Chapter Summaries

After realizing Shadow had taken the Leviathan sample’s power core, Zhao Fan recognized that he had become part of a larger scheme while trying to preserve his ordinary friendship with Maya. Meanwhile, Dr. Evelyn Reed identified Zhao Fan from his blood and secretly began hunting him for research.

• Zhao Fan returned to Maya’s apartment, learned that her painting had sold, and agreed to attend her celebration party despite feeling divided between her world and his.
• Zhao Fan found the discarded Leviathan sample and realized Shadow had removed its energy core, leading him to suspect she was collecting components for a larger plan.
• Zhao Fan attended Maya’s party with a practiced smile, though he believed his chance at a normal life had ended.
• Dr. Evelyn Reed matched blood from the underground site to Zhao Fan and discovered signs of abnormal enhancement.
• Dr. Evelyn concealed the findings from S.H.I.E.L.D. and ordered the Dark Eye protocol activated to locate Zhao Fan.

After surviving the battle beneath the industrial park, Zhao Fan returned to D.O.D.C. and tried to conceal his involvement. Dr. Evelyn Reed exposed his falsified alibi and forced him and Jose Rodriguez into the Special Cleanup Unit, leaving Zhao Fan under constant monitoring by a Stark Industries wristband.

• Zhao Fan destroyed the burner phone and recalled the steps he had taken to hide his identity after escaping Kestrel.
• Zhao Fan reassured Maya, then reached the Queens camp, where Benjamin told him that D.O.D.C. was investigating a suspected information leak.
• A loudspeaker summoned Zhao Fan and Jose Rodriguez to Administration Building Three, where Dr. Evelyn Reed questioned them about their records and the previous night's escape.
• Evelyn revealed that she knew Benjamin had fabricated their alibi and offered them Special Cleanup Unit contracts, threatening to have their records investigated if they refused.
• Zhao Fan and Jose accepted the contracts, and Evelyn required them to wear Stark Industries monitoring wristbands.
• Zhao Fan held out his wrist, and the band authenticated him as Evelyn began monitoring his vital signs and energy radiation.

Zhao Fan and Old Dog settled into luxurious S.C.U. quarters, where Evelyn offered Zhao a physical optimization treatment as an onboarding benefit. After the treatment enhanced his body and granted him basic self-healing, Evelyn outlined the unit’s mission and promised to introduce him to its other members the next day.

• A D.O.D.C. assistant showed Zhao Fan and Old Dog their private suites and explained the perks and limited rules of the S.C.U. living quarters.
• Zhao Fan checked his room for surveillance equipment and found none, while Old Dog delighted in his accommodations and arthritis hydrotherapy tub.
• Evelyn summoned Zhao Fan to the medical laboratory and explained that his body’s cellular activity outpaced his muscle and bone strength.
• Evelyn infused Zhao Fan with a modified Extremis-derived reagent, and his attributes increased as he gained the Basic Self-Healing trait.
• Evelyn described the S.C.U.’s dangerous assignments and Zhao Fan’s tactical terminal, then said she would introduce him to the other members the next day.

After Zhao Fan recovered from the Improved Extremis Virus injection, Dr. Evelyn Reed asked him to fill S.C.U.’s technical role, and he chose Benjamin Lee for the team. Security officers seized Benjamin at the cleanup zone and transported him away, leaving him frightened and unsure of his fate.

• Zhao Fan woke to find his strength and physical condition had improved after the serum injection.
• Dr. Evelyn Reed reviewed Zhao Fan’s test results and explained that S.C.U. needed someone to handle technical problems.
• Zhao Fan rejected Evelyn’s proposed MIT graduates and nominated Benjamin Lee, citing his hacking and improvisation skills.
• Evelyn ordered security to bring Benjamin to the basement for a test of his psychological resilience.
• Security officers seized Benjamin at the cleanup zone and dragged him into an armored transport, where he feared he was being taken to prison.

Zhao Fan brought Benjamin into S.C.U. and led the team on its first mission to investigate a sealed Hydra laboratory beneath Queens. After detecting and killing a mutated insect, Zhao Fan discovered the walls ahead were packed with similar creatures, and the team prepared to fight.

• Security personnel escorted Benjamin to D.O.D.C.'s restricted research area, where he reunited with Zhao Fan and Old Dog and learned that his arrest had been a test.
• Benjamin impressed the team with his rapid command of the Black Box workstation as Dr. Evelyn Reed briefed S.C.U. on unstable energy readings at a former Hydra laboratory.
• Zhao Fan assigned Benjamin to provide maps and remote surveillance, then set out with Old Dog for the Queens site while Benjamin warned them about a past cave-in and a surviving agent's strange report.
• Zhao Fan and Old Dog entered the shelter through a gas-filled manhole and descended into an underground tunnel where Zhao Fan sensed a mass of energy.
• Zhao Fan killed a three-headed Hydra Parasitic Guard and acquired a Hard Carapace ability fragment, while Benjamin reported that the tunnel walls were filled with more heat signatures.

Zhao Fan and Old Dog fought through a swarm of mutant beetles in Hydra’s underground facility and found the leaking energy source Dr. Evelyn Reed wanted. Zhao Fan entered the corrosive pool to close its valve, but a surge of green liquid struck his chest.

• Zhao Fan and Old Dog fought off Hydra Parasitic Guards while Benjamin activated the tunnel’s exhaust fans, allowing them to reach a blast door.
• Zhao Fan and Old Dog entered the laboratory and discovered a huge living mass and a leaking pipe filled with glowing green liquid.
• Dr. Evelyn Reed ordered Zhao Fan to close the valve and retrieve a sample, while his system urged him to absorb the compatible energy source.
• Zhao Fan waded through the corrosive pool and used Kinetic Repulsion to turn the seized valve.
• A torrent of green liquid burst from the valve and sprayed Zhao Fan’s chest.

Zhao Fan survived sealing the Hydra nutrient-solution leak, used the opportunity to absorb its energy, and officially joined S.C.U. as Captain Zhao. After Benjamin uncovered a Hydra transport route ending in New York, Shadow recruited Zhao to plant a device on a D.O.D.C. convoy, but Zhao discovered its hidden self-destruct function and decided to alter her plan.

• Zhao Fan absorbed the leaking Hydra solution, healed his burns, sealed the valve, and earned Evelyn's approval and an official S.C.U. position.
• Evelyn's team examined Zhao Fan and sent a sample of the solution to the lab, while Zhao insisted he wanted no more missions like the one in the shelter.
• Benjamin showed Zhao Fan a Hydra transport record linking an unstable container to New York, and Zhao received a message from Shadow requesting a meeting.
• Shadow offered Zhao Fan one million dollars to install a signal device on a D.O.D.C. transport carrying special cargo.
• Zhao Fan analyzed Shadow's device and discovered that it could block communications and self-destruct with enormous force.
• Zhao Fan accepted the job but left planning to modify the device with Benjamin rather than follow Shadow's plan.

Zhao Fan tested his new Hard Carapace ability and ordered Benjamin Lee to turn Shadow’s explosive signal amplifier into a Chitauri creature lure with an EMP failsafe. He planted the modified device beneath the Fortress transport carrying the Heart of Leviathan, and its signal began attracting numerous biological responses.

• Zhao Fan tested Hard Carapace by resisting a tactical dagger and combining hardened knuckles with Kinetic Repulsion to destroy a titanium-alloy dummy.
• Benjamin Lee discovered that Shadow’s signal amplifier had multiple detonation triggers, and Zhao Fan instructed him to rework it into a powerful alien-remnant lure that would destroy itself with an EMP.
• Zhao Fan learned that the Fortress transport carried an active Heart of Leviathan sample under liquid-nitrogen conditions.
• Zhao Fan and Old Dog positioned themselves along the convoy route while Benjamin Lee looped the security drones’ footage.
• Zhao Fan attached the modified device beneath the Fortress truck and escaped as it drove on.
• The signal lure activated, and Zhao Fan’s system detected extremely numerous high-energy biological responses nearby.

Zhao Fan and Old Dog used an ambush on a D.O.D.C. transport to steal and absorb the Heart of Leviathan, gaining new abilities before escaping the battlefield. With Shadow’s assassin captured and Shadow’s location traced to a hotel near Stark Tower, Zhao Fan set out to collect the rest of his payment.

• Zhao Fan’s signal lured Chitauri and mutated beetles into attacking the D.O.D.C. transport, while Benjamin’s virus cut off outside communications.
• Zhao Fan and Old Dog joined the fight under false pretenses, and Zhao Fan killed the largest beetle to enter the cargo compartment.
• Zhao Fan defeated Shadow’s assassin and absorbed the Heart of Leviathan’s energy, acquiring Mental Pressure and Bioelectric Burst.
• Zhao Fan planted a device to disguise the drained heart, then escaped through a sewer with Old Dog and the unconscious assassin as Colonel Rhodes arrived in War Machine.
• Benjamin tracked Shadow to a luxury hotel near Stark Tower, and Zhao Fan decided to confront her and collect the outstanding payment.

Zhao Fan defeated Shadow, seized her New York underground network, and used her information to secure S.C.U. greater authority. After discovering Hydra’s activity in Sokovia, he accepted Nick Fury’s offer to intercept a shipment of Wakandan vibranium, leaving S.C.U. drawn into a larger conflict.

• Zhao Fan survived Shadow’s failed explosion and confronted her at the Four Seasons Hotel, where he resisted her gunshot and used Mental Pressure to extract her secrets.
• Zhao Fan took Shadow’s money and intelligence, while Benjamin arranged evidence that led the police to her smuggling operation.
• Dr. Evelyn Reed quietly accepted Zhao Fan’s list of Hydra infiltrators, and S.C.U. received higher clearance, an armory, and a helicopter.
• Benjamin identified a Leviathan Heart energy reading near Baron Strucker’s fortress in Sokovia, and Zhao Fan decided to prepare for Hydra’s next move.
• Nick Fury visited S.C.U.’s base and offered Zhao Fan a deal to intercept Ulysses Klaue’s vibranium shipment in exchange for help tracking Hydra.
• Zhao Fan accepted Fury’s offer after his system identified vibranium as a valuable upgrade material.

Zhao Fan confronted Dr. Evelyn Reed about his abnormal abilities and proposed a secret research partnership in exchange for protection and resources. Evelyn agreed to conceal his data and support him within limits, leaving them as accomplices in a private alliance.

• Evelyn analyzed Zhao Fan's battle data and questioned him about his unusual abilities and the Leviathan core sample.
• Zhao Fan offered to provide Evelyn with research access to his body in exchange for secrecy, resources, and her future protection.
• Evelyn agreed to store his data in a privately encrypted database and provide information about high-energy supplies.
• Evelyn and Zhao Fan toasted their new partnership and agreed to pursue evolution together.

Zhao Fan and his S.C.U. squad raided Hydra safe houses across New York, stealing weapons, money, explosives, and a powerful decryption key. After their first two attacks, they left Hydra’s remaining network crippled and stripped of vital resources.

• Zhao Fan sent Benjamin Lee to provide remote support while he and Old Dog Jose set out to raid three Hydra safe houses before the organization could evacuate its supplies.
• At the Old John Cold Chain Logistics warehouse, Zhao Fan incapacitated the guards, smashed through the entrance, and defeated the Hydra agents as Old Dog covered the rear.
• The squad recovered twenty prototype energy pistols, C4 explosives, and a master decryption key, which Zhao gave Benjamin to secure their communications and erase their traces.
• At the Pink Panther casino, Benjamin cut the power and triggered the fire alarm, allowing Zhao Fan and Old Dog to seize cash and gold from three Hydra agents fleeing with briefcases.
• Hydra’s New York remnants suffered heavy personnel losses and lost their weapons, funds, supplies, and intelligence, while the raiders left no traceable surveillance footage.

Zhao Fan’s team raided Hydra sites, seized money, weapons, and a fragment of the Cosmic Cube, then struck a deal with Dr. Evelyn Reed to keep their gains and pass her intelligence on Hydra. After two weeks of hiding and training, Zhao Fan developed unstable spatial abilities, but Evelyn summoned him and his team to headquarters over a new emergency.

• Zhao Fan’s team broke into a Hydra operative’s apartment, forced him to reveal accounts and intelligence, and transferred Hydra funds while leaving him alive with Hydra’s emblem crossed out on his face.
• Zhao Fan discovered and secured a Cosmic Cube fragment hidden behind a painting, then returned with his team to their Queens base.
• Dr. Evelyn Reed confronted Zhao Fan’s team over their crimes, accepted their Hydra intelligence for S.H.I.E.L.D., and agreed to help legalize some weapons and money while taking Stark pistol samples.
• Over the next two weeks, Evelyn and S.H.I.E.L.D. purged Hydra outposts as Benjamin cracked the Stark pistols and Zhao Fan gained Basic Space Resistance and an unstable Phase Blink ability.
• Evelyn contacted Zhao Fan and ordered him to bring his team to headquarters because a major incident had occurred.

After learning that Hydra had seized control of S.H.I.E.L.D. and targeted D.O.D.C. personnel, Zhao Fan rescued Evelyn from the New York headquarters. Evelyn revealed that Project Insight was due to launch the next day, and Zhao Fan accepted a quest to recover a repulsion engine core and the Zola Algorithm motherboard; the chapter left them fleeing a S.H.I.E.L.D. helicopter attack.

• Evelyn told Zhao Fan that Nick Fury had been assassinated, Steve Rogers had been declared a defector, and Alexander Pierce had ordered a purge of D.O.D.C. personnel.
• Zhao Fan, Old Dog, and Benjamin drove to the D.O.D.C. headquarters, where they rammed the blockade and Zhao Fan entered the building alone.
• Zhao Fan fought through the Hydra-controlled building and rescued Evelyn from the sublevel three data center, where she had secured Stark Industries' data and core samples.
• Evelyn showed Zhao Fan Project Insight's three helicarriers and explained that Hydra planned to use the Zola Algorithm to target potential threats; Zhao Fan received an S-rank quest to recover a repulsion engine core and the algorithm's motherboard.
• A S.H.I.E.L.D. helicopter fired a missile into the laboratory, and Zhao Fan shielded Evelyn before they escaped through the blasted wall and ran toward Old Dog's vehicle.

Zhao Fan escaped S.H.I.E.L.D.’s attack with Evelyn and decided to travel to Washington to target Project Insight’s carrier engines. After evading a Sweeper inspection at a New Jersey freight yard, Zhao Fan and his team boarded a waste train bound for Washington.

• Zhao Fan and Evelyn escaped the administration building in Old Dog’s SUV, and Zhao Fan drove off the pursuing helicopter with a grenade.
• Benjamin told Zhao Fan that S.H.I.E.L.D. had sealed New York’s exits, so the group hid in an abandoned subway safe house and planned to head to Washington.
• Zhao Fan chose to target the engines on Project Insight’s carriers and learned from Benjamin about a freight train leaving New Jersey for Washington.
• Zhao Fan and his team disguised themselves as freight workers, but three S.H.I.E.L.D. Sweepers began scanning the train cars.
• Zhao Fan short-circuited a transformer to distract the Sweepers, then stopped one who caught him at the train door and boarded the departing train with his team.

Zhao Fan and his team infiltrated the D.O.D.C. processing station beneath the Triskelion to reach the Zola Algorithm and repulsor engine cores before Project Insight launched. After splitting up, Zhao Fan and Old Dog headed toward the Helicarriers while Evelyn and Benjamin stayed behind to maintain a network foothold.

• Zhao Fan kept the wounded Hydra agent alive so Benjamin Lee could use his identity and lower the train's security screening level.
• Benjamin hacked the train's clearance, allowing the team to reach the D.O.D.C. processing station beneath the Triskelion.
• Zhao Fan knocked out a foreman and two soldiers, then took the foreman's hazmat suit and access card.
• Zhao Fan assigned Evelyn Reed and Benjamin to guard a data node while he and Old Dog Jose went toward the Helicarriers.
• The system updated Zhao Fan's mission: he had to connect the universal key to command Helicarrier Alpha's internal server before the three carriers took off.

Zhao Fan and Old Dog boarded a rising Helicarrier and fought their way toward its core server room. They reached an unstable Extremis-enhanced giant guarding the room, while Old Dog moved to find a way to insert the key.

• Zhao Fan and Old Dog used a fuel pipe and grappling line to climb onto the Alpha as the Helicarriers launched.
• Zhao Fan guided Old Dog through the Alpha’s maintenance spaces and chose a hidden route toward the server room despite Hydra’s heavy defenses.
• Zhao Fan and Old Dog fought through Hydra soldiers in the corridors, with Zhao Fan using his oscillating alloy dagger and kinetic repulsion.
• A giant Extremis carrier blasted open the airtight door, and Zhao Fan shielded Old Dog from the flying door.
• Zhao Fan told Old Dog to reach the server room and insert the key while he prepared to fight the giant.

Zhao Fan defeated Hydra’s Furnace and used the master key to turn Helicarrier Alpha’s identification system against its crew, plunging the carrier into chaos. Steve Rogers saw the disruption create an opening against the Winter Soldier and charged back into the fight.

• Zhao Fan dodged Furnace’s attacks, absorbed his energy blast, and overloaded him until he exploded.
• Old Dog and Benjamin used the master key to change Alpha’s friend-or-foe codes, causing its systems to treat everyone as an intruder.
• Alpha’s weapons fired indiscriminately, attacking Hydra fighters and throwing the carrier into disarray.
• Steve fought Bucky Barnes aboard Helicarrier Charlie while Sam reported that Beta’s chip had been replaced.
• Steve realized Alpha’s system failure was helping them and charged at the Winter Soldier again.

Zhao Fan and Old Dog retrieved the Next-Generation Repulsor Engine Core from the failing Helicarrier Alpha, unlocking Zhao Fan’s System Space as the Helicarriers crashed. They survived the fall into the Potomac and saw Steve Rogers and Sam recover on the riverbank, while the Winter Soldier disappeared into the woods.

• Zhao Fan and Old Dog fought past automated sentry guns and reached the engine room, where Zhao Fan followed Benjamin’s instructions to safely detach the core.
• Zhao Fan stored the core in his newly unlocked System Space just as Beta rammed Alpha and the Helicarriers began to crash.
• Steve Rogers urged Maria Hill to fire the Helicarriers’ weapons, then refused to fight the Winter Soldier and reminded Bucky of their friendship before they fell into the Potomac.
• Zhao Fan and Old Dog escaped Alpha by jumping into the river, with Zhao Fan using Kinetic Repulsion to slow their fall and help them reach shore alive.
• Zhao Fan saw Sam pull Steve from the water as the Winter Soldier vanished into the woods, then left with Old Dog to reunite with Evelyn and Ben.

Zhao Fan and Old Dog escaped Washington with Evelyn and Benjamin after the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D., bringing Hydra data and a next-generation repulsion engine core. At a D.O.D.C. safe house, Evelyn promised to take control of the agency and make Zhao Fan’s S.C.U. an independent unit as Zhao Fan gained a new ability and prepared for the turmoil ahead.

• Zhao Fan and Old Dog followed Evelyn’s extraction route and escaped the National Guard cordon in a disguised hazardous-waste truck driven by Benjamin.
• Zhao Fan revealed that he could store the repulsion engine core in his System Space, while Evelyn confirmed the Hydra data drive and master key were intact.
• Evelyn proposed taking control of D.O.D.C. and making Zhao Fan’s S.C.U. its independent armed and intelligence unit, and Zhao Fan agreed.
• Zhao Fan received the advanced Kinetic Repulsion reward and tested Repulsion Shaping by slicing through a lead-sealed drum.
• Evelyn brought the group to a secret transfer station and arranged a flight to New York, promising a new S.C.U. base, budget, and cover as unsung heroes.
• Zhao Fan accepted the arrangements and set out with Old Dog and Benjamin, anticipating further threats in the chaotic Marvel world.