A Guide to Humanity’s Extinction

One hour later, Old Jingmai District.

The streets and alleys were largely deserted. It was empty in every direction, though occasionally an old man would pedal leisurely past on a bicycle.

Right now, Ke Mingqing was slowly making his way home.

Xia Zili followed quietly by his side.

The two of them had just been chatting on top of the train. Before they knew it, the high-speed rail had almost reached its destination, jolting them awake as if from a dream.

If anyone else had spotted them and snapped a photo, Xia Zili could only imagine how explosive tonight's trending searches would be:

—"Magical Girl Ember Having a Secret Rendezvous with an Unknown High School Student on Top of a High-Speed Train."

So, before they could be spotted and cause a scene, she had hurriedly grabbed Ke Mingqing's hand, flown him off the train with her magic umbrella back to Old Jingmai District, and reverted to her normal appearance in a small alley.

And right now—

Xia Zili's face felt warm, her ears red.

Ke Mingqing's ears were a little red, too.

The siblings walked quietly through the night. They hadn't spoken a word in a long time.

Xia Zili kept her eyes on the ground, where the moonlight spilled across the street like a layer of salt. Ke Mingqing looked up at a streetlamp on the corner, where a moth battered its wings against the pale white light, fluttering unsteadily toward the bulb.

Their minds kept flashing back to that moment on the train.

The street-corner convenience store was still open, its faint light stretching the siblings' shadows.

The owner sat under a tree, fanning himself with a palm-leaf fan. He watched their figures and, for some reason, shook his head.

Heads hanging as if they were guilty of something, the two walked silently past the store.

A long moment later, as if finally making up their minds, they spoke at the exact same time: "What happened just now was just—"

"I was just being impulsive, don't take it to—"

Before they could finish, the siblings turned to glance at each other, then quickly averted their eyes.

Ke Mingqing scratched his itchy cheek. To be honest, he had never been kissed on the cheek by a girl in his previous life—or in this one, for that matter. Looking back at the insanely edgy words he had spouted on the train, he felt a wave of embarrassment.

'It's fine. For the grand plan of exterminating all superhumans, I have to endure this,' he thought.

Xia Zili coughed twice. She spoke softly, her words a bit disjointed. "L-let's just forget what happened just now, okay?"

Ke Mingqing glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. 'If it was going to be this awkward, you shouldn't have done it in the first place,' he thought.

He then considered their relationship as adopted siblings. If they actually got together and broke up later, wouldn't it be an absolute horror story every time they saw each other for the New Year?

Ke Mingqing shook his head, pushing the wandering thoughts away, and changed the subject. "By the way—don't you think they've been acting really weird these past two days?"

"Who?"

"My brother and sisters, obviously," Ke Mingqing muttered.

"Why do you say that?" Xia Zili turned to look at him.

"No real reason. It just feels like they've been too quiet lately. The whole house is empty, and I haven't seen them all day."

As if hiding something, Xia Zili's gaze shifted. She said casually, "Hmm—I don't know. Maybe there's a reason?"

As she spoke, she glanced down at her phone, the glow of the screen faintly illuminating her eyes.

Before long, the two siblings arrived home.

The cicadas were quiet now. Ke Mingqing pulled out his keys and unlocked the door. The house was dark, the entryway pitch black. Moonlight spilled inside, elongating their shadows.

"Where did everyone go?" Ke Mingqing asked suspiciously.

Xia Zili shook her head and quietly hid her hands behind her back, feigning ignorance.

"You get the door."

Ke Mingqing took off his shoes and stepped into the entryway, moving deeper inside by the light of the moon. He couldn't understand how their house could be this dark; it felt like a haunted house.

But just as he reached the end of the hall, a loud pop rang out right by his ear like a firecracker, making him jump.

A candle flame flared to life, and a shower of bright confetti rained down over Ke Mingqing's head.

He stood frozen in place, blinking.

Four silhouettes stood at the entrance to the living room. The person in the center held a cream cake with a single lit candle on top.

The candlelight flickered warmly, illuminating the four faces in the darkness.

"Happy birthday, A-Qing!" Xia Ningzhi held the cake, grinning enough to show her little fangs. "Look, isn't the cake your big sister picked out pretty?"

"Happy birthday." Ke Linye smiled. "Make sure you keep improving this year. Try to learn from Rain Crow."

"Happy birthday, A-Qing." Xia Wenna tilted her head. "Look at your brother and sister. I told them this would scare you, but they insisted."

"Happy birthday." Only Xia Lingxue's blessing was brief.

She raised her cold eyes and looked quietly at Ke Mingqing before adding, "Don't disappoint your sister this year. Try to make some progress in your studies, understand?"

Ke Mingqing rolled his eyes at his second sister. "I know, I know. Scolding me even on my birthday. You love playing cop around the house even more than Dad does."

Xia Lingxue gave a cold scoff and reached out, roughly ruffling his hair.

Only then did Xia Zili slowly walk over from the entryway.

With her hands behind her back and her head lowered, she softly mumbled, "Happy birthday, brother."

Ke Mingqing froze for a moment, then slowly turned his head to meet her gaze.

He rarely heard Xia Zili call him "brother," so every time she did, it felt incredibly surreal.

"Thanks," he said softly.

"Do you have any idea how long we waited for you two? I thought you weren't coming back tonight! My cake would have gone to waste!" Xia Ningzhi complained, setting it down on the table.

She then quickly walked over, rubbed both of their heads, and slung her arms around their shoulders. Glancing between them, she asked suspiciously, "What were you two up to just now? You're acting so skittish."

Xia Ningzhi could tell the vibe between Ke Mingqing and Xia Zili was off. They wouldn't normally avoid looking at each other like this.

"We didn't do anything, just went for a walk by the sea," Xia Zili said dismissively. "We just finished our exams, so the pressure was getting to us."

Ke Mingqing thought for a moment. "She had Magical Girl Ember kiss me on the cheek, and then told me it was my birthday present."

Xia Zili was stunned at first, but a second later, her face flushed completely crimson.

Her shoulders trembled. She raised her head, glaring at Ke Mingqing with utter resentment, but her face was so hot it sapped all the aggression from her gaze.

Xia Ningzhi stared blankly. She looked at Xia Zili, then at Ke Mingqing, and thought, 'Oh no, it can't be true, can it—'

'—Then this family is actually doomed.'

"I'm just kidding," Ke Mingqing said, shrugging.

Xia Zili continued to glare coldly at him, unwilling to look away for a long time.

"Alright, let's eat the cake and make a wish—if we wait any longer, the candle's going to go out," Xia Wenna urged. However, her tone was so slow and drawn out that it didn't inspire the slightest sense of urgency.

"By the way, where's Dad?" Ke Mingqing asked casually, turning on the living room lights.

"Dad said something came up at the police station and he couldn't make it back. He said he owes you one," Ke Linye said with a smile. "Are you disappointed?"

"It's just a birthday, it's no big deal," Ke Mingqing said, entirely unbothered.

"How can you say it's no big deal? Dad not coming back is his problem." Xia Ningzhi slung an arm around his shoulder. "But our A-Qing is such a good boy. I thought you'd throw a tantrum when you heard Dad wasn't coming home."

"What am I, some grade schooler with a lollipop in my mouth?" Ke Mingqing said, shooting a sidelong glance at the woman who currently had a lollipop in her mouth.

"What did lollipops ever do to you?"

Xia Lingxue didn't even look up from her phone. "Your punishment is going to the supermarket tomorrow to buy me a whole box. And you'd better not let me catch you with a lollipop in your mouth this summer, not even once."

Ke Mingqing pointed a finger at her and turned to complain to Xia Wenna. "Mom, did you hear that? This is second sister's tyrannical dictatorship! It's way too cruel!"

"Eating too many lollipops is bad for your health," was all Xia Wenna said.

"Hey, let's make the wish first, alright?" Xia Ningzhi suggested, tilting her head. "I didn't eat much for dinner, and this cake is making me starve!"

Ke Mingqing said solemnly, "There's no rush. Since it's a birthday, it needs to have a sense of ceremony."

"This isn't enough ceremony for you?" Xia Lingxue sneered. "Look how spoiled you are."

Ke Mingqing shook his head. "No, no, no. I mean I have to go change into my favorite outfit." With that, he turned and headed upstairs.

"Which one is his favorite outfit?" Xia Lingxue asked casually.

"His Rain Crow T-shirt?" Ke Linye thought for a second. "I wore mine with him just a couple of days ago, we even took a picture together."

Xia Lingxue crossed her arms, holding her phone in one hand.

She mocked them in a flat tone, "Wearing a gloomy old man on your chest. I can't believe you guys actually do things like that."

At this moment, only Xia Ningzhi and Xia Zili remained silent.

They both seemed to realize what stunt Ke Mingqing was about to pull. Xia Ningzhi turned her head to look at Xia Zili, who was frantically sending text messages to Ke Mingqing on her phone.

The clack-clack of rapid typing rang out in the dim living room.

Sure enough, a short while later, Ke Mingqing trotted back downstairs, having changed into a T-shirt printed with the image of Magical Girl Ember.

'What is this family... going to turn into?'

Xia Ningzhi shook her head, holding her forehead in thought.

She didn't even dare to imagine what would happen when their dad eventually found out about Zili's identity, and then found out that the idol A-Qing had adored for so many years was actually his daughter.

Ke Mingqing shot Xia Zili a smug look.

Xia Zili glared at him coldly and weakly lowered her phone, letting out a long sigh.

Honestly, after being tormented by Ke Mingqing so many times, seeing him wearing her fan T-shirt no longer made her blush or her heart skip a beat.

"This is your favorite outfit?" Xia Lingxue said, her face expressionless. "You must get laughed at a lot at school, don't you?"

"You're annoying," Ke Mingqing said evenly.

Ke Linye turned his head, glanced at the T-shirt, and raised his eyebrows. "Isn't that the sadistic slaughter girl? Hmm—the one who was really popular a while ago."

Xia Ningzhi was briefly taken aback.

She first turned her head to check Xia Zili's expression, then walked over and punched Ke Linye hard in the shoulder.

"Don't talk bad about people, brother. Can't you be a little more lenient toward a minor? Maybe Ember is actually a good girl in private?" she scolded.

"I don't think a magical girl who murders indiscriminately is any kind of good girl." Ke Linye kept his eyes on his book while casually raising a hand to block Xia Ningzhi's fist. "But given her personality, it shouldn't be long before she falls and becomes a witch, right?"

He curled his lips into a smirk. "When that happens, she'll be quietly disposed of, and she won't need to take up public resources ever again."

Xia Zili stood frozen for a moment, then lowered her eyes.

She took a small sip of her orange juice, her face showing no emotion.

Ke Mingqing caught a glimpse of her expression, then snapped his head toward Ke Linye, his eyes wide. "No way, I won't let you talk about my idol like that! Not in this house, at least. It's my birthday today, I'm the boss."

"Idol?" Xia Lingxue said coolly, her lollipop still in her mouth. "You should find a better idol. I really don't understand you high schoolers."

"Like who?" Ke Mingqing challenged. "Then you two tell me what a 'good idol' is."

"Rain Crow."

Xia Lingxue and Ke Linye spoke in unison. The two exchanged a glance, then quickly looked away.

Ke Mingqing looked at them in disdain, thinking, 'Damn, you two really love that crow guy way too much! Birds of a feather flock together!'

"I'm gonna throw up," he said. "If you ask me, Rain Crow can't even compare to a single strand of Ember's hair."

"I support this, I support this."

Xia Ningzhi chimed in, raising her hand like an elementary school student while secretly checking her younger sister's expression from the corner of her eye.

However, Xia Zili didn't even bat an eyelid.

She didn't know why they were suddenly acting crazy. In truth, she had long stopped caring about how others saw her. Even if it was her family, at most she would just feel slightly uncomfortable for a little while.

Xia Zili sat alone in the corner, turning her head to stare blankly out at the night sky.

Just then, a ding rang out, and her pocket vibrated slightly.

She pulled her phone from her pocket, opened WeChat, and looked down at the new message.

[Little Red Riding Hood with the Matches: Oh right, Senior, you missed the meeting earlier, so Teacher Xi Ziyue asked me to tell you something.]

[Chali the Ninth: What is it?]

[Little Red Riding Hood with the Matches: It's about a new type of super-human species called "players". I wrote down what was discussed at the meeting in a document. I'll send it to you now.]

"Players?"

Xia Zili inexplicably felt like the term was familiar. Raising an eyebrow, she opened the document Little Red Riding Hood had sent.

After reading the introductory files in the document, she couldn't help but think: 'Exterminating superhumans within half a year, skills, systems, just like playing a video game. Did someone's paranoia act up and make them fabricate all this?'

But when she reached the end, she paused, as if recalling something.

Wait, players—

Suddenly, Xia Zili remembered something, her eyes widening slightly.

That day in the train station tunnel, she had heard Ke Mingqing and Kuroki Hitomi cryptically discussing something.

It was just that the shock of seeing the two of them kissing had been so overwhelming that it made her completely overlook their strange conversation.

Xia Zili vaguely remembered that they had said something like this:

"But before that, I want you to listen to what I have to say."

"Are you planning to use your interface to communicate with other players and have them save you? There's no need. I won't give you the time."

"No."

"Two minutes. I will only give you two minutes."

Xia Zili sat in a daze for a moment. She slowly raised her head, her gaze drifting toward Ke Mingqing, who was sitting on the corner of the sofa.

She thought to herself, 'My brother's girlfriend—that Japanese rich girl... is a player?'

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