July 1, 2026. Dusk in the capital of China.
The setting sun burned the sky over Leijing blood-red, the clouds flowing like spilled wine. Below, a bright yellow school bus crawled down the main avenue.
In the back row, a teenage boy in a school uniform rested his chin on his hand, silently watching the scenery outside.
His reflection showed faintly in the glass—a handsome face with a mildly indifferent gaze.
He stared blankly toward the distant Leijing Bridge and its endless, restless flow of traffic. A massive, snow-white plane roared into the distance, leaving only a spiraling contrail to drift across the sunset.
After a while, he lifted his gaze to the blood-red panel at the very top of his vision.
[Dear player 'Ke Mingqing', there are exactly 179 days, 05 hours, 30 minutes, and 24 seconds remaining before the time limit for your mission 'Exterminate All Superhumans' expires.]
[In two hours, player functions such as the 'Superhuman Index' and 'Skill Shop' will be gradually unlocked, and a series of 'Main Quests' tailored to your current environment will be generated.]
Ke Mingqing shrugged. His feelings were incredibly complicated.
It felt like downloading a Pokémon game, only to open it and find that Professor Oak wasn't handing you a Poké Ball or a Pokédex, but a boning knife.
And then the professor tells you: 'Wow, Ash, you're finally here! Now we're going to wipe every single Pokémon off the face of the Earth. Take this boning knife, go slaughter a Pikachu, and bring me the corpse.'
Ke Mingqing maintained his deadpan expression. He gave a dry chuckle and looked back out the window.
Just then, the girl sitting next to him—the one with shoulder-length black hair and a teardrop mole—spoke in a low voice:
"You... you came from over there too?"
Ke Mingqing turned to her. The word 'player' slowly surfaced in midair above her head, followed by her name.
Her name was Kuroki Hitomi, a foreign exchange student from Japan. Before crossing over, they had been assigned to the same classroom and had only met once. By the looks of it, both of them had transmigrated, and both had received this obscure 'player' identity.
"Obviously. What did you think was floating over my head?" Ke Mingqing asked quietly.
"Why didn't you confirm it with me?" Kuroki Hitomi asked after a moment. "Aren't we classmates?"
Ke Mingqing replied bluntly, "I didn't see the need."
Kuroki Hitomi fell silent. "What's going to happen to us in our original world?"
"I'm an orphan," Ke Mingqing said dismissively. "If I go missing over there, no one will care. They might put on a show of looking for a bit, but they'll forget me soon enough. You're different, though. Your family is probably going crazy right now."
"That's true..." Kuroki Hitomi nodded, lowering her eyes as she sank into her thoughts.
A deafening roar suddenly tore through the air directly above them, and the entire bus violently shuddered.
The students looked up in panic as the roof tore open. A tall figure plummeted through the gap against the sunlight, crashing right into the center of the aisle. Spiderweb cracks spread across the floor beneath his feet.
Ke Mingqing toyed with his phone, not even bothering to look up. "There it is. The trash-mob villain that always spawns on schedule in brain-dead superhero movies."
His tone was as calm as if he had just stumbled across a wild Pokémon in the tall grass, but Kuroki Hitomi was stunned.
She looked up. A man entirely covered in a white carapace stood before them.
His pupils were a grotesque, demonic red that made it terrifying to meet his gaze. Two white antennae extended from his forehead and wrapped over his head to connect to his ears, looking like a bizarre hat.
After a long moment, Ke Mingqing finally glanced up from his phone to size the man up.
[Superhuman Codename: Termite Monster]
[Type: mutant]
[Danger Rating: E Rank]
[Known Weaknesses: 1. Intense photophobia; 2. A red crystal on his back, which serves as his second heart.]
"Shh... I need to borrow your school bus, as well as your lives," the Termite Monster said, tilting his head with a grim smile. "You lot should be glad that damned crow won't just ignore you, otherwise you'd all be dead already."
Screams erupted throughout the bus. The Termite Monster threw his arms out, spraying white slime from his palms to coat the windows on both sides.
The slime spread rapidly, forming a snow-white web that completely sealed the windows.
In an instant, the interior of the bus plunged into pitch darkness.
It became a white nest.
A swarm of insects rose from the slime, latching onto the driver and corroding his head into nothingness. They then wrapped around the steering wheel and the gas pedal, hijacking control of the bus.
The bus swayed, causing the cabin to jolt violently. The students screamed in the dark, the more timid ones collapsing into their seats and sobbing.
The Termite Monster shouted at them, "Yes, yes, yes, scream a little louder! Let Rain Crow know you're all still alive so he won't dare make a move!" He lifted his head, a satisfied gaze sweeping over the terrified faces.
In the dimness, Ke Mingqing glanced at a bag on his seat. It held a few unpackaged flashlights left over from a recent school camping trip.
He reached in, pulled out three flashlights, and handed them to Kuroki Hitomi, keeping one in his left hand.
"What... what is this?" she asked.
"He's afraid of light. The super-human species panel said so. It's probably because termites have thin cuticles and are photophobic, so intense light causes them to dehydrate and die." As he spoke, Ke Mingqing slid an art-class craft knife out of his backpack. "That red spot on his back is his weakness."
"Are... are you crazy?" Kuroki Hitomi stared blankly at the blade.
Ke Mingqing lowered his voice. "I'll crawl over to him in the dark. Right as I get close, we both shine the flashlights on him at the same time. Understand?"
"Hontou ni daijoubu desu ka?" Kuroki Hitomi's voice trembled, inadvertently slipping into her native Japanese in her panic. The phrase meant: Are you really sure this is okay?
"Trust me." Not giving her a chance to argue, Ke Mingqing hunched over and crept forward through the darkness.
The other students were either squatting with their heads in their hands or curled up in their seats in terror, leaving Ke Mingqing's path clear.
He muffled his footsteps, hiding the flashlight and the craft knife behind his back as he advanced step by step toward the Termite Monster, who was facing away from him.
Thump...
Thump, thump...
Ke Mingqing's heart hammered, like ten thousand tiny people stomping violently inside his chest.
Sitting in the back row, Kuroki Hitomi held her breath, silently staring at Ke Mingqing's back.
A moment later, right as Ke Mingqing lunged forward and drew the craft knife, Kuroki Hitomi acted. Click. She switched on all three flashlights at once.
She held one flashlight in each hand, aiming them directly at the Termite Monster. A third flashlight was wedged under her arm, coincidentally shining right at his head.
Blinding white beams shot from the flashlights, slicing through the darkness like swords. The three beams landed perfectly on the back of the Termite Monster's head, his back, and his thigh.
He froze, then violently twisted his head around. Under the intense glare, the skin beneath his white insectoid carapace began to burn fiercely. The shell quickly sloughed away, exposing charred flesh.
"Aaaargh!"
The Termite Monster's agonizing roar echoed throughout the bus, drowning out the screaming students.
Surprised that Kuroki Hitomi had actually pulled it off, Ke Mingqing raised his eyebrows. He dropped his flashlight, lunged, and gripped the craft knife with both hands. Aiming at the bewitching red crystal embedded in the Termite Monster's back, he stabbed down with all his might.
But at that very moment, the white slime covering the roof above Ke Mingqing tore open. A dense flock of crows crashed down like a tide of black water, stacking together into a human silhouette.
It was a towering figure draped in a pitch-black cloak, looking exactly like a giant, bipedal crow.
He wore a pitch-black helmet that exposed only his eyes and lips. At its center, a sharp beak jutted outward like a black sword.
[Superhuman Codename: 'Rain Crow']
[Type: esper]
[Danger Rating: A++ Rank]
[Superhuman Profile: Seat No. 7 of the Superhero Roundtable Council. His strength ranks among the very best of all superheroes, and Rain Crow possesses the most work experience among the Roundtable Heroes. He is currently employed at the Super Hero Company in Leijing, China.]
The moment they saw Rain Crow, the students fell completely silent.
Who didn't know the most prestigious superhero in Leijing? His arrival meant the situation was fully under control.
Yet, someone in the bus shrieked even louder. The hero's aesthetic was so dark and violent that, in their extreme panic, the student mistook him for another villainous thug.
Rain Crow raised his right hand from beneath his cloak, chopping at the Termite Monster's neck with speed that left afterimages. He effortlessly knocked the villain to the ground.
He tilted his head slightly, shooting a cold, sidelong glance at the craft knife in Ke Mingqing's hands. Only after a long pause did he speak:
"Don't do that again... You could get a busload of people killed." Rain Crow's voice, heavily modified by a voice changer, was hoarse and dark, yet carried a faint magnetic quality.
Ke Mingqing didn't say a word. He just looked at the Termite Monster on the floor, then back up at Rain Crow.
"Why not mention that I bought you time? A second later and he might have killed the rest of the hostages," he said calmly. "Why get mad at a victim like me instead of the criminal? Exactly what I'd expect from a hero who loves parading the fact that he doesn't kill villains... Harsh on ordinary people, but perfectly tolerant of criminals."
At those words, Rain Crow's eyes narrowed behind his mask. He turned and stared at Ke Mingqing for two solid seconds. In the blink of an eye, both he and the villain dissipated into a flurry of crow feathers, vanishing as if they had never been there.
The bus fell dead silent. The rays of the setting sun once again spilled through the windows, illuminating every corner. All the students were staring blankly at Ke Mingqing.
In the dead quiet, Ke Mingqing sat back down in the last row. He thought for a second, then turned to Kuroki Hitomi and muttered:
"Add me as a friend."
To be frank, he hadn't expected the pampered exchange student to actually follow his instructions in a crisis. She had used all three flashlights, and even then, she only managed to suppress the Termite Monster for a mere two seconds.
Kuroki Hitomi nodded.
[Player 'Kuroki Hitomi' has sent you a friend request. You have accepted the friend request. Both players may now communicate remotely via the friends list.]
The driver was dead, and the school bus had ground to a halt. Before long, police cars with flashing red and blue lights arrived. The students disembarked one after another and were escorted to the police station.
Ke Mingqing gave his statement, omitting exactly what he had done.
In this world, criminal incidents like this were incredibly common—perhaps just as common as old ladies dancing in public squares. The police were long used to it.
Since Rain Crow had already taken the culprit back to the Superhero Association to be locked up, the officers didn't give the students a hard time. They quickly contacted parents to pick them up one by one.
As for Ke Mingqing, he left on his own. He wasn't accustomed to contacting his 'family'.
He had been an orphan in his past life, also named Ke Mingqing. But the body he was currently occupying—despite sharing the exact same name—was different.
His family dynamic was a little complicated. It was a household of seven: a dad, a mom, an eldest brother, a second sister, a third sister, him, and a little sister... seven people in total. The original owner of this body had been an adopted son.
His father, Ke Mingwei, and his mother, Xia Wenna, had talked it over and brought him home from the orphanage.
According to the memories that came with his transmigration, the original host had felt completely out of place at first. Thankfully, his older siblings had taken good care of him and never treated him like an outsider.
In this world where super-human species flew through the sky every day, Ke Mingqing was now sixteen years old.
He hadn't developed any psychological issues, nor did he feel like a freeloader living under someone else's roof. Instead, he had taken their surname, integrated into his new home, and gotten along perfectly with everyone.
Everyone in the house was a normal person. It was a warm, picture-perfect family. The only thing they ever had to worry about was someone suddenly getting crushed into meat paste by a member of a super-human species falling from the sky. But as long as you bought insurance from the Super Hero Company, you were guaranteed not to lose out—it would at least ensure the rest of your family could live their lives in comfort.
In this day and age, everyone bought an insurance policy for themselves or secretly bought one for their family.
By the time his thoughts reached this point, the sky was almost entirely dark. Ke Mingqing walked through the Old Jingmai District for a while before stopping in front of his house.
He looked up. It was a three-story residential building with a red-brick exterior, looking like it had been around for quite a few years.
"I transmigrate and they still shove a family onto me. Are they trying to make up for my regrets as an orphan in my last life?" Ke Mingqing exhaled softly and shoved his hands into his uniform pockets.
He kept his head down in silence for a moment before fishing his keys out. He slid the key into the lock, turned it, and pushed the door open.
As the door opened, the last light of the setting sun poured into the dark entryway, stretching his shadow across the wooden floor.
Ke Mingqing lifted his head. A middle-aged man with stubble and deep-set eyes leaned against the entryway wall with his arms crossed. His head was bowed, looking thoroughly preoccupied and somewhat gloomy.
This was his father, Ke Mingwei.
Ke Mingwei's face didn't look right. He had probably heard about the incident from the police.
Ke Mingqing didn't think it was a big deal. His family were all muggles anyway. At worst, he'd get a harsh scolding; they wouldn't slap him to death in a fit of rage—just like when Harry Potter accidentally used magic to turn that chubby kid into a balloon and watched him float up into the sky.
If push came to shove, he would just run away from home. Being an orphan like before he crossed over was a lot more relaxing anyway. It had to be better than playing house with these people.
Ke Mingqing had the original host's memories. He understood every member of his family, knowing all their habits and quirks, yet he felt absolutely no emotional attachment to them.
It was an awkward situation—like looking at a group of people who were simultaneously familiar and foreign. It left him feeling incredibly conflicted.
"Dad, I'm home," Ke Mingqing offered a perfunctory greeting, pushing his thoughts aside.
But as he raised his head, he suddenly saw a super-human species introduction panel floating above Ke Mingwei's head. The text on the panel was all too familiar.
[Superhuman Codename: 'Rain Crow']
[Danger Rating: A++ Rank (Infinitely close to the pinnacle of the world)]
[Currently Known Weaknesses: 1. The superhero 'Rain Crow' never kills criminals.]
Ke Mingqing froze.
He suddenly recalled the 'bipedal crowman' he had relentlessly mocked on the school bus, who had remained entirely indifferent. Right after, the original host's sixteen years of memories flashed before his eyes.
Images raced through his mind—memories of Ke Mingwei using the excuse of going downstairs to buy cigarettes, only to disappear for a whole day, sometimes even two days and nights.
The clues slammed into each other, one after another, like a massive pileup.
He came to understand a single fact.
His old man, Ke Mingwei, belonged to a super-human species. Not only that, he was a member of the Superhero Roundtable Council at the very peak of society. He had just hidden it from the family all these years.
Ke Mingqing immediately opened his friends list, found Kuroki Hitomi's name, willed the chat panel open, and mentally typed a message to her.
[Ke Mingqing: I'm finished.]
[Kuroki Hitomi: ...Huh?]
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