A Guide to Humanity’s Extinction

At the same time, in a second-floor bedroom of a seaside villa in Lijing.

Kuroki Hitomi sat on the balcony railing, looking down at the pitch-black sea and the swelling, snow-white waves.

She still remembered that in her previous life, a boy at her orphanage was the sole reason she had been adopted by that wealthy Japanese family.

That boy's name was Ke Mingqing, and he was the undisputed king of the kids at the orphanage.

One day, inside an old classroom with its wooden door tightly shut, a breeze from the window fluttered the snow-white curtains.

"Hey, you're pretty good at drawing. Why don't you show this to the people who come looking to adopt?" Ke Mingqing asked, resting his chin in his hand as he leaned on the desk and studied her curiously.

"Maybe they don't like that I'm mixed-race," Kuroki Hitomi said softly.

The boy and girl were alone in the room, the sunlight streaming inside and bathing them in a warm glow.

"That's nonsense. It's obviously just because you're too scared to put yourself out there," Ke Mingqing said, curling his lip.

"It wouldn't matter even if I did," Kuroki Hitomi murmured.

She knew she and Ke Mingqing were worlds apart. He was smart and had the best grades in the orphanage. The other children all said that if anyone came looking to adopt, they would definitely pick him. Even if no one did, the director was going to give him a special placement so he could attend a normal school like a regular child.

"Do you know why those kids always single you out?" Ke Mingqing asked suddenly.

"Why?" Kuroki Hitomi kept her head down, staying silent for a long time before asking timidly.

"Because they know you won't fight back."

"Fighting back wouldn't change anything."

"Because you think like that, you keep getting bullied."

"Are you going to bully me too?"

"I'm not that bored."

"Why did you help me?"

"Because I think you're fun," Ke Mingqing said matter-of-factly, the corners of his lips turning up. "Besides, I didn't help you. They just saw us talking a lot lately and naturally got too scared to bother you."

Kuroki Hitomi froze. Puffing out her cheeks in a slight pout, she lowered her head in annoyance.

The girl with the teardrop mole went back to her drawing. The boy sat on the desk next to her, propping himself up on the tabletop with both hands as he quietly watched the tip of her pen.

Later on, Ke Mingqing did catch the eye of a wealthy family. Rumor had it that the head of the household was a rich local Chinese man, and his wife was a Japanese noblewoman.

Whoever got adopted by such a wealthy family was guaranteed to live a happy life, right?

Yet Kuroki Hitomi wasn't envious. Instead, she was a little happy for him. But at the same time, she felt a deep sense of loss. Her only friend in the orphanage was leaving, and she would be completely alone from now on...

To her, Ke Mingqing was her only friend.

But it was different for Ke Mingqing. He was so popular, with so many people constantly surrounding him. Once he left the orphanage, he would definitely forget about her right away, wouldn't he?

That night, Kuroki Hitomi couldn't sleep a wink.

When day broke and the wealthy family arrived, Kuroki Hitomi secretly stood outside the director's office, peeking in through the window.

Ke Mingqing acted completely out of character, as if he were trying his hardest to show off his absolute worst, most unruly behavior. Then, worst of all—he brought Kuroki Hitomi's drawing out from the classroom and violently tore it in half right in front of them.

The elegant, refined man crouched down. He glanced at the torn pieces of the drawing on the floor before turning his head to look at the timid girl watching from a distance.

Just like that, Kuroki Hitomi was adopted, while Ke Mingqing was punished by the director with three days of solitary confinement.

Before leaving, she looked back at the orphanage one last time. It was snowing heavily that day. Ke Mingqing had snuck out of confinement and was standing in the snow, winking at her. The shape of his lips seemed to say: See? As long as you're willing to put yourself out there, someone is bound to notice you. Those adults aren't blind, you know.

Kuroki Hitomi lowered her eyes. Thinking back on it now, maybe he had changed her entire life that day.

After all, she was such a timid person that she even needed someone else to take charge of her life for her.

After that, Kuroki Hitomi had assumed she would never see him again. But later, she convinced her adoptive parents to let her return to China to study abroad, and she ran into that boy once more.

Yet so many years had passed, and he had long since forgotten her.

Even when they stood face-to-face, he failed to recognize her. There were many times she wanted to speak up and ask, "Do you still remember me?" but whenever she looked into his eyes, she couldn't help but look away.

Kuroki Hitomi could only sit in the corner of the classroom and silently observe him.

She watched the way he read while resting his chin in his hand, and the way he spun his pen while gazing out the window. From beginning to end, she never managed to muster the courage to speak to him. Not even once.

But not long after, an incident occurred that completely changed everything.

The two of them were chosen and pulled into this bizarre, fantastical world.

At dusk that day, while on the school bus, she had actually been so terrified she couldn't even move. But looking at Ke Mingqing's back, she had suddenly found her courage.

Kuroki Hitomi hadn't wanted him to die there. So, exerting all her strength to steady her trembling hands, she had raised the flashlight toward the hideous Termite Monster, illuminating its figure in the darkness.

"Are you going to kill me?"

That day in the train station, when she asked that question, Kuroki Hitomi had already prepared herself mentally. If sacrificing herself could ensure his safety, then she was willing to do it.

Just like that day in the orphanage, when he sacrificed himself to buy her a new life.

Kuroki Hitomi's thoughts raced, and she suddenly remembered a passing comment Ke Mingqing had blurted out that day in the station:

"Why don't we elope? Forget about Exterminate Superhumans, let's just live out these next six months happily."

That sounds nice...

Kuroki Hitomi lowered her eyes, thinking to herself.

'If you stay with me, I wouldn't mind dying after these six months are up. But... I don't want you to die. I really, really don't.'

"I will... make sure you survive."

She looked at the lone lighthouse by the sea and softly murmured, "No matter what happens, at the very least, I have to keep you alive."

...

...

[Good morning, esteemed player "Ke Mingqing". Today is Sunday, July 9, 2026—Time remaining for the "Exterminate Superhumans" mission: 172 days, 16 hours, and 23 minutes.]

Accompanied by the bright red countdown, a scorching heat that felt like it could warp the world, and the inescapable chirping of cicadas, Ke Mingqing welcomed the first day of summer vacation.

He sat up in bed, scratching his head as he let out a yawn.

Shaking off his sleepiness, Ke Mingqing realized he was the first person in the house awake.

Everyone else was just too lazy, after all. They only needed to protect a single city. Unlike him, who had to run around, busy with the grand scheme of exterminating superhumans.

Every morning, Ke Mingqing inevitably went through two cups of water. One was for washing up, and one was hot boiled water. It was just that one cup had to be spat out, and the other had to go into his stomach.

After washing up, he grabbed a silver key from a basket in the living room and headed out.

A cool breeze brushed against his face. The sky above was a mint blue, not yet scorching like it would be at noon.

Ten minutes later, he walked into the abandoned train station and arrived at the empty Platform 7.

Ke Mingqing shoved his hands in his pockets as he walked alone down the desolate platform, pondering to himself:

'As long as Bai Ziling is with me, the people from Death Crow will come knocking sooner or later. When that time comes, I'll have to show them a skill that makes The Pope feel I'm qualified to join them.

'Right now, I only have one skill on hand that meets this condition, and that's the "Gate of Humanities."

'But just one philosopher definitely isn't enough. It just so happens I still have superhuman coins. Before the Death Crow people come knocking, I might as well unlock the remaining two philosophers for the Gate of Humanities.'

With that thought in mind, Ke Mingqing sat down on a public wooden bench and opened his skill panel.

He called up the "Gate of Humanities" in his number 4 skill slot.

[Note 1: After acquiring this skill, you can randomly draw one "Philosopher" to use as a paper doll initially. After that, for every 2,000 superhuman coins spent, you can unlock the abilities of one famous philosopher.]

[Note 2: You can possess the abilities of up to three philosophers at most. The number of abilities each philosopher has varies.]

[Do you wish to spend 2,000 superhuman coins to exchange for one chance to draw a "Philosopher"?]

"Yes" and "No" options popped up before his eyes, and Ke Mingqing tapped "Yes" without hesitation.

Immediately, system panels cascaded across his vision.

[2,000 superhuman coins spent. Your current superhuman coin balance is: 5,500.]

[The system has automatically drawn your second philosopher for you—"Plato".]

[The three skills Plato brings to you are as follows:

1. "Republic" (This skill will unlock when your player level reaches 20)

2. "Allegory of the Cave" (Briefly teleports your body into the interior of a cave, returning you to reality after 5 seconds. However, during this period, your mind will be continuously disturbed by hallucinations. If you are corrupted by the hallucinations and mistakenly believe the cave to be reality, you will remain trapped in the cave permanently.)

Cooldown: 24 hours.

3. "Chariot of the Soul" (Summons the phantom of a white horse representing reason, and the phantom of a black horse representing desire, charging them in the target direction—

Any figure struck by the white horse phantom will have their wounds significantly healed in a short amount of time;

Any figure struck by the black horse phantom will fall into a sunken state, losing a certain percentage of their attribute values in a short amount of time.)

Cooldown: 1 hour.]

'Plato's skills are pretty decent,' Ke Mingqing thought. 'There's a healing skill and a crowd-control skill. Most importantly, there's a skill similar to an intangible space.'

'Not a bad deal. This leaves just one last philosopher.'

Thinking this, Ke Mingqing sacrificed another 2,000 superhuman coins in exchange for one more chance to draw a philosopher.

In the very next moment, the prompt box that popped up before his eyes made him raise his eyebrows slightly.

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