A Guide to Humanity’s Extinction

A murder of crows swarmed the skyscraper like a black tornado. The world seemed to totter amid their ear-piercing caws.

Chaos reigned inside the twenty-fifth-floor office of the Sindico Building. Printer paper littered the floor, and blood stained more than half the walls and ceiling.

Owl Judge and Rain Crow locked eyes, standing at daggers drawn.

Rain Crow wore a pitch-black cloak, and Owl Judge dressed in a pitch-black swallowtail trench coat. Both wore birdlike masks.

If an oblivious outsider saw their photos, they might assume it was the same superhero in different costumes—like the difference between Spider-Man Noir and The Amazing Spider-Man.

Watching through the top hat's perspective, Ke Mingqing seethed with righteous indignation. Plagiarism, absolute plagiarism! Looking at them side by side, Big Brother is blatantly ripping him off! Is he secretly a fan of the crow guy?

Owl Judge finally spoke, breaking the silence that had settled over the office.

"If it isn't the esteemed Mr. Rain Crow," he said with a smile. "I didn't kill this criminal. I spared his life and only crippled his arms. After all, his crimes are much lighter than those of the superhero next to him."

"You shouldn't have killed either of them. You don't have the authority," Rain Crow said coldly.

"Please spare me the self-righteous reprimands. Aren't we essentially doing the exact same thing?" Owl Judge said. "My scope of business is simply a bit broader than yours."

He paused. "After all, not all villains come from the criminal underworld. Some superheroes abuse their power and run amok. From your position, you can't deal with them. But I can."

"That is the Hero Control Bureau's job. How he is sentenced is their business."

Rain Crow stated, leaving no room for argument.

Owl Judge kicked aside Bellwing's corpse and sneered.

"It would be wonderful if they actually cared. Do you know how many girls this so-called superhero raped and murdered? Yet these scandals, enough to shock the world, were forcefully covered up by the hero company's investors. You must be aware of this."

"Do you think you can place yourself above the law?" Rain Crow asked.

Owl Judge lowered his eyes and tugged up his pitch-black glove. "I don't consider myself above the law. After all, only humans deserve a trial. Beasts just need to be slaughtered."

Rain Crow didn't speak, but the cawing grew louder, deafening amidst their silence. The tempestuous flock surrounded the entire building, blocking White Jack's view.

A moment later, Rain Crow asked, "What about yourself?"

"I'm just a law-abiding, heroic citizen."

As he spoke, Owl Judge looked toward a plume of smoke rising in the distance, a sea of fire spreading across the streets. "You should get going, Mr. Rain Crow. It looks like another crime is taking place over there. Or do you consider arresting me a higher priority than stopping criminals?"

Rain Crow stared at Owl Judge. He knew very well this was the city center.

If they fought here, the best-case scenario would still be the simultaneous collapse of the nearby skyscrapers. The devastation would rival a natural disaster, catching countless people in the crossfire.

He stayed silent for a moment. "Although I don't know why you're in Leijing, I'll give you a piece of advice."

"I'm all ears."

"Go back to your city. If I ever see you again, I will drag you back to serve your sentence," Rain Crow said, emphasizing every word.

"Understood, officer." Owl Judge spread his hands.

Rain Crow dissolved into a flock of crows. Like a black rainstorm, they swept away the unconscious cyan giant and Bellwing's corpse, vanishing from the rooftop and leaving behind only a floor scattered with feathers.

"Damn it, I forgot to ask for a photo," Owl Judge realized belatedly.

He shook his head, sighed softly, and headed for the elevator.

Right then, a white top hat flew in from the sky, passing through the shattered window into the office.

A stark white figure flashed right below the hat, catching it and setting it on his head.

"So disappointing. Where's the domestic violence I was looking forward to? Why didn't the old man beat up Big Brother before taking off?" White Jack hung his head, his face veiled by the shadow of the brim.

Owl Judge stopped and glanced back. "And who might this be?"

White Jack lifted his hollow eyes toward the departing Owl Judge, staring straight into the glowing V-shaped strip on his mask.

"A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Judge. My name is White Jack," he said. "Hey, I think we could be friends. What do you say?"

"Oh, White Jack. I think I've heard that name," Owl Judge murmured. "Yes, but it's a bit fuzzy. Didn't you blow up a warehouse and end up with your ass impaled on the Leijing Iron Tower?"

"That's right. Actually, my ass isn't as perky as the internet claims, that was just—" White Jack stopped abruptly.

He realized his head and body had parted ways.

Within that split second, a crescent of black moonlight had swept past like a blade, slicing right through his neck, though he hadn't caught a clear glimpse of it.

For now, his body remained standing, held upright by sheer inertia. Before the stark white figure could even topple, it was minced to pieces by a crisscrossing barrage of black moonlight.

White Jack's head tumbled through the air, quietly watching his own body get sliced into minced meat before scattering away.

Owl Judge's technique was so clean and efficient that not even a drop of blood spilled.

White Jack's head hit the floor and rolled a few times, yet it was still talking:

"That's way too unfriendly of you, Mr. Judge."

"I don't make friends with criminals. Please understand..."

Owl Judge stated plainly. Tugging up his black glove, he walked away without looking back. Before leaving, he raised a hand. A streak of pitch-black moonlight instantly crashed down, mincing White Jack's head to pieces as well.

...

...

Meanwhile, in another corner of the world.

The bedroom was dead silent. Ke Mingqing opened his eyes in his leather chair, his pupils reflecting a series of blood-red panels. It looked just like the "Game Over" screen that popped up upon failing a video game.

[System Prompt: Your "Puppet No. 01" has died. It can only be deployed again after a 12-hour cooldown period.]

[Main Quest 6 (Phase 1) — "Establish Contact with Owl Judge" failed. The player may try again later.]

This was Ke Mingqing's first time failing a quest.

He sat stunned for a very long time. Big Brother, why aren't you following the script? he thought. Usually, people are more than happy to play along with my cryptic riddler act for a while.

"Sheesh, establishing contact with a lunatic like Big Brother is a lot harder than I imagined," Ke Mingqing sighed. "I'll have to find the right opening later. At the very least, I need him to actually listen to what I'm saying."

He leaned his head against the back of the chair and spun around a few times.

"So next, the only one who hasn't come home is Second Sister..." Thinking of this, Ke Mingqing looked up at the family portrait on the wall.

In the photo, Xia Lingxue stood in the corner with her arms crossed, a lollipop hanging from her mouth. Her eyelids drooped and her expression was cold, giving off an aura that screamed "stay away."

From what Big Brother said earlier, it's obvious: Second Sister has ties with the authorities. Her position is even high enough to contact Dr. Toy from the Superhero Roundtable Council, Ke Mingqing thought. Maybe Second Sister is the one I need to be on guard against the most.

Just then, the doorbell rang downstairs.

"A-Qing, go downstairs and get the door. Mom is still hanging up the laundry," Xia Wenna's lazy voice drifted over from the rooftop terrace adjoining the hallway. She spoke so slowly she sounded like she was on the verge of her last breath.

"Got it, got it."

Ke Mingqing slipped into his slippers. He opened his bedroom door, trotted downstairs, crossed the quiet entryway, and pulled open the front door.

As the door swung open, the blood-red glow of the setting sun instantly flooded the entryway, pulling his shadow long across the floor.

Standing there was a young man in a black trench coat, leaning casually against the doorframe. His imposing 1.85-meter frame blocked out most of the sunlight.

He had soft, androgynous features and clear, bright eyes. A pair of pitch-black earrings dangled from his ears.

"Miss me?" Ke Linye looked up with a smile.

Ke Mingqing didn't even lift his head, still toying with his phone. "Fuck off."

He silently flipped off the man who had just chopped him to pieces, then turned and headed back inside.

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