A Guide to Humanity’s Extinction

"That's right. Tiamat Comet passes by Earth every ten years, scattering a massive amount of comet fragments across the globe. Previously, trace amounts of these fragments could only be found within the bodies of magical girls—it's the source of their power."

Lin Yin turned his monitor toward Blue Pigeon, showing him footage of the comet streaking across the Arctic sky.

The comet tore through the auroras, showering the glaciers below with an ocean of glowing embers. For a fleeting moment, the desolate northern ice and pitch-black sea were brilliantly illuminated.

Thousands of glowing motes danced across the Arctic night like fluttering spirits.

Blue Pigeon stared silently at the screen while Lin Yin continued his explanation.

"If a comet fragment leaves a magical girl's body, she dies. Her body essentially acts as an incubation tank—once the fragment is extracted, it immediately dissipates."

"Because of this, no researcher has ever been able to get their hands on a physical fragment to study its true nature."

"Recently, however, a Chinese research team found two massive comet fragments in the waters near Leijing. This marks the first time in human history that physical fragments have been recovered."

Lin Yin paused. "These fragments will be kept in Leijing for a period of time, allowing a large number of researchers to study them inside the Magical Girl Company. Our mission is to join the security detail alongside three magical girl teams."

"So, our job is to make sure the fragments aren't stolen?" Blue Pigeon asked.

"Exactly," Lin Yin nodded.

"Do we have backup?" Blue Pigeon asked.

Lin Yin smiled. "The magical girl Little Red Riding Hood and a 'magical girl Sakura Trace' from Japan will be assisting you. Depending on the situation, more might join in."

"What about Ember?" Blue Pigeon asked. "Isn't she partnered with Little Red Riding Hood?"

"She'll most likely come."

"Just 'most likely'?" Blue Pigeon sounded disappointed.

"Bro, you know she got suspended recently." Top Hero shrugged. "Uh... but her public image has been improving lately, so she should be part of the operation?"

Blue Pigeon frowned. "Ember and Little Red Riding Hood are top-tier magical girls. With them around, what kind of criminal would even dare target the comet fragments?"

"Who knows?" Top Hero spread his hands. "We're just tagging along to leech some credit. It'll look good on our records, bro."

Ke Mingqing thought he was making it sound way too simple.

According to the mission on the system panel, his third sister, Xia Ningzhi, would likely participate in this comet fragment defense battle under her alias, Red Lotus. One of his mission options was even to ensure Red Lotus does not die during this event.

His third sister was an A Rank superhuman. Just how many people in this world were actually stronger than her?

Add in a team of B Rank magical girls for backup, and what kind of enemy would even warrant such a massive lineup?

As his thoughts reached this point, an incredibly dangerous name flashed through Ke Mingqing's mind.

Could it be...

Death Crow?

Ke Mingqing froze as the figures of Jiang Qingzi, Bandage Man, and Sorakagehime—the people he had seen in the ruins that day—flashed before his eyes.

Every member of Death Crow was a heinous criminal who deserved to die a thousand deaths, but there was no denying they were as strong as monsters. Their leader, The Pope, was an A++ Rank existence.

If the comet fragments were truly being targeted by those psychos, then even a hundred magical girls on Little Red Riding Hood's level wouldn't be enough.

"Why aren't the big three magical girls stepping in?" Blue Pigeon asked after a moment of silence.

Lin Yin screwed the cap back onto his thermos and set it on the desk.

"The big three are currently in Northern Europe fighting a group of witches that recently popped up," he explained. "Witches are corrupted magical girls. They are far more powerful than normal ones."

"Oh, I see," Blue Pigeon said. He lowered his head and sighed, but still reached out to pat Top Hero on the shoulder. "Then we'll just have to do our best not to fail the mission, brother."

If those freaks from Death Crow really show up, we'll be lucky if even one of us escapes alive, he thought. Forget about completing the mission.

"Right, the group of conscripted criminals will be arriving in a couple of days." Lin Yin hesitated. "When the time comes, I'll pick two of them to be your teammates."

Top Hero bumped Blue Pigeon's shoulder. "What time do you think you can come in tomorrow?"

"Every morning or afternoon?" Blue Pigeon scratched his head. "I'm pretty free." It was summer vacation, after all; he had nothing but free time from now on.

"Got it," Lin Yin chuckled. "Well, there's nothing else for now. You look a bit restless anyway, so you can head out if you want."

"Then I'll take my leave."

Blue Pigeon turned and walked out of the office. Top Hero followed, riding the elevator down to the first floor with him.

"Bro, you're a major celebrity now," Top Hero said with complicated feelings. "Your name is still trending online. There isn't a single person in the whole company who doesn't know you."

"It doesn't mean anything if Rain Crow doesn't recognize me."

As Blue Pigeon walked out of the Super Hero Company, he looked up and saw a tide of crows sweeping across the sky.

He froze. Behind the glass curtain wall on the tenth floor of the building stood a pitch-black figure. The shadowy silhouette gazed down at him silently. In the next second, the figure dissolved into a flurry of crow feathers and vanished.

That crow guy sure is awkward. Is it really that hard to just come down and acknowledge me? Ke Mingqing thought.

"Bro, who says Rain Crow doesn't recognize you?" Top Hero grinned.

"Whether he's willing to meet me is another matter. Anyway, I'm heading out."

Blue Pigeon shrugged. Leaning forward slightly, his body turned into a streak of deep blue lightning as he sped away. In the blink of an eye, he vanished at the end of the street.

...

...

Ten minutes later, dusk had settled in, blanketing the streets and alleys of Leijing in a dim yellow glow.

Ke Mingqing returned to the abandoned train station in the Old Jingmai District. He pulled off his helmet and sat down on a public bench.

Slouching forward, he let out a soft sigh and looked up at the system panel hovering before his eyes.

[Main Mission 1 (Phase 2) Completed: Forge a superhero identity and join the Hero Company, gain Rain Crow's recognition, and become an official superhero.]

[Mission Rewards Obtained: 3,000 EXP, 2,500 superhuman coins, 1 Attribute Point, 1 Item Roulette Spin.]

[EXP has reached the cap. Level automatically increased by one.]

[Current Level: Lv.08 (100/4,000 EXP)]

[Current superhuman coin total: 6,500.]

[Main Mission 1 (Phase 3) Acquired: Participate in the Comet Fragment Defense Battle alongside Top Hero and survive the mission.]

Ke Mingqing took a sip of bottled water, then pulled up his attribute panel.

[Player "Ke Mingqing" Current Attributes: Strength: D; Agility: D++; Spirit: E]

Ke Mingqing originally wanted to allocate the attribute point to Agility to push it to C Rank, but a warning prompt suddenly popped up in front of him.

[Warning: A single attribute cannot exceed the others by two letter grades. The player's attributes must develop evenly to become the most versatile warrior.]

"So I have to raise my Spirit first?" Ke Mingqing raised an eyebrow. "It just has to mold me into a well-rounded warrior, huh? God forbid I specialize a little." He sighed and swiftly allocated the attribute point.

[Congratulations. Your Strength attribute has been officially upgraded from D Rank to D+ Rank.]

With a ding, his phone chimed with a text message notification.

He unlocked the screen and glanced down.

[New message in group chat: "Our Loving Family"]

[Xia Lingxue: I'm home. Come open the door.]

"Finally back," he muttered. "Let's see what kind of fun you've got planned for me at home."

Tucking his phone away, Ke Mingqing stood up and walked toward the train station.

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