A Guide to Humanity’s Extinction

At one in the afternoon, on the tenth floor of the Magical Girl Company.

Little Red Riding Hood paused at the entrance to the silver-white conference room. She slowly raised her gaze, taking in the figures of the Magical Girl Three Giants.

Xi Ziyue wore a light green qipao and a bamboo hairpiece, her shoulder-length black hair framing a delicate, elegant face.

She kept her eyes lowered, yet her clear, lake-like gaze seemed veiled by an impenetrable mist—a fog that would never dissipate.

Mizumio Akari wore a silver-blue gown adorned with mercury lamp ornaments. Her silver hair cascaded like a waterfall, and her blue eyes were fraught with doubt.

The last was a red-haired girl—Utuna. The upper half of her magical gown was forged into armor, while the lower half flared into a battle skirt. With a distinct nick in one of her fiery red eyebrows, she wore a deeply solemn expression.

"Teacher Xi Ziyue, Teacher Mizumio Akari, Teacher Utuna. Excuse the intrusion," Little Red Riding Hood said. She walked into the conference room, pulled out a chair, and sat down.

The three Giants remained silent, the atmosphere in the room exceptionally heavy. Little Red Riding Hood deliberated for a moment before asking, "Have you found Senior yet?" Her tone lacked its usual indifference, tinged instead with slight tension and urgency.

Xi Ziyue set down her teacup and spoke in a low voice.

Little Red Riding Hood thought for a moment, nodded, and truthfully recounted everything she had witnessed at the harbor.

"Then we have another question," Xi Ziyue said. "Where did Ember go?"

Little Red Riding Hood lowered her eyes, falling silent for a moment. "I saw Senior being taken away by those people. Because they were incredibly strong, I knew I couldn't rescue her on my own. So, I stayed at the harbor."

"You mean to say..." Mizumio Akari paused. "She was taken away by Death Crow while unconscious, yet miraculously escaped their clutches, slept until now, and then sent us a message. Is that right?"

Little Red Riding Hood could hear the sarcasm in her tone, but she raised her blue eyes and answered with absolute certainty.

"That is correct."

Mizumio Akari fell silent for a moment. She was about to press the issue, but Xi Ziyue changed the subject.

"I'm more curious about the Comet Fragments," Xi Ziyue said. "What is their status?"

Mizumio Akari slowly replied, "I heard that, as a precaution, one of the two submarines was carrying fake Comet Fragments. The real Comet Fragments were only transported here this morning."

"Is that so?" Xi Ziyue murmured. "Then Death Crow only managed to steal a portion of the Comet Fragments. That is a blessing in disguise."

"Could you two stop avoiding the main issue?" Utuna suddenly interjected, her tone flat.

"Then why don't you tell us," Mizumio Akari said coldly. "What is the main issue?"

Utuna remained silent for a moment before speaking at a measured pace.

"Every piece of surveillance equipment at the harbor was destroyed by Death Crow's hackers. Even if a few cameras survived intact, it's highly unlikely they retained any footage from that time. However... according to numerous staff members at the scene, the figure of a witch was allegedly spotted in the sky above the harbor. And according to Little Red Riding Hood's own account, both she and the magical girl Sakurahime had already passed out by then."

The red-haired girl raised her eyes to look at Little Red Riding Hood, lowering her voice. "Which means... there was only one magical girl left on the scene who still had the capacity to move."

Both Xi Ziyue and Mizumio Akari fell silent. The former took a sip of her tea, while the latter stared out the window.

After a long pause, Little Red Riding Hood met Utuna's gaze and spoke without a trace of emotion.

"You believe that Senior Ember underwent Witchification while fighting Death Crow. Is that it?"

Utuna nodded, her gaze still calmly locked onto her.

"Though I didn't see it with my own eyes," Little Red Riding Hood said expressionlessly, "I absolutely refuse to accept the possibility that Ember underwent Witchification during that battle."

She paused.

"Senior is just my senior. I saw her fight with everything she had until the very last moment, and that is all there is to it. If you have any further questions, forgive me, but I will no longer entertain them."

With that, Little Red Riding Hood turned, left the conference room, and stepped into the elevator.

"What do you two think?" Mizumio Akari asked with a soft sigh.

"We'll wait until we see Xiao Li. There's no point in speculating," Xi Ziyue said expressionlessly. "You both know that a person cannot revert to normal after Witchification. If the intelligence is true, how could Xiao Li possibly meet us in her original form?"

Mizumio Akari rested her chin in her hand. "If Xiao Li really did become a witch, the Witch Church will definitely come to take her away. With her aptitude, she could very well become the most powerful witch of all."

"The Witch of Despair tied us down last night. Perhaps her entire purpose was to stop us from returning to Leijing..." Xi Ziyue murmured. "That way, Xiao Li might undergo Witchification under the intense pressure."

Mizumio Akari shrugged. "We miscalculated. We let ourselves be distracted. I should have paid closer attention to Xiao Li."

"Regardless... it's clear that the Night of the Witches is fast approaching."

Utuna furrowed her fiery red eyebrows. "And when that time comes, our all-out war with the Witch Church will officially begin."

...

...

At that same time, in a dimly lit motel room on the second floor of a remote, abandoned building.

Giovanni slowly opened his eyes, waking up on a soft bed. Lying beside him was a white-haired girl dressed in a plain white nightgown.

The girl was clutching one of his arms, curled up at the edge of the bed.

Giovanni's waist was wrapped in bandages. He quickly slipped on the T-shirt and black jacket resting nearby, then reached out and gently ruffled Bai Ziling's hair to wake her.

"Giovanni..." She opened her eyes, clutching her sketchbook, and spoke groggily. "I dreamed you were cut in two. It was a really scary dream."

"I don't think that was a dream. That actually happened," Giovanni said with a self-deprecating chuckle.

Bai Ziling stayed quiet for a moment, rubbing her eyes.

"You don't look like you slept well."

"Mhm."

"Why not?"

"Because I kept worrying about you, Giovanni."

"Am I really that important?"

"You're like family to me," Bai Ziling said softly. "Stroh left and she's not coming back. You're the only family I have left, so..."

She paused, then whispered, "Please don't die, Giovanni. Okay?"

Giovanni was silent for a moment. "Of course I won't die. Even getting chopped in half didn't stop me. I'm perfectly fine, aren't I?"

Bai Ziling blinked and nodded.

"Who saved me back there?" Giovanni asked.

Bai Ziling swayed slightly, her snow-white hair falling to cover her eyes. The girl still didn't seem fully awake. She had heavy dark circles under her eyes, having likely stayed up by his bedside all night.

Giovanni remained silent.

Just then, a teasing, slightly aloof female voice drifted in from the doorway. "I'm the one who saved you... Are you grateful?"

Giovanni raised an eyebrow. The door opened and the newcomer walked in. It was Bai, still wearing her white dress suit.

"You saved me?"

"Are you going to thank me?"

"Thanks," Giovanni said expressionlessly. "To be honest, given the relationship between us, I figured you'd just leave me be."

"Given the relationship between us..." Bai murmured, her gaze seeming to drift far away. "I could get hurt by a remark like that."

Bai Ziling quickly scribbled "Thank you" in her sketchbook, drew a little red flower next to it, and tilted the pad toward Bai.

Bai glanced back, smiling faintly at the words in the sketchbook. "Why are you thanking me? I used your blood to heal him."

"It doesn't matter. I belong to Giovanni anyway..." Bai Ziling mumbled. "As long as Giovanni is okay, I'm okay."

"Could you stop saying weird things so casually?" Giovanni sighed.

Bai tilted her head. "I bet a certain lolicon is practically blooming with joy right now."

Giovanni rubbed his temples, staying silent for a moment before asking, "What's the situation with the others?"

Bai leaned against the wall, her expression growing slightly more serious. "I have good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear first?"

Giovanni thought about it. "Bad news first."

"Sorakagehime and Bandage Guy are dead."

Bai's tone was indifferent. She hadn't been with Death Crow for very long, so she felt little attachment to the other members.

"And the good news?" Giovanni asked.

"The boss is going to search for two new members," Bai said. "You can take a wild guess at who might be joining us next."

Giovanni didn't miss a beat. "Can we recruit Blue Pigeon, then? Black Magic Hand seemed to appreciate him, considering he chased the guy around with a knife for that long without actually killing him."

"Forget about the superhero," Bai shrugged. "Besides, he's not qualified. The boss would never pick him."

Giovanni got out of bed. "Fair enough... So, what's our next move?"

"We temporarily disband," Bai said. "We hauled in a massive score this time. Heimeng will transfer your cut to your account soon. After that, it's vacation time."

"Vacation time?"

"Yep. We can go wherever we want until the boss gives the next set of orders." Bai paused. "Since you've got nothing better to do, do you want to go on a trip with me, Heimeng, and Guchen?"

"Where are you going?" Giovanni raised an eyebrow.

"Tokyo, Japan," Bai said, the corners of her lips curling up. "I heard the new recruits the boss is looking for are over there. The others have already headed out, but Heimeng and Guchen are still waiting for you downstairs."

"How are we getting there?"

"By plane, of course. Our dear Heimeng will book the flights for us," Bai said. "Grab your little brat. It's time to go."

Bai Ziling suddenly hugged Giovanni tight, clinging to him like a sloth. She pressed her snow-white hair and cheek against his chest. "I'm ready."

Giovanni sighed. "Let's go, then."

...

...

At that very moment, inside a bar in Leijing.

A man in a brown suit and a bowler hat sat at the counter, toying with a pocket watch. He looked up at the television broadcasting a news report on Blue Pigeon and muttered to himself, "Look who we have here... After all these years, Rain Crow has found me a new toy."

He chuckled softly. With a sharp click, he snapped the pocket watch shut and set it on the counter.

A moment later, the pocket watch erupted in a flash of fiery light, the explosion rapidly sweeping through the entire tavern.

Yet in the next instant, for some inexplicable reason, the spreading flames completely froze—along with the terrified expression on the bartender's face.

The world plunged into dead silence. The only sound left was the steady tick-tock of the pocket watch.

Like a tyrant ruling over time itself, the man walked slowly through the frozen, mercury-colored sea of fire. The corners of his lips curled upward, and an eerie, sinister light gleamed in his eyes.

"I trust you've been well... Leijing."

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