Chapter 2: First Steps to Power
The harsh clang of metal on concrete greeted Lin Chen at 6 AM as he arrived at the Hudson Construction Site in downtown Manhattan. The massive project stretched across two city blocks—a new residential complex that would house hundreds of families once completed. For now, it was exactly what Lin Chen needed: a concentrated gathering of physically capable men doing exactly the kind of work his system was designed to absorb from.
"You the new guy?" A gruff voice called out as Lin Chen approached the site office. The speaker was a mountain of a man with arms like tree trunks and callused hands that spoke of decades of manual labor. "Name's Mike Torres, site foreman. You ever done construction before, kid?"
Lin Chen shook his head honestly. "No sir, but I'm willing to learn and work hard."
Mike looked him up and down, taking in Lin Chen's lean frame and soft hands. "Well, you don't look like much, but we're short-handed and the work's gotta get done. Forty dollars cash, end of day. You start with general labor—moving materials, cleaning up, whatever needs doing. Think you can handle that?"
"Yes, sir."
"Good. Hard hat's mandatory, safety vest too. Jimmy'll show you the ropes."
As Lin Chen suited up in his borrowed safety gear, his system interface flickered to life, highlighting the dozens of workers scattered across the construction site. The notification sound that only he could hear chimed constantly as he walked among them.
**[DING! DETECTED: Strength +0.020 tons from worker weight lifting]**
**[DING! DETECTED: Physique +0.015 from welder's heat tolerance]**
**[DING! DETECTED: Agility +0.008 from roofer's fast working]**
The improvements were small individually, but they came in a steady stream as Lin Chen moved through the work site. Every hammer swing, every lifted beam, every careful measurement added incrementally to his growing power.
"Hey, newbie!" Jimmy, a wiry man in his thirties, waved Lin Chen over to a pile of steel reinforcement bars. "Help me move these to the east foundation. And don't hurt your back—these things are heavier than they look."
Lin Chen grabbed one end of a rebar bundle, expecting to struggle with the weight. To his surprise, what should have been a back-breaking load felt manageable. His system had already enhanced his strength beyond baseline human levels, making the work easier than it should have been for someone his size.
As they worked, Lin Chen absorbed attributes from everyone around him. The experienced construction workers were a treasure trove of physical capability—strength built from years of heavy lifting, endurance developed through long days of demanding labor, agility honed by working at dangerous heights, and the practical problem-solving skills that came from decades of hands-on experience.
**[DING! DETECTED: Strength +0.012 tons from worker lifting]**
**[DING! DETECTED: Mental Power +0.03 from worker]**
**[DING! DETECTED: Physique +0.008 ]**
The morning passed quickly as Lin Chen threw himself into the work with surprising enthusiasm. Every task was an opportunity to grow stronger, and he could feel the changes accumulating in his body. His muscles felt denser, his reflexes sharper, his stamina seemingly endless.
By lunch break, Lin Chen's status had improved dramatically:
**[HOST STATUS - UPDATED]**
**├── Strength: 0.19 tons**
**├── Physique: 2.1**
**├── Agility: 1.8**
**├── Mental Power: 1.4**
**└── Special Abilities: Basic Construction Knowledge**
"Damn, kid," Mike Torres observed as Lin Chen single-handedly moved a bundle of pipes that should have required two men. "You sure you haven't done this before? You're picking it up faster than anyone I've ever seen."
Lin Chen just smiled and attributed it to beginner's luck, not wanting to draw too much attention to his rapidly increasing capabilities.
The afternoon brought even greater gains as Lin Chen was assigned to work alongside the site's strongest workers. A massive man named Boris, who looked like he could bench press a car, was tasked with moving the heaviest materials. As Lin Chen worked beside him, the absorption rate increased dramatically.
**[DING! DETECTED: Strength +0.045 tons]**
**[DING! DETECTED: Physique +0.036]**
But as the day wore on, Lin Chen noticed something troubling. The rate of improvement was slowing down. Workers who had provided substantial gains earlier were now offering only minimal increases, and some provided no improvement at all.
**[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: ABSORPTION RATE LIMITED BY TARGET DIFFERENTIAL]**
**[EXPLANATION: Host can only absorb attributes from sources that exceed current capabilities. As host grows stronger, weaker sources provide diminished returns until they offer no improvement.]**
Lin Chen frowned at this revelation. It made sense from a logical standpoint—you couldn't learn much from someone less skilled than yourself. But it also meant that his current training ground had a built-in expiration date.
By the end of the workday, his final status read:
**[HOST STATUS - FINAL]**
**├── Strength: 0.34 tons (340 kg lifting capacity)**
**├── Physique: 3.8**
**├── Agility: 3.2**
**├── Mental Power: 1.8**
**└── Special Abilities: Construction Knowledge (Intermediate Level)**
The transformation was remarkable. In a single day, Lin Chen had gone from an average eighteen-year-old to someone who could easily outperform most professional athletes. His lifting capacity had nearly tripled, his endurance was superhuman by normal standards, and his reflexes were sharp enough that he found himself instinctively catching falling tools before they hit the ground.
"Here's your forty," Mike said, pressing two crumpled twenty-dollar bills into Lin Chen's hand. "You did good work today, kid. Real good. You want to come back tomorrow?"
Lin Chen nodded, though he suspected he would need to find new sources of improvement soon. The construction site had served its purpose, but he was already approaching the upper limits of what these ordinary workers could teach him.
As evening fell over New York City, Lin Chen made his way back to Queens through the maze of streets and alleyways. His enhanced physique meant he wasn't tired despite the long day of physical labor, and his improved agility made navigating the crowded sidewalks feel effortless.
The air was crisp and cold, typical for New York in early spring, but Lin Chen barely noticed. His enhanced physique provided better temperature regulation, and his mind was focused on planning his next moves. Forty dollars wasn't much, but it was a start. A few more days of work, maybe supplemented by some odd jobs, no he don't have any plans to give this money to those mafia.
Deciding to take a shortcut through a less crowded residential area, Lin Chen turned down a narrow side street lined with old brownstones and dimly lit streetlamps. The route would save him fifteen minutes and give him more time to plan his next day's activities.
He was halfway down the quiet street when he heard it—a woman's voice, desperate and filled with terror, calling for help from somewhere ahead.
"Please, somebody help me!"
Lin Chen's enhanced hearing picked up details that would have been lost to normal human ears. The voice was young, probably mid-twenties, and came from an alley about fifty meters ahead. There were also deeper voices—at least two men, their tones aggressive and threatening.
Without hesitation, Lin Chen broke into a run. His improved agility meant he covered the distance in seconds, arriving at the mouth of a narrow alley just in time to see a nightmare scenario unfolding.
Two burly men had cornered a woman against the brick wall of an apartment building. She was young and attractive, with soft brown hair and kind eyes that were now wide with terror. Her purse lay scattered on the ground, its contents spilled across the dirty pavement.
"Come on, lady," one of the men was saying, his voice thick with menace. "Just cooperate and this'll be easier for everyone."
"I already gave you my money," the woman pleaded, pressing herself against the wall as if she could somehow disappear into it. "Please, just let me go. I need to get home to my nephew—he'll be worried."
The second man, taller and more muscular than his companion, laughed coldly. "Money's nice and all, but now that we get a good look at you..." His eyes roamed over her in a way that made Lin Chen's blood boil. "Maybe we can work out a different kind of payment."
"Let go of her!" Lin Chen shouted, stepping into the alley.
Both men spun around, surprised by the interruption. The woman's eyes filled with hope as she saw her potential rescuer, though her expression faltered slightly when she realized how young and relatively small Lin Chen appeared compared to her attackers.
"Beat it, kid," the first man snarled, pulling a switchblade from his jacket pocket. "This ain't your business."
"Walk away if you know what's good for you," the second man added, cracking his knuckles menacingly. "Unless you want to end up bleeding in this alley."
Lin Chen's system immediately provided tactical information as it analyzed the two thugs:
**[TARGET ASSESSMENT]**
**├── Thug #1: Strength 0.09 tons, Armed (knife), Experienced street fighter**
**├── Thug #2: Strength 0.13 tons, Unarmed, Amateur boxer background**
**└── Recommended action: Caution advised. Host advantage in strength and agility.**
The woman looked at Lin Chen with desperate eyes. "Please," she whispered, "call the police."
But there wasn't time for police. The knife-wielding thug was already advancing, his blade reflecting the dim streetlight as he prepared to eliminate this inconvenient witness.
"Wrong choice, hero," he sneered, lunging forward with surprising speed.
Lin Chen's enhanced reflexes kicked in automatically. Time seemed to slow as his improved agility allowed him to sidestep the knife thrust with fluid grace. His enhanced strength, double that of his attacker, made his counterpunch devastatingly effective.
The blow caught the thug in the solar plexus with the force of a sledgehammer. The man doubled over, gasping for air and dropping his knife as he collapsed to his knees.
The second thug stared in shock for a moment before charging with a roar of rage. He was bigger and had clearly had some boxing training, but his skills were no match for Lin Chen's power.
Lin Chen ducked under the wild haymaker, his improved agility making the telegraphed punch seem sluggish. His response was a precise uppercut that lifted the larger man off his feet and sent him crashing into a row of garbage cans.
The entire confrontation lasted less than ten seconds. Both attackers lay groaning in the alley, thoroughly defeated by someone they had dismissed as just another scrawny kid.
"Oh my God," the woman gasped, staring at Lin Chen with a mixture of awe and disbelief. "How did you...? I mean, thank you, but how did you move so fast?"
Lin Chen helped the shaken woman to her feet, noting absently that his system was providing small attribute gains even from this brief combat encounter:
**[DING! DETECTED: Combat Experience +0.1 from street fighter]**
**[DING! DETECTED: Mental Power +0.02 from women under pressure]**
"Are you hurt?" he asked, his voice gentle as he helped gather her scattered belongings.
She shook her head, though her hands were trembling. "No, I'm okay. Just scared." She looked at the two unconscious thugs with lingering fear. "I was just trying to take a shortcut home from my job. I work late shifts sometimes to make extra money, and I thought this route would be safer..."
Lin Chen shrugged off his jacket and draped it around her shoulders, noticing how she pulled it gratefully around herself. "You're safe now. What's your name?"
"May," she said quietly, then looked up at him with grateful eyes. "May Parker. I can't thank you enough. If you hadn't come along..." She shuddered at the implications.
Lin Chen felt as if he'd been struck by lightning. May Parker. As in, Aunt May Parker. As in, the woman who would one day raise the most famous superhero in the Marvel Universe.
But something was wrong with the timeline. In every version of Spider-Man's origin that Lin Chen knew, May was married to Ben Parker—her loving husband who would eventually be killed by a criminal that Peter Parker could have stopped, leading to the famous lesson about great power and great responsibility.
"I'm sorry," he said carefully, "but could I ask about your family? Do you mentioned a nephew..."
May's expression grew sad. "Yes, Peter. He's in high school. I've been taking care of him since... since my husband died three years ago. Ben was sick for a long time before the end. The medical bills..." She trailed off, clearly not wanting to burden a stranger with her problems.
Lin Chen's mind raced. Ben Parker was already dead? That meant the traditional Spider-Man origin story couldn't happen the way it was supposed to. Without Uncle Ben to deliver the pivotal lesson about responsibility, how would Peter Parker develop into the hero the world needed?
"I'm sorry for your loss," Lin Chen said sincerely. "It must be hard, raising a teenager on your own."
"Peter's a good boy," May said with a slight smile. "He gets picked on at school because he's different, but he never complains. I just worry about him. With Ben gone, and me working so much just to pay the bills..." She looked at Lin Chen with sudden concern. "Oh God, he must be worried sick. I told him I'd be home by eight, and it's already past nine."
"Let me walk you home," Lin Chen offered immediately. "It's not safe for you to be out alone, especially after what just happened."
May looked like she wanted to protest, but the fear was still too fresh. "If you're sure it's not too much trouble... We don't live far from here."
As they walked through the quiet streets of Queens, May told Lin Chen more about her situation. She worked multiple part-time jobs—cleaning offices, working at a local diner during lunch rushes, even doing occasional babysitting—all to make ends meet and keep Peter in school.
"He's so smart," she said with obvious pride. "His teachers say he could get a scholarship to any university he wants. He's especially good at science—chemistry, physics, biology. Sometimes I catch him working on experiments in his room that I don't even understand."
They reached a modest two-story house on a tree-lined street that was clearly seen better days. The paint was peeling, the front steps were cracked, and the small yard was more weeds than grass. But it was clean and well-maintained despite its shabby condition—a testament to May's efforts to provide the best home she could manage.
"Peter!" May called out as she unlocked the front door. "I'm home!"
A teenage boy appeared at the top of the stairs, and Lin Chen felt another jolt of recognition. Peter Parker was exactly what he'd expected—thin, awkward, with unruly brown hair and intelligent eyes behind wire-rimmed glasses. He looked worried as he hurried down the stairs.
"Aunt May, you're late! I was starting to think—" Peter stopped mid-sentence as he noticed Lin Chen standing in the doorway. "Oh. Hi."
"Peter, this is Lin Chen," May said, her voice still carrying traces of her earlier ordeal. "He... he helped me tonight. Some men tried to rob me, and he came to my rescue."
Peter's eyes widened with alarm as he looked his aunt over carefully. "Are you hurt? Did they—what happened exactly?"
"I'm fine, Peter. Mr. Lin made sure of that." May turned to Lin Chen with genuine gratitude. "I don't know how I can ever thank you enough."
"You don't need to thank me," Lin Chen replied honestly. "I just did what anyone should do."
"I got lucky," Lin Chen said simply. "They weren't expecting resistance, and I managed to catch them off guard."
Peter look convinced. "Well, thank you. Aunt May is... she's all the family I have left."
The genuine emotion in Peter's voice, and the protective way he positioned himself near his aunt, told Lin Chen everything he needed to know about their relationship. This Peter Parker was already developing the strong moral compass that would define him as Spider-Man, even without Uncle Ben's guidance.
"I should get going," Lin Chen said, stepping back toward the door. "You two have had enough excitement for one night."
"Wait," May said, hurrying to take off his jacket and return it. "At least let me give you something—some money, or cook you dinner sometime, or—"
"Really, it's not necessary," Lin Chen interrupted gently. "Just... be careful out there, okay? Maybe don't take shortcuts through empty alleys."
May nodded, clutching the jacket as she handed it back. "I will. And Mr. Lin? Thank you. For everything."
As Lin Chen walked back through the quiet streets toward his own modest home above the shop, his mind was spinning with the implications of what he'd learned. Ben Parker was dead, which meant the traditional Spider-Man origin story is different now. Peter was clearly intelligent and morally upright, but without the defining tragedy that would teach him about responsibility, would he ever become the hero the world needed?
And more immediately, Lin Chen had just inserted himself into the Parker family's life at a crucial time. His presence had already changed the timeline simply by saving May from an assault that might have had far worse consequences.
Back at his shop, Lin Chen climbed the narrow stairs to his small apartment above the store. The day's events had given him much to think about. His system had proven its worth, allowing him to progress from ordinary human to peak physical condition in a single day. But more importantly, he had gotten his first real taste of what it meant to be strong enough to protect others. he prepared for bed.
Tomorrow would bring new challenges and new opportunities for growth. The construction site might be reaching its limits for his development, but New York City was full of people with skills and abilities he could learn from.
Lin Chen closed his eyes, his enhanced physique allowing him to fall asleep almost instantly. Tomorrow would be another day of growth, another step toward becoming strong enough to survive in a world where gods and monsters walked among mortals.
The Marvel Universe was about to change in ways no one could predict, and Lin Chen was just getting started.