justin Hammer's company as Tony Stark and Qin Xiao continued searching for him in Monaco.
• Tony told Qin Xiao that he planned to give Rhodey a suit of armor to ease government pressure and recruit him to the Illuminati.
• Qin Xiao agreed that they should return home, and Tony explained that JARVIS was monitoring shipments of metals needed to build Arc Reactors and armor.

Tony, Qin Xiao, and Black Widow investigated Justin Hammer’s palladium purchases and uncovered evidence that Ivan Vanko was working inside Hammer Industries’ underground research facility. With a direct raid blocked by the facility’s military ties, Black Widow proposed staging a large-scale action scene instead.

• JARVIS traced Justin Hammer’s shell companies buying palladium, and Tony questioned whether Hammer was behind the purchases.
• Tony and Qin Xiao waited for Black Widow to return from an interview at Hammer Industries.
• Black Widow reported that Hammer had evacuated the underground armor research facility and erased its surveillance footage.
• Black Widow connected the missing footage and palladium purchases to Ivan Vanko, who she believed was inside the Justin Hammer Building.
• Tony suggested raiding the facility, but Black Widow explained its military connections made that difficult.
• Black Widow proposed that Tony and Qin Xiao stage a large-scale action scene to draw Ivan Vanko out.

Qin Xiao and Tony staged an awkward fight to infiltrate Hammer Industries, then fought their way into its underground laboratory. They found hundreds of armor suits, some powered by Arc Reactors, and prepared to face four super soldiers.

• Rhodey joined the Illuminati as War Machine and went to the air force base to install weapons on his new suit while Qin Xiao and Tony carried out Natasha Romanoff’s plan.
• Tony and Qin Xiao began their staged rooftop fight, but their clumsy acting and improvised lines drove Hammer Industries’ employees away.
• Ivan Vanko took advantage of the commotion to work at his computer while one female super soldier stayed behind to watch him.
• Tony crashed through the elevator entrance, and he and Qin Xiao defeated the guards in the underground laboratory.
• Tony and Qin Xiao discovered hundreds of armor suits, several powered by Arc Reactors, before four super soldiers appeared in their path.