A Guide to Humanity’s Extinction

July 9, 4:00 PM. Downtown Leijing, inside the Super Hero Company.

The company’s twenty-fifth floor was a temporary prison used to hold lower-risk criminals of the super-human species.

The facility had been built ten years ago. Someone had once tallied who had sent the most criminals here, and the conclusion was staggering: Rain Crow had single-handedly brought in more inmates than everyone else combined.

The elevator’s metal doors slowly parted. Lin Yin stepped out first, leading the way.

Blue Pigeon followed, looking around.

Before them stretched a metal corridor lined on both sides with silver-white cells. This small-scale temporary prison currently held only seven inmates; the rest of the metal cells sat empty.

”By the way, where’s Top Hero?” Blue Pigeon asked casually. ”Isn’t he coming to pick anyone?”

Lin Yin smiled. ”He said he’s leaving it up to fate, and that your opinion is good enough.”

”Fair enough.” Blue Pigeon shrugged. ”But I have a feeling he’s just sitting on his couch eating pizza and watching a game right now.”

Lin Yin chuckled softly, unfazed by the comment.

”Cells one through seven hold the criminals we just drafted. You need to pick two out of these seven. There were more originally, but the other squads already picked them over to join their teams.”

”Are you not going to pick?”

”No. Since they’ll be your teammates, I think it mainly comes down to how you feel about them. We can’t force it.”

Blue Pigeon crossed his arms and nodded.

That’s fine, he thought. I have a super-human species panel I can check anyway. I definitely know how to pick these Pokémon better than you do.

Their footsteps rang out loudly. They soon arrived in front of the first metal cell.

Blue Pigeon looked over and was greeted by the sight of an electrified grid.

Behind the grid stood a man in a black tank top with hair spiked straight up. His muscles were so massive he looked like a small mountain from a distance, the rigid lines of his body rising and falling slightly with his breathing.

Lin Yin pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and made the introduction.

”Beatdown King, an underground fighter. He was drafted because he beat a few venue owners to death. His crimes aren’t severe in nature, seeing as the victims were all lifelong mafia scumbags.”

Blue Pigeon quietly stared at the towering figure behind the electric grid.

[Superhuman Codename: Beatdown King]

[Type: Esper]

[Danger Rating: C Rank]

[Superhuman Profile: A criminal with the ”Super Strength” ability. Previously active in underground fighting arenas.]

[Currently Known Weaknesses: Ticklish.]

Across the grid, Blue Pigeon met Beatdown King’s eyes. The man was cracking his knuckles, glaring as if he wanted to tear him in half.

”What are you looking at?” Beatdown King said coldly.

”Hmm... Let’s pass on this muscle-bound meathead. He’ll ruin the team’s image. I think a superhero’s ability to rake in cash is pretty important. Doesn’t Rain Crow shoot some cheesy commercials sometimes too?”

With that, Blue Pigeon stepped over to the second cell.

He stopped in front of it and peered through the gaps in the grid. Inside was a humanoid figure formed completely from flowing, pitch-black shadows.

The figure had a pair of dark red eyes, but the rest of their facial features were obscured by the drifting shadows. Their body was the same, only showing the vague outline of a human form.

[Superhuman Codename: Shadow Person]

[Type: mutant]

[Danger Rating: C++ Rank]

[Superhuman Profile: Shadow Person. Excels at manipulating shadows to bind enemies, or raising their own shadow from the ground and changing its shape to fight in their place.]

[Currently Known Weaknesses: 1. Zero resistance to chocolate candies.]

Shadow Person was quietly eating a bag of chocolate candies, not even raising their head.

”Is that you...” Blue Pigeon raised an eyebrow, muttering to himself. ”Shikamaru.”

”Shikamaru?” Lin Yin asked, confused. ”Who’s that?”

Blue Pigeon remained silent. I forgot this world doesn’t have Naruto, he thought. Speaking of which, such a strong criminal wasn’t sent to Azkaban Prison, but drafted instead?

At that thought, he asked, ”What crime did they commit?”

”Looted ten supermarkets,” Lin Yin replied.

”That severe?” Blue Pigeon was taken aback.

Lin Yin shook his head, letting out a laugh. ”No. They just cleared out all the chocolate candies in those supermarkets and didn’t touch a single other item.”

”Oh, so that’s how it is.” Blue Pigeon raised an eyebrow in sudden realization.

Shadow Person suddenly raised a pitch-black right hand and gave Blue Pigeon a little wave, then dropped their head back down to continue eating chocolate candies.

”By the way, is it a guy or a girl under there?” Blue Pigeon asked.

”A girl.”

Blue Pigeon was astounded. He rubbed his chin, staring at the shadow for a moment. ”You really can’t tell...”

”Let’s look at the other criminals first. There’s no rush to choose.” With that, Lin Yin turned around, hands behind his back, and led the way to cell number three.

Only then did Blue Pigeon tear his gaze away from Shadow Person. He waved goodbye to her, followed Lin Yin, and looked into the third cell.

Inside was an old man whose right hand had been modified into a giant metal hammer. He had graying hair and wore a black-and-white prison uniform. An eyepatch covered his left eye, while his right eye glowered menacingly, staring at the two of them outside the grid as if they were prey.

[Superhuman Codename: Big Pendulum]

[Type: Cyborg]

[Danger Rating: D Rank]

”No way.”

Blue Pigeon didn’t even bother reading the super-human species profile, shaking his head immediately.

”I feel the same,” Lin Yin said.

The two of them then passed by a collection of the old, weak, sick, and disabled. Blue Pigeon shook his head and sighed the entire way.

”The grannies square-dancing in the plaza below my apartment have more strength than this old guy.”

”This ten-something-year-old brat should just hurry up and roll into juvie, rather than coming here to join the fun.”

”Is this thing even human? He looks so fat he can barely walk.”

Finally, the two stopped in front of cell number seven, the last one holding a criminal.

[Superhuman Codename: Invisible Giant]

[Type: Esper]

[Danger Rating: B Rank]

[Superhuman Profile: His ability allows him to summon an ”invisible giant.” This giant shares all incoming damage from the outside world. Only by killing the giant can his true body be harmed.]

[Currently Known Weaknesses: 1. When the giant isn’t summoned, his physical body is no different from a normal person’s. Even a standard handgun could kill him.]

Inside was a boy who looked around twelve years old.

He wore a black-and-white prison uniform and ear studs. A blue star pattern was tattooed at the corner of his right eye. His childish face was filled with contempt and icy indifference.

”He’s an orphan from the underground streets. Previously...”

Before Lin Yin could finish, Blue Pigeon interrupted, ”I’ve decided. It’s this brat and Shadow Person.”

”Really? You aren’t going to let me finish?”

”No need.” Blue Pigeon shook his head. ”I want to see them join my team within three days.”

”Alright.” Lin Yin adjusted his glasses and let out a long breath. ”I respect your decision. Whether you click with someone really is important.”

At that moment, the boy known as Invisible Giant raised his head slightly, glanced at the two outside the cell, and slowly raised a middle finger at them.

Blue Pigeon returned the middle finger, then turned and walked away.

Out of all of you, you two Pokémon have the highest levels on the panel, he thought. Judging by your abilities, you also have the most potential. Please don’t disappoint me.

Lin Yin followed behind Blue Pigeon, his hands behind his back, head lowered in thought. ”Next, I need to process their paperwork. It will take at least a day before they can officially be released from prison and become members of our team.”

”Got it,” Blue Pigeon replied casually.

”By the way, there’s something I haven’t told you,” Lin Yin suddenly said, looking up at his back.

”What?”

Blue Pigeon paused and glanced back at him.

Their eyes met. Silence suddenly fell over the dimly lit corridor.

”I used to be Rain Crow’s commander, but he was too hard to manage, so he eventually went solo,” Lin Yin said slowly. ”If you ever want to know more about Rain Crow, you can ask me.”

I’m his biological son. Don’t I understand this outwardly aloof old man better than you do? The kind of guy who goes out for cigarettes and vanishes for the whole night, only to bring his own fan merch T-shirts home?

Thinking this, Blue Pigeon spoke in an indifferent tone. ”No need. I only care about the side of him I see with my own eyes.”

With that, he turned and stepped into the elevator. He pressed the floor button, and the metal doors slowly began to close.

Lin Yin’s face was swallowed by the narrowing gap. At the last second, Blue Pigeon thought he saw a pleased smile on the man’s face.

...

...

At dusk, Ke Mingqing returned to the abandoned train station. Humming the tune to ”Hotel California,” he took off his Bird Beak Helmet and looked down at his phone.

On the screen were the latest ”fan messages” from the Super Hero Company’s official website.

[Lin Yilong: Voting Thread — Prize Guessing Game: When will Blue Pigeon get dissected?]

[Luo Shanshan: A superhero with lightning powers feels so cool, right? I feel like he could make a lot of money going the idol route and focusing on shooting commercials. It’d be such a shame if he died.]

But the next moment, a cold, clear voice rang out from behind him.

”Since when...”

Ke Mingqing froze. He stared blankly at the helmet in the locker for a moment before turning his head.

Unexpectedly, he saw a figure standing on the old, dilapidated platform.

It was a young girl in an orange hoodie. She was leaning back against a pillar, her head bowed in silent thought, leaving him with an aloof silhouette.

She stepped out from behind the pillar.

Ke Mingqing looked at her, speechless for a moment.

Xia Zili kept her head down, her falling bangs obscuring her eyes. After a long while, she looked up and said softly, ”Don’t walk away. Explain this to me clearly... alright?”