A Guide to Humanity’s Extinction

It was noon Japan time inside the Shinjuku Kabuki Theater.

The kabuki performance had not yet begun, and the lights remained off. Murmurs drifted across the auditorium as the patrons sat whispering in the dark.

Ke Mingqing sat beside Kuroki Hitomi. The seat next to him was empty; Kamishiro Kawa had stepped away to use the restroom.

Kuroki Hitomi tilted her head slightly, tracking Death Crow’s Jiang Qingzi and Guchen out of the corner of her eye.

”Don’t look at them,” Ke Mingqing said suddenly. ”They’re sharp. They’ll notice you staring.”

Kuroki Hitomi pulled her gaze back and glanced at Ke Mingqing, who was casually twirling his phone.

”Just treat the people from Death Crow like a pack of stray dogs,” Ke Mingqing murmured, his eyes cast down. ”The best way to deal with stray dogs is to ignore them. As long as you aren’t carrying any bones, they usually won’t bother taking a bite out of you.”

Kuroki Hitomi nodded.

”Why are members of Death Crow... here?” she asked hesitantly, keeping her voice low.

She had held her tongue while Kamishiro Ruri and Kamishiro Kawa were around. Now that both had stepped away, she and Ke Mingqing finally had a moment alone.Jiang Qingzi was Ke Mingqing’s best friend at school—at least on the surface—yet in secret, he was a member of Death Crow. Kuroki Hitomi was intensely curious about what had actually happened between the two of them.

”No idea,” Ke Mingqing said, shaking his head. ”But Death Crow usually disbands after a mission, and everyone goes their separate ways. It wouldn’t be strange for a few of their members to come to Japan on vacation.”

Kuroki Hitomi considered this. ”You sound like you know them pretty well.”

”I did go up against them, after all.” The corner of Ke Mingqing’s mouth ticked up. ”I ran rings around them and permanently retired two of their members. Their boss probably won’t forget me for the rest of his life.”

Kuroki Hitomi fell silent. She marveled at how Ke Mingqing could treat such a matter of life and death so casually, mentioning it as plainly as a little boy bragging about his new sneakers.

But he was always like this.

Without exception.

She recalled that rainy night ten days ago. Ke Mingqing had shown up before her covered in wounds, but he hadn’t explained a thing; he simply fell asleep in her arms out of sheer exhaustion.

Only later, when she watched the news on television, did she learn that on the night of July 30th, Ke Mingqing had acted as the superhero Blue Pigeon. He had joined the escort team for the Comet Fragments and clashed directly with Death Crow at the harbor...

In truth, even now, Kuroki Hitomi still couldn’t fathom how Ke Mingqing had managed to go toe-to-toe with those monsters.

If any other player had stood before Death Crow, they probably wouldn’t have lasted a single second.

While she lowered her eyes in thought, Kamishiro Kawa returned from the restroom.

He took the seat beside Ke Mingqing and adjusted his suit’s bow tie.

”So what’s the plan? We just sit here and wait?” Ke Mingqing asked, turning toward the blond young man whose hair was tied back in a ponytail.

”The theater holds matinee and evening performances, and Ruri is only responsible for the matinee,” Kamishiro Kawa said. ”Once his show ends, we’ll go clear that dungeon.”

”Oh.” Ke Mingqing shrugged.

He turned to glance around. The other patrons in the theater were clearly growing impatient.

Kamishiro Ruri was running slightly late, after all. If the performance turned out to be merely mediocre, the fallout was bound to be brutal.

”Brother Ruri sure has a lot of confidence, making the guests wait this long,” Ke Mingqing remarked, turning back to Kamishiro Kawa. ”If he flops up there, won’t he have to commit seppuku?”

”Japanese social culture is rather distinct. They view geniuses through a special lens—for example, they love using dramatic labels like ’once in several millennia’ to describe someone,” Kamishiro Kawa said with a flat expression. ”Around here... genuine talent earns you indulgence and special treatment.”

Uninterested, Ke Mingqing didn’t press the matter and simply let out a yawn.

A moment later, he teased:

”Death Crow won’t be nearly as forgiving, though. If they feel like you’ve wasted their time, they might just rip your head off and walk away.”

Kamishiro Kawa drew a deep breath, at a loss for how to retort.

Indeed, none of them could have expected world-renowned bandits to grace such a modest kabuki theater.

Before long, the stage curtain slowly rose, and the kabuki performance began.

Ke Mingqing rested his elbow on the armrest, propped his cheek against his fist, and tilted his head to watch the stage in silence.

The figure on stage shifted like magic—one moment as still as a lake, silent and seemingly spirited away as he melted into the backdrop and music; the next bursting into sudden motion like a startled hare. His ochre-red kimono rustled sharply, every gesture exuding a sharp, fierce elegance.

Ke Mingqing widened his eyes slightly.

Gradually, he lost track of time. The vast kabuki theater had fallen dead silent; hundreds of spectators held their breath, completely captivated by Kamishiro Ruri’s performance.

Ke Mingqing felt a flicker of surprise. To think a mere transmigrator could pull this off relying only on the original host’s muscle memory and experience, he thought.

It was like transmigrating into the body of an esports champion. Even with all their tactical understanding and daily-drilled muscle memory in your head, stepping onto the actual arena under blinding spotlights before thousands of watching eyes was another matter entirely. Most people would still freeze; very few could ever perform as flawlessly as the original host.

”Impressive, isn’t he?” Kamishiro Kawa asked suddenly.

”Not bad. Exceeded my expectations,” Ke Mingqing said after a brief pause, giving a nod.

”Before transmigrating to this world, my brother was disabled. He was in a car accident as a child and could only live his life in a wheelchair. His parents often kept him locked inside. Then one day, his uncle took him to Ginza to watch a kabuki performance. Ever since then, he yearned for it. Who would have thought that coming here would serendipitously turn him into a kabuki dancer? Perhaps this is fate’s way of making it up to him.”

Kamishiro Kawa spoke softly, his eyes fixed on the young man on stage, who had a sweep of crimson painted at the corners of his eyes.

Bathed in the spotlight, sweat trickled down Kamishiro Ruri’s cheeks and dripped past his jaw, yet an easy smile remained on his lips.

Ke Mingqing raised an eyebrow.

”Why do you call him your brother?” he asked offhandedly. ”Logically speaking, you shouldn’t have known each other in your past lives, right?”

Kamishiro Kawa froze for a second, taking a long moment before shaking his head to explain:

”It’s just the effect of memory. Speech habits are easily influenced by the original host’s recollections. You two must have had similar experiences, right?”

Kuroki Hitomi, who had been watching the performance intently, heard their exchange and turned her head to look at him quietly.

”Being a player isn’t easy,” Ke Mingqing remarked with a sigh. ”Eradicating the super-human species is hard enough; on top of that, you have to keep yourself from being led astray by false memories.”

Kamishiro Kawa fell quiet for a moment, then sighed softly. ”Tell me about it.”

A kabuki performance was by no means short, but the performance of the young man in the kimono left everyone spellbound and oblivious to the passage of time. Before anyone realized it, the show had drawn to a close. The auditorium fell silent for a brief second before thunderous applause erupted.

After the performance ended, the stage curtain slowly descended, concealing Kamishiro Ruri from view, and the audience began to file out.

In a corner of the seating area, Guchen had fallen asleep. Jiang Qingzi was about to wake him when a passing figure in the audience aisle caught the corner of his eye.

”Isn’t that... Ke Mingqing’s girlfriend?” Jiang Qingzi turned his head, staring at Kuroki Hitomi’s profile in surprise.

He snapped a photo, typed out a message on his phone, and sent it to Ke Mingqing.

[Jiang Qingzi: Why is your girlfriend in Japan?]

[Jiang Qingzi: (Photo)]

[Jiang Qingzi: There’s a guy next to her, and they look pretty close. Need me to go ask about it for you?]

No reply came back; his phone was likely not on him.

Jiang Qingzi looked up at Kuroki Hitomi and Ke Mingqing, who was currently disguised as a handsome young man. The two were standing quite close, clearly sharing an unusual relationship.

After hesitating for a moment, he walked over, approached Ke Mingqing, and grabbed his shoulder from behind.

Both Kuroki Hitomi and Ke Mingqing froze. They exchanged a glance, wondering what had suddenly gotten into Jiang Qingzi.

”Who re u? What do you want?” Ke Mingqing turned around, pulling an exaggerated face and putting on a thick Indian accent that left Jiang Qingzi utterly baffled.

Jiang Qingzi fell silent for a moment, staring into Ke Mingqing’s eyes. ”I don’t know who you are. But stay away from her. She has a boyfriend, okay?”

I am her boyfriend, aren’t I? Ke Mingqing looked at Jiang Qingzi with utter exasperation.

”I am just her bodyguard, my friend,” he explained.

Jiang Qingzi stared at the youth whose accent practically reeked of curry. He was taken aback, somehow finding the other party’s words surprisingly convincing.

Kuroki Hitomi paused before asking, ”Do you have a problem with my bodyguard?”

Jiang Qingzi pressed a hand to his forehead with a long sigh, his cheeks suddenly burning hot. ”Uh, my mistake... Sorry about that. Please don’t mock me about this to Mingqing, alright?”

”Did you already tell him about it?” Kuroki Hitomi tilted her head.

”Yeah.”

”Then it doesn’t matter. Even if I don’t mock you, he definitely will,” Kuroki Hitomi said flatly, while Ke Mingqing casually whistled beside her.

”Have fun. If Mingqing comes to Japan too, be sure to let me know.” With that, Jiang Qingzi shrugged and quietly walked off.

Ke Mingqing watched his retreating back before turning toward Kamishiro Kawa.

The young man’s face was completely pale.

The one who received the biggest fright wasn’t Kuroki Hitomi, let alone Ke Mingqing, but Kamishiro Kawa, who knew nothing of the relationships between them. Watching Jiang Qingzi march straight over had felt to him like some unspeakable monster bearing down upon them.

It took a moment for Kamishiro Kawa to collect himself, his eyes brimming with disbelief as he looked at Ke Mingqing.

He asked, ”You actually know someone from Death Crow?”

”Yeah, though technically she’s the one who knows him,” Ke Mingqing explained. ”Uh, her little boyfriend happens to be best friends with someone from Death Crow.”

Kamishiro Kawa fell silent for a moment and took a deep breath, his awe for these two players from Leijing deepening even further.

After all, up until now, neither he nor Kamishiro Ruri had ever come into contact with anyone bearing a danger rating of A Rank or higher. Of course, that might also be because the average power level of Japan’s super-human species was considerably lower than China’s.

The problem was, this seemed like an entirely routine occurrence to Ke Mingqing and Kuroki Hitomi. They had treated Jiang Qingzi like they were teasing a large golden retriever, without the slightest hint of panic.

”Let’s go. Ruri is still waiting for us backstage,” Kamishiro Kawa said after a moment.

...

...

Ke Mingqing and Kuroki Hitomi followed Kamishiro Kawa into the kabuki theater’s backstage area. The staff, who were old acquaintances of Kamishiro Kawa, nodded to him and let the three of them through.

Kamishiro Ruri stood with his arms crossed, one hand resting on his blade’s hilt. He turned toward the three of them, his bright eyes curving into a faint smile.

”I’ve been waiting for you for a long time, Li-kun, Miss Kuroki.”

”Cut the chatter. Let’s start right away; I don’t have time to stay in Japan for long,” Ke Mingqing said, turning his gaze toward the panel hovering backstage.

He raised his right hand and pressed his palm against the large dungeon panel. Kamishiro Kawa and Kamishiro Ruri exchanged a glance, then raised their hands as well.

Kuroki Hitomi hesitated for a second before sending Ke Mingqing a message through the player Chat Panel.

[Kuroki Hitomi: You cannot use those skills of yours, or they’ll realize you’re Blue Pigeon, or White Jack.]

[Ke Mingqing: Don’t worry, I’m not stupid enough to do that.]

Relieved by this, Kuroki Hitomi stepped forward and pressed her hand against the panel.

Moments later, the dim panel suddenly flared to life. A deep luminescence enveloped the four of them, and they vanished from the spot.

[Warning: Entered weekly dungeon ”The Demon of Kabukicho.” Defeat boss ”Red-Robed Demon” to clear this dungeon.]

As the system chime rang out, Ke Mingqing opened his eyes in the dark. He was now standing inside a kabuki theater that looked nearly identical to the real one.

The only difference was the lighting—it was red, an eerie, sinister red.

The stage curtain slowly rose as blood-red spotlights flared to life, casting an eerie silhouette against the wall. The figure possessed multiple arachnid limbs, yet its head bore the unmistakable outline of a human, sending a chill down the spine.

[Boss Name: Red-Robed Demon]

[Boss Level: 9]

From the central aisle of the auditorium, Ke Mingqing, Kuroki Hitomi, Kamishiro Kawa, and Kamishiro Ruri raised their heads, silently watching the bizarre entity.

The Red-Robed Demon’s eyes were pools of thick darkness. Its hair hung disheveled, and veins bulged across its face. Its eight twisted limbs danced in midair, and as its jaws opened and closed, a hoarse chanting echoed from all directions.

Suddenly, a Chat Panel popped up before Ke Mingqing’s eyes.

[Kuroki Hitomi: This thing doesn’t feel as terrifying as White Jack...]

[Ke Mingqing: We’re running a dungeon and you’re still sending whispers?]

After replying on the panel, Ke Mingqing was the first to speak up and break the silence:

”I’ll just watch you guys play. Good luck. If you can’t beat it, that’s fine too—just try to hold out for a minute, and I’ll wrap things up.”

The other three turned to look. They saw him retrieve the C Rank item ”Dragon Egg” from his inventory, cradle the soccer-ball-sized egg in his arms, and cross his legs as he sat down on a nearby red bench.

The next moment, a prompt popped up before the youth’s eyes.

[Countdown until ”Dragon Egg” hatches: 60 seconds.]

”Aren’t you underestimating us a bit, Li-kun?” Kamishiro Ruri smiled faintly.

Kamishiro Kawa drew a weapon resembling brass knuckles from his inventory and slipped it onto his right hand.

Immediately after, he activated his E-rank skill ”Steam Jet.” His body was suddenly propelled forward, rocketing ahead on a blast of scalding steam.

”Whoosh!”

Kamishiro Kawa leapt from the dense vapor, twisting his body midair to slam a fist toward the inverted Red-Robed Demon. However, the demon abruptly raised one of its twisted limbs, catching his punch firmly in its grip.

The brass knuckles flared with a sudden flash of light, yet nothing happened.

The moment his punch landed, Kamishiro Kawa rapidly retreated. The demon’s limb where the brass knuckles had struck suddenly overheated, sparking with fire before exploding outright.

”Boom—!!” Flames swept outward, engulfing the entire stage. The demon shrieked as fire consumed its body, instantly throwing its eerie dance out of rhythm.

”What was that? Exploding Fist?”

Ke Mingqing raised his eyebrows slightly. As he watched the fight, he stroked the Dragon Egg like he was rubbing his math teacher’s bald head.

”Good brother.”

Kamishiro Ruri curved his lips and drew his blade, darting forward on light feet right behind him toward the Red-Robed Demon.

A sudden downpour whipped through his long black hair, sending the young man’s ochre-red kimono billowing upwards with a sharp rustle.

If rain had temperaments, the water cascading over the kimono-clad youth felt like a quiet autumn drizzle, gentle and unassuming. Yet only when this autumn rain actually struck flesh did one realize how bone-chilling it truly was—a cold that cut to the soul.

In an instant, the rainwater enveloped the tachi’s blade, gradually converging into a ferocious, surging dragon.

Seizing the exact moment the Red-Robed Demon was pinned down by the explosion’s fire, Kamishiro Ruri closed the distance, wrapped in the dragon-like frenzy of the autumn rain.

Like a peerless dancer, he twisted his torso and swung his long blade, carving out a crescent moon forged from azure water.

The strike seemed as gentle as flowing water yet concealed a deadly intent, instantly severing three of the Red-Robed Demon’s legs. Foul blood gushed forth and sprayed into the air, only to be swallowed whole by the autumn rain.

”Please step back,” Kuroki Hitomi spoke up suddenly.

[Rose Echo (B Rank skill): Select a target to summon a rain of roses, engulfing them in a storm of chaotic blossoms.]

Skill cooldowns outside and inside dungeons were calculated separately.

Even though Kuroki Hitomi had used Rose Echo against those Shadow Warriors in the alley an hour ago, all her skills were treated as unused inside the dungeon, thus leaving them completely off cooldown.

In the next instant, a breathtaking rain of roses showered from above, with multicolored petals dancing through the air.

Kamishiro Ruri retreated toward the auditorium.

The Red-Robed Demon snarled, raising all five of its remaining legs to shield its front. The chaotic blossoms danced wildly, gouging bloody furrows all across its body.

In the following split second, the Red-Robed Demon violently lunged. It swooped down from the stage’s ceiling, its sharp claws aimed straight at Kuroki Hitomi’s head.

This happened so quickly that its speed was entirely beyond Kamishiro Kawa and Kamishiro Ruri’s reach. Ke Mingqing was the only one present capable of reacting in time.

Yet Ke Mingqing didn’t make a move; he merely pressed his ear against the Dragon Egg to listen to the sounds inside.

”Girl Revolution,” Kuroki Hitomi suddenly whispered.

[Girl Revolution (B Rank skill) (Can only be purchased for 15,000 superhuman coins after unlocking the B Rank skill ”Rose Echo”): Sound the horn of rebellion and summon a maiden tyrant who commands roses and thorns. Maximum existence time is 10 seconds.]

In the next second, a slender silhouette formed in midair—a girl clad entirely in thorns and roses. She wore a crown of brambles upon her head, radiant blossoms sprouted all across her form, and she gripped a longsword woven of crimson and green.

Deep crimson light gleamed in the maiden tyrant’s eyes. She swung her red-and-green blade, whipping up a dizzying storm of flowers that coalesced into a protective curtain.

The Red-Robed Demon tore through that curtain of roses with its five claws and lunged forward with a low roar. At that moment, however, the maiden tyrant raised her hand, controlling a tangle of thorns to bind its limbs.

Ke Mingqing held the incubating Dragon Egg in his arms, quietly watching this scene from his bench.

Oho, that thing looks pretty formidable, he thought. And since it’s a skill summon, skill summons generally grow stronger as the player’s attributes increase.

Snapping back to their senses, Kamishiro Ruri and Kamishiro Kawa flanked the monster from both sides. Suddenly, however, a red cord yanked the Red-Robed Demon upward, hauling it right back above the stage.

At the same time, to their shock, the demon’s three severed limbs regrew, looking good as new. It resumed its grotesque dance once more, its eight legs rising and falling in a sinister, seductive rhythm as its rasping song echoed across the room.

”Is it the kind of boss that regenerates to full health if you don’t kill it within a set window?” Kamishiro Ruri muttered. ”No wonder I thought it was so weak. It’s that kind of mechanic.”

”Then we need to attack together,” Kamishiro Kawa said. ”Inflict massive damage in the shortest possible time.”

Kuroki Hitomi remained silent, merely turning her head to glance at Ke Mingqing, who hadn’t lifted a finger from start to finish.

At that exact moment, the numbers on the countdown panel hit zero. The agonizing sixty seconds were up, and with a crisp crack, fissures spread across the Dragon Egg.

”Go, Charizard!”

Ke Mingqing tossed the Dragon Egg onto the stage like he was hurling a Poké Ball.

In the next moment, the egg shattered completely in midair. A massive dragon clad in blue scales broke free, roaring as it lunged forward.

”Roar—!”

The massive dragon beat its wings and shot forward, opening its gaping maw to snap the demon’s neck with razor-sharp fangs. Blood gushed like a surging river.

In an instant, the entire theater was dyed red by splattered gore. The blood was a dark, bruised violet, staining the world in an unholy hue, and within the absolute silence, only the rushing sound of liquid could be heard.

A foul stench wafted out, invading everyone’s nostrils—the Red-Robed Demon’s blood smelled like expired yogurt.

The blue dragon dragged the spider-like fiend down from the ceiling, pinning all eight of its legs to the floor as it began tearing into its flesh.

Not only the Kamishiro brothers, but even Kuroki Hitomi was stunned.

They watched the gruesome spectacle—this was the most raw, primal slaughter between beasts. The mournful singing that had poured from the demon’s mouth had now degenerated into monotonous, agonized shrieks.

”Unbelievable. Last time it was gorging on piss and shit in the sewers, and now it won’t even spare this garbage. I really can’t keep this Charizard,” Ke Mingqing clicked his tongue.

He was the only one present who looked completely unbothered. The little blue dragon had traded blows with the B+ Rank super-human species Dark Crocodile; dropping it into a low-level dungeon like this was nothing short of a dimensional beatdown.

However, as the price for its strength, the blue dragon’s maximum duration was only three minutes, and it required a sixty-second waiting period before it could even hatch.

If there were no other players to run cover, it was hard to say whether one could even stall long enough for this dragon to take the field.

In any case, the rest of the fight was pure garbage time.

Before long, the blue dragon let out a satisfied burp, signaling the end of its meal. A prompt panel popped up before the eyes of all four players.

[Congratulations, player ”Jin Chengwu” has successfully defeated the dungeon boss—”Red-Robed Demon of Kabukicho.”]

[Weekly dungeon ”The Demon of Kabukicho” has been cleared. The settlement phase will begin in three minutes.]

The three of them stared at the prompt panel in front of them, unable to recover from their shock for a long time.

Kuroki Hitomi lowered her eyes. Every time she thought she was finally getting a little bit closer to Ke Mingqing, he would display a despair-inducing chasm in strength, completely shattering the notion.

After a long while, the culprit behind it all was the first to speak:

”Finished.”

As he said this, Ke Mingqing let out a breath and recalled the blue dragon. He turned toward the still-silent Kamishiro brothers. ”Don’t look so terrified, alright? It’s not going to eat you.”

Kamishiro Ruri stood frozen for a long while before actually bursting out into laughter, sighing with deep meaning:

”I really have to hand it to you, Li-kun...”