A Guide to Humanity’s Extinction

Super Hero Company, thirtieth floor. A silver-white, metallic expanse greeted the eye.

This was the superheroes' training area, and the ongoing "exhibition match" would be split into two rounds:

The first bout pitted the magical girl Ember against Blue Pigeon and Top Hero;

The second would pit the magical girl Little Red Riding Hood against Shadow Person and Invisible Giant.

Ember and Little Red Riding Hood were both experienced magical girls, while their opponents were rookie heroes. A one-on-two matchup leveled the playing field; otherwise, they would inevitably catch heat for bullying the newcomers.

The entire event was being broadcast live online, and both companies had ordered their people to pull their punches. Ember, in particular, had received a stern lecture on the matter.

The Magical Girl Company had clearly gone to great lengths. Ember was still caught in the crosshairs of public scrutiny, and they were doing everything in their power to keep her from stepping on any more landmines.

Inside the arena, Blue Pigeon looked around.

The training room was structured like an ancient Roman colosseum. The spectator seats ringed the upper edge, stepping down in a steep gradient.

A few figures were already seated in the stands: Team Diamond Man, a group of fellow rising-star heroes.

The roster consisted of three members: Diamond Man, Swamp Woman, and Vending Machine Specialist.

The first two were mutants. True to their names, one could turn his body into solid diamond, and the other could transform hers into a murky swamp. The last member's power was to summon and hurl vending machines at opponents.

The trio had happened to be at the company and decided to drop by to watch.

More importantly, Blue Pigeon noticed a pitch-black figure standing in the farthest corner. It was a man cloaked in black, wearing a bird beak mask.

Sensing his gaze, Rain Crow slowly turned and left the training room without looking back.

However, a single black crow remained perched on the railing, its red eyes quietly tracking the arena.

Blue Pigeon guessed that Crow Man was either bored out of his mind, or he had been tasked with ensuring everyone's safety and stopping the fight if necessary.

"Does he have to act so dramatic?" Blue Pigeon scoffed, turning his attention back to the arena.

The magical girl Ember was already standing directly opposite him, while Top Hero slowly approached from behind.

"Bro, good luck. We absolutely cannot embarrass ourselves." Top Hero patted his shoulder, his expression deadly serious.

Hard to say. This demonic little sister of mine isn't going to let me off easy, Blue Pigeon thought.

"The match officially begins," the referee announced. "Both sides must hold back from causing real harm. The focus of this bout is to promote friendly cooperation between superheroes and magical girls."

"I'll take the vanguard and cover you. Find an opening and get in close," Top Hero said.

Before Blue Pigeon could nod, Top Hero stomped the ground and charged, his dreadlocks whipping in the wind.

The Black youth went all out right from the start. He raised his hands, ten fingers crossed, generating threads that tethered to rapidly spinning tops.

Whoosh—!

With a flick of his right wrist, over a dozen spinning tops shot out. Friction against the air sparked crimson flames, showering toward Ember like a rain of fire.

In an instant, Ember drew a long blade from Cinderella's umbrella handle.

Facing the barrage of flaming tops, the girl didn't flinch. She calmly swung her blade.

Amid a crisscrossing flurry of steel, the rapidly spinning tops were precisely cleaved in two. They crashed to the floor like chunks of flaming scrap metal, clattering loudly and casting off a faint shower of sparks.

Her pitch-black skirt swayed like chaotic blossoms, dazzling the eye. A moment later, the commotion died down. Ember lowered her blade, and her skirt fell still.

From beginning to end, the girl hadn't retreated a single step. Her gaze remained locked entirely on Blue Pigeon.

Top Hero froze. He hadn't expected this magical girl to be so fast, cleanly neutralizing all of his tops in a single second.

Boom—!

At that moment, a sudden roar erupted beside him, followed by a burst of black lightning that shot straight at Ember like a pitch-black arrow.

Ember didn't even blink. She smoothly raised her umbrella, aimed the tip at the lightning arrow, and pulled the trigger.

It happened in a flash. A magic missile surged out, unleashing a blast of expanding air. It swallowed the black lightning instantly, as effortlessly as blowing out a candle.

But at that exact moment, Blue Pigeon struck from her flank, his body transformed into a deep blue web of lightning.

Throwing his right hand forward, he drove a metallic fist wrapped in dark lightning straight at Ember's back.

Top Hero wasn't sitting idly by either.

Raising his ten fingers, he condensed clusters of phantom tops once more.

The threads in the young man's hands tangled in midair. The tops stacked and spun, morphing into a miniature flaming tornado that tore toward Ember from the front.

Ember half-turned her body, as if her peripheral vision could flawlessly track both of their attacks at the same time.

She raised the umbrella to her left and pulled the trigger, unleashing a torrential rain of bullets that intercepted the tops.

In the same breath, she swung her tachi backward. Black-blue magic erupted from the blade in a crescent arc, blocking Blue Pigeon's fist and blasting him over a dozen meters away.

Blue Pigeon smashed into the metal wall. Kicking off the surface, he shot back out like lightning, crashing against Ember's defenses over and over like claps of thunder.

Yet Ember precisely parried every single strike, severing his momentum with casual swings of her blade.

All the while, she kept her umbrella aimed behind her, squeezing the trigger to suppress Top Hero beneath a relentless hail of gunfire.

It was as if she refused to let him interfere in her bout with Blue Pigeon.

In a mere matter of seconds, Blue Pigeon and Ember exchanged over a dozen blows.

The magical girl Ember remained on the defensive the entire time, parrying strikes while retreating. To the naked eye, she and Blue Pigeon appeared evenly matched—a dizzying, high-speed spectacle that left the onlookers wide-eyed.

Up in the stands, Diamond Man, clad in a white tank top and jeans, crossed his arms. "Is this little blue bird... actually this strong?" he asked in a deep voice.

"I'm pretty surprised myself." Swamp Woman, dressed in a bright red skirt, cupped her chin in astonishment.

Wearing a robot head and a sharp suit, Vending Machine Specialist chimed in. "Hmm. Ember appears to be struggling on defense without an opening to counter... but she might just be faking it." His voice carried a deep, magnetic hum, sounding exactly like a genuine robot.

"Are you kidding? Does Ember seem like the type to pull her punches?" Swamp Woman countered.

"I agree. She isn't the kind of girl who'd spare anyone's pride," Diamond Man mused.

"Perhaps... they are secret lovers?" Vending Machine Specialist suggested, dropping a bombshell.

The other two slowly turned their heads to stare at him.

Not far away, the crow perched on the railing quietly tracked the two fighters in the arena, its ruby-like eyes narrowing slightly.

Down on the arena floor, Blue Pigeon erupted from the edge once more. He closed the distance like a crack of thunder, slashing at his opponent's neck with a wrist blade wreathed in black lightning.

Amidst the surging electricity, the young man and the magical girl locked eyes.

But this time, Ember didn't raise her blade to block. Instead, she took a smooth half-step back.

The goth-skirted girl looked up as Blue Pigeon's arm swept past her face. Dropping her tachi, she gracefully raised her hand, her magic-coated fingers clamping down on his elbow to instantly immobilize his right arm.

Blue Pigeon instantly brought up his free hand. Shaping it into a knifehand sheathed in lightning, he chopped hard at Ember's shoulder!

Ember's expression didn't so much as flicker. Popping her umbrella open, she cleanly deflected his left arm, then wrenched her grip downward, throwing Blue Pigeon's entire body off balance!

Unable to halt his sudden downward pitch, Blue Pigeon braced for the floor—but the goth-skirted girl smoothly caught him by the waist. Pulling him into her embrace, she lowered her head to look down at him.

Their faces were mere inches apart. They were locked together in a pose straight out of a tango.

Except, Ember was playing the male lead, and Blue Pigeon was the female partner.

The goth-skirted girl lowered her gaze, her hair cascading down like a midnight waterfall. She stared into his eyes through his goggles, a hint of playful mockery dancing in her stare.

"Let go of my bro!"

In the next instant, Top Hero charged over. Condensing another volley of phantom tops, he roared and snapped his threads, hurling them at Ember to form a terrifying midair curtain of flames.

A violent wave of blistering heat washed over the arena, making the air itself shriek.

Ember didn't even bat an eye. Maintaining her hold on Blue Pigeon, she drove her heel down on the hilt of the tachi she had just dropped.

Clang—!

The long blade snapped upward from the floor. It spun through the air like a windmill, cleanly batting away the incoming tops.

As the girl's foot fell back down, she stomped the floor with the crisp rhythm of a dancer. A ripple of black-blue magic immediately burst outward like a tidal wave, shredding the encroaching curtain of flames into nothing.

The arena fell dead silent.

With one arm still holding Blue Pigeon, Ember continued to stare softly into his eyes. Her free hand raised her umbrella and—without so much as a glance—leveled the tip squarely at Top Hero's forehead.

Her finger settled on the trigger with an audible, metallic click.

"Hey, hey, hey! Chill, sis!"

Top Hero skidded to a dead halt, genuinely terrified that she might actually put a magic missile through his skull.

The battle had ended right there. The victors were decided.

There was no room for debate.

Meanwhile, the livestream cameras were broadcasting the scene across the internet. Ember elegantly cradled Blue Pigeon in her arms, looking down into his eyes as though swooning over a petite damsel.

The live comments on the Super Hero Company's official website completely exploded, a barrage of text practically burying the broadcast feed.

[Nanquan Li: Sister Ember is so badass! Look at how she's putting that little blue bird in his place.]

[Akashi: But this Blue Pigeon isn't half bad either. For a rookie hero to brawl with Ember hand-to-hand for that long? Meanwhile, Top Hero completely choked, lol.]

[Beichuan Lu: Big sis is insanely cool. Is this even a match? It's literally just her one-woman show.]

[KskbI: Can you guys stop putting this psycho bitch on a pedestal? She still hasn't been cancelled? (Notice: KskbI has been muted by the moderator)]

"The outcome of the first exhibition match is decided! The winner is the magical girl Ember," the referee announced loudly. "Blue Pigeon and Top Hero have been defeated. Please exit the arena."

Only then did the goth-skirted girl finally release Blue Pigeon and peel her gaze away from his face.

Retrieving her blade from the floor, Ember slid it back into Cinderella's umbrella handle and walked away.

Blue Pigeon straightened his back, shooting a speechless look at the girl's retreating back before following Top Hero out of the arena.

How am I supposed to survive having a demonic little sister like her? he thought.

"Too strong. Is she really the face of China's magical girls?" Top Hero sighed heavily.

"It's fine. We just have to keep at it. We only debuted recently, while they're already magical old hags."

While Blue Pigeon spouted nonsense to comfort Top Hero, he turned his head, using his peripheral vision to check the stands.

With the end of the first match, the crow that had been perched on the railing had already flown away without a sound.

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