A Guide to Humanity’s Extinction

"Gate of Truth yields three philosophers in total, and this is the last one. It's about time I hit the pity timer. Give me a heavyweight, all right?" Ke Mingqing muttered like a prayer as a system prompt popped up in his vision.

[Spend 2,000 superhuman coins to redeem your final chance to draw a "Philosopher"?]

Without a second thought, he tapped yes.

[2,000 superhuman coins spent. Current balance: 3,500 superhuman coins.]

[The system has automatically drawn your third and final philosopher—"Hegel".]

"So it's you..." Ke Mingqing raised an eyebrow and read on.

["Hegel" grants you the following three skills:

1. "Absolute Spirit" (Unlocks when your player level reaches 30.)

2. "Master-Slave Dialectic" (Can only be used on a target when you have at least two attributes lower than theirs. For 1.5 seconds, swaps a random attribute between you and the target.)

3. "Cunning of Reason" (Marks two targets. Upon mutual consent, 50% of the damage taken by one party over the next 10 seconds will be shared by the other.)]

"Another mechanic-heavy kit. Wouldn't this 'Master-Slave Dialectic' let me punch up against a Mahayana-realm Daoist?" Ke Mingqing perked up as he read. "Oh, right, I also pulled a plushie the day before yesterday."

He opened his inventory to check.

[Item Name: Cursed Doll — Mio]

[Item Grade: C Rank]

[Item Description: Mio likes to sit on people's shoulders. Her ability is "Black Melody," which can temporarily buff a targeted ally's attributes or inflict mental interference on a nearby enemy for a short duration.]

Whoa, this isn't generic trash either, Ke Mingqing thought. A mental interference ability—even making an opponent space out for one second during a fight gives me a massive advantage.

He tapped his inventory, materializing the C Rank item Cursed Doll into reality.

A second later, a fifteen-centimeter-tall doll in a frilly Western dress materialized and plopped down on the station bench.

She had a pair of mismatched button eyes. The right side of her mouth was torn, held together by silken stitches.

The doll, Mio, tilted her head and murmured in a tone that was both innocent and teasing. "Oh my... why is my little master so cute?"

Ke Mingqing studied her curiously for a moment before speaking.

"Your mouth is torn just like White Jack's. You can partner up with him from now on. 'Men and women working together makes the job easier'—that principle should apply to dolls, too."

Hearing this, Mio tilted her head in confusion. Her red and blue button eyes stared unblinkingly at Ke Mingqing.

"Who is White Jack?"

Though Mio had no idea who White Jack was, going by Ke Mingqing's tone, being assigned to work with him sounded about as appealing as a soldier being exiled to Siberia.

"Mio wants to take the field with Master." She raised her short little hands in protest.

Ke Mingqing yawned. "Then you'll probably be waiting forever. You sure talk a lot for a doll."

"Are you bullying a little plushie?" Mio asked.

The moment she finished speaking, Ke Mingqing stuffed the bizarre doll back into his inventory.

Silence returned to the train platform.

Ke Mingqing looked up to ensure there weren't any crows spying on him from the rafters.

With his skills prepared, he started considering how to approach the people from Death Crow.

Relying on tailing Jiang Qingzi to orchestrate "chance encounters" with them would be too suspicious. After the incident with White Jack, their guard would definitely be up.

As such, the vampire girl at McDonald's was currently his best lead for making contact with Death Crow.

I should go see Bai Ziling, he thought. She might already be waiting for me at McDonald's.

Ke Mingqing closed his eyes and summoned the Theater Puppet inside one of the train station's tunnels.

First, he used his Disguiser talent to reshape the puppet into a handsome young Italian man, then equipped it with the "Full Conductor's Uniform" from his inventory.

"Yeah, looks human enough," Ke Mingqing evaluated. "Will Bai Ziling ask why I wear the same clothes every day and if I ever wash them? Whatever. Fooling a kid should be easy."

The Theater Puppet walked through the pitch-black tunnel, following the tracks forward. It soon left the station and headed toward the McDonald's.

Before long, the puppet walked into the McDonald's and found a corner seat.

He turned to watch the street outside, waiting in silence. Without warning, a slender, ice-cold hand dropped onto his shoulder, and a finger lightly poked his neck.

Feeling the chill against his neck, the puppet looked back to see a white-haired girl in a nightgown sitting quietly beside him.

Ke Mingqing was secretly startled. When did she get so close? If she wanted to destroy my puppet, she could have already done it. This vampire girl's talent really is strong. Once she grows up, she'll probably be an A Rank super-human species at the very least.

"Giovanni, I'm here," Bai Ziling said. She retracted her hand and hugged a sketchbook to her chest.

"Have those people not found you yet?" the puppet asked curiously.

Bai Ziling fell silent for a moment, then shook her head. "I don't want them to find me."

"Why not?"

"They said the big sister who took me in is dead... I don't believe it, so I ran away."

Stroh, huh? There's a real chance she actually is dead, Ke Mingqing thought. But it could also be fake news put out by the Super Hero Company to stop Death Crow from staging a prison break.

Seeing Giovanni stay silent, Bai Ziling felt the topic was too heavy and immediately grew guilty. She looked around and asked softly, "Where is my Aeroplane Chess?"

"The McDonald's staff said they don't hold items for people. They threw it away."

Bai Ziling tilted her head. Her snow-white hair swayed, lightly brushing against her pale cheek.

"Okay... Then shall we play Gomoku today?" she asked. Placing her sketchbook on the table, she opened it and used a pencil to draw a grid.

She drew a circle in the center of the board and offered the pencil to Giovanni, lifting her red eyes to stare at him quietly.

The puppet hesitated for a moment before taking the pencil. "By the way, today is my birthday." Ke Mingqing wasn't lying; July 9th was indeed his actual birthday.

Bai Ziling paused. "Birthday?"

"Yeah."

She thought about it. "I don't know when I was born, and no one has ever celebrated my birthday. What are you supposed to do on a birthday?"

"Then how about today be your birthday, too?"

Bai Ziling froze. She raised her head, her crimson eyes fixed unblinkingly on him.

"Is that really okay?" she asked.

"Why wouldn't it be?" the puppet asked in return.

"Happy birthday, Giovanni."

"Happy birthday, Bai Ziling."

The puppet pulled a flower crown from behind its back and placed it on her head. Then, as if they had planned it all along, the McDonald's employees gathered around with bright smiles, clapping and singing the birthday song to her.

Bai Ziling sat stunned for a long time. She looked up, gazing quietly at the puppet through the surrounding clamor.

"What about you?" she asked softly.

"I have one too." The puppet pulled out a second flower crown and placed it on its own head.

Bai Ziling leaned in a little closer, pressing against his side. She clapped her hands and softly sang the birthday song just for him, swaying her head as she sang, letting her snow-white hair flutter.

Time quietly slipped by. Around three or four in the afternoon, the puppet once again bid Bai Ziling farewell inside the McDonald's.

"Can we spend our birthdays together every year from now on?" Bai Ziling asked softly.

"Of course we can..." the puppet replied.

I'm lying to you, Ke Mingqing thought. In half a year, either you'll be dead, or I will.

"You're so good to me, Giovanni," Bai Ziling murmured. "Even though we only met recently."

"We're friends."

"But... no one has ever been this good to me. This is my first time knowing what it feels like to have a birthday."

"Then do you want to come with me?"

Bai Ziling fell silent for a moment before shaking her head. "I can't. I have to go, or they'll come after you."

"Who exactly are 'they'?" the puppet asked.

"I'll tell you later, I promise." With that, Bai Ziling waved at him and walked out of the McDonald's with light, airy steps.

The puppet watched her leave through the window. From far away, Bai Ziling turned back from across the intersection, her face bathed in a faint halo of light.

She held her small sketchbook up to her chest. Two words were written on it in pencil, right next to a tiny doodle of a smiley face:

"Thank you."

...

...

Meanwhile, at the abandoned train station in the Old Jingmai District.

"In the end, I still didn't catch anyone from Death Crow today. Another day wasted babysitting..."

Ke Mingqing murmured softly. He was standing in front of the storage lockers, already suited up in his Blue Pigeon combat suit and wearing his Bird Beak Helmet.

He stashed his original phone into Locker No. 7 and took out a new phone he had recently bought from a secondhand store with his pocket money.

Slipping the spare phone into his pocket, Blue Pigeon let out a soft breath. He leaned forward, transforming into a streak of sea-blue lightning that surged out of the train station.

With Ke Mingqing's current stamina, maintaining his "I Am Lightning" state all the way to the city center would just make him drop dead from exhaustion on the spot. Because of this, he caught a bus in the neighboring district.

Soon, the bus pulled to a stop in the city center. Blue Pigeon got off and made a beeline for the Super Hero Company.

He retrieved an official Hero ID card from the staff. Spinning the card through his fingers like a pen, he walked over to the elevator, swiped his card on the panel, and hit the button for the 15th floor.

A moment later, the elevator arrived at the 15th floor.

Blue Pigeon walked into the open office.

Behind the desk, the bespectacled man working over his paperwork lifted his head and flashed him a warm smile.

"You're here..." Lin Yin laced his fingers together, resting his chin on his hands with a faint smile. "Then we're off to see the newly recruited criminals next to pick out two teammates for you and Top Hero. Are you ready?"

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