A Guide to Humanity’s Extinction

The Solomon Cafe was empty, save for two figures.

They sat across from each other at a mahogany table.

White Jack's body was already encased in thick ice. Only his cracked lips remained exposed to the air. His ghastly white frame was frozen to the chair, completely motionless.

Directly across from him, Xia Lingxue sat with her eyes lowered. She sipped her coffee and flipped through an old-fashioned newspaper, ignoring the frozen puppet in front of her.

"You're a player, aren't you?"

Her tone was remarkably calm, as if she were discussing the most ordinary thing in the world.

Yet the words plunged like a carving knife into the heart of the ghastly white puppet across from her.

White Jack fell silent, his lips ceasing all movement.

Like a preserved specimen, his ice-bound eyes locked onto Xia Lingxue, his gaze hollow and chilling.

Second Sister really is hard to fool. She's even more troublesome than the old man, Ke Mingqing thought. But why did she have absolutely no reaction when I mentioned that her sister is a mythic vessel? If she already knew Third Sister was Red Lotus, why did she fight her for three hundred rounds on the overpass that night?

The cafe was dead silent.

Seeing that White Jack was unwilling to speak, Xia Lingxue pondered before continuing. "Let me guess. You must be a puppet summoned by a player using a skill, and your reason for approaching me is a mission. What kind of mission did the System give you that makes you so desperate to get close to me?"

She paused, pinching her chin in thought, then looked up. "No, wait. According to the intelligence gathered from a few samples, a player's missions expand from their own interpersonal relationships. So, your main body must know me?"

Ke Mingqing drew in a sharp breath. This woman is way too terrifying, he thought. Could you not grasp the crucial point so easily?

He knew it would be dangerous to keep talking.

Even though he had passed the player device's detection yesterday and obtained a temporary get-out-of-jail-free card, that didn't mean he could act too brazenly in front of Second Sister. She would only spot more flaws in his act.

If the day ever came when Second Sister learned some players could hide their IDs, that get-out-of-jail-free card would become completely useless.

"How surprising—that you know so much about players, Miss," White Jack said. "I do know a few players, but they're too boring and weak to pique my interest."

He paused. "Leaving aside the fact that I'm not a player, aren't you curious about your sister?"

"You'd better pray I don't find your main body," Xia Lingxue said without looking up. "Because when that happens, it won't just be your eyeballs—every organ in your body will likely be harvested and recycled. You'll end up a hundred times more miserable than that thing at the entrance of the Superhero Company."

She shifted her tone. "But if you surrender now, I can give you a chance."

"A chance?"

"We currently lack a live player sample."

"Why?" White Jack asked. "With your strength, capturing one alive should be easy."

"During our previous experiments, we triggered the System's lethality threshold, and those players were obliterated by the System. We failed to keep any live samples. But now, we've figured out exactly where that lethality threshold lies. So, if you're willing to cooperate, letting you live for a few more months should be doable."

Xia Lingxue looked up at White Jack. "At least you wouldn't have to scheme and fight for your life every single day, right?"

White Jack didn't say a word.

"A sheep raised in captivity will eventually be slaughtered—but that's still better than being left out in the wild, facing the hunt of wolves day and night."

Taking a sip of her coffee, Xia Lingxue spoke with cool detachment. "White Jack, I hope you can understand this logic."

"It seems I must take my leave, Miss Xue," White Jack said. "However, your suggestion is quite interesting. I'll pass it along to the few players I know."

"Feeling guilty?"

"What makes you say that?"

"To me, you've essentially just admitted to being a player," Xia Lingxue sneered.

"Whether I'm a player or not, at least one thing is certain," White Jack said. "Miss Xia Lingxue, you are an absolute control freak."

He paused, a dark gleam flickering in his hollow eyes. "Unfortunately, your overwhelming desire for control won't allow you to protect anyone around you. One day, everything you know will crumble and fall apart. Those fated to go mad will go mad, and those fated to die will die. Some will have their minds corrupted by gods, others will have their eyes clouded by witches. And you, who thought you had everything under control, will deeply regret your arrogance."

"You really know me so well. Is that what it says on your super-human species panel?" Xia Lingxue mocked.

"Not at all. It's simply because I have a keen eye."

White Jack whistled.

"Are you finished with your last words?" she asked.

"I'm finished." He sighed. "Could you be a little gentler with me? Fine if you can't be gentle with me, but at least be gentle with the doll on my shoulder. GirlHelpGirl."

Xia Lingxue took another sip of her coffee and set the cup down on the table. In the next instant, White Jack's body completely crystallized into solid ice and shattered, scattering a shower of ice shards through the air.

"We will meet again. I hope you'll remember my name, Miss Zero." White Jack's voice drifted from the dissipating icy mist.

The surroundings quietly warmed. The frost coating the table and chair melted away as the hot summer breeze blew in, setting the wind chimes swaying.

The cafe was left empty, leaving Xia Lingxue alone. Tiny ice crystals danced in the air like white fireflies.

After a long time, she whispered softly, "Is Azhi a mythic vessel?"

She let out a light laugh, one that sounded both self-deprecating and grief-stricken. "I've known about that for a long time—"

About three minutes later, an old man wearing a plaid shirt and khaki cargo pants walked in. The man was over fifty, with a scar at the corner of his eye that folded into his crow's feet.

He wore his white hair tied back in a ponytail. His build was tall and burly, his broad back blocking the sunlight streaming into the cafe like a small mountain.

Stepping into the cafe, the old man looked around, noticing the faint layer of frost still lingering on the walls and floor.

"Did someone come by?" he asked, his voice hoarse and deep.

"No."

"Is that so?" Zorro didn't press the matter.

Xia Lingxue said expressionlessly, "I sought you out to talk about the Control Bureau. Our superiors have already set their sights on you. You and Owl Judge need to rein in your recent actions."

"It sure is tough staying in the Control Bureau, girl. Getting in isn't easy, and getting out is even harder," Zorro said, leaning against the counter. He picked up a coffee cup that still held unfinished liquor from the night before.

"Don't dodge my question," Xia Lingxue said, emphasizing every word.

Zorro took a sip of the alcohol and smiled dismissively.

"Actually, I don't have much time left either." Lowering his eyes to look at the black veins in the palm of his right hand, he spoke slowly. "That kid Linye recently told me that a new and interesting type of super-human species has appeared in this world. They're called players."

He held up his cup and mused, "Little girl, do you think they can help me slaughter those animals from the Roundtable?"

Xia Lingxue raised her eyes to look directly at him, enunciating every word. "Players are just a pack of rabid dogs. A pack of rabid dogs that will bite anyone they come across. If you try to use them, the backlash will destroy you one day. Besides, this isn't your usual style."

"I just feel that I've gotten old. I don't have as much energy as I used to. Maybe resorting to any means necessary for once wouldn't be such a bad thing."

Zorro scratched his snow-white temples.

He turned his head to look at Xia Lingxue. "At least I won't leave any regrets, right?"

Xia Lingxue fell silent for a moment. "I hope the day never comes when I have to raise my hand against you."

"If there's nothing else, you can leave, little girl."

Setting down his cup, Zorro smacked his lips. "That kid Linye probably won't be coming around recently. Before a grand Executive Officer of the Control Bureau like yourself leaves Lijing, we'll lay low for a bit."

"One final piece of advice," Xia Lingxue said. "Ever since that monster Zeus joined them, the Roundtable's strength has grown far beyond your imagination."

"Of course it has," Zorro chuckled. "After all, you folks at the Control Bureau absolutely despise mythic vessels, yet you have no way to touch Zeus. You can only watch as a wild beast that could lose control at any moment becomes the face of the superheroes. Everyone worships him as a god. You must be furious, right?"

"It's not that hard for a person to admit they're getting old."

Xia Lingxue paused for a moment before continuing. "If you let go of those unrealistic thoughts, you could still live for a few more years."

"And what about Linye?" Zorro shrugged. "You can't persuade your brother, so you came here to persuade me instead?"

"You shouldn't have brought him into this," Xia Lingxue said slowly. "My brother's mind doesn't work like a normal person's. He's just as paranoid and obsessive as you are, which is why you chose him in the first place. But do you think sacrificing others for the sake of your own goals is something to be proud of?"

She paused. "Let me tell you straight. Your revenge will never succeed. You weren't a match for the Roundtable twenty years ago, and the same holds true today."

"I know, I know." Zorro wiped down the glass with a towel. "No need to be in such a rush to lecture an old man. This is exactly what makes you such a headache, little girl. You've got such a pretty face, yet your personality isn't the least bit cute."

Xia Lingxue remained silent.

"Suit yourself."

Leaving those words behind, she rose from her chair and walked out of the cafe.

[Prompt 1: Your No. 2 Theater Puppet has died. The No. 2 Puppet is currently in cooldown and can only be summoned again after 12 hours.]

[Prompt 2: Main Mission 7 execution failed.]

Ke Mingqing opened his eyes from his swivel chair in the bedroom. Sunlight streamed in through the window, shining directly into his pupils.

I really couldn't complete this mission using White Jack, he thought. I'll just switch identities later. If I use the Blue Pigeon persona to approach Second Sister, the success rate should be a bit higher.

Thinking this, Ke Mingqing was about to head out to the bathroom, but his gaze fell on the gift box he had casually tossed onto the desk earlier.

He raised an eyebrow, reached out to place the gift box on his lap, and opened the lid.

Inside lay a postcard and a handmade pencil box. The pencil box was carved from a wood that smelled wonderful—cedar, if he recalled correctly.

Its exterior was painted a soft, glowing green, dotted in the center with a few drops of yellow paint, like fireflies dancing in a forest.

He set the pencil box aside for the moment and examined the postcard.

It was an old postcard, deeply creased.

The illustration on the front had yellowed slightly, but it was still clearly Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse playing musical instruments.

It seemed Xia Zili had kept this postcard for a very long time. Yet, for some reason, she had chosen to give it to him now.

Ke Mingqing opened the postcard, revealing rows of handwriting.

The child who wrote it must have been very young, barely able to hold the pen steady. The handwriting was crooked and slanted, with occasional pinyin annotations thrown in.

It was written in pencil. After so many years, the writing was so faded it was hard to read. Following the rough outlines, he could make out the emotions the writer had been trying to express.

Written on October 5, 2020.

Today, I went to play at the train station with my brother. My brother got into a fight at school and got hurt. He wouldn't tell me why he fought. He just said I'd understand when I grow up.

.

.

I really want to grow up fast, so I can protect my brother—

That day, my brother ignored me. He just kept walking forward through the tunnel.

He asked me, is he a parasite?

I didn't understand what he meant at the time.

I told him: Brother isn't a bug! Brother is a human!

My brother explained what a "parasite" means. He said he felt like an adopted child, that all his classmates looked down on him, and that he didn't know how to get along with the rest of the family at home.

I said: You are my brother, and you're just my brother.

I really want to grow up fast, so my brother won't feel like an outsider anymore—

It was very late that day. We walked out of the tunnel, and at the end of the tunnel, we saw fireflies. They looked like a sea of light, so beautiful.

I thought for a long time, then looked up and asked my brother, "If I really become a magical girl one day, can you promise me one thing?"

He told me, "Sure."

That is my secret. I hope the future you won't forget it either.

The old handwriting on the postcard stopped there. Ke Mingqing's eyes stung slightly from reading it, and he couldn't help but rub his temples.

After a moment, he lowered his gaze and spotted two lines of clean, fresh text at the very bottom of the postcard.

It was written in ballpoint pen, much neater than the writing from six years ago: "Happy Birthday—"

"Do you still remember our promise from six years ago?"

Staring at this line, Ke Mingqing froze. For a moment, he actually couldn't remember what that promise was.

He shared memories with the original owner of this body, so naturally, he couldn't recall the things the other party had forgotten. All he could see were a few fragmented, blurry images.

That day in the train station, when the two of them saw the fireflies at the end of the tunnel, the girl had held his hand and looked up, her lips moving. In his memory, it seemed she had said something, yet it also felt like she hadn't said anything at all.

After a while, Ke Mingqing finally snapped out of his memories. He put down the postcard and turned to look at the handmade pencil box on the desk.

Ke Mingqing had once gone to Xia Zili's class to look for her.

She had no friends at school and was always completely alone, eating and studying by herself. The corner of her desk was piled high with books, as if to block out the stares of others.

Looking at this pencil box, he could almost picture it: Xia Zili sitting all alone in the classroom, her head bowed as she carefully carved the wood stroke by stroke with a utility knife to make this pencil box for him.

She was such a cold and lonely person.

Yet someone like her had put so much thought into preparing a birthday gift like this for him—

Sunlight spilled through the floor-to-ceiling windows, bathing Ke Mingqing's face in its glow.

He fell silent for a moment. Then, reaching out, he opened the lid of the pencil box, trying to find a hint to that question inside.

But it was completely empty inside, save for a single, expensive ballpoint pen.

Ke Mingqing stared blankly at the ballpoint pen for a while. Then, resting the back of his head against the chair, he gave it a spin.

He turned his head to look out at the sky, which was as blue as if it had just been washed clean, and muttered to himself, "Just what exactly did I promise her back then—"

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