A Guide to Humanity’s Extinction

August 25, 2026, 7:30 PM.

It had been seven hours since Clock Maker’s death. The sky was gloomy, heavy clouds obscuring the moonlight, and the long street was completely empty.

Ke Mingqing was surprised to find he was the first one home.

By the time he reached his front door, the rain had been over for a while, but the road was still a muddy mess. Everything was drenched, perfectly preserving the footprints he left as he approached.

Cicadas chirped desperately from the damp branches.

Ke Mingqing reached into his windbreaker pocket for his keys, but suddenly froze.

He didn’t feel his keys; instead, his fingers brushed against a small packet of something round.

He pulled it out for a closer look, realizing it was a blue packet of chocolate beans.

”What the hell...?”

He tilted his head, muttering softly, and flipped the bag over. A sticky note was attached to the back.Ke Mingqing peeled the note off and stared at the crooked handwriting.

[I’m sorry... I’m really sorry. I just didn’t want to die. I’ve always liked you.]

Ke Mingqing stared at the messy scrawl in silence for a long moment.

The young man stood with his head bowed, staring blankly at the muddy ground. Ripples in the puddles reflected his face. He pictured the socially awkward woman in the black bodysuit writing those words, and he couldn’t help but rub his reddening nose.

”So she slipped it into my pocket back then...” he murmured.

A moment later, a drop of rain the size of a bean fell from the sky and landed right on his nose.

He sniffled, finally snapping back to reality. Glancing up at the night sky, he shrugged dismissively, tucked the packet of chocolate beans under his arm, fished out his keys, and opened the door.

Ke Mingqing took off his shoes, passed through the empty entryway, and glanced around. The living room was completely deserted.

He didn’t know who had left the TV on when they went out, but the anchor on the Leijing News Channel was currently delivering an impassioned Broadcast about the two biggest news stories of the day:

”According to the preliminary investigation report released today by the Hero Company Crisis Response Headquarters and the Joint Defense Agency, Leijing City faced a severe and anomalous nuclear threat last night.

”The incident was caused by the super-villain known as Clock Maker, who subjected the director of a key facility to mind control, resulting in the illegal launch of a nuclear missile.

”Upon launch, the warhead’s trajectory was aimed directly at the heart of Leijing City, posing an extreme threat to urban security.

”In the nick of time, an undocumented, colossal mythic vessel successfully intercepted the nuclear weapon above the atmosphere, detonating it in outer space and averting a catastrophic strike.

”Based on analysis by the relevant expert panel at the Hero Company, the mythic vessel captured on camera heavily matches the characteristics of the Fire Giant Surtr from Norse mythology. Officials emphasize that the threat to the City has been temporarily neutralized, but the investigation is ongoing. Citizens are urged not to panic and to pay attention to subsequent official announcements.”

Ke Mingqing stood listening for a moment before heading up to the second floor.

The hallway was just as empty. None of the doors were closed, and there was no sound coming from any of the bedrooms.

The third floor was the same, save for the rhythmic dripping of water coming from the master bathroom.

For some reason, Ke Mingqing felt a wave of relief.

He was always on edge in this house, dealing with aliens, control freaks, and homicidal maniacs. Being home alone like this was actually pretty nice. No pressure at all.

Just then, he suddenly remembered the friends list he had neglected for quite a while.

He opened his friends list as he walked back downstairs and glanced at Kuroki Hitomi’s Chat Panel.

[Kuroki Hitomi: Are you alright? You haven’t replied to me in a long time.]

[Kuroki Hitomi: Are you still alive?]

[Kuroki Hitomi: Should I come find you? Can you please tell me where you are?]

Ke Mingqing ignored the rest of the messages, scrolled all the way to the bottom, and typed out a casual reply.

[Ke Mingqing: I’m fine.]

Kuroki Hitomi replied instantly, as if she had been staring at the Chat Panel the whole time.

[Kuroki Hitomi: But Clock Maker took you. I saw it with my own eyes.]

[Ke Mingqing: Yeah, I survived, and he’s dead... Such a pity he slipped away from me, so I didn’t get the kill reward.]

[Kuroki Hitomi: You were White Jack, and you were Blue Pigeon. Did you stage the whole thing to draw him out?]

[Ke Mingqing: Yeah, he took the bait immediately.]

[Kuroki Hitomi: That’s amazing... I’m understanding you less and less.]

[Ke Mingqing: Relax, I’m fine anyway. Let’s chat next time.]

[Kuroki Hitomi: You didn’t discuss this with me again... Just like last time, and that time at the port.]

[Ke Mingqing: If I had talked to you, could you have helped? Oh, you’re definitely going to say you’d die for me, so I’m supposed to just watch you die for me?]

Kuroki Hitomi didn’t reply again.

Ke Mingqing walked down to the first floor with his head lowered, sat down on the sofa, and looked up at the TV.

The anchor was still broadcasting. It seemed that explaining everything that had happened today wasn’t going to be easy:

”In other news: at noon today, the beloved new superhero Blue Pigeon was attacked and kidnapped by the notorious super-villain White Jack.

”The incident was briefly live-streamed through illegal channels and was of an extremely heinous nature.

”Even more shocking, the live footage revealed the reappearance of Clock Maker, a high-risk criminal who has been missing for years. Evidence suggests he directly intervened and took Blue Pigeon away. The veteran hero Rain Crow arrived on the scene immediately, participating in the emergency rescue operation from start to finish and engaging in a fierce clash with the criminals.”

After a moment’s hesitation, Ke Mingqing sent another message to the Chat Panel.

[Ke Mingqing: I’m sorry, I’m just not in a good mood. Let me calm down on my own for a bit. I’ll contact you tomorrow.]

When Kuroki Hitomi still didn’t reply, Ke Mingqing closed the Chat Panel. He stared blankly at the ceiling, carefully recalling the day’s events.

After bumping into his third sister on Saint Swan Street, she hadn’t stopped him. Instead, she had grabbed his shoulders and reminded him that a young man out alone needed to pay attention to his safety, protect himself, and not get kidnapped by weird creeps.

With that parting remark, she hurriedly took off on her Wind and Fire Wheels.

Ke Mingqing helplessly watched the goofball disappear into the distance.

Afterward, he changed into the spare Blue Pigeon Battle Suit he had prepared in advance inside a warehouse at the corner of the street. Then, he delivered Shadow Girl’s corpse to the back door of the Hero Company before returning to the abandoned train station in the Old Jingmai District.

Rain Crow already knew he was Blue Pigeon.

At this point, there was no need to keep hiding the suit at Kuroki Hitomi’s house. It was better to just be open about it and let things run their course. Thus, Ke Mingqing put the brand-new suit and helmet away in his own locker.

With a loud slam, he roughly shut the locker and headed home.

Even though Clock Maker was dead, to be honest, Ke Mingqing still doubted whether Rain Crow would approve of him continuing to operate as a superhero in Leijing.

After all, Crow Man had genuinely experienced the pain of ”losing a son” this time. He was very likely to change his mind and forbid his son from ever wearing the mask again.

”It’s fine. I’ll be able to take Crow Man in a one-on-one fight soon anyway, and he won’t be able to boss me around then,” Ke Mingqing murmured lazily as he stretched.

”Unfortunately, since the live feed was cut, both Rain Crow and Blue Pigeon remain out of contact. As of now, the public relations department of the Hero Company has not released any specifics regarding the current condition or location of the two heroes.”

The TV Broadcast pulled Ke Mingqing’s thoughts back to reality.

He yawned and glanced over, watching the anchor continue:

”A company spokesperson stated in a brief press release: ’We have mobilized all available resources to fully search for and rescue our heroes. The incident is still under investigation. To ensure operational security and personal privacy, we cannot disclose further details at this time. We ask citizens to remain calm, trust our professional teams, and await further official information updates.’”

At this point, the anchor gathered her notes and looked grimly into the camera.

Ke Mingqing grabbed a bottle of iced black tea from the fridge and twisted off the cap.

It was hard to imagine that the whole world was currently worrying about his safety, while he was just lying on the sofa drinking iced tea.

”To be honest, the old man wouldn’t use this opportunity to force Blue Pigeon to fake his death in front of the public, making me quit the superhero world for good, would he...? Yeah, I get the feeling he’d absolutely pull something like that.”

Thinking of this, Ke Mingqing tilted his head back against the sofa, spacing out as he listened to the chirping of the cicadas in the night.

A moment later, he looked away from the window and opened the Quest Panel.

Ke Mingqing reached out and touched the single glowing line of text on the panel. A series of text windows immediately popped up in front of him.

[Main Quest 1 (Phase 4) Completed: Cooperate with Rain Crow to defeat the super-villain ”Clock Maker”.]

[Quest Rewards Received: 1 Attribute Point, 30,000 Experience Points, 6,000 superhuman coins.]

Ke Mingqing blanked for a moment. ”Thirty thousand experience points? Is the system glitching?” Then he reconsidered, ”But no matter how much of a scrub Clock Maker was, he was still an S-class super-human species, so I guess it makes sense.”

[Notification: Your experience points have reached the cap for your current level. Level automatically increased by 3.]

[Player Level Change: Lv.18 → Lv.21 (↑3 levels)]

[Current Level Progress: Lv.21 (3,700/10,500 Experience Points)]

[Congratulations: Player has received 1 Attribute Point available for allocation. (Players earn one Attribute Point for every 5 levels gained.)]

”Three levels up in one go? Since I’m already past level 20, the philosopher Plato’s ’Republic’ in the ’Gate of Humanities’ can be unlocked now. I’ll check what it does tomorrow.”

Thinking this, Ke Mingqing quickly raised a finger and tapped his personal panel.

With one point rewarded from the main quest and one from leveling up, he had two Attribute Points in total, which he allocated straightforwardly.

[Congratulations! player ”Ke Mingqing” has consumed 2 Attribute Points. Your ”Agility” attribute has changed as follows: B+ Rank → B++ (↑1 point). Your ”Spirit” attribute has changed as follows: C++ Rank → B Rank (↑1 point).]

[player ”Ke Mingqing” currently possesses the following attributes: Strength: B; Agility: B++; Spirit: B]

Ke Mingqing curled his lips into a smile. ”Once I raise all three attributes to S Rank, I might just be able to go toe-to-toe with those monsters in the Roundtable.”

[6,000 superhuman coins received. player’s current superhuman coin balance is: 24,000]

”Finally saved up enough to buy an A Rank skill,” Ke Mingqing thought to himself. ”Logically speaking, with my current attributes and an A Rank skill, I should be able to wipe out half the members of Death Crow, right?”

Just as he was leisurely dreaming about the future, a black and red Quest Panel popped up in front of his eyes.

Text as sharp as a raven’s beak slowly unfurled, catching Ke Mingqing’s eye.

[Main Quest 1 (Phase 5) Refreshed: As Rain Crow’s assistant, infiltrate the world’s strongest superhero organization, the Superhero Roundtable Council.]

Ke Mingqing froze for a second, then slightly raised an eyebrow. He thought:

”It’s already time to infiltrate the Roundtable?”

Then he reconsidered, ”That makes sense, though. I’ve heard that occasionally one or two Roundtable Heroes will bring their assistants on missions. It’s not without precedent. Using the old man’s connections to slip through the back door isn’t a bad idea.”

His train of thought ending there, Ke Mingqing collapsed onto the sofa in a sprawling slouch and yawned.

”Let me guess how many people are going to come looking for a heart-to-heart with me tonight.”

As the thought crossed his mind, the faces of several family members flashed through his head. The first to appear were naturally Ke Mingwei and Xia Ningzhi.

”Forget it... Let’s just get some sleep first.”

Ke Mingqing sprawled across the sofa, resting his head against the armrest and covering his forehead with his arm.

Suddenly, he picked up his spare phone and glanced at a picture in his gallery.

He swiped his finger across the screen until his eyes settled on one particular photo.

Blue Pigeon stood right in the center of the squad with his arms crossed. Top Hero had his arm slung around his shoulder, flashing a rock-and-roll hip-hop sign with his other hand.

The young Invisible Giant had shoved his face close to the lens, making a cheeky grimace, while Shadow Girl held up her phone screen to the camera, with the word ”Idiot” typed in her notes app.

Back then, the sun was shining brightly over Leijing. It was a clear summer day, and the long street was bustling with people. No one in the photo knew that a terrible fate was about to catch up with them.

The night was wrapped in absolute silence.

Ke Mingqing silently scrolled through his photo album, the screen’s glow reflecting in his eyes.

After a while, he set the phone down on the table, pillowed his head on his arms, and let his heavy eyelids close. Slowly, he drifted off to sleep.

........

........

The night was deep. Right now, the heart of Leijing was steeped in silence, stripped of its usual brightly lit bustle.

This was because a nuclear bomb had detonated in the atmosphere at noon. Due to massive radiation interference, most electronic devices had fallen into a state of malfunction.

However, the Hero Company had issued an announcement stating that they had brought in superheroes specifically to deal with this phenomenon. They boasted that the downtown area’s electronics would be back to normal by early tomorrow morning.

At this moment, inside one of the patient lounges on the 55th floor of the Hero Company.

Commander Lin Yin slowly woke up. He was dressed in the thinnest of white hospital gowns, his body no longer bound by layers of restraints.

Squinting his eyes, he reached around the bed to feel for his glasses. His mind was an absolute mess, and it took a long time for him to collect himself.

A moment later, a sharp pain shot through his forehead. Chaotic fragments of memory pierced his brain like shattered glass, making him groan in agony.

”Invisible Giant... No, that’s not right. What did I do? What did I do...?”

Lin Yin clutched his throbbing head, his eyes gradually widening as he bit his lip and muttered hoarsely.

Just then, a sudden night breeze blew into the ward, carrying the cawing of a crow from the darkness.

Lin Yin stiffened slightly and slowly turned his head to look at the corner of the room.

Rain Crow, draped in his pitch-black cape, stood there, seemingly melting into the darkness as he quietly watched him.

”You... why didn’t you kill me?”

Lin Yin was silent for a long time before asking in a trembling voice, ”I was controlled by Clock Maker’s ability... If you keep me alive, won’t he just keep using me in the future?”

His shoulders shook faintly, whether from anger or terror.

Rain Crow said nothing. He simply stepped slowly out of the shadows, reached out his right hand, and handed over the freshly repaired pair of rimless glasses he was holding.

Lin Yin lowered his head, pressed his lips together, and stared at the glasses for a long moment before finally taking them and setting them on the bridge of his nose.

He looked up again, peering through the lenses, and what he saw was no longer a blurry shadow.

Rain Crow stood silently by the windowsill. The moonlight caught his black cape, casting a long, crow-like shadow on the floor.

”My friend, it’s over...” Rain Crow said softly. ”It’s all over.”

Lin Yin was stunned for a second before he lost control completely. He threw his head back and roared, ”No, Clock Maker hypnotized me with his pocket watch! I killed Invisible Giant, and I framed him! I remember what I did! Are you trying to tell me none of that was real, that it was just a dream?”

With that, he tore off his glasses and glared up at Rain Crow.

”Yes, it was all real, but it’s all over now...”

Rain Crow spoke quietly. He pressed the release button on his Bird Beak Helmet and slowly took off his mask, revealing an exhausted, aged face to Lin Yin’s gaze.

Lin Yin stared at the stubble-covered face, unable to help but fall into deep thought... He seemed to have forgotten that this man was getting old. They had been working together for twenty years, and time had left its mark on his face as well.

Ke Mingwei kept his head bowed, remaining silent for a long time.

”Clock Maker is dead?” Lin Yin finally asked after a long pause.

”Yes...” Ke Mingwei nodded. ”You can let it go. We have avenged your child.”

Lin Yin was quiet for a long while. Suddenly, he shook his head and laughed self-deprecatingly. ”But all I did was sleep... I didn’t do anything.”

Ke Mingwei lifted his right hand and placed it on his shoulder.

Inside the ward, the two old men sat in silence for a moment. In the distance, a silver-white Iron Dragon roared past on the elevated tracks.

Lin Yin sighed. ”What about Blue Pigeon?”

”He’s still alive. He’s doing just fine,” Ke Mingwei said quietly.

”That’s good.” Lin Yin kept his head down, staring gloomily at the floor. His lips trembled slightly. ”If I had been the ruin of that kid too, I really wouldn’t have known what to do...”

”There’s something about him I need to tell you.”

”Go ahead.”

Ke Mingwei was quiet for a moment. ”Blue Pigeon is my son. His name is Ke Mingqing. I was just deceiving myself all along.”

Absolute silence fell over the ward. No sound was heard for a long time.

”Wha... what?”

Lin Yin was utterly dumbstruck. It took him a long while to slowly lift his head, looking at Ke Mingwei in disbelief as he confirmed:

”Are you saying he’s... your kid?”

Ke Mingwei frowned and nodded silently. Only after a moment did he raise his eyes to meet the other man’s gaze.

”I’m going to have a proper talk with the kid next. You don’t need to feel guilty toward him, and you don’t need to watch over him anymore...” His gaze was piercing. ”From now on, just rest well. Stop concerning yourself with these matters. I’ll handle everything, my friend.”

With those words, Ke Mingwei’s body gradually dissolved into a flurry of crow feathers and scattered away.

.......

.......

At the same time, Lijing No. 3 International Airport.

The waiting hall was noisy with chatter and the constant sound of announcements. Passengers in all sorts of attire bustled back and forth dragging their luggage, the sound of wheels scraping against the floor lingering in the air.

Right now, Xia Lingxue was standing quietly alone near the arrivals gate with her arms crossed, leaning her back against a wall plastered with advertisements.

Her head was lowered, lost in whatever thoughts she was having.

Outside the massive glass walls, the sky was already dark, and the landing lights of the planes on the runway sliced through the pitch-black night.

Before long, a tall figure wearing a dark trench coat approached from a distance.

Ke Linye pulled his luggage with one hand and carried souvenirs brought back from Japan in the other. He spotted Xia Lingxue at a glance, so he walked over and rubbed her hair.

He curved his bright eyes and smiled faintly at her. ”Heh, I heard my good little sister caught a nuclear bomb for Leijing today. It scared me so much I hurried back from Japan.”

To his surprise, however, Xia Lingxue didn’t coldly mock him or reach out to smack his hand away.

Ke Linye couldn’t help but freeze for a second.

Sensing something was wrong, he slowly withdrew his smile and moved his hand away from his sister’s head.

Xia Lingxue took a deep breath. Only after a long pause did she raise her head, her eyes shifting silently.

”Is your mission over?” she asked casually.

”It’s over,” Ke Linye replied dismissively. ”The enemies this time weren’t tough—just one or two remnants from a vampire hunter organization. I took care of them with a flick of my finger.”

Saying this, he tilted his head, shooting an inquisitive look at Xia Lingxue. ”So... what exactly happened? Wasn’t Clock Maker already taken care of?”

Xia Lingxue was quiet for a moment before answering, ”The problem isn’t Clock Maker. The problem is Blue Pigeon.”

Ke Linye’s face was utterly blank, and he didn’t speak for a long time.

Eventually, he showed a slight reaction, pretending to humor her as he brushed it off, ”Oh, that Blue Pigeon...”

He didn’t seem to care much about the guy. After thinking about it for a second, he asked in an aloof tone, ”Is he dead?”

The moment the words fell, the temperature in the airport seemed to instantly plunge to absolute zero. Ke Linye shivered from the freezing cold, wondering what on earth his sister was going crazy over.

Xia Lingxue shook her head, speaking in a chilly voice, ”Blue Pigeon didn’t die.”

”He didn’t die, so what’s there to worry about?” Ke Linye shrugged, teasing her. ”You’ve gotten pretty sentimental, sis... Don’t tell me you’ve fallen for that kid too?”

”Listen to me. Blue Pigeon is...”

Seeing Xia Lingxue hesitate, Ke Linye raised an eyebrow, rubbed his chin, and made a casual guess.

”Hmm, according to our previous guesses, Blue Pigeon is Xiaoli’s boyfriend... and then he got hurt, lost a leg or an arm or something, so Xiaoli is sulking right now?”

”No...”

”Then what is it?” Ke Linye tilted his head. ”Sis, could you stop keeping me in suspense?”

Xia Lingxue looked up, took a deep breath, pulled the Alpenliebe lollipop from her mouth, and finally spoke:

”Blue Pigeon is your little brother.”

The words dropped like a stone, and the air seemed to suddenly freeze. The two of them in the airport didn’t speak again for a long time.

Ke Linye stood frozen to the spot, his black earring swaying slightly.

On the runway outside the glass walls, an airplane roared as it ascended into the sky, flying off to some unknown destination in the distance.