A Guide to Humanity’s Extinction

It was a rare mackerel sky. Moonlight spilled through the overlapping, scale-like clouds, scattering across Lijing Port No. 3. The ocean waves roared, surging and slamming violently against the railings.

Yet in Black Magic Hand’s eyes, the world had fallen completely dead and silent.

Ke Mingqing raised his head, staring deeply at Black Magic Hand through his shattered mask. The dark magician looked back at him through his owl mask, his pupils filled with undisguised shock and bewilderment.

In that fleeting instant, countless images flashed through Jiang Qingzi’s mind.

He and Ke Mingqing buying beer and sitting on the school rooftop’s railing, watching the westering sun paint the sky and earth a desolate yellow; the two of them laughing and joking on the way home from school, watching the sunset sink below the horizon and take the city’s scattered light with it.

Jiang Qingzi had been part of Death Crow since childhood, living a life of murder and plunder. That was until a few years ago, when a sudden whim drove him to experience the life of a normal person.

He forged an identity and enrolled in the most ordinary high school imaginable.

It was there that Ke Mingqing became his only ”normal” friend. To Jiang Qingzi, the boy was like an Anchor Point—an Anchor Point that separated his mundane life from his existence within Death Crow.

But now, this so-called Anchor Point had crossed that boundary without warning, dealing him a devastating blow.

’Ke Mingqing... why is it you?’Black Magic Hand stood frozen in place, his Adam’s apple bobbing, but the words only echoed in his own mind.

Jiang Qingzi couldn’t even bring himself to look at the hideous wound on his friend’s face. The chains linked to the magic wardrobe suddenly went slack like a cluster of dead snakes, slipping to the ground one by one.

Blue Pigeon broke free from the chains, seizing the sudden chance to escape. He had intended to take Top Hero with him, but the black kid was no longer breathing; his corpse was likely already growing cold.

With no other choice, he spun around, transforming into a streak of pitch-black lightning as he bolted into the distance.

”When... did you become an Esper?”

Black Magic Hand kept his head bowed, paralyzed where he stood. He pressed his eagle-clawed metal gauntlet against his owl mask, unable to pull himself together for a long, long time.

After a while, he finally raised his head, only to realize that the direction Blue Pigeon was fleeing in led straight to the battlefield where the magical girl Ember, Bandage Man, and the others were fighting.

...

...

Meanwhile, on the other side of the port.

Following the assignments given by the Death Crow leader, Captain Red and Heimeng had intercepted another team of rising star heroes sent by the Hero Company.

Diamond Man, Swamp Woman, and the Vending Machine Specialist slowly lowered their fries and burgers, their attention completely hijacked by the two uninvited guests.

Diamond Man was dressed in his usual white tank top and jeans.

Watching the red-haired pirate girl and the hoodie-wearing gaming addict slowly approach, he crossed his arms, furrowed his brows, and whispered, ”Are they from Death Crow?”

”Yeah. That woman is Captain Red. I saw her wanted poster on the Hero Company’s official website.” Swamp Woman, dressed in a bright red dress, lowered her head as cold sweat rolled down her forehead.

The Vending Machine Specialist, sporting a robotic head and a sharp suit, stayed silent for a long moment. ”I never expected to run into this caliber of guest. I thought this was going to be an easy mission.”

”It’s the once-in-a-millennium Qi-Amate Comet Fragment. It’d be weirder if we weren’t targeted,” Diamond Man said grimly. ”Go all out. Death Crow only recruits monsters. There isn’t a single weakling among them.”

Looking at the trio, Captain Red didn’t even bother to draw the cutlass at her waist. She just crossed her arms, raised a fiery red eyebrow, and said listlessly, ”You small fry can come at me together. Stop wasting my time, okay?”

”Then I’ll pick the strongest-looking one. Don’t accuse me of slacking off later,” Heimeng said in a flat tone, lowering her head to press the power button on her handheld console.

Instantly, a pixelated UI panel—something straight out of a video game—materialized in midair. Brightly colored pixelated text scrolled across it:

[Participants in this game: 1. Heimeng; 2. Vending Machine Specialist.]

[Entering the game space in five seconds. The randomly generated game background is: ”The Moon” (To the Moon!).]

[Five...]

[Four...]

[Three...]

”What is this?” Swamp Woman stared at the countdown on the prompt panel, a chill running down her spine.

”Stick together!” Diamond Man, acting as the captain, immediately barked.

The Vending Machine Specialist raised his head, staring through the eye sockets of his robotic helmet at his own name on the panel. He seemed to realize something.

[Two...]

[One...]

The moment the countdown hit zero, Heimeng and the Vending Machine Specialist vanished.

Heimeng had used her Esper ability to drag the Vending Machine Specialist into her gaming domain. It was a white moon—or more accurately, a cartoonish, pixelated version of The Moon.

Both Heimeng’s and the Vending Machine Specialist’s appearances had transformed into cartoon characters. Their bodily details were blurred, making them look almost childish and cute.

The cosmos was dead silent. However, that didn’t stop the two cartoon characters from communicating.

[Your luck isn’t very good. If this game background is rolled, even the boss might not be able to beat me.] A text box Pop-up appeared above Heimeng’s head.

[Is that so? My luck has always been terrible.]

The Vending Machine Specialist pondered for a moment before a text box Pop-up appeared above his head as well.

[Sorry, I’ll try to make your death painless,] Heimeng muttered. [Actually, I rarely join combat normally. I’m usually in logistics, providing intel.]

”Then losing to a little girl like you would be pretty humiliating for me,” the Vending Machine Specialist snapped, ripping off his necktie. A strange light glinted in his eyes.

Immediately after, a massive vending machine materialized in the space above The Moon, hurtling straight toward Heimeng.

Heimeng tilted her head. ”It’s useless.”

The moment the vending machine approached her, it suddenly vanished into thin air. Right after, a giant prompt box formed in the sky.

[Notice: Attack Miss.]

The Vending Machine Specialist froze.

Refusing to believe it, he summoned another massive vending machine and hurled it at Heimeng. But every time, the vending machine would inexplicably vanish, replaced by a prompt box that would Pop-up before his eyes.

[Notice: Attack Miss.]

[Notice: Attack Miss.]

[Notice: After loading the game, the Game Administrator has a total of five chances to make the opponent’s attacks Miss.]

”Miss” meant that an attack failed to land—the equivalent of an attack being dodged in a video game.

The Vending Machine Specialist tried summoning his vending machines in other spots. The enormous machines cratered the surface of The Moon, yet the second they got near the hoodie-wearing girl, they completely disappeared.

[Notice: Attack Miss.]

Before long, Heimeng suddenly pressed a button on her console. In response, a magnificent meteor shower and colossal asteroids rained down onto the Vending Machine Specialist’s head.

His body was completely overshadowed by the apocalyptic barrage. Even though this was a pixelated world, the sheer mass of the asteroids and meteors could not be underestimated. After all, the Vending Machine Specialist was also using a pixelated body; everything was relative.

The Vending Machine Specialist looked up. In that moment, he finally understood the true meaning of ”powerlessness.” He also realized exactly why this gaming addict had said, ”If this game map is rolled, even the boss might not be able to beat me.”

This was indeed the strength of a monster.

”This is fate,” the Vending Machine Specialist murmured.

A short while later, the virtual Moon was riddled with holes.

The Vending Machine Specialist lay collapsed inside one of the deep craters, his body flattened like a pancake. Blood seeped out from underneath his crushed form, dyeing the lunar crater red.

[Game Over!] A prompt box Pop-up appeared above his head. [The winner of this game is Administrator ”Heimeng”. The game scene ”The Moon” will log out in 10 seconds, returning to reality.]

Heimeng let out a long breath.

She simply squatted down on the ground, pulled her hoodie’s hood over her head, and took advantage of the brief downtime to play a bit on her handheld console.

...

...

Meanwhile, back in the real world.

At this very moment, a massive phantom pirate ship hovered in midair over the port. It rumbled loudly, every single gear clicking and grinding as it turned.

Whether on the pirate ship’s deck or down on the port’s ground, pirates clad in leather coats and armed with cutlasses or flintlocks were raising their flags and reveling madly.

Green diamond crystals erupted across Diamond Man’s entire body, embedding themselves like an unbreakable shield. They deflected the pirates’ flintlock fire and the endless barrage of slashing cutlasses.

”Get lost!”

He roared, raising his right hand and forming a massive diamond drill. The drill spun at high speed, completely shredding the attacking cutlass-wielding pirates into scattered phantoms.

Diamond Man would occasionally conjure an enormous diamond warhammer, kicking up a biting gale as he smashed all the pirates in his path to pieces. Diamond dust danced wildly through the air, scattering into the night sky like glowing fireflies.

Swamp Woman’s combat style, on the other hand, was much simpler and more brutal.

Her body suddenly dissolved, flowing out across the ground to form a massive, viscous swamp. She then split open a gaping maw, swallowing the charging pirates whole into her gullet.

The pirates sank deeper and deeper until they disappeared without a trace.

Rumor had it that one of Swamp Woman’s suitors had witnessed a similar scene in the past. He had decisively posted a warning video online to expose her, which had forced Swamp Woman’s true identity to be revealed to the public.

Back to the battle at hand: whenever the two of them wiped out a group of pirates, a new batch would leap down from the ship with roaring battle cries. They were as eerie as cloned NPCs in a video game, seemingly spawning in endless waves.

As a result, Diamond Man and Swamp Woman had started off enjoying the slaughter, but they were soon bogged down in a bitter struggle. They stood back-to-back as the pirates swept toward them like an overwhelming dark tide, completely surrounding them.

However, just as they were hopelessly swamped trying to deal with the pirates, the heavyweight pirate ship hovering in midair suddenly moved.

The massive naval cannons slowly swiveled their barrels, aiming dead at the two heroes.

The roar was deafening. Cannonballs blasted out of the barrels, exploding the very second they hit the ground. In an instant, Diamond Man and Swamp Woman were completely swallowed by a towering blaze.

In their eyes, the world seemed to lose all its color. The blinding fire devoured every hue, even eclipsing the brilliant glow of the moonlight.

A moment later, when the black smoke finally cleared, the ground at the port had completely collapsed.

Seawater surged in without restraint, flooding the shattered earth.

Captain Red stood amidst the churning seawater and let out a yawn. Opponents like this simply couldn’t get her fired up. ”I would’ve had way more fun if they’d grouped me with the rookie so I could tease him.”

”Then you’re out of luck. He only likes hanging out with little girls.”

Heimeng’s voice suddenly echoed out.

Captain Red curled her lips into a smile and turned to look. A stream of data flashed through the air, followed by the manifestation of a pixelated rift. A girl wearing a black hoodie and holding a handheld console stepped right out of the crack connecting the game and reality.

”What makes you say that?” the red-haired girl asked. ”I thought the conductor boy and I hit it off pretty well.”

Heimeng fell silent for a moment. ”I asked him to play fighting games with me, but he didn’t want to. He only plays with kids.”

”You sure hold a grudge.” Captain Red stretched lazily. ”These guys are so boring. Let’s go exchange blows with those magical girls.”

As she spoke, she glanced at the distant battlefield. ”Bandage Man and Sorakagehime are way too weak. It looks like they’re fighting to a standstill against that magical girl squad.”

”These magical girl types are such a massive pain. We ran into one back in India who turned into a witch right on the verge of death,” Heimeng muttered. ”That witch almost killed Uncle Guchen and me.”

”I actually hope they turn into witches. It won’t be any fun otherwise.” Captain Red rested a hand on her hip, slightly tilting her head as she adjusted the eyepatch over her left eye.

”I’m sorry, but if one of them actually turns into a witch, I’m clocking out first. You seniors will be on your own.”

”Did it leave you with psychological trauma?” Captain Red teased.

”It’s not trauma. It’s just rationally avoiding risk.”

Heimeng spoke expressionlessly, the neon glow of her console screen reflecting in her pupils. ”I hate witches.”

”Relax. It doesn’t concern you anyway. If someone really does turn into a witch, the others and I will handle it.” Captain Red flashed a grin. ”Let’s go. It’s time to say hello to them.”

The moment her voice fell, the two members of Death Crow vanished from where they stood, hurrying toward the other corner of the port—straight for the battlefield where the magical girl Ember was fighting.