A Guide to Humanity’s Extinction

’Am I already capable of trading blows with a Class C super-human species?’ Blue Pigeon thought, looking at the corpse of the hoodie-wearing young man. ’No... it’s probably just that this guy’s specialty wasn’t close-quarters combat. Strictly in terms of causing massive chaos, his ability is definitely worth a Class C rating. He was just weak in every other aspect.’

With the death of the hoodie-wearing young man, the riot sweeping across the art street gradually died down.

The rioters who had been controlled by the leeches moments ago now looked drowsy and swayed on their feet. Soon after, they collapsed to the ground one by one, like a school of fish washed up on the beach at low tide.

Seeing this, the magical girl Little Red Riding Hood dropped down from her sled.

She smoothed out the hem of her Christmas dress and said mildly, ”Senior, it looks like I won the bet.”

A hint of surprise flashed through Ember’s eyes. She hadn’t expected Blue Pigeon to find the ability user.

”He just got lucky,” she said. As she spoke, she folded her umbrella and drifted slowly toward the street, her feet touching down on the marble pavement.

”What a pity. Now you won’t get to hear the story about Lady Kuroki and your brother,” Little Red Riding Hood said, covering her mouth.

”I was never interested to begin with.” Ember’s eye twitched.

Just then, Blue Pigeon approached from a distance, dragging a headless corpse behind him.

”Where’s the criminal?” Little Red Riding Hood asked.

”I killed him. Otherwise, it would have never ended,” Blue Pigeon said in a low voice. ”If I didn’t shut down this riot in time, more people would have died in a matter of seconds.”

That was what he said out loud, but in reality, he just wanted to secure a kill reward. Unlike magical girls, superheroes didn’t have to adhere to a no-kill rule.

After all, there was a chance that a magical girl would corrupt into a witch after killing someone. That was the biggest difference between the two groups.

”Uh... I’m actually a fan of yours,” Blue Pigeon said out of the blue. He pulled a postcard from his suit pocket and offered it to Ember. ”Could I get your autograph?”

The gothic-dressed girl turned her pale face, shot Blue Pigeon a glance, and gave him a lukewarm stare.

”I don’t have time,” she said.

Blue Pigeon froze. His outstretched hand hovered stiffly in midair, making him look like an innocent boy whose love letter had been rejected before he could even hand it over.

”Senior hasn’t been in a very good mood lately, please forgive her,” Little Red Riding Hood added, lowering her eyes to smooth things over.

’Not in a good mood? Is it because of what happened at the train station?’ Ke Mingqing thought.

Little Red Riding Hood changed the subject. ”But... if you want my autograph, I could give you one.” A moment later, seeing no reaction from Blue Pigeon, she lowered her head again and said timidly, ”I knew it. A little girl like me who grew up eating garbage can’t compare to Senior. No one wants my autograph.”

Then, she pivoted once more. ”How about this, then? Why don’t you give me your autograph?”

”Uh, you want my autograph?” Blue Pigeon tilted his head and pointed at himself.

Little Red Riding Hood nodded.

”Keep that for private, don’t embarrass us out here,” Ember said. When the two of them had discussed him in private, Little Red Riding Hood had said this rising star hero was very interesting and handsome, noting that very few superheroes used lightning. Ember, on the other hand, felt he was far too talkative.

Just then, Little Red Riding Hood thought of a compromise that would satisfy everyone:

”How about this? I’ll have Senior give you an autograph, and you give me yours. An equivalent exchange.”

”Deal,” Blue Pigeon nodded.

’I really just want to shoot both of you,’ Ember thought, burying her face in her hand.

”I get it.” Little Red Riding Hood rested her hand on her chin. ”Is Senior feeling shy? After all, you’re our brilliant Senior who was born with a silver spoon in her mouth, not a shameless, country bumpkin little girl like me who grew up eating garbage.”

The gothic-dressed girl took a deep breath. She gripped the handle of her umbrella, suppressing the urge to draw the blade hidden inside.

Little Red Riding Hood stared unblinkingly at Blue Pigeon. ”Please, you must give me your autograph.”

”You sound like a Japanese person,” Blue Pigeon said, crossing his arms.

”Ah, I actually am a girl from Japan. What’s wrong with sounding a bit anime? It was the company that told me I’d be more popular if I acted a bit anime and put on airs.”

Little Red Riding Hood spoke defensively as she pulled a palm-sized diary from her pocket and flipped to a page. This was the notebook she used to hold grudges. From childhood to now, it was already filled with the names of three hundred enemies—so many names that she was running out of space to squeeze them in.

She handed the diary and a pen to Blue Pigeon. He took the pen and signed his name in the book.

”Now it’s Senior’s turn to sign.” Little Red Riding Hood turned her head and stared blankly at Ember. ”Senior wouldn’t make me break my promise, right? Otherwise, everyone will discriminate against a poor girl like me for going back on her word.”

Blue Pigeon pulled out a postcard stamped with a Rain Crow logo from his pocket and handed it to Ember.

”I’ll sign it. Happy now?”

Under this combo of attacks, Ember hesitated for a moment before crossing her arms and sighing.

She took the pen and the postcard. But when she saw the upright Crowman standing in the rain with his arms crossed on the card, her eye twitched slightly again. She looked up and asked Blue Pigeon, ”Why do I have to sign my name on a Crowman postcard?”

”Sorry, I didn’t bring any other postcards with me,” Blue Pigeon said, chuckling awkwardly as he scratched the back of his head.

Forcing down her disgust, Ember wrote her name in the top right corner of the postcard and handed it back to Blue Pigeon.

”That’s surprising. Your handwriting looks like... an elementary schooler’s,” Blue Pigeon said as he took the postcard.

”Do you want me to kill you?” The gothic-dressed girl’s expression darkened. ”Do you have any idea what they call me on the internet?”

”I wasn’t finished. I think this kind of handwriting is pretty cute,” Blue Pigeon smiled. Ember froze.

After getting her autograph, Blue Pigeon waved goodbye and left, transforming into a bolt of lightning as he sprinted off into the distance.

A short while later, the rumble of thunder quietly faded away, but faint tendrils of electricity still lingered in the air.

”I don’t get it. What’s so great about him anyway?” Ember asked sarcastically. ”Is he really worth our brilliant little girl, who grew up eating garbage, being so interested in him?”

Little Red Riding Hood didn’t answer. She just softly hummed a Christmas carol as she tucked Blue Pigeon’s autograph into the pocket of her Christmas dress.

”Never mind. Let’s head back to the elementary school,” Ember said, shaking her head. ”Master said he needs to talk to us about our assignment for the next few days. I heard we’re supposed to protect the comet fragment.”

After carefully putting the autograph away, Little Red Riding Hood finally looked up, a rare, barely noticeable smile on her face. ”Okay, let’s head back, Senior.”

She patted the Christmas sled, gesturing for Ember to get on.

......

......

Twenty minutes later, Ke Mingqing returned to the abandoned train station.

To avoid being followed, he had deliberately driven in a few circles on the way back, taken a different route than usual, and even passed by an underground casino.

Ke Mingqing took off his helmet. By now, the hair on his forehead was drenched in sweat.

The heavy toll from activating ”I Am Lightning” at high intensity was no joke. He had only gritted his teeth and pushed through to maintain his image; otherwise, he would have collapsed straight to his knees in front of Ember and Little Red Riding Hood.

”Time to head home.”

He took off his combat suit, pulled the postcard with Ember’s autograph from the pocket, and then placed the suit back into Storage Locker 7 before dragging his feet out of the train station.

It was late in the night. The cicadas in the trees were tired as well, no longer shrieking as desperately as they did during the day, leaving pedestrians with a bit of peace and quiet.

By the time he pushed his front door open, Ke Mingqing was thoroughly exhausted. He casually tossed the postcard with Ember’s autograph onto the dining table, grabbed a bottle of mango juice from the fridge, twisted off the cap, and took a huge gulp.

Then, with his head drooping, he trudged upstairs, collapsed onto his bed in the bedroom, and fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillow.

An hour later, Xia Zili unlocked the front door with her key, kicked off her sandals, and stepped into the pitch-black entryway.

Only the kitchen light was on. The living room was completely dark, with the television screen reflecting a faint glow.

She was just about to head upstairs when she caught sight of the postcard on the table out of the corner of her eye. There was a scribbled signature left on it.

Xia Zili froze for a moment, then slowly turned her head, her eyes locking dead onto that familiar postcard.

”...Huh?”