A Guide to Humanity’s Extinction

It rained all the way home. Clutching his light-blue police jacket, Ke Mingwei emerged from the pattering rain, unlocked the front door, and stepped inside.

He shut the door behind him. His soaked leather shoes thudded against the entryway floor, his face veiled by the hallway shadows.

The rain grew heavier outside, but it couldn’t drown out the chaotic thoughts echoing in his mind.

The mannequin’s words lingered in his ears like a specter’s whispers, refusing to fade.

”Let me think... You have two sons. One in college, one in high school. Which one should I pick? How about the younger one? After all, when I took his form, your reaction was huge—you can’t fake something like that.”

”You should be glad. Your fury made my choice for me. It showed me exactly who you care about most in your family.”

Ke Mingwei slowly lifted his head. Beneath his rain-matted bangs, a faint light shifted in his eyes.

Without even taking off his shoes, he strode across the living room and headed up to the second floor.

He looked up. The upstairs corridor was dark, save for a splash of moonlight spilling from the balcony, dusting the floorboards like a layer of salt.

Ke Mingwei walked over and stopped in front of Ke Mingqing’s bedroom.

He reached out, hesitated for a moment, and gently knocked on the door.

”A’Qing, are you asleep?” he asked, resting a hand on his hip, his expression complicated.

For a long moment, no response came from the bedroom.

Ke Mingwei rested his hand on the doorknob, only then realizing the door was unlocked.

He turned the handle, pushed the door open just a crack, and peered inside.

The room was dark. Ke Mingqing was lying on his side, fast asleep, moonlight pouring through the French windows and washing over his face.

Heavy raindrops traced arcs through the air, pattering rhythmically against the glass.

It was a quiet, rainy night.

Ke Mingwei gazed at Ke Mingqing’s sleeping face, watching him in silence for a long moment.

Only after confirming his son wasn’t pretending to sleep did he pull the door shut. He fished a cigarette from his coat pocket and lit it. Leaning back against the corridor wall, Ke Mingwei took a few silent drags, lowering his head as he let out a long breath.

Then he pulled his phone from his pocket, opened WeChat, and typed a one-handed message to his eldest son, Ke Linye.

[Ke Mingwei: Hurry home from college as soon as your break starts. Don’t go wandering around.]

A moment later, Ke Linye replied.

[Ke Linye: I’m heading home in a few days, Dad. Did someone miss me? Let me guess, Little Li? Or Mingqing?]

[Ke Mingwei: The ninth is your brother’s birthday.]

[Ke Linye: Mingqing’s birthday? Okay, okay, I get it. Going to sleep now. Good night, Dad.]

Ke Mingwei put his phone away and smoked for a bit longer, smoke curling around his fingers. After a moment, he stubbed out the cigarette, stepped into the bathroom, tossed the butt in the trash, locked the door, and sat down on the toilet.

Right then, a crow rose from behind him, wings fluttering softly as it settled onto his shoulder.

Without looking up, Ke Mingwei reached over and plucked a metal object shaped like a ballpoint pen from the bird’s beak.

He pressed a raised button on the metal surface. Instantly, a projection screen floated upward from the top of the pen. Displayed on the screen was a foreign woman with long, platinum-blonde hair and striking, elegant features—as beautiful as a classical Greek sculpture.

The No. 5 hero of the Superhero Roundtable Council—Officer Girl.

Usually, when the Roundtable heroes gathered for meetings at the Empire State Building in New York, Officer Girl wore a Russian military uniform and a matching cap.

Right now, however, she wore only a black floral lingerie set, her graceful body reclining languidly on a beach chair. The rustle of ocean waves echoed in the background.

”You’re actually calling me?” Officer Girl curled her lip, tilting her head at the screen. ”What, did you miss me?”

”Aren’t you vacationing in Haian City?” Ke Mingwei asked, his voice low. ”I need you to protect my son, Ke Linye.”

Officer Girl picked up a glass and took a sip of her drink. ”Why is it all business the moment you call? That wasn’t your attitude when you turned me down for that dull Chinese girl. Regretting it now?”

”Now isn’t the time for jokes.” Ke Mingwei sighed. ”Someone might be targeting my son.”

Officer Girl raised an eyebrow. ”Who’d dare target your family? Or rather, who has the ability to uncover your real identity?”

”I’m not sure yet.” Ke Mingwei shook his head, thinking as he spoke. ”He calls himself White Jack. He looks like a white mannequin, wearing a top hat and carrying a cane. If he shows up in Haian City, I need you to keep an eye out for him.”

”Got it. I think you’re making a fuss over nothing, though. And I can’t babysit for you forever, you know.”

”Don’t worry. He’ll be back in Lijing in a few days. Once he’s here, I’ll watch him myself.”

”Understood.” Officer Girl set her glass on a table. ”You look off. It’s rare seeing you this rattled—it’s kind of amusing, actually.”

Ke Mingwei stayed silent.

”Get some sleep. Good night.”

With that, she blew him a kiss and ended the call, leaving Ke Mingwei at a loss for words.

...

...

In the dead of night, a sudden urge to pee woke Ke Mingqing. His eyes snapped open, and he hurried out of his bedroom, jogging over to sit on the bathroom toilet.

”Oh, right... Last night’s quest reward gave me a spin on the wheel.” While relieving himself, he lifted a finger and tapped the option floating in the top right corner of his vision: [Item Wheel].

[You currently have 1 chance to use the ”Item Wheel” (Note: players can generally acquire spin chances by completing ”Main Quests” or ”Weekly Quests”).]

Ke Mingqing looked curiously at the six sections on the wheel.

The prizes were: ”1,000 Super Coins,” ”1 Magical Girl Transformation Trial Card,” ”Combat Power Glasses,” ”1 Werewolf Transformation Card,” ”Tracking Sunglasses,” and ”Resentment Teapot.”

”Give me something good. I don’t want to turn into a magical girl.”

Ke Mingqing muttered under his breath, reaching out to tap the center of the wheel without hesitation.

A blood-red pointer spun rapidly around the wheel. Before long, it slowed to a halt, coming to rest on the fifth section.

[Congratulations! You have successfully drawn a D-rank item—”Tracking Sunglasses” (Locks onto a superhuman species within a 10-meter radius of you, marking their location on the map for two hours).]

Ke Mingqing raised an eyebrow. He opened his inventory, tapped the item icon, and selected ”Materialize.” Instantly, a pair of black sunglasses appeared in his palm.

He tried pressing a button on the frame, and a text prompt immediately popped up.

[Prompt: There is a superhuman species within 10 meters of you: ”???”. Would you like to continuously mark its location on the map?]

Ke Mingqing tilted his head at the string of question marks on the text panel.

”Is it glitching? Forget it, I’ll figure this thing out tomorrow,” he thought. He flushed the toilet, stood up, washed his hands, and opened the door.

Looking down at his phone, Ke Mingqing was just stepping out of the bathroom when he caught sight of an eerie figure standing in the corridor from the corner of his eye.

He froze.

A bone-chilling cold rushed up Ke Mingqing’s spine, flooding every nerve.

He slowly lifted his eyes from his phone, using the faint light spilling from the bathroom to make out the figure’s face.

Standing silently in the shadows of the corridor was a woman in a nightgown. Her head was tilted slightly down, her gaze fixed motionless upon him.

Her eyes were hollow and freezing cold.

It was his mother, Xia Wenna.