A Guide to Humanity’s Extinction

The night’s pattering rain had quietly stopped, leaving the old building dead silent.

Water pooled on the roof dripped onto the second-floor balcony railing, the steady tapping echoing down the quiet corridor.

Right now, two figures stood in that very hallway.

Ke Mingqing stood stiffly by the bathroom door like a grade-schooler enduring punishment, while Xia Wenna lingered in the shadows of the corner.

The two of them stared at each other in total silence.

Xia Wenna’s bedroom was on the third floor, while the kids slept on the second. With a floor between them, coming downstairs logically should have made at least a little noise.

Yet Ke Mingqing hadn’t heard a single footstep. She had simply appeared in the hallway out of nowhere.

Her gaze remained completely hollow.

Standing in the dark, she looked like a wandering spirit bereft of a soul, terrifying to look in the eye.

Ke Mingqing’s heart pounded. Had this alien, who had been lurking on Earth and observing this family for so long, finally realized her son had been replaced?

Was she planning to eradicate him in the dead of night?

Should he scream? If he yelled, would his dad and sister come save him?

After a long pause, he finally spoke, probing carefully. ”Mom, what’s wrong? Why do you look so pale in the middle of the night? I thought you were a ghost at first.”

Xia Wenna did not answer right away. She merely stared at him in silence.

A moment later, her expression darkened, and she muttered softly, ”Ah Qing... I...”

”You?”

”I had a dream that your dad cheated on me.”

The moment the words left her mouth, a heavy silence fell over the corridor, followed by a thoroughly baffled sound.

”...Huh? Oh? Oh.”

Ke Mingqing froze for a second, slowly processing the situation.

Xia Wenna stayed quiet for a moment before continuing. ”He didn’t come home to sleep again tonight. He went out in the middle of the night and isn’t replying to my texts.”

Ke Mingqing gave her a helpless look, his hanging heart finally dropping back into his chest.

He figured that regardless of whether Xia Wenna had noticed anything off about him, bringing this up meant she wasn’t planning a showdown right now. He was safe for the moment.

”Mom, don’t overthink it, okay?” Ke Mingqing shrugged. ”Dad’s probably just stressed lately and having trouble sleeping. He went out for a walk to clear his head and will be back in a bit.”

”Really?”

”Really, really... I’ll call and ask him for you later. Just go back to bed for now.” Ke Mingqing squeezed past her, a cold sweat breaking out across his back.

He lowered his head slightly, thinking to himself: ’We’re both spies. You want to invade Earth, and I have to wipe out the super-human species on it... We’re cut from the same cloth, so why make things so difficult for each other?’

Despite his internal monologue, the moment he stepped into his bedroom, his right hand honestly shut the door behind him.

He peeked at the alien through a crack in the door. Xia Wenna stood blankly in the hallway for a moment before heading up to the third floor, moving like a puppet with cut strings.

Ke Mingqing watched her go, then clicked the door fully shut.

’This family is terrifying. Setting aside those two violent maniacs in cosplay, there are actually horror movie jump scares at night...’ he thought, kicking off his slippers and sprawling spread-eagle on his bed.

With the rain stopped, the faint chirping of cicadas drifted in. Ke Mingqing closed his eyes and soon drifted off to sleep.

The rest of the night passed in silence.

...

...

Early the next morning, as the first rays of sunlight spilled through the floor-to-ceiling windows onto the floor, Ke Mingqing opened his eyes.

But instead of the ceiling, he was greeted by a dense swarm of text, packed as tightly as migrating ants.

[Good morning, dear player ”Ke Mingqing.” The time limit for the ”Exterminate Superhumans” mission is: 178 days, 18 hours, 30 minutes, and 45 seconds.]

Seeing such a notification floating above his head first thing in the morning was like taking a cup of scalding coffee straight to the face. Even if he didn’t want to drink it, he’d end up choking down a mouthful, instantly jolting him awake no matter how tired he was.

Though, if this overstimulation eventually turned him into an actual lunatic, it wouldn’t be surprising...

Ke Mingqing yawned, staring blankly at the ticking numbers on the countdown.

It was currently 6:00 AM on July 2nd. He mentally tallied the days in each month, using the countdown to estimate the final deadline.

The date his mind finally landed on was:

—Midnight on December 28th.

If the players failed to complete the ”Exterminate Superhumans” mission by midnight that day, their only remaining path would be death.

Of course, some people were already dead. They hadn’t even needed to wait for the deadline.

[Surviving players: 98 (↓2)]

[Death Notice: Regrettably, players ”Xu Yiyi” and ”Liu Haitao” died at the hands of the A++ Rank super-human species codenamed ”Owl Judge.” Location of death: Haian, China—Haian City University.]

”Good for them. Those two skipped half a year of suffering...” Ke Mingqing muttered, before pausing. ”Wait, Haian City University... isn’t that where my oldest brother goes to school?” He abruptly sat up in bed.

He stared at the codename ”Owl Judge,” then at the ”A++ Rank super-human species” designation that followed. ”It can’t be that much of a coincidence, can it?”

Ke Mingqing fell silent for a moment. He scratched his messy hair and got out of bed.

”Whatever. I’ll take it one step at a time.”

Ke Mingqing had woken up the latest, so the second-floor bathroom was free. After a quick wash, he changed into the blue-and-white uniform of Leijing Third Middle School and went downstairs for breakfast.

Xia Wenna had made fried eggs, paired with century egg and lean pork congee, as well as spicy pepper soup.

The spread looked quite rich at a glance, but the taste was another matter entirely. Ke Mingqing grabbed a bowl and chopsticks from the sterilizer cabinet and sat down next to Xia Zili.

The two siblings didn’t speak, simply eating their food in silence.

The warm morning light spilled through the windows, casting a glow over their silhouettes. Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, a row of maple trees rustled, sending leaves spiraling down onto the sill.

The TV in the living room was tuned to the Leijing News Channel, which was reporting on a warehouse fire from the previous night.

”Police have confirmed via security footage that the incident was not an accident, but was deliberately caused by a criminal. There is one victim in the incident, whose identity is currently under investigation.”

”According to the Super Hero Company, the criminal behind this incident is known as ’White Jack.’”

As the anchor spoke, the screen displayed a still from the security footage: a stark white puppet crouching on a streetlamp with downcast eyes, its walking cane hanging straight down.

The news channel zoomed in on the footage. The puppet’s hollow eyes and split, grinning mouth were chilling to look at.

Xia Zili glanced up at the screen and frowned.

”So ugly.”

”I think he looks better than Rain Crow,” Ke Mingqing said dismissively, taking a sip of his spicy pepper soup.

”True.” Xia Zili didn’t disagree. ”I don’t get it. Is there something wrong in the head of a guy who flies around wearing a crow mask every day?”

As the two chatted idly, someone suddenly came downstairs.

It wasn’t Ke Mingwei. Their dad hadn’t come home at all last night. He had probably spent the whole night at the Super Hero Company investigating the ”White Jack” incident.

Ke Mingqing turned his head slightly, catching a glimpse from the corner of his eye. The person coming down was his third older sister, Xia Ningzhi.

Xia Ningzhi had long, bright black hair that shone like lead powder, with a small bun tied at the top of her head. Wearing a blue-and-white school uniform, her eyes were clear and bright.

True to Ke Mingqing’s expectations, as he looked at her, a cyan-and-red super-human species panel slowly materialized above his third sister’s head.

[Superhuman Codename: ”Red Lotus”]

[Type: mythic vessel]

[Danger Rating: A+ Rank]

[Superhuman Profile: mythic vessel—”Nezha.” She has inherited a portion of a deity’s power and currently operates in the shadows as an unregulated vigilante.]

[Known Weaknesses: Once a mythic vessel advances to the final stage—”Manifested Body”—they will gradually exhibit tendencies of losing control and going berserk, ultimately leading to self-destruction.]

’Just as I thought.’ Ke Mingqing raised an eyebrow, already completely unfazed by the sight.