A Guide to Humanity’s Extinction

Inside the aquarium, Ke Mingqing tipped his head back and stared blankly at the girl in the shrine maiden outfit inside the tank.

Kiyono Sakura drifted in the ocean-like environment. She still gripped a long sword, but the blade suddenly dissolved, scattering into drifting petals. Cherry blossoms instantly filled the massive tank, spiraling upward in the currents.

He stood frozen, his widening pupils reflecting the vivid pink. It was like watching a cherry tree bloom in the depths of the sea. The flurry of petals swept through the water, lighting up the dim, cavernous viewing tunnel.

“There's someone in the tank!”

“Isn't that the magical girl from the news who got dismembered?”

“What the hell is going on? Go get the aquarium guards! What if she drowns?”

“Is that really a person? Isn't it just a corpse?”

“Hurry, smash the tank!”

Shouts erupted from all sides, echoing down the dim viewing tunnel.

“Sakura?” After a moment, An Youlu's legs gave out. She sank to her knees, her voice breaking into a hoarse whisper. “Mr. Blue Pigeon, that's Sakura, isn't it?”

“Yeah. You aren't seeing things. She's alive...” In that moment, a genuine surge of relief actually washed over Ke Mingqing.

This was good. Now his sister wouldn't think she was the one who had murdered Kiyono Sakura.

Chaos reigned around him. Screams and panicked shouts rang out from every direction, yet Ke Mingqing's mind had never felt so perfectly tranquil.

Fragmented thoughts drifted through his mind, smooth and quiet as the fish gliding overhead.

Half a year from now, Xia Zili should already have turned into a witch, right?

There's no avoiding it. Look at the state she's in. Sooner or later, she'll fuse with Cinderella and become a true witch.

If the Tiamat Comet doesn't turn the magical girls back into normal humans by then, I'll just slaughter them all myself. That way, my sister won't feel guilty. She won't feel guilty about killing the people she knows.

You can go crazy. You can kick and scream like a lunatic and drag the whole world through the mud, but I'll be the one to kill everyone you can't bear to hurt...

I just have to kill everyone you care about.

At that thought, Ke Mingqing bowed his head. He let out a long breath, a massive weight lifting from his shoulders, and faintly smiled.

Pitch-black lightning surged through his body. In a fraction of a second, the dark arcs blasted outward, destroying every security camera in the tunnel. Amidst the flying sparks, the cameras were cleaved in two, clattering to the floor.

A jagged tear ripped open the tank's outer wall. Finding an escape, the seawater—illuminated deep blue by the lights—roared out in a violent flood.

The immense pressure forced the crack wider and wider. Seawater surged across the floor, washing down the tunnel in every direction. The terrified tourists screamed, scrambling wildly toward both ends of the tunnel.

Ke Mingqing merely pulled up his windbreaker hood and waded straight against the torrent.

He shot through the massive breach like a bolt of lightning, plunging straight into the tank. Reaching out, he caught the drifting shrine maiden and pulled her into his arms.

He then spun around, unleashing a blast of electricity that vaporized the seawater surrounding him, and dropped back through the breach into the tunnel.

The next moment, thick clouds of rising white steam billowed out instantly, shrouding his body and hiding Kiyono Sakura in his arms.

“Little Red Riding Hood,” Ke Mingqing said softly, bowing his head to check Kiyono Sakura's vitals. “It's not convenient for me to take her out of here. There are too many security cameras. You do it.”

An Youlu looked up, staring blankly from him to the shrine maiden in his arms.

Reality finally snapped back to her. A hazy cocoon of light instantly enveloped her body.

When the glow dissipated, she had transformed into a blonde, blue-eyed girl in a festive Christmas dress. A Santa hat sat lopsided on her head, making her look like a groggy Santa Claus.

She bit her fingers and let out a sharp whistle. The braying of reindeer instantly echoed from the depths of the tunnel. Two reindeer dragging a red Christmas Sleigh charged toward them, moving with an unstoppable momentum.

Snowflakes began to swirl and fall through the air. Ke Mingqing handed Kiyono Sakura over to the magical girl Little Red Riding Hood.

Little Red Riding Hood gathered the shrine maiden into her arms and took a seat in the sleigh. She then looked up, meeting Ke Mingqing's gaze.

“Thank you...” With that, she rode the sleigh toward the end of the tunnel, disappearing from sight a moment later.

Ke Mingqing turned his head, silently watching Little Red Riding Hood depart. He then pulled back his windbreaker hood and walked step by step against the tide of people toward the restrooms.

He yanked a shard of glass out of his wrist, letting deep blue lightning cover the wound. A moment later, the skin on his wrist was perfectly restored, leaving no scar behind.

“So convenient. This ability is perfect for edgy grade-schoolers who like to self-harm.”

Ke Mingqing muttered under his breath. Tearing his gaze away from his wrist, he cranked open the tap at the sink.

Amidst the rushing water, he calmly washed the blood from his wrist. He grabbed a disposable paper towel from the dispenser and wiped the drops from the back of his hand.

Right then, a girl in an orange hoodie hurried out of the women's restroom. Catching sight of Ke Mingqing's profile, she froze for a split second, bringing her steps to a halt.

“Brother...? What are you doing here?” Xia Zili asked in confusion.

“Third Sister texted me. Told me to come keep you company,” Ke Mingqing replied, slowly turning his head to meet her turbulent gaze.

Xia Zili wanted to ask something else, but shook her head instead. Frowning, she asked, “What happened out there?”

“Nothing major.” Ke Mingqing looked away from her face. He gave a faint smirk and shut off the tap, cutting the rushing water instantly. “Want to take a guess?”

“Is there something wrong with you?” Xia Zili stared at him, her voice freezing cold.

“Alright, sis... can we not be so impatient?” Ke Mingqing shoved his hands into his pockets and scratched his head, struggling to find the words. He hesitated a moment before delivering the news with deliberate casualness:

“Kiyono Sakura is back.”

Xia Zili froze completely. Her lips parted, but she couldn't speak for a long while. She just stared blankly into his eyes.

“Yeah, it's pretty crazy. Long story short, we found her passed out in the viewing tunnel's tank, and then I broke—” Before Ke Mingqing could finish, Xia Zili suddenly lowered her head and cut him off with a chilling tone:

“Where is she?”

Ke Mingqing knew she wouldn't let him finish, so he just shrugged dismissively.

A moment later, he lifted his right arm, pointing toward the tunnel's right exit. “Little Red Riding Hood took her out. She should be heading back to the Magical Girl Company to fetch Xi Ziyue—”

Once again, before he could finish, Xia Zili had already bolted past him. She sprinted down the empty tunnel, her sneakers crunching over the shattered glass from the tank. Within moments, the hazy cocoon of light enveloped her body.

By the time Ke Mingqing turned around, the girl in the gothic dress had already hoisted her umbrella. Carried by a sweeping wave of black and blue ripples, she shot toward the end of the tunnel.

Only after the darkness swallowed her fluttering silhouette did he look away.

“Weird. Has she always been this impatient? Is it really that hard to let me finish?” Ke Mingqing muttered. He looked down and crushed a shard of glass under his heel with a sharp crunch.

......

......

Half an hour later, Old Jingmai District.

With his hands shoved into his windbreaker pockets and his head bowed, Ke Mingqing took a slow, solitary walk home.

It was currently eleven in the morning. While the ocean tunnel had been a realm of gloom, the outside world basked under ten thousand miles of clear sky. A crisp autumn breeze brushed against his cheeks, rustling the banyan trees on both sides of the street.

A moment later, he pulled his phone from his pocket and sent a text to Little Red Riding Hood.

[Ke Mingqing: How is Kiyono Sakura doing?]

[The Little Match Girl Red Riding Hood: Ms. Xi Ziyue says she's fine. It looks like she passed out mid-battle, and her body just locked itself into that exact physical state. She's stuck in a deep sleep.]

[The Little Match Girl Red Riding Hood: Basically, she's like Sleeping Beauty.]

[Ke Mingqing: Who is the witch behind all this?]

[The Little Match Girl Red Riding Hood: We still don't know. The investigation needs to continue. Once Senior Sakura wakes up, she should be able to provide us with a lot of clues.]

[Ke Mingqing: Let's hope she got a good look at the witch's face. By the way, this witch is incredibly bizarre. She didn't kill her, but still went to the trouble of faking a corpse. What's the point?]

[The Little Match Girl Red Riding Hood: I have no idea. We country girls don't have the best brains, so please leave me out of the deduction process.]

[The Little Match Girl Red Riding Hood: Anyway, all that matters is that Senior Sakura is alive. That way, our Chinese Magical Girl Company branch can give an explanation to the Japanese side.]

[Ke Mingqing: Alright. Let me know the second there's a break in the investigation.]

[The Little Match Girl Red Riding Hood: Will do. I'm staying behind to cooperate with the company's investigation. Senior Ember already headed home, though. You two can drop by tomorrow when you have time to give your statements.]

[Ke Mingqing: Oh.]

Ke Mingqing looked up from his phone and suddenly noticed something strange.

Every little kid that pedaled past him on a tricycle would giggle at him, or point at the top of his head, covering their faces to whisper among themselves.

He blinked. Subconsciously lowering his head, he reached up to touch his forehead, finally realizing what it was.

“Oh, right.”

Ke Mingqing let out a soft snort of amusement and peeled the dolphin sticker off his head.

He glanced down at the cartoon dolphin in his palm. He originally wanted to toss it in a roadside trash can, but worried that Cinderella would get angry, he tucked it into his pocket instead.

After returning home, Ke Mingqing locked himself in his bedroom. He turned off the lights and drew the curtains shut. Only a sliver of faint daylight, dyed a dim yellow by the curtains, seeped in and gently swayed across the floorboards.

Draping one arm over his forehead, he used his other hand to open his phone, pulled up his chat history with Xia Zili, and scrolled up bit by bit.

In the darkness, he silently stared at one specific message. His dull eyes were illuminated by the screen's glow, reflecting a single line of black text.

[Chali Jiushi: Out, side, the rest, room is a super blue place. Lots of seawead, lots of Fish in the wead, and jellyfish too!]

“Weird. Did Little Grey ever use English to text me before?”

Ke Mingqing sat in silence for a moment. Suddenly, his eyes widened slightly as he swiped up on the screen, carefully reviewing their past chat history.

Subconsciously, he sat up in bed, his back going rigid.

“No, she only ever used pinyin to text me... So who exactly was it that sent me that message?”

The teenager leaned back against the headboard, staring blankly at the chat history.

My sister? he pondered. Back when I was still at school, the person texting me wasn't Little Grey, it was my sister? She imitated Little Grey's tone to message me, but didn't realize that Little Grey never used English. That witch is basically illiterate. Her intelligence and knowledge reserves are exactly the same as a kindergartener's.

As the realization hit him, an icy chill crawled up Ke Mingqing's spine, reaching straight to the crown of his head.

After a long moment, he clicked his tongue and let out a helpless sigh. “No wonder her attitude toward me was so awful at the aquarium.”

Right then, a sudden knocking echoed from the door, shattering the silence of the bedroom.

“Who is it?” Ke Mingqing asked as he got out of bed, but no response came from the other side. He stayed silent for a moment, slipped into his slippers, and shuffled over to open the door.

He opened the door, only to see no one there.

Ke Mingqing took two steps forward. Only then did he catch sight of a girl in an orange hoodie from the corner of his eye. She had her hands clasped behind her back, leaning flat against the wall next to his bedroom, staring blankly.

“Sis, who are you trying to scare to death?” he asked casually.

Xia Zili kept her head bowed, her slightly choppy bangs hiding her eyes.

Suddenly, she took two quiet steps, slipping right behind Ke Mingqing. She wrapped her arms around his neck in a gentle embrace and rested her chin on his shoulder.

Ke Mingqing stiffened.

He turned his head slightly, shooting a glance at her from the corner of his eye. Xia Zili's face was completely unreadable. The girl kept her head drooping against him, her lips parting as she whispered:

“Brother, we need to talk.”

“Why do I feel like everyone in our family is starring in a superhero TV show? Every single day it's We need to talk,” Ke Mingqing joked, scratching his head to mask the awkwardness with cheap banter.

However, Xia Zili's next words caught him off guard, plunging him into silence:

“Last night, the person chatting with you on my phone... who was it?”

The hallway fell into absolute silence. For a long time, neither of them made a sound.

“What do you mean?” Ke Mingqing asked softly after a moment.

“Don't play dumb. I saw the chat history when I woke up this morning.”

The girl behind him spoke softly. “That person didn't seem to know how to type very well, acting as clueless as a little kid. So at the aquarium, I tried imitating her tone to text you.”

She paused, asking in a calm voice, “Who is she?”

Ke Mingqing stayed silent for a long, long time. He knew that keeping it a secret any longer was no different than covering his ears while stealing a bell. It was completely pointless. Now, he could only tell the truth:

“She's... a witch.”

“Oh. Why didn't you tell me sooner?”

“I was afraid you'd break down.”

“I see. So, this witch is the one who took Kiyono Sakura and faked her corpse?”

“Yeah...” Ke Mingqing hesitated, lowering his eyes. “I'm sorry, sis. I kept it a secret from you because I wanted to wait until everything was resolved before I told you.”

A long silence settled over the siblings. The only sound was the steady tick-tock of the clock hanging on the hallway wall.

Xia Zili continued to quietly hold his neck from behind, resting her cheek against his shoulder. Ke Mingqing could smell the faint scent of orange shampoo lingering in her hair.

After a good while, she finally spoke.

“Brother.”

“I'm here.”

“Stupid brother...”

“What's wrong?”

“I know you've been agonizing over how to protect me. I know you've been walking on eggshells so I wouldn't get hurt. But you didn't say a single word to me... Even when I turned into a witch, even when I did all those horrible things...” Xia Zili tilted her head slightly and let out a hoarse laugh. “But I mean it... I've had enough.”

She paused. When she spoke again, her tone was suddenly cold. “From today on, stay away from me. And don't ever speak to me again, okay?”

Ke Mingqing was struck dumb. Xia Zili quietly unclasped her arms from around his neck, walked slowly back to her own room, and shut the door.

A moment later, Ke Mingqing slowly turned his head to look at the tightly shut door. A silence as gentle as lake water flooded the summer afternoon hallway, giving way only to the oppressive drone of cicadas. He didn't look away for a long time. At last, he just gave a faint shrug.

“Forget it... suit yourself.”

Ke Mingqing lowered his head, staring blankly at the floorboards as he suddenly recalled a sentence from the past.

.....

“That's different,” Xia Lingxue had said, shaking her head. “A player is a soul from another world. If you were chosen, you wouldn't be yourself anymore.”

She paused. “You wouldn't be part of our family anymore. So how could there be talk of you not having the heart to kill us?”

.....

“You're right... I was never a part of this family to begin with.”

He stood in silence for a long time. His head hung low, his pitch-black bangs hiding his eyes. In the darkness, the teenager parted his lips and whispered:

“All I have to do... is take every last one of you...”

“And slaughter you all.”

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