A Guide to Humanity’s Extinction

”A’Qing, Xiaoli—what are you two talking about?”

Ke Mingwei’s deep voice carried in from the hallway. The sudden interruption struck like a bolt of lightning, instantly cutting off their conversation in the bedroom.

For a moment, the brother and sister fell as silent as a winter cicada, neither uttering a single word.

Xia Zili slowly lifted her head, staring at the doorframe with a slight frown. Ke Mingqing, on the other hand, arched his eyebrows. His eyes lit up, and he turned to meet her gaze.

”No.”

As if realizing what he was thinking, Xia Zili raised her right hand and clamped her palm over his mouth.

Ke Mingqing blinked in surprise before swatting her hand away, sputtering. He lowered his voice, his expression animated. ”Why not? Dad is right here—this is the perfect opportunity! Let’s just lay our cards on the table. Maybe he can bring the Roundtable Heroes in for backup. Those witches won’t mean shit then!”

Xia Zili hesitated for a moment, but still shook her head.

”But I don’t want Dad to know—”

”Oh come on, sis, why do you have to be so stubborn?”Ke Mingqing sighed. ”Learn from White Jack for a change. When you run into a tough problem, just call in the cavalry. White Jack knows how to deal with people way better than you do.”

”I said no, and I mean no,” Xia Zili said with a shrug. ”Also, haven’t you noticed you’re starting to sound more and more like him? No wonder people think you and White Jack are close.”

Ke Mingqing rolled his eyes. Do I even need to learn? he thought. If White Jack himself were here, he’d have to pay me tuition. In a White Jack impersonation contest, the real guy would only take second place.

”Seriously, why not?”

He let his head drop, releasing a long, defeated sigh. Then he turned to stare fixedly at her. ”We’re practically at death’s door, and you’re still worrying about this?”

”Then have you ever thought—”

”Thought about what?”

”If that day comes and I really do turn into a witch, letting Dad watch it happen with his own eyes... letting him watch his own daughter go insane and tear through the world, treated as a monster by everyone—”

Xia Zili paused, lowering her voice. ”Don’t you think that’s incredibly cruel?”

Ke Mingqing froze.

The girl’s gaze remained downcast, her face veiled in hazy light and shadow. The morning breeze caught the curtains, making them rise and fall, casting a scattered, chaotic dance of light across the floor—like a white whale swimming through the shadows.

It took a long time for Ke Mingqing to finally tear his gaze away from her. Lowering his head, he spoke softly. ”I think... discovering your daughter turned into a witch completely out of the blue would be even crueler.”

”—Why?”

”Because then Dad would spend the rest of his life regretting that he didn’t find out sooner, regretting that he couldn’t do anything in time. Wouldn’t that be just as painful for him?”

Xia Zili fell silent.

The two siblings sat by the window, lost in thought. Neither spoke for a long time. Finally, Ke Mingqing shrugged and spoke in a flat tone. ”Fine—since you’re so stubborn, I’ll just have to use a different excuse to talk to Dad.”

”What crazy idea are you cooking up now?” Xia Zili asked softly.

”Everyone out there already thinks the magical girl Ember is my girlfriend, right? Which is technically true,” Ke Mingqing said. ”So asking Dad to help me keep an eye on my girlfriend isn’t asking too much, is it?”

Before Xia Zili could even process that, he pushed off the windowsill, slid on his slippers, and trotted cheerfully toward the door.

A second later, Xia Zili’s head snapped up, staring blankly at his retreating back.

Ke Mingqing twisted the handle and cracked the door open. He poked his head through the gap, waving at Ke Mingwei, who was standing out in the hall. ”Dad, I need to talk to you.”

”About what?”

”It’s a private matter between us Superheroes. We can’t let my little sister hear—she’s just a muggle. Ah, that’s just how these stinking, rotten muggles are. Ordinary people will never understand the private business between us father and son.”

Ke Mingqing spoke in an exaggerated, sarcastic cadence. He paused for a split second, casting a sidelong glance at Xia Zili, before dropping his voice to a whisper right by Ke Mingwei’s ear. ”So, let’s talk outside.”

Ke Mingwei frowned. ”I can do that, but don’t talk about your sister like that.”

”I will if I want to.”

”If your sister actually awakened an ability, or became a magical girl or something, I think this whole family wouldn’t know a moment of peace.”

”You’re absolutely right about that, Dad.”

Ke Mingqing gave him a thumbs-up, and Ke Mingwei didn’t say anything more.

The older man glanced at Xia Zili through the crack in the door before pulling it shut. He leaned against the hallway wall next to Ke Mingqing and fished a cigarette out of the pack in his uniform pocket.

Ke Mingqing pondered for a moment before speaking up. ”Here’s the thing. You know about the Witch Cult’s ’Terminus Tower,’ right?”

”I do,” Ke Mingwei said slowly. ”The Superhero Roundtable Council has given the ’Terminus Tower’ a very high threat rating. It’s one of the few witch organizations officially classified as a ’Special Grade’ combat force.”

He paused, emphasizing his next point. ”But hunting witches has always been the job of magical girls. Unless it’s absolutely necessary, we generally don’t break the rules by stepping in.”

”Since you know about them, that makes this easy,” Ke Mingqing said with a shrug. ”It looks like those witches have targeted my girlfriend.”

”The Japanese transfer student?” Ke Mingwei frowned, blurting it out almost instinctively.

Ke Mingqing froze, scratching his cheek in embarrassment.

He fought back the urge to grimace. ”No, no, we broke up ages ago. I’m talking about my new girlfriend.”

Ke Mingwei thought for a moment before offering another name. ”The magical girl Ember?”

Ke Mingwei firmly believed his daughter was just an ordinary person, so he hadn’t deliberately lowered his voice when speaking to Ke Mingqing.

Inside the bedroom, Xia Zili heard the entire exchange perfectly. Despite herself, her face flushed crimson.

Ke Mingqing let out a dry laugh. ”Damn, Dad, you really are a master detective. Calling you the ’Spirit-Hidden Cop’ doesn’t do you justice at all.” He paused, then smoothly pivoted. ”Yeah, it’s her.”

”Why is she being targeted?”

”I don’t know. All I know is that if something happens to her, I’m dying with her.” Ke Mingqing shoved his hands into his pockets.

Xia Zili’s jaw dropped. She sat there dumbfounded, thinking, You’re really going all out, huh, bro?

Out in the hallway, Ke Mingwei frowned, falling into a brief silence. The cigarette dangling from his lips trembled slightly.

”You punk—” he muttered, his voice low.

”I’m serious.” Ke Mingqing looked down at the floor, his expression entirely deadpan.

Ke Mingwei cast him a sideways glance and let out a soft sigh around his cigarette. ”A magical girl who has killed someone runs the risk of turning into a witch. That’s probably why your girlfriend is being targeted.”

”I know.”

”Those witches are far too dangerous. You most likely won’t be able to help her at all.”

”Yeah, I know exactly what I’m capable of,” Ke Mingqing said, his face blank. ”So if those witches actually attack, could you pull some strings? Use your connections to call in the Roundtable for me?”

”The Roundtable Heroes have their own duties to attend to. Unless it’s the sort of threat that endangers the entire world—” Before Ke Mingwei could finish, Ke Mingqing cut him off. ”Alright, alright, I know the Roundtable Heroes aren’t on standby for just anyone. But the day the Terminus Tower attacks Leijing, if we have at least one of them present, our odds of winning go way up.”

He thought for a moment before adding, ”You probably can’t get Zeus, but the Officer Girl should be doable, right? Isn’t she chasing after you anyway?”

”We’ll cross that bridge if the day ever comes.” Ke Mingwei took a drag from his cigarette, the smoke curling up in a haze past his fingertips.

Ke Mingqing shook his head, instantly cutting him off. ”No, that day is almost here. We need to be ready for it.”

In the bedroom, Xia Zili kept her head bowed in a long silence. Finally, she took a deep breath, stood up from the windowsill, and began walking toward the door, one deliberate step at a time.

Ke Mingwei and Ke Mingqing were still leaning against the wall, chatting, when a heavy thud suddenly rang out next to them. Xia Zili had thrown the bedroom door wide open and stepped out.

The father and son both froze, slowly turning their heads to look at her icy profile. The autumn wind, sweeping in from the rooftop, caught the edges of her hair. A single maple leaf drifted past in the breeze.

Are you finally snapping? Ke Mingqing thought to himself. Well, that works too. I was planning on dropping hints to Dad about your identity anyway, so this saves me the trouble.

”Li, what’s the matter?” Ke Mingwei asked casually.

Xia Zili kept her head down, saying nothing. Her dark hair fell over her eyes, completely obscuring her expression.

Ke Mingwei knitted his brows, taking a silent drag of his cigarette. His younger daughter throwing a sudden fit was nothing new at this point.

”Watch closely.”

Xia Zili said it without warning. The next moment, a hazy halo of light flared up, enveloping her entire body like a glowing cocoon. Ke Mingwei’s eyes widened slightly.

With a sharp crack, the cocoon of light shattered. A young girl clad in a gothic dress and clutching a pitch-black umbrella slowly materialized before the two of them.

A grayish-blue ripple of magic washed over the hallway, gently lifting the girl’s skirt and hair. The gray ribbon tied atop her head fluttered softly in the unnatural breeze.

Ke Mingwei stood frozen in place. The cigarette dangling from his lips slowly slipped free. It hit the ground with a soft tap, scattering ash across the floorboards.

”Seriously, Dad, could you try to be a bit cleaner? If Mom sees that, she’s going to nag us again—”

Ke Mingqing sighed. He leaned down and picked the cigarette butt off the floor. A surge of pitch-black lightning sparked from his fingertips, obliterating the entire cigarette in an instant.

A moment later, the magical girl Ember slowly lifted her head, her clear eyes shining like an aurora as they met Ke Mingwei’s gaze.

In absolute silence, the father and daughter stood there, quietly staring at one another.