A Guide to Humanity’s Extinction

On a summer afternoon, the backyard of the villa was shrouded in a deathly absolute silence. The sea breeze blew, scattering blue and purple petals, while the crashing of the waves echoed endlessly.

At this moment, Ke Mingqing kept his head casually lowered, arcs of electricity dancing at his fingertips.

The current sizzled in the absolute silence, sounding like the low hiss of a Snake.

Watching this scene, An Youlu widened her eyes slightly and stood at attention.

This girl, who usually remained expressionless and loved hiding her true feelings behind fake tones and exaggerated gestures, now showed a flash of genuine, undeniable surprise in her eyes.

Suddenly, a clatter echoed from the shade of the trees. The broom in the girl's hand had slipped and hit the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust that danced in the sunlight.

Right at that moment, a flock of white seagulls flew over the coast, their white feathers drifting down with a soft rustle.

An Youlu did not snap back to her senses until the electricity faded from the boy's fingertips.

She raised her eyes and stared at Ke Mingqing's face.

Ke Mingqing shrugged as he spoke, looking up to meet An Youlu's gaze.

At that moment, residual arcs of electricity sizzled in the air, casting flickering light over the boy and the girls. He wore a plain expression, while she remained stoic, though she could not hide the surprise in her eyes.

A split second later, the dancing arcs vanished, and the faces of the three people under the shade were once again shrouded in shadows.

Xia Zili leaned against the tree with her hands behind her back and slowly broke the silence.

"Do you get it now?"

She paused and said expressionlessly, "I told you from the very beginning that you would be disappointed once you found out who he was, but you just wouldn't believe me." Even as she said this, a tiny hint of pride slipped into Xia Zili's tone.

She tilted her head slightly, sneaking a peek at An Youlu's shocked expression. She had never expected the day would come when showing off this brother of hers could actually startle someone.

The corners of Xia Zili's mouth twitched upward into a faint smile, but the moment she realized her expression was slipping, she quickly straightened her face to maintain her image in front of her junior.

After a moment, An Youlu finally snapped out of her daze and murmured, "So, you mean..."

Ke Mingqing nodded.

"You're..." An Youlu hesitated.

Ke Mingqing nodded again. Could you two hurry it up? he thought. Please stop torturing me. I'm still busy advancing the Extinction directive for superhumans. "You're... Zeus," An Youlu said, her tone filled with shock.

"Right, that's me."

Ke Mingqing gave a firm nod. But a moment later, he realized that her conclusion was slightly different from what he had expected. "...Huh?"

The boy froze, looking up at An Youlu.

Xia Zili tilted her head as well.

An Youlu rested her hand against her chin and stared at Ke Mingqing, speaking with absolute solemnity:

"Zeus uses electricity, and you use electricity. Online rumors say Zeus likes magical girls, and you like magical girls too, since you wore Senior Ember's fan T-shirt.

"And the most critical piece of evidence is that you and Zeus have never been seen in the same place at the same time."

At this point, An Youlu put on an expression of sudden realization and continued her own analysis: "I see. So Senior's brother is actually the No. 1 superhero of the Roundtable, Zeus. I guess a little girl from a powerful and influential family really is different. Meanwhile, a little girl like me who grew up eating garbage has to fight to survive out here all on her own."

Xia Zili raised her hand, gave her a light flick on the forehead, and said, "Stop pretending. You know who he is."

She knew Little Red Riding Hood's personality all too well. The girl always loved hiding her feelings behind a barrage of nonsense. The more turbulent her emotions were, the more nonsense she spouted.

"Do you mean to say, Senior, that you expect me to admit that the one superhero I finally took an interest in recently is actually the brother of the senior I've worked with for two years at the Magical Girl Company, and the boyfriend of Miss Kuroki, whom I've served since childhood—and on top of all that, he's also my senior's fan?"

An Youlu rattled this off incredibly fast, delivering the entire speech without stopping for a single breath.

Ke Mingqing stared blankly, quietly impressed by her lung capacity.

Are the physiques of all magical girls this impressive? he thought. Should I use that item to turn Theater Puppet into a magical girl and see if it boosts my stats?

Xia Zili crossed her arms and said calmly, "Exactly."

An Youlu took a deep breath, suddenly raising her index fingers to form a cross.

"No, I refuse to believe it," she said. "Something this absurd simply doesn't happen. There's absolutely no way a coincidence this terrifying exists in the real world."

"Well, I'm sorry to break it to you," Xia Zili said with a frown, "but coincidences like this really do happen."

An Youlu stared blankly for a moment.

"Just as I thought... A person's entire life is a pre-written script. Right from birth, I was destined to be a little girl who eats garbage," she muttered softly, suddenly lowering her head with a gloomy look in her eyes.

Xia Zili sighed. She really couldn't stand this drama queen anymore. "Brother, how about we head back? The next bus should be coming soon anyway." Ke Mingqing looked at An Youlu and spoke up: "By the way... my sister didn't expose your identity on purpose."

Hearing this, An Youlu slowly raised her head, waiting quietly for his explanation.

"Because you two got into an argument, and my sister wanted to make up with you. That's why she told me who you were," Ke Mingqing explained after a brief thought. "And everything between the two of you, too. She usually keeps her mouth completely shut about your identity. It's been two years, and she never once breathed a word to me about her being a magical girl, let alone anything about you."

Xia Zili froze, suddenly recalling a conversation she had with Ke Mingqing a couple of days ago.

"I have something I want to tell you."

"What is it?"

"My friend, An Youlu. Do you remember her?"

"Of course I do."

"She's actually the magical girl Little Red Riding Hood."

When Xia Zili snapped back to the present, she saw An Youlu nodding in realization.

"I knew it. Why would Senior casually reveal my identity to anyone else?"

"What kind of person do you take me for?"

Xia Zili replied unhappily, though she avoided meeting her gaze. After all, she had actually sold out Little Red Riding Hood without a second thought. The fact that Ke Mingqing was covering for her right now completely took her by surprise.

A moment later, keeping her hands behind her back, she leaned close to Ke Mingqing's ear and whispered, "Thanks, Brother."

"Please spare me," Ke Mingqing muttered. Pressing his palms together in a pleading, prayer-like gesture, he bowed once to Xia Zili and once to An Youlu.

"So, yesterday when Senior openly teased Blue Pigeon, you were just doing it for fun?" An Youlu asked, her hand resting on her chin as she eyed the siblings suspiciously.

Xia Zili blinked, then nodded and swore confidently, "That's right. I just couldn't stand watching my stupid brother trying to act cool on stage."

"Please spare me, please spare me..." Ke Mingqing chanted under his breath like a monk reciting sutras, continuing to bow to the Great Buddha Ember and the Great Buddha Trash-Eating Hood.

An Youlu thought for a moment before asking another question.

"So, the only reason Mr. Blue Pigeon wore Ember's T-shirt to my house was to mess with Senior?"

Xia Zili grew annoyed just thinking about it. She threw a punch at Ke Mingqing's shoulder, but he reached out and caught her fist with one hand.

"Exactly. I just wanted to mess with my sister," Ke Mingqing said.

Xia Zili took a deep breath and held back her temper. It's still better than telling Little Red Riding Hood that my own brother is actually a massive fan of mine, she thought. How weird would that sound to an outsider?

"Liar. You didn't even know I was Ember back then," she muttered to Ke Mingqing.

Did I really not know?

Ke Mingqing rolled his eyes internally before whispering back, "What's wrong with letting me act cool in front of your friend? I couldn't exactly admit that I was my own sister's die-hard fan, could I? How embarrassing would that be?"

"So it doesn't matter if you embarrass yourself in front of your sister?"

"Well then, I suppose I'll just have to mention how a certain someone once got injured, accidentally crashed into my room, and told me, 'I'm right here, you can take a look at—'" Before he could finish, a red-eared Xia Zili cut him off.

"Say one more word and I'll kill you."

"As you command." Ke Mingqing raised his hand in a crisp salute.

After pondering the situation for quite a while, An Youlu raised her head and looked at Ke Mingqing. "Alright. It seems you aren't quite as useless as I thought." Ke Mingqing stared at her, completely speechless.

An Youlu continued, "At first, I didn't think you were worthy of the Eldest Miss. I apologize for my mistaken first impression. I am sorry." "And you're just as much of a chuuni as I remember," Ke Mingqing sighed. "Would it kill you to talk like a normal person?"

An Youlu paid him no mind. "Well, I'm truly sorry about that. Little girls like us who grew up eating garbage couldn't afford Chinese lessons. I learned all my Chinese from watching Japanese anime with subtitles, so it's only natural that I talk a bit like a chuuni."

"Just get used to it," Xia Zili said, long accustomed to this. "The moment you try speaking to her like a normal person, she completely forgets how to speak like one."

Thank god the system hasn't given me a quest to transform into a magical girl and join the company, Ke Mingqing thought. Otherwise, wouldn't the two of you torture me to death? "Please, take a seat in the living room. We have another guest," An Youlu said. "I haven't finished my chores yet, so you two can go ahead and chat with her." With that, she led the way back inside toward the living room.

Xia Zili and Ke Mingqing followed her inside and took a seat on the sofa. Looking up, they saw a girl in a shrine maiden outfit sitting directly across from them.

"I have admired Miss Ember for a long time." Kiyono Sakura offered a polite nod. "I simply didn't expect you to be even more petite and delicate in person than I had imagined."

"Don't look down on me," Xia Zili said with a frown.

"Could you stop hissing at everyone for no reason? She was complimenting you," Ke Mingqing whispered into her ear.

"Calling me tiny counts as a compliment?"

"What else would it be?"

"Fine. Then from now on, you're the Teeny Tiny Blue Pigeon."

"Alright, and you can be the Teeny Tiny Ember."

Watching the siblings bicker, Kiyono Sakura smiled.

"You two have such a wonderful relationship."

Xia Zili looked up at her. "By the way... my brother is also going to serve as a guard for the Comet Fragments, though I can't tell you exactly who he is." Kiyono Sakura paused before tilting her head slightly. "Then I am very much looking forward to it. To think that Miss Ember's brother is actually a superhero—he must be quite accomplished."

"Why couldn't I be a magical girl?" Ke Mingqing asked, popping a sandwich cookie into his mouth. "Are you just assuming I'm one of the superhero guards?"

Kiyono Sakura was left entirely speechless, while Xia Zili facepalmed.

"I'm just kidding," Ke Mingqing said with a sheepish chuckle.

Kiyono Sakura shook her head with a soft laugh before her expression turned serious.

"Since we're all on the same side here, I will get straight to the point. Have either of you heard the rumors that a notorious criminal organization has set its sights on the Comet Fragments being shipped to Leijing?"

Xia Zili thought for a moment before coldly uttering a single name:

"Death Crow?"

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