The stale scent of old textbooks and cheap disinfectant hung heavy in the air of the Midtown High classroom. Outside, the midday sun blazed over the iconic Manhattan skyline, a silent promise of the chaos that simmered beneath its polished surface.
Su Yi sat hunched over his desk, his posture screaming casual indifference, but his mind was a battlefield.
"How did I end up here? And more importantly... why is this not the boring, safe Earth I left?"
He ran a hand over his short, jet-black hair. His sigh was a quiet admission of shock. He was a transmigrator, a soul ripped from one reality and violently shoved into another. He'd woken up in the body of a nineteen-year-old college student—a wealthy one, blessedly.
A nice apartment in Queens, a fully paid-off car, and even a sizable trust fund, courtesy of the conveniently deceased 'original' parents. Going from an orphan to a well-off young man was a cosmic upgrade, but that joy had curdled into dread.
I should be ecstatic. I'm a wealthy orphan who can finally relax! But no. The universe couldn't just give me peace.
His gaze drifted to the window, where the monolithic structure of the Lighthouse of Freedom—the local nickname for the towering Freedom Tower—pierced the blue sky. It was a beautiful view, a symbol of freedom... and a terrifying reminder of the world he was now trapped in.
He slowly pulled out his phone, the sleek black screen reflecting his worried expression. A notification banner flickered at the top:
BREAKING NEWS: Stark Out? Hammer Industries Debuts 'Pacifier' Drone Technology, Citing 'Obsolescence' of Iron Man Tech!
Su Yi's blood ran cold. He slammed his phone face down on the desk, then snatched it back up, his fingers flying across the search bar. This wasn't just a universe like the Marvel movies; this was it. He started typing in keywords, his heart rate accelerating with every search result.
Captain America: No public record. Still iced. Status: Safe (for now).
Tony Stark: Kidnapped two months ago. No return. Status: About to become Iron Man.
Bruce Banner/Hulk: No reliable info on the 'Green Rage Monster.' Just a respected, reclusive scientist. Status: Ticking time bomb.
Mutants/X-Men: Vague rumors, nothing concrete. Status: Still in the shadows.
"So, I've landed right before the big bang," Su Yi muttered, his knuckles white against the phone casing. "Phase One is just getting started. I'm standing on the ignition switch."
The realization hit him like a ten-ton truck. In this world, gods walked the earth, aliens invaded New York every other Tuesday, and science experiments routinely led to city-destroying monsters. He was just Su Yi, a guy who was great at binge-watching but terrible at fighting. His best bet was to liquidate his assets, move to a remote country that didn't know what a superhero was, and disappear.
Lie low. Stay quiet. Let the plot kill everyone else. That was the only rational strategy for an ordinary man.
Just as the true depth of his existential dread began to sink its teeth in, a voice cut through the classroom noise, sharp and cheerful.
"Hey, Gwen! You made it!"
"Hey there, Liz," a melodic voice responded.
Su Yi's head snapped up. He saw a figure gliding through the doorway: tall, draped in a chic jacket, and radiating a golden aura that seemed to dim the fluorescent lights. Blonde hair, impossibly bright, cascaded over her shoulders. She was breathtaking—a living, breathing work of art that effortlessly eclipsed her cinematic counterpart, Emma Stone.
"Gwen Stacy... She's even more stunning in person."
And then, a sound that cut through his rising panic and existential fear like a laser:
[Ding! Required character detected. Destiny Evolution System has been bound!]
Su Yi froze. He felt a phantom connection bloom in his mind—a stream of data, simple and beautiful, flooding his consciousness. Fear instantly dissolved, replaced by a rush of pure, unadulterated ecstasy.
A System! I have a cheat! This is how a webnovel MC survives!
He mastered the System's functions in less than two minutes. The mechanics were elegantly brutal: Change the fate of a major character, gain Fate Points (FP).
The uses for FP? Gloriously overpowered:
Direct Attribute Enhancement: Spend FP to boost the six core dimensions of his being: Intelligence, Strength, Speed, Endurance, Spirit, and Energy.
The System Store: A cosmic warehouse of power.
Abilities: Flying, Telepathy, Immortality...
Items: Senzu Beans, Devil Fruits, the mystical Lasso of Truth...
Templates/Cards: Copy Cards, Character Templates, even a Silver Super Template!
"Holy hell. A Silver Super Template? This System isn't messing around. It wants me to break the universe."
[New Player Gift Pack has been detected and is ready to claim!]
"Claim, claim, claim! Now!"
A wave of intense, humming energy washed over Su Yi. It wasn't painful, but intensely invigorating. He felt a simultaneous snap and surge in every cell of his body.
[Protagonist's Six Attributes upgraded to Level 3!]
[Special Ability Gained: Instant Teleportation!]
[Special Item Obtained: Symbiote Suit (Dormant)!]
[Special Template Obtained: Batman Bruce Template!]
Su Yi subtly clenched his right hand under the desk. The texture of the cheap, worn plastic now felt like clay under his grip. He could feel the dense, coiled power in his muscles—a raw, terrifying energy. His physical strength had just skyrocketed. He could feel his thinking sharpen, too. Concepts that had been vague academic hurdles in his past life now seemed obvious, their underlying logic laid bare.
"Is this the effect of Level 3 Intelligence? Everything feels clearer... faster. I could probably ace a quantum physics exam right now."
His mind went immediately to the Batman Bruce Template. It was a knowledge and experience repository for one of the most brilliant, most prepared, and most skilled mortals in any comic universe.
"System, integrate the Batman Template."
[Batman/Bruce Template integration initiated. Estimated time: One Day.]
Reason: Subject Su Yi lacks foundational combat experience and comprehensive technical knowledge. Extended time required for complete transfer of skills and mental capacity.]
"One day is fine," Su Yi conceded, leaning back slightly. He understood the bottleneck. Batman's mind was a fortress of knowledge. His own brain needed time to evolve and accommodate that sheer volume of data, not to mention the hundreds of martial arts and years of crime-fighting experience.
He pulled up his panel:
Almighty Evolution System
Host: Su Yi
Age: 19
Fate Points: 0
Template: Batman Bruce (Merging...)
Intelligence: Level 3 (Enhanced Cognitive Functions)
Strength: Level 3 (Approx. 10 Tons)
Speed: Level 3 (Approx. 100 m/s)
Endurance: Level 3
Spirit: Level 3
Energy: Level 3 (Innate Bio-Energy Potential)
Combat Skill: Level 0 (Novice)
Special Ability: Instant Teleportation
Special Item: Symbiote Suit (Dormant)
Special Tools: None
Ten tons of force... That put him leagues above peak human and into low-level metahuman territory. He was already stronger than Captain America, and he hadn't even truly begun.
He glanced at Gwen Stacy, who had settled in a desk two rows ahead and slightly to his right. His initial panic was gone, replaced by a focused, predatory calculation.
"The System is bound to her. That means my primary objective is to change her fate. If I let her get involved with the 'Spider,' the tragedy will follow. The greatest change is simple: Intercept her."
The classroom continued to fill. A sudden commotion near the door drew his attention. A blazing, beautiful flash of red hair entered the room, drawing eyes like a magnet.
"Gwen, you look like you haven't slept in a week! Still studying for Ross's torture class?" the redhead laughed, leaning down to chat with Gwen as she passed.
"I tried, MJ. You know how it is," Gwen replied, looking slightly strained but smiling back.
"Mary Jane Watson. Betty Brant. Liz Allen. The whole crew is here."
Su Yi discreetly scanned the stunning assembly of young women. They were all young, vibrant, and, as the System recognized, pivotal characters in the web of destiny.
Gwen: Elegant, cool blonde, radiating an almost untouchable, classic beauty. The tragedy magnet.
Mary Jane (MJ): Fiery redhead, energetic, and overtly flirtatious. The life of the party, destined to be the Spider's emotional anchor.
Liz Allan: A confident, attractive blonde with a sophisticated, athletic air. A perfect 'hot girl' archetype.
Betty Brant: A softer blonde, with a clever, slightly guarded expression that hinted at a deep, protective nature.
"They really are more beautiful than the actresses," Su Yi thought, not with lust, but with the cold, assessing eye of a player examining his game pieces. They were the center of the story he needed to hijack.
His gaze finally landed on the young man sitting a few desks to his left, head bowed slightly, sketching furiously in a notebook. Peter Parker. Not the melancholic, slightly awkward version he'd expected, but a handsome young man with a certain brooding intensity. He looked like an artist or a deep thinker—a good kid.
Su Yi felt a flicker of guilt, quickly stomped out by the sheer necessity of survival.
"Sorry, Peter. I'm not a monster, but I'm also not a sacrificial lamb. This isn't about hate; it's about Destiny Points. If I let you two fall in love, the timeline runs its terrible course. By taking the key players—especially Gwen—out of your romantic orbit, I save them from tragedy and save myself with a mountain of FP."
He smirked, a genuine, chilling smile of realization. The System had given him the ultimate weapon: The power of the better life.
"Little Spider, I'm not here to steal your girl. I'm here to save her fate and build my own empire of power. If I give these ladies the happy, safe ending they deserve—without the constant threat of a costumed lunatic destroying their lives—that's a destiny changed. And that's money in the bank for me."
The bell rang, signaling the start of class. Su Yi settled back, the low hum of his Level 3 attributes and the silent clock of the merging Batman template assuring him of his new path. The class around him was a cover. This college was his new base of operations, and the beautiful, doomed blonde woman sitting just feet away was the fuse he needed to change the entire Marvel Universe.
The game had officially begun.