# Chapter 1: A New Beginning
Marvel Universe
United States of America, New York City
Queens, Fourth Street
The late afternoon sun cast long shadows through the dusty windows of a small corner shop, illuminating a young Asian man sitting behind the counter in a daze. His handsome features—sharp jawline, expressive dark brown eyes, and tousled black hair—remained frozen in contemplation as he stared blankly at the cracked pavement outside.
Lin Chen. Eighteen years old. And as of yesterday, no longer the same person who had owned that name.
His mind raced with the impossible reality he'd awakened to. Just twenty-four hours ago, he had been living the soul-crushing routine of office overtime and late-night commutes. The memory of screeching tires and blinding headlights flashed through his consciousness—a speeding truck, a moment of impact, and then... darkness.
When he'd opened his eyes, he wasn't in a hospital. He was here, in this cramped shop in Queens, with memories that weren't entirely his own flooding his mind like water through a broken dam.
The Marvel Universe.
The realization still sent chills down his spine. This wasn't just any world—this was a reality where gods walked among mortals, where heroes soared through the skies, and where the very planet Earth served as a cosmic battleground for forces beyond human comprehension.
"A world where gods and demons are everywhere, and heroes are like cat or dogs," he muttered under his breath, borrowing a phrase from his fragmented memories. "A high-risk world where the earth can be destroyed if you're not careful."
For the superheroes, this world was their grand stage—a place to showcase their incredible abilities and save the day with spectacular displays of power. But for ordinary people? For people like him? This was a death trap wrapped in the illusion of normalcy.
Lin Chen's hands trembled slightly as he considered what lay ahead. Chaotic gangsters ruled the streets with impunity. Endless streams of monsters emerged from dimensional rifts and government experiments gone wrong. Alien invasions would rain down from the stars. Loki, the trickster god from Asgard's royal family, would eventually set his sights on Earth as his personal conquest. Dormammu, the malevolent ruler of the Dark Dimension, constantly schemed to shroud the world in eternal darkness. And somewhere out there, the Mad Titan Thanos was already plotting to eliminate half of all life in the universe—all for the twisted goal of impressing Death herself.
The worst part? Lin Chen had no idea if he would survive long enough to even witness these world-ending events, let alone do anything about them.
*At least... none of this has happened yet,* he thought, grasping for some small comfort.
Right now, Tony Stark was still living it up as a reckless playboy billionaire, drowning his genius in alcohol and one-night stands. Steve Rogers—the legendary Captain America—remained frozen in the icy depths of the North Atlantic, his shield and unwavering moral compass locked away with him in suspended animation. Dr. Bruce Banner was somewhere out there, constantly on the run from General Ross's relentless hunting teams, unable to find peace as long as the Hulk raged within him. And in the distant realm of Asgard, Thor Odinson continued his arrogant existence as the heir apparent, blissfully unaware that his path to wisdom would soon require a harsh lesson in humility.
But all of this would change soon. The gears of fate were already turning, and the Marvel Universe was about to explode into the age of heroes and villains.
Lin Chen had initially considered fleeing—maybe catching the first flight out of America to some remote corner of the world where superheroes and cosmic threats were just stories on the news. But the more he thought about it, the more he realized the futility of such a plan. When Thanos snapped his fingers, geography wouldn't matter. When Galactus arrived to devour the planet, there would be nowhere to hide. When reality itself was at stake, no corner of the universe would be safe.
The memories of the body's original owner painted an even grimmer picture of his immediate circumstances. This Lin Chen had been an orphan since the age of fifteen, when his parents died in a car accident three years ago. They'd left him this small shop as his only inheritance—a modest convenience store that should have provided a decent living for a young man willing to work hard.
Should have. But life had other plans.
Desperate to expand the business and honor his parents' memory, the original Lin Chen had made a deal with the devil—literally, in the form of a local loan shark with ties to organized crime. The interest rates had been astronomical, but he'd been young, naive, and convinced that hard work would be enough to overcome any obstacle.
Three years later, he'd paid back the original loan amount twice over, but the compound interest kept growing like a cancer. Every dollar he earned went toward payments that barely touched the principal, and somehow, despite his best efforts, the debt had actually increased. The loan sharks had made sure of that, using every legal loophole and intimidation tactic in their arsenal to keep him trapped in their web.
The sound of heavy footsteps on the sidewalk outside snapped Lin Chen back to the present. His enhanced hearing—wait, enhanced hearing? That was new—picked up the aggressive muttering of familiar voices.
"Damn kid better have our money this time..."
"Boss said no more extensions. Time to send a message."
Lin Chen's pulse quickened as three men in cheap suits approached the shop entrance. He recognized them immediately from the original owner's memories: Tony "The Fish" Torrino and his two enforcers, muscle-bound thugs who solved problems with their fists first and asked questions never.
The door chime sounded like a funeral bell as they entered, bringing with them the scent of cheap cologne and barely concealed violence.
"Well, well, well," Tony sneered, his gold tooth glinting in the afternoon light. "If it isn't our favorite little shopkeeper. Kid, what are you doing just sitting there? Come here. Now."
Lin Chen forced himself to remain calm as he stood up, his hands steady despite the adrenaline coursing through his veins. The original owner's memories provided a roadmap for this encounter—grovel, make promises, buy time. It was a degrading dance they'd performed many times before.
"Mr. Torrino," Lin Chen said with as much respect as he could muster. "I—I'm sorry, but I need just a little more time. Maybe another week? I promise I'll have something for you then. I'm already looking for extra work, and—"
"Another week?" Tony's voice rose dangerously. "Kid, you already owe us fifteen grand, and that's after three years of payments. The interest alone is eating you alive, and you want another week?"
One of the enforcers, a mountain of muscle named Sal, cracked his knuckles ominously. "Boss, maybe we should redecorate this place. Help him understand the urgency of the situation."
"No, no," Tony waved him off, his predatory smile never wavering. "Our young friend here is going to be reasonable. Isn't that right, Lin?"
Lin Chen nodded quickly, hating himself for the submission but knowing it was necessary for survival. "Yes, absolutely. One week, Mr. Torrino. I give you my word—you won't have any reason to complain after that. I'll work day and night if I have to."
The loan shark studied him for a long moment, as if trying to decide whether to escalate things or play along with the charade a little longer. Finally, he shrugged.
"One week," he agreed, but his tone carried the weight of a death sentence. "But kid? If you don't have at least five grand by next Tuesday, we're going to have a very different kind of conversation. The kind where Sal and Vinny here help you understand why they call me 'The Fish.'"
The implication was crystal clear. Lin Chen had heard the rumors about Tony's nickname—it had nothing to do with his eating habits and everything to do with where his victims ended up.
"I understand," Lin Chen said quietly.
"Good. Real good." Tony adjusted his jacket and headed toward the door, his enforcers trailing behind like loyal pit bulls. "Oh, and kid? Don't even think about running. We know where you live, where you shop, where you get your morning coffee. This is our neighborhood. Remember that."
The door chime seemed almost mocking as they left, leaving Lin Chen alone with his thoughts and the crushing weight of his circumstances.
He slumped back into his chair, pulling out his phone to check his bank balance. The number stared back at him like a death sentence: $93.47. Even if he sold everything in the shop, he'd be lucky to scrape together a thousand dollars. And that was assuming he could find buyers for outdated inventory and secondhand fixtures.
*I need work. Fast.*
Lin Chen opened his phone's browser and began searching through job listings. Most required experience he didn't have or skills he'd never developed. But there—construction work. Physical labor that paid by the day and didn't ask too many questions about background or documentation.
As he scrolled through the listings, something strange began happening. His phone screen flickered, and for just a moment, he could have sworn he saw text that didn't belong:
**[SYSTEM INITIALIZING...]**
**[DETECTING HOST COMPATIBILITY...]**
**[COMPATIBILITY CONFIRMED: 100%]**
**[STRONGEST ATTRIBUTE SYSTEM ACTIVATED]**
Lin Chen blinked hard and looked at his phone again. The screen showed nothing but normal job listings. Had he imagined it? The stress of his situation was clearly getting to him.
But then he heard it—a soft chime that seemed to echo inside his skull rather than through his ears:
**[DING! WELCOME TO THE STRONGEST ATTRIBUTE SYSTEM]**
**[CURRENT HOST: Lin Chen]**
**[AGE: 18]**
**[CURRENT POWER LEVEL: Normal Human]**
**[SYSTEM FUNCTION: Absorb attributes from others through observation of their activities]**
**[ATTRIBUTE CATEGORIES: Strength, Physique, Agility, Mental Power, Special Abilities]**
**[TUTORIAL BEGINNING...]**
Lin Chen's eyes widened as a translucent blue interface materialized in his field of vision, visible even when he closed his eyes. It was like something out of a video game, complete with status bars, numerical values, and menu options.
**[HOST STATUS]**
**├── Strength: 0.06 tons (Average human male)**
**├── Physique: 1.0 (Baseline human durability/endurance)**
**├── Agility: 1.0 (Standard human speed/reflexes)**
**├── Mental Power: 1.2 (Slightly above average intelligence)**
**└── Special Abilities: None**
**[ABSORPTION RANGE: 50 meters]**
**[CURRENT TARGETS IN RANGE: 7]**
As if responding to his thoughts, the system highlighted several figures through the shop windows—pedestrians walking by, a jogger crossing the street, a delivery driver unloading boxes from his truck.
**[DING! DETECTED: Strength +0.03 tons from delivery driver lifting 30kg package]**
**[DING! DETECTED: Agility +0.001 from jogger's running form]**
**[DING! DETECTED: Physique +0.001 from elderly man's cardiovascular health]**
Lin Chen felt a subtle but unmistakable change in his body—a slight increase in muscle tension, a marginally deeper breath capacity, a tiny improvement in his reaction time. The sensations were so minor that he might have dismissed them as imagination, but the system's interface updated in real-time to reflect the changes.
**[HOST STATUS - UPDATED]**
**├── Strength: 0.09 tons**
**├── Physique: 1.003**
**├── Agility: 1.001**
**├── Mental Power: 1.2**
**└── Special Abilities: None**
It was working. Somehow, impossibly, he was actually absorbing tiny fragments of ability from everyone around him. The improvements were microscopic now, but the implications were staggering. If he could gain strength from watching people lift things, speed from observing runners, intelligence from being near smart people...
Lin Chen's mind raced with possibilities. This was his answer—not just to his immediate financial crisis, but to the existential threat of living in the Marvel Universe. He wouldn't have to cower in fear as cosmic forces battled above his head. He wouldn't have to hope that some hero would save the day when alien invasions or mad gods threatened everything he cared about.
He could become strong enough to protect himself. Maybe even strong enough to protect others.
A slow smile spread across Lin Chen's face as he looked at his phone again, searching for that construction job with renewed purpose. He wasn't just looking for work anymore—he was looking for his first real training ground.
After all, construction sites were full of people doing exactly the kinds of physical activities that his system seemed designed to absorb. Heavy lifting, precision work, endurance tasks, problem-solving under pressure. It would be like going to a gym where he got paid instead of paying membership fees.
*Let's see just how strong this system can make me.*
Outside, the sun began to set over Queens, painting the sky in shades of orange and red. In a few hours, the city would transform—criminals would emerge from their hiding places, heroes would begin their patrols, and the eternal dance between order and chaos would begin anew.
But for the first time since arriving in this world, Lin Chen wasn't afraid. He had a plan, a purpose, and most importantly, a power that grew stronger with every passing moment.
The Marvel Universe had no idea what was coming.
"One week," he murmured, echoing Tony's ultimatum. "Let's see what I can become in one week."
As night fell over New York City, Lin Chen began planning his transformation from ordinary victim to something the world had never seen before. The strongest attribute system was active, his absorption range was expanding, and somewhere in the back of his mind, he could feel the first stirrings of power that would one day reshape reality itself.
The age of heroes hadn't begun yet, but Lin Chen's journey had just started.
And in a world where gods and monsters walked among mortals, that might just be enough to change everything.