Chapter Summaries

Six months after the Battle of New York, Zhao Fan struggled to survive as an underpaid cleanup worker in the ruins while his rent fell overdue. After finding another eviction warning at home, he reached a breaking point and began to consider a drastic change.

• Zhao Fan cleaned Chitauri remains for D.O.D.C. while foreman Big Mike threatened to withhold the crew’s hazardous materials allowance.
• Jose offered Zhao Fan a break and suggested they search a damaged Wall Street vault for valuables after work.
• Zhao Fan checked his $7.35 bank balance and read his landlord’s final warning that he had four days to pay rent.
• Zhao Fan watched workers debate Tony Stark’s relief efforts on the shuttle and reflected that his knowledge of future events could not help him.
• Zhao Fan returned home to a harsher eviction notice, ate his last packet of instant macaroni, and sank into despair before deciding it might be time for a change.

Zhao Fan and Old Dog Jose searched a collapsed clothing store in Queens, where Zhao Fan’s intuition helped them avoid a structural trap and uncover a hidden basement. After a Chitauri energy core exploded, they survived with injuries, and Zhao Fan resolved to gain enough power to protect himself.

• Zhao Fan noticed a loose floor slab, but Old Dog stopped him and triggered a collapse from a distance, revealing that the slab had been holding up an unstable wall and ceiling.
• The collapse exposed a concealed basement, where Zhao Fan and Old Dog found dead National Guard soldiers, a Chitauri corpse, and several empty metal cases.
• Zhao Fan spotted gold bars in a damaged case beneath the Chitauri corpse, then heard a rising hum and warned Old Dog away from the still-active energy core.
• Zhao Fan and Old Dog escaped as the core exploded, and Zhao Fan freed Old Dog from fallen rebar after the blast injured them both.
• Old Dog told Zhao Fan to conceal the basement and gold from the D.O.D.C. patrol, thanked him for saving his life, and shared his last cigarette.
• Zhao Fan watched the rescuers approach and decided that intuition and luck were not enough to survive, resolving to seek true power.

After surviving an explosion and enduring Rick’s dangerous work assignment, Zhao Fan decided to seek illicit salvage opportunities to protect himself and received a lead to Shadow. Back home, he discovered a Chitauri armor fragment had activated a system that granted him Basic Precision Throwing, giving him a new way to use the debris around him.

• Zhao Fan and Jose Rodriguez were injured in the Zone A-4 explosion, but a D.O.D.C. inspector classified it as an accident and asked them to return to work.
• Rick prompted Mike to assign Zhao Fan and Jose to hazardous Zone C-2 for the afternoon, where Zhao Fan completed both men’s workload while Jose rested.
• Zhao Fan endured Rick’s taunts without reacting, then asked Jose about dangerous salvage and received a coin bearing the address of Shadow’s bar, Wreckage.
• Zhao Fan helped Maya Chen repair her collapsed graduation sculpture, and they shared pizza before he returned to his apartment.
• Zhao Fan found a Chitauri infantry armor fragment lodged in his boot, and prolonged contact activated a system that granted him Basic Precision Throwing.
• Zhao Fan tested the ability by throwing paper balls accurately into a nearby box and a flowerpot fifty meters away.

Maya Chen remembered how she had helped Zhao Fan survive his first days in the Marvel Universe and how he earned a place working for D.O.D.C. After saving Old Dog and gaining a system skill, Zhao Fan resolved to become strong enough to protect the people who had helped him.

• Maya heard Zhao Fan return home and recalled finding him starving and disoriented after his transmigration, then giving him bread and water.
• Maya stood up for Zhao Fan when the landlord threatened to evict him, and Zhao Fan earned a month of rent by repairing the building's burst water pipe.
• Zhao Fan struggled to find work until he helped a man at a D.O.D.C. recruitment line, prompting Jose, known as Old Dog, to give him a job referral.
• Zhao Fan brought Maya fresh bread after securing the D.O.D.C. job and thanked her for helping him survive.
• Zhao Fan reflected on how Maya's and Old Dog's kindness had shaped his life, then resolved to grow stronger and take responsibility for the ruined world around him.

Zhao Fan tested his new trajectory ability in Zone A-6 and secretly caused a bucket of industrial sludge to fall on Rick after Rick bullied Benjamin. Rick searched for the culprit, while Old Dog suspected Zhao Fan had acted deliberately.

• Zhao Fan practiced his ability to predict projectile paths and chose not to test it near the rooftop cat.
• Old Dog told Zhao Fan that the crew had been assigned to the unstable but non-radioactive Zone A-6, where they encountered Rick humiliating the new cleaner Benjamin.
• Zhao Fan used a rusty hex nut to break the bucket's weakened fastener, causing its sludge to cover Rick while Benjamin rolled clear.
• Rick demanded to know who had caused the accident, but Zhao Fan continued working and Old Dog quietly suspected him.

Zhao Fan recruited Benjamin Lee after learning that the timid worker had hacked D.O.D.C.’s systems and could reveal dangerous assignments and hidden salvage sites. With Old Dog, they formed the Garbage Recycling Squad and set their sights on a blind spot in sector A-6.

• During lunch, Zhao Fan reflected on the limits of his throwing ability while Old Dog praised his luck.
• Benjamin Lee revealed that he had deduced Zhao Fan caused the paint bucket accident, but promised not to tell and asked to join them.
• Benjamin showed Zhao Fan and Old Dog his access to D.O.D.C.’s task system, including hazardous work areas, surveillance blind spots, and likely salvage sites.
• Zhao Fan accepted Benjamin into the group, set rules for him, and promised the squad would back him up against Rick.
• Benjamin identified a surveillance blind spot at the sector A-6 underground parking garage, where a metal response suggested something valuable lay buried.

Zhao Fan, Old Dog, and Benjamin planned to steal a possible alien energy core from the damaged First National Bank vault during the cleanup crew’s lunch break. They began the break-in through a sewage pipe, with Benjamin’s camera loop running and their time running out.

• Zhao Fan showed Old Dog and Benjamin intercepted readings suggesting an energy source remained beneath the bank’s collapsed vault, and they agreed to attempt a theft.
• Benjamin planned to loop the security cameras, while Old Dog agreed to cause a scanner malfunction at checkpoint D3 so they could escape with the core.
• At the cleanup site the next day, Zhao Fan learned that Dr. Evelyn had arrived, but he told Benjamin and Old Dog to stick to the plan.
• When the noon siren sounded, Benjamin started the camera loop and Zhao Fan slipped away from the workers toward the hidden sewage pipe entrance.
• Zhao Fan shoved aside the slab covering the pipe and led Old Dog into the foul-smelling passage toward the vault.

Zhao Fan and Old Dog recovered a Chitauri energy rifle from the ruined bank vault, and contact with its core activated Zhao Fan’s Weak Energy Perception. With Stark Industries’ drones closing in, Zhao Fan spotted a hidden escape route and led them into the sewage pipes.

• Zhao Fan and Old Dog reached the ruined vault beneath the First National Bank of Manhattan while Benjamin warned that Dr. Evelyn had arrived early.
• Zhao Fan used a falling ventilation duct to dislodge the Chitauri energy rifle without triggering a collapse, then acquired Weak Energy Perception after touching its core.
• Benjamin warned that Stark Industries’ drones were heading underground, and Zhao Fan used his new perception to detect an infrared sensor net blocking their entrance route.
• Zhao Fan found a mechanically locked backup vent, opened it with a crowbar, and escaped with Old Dog into a chute leading to the sewage pipe.

Zhao Fan and Old Dog hid the energy core from Evelyn Reed’s search, then used a staged vacuum malfunction to smuggle it past the D3 security checkpoint. They escaped the facility with the core and headed for the Wreckage bar to collect their payment.

• Zhao Fan buried the lead bag in radioactive sludge and covered himself and Old Dog in it as Evelyn Reed’s team searched the sewage pipe.
• Evelyn Reed’s scanner detected only environmental interference, so she ordered the breach sealed and moved on without finding them.
• Zhao Fan and Old Dog disguised the lead bag inside an industrial waste vacuum and brought it to the D3 security checkpoint.
• Old Dog overloaded the vacuum, releasing radioactive dust that disrupted the scanners, while Zhao Fan helped stop the machine after the guards ordered them to remove it.
• The guard captain ordered Zhao Fan and Old Dog to take the faulty vacuum to the washdown area, letting them pass the security line without a thorough scan.
• Benjamin told Zhao Fan he had replaced the surveillance footage, and Old Dog suggested they go to the Wreckage bar to collect their payment.

Zhao Fan and Old Dog escaped the D.O.D.C. washdown area with the radioactive Chitauri weapon components hidden in a containment bag. They reached Hell’s Kitchen and stopped outside a bar called Debris to meet Old Dog’s buyer, Shadow.

• Zhao Fan and Old Dog hid among discarded containers and removed the lead-wrapped components from the vacuum cleaner’s dust bag.
• Old Dog packed the loot in a nuclear-waste containment bag and used a shift change to get them through the perimeter gate.
• On the subway, Old Dog told Zhao Fan they were heading to Hell’s Kitchen to sell the goods to a buyer called Shadow.
• Zhao Fan and Old Dog crossed the dangerous streets of Hell’s Kitchen and arrived outside the Debris bar.

Zhao Fan sold a live Chitauri energy rifle core to Shadow at Wreckage, gaining cash and an invitation to bring her more valuable discoveries. After paying his rent and setting aside money for Ben, he unlocked the Relic Compendium and decided to make his way in the dangerous world of the ruins.

• Old Dog brought Zhao Fan to Wreckage, where Shadow recognized him and questioned him about the D.O.D.C. checkpoint explosion.
• Zhao Fan showed Shadow the live Class B Chitauri energy rifle core, negotiated briefly, and accepted ten thousand dollars for it.
• Shadow gave Zhao Fan a metal business card and invited him to return with classified information or other valuable discoveries.
• Old Dog refused Zhao Fan's offered three thousand dollars, saying Shadow had already paid him a finder's fee, and told Zhao Fan to use the money for rent and food.
• Zhao Fan paid his landlord and set aside three thousand dollars for Ben, then unlocked the Relic Compendium as a reward for completing his first high-value relic transaction.
• Zhao Fan examined the Compendium's entry on the Chitauri energy rifle and declared himself a player in the ruins.

Zhao Fan worked cautiously after receiving money from Shadow, then spent some of his earnings on a gift for Maya and shared dinner with her. As Maya celebrated her sculpture and noticed his renewed hope, Zhao Fan resolved to protect the warmth he had found, even if it meant returning to danger.

• Zhao Fan gave Old Dog three thousand dollars and reassured Fat Ben that their first earnings were only the beginning.
• Rattlesnake Rick threatened Zhao Fan, but the assembly whistle interrupted him before he could start a fight.
• Zhao Fan learned that Evelyn Reed was investigating Zone C and kept his work cautious while security tightened.
• Zhao Fan bought Maya a limited-edition set of Winsor & Newton paintbrushes and admired her sculpture, Rebirth.
• Maya treated Zhao Fan to dinner, where she told him he seemed more hopeful, and he toasted to rebirth while deciding to protect the people who had shown him kindness.

Dr. Evelyn Reed connected D.O.D.C.'s energy anomalies to Zhao Fan and flagged him for investigation, while Zhao learned that a mechanical component was emitting energy beneath an abandoned Queens subway station. He and Benjamin planned to retrieve it that night before the authorities arrived.

• Dr. Evelyn Reed found that Zhao Fan's movements overlapped with 85 percent of recent data anomalies and decided to investigate him rather than arrest him without evidence.
• Benjamin warned Zhao Fan that the technical team had reviewed the mission logs and that his file had been specially flagged.
• Benjamin showed Zhao Fan a map of an abandoned subway maintenance station where a continuing Class C-or-higher energy signal suggested an operating mechanical component.
• Zhao Fan decided that he and Benjamin would enter the station that night to reach the component before D.O.D.C. acted.

Zhao Fan found an active Chitauri Biomechanical Arm in a subway maintenance station and killed the Rust Gang scavengers who tried to take it, though their leader damaged the relic before dying. Deeper in the station, Zhao Fan discovered that Kestrel had slaughtered a mercenary squad and stolen its core energy source, so he escaped with the damaged arm and a new determination to grow stronger.

• Zhao Fan followed Benjamin's information to a subway maintenance station and found an active B-grade Chitauri Biomechanical Arm beneath concrete slabs.
• The Rust Gang's leader and two scavengers confronted Zhao Fan, who used the darkness to kill the two lackeys and then their leader.
• Before dying, the leader shot the concrete slab and badly damaged the Chitauri Biomechanical Arm, preventing Zhao Fan from analyzing it.
• Zhao Fan extracted the arm's dangerous core and sealed it in a radiation-resistant bag.
• Zhao Fan found the Steel Monster mercenary squad dead in a storeroom, and its dying captain identified Kestrel as the attacker.
• Zhao Fan saw that Kestrel had taken the squad's core energy source, then escaped through the ventilation duct with the damaged arm.

Zhao Fan sold Shadow a badly damaged but still active Chitauri biomechanical arm core for twelve thousand dollars. Shadow then offered him a dangerous job to retrieve the biological heart from an active Leviathan armor sample, and Zhao Fan accepted.

• Zhao Fan returned to Wreckage and met with Old Dog Jose before Shadow summoned him into her VIP room.
• Shadow confronted Zhao Fan about the Rust Gang deaths and the Steel Monsters massacre, then inspected the damaged Chitauri arm core he had brought back.
• Shadow discovered the core was still circulating energy despite its damage and offered Zhao Fan twelve thousand dollars for it.
• After Zhao Fan accepted the payment, Shadow gave him an unregistered phone with information about an active Leviathan armor sample in a Queens industrial park.
• Shadow explained that D.O.D.C. forces, Kestrel, and outlaw gangs were converging on the site, then asked Zhao Fan to retrieve the armor's biological heart.
• Zhao Fan accepted Shadow's job, hoping to use his system to analyze the biological heart and gain power.

Zhao Fan, Old Dog, and Benjamin planned a midnight raid on a sealed Stark Industries site to retrieve a Leviathan biological armor sample. They prepared to enter through the sewers while evading D.O.D.C. defenses and rival hunters, then set out with Zhao Fan masked and focused on escaping alive.

• Benjamin showed Zhao Fan and Old Dog evidence that living Leviathan tissue remained beneath Queens Industrial Park 19 and explained that D.O.D.C. had sealed the site as a red zone.
• Zhao Fan named Kestrel, Rick, and possibly Dr. Evelyn as threats, while Benjamin reported that Rick was bringing six armed men and heavy exoskeleton suits.
• The group planned to use Benjamin’s false alarms and Old Dog’s knowledge of the sewer system to bypass D.O.D.C. forces and reach the core sample.
• Benjamin warned that three automated sentry-gun batteries guarded the site, and Zhao Fan demonstrated his throwing accuracy before agreeing to handle them.
• Zhao Fan ordered the team to move at midnight, retrieve the sample, and escape alive, then put on a mask made from a Chitauri faceplate.

Zhao Fan and Old Dog infiltrated the industrial park through the sewers while the Vulture Gang, Rick’s forces, and D.O.D.C. fought aboveground. After escaping Evelyn Reed’s lockdown and sleeping gas, they reached the second basement level, where Zhao Fan sensed a powerful signal nearby.

• Benjamin reported that the Vulture Gang, Rick’s men, Kestrel, and a D.O.D.C. convoy had gathered around the industrial park.
• Zhao Fan and Old Dog entered the sewers as the Vulture Gang and Rick attacked the park and D.O.D.C. activated its defenses.
• Evelyn Reed ordered the underground gates locked and sleeping gas pumped into the sewer passages after sensors detected activity there.
• Zhao Fan held up a descending isolation gate long enough for Old Dog and himself to slip through before it slammed shut.
• Zhao Fan and Old Dog reached the second basement level, where Zhao Fan sensed a powerful signal and prepared to fight.

Zhao Fan and Old Dog fought through the underground Leviathan nest and reached the sample as Kestrel battled Rick’s mercenaries. When Evelyn’s drones arrived, Kestrel made for the sample, and Zhao Fan charged after him to seize it first.

• Zhao Fan and Old Dog disabled Scavenger robots and fled deeper into the hall after the machines wounded Zhao Fan.
• Rick and his armed men confronted Zhao Fan and Old Dog, but Kestrel dropped in and attacked Rick’s group.
• Zhao Fan spotted the Leviathan biological armor sample and its hidden energy core, then decided to wait for Kestrel and Rick to weaken each other.
• Kestrel killed or disabled most of Rick’s men and damaged Rick’s exoskeleton before the hall shook and Evelyn’s combat drones arrived.
• Kestrel escaped the drones’ gunfire with smoke grenades and reached the energy shield around the sample.
• Zhao Fan rushed toward Kestrel and the sample while Old Dog fired at the drones to cover him.

Zhao Fan seized the Leviathan core during the battle and completed the system’s analysis while Kestrel tried to kill him. He awakened Kinetic Repulsion, blasted Kestrel away, and escaped with Old Dog as D.O.D.C. forces moved in.

• Kestrel slaughtered Rick’s mercenaries, while Zhao Fan and Old Dog hid near the exposed Leviathan specimen.
• The drones destroyed the specimen’s energy shield, triggering its core to animate tentacles and reassemble Chitauri guards and mechanical hounds.
• Zhao Fan used Weak Energy Perception to cross the chaotic hall and reach the core just as Kestrel arrived and attacked him.
• Zhao Fan grabbed the core and endured Kestrel’s assault while the system analyzed it; D.O.D.C. special operations forces then broke through the ceiling.
• Zhao Fan acquired Kinetic Repulsion and hurled Kestrel into rubble with a repulsion blast.
• Zhao Fan took the core, released a smoke grenade, and escaped through a sewage-pipe breach with Old Dog while Kestrel wondered who he was.

Zhao Fan and Old Dog escaped the industrial park with the active Leviathan bio-armor sample and delivered it to Shadow in exchange for payment. Rather than leave the dangerous business behind, Zhao Fan invested most of his money in better equipment and information, while Shadow ordered her people to watch him.

• Zhao Fan and Old Dog escaped through the sewers as Fat Benjamin erased their tracks and guided them toward an abandoned subway branch.
• Zhao Fan and Old Dog reached the Wreckage bar and gave Shadow the active Leviathan bio-armor sample, which her scanner confirmed was intact.
• Shadow paid Zhao Fan a hundred thousand dollars, including a bonus, after he claimed he had beaten Kestrel.
• Zhao Fan gave Jose ten thousand dollars for his share and urged him to treat his leg or lie low.
• Zhao Fan offered Shadow the remaining eighty thousand dollars in exchange for higher-grade equipment, attribute-enhancing drugs, and information about superpowers.
• Shadow agreed to find the goods within three days and told her bald bodyguard to keep an eye on Zhao Fan.