Molecules with fused seven-membered ring systems have attracted considerable attention due to their extensive presence in biologically active natural products and small molecule drugs, such as daphenylline, aplyviolene, pepluanol A, and ingenol (Figure ). For this reason, methods with high efficiency for the synthesis of fused ring systems is in great demand. However, those seven-membered ring systems are particularly difficult to prepare due to their typically higher strain barrier than other sized rings. A scarce number of catalytic methods are available to overcome the unfavorable enthalpic and entropic challenges of such organic reactions. Over the past decades, a vast array of approaches have been devoted to developing effective strategies for synthesizing the benzocycloheptane motif and other fused bicyclo[m.n.0] ring systems, including intramolecular cycloadditions, transition-metal catalyzed intermolecular [5+2] annulation, and other methods (Scheme 1a). Very recently, Dong and co-workers reported a straightforward and distinct approach for accessing benzene-fused scaffolds between 1-indanones and ethylene gas or internal alkynes via intermolecular reactions (Scheme 1b). Although these strategies have undoubtedly made a significant progress, the requirement of expensive noble metal rhodium, high temperature, high-pressure ethylene gas, and the limited scope of substrates, have severely hindered the application of these methodologies to the construction of highly complex and multi-functionalized structures.