A Guide to Humanity’s Extinction

July 7, 17:30. Downtown Lijing.

Beneath a blood-red sky, a pitch-black skyscraper bearing the neon letters "S.H.C" soared into the clouds.

At that moment, on the lowest level of the Superhero Company, Blue Pigeon and Operative Zero stood staring at each other.

Neither spoke. Looking entirely uninterested, Zero quickly pulled her gaze away from his face.

'There's a high chance this is Second Sister... An S-rank esper? Why is there a question mark after her super-human species classification? Is she hiding something else?'

Through his helmet's visor, Blue Pigeon quietly observed Zero. She wore a black bodysuit that outlined a sleek, elegant figure, and she had the face of a Nordic girl. Her demeanor was cold and aloof, her features not yet fully matured.

He guessed that if she truly was his second sister, Xia Lingxue, this was likely just one of her frequently used disguises.

A moment later, Blue Pigeon turned to glance at the brain and eyeballs suspended inside the "fishbowl."

Without a doubt, they were the organs of a captured player. Above the pulsing brain, data cables connected to a display screen roughly the size of a tablet.

The screen was currently split into two sections—checkmarks and crosses. The names of almost all personnel passing through were logged under the cross column.

Ke Mingqing knew full well what horrific fate awaited him if his name ended up under the checkmark after the scan.

'Is this Doctor Toy's handiwork?' Ke Mingqing thought. 'Is everyone in the Superhero Roundtable Council a lunatic like this? I wouldn't be surprised if they were all grotesque collectors.'

He could picture the gruesome scene if his identity were ever exposed—his own brain and eyeballs carved out and stuffed into a fishbowl like this. The thought sent a chill down his spine.

But turning and leaving now would only arouse suspicion. His only choice was to steel himself and push forward.

Blue Pigeon stepped forward, walking straight toward the Superhero Company entrance.

"Hold it," Zero said without looking up, toying with her phone.

"Reason?" Blue Pigeon folded his arms.

"You don't have the clearance to ask," she said offhandedly.

'I hope you're this arrogant at home too,' Blue Pigeon grumbled inwardly, lightly tapping a finger against his arm.

Then again, Xia Lingxue had indeed sat at the top of the family food chain since childhood. Not even their eldest brother necessarily outranked her, and the younger siblings usually did whatever their second sister said.

Ke Mingqing felt a wave of unease. Last time, Ke Linye's eyeball testing device had failed to expose his identity, but there was no guarantee this one wouldn't.

Before long, the scanning results from the brain in a vat appeared. The name of the superhero "Blue Pigeon" automatically popped up under the cross column, meaning he had passed the player screening.

'The Disguiser talent really comes in handy,' Ke Mingqing thought. 'Any other player trying to enter the Superhero Company under these conditions would be immediately dragged off to a lab and sliced up for research, right?'

"You can go in," Zero said coldly.

Blue Pigeon suddenly stepped right up to Zero, staring at her solemnly before pressing a button on the side of his helmet. The bird beak on his mask extended, retracted, extended, and retracted again.

Zero raised her head and gave him a baffled look.

"Is that how you superheroes greet people?" she asked, her voice laced with sarcasm.

"No, that's how we bird-themed superheroes show disdain. I just think you people displaying a brain and eyeballs right at the entrance of the hero company are bizarre and sick in the head."

The moment Blue Pigeon finished speaking, he pressed the helmet button again. This time, however, a layer of frost suddenly coated the mask's beak, locking it in place no matter how many times he hit the button.

"Don't do it again," Zero said expressionlessly. "You should be thankful I didn't rip off your helmet." With that, she lowered her head, folded her arms, and went back to her phone.

'You should be thankful you didn't, too,' Blue Pigeon thought. 'Otherwise, if you saw your little brother's face in a place like this, wouldn't you instantly break character?'

Still thinking, Blue Pigeon passed right by her and stepped into the first floor of the Superhero Company.

The staff in the lobby shot him surprised looks. After all, everyone knew he had been the center of public attention these past few days. But what puzzled them more was why his helmet's beak was caked in a layer of solid ice.

Blue Pigeon stepped forward and informed the lobby staff that Top Hero had referred him. An employee immediately led him to a glass-walled elevator.

The employee swiped her card for him, pressed the button for the 15th floor, and backed out of the car. Folding her hands, she bowed respectfully, as formal and disciplined as a traditional Japanese woman of a bygone era.

The elevator doors glided shut, and Blue Pigeon rode slowly upward.

He turned his head toward the glass. Skyscrapers stood as dense as a jungle, their glass curtain walls reflecting the blood-red afterglow. The setting sun was sinking toward the city's horizon, outlining rows of flat-roofed houses in the distance.

A moment later, the elevator came to a stop on the 15th floor, and he stepped into an open office.

Blue Pigeon looked up. Top Hero was leaning against the wall with folded arms, waiting for him. Behind the desk sat a white-haired man in a black wheelchair.

"Bro, I knew you'd come," Top Hero said, walking over to pat Blue Pigeon on the shoulder.

"And this is?" Blue Pigeon's gaze drifted past the desk to the man in the wheelchair. The man wore glasses and looked refined and scholarly, though the wrinkles around his eyes were deep.

"Lin Yin. That is my name," the man said with a gentle smile. "I am your future commander. I will be overseeing most of the operations for your hero squad."

He paused. "Let us get straight to the point. Mr. Blue Pigeon, are you willing to disclose your true identity to us? Our regulations require a strict identity check for every newcomer, and a background check is a crucial component."

Blue Pigeon made up an excuse. "This costume of mine might draw the attention of Clock Maker." He spread his hands. "Just in case, I don't wish to reveal my true identity. Otherwise, my family might get dragged into it."

Lin Yin nodded. "I actually guessed as much. In that case, we won't register your true identity in the database for now."

He let out a soft chuckle. "There's someone very similar to you—he's also extremely hesitant to let others know who he really is."

"Rain Crow?" Blue Pigeon tilted his head.

"Yes."

'Like father, like son. Makes sense,' Ke Mingqing thought.

"So what am I supposed to do now?" Blue Pigeon asked.

"You don't need to do anything," Lin Yin said, shaking his head. "In about an hour or two, your superhero profile will appear on the company's official website."

He picked up his insulated tumbler and took a sip of tea. "In a couple of days, someone might use AI tech along with street surveillance footage to composite a promotional video for you. Do you mind?"

"I don't care about that," Blue Pigeon shrugged. "What I mean is, now that I'm a superhero, shouldn't there be some real work to do? I can't just strike poses for commercials every day, or print my picture on T-shirts for kids to wear."

"As you wish," Lin Yin smiled. "Our squad happens to have a mission. It's to 'protect the fragment of Tiamat Comet for one week.'"

Blue Pigeon froze. "Tiamat Comet?"

He pulled up his main quest panel and glanced at one of the objectives listed inside.

[Main Quest 4 (Phase 2): Help the mythic vessel—"Red Lotus"—survive during the "Comet Fragment Defense Battle," or personally kill the mythic vessel—"Red Lotus"—during the "Comet Fragment Defense Battle."]

'Isn't that the event involving Third Sister?' Ke Mingqing thought.

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