A Guide to Humanity’s Extinction

"How could you be so selfish?" The moment the words left Ke Mingqing's mouth, the air in the bedroom went dead silent. It was so quiet they could almost hear each other breathing.

Xia Zili froze for a moment. She lifted her eyes, staring at his face.

Light shifted in the young girl's eyes, but she couldn't utter a single word.

The bedroom was perfectly still.

The siblings stared at each other in silence. After a while, surprisingly, it was Xia Zili who looked away first.

Leaning back against the door, she lowered her head. Her hands, resting behind her back, gently gripped the doorknob as if she didn't know what to do with herself. A long time passed before she finally opened her mouth, forcing out the words caught in her throat.

"You..." Her voice was very soft. "You never used to talk to me like this."

Ke Mingqing blanked for a second. He looked away from her face, hanging his head as he let out a sigh. "Ugh, look, I apologize, okay? Can you not act so wronged? It makes me look like the bad guy here. My mind has been a mess these past two days, and I haven't been controlling my temper well. Just pretend it's my time of the month. Men have those few days a month too, you know."

"You always get so emotional whenever she's brought up," Xia Zili muttered, turning her face away.

She looked out the window at the night sky.

After a moment of silence, Ke Mingqing took a deep breath. "Anyway, I just want to stay by her side for this last half a year. If you really think I shouldn't do that, then go ahead and kill her. Or report her to your superiors and let them drag her off to be sliced up for research. But let me make one thing clear—if things really come to that, no matter how many people they send, I will absolutely take her away."

Xia Zili kept her hands behind her back, lowering her head in thought. "But that day, I clearly heard you say... you were going to kill her. Wasn't that right?"

Ke Mingqing had fully anticipated this question, smoothly pulling out his prepared excuse. "Right. I was incredibly shocked when I first found out she was a player. My brain just short-circuited at the time."

He paused. "But later, I looked at it from a different angle and figured it out. Think about it, Zili. If you were suddenly turned into a player, wouldn't it be pure agony?"

"It's exactly like a villain shoving a gun into your hands without a word of explanation and telling you, 'If you don't shoot other people, I'll kill you.' It's the same logic. You'd feel incredibly wronged, yet everyone else would treat you like a lunatic. They'd drag you off to be sliced up without leaving any room for negotiation. Wouldn't that be even more pitiful?"

Xia Zili listened in silence.

For some reason, she recalled that day in the sky above Leijing. She had looked down, trying to seek help from others, only to see the terrified looks people cast her way.

For a fleeting moment, she actually found herself understanding the feeling Ke Mingqing described.

Ke Mingqing continued, "We can't just assume she's a bad person who will definitely shoot at us just because she's holding a gun, right? The truly evil one is the person standing behind her—the one mass-producing 'players' in the first place. Isn't that right, sis?"

Finishing his point, he looked up at Xia Zili.

Now that he had pushed the conversation this far, if Xia Zili still insisted on exposing Kuroki Hitomi's identity as a player, he honestly had no other options. He would just have to wave goodbye to the Japanese girl.

In truth, Ke Mingqing's words were also a probe.

He was naturally testing how Xia Zili would view him if his own identity as a player was exposed in the future, and whether they would still be able to sit down and talk like this. Of course, the most likely outcome by then was still that she would immediately pump two bullets into him, the imposter.

After a while, Xia Zili gave a gentle nod and offered a soft "Mm."

Seeing that she had finally listened to reason, Ke Mingqing quietly let out a breath of relief.

He warned her, "Lastly, I hope you won't tell anyone about this. It's not just the Magical Girl Company; the Superhero Company and the Control Bureau are also conducting massive manhunts for players. If they find her, Kuroki Hitomi's only end is death."

"I can promise you that, but—"

"Tell me."

"You have to protect yourself."

"I know," Ke Mingqing said coolly. "I'm not an idiot, sis. The moment I notice her acting strangely, I'll cut ties with her instantly and hand her over to the people at the Superhero Company."

He scratched his cheek. "Oh, right—if you're worried that I'll commit double suicide with her in half a year, you don't need to be. I actually don't like her all that much. It's just sympathy."

"Can you not be so overflowing with sympathy?"

"How can I be a good superhero without sympathy?"

"Forget it." Xia Zili fell silent for a long time. "Also, there's one more thing."

"What is it?"

"Figure it out yourself," she said.

"What is it, exactly?" Ke Mingqing tilted his head, looking at her in confusion. "Since when did you start speaking in riddles? Did you learn that from White Jack?"

"Our three rules from when we were kids. Do you remember them?" Xia Zili asked.

Ke Mingqing blanked, rummaging through his memories for the relevant details.

He and Xia Zili really did have three rules when they were young. For example: after a fight, he had to pat her on the head and properly apologize. If he lost his temper at her, he absolutely had to give her a hug afterward.

Xia Zili had been fiercely stubborn since she was a little girl, refusing to bow her head even if the sky fell. When eight-year-old Xia Zili argued with Ke Mingqing, she would never concede until the bitter end, determined to debate him with tears in her eyes.

But once their anger subsided and Ke Mingqing reached out to pat her head or give her a hug, she would drop her guard, bury her face in his chest, and sob uncontrollably.

"Come on, how long ago was that?" Ke Mingqing scratched his head and bared his teeth. "Aren't you embarrassed to bring that up now?"

But Xia Zili was unfazed. She simply stated, "I just feel like it was always you patting my head back then. It was very unfair."

"That's because I'm your older brother."

"It's still unfair."

Ke Mingqing understood what she was getting at. "Alright, so we reverse it now?"

Xia Zili didn't say a word. She only shot him a sideways glance, a faint look of a successful scheme flitting across her face. Then, putting on a slightly serious expression, she reached her hand out toward him.

After a brief hesitation, her small hand rested on top of Ke Mingqing's head. She ruffled his hair until it looked like a bird's nest, then pulled her hand back.

"Is that enough?"

"Mm... I forgive you."

The corners of Xia Zili's lips curled up in an almost imperceptible arc, and she turned to leave the room.

Having a sister who can coax herself out of a bad mood is fantastic, Ke Mingqing thought to himself. Of course, it was also possible that they had grown much closer since swapping identities.

He had originally assumed that after making her this mad, they would be locked in a cold war for days like they used to be.

Xia Zili stepped out of the bedroom, only to realize something wasn't right. She immediately marched back in.

She lowered her small face. "Wait... this is my room. You're the one who should be leaving."

"Come on, we both need to head downstairs," Ke Mingqing said, pushing her by the shoulders as they walked down the stairs together. They sat on the living room sofa and started eating cake.

In the time they had been away, Xia Ningzhi, Ke Linye, and Xia Lingxue had sat cross-legged on the living room rug and started playing Fight the Landlord. They were throwing down cards one by one, completely forgetting about the birthday party.

"What were you two talking about?" Xia Ningzhi asked without looking up from her hand of cards. "Muttering away upstairs for so long before finally coming down."

"Life counseling, relationship troubles. Nothing that concerns you old men and women."

Ke Mingqing said flatly, turning to glance at the night outside the window. The maple trees rustled in the evening breeze, and the cicadas in the branches were chirping like their lives depended on it.

Ke Linye threw down a King of Hearts and turned to smile at him. "Why don't you bring your girlfriend over to play sometime? I can be your on-site relationship counselor."

Then you'd probably counsel us straight into a psychiatric ward, Ke Mingqing mocked inwardly.

Late that night, Ke Mingqing lay on his bedroom tatami, enjoying the breeze from the electric fan as he opened his chat interface.

[Ke Mingqing: I have good news and bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?]

[Kuroki Hitomi: Bad news.]

[Ke Mingqing: My sister really did overhear our conversation at the train station. Right now, personnel from the Magical Girl Company know about the existence of 'players,' so she is convinced that you are one.]

[Kuroki Hitomi: And the good news?]

[Ke Mingqing: She is very likely the only person in this family I could actually persuade. If anyone else here found out, they probably would've chopped you into pieces and fed you to the pigs by now.]

[Kuroki Hitomi: Then, does your sister suspect that you are also a player?]

[Ke Mingqing: No. Hearing what I said at the train station that day, she would only come to one conclusion: I discovered you were a player and intended to kill you right then and there.]

[Ke Mingqing: Also, why do you always care so much about other people? Can you care about yourself a bit more? It really pisses me off just watching you. Compared to you, I'm practically a saint.]

[Kuroki Hitomi: I don't care about other people.]

[Ke Mingqing: Then why do you always—]

[Kuroki Hitomi: I only care about you.]

Ke Mingqing covered his face with his hand, taking a good while before he sent another message.

[Ke Mingqing: I've reached an agreement with my sister. She shouldn't leak your identity to anyone, but I can't guarantee that I've one hundred percent convinced her.]

In truth, Ke Mingqing wasn't worried about Xia Zili breaking her promise. In his memories, she was someone who took commitments seriously.

But Magical Girl Ember was a different story; she was highly likely to do exactly that. After all, her mental state was already quite unstable, potentially even teetering on the edge of witchification. Ke Mingqing was terrified that one day she might suddenly march down to the seaside villa with an umbrella and gun down the Kuroki heiress.

[Kuroki Hitomi: Then what should we do now?]

[Ke Mingqing: How about this? Have your family take you back to Tokyo. Leave China for a while, and my sister will quickly forget all about you.]

[Kuroki Hitomi: Do you still want to throw me away?]

Ke Mingqing's eyelids twitched, and he wanted nothing more than to smash his head against the wall. Why am I surrounded by such weirdos? he thought. How exactly is this Japanese girl's brain wired?

If all one hundred players were this level of braindead, let alone their grand mission to Exterminate Superhumans collapsing halfway, it would have been a catastrophic failure from the very start.

[Ke Mingqing: Comrade, I am giving you serious advice here, free of personal emotions or biases.]

[Kuroki Hitomi: But I don't want to go back to Tokyo. I just want to stay by your side.]

[Ke Mingqing: Fine, do whatever you want. Anyway, you dying only benefits me; it does me no harm.]

After dropping that message in the chat, Ke Mingqing ignored Kuroki Hitomi.

He slumped against the floor-to-ceiling window, resting his head against the glass. Moonlight bathed the young man's fair face. He stared out into the night in a daze for a while before closing his eyes.

The rest of the night passed in silence.

[Good morning, esteemed Mr. Player. Today is Tuesday, July 10, 2026—171 days, 16 hours, and 10 minutes remain until the time limit for the 'Exterminate Superhumans' mission expires.]

Summer vacation had arrived. Ke Mingqing enjoyed a rare chance to sleep in, sprawling spread-eagle on his bed. The breeze from the fan blades chased away the summer heat, but even as he rested with his eyes closed, he didn't forget to release his Theater Puppet into an empty alleyway. He had it change into a full train conductor's uniform and walk toward a McDonald's two streets away.

Before long, the Theater Puppet took its position inside the McDonald's. Munching on a hash brown, it rested its chin on its hand and gazed out the window. At this moment, its appearance was entirely that of the Italian youth, "Giovanni."

Ke Mingqing was still lying in bed at home, his eyelids drooping as if he might fall back asleep at any second. Naturally, the puppet also looked incredibly drowsy, its right hand slipping from its chin a few times.

But just then, a girl in a snow-white dress anxiously pushed open the McDonald's doors and sprinted inside.

The puppet turned its head, meeting Bai Ziling's gaze. The girl's red eyes were brimming with urgency and unease. Usually, her eyes looked as if they were veiled in mist, making it impossible to read what she was thinking.

"Hurry, let's go—" Bai Ziling said, grabbing his sleeve and pulling him outside without leaving any room for argument.

"What are you rushing for?" the Theater Puppet asked.

Its body weight was very light, so being dragged along by Bai Ziling looked quite natural—as if this white-haired girl were the adult and he were the child.

"They've come looking for you," Bai Ziling said without turning her head.

Perfect, Ke Mingqing thought to himself. They finally decided to come looking for me.

So, acting exactly like a brat reluctant to leave a toy store but being dragged away by an adult, he made the Theater Puppet dig its leather shoes into the floor in a vain attempt to stop Bai Ziling from hauling him away.

Unfortunately, the puppet was simply too light, and Bai Ziling was no ordinary person. He was still dragged right up to the entrance.

Just as they reached the McDonald's entrance, Bai Ziling stopped in her tracks, staring blankly ahead. The Theater Puppet also lifted its eyes to look forward.

Right at that moment, two tall, slender silhouettes were standing at the entrance of the McDonald's. One was wearing the blue-and-white uniform of Leijing Third High School, his hands shoved into his jacket pockets.

The other was dressed in a black-and-white butler's uniform, a polite smile on his face. His shoulder-length hair gleamed like spun gold, and his eyes were as blue as the ocean in the sunlight.

And right then, two super-human species interface panels popped up above their heads.

[Superhuman Codename: "Black Magic Hand" (Danger Rating: A Rank)]

[Superhuman Codename: "Wolf Butler" (Danger Rating: A Rank)]

"Could we ask you to come with us?" the Wolf Butler asked, his smile peaceful.

Jiang Qingzi didn't say a word. He lowered his face, staring dead into the Theater Puppet's eyes.

Is my babysitting life finally over? Ke Mingqing thought with a sigh as he met the boy's gaze through the Theater Puppet's eyes.

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