A Guide to Humanity’s Extinction

It happened in a flash. Ke Mingqing fired a ball of lightning from his palm, smacking it forward like he was serving a volleyball.

Fierce black and blue light danced within the sphere, writhing like two savage beasts tearing at each other’s flesh. The lightning ball flew with the speed of a falcon, igniting the air with a deafening, piercing shriek.

”Bang—!!!”

At that very moment, however, Lan Feng suddenly tucked his billiard cue under his arm. He snapped his arms to his chest, crossing them into a strange, uncanny X.

Immediately after, a blood-red light erupted from the intersection of his crossed arms. The X-shaped energy surged forward like a tsunami to meet the black-and-blue lightning!

[B Rank Skill: ”Limit-Breaking X Burst” (Cross your arms to form an X, firing a laser beam forward based on the player’s ’Strength’ attribute.)]

This was another of Lan Feng’s B Rank skills, and one of his ultimate trump cards!

After surviving in the world of the super-human species for two months, every player who had managed to live this long had essentially developed their own unique combat style.

For Lan Feng, when facing enemies who preferred long-range combat, he used ”Coin Shot” to suppress them. Once the enemy let their guard down and closed the distance, he would rely on ”Limit-Breaking X Burst” for an instant kill, catching them completely off guard.

This was his tried-and-true formula for victory.Yet, in front of Ke Mingqing, his greatest pride and confidence were ripped away like a flimsy veil.

At that moment, the X-shaped laser and the lightning ball violently collided. It was like diesel meeting blazing fire; the two actually fused together, kicking up a terrifying energy field.

”Boom—!!!”

In the next second, the berserk energy nearly blew everyone away, as if a missile had detonated right in the center of the casino.

Ke Mingqing had originally found a chance to close in on Genkawa Tsuguo, but was now forced to retreat.

Caught in the head-on gale, his body was sent flying backward like a kite with a snapped string. He flipped through the air several times before barely managing to land on his feet.

*Hiss—!* Ke Mingqing’s feet plowed a ten-meter-long trench into the floor before he finally managed to halt his backward skid.

[Warning: Remaining duration of the Blended Lightning state—”1 second”!]

Ke Mingqing temporarily switched to the blue lightning mode, trying to preserve his last shred of unused power for as long as possible, just in case he needed it.

After a long moment, he looked up. Genkawa Tsuguo and Lan Feng had both crashed into one of the casino’s pillars, their bodies deeply embedded within it.

”An A Rank skill?” Lan Feng finally realized something was wrong.

His body slid down the pillar. Kneeling on the floor, he gripped his billiard cue and eventually raised his head, panting as he stared at the completely unblemished Ke Mingqing.

”His lightning is an A Rank skill?! There’s actually a player who got their hands on an A Rank skill this early in the game?”

At the same time, Genkawa Tsuguo struggled to lift his head from the human-shaped crater.

Blood trickled down his temple, dyeing his eye red. His ferocious gaze stared fixedly at Ke Mingqing. Then, his lips parted slightly, spitting out two hoarse words:

”Black hole.”

As he spoke, Genkawa Tsuguo curled his right index finger and lightly tapped the empty air.

[B Rank Skill: Miniature Black Hole (Creates a micro black hole with immense suction force in the direction of the fingertip. Lasts for 2 seconds. Once an opponent is pulled inside, they will suffer massive explosive damage!)]

At this moment, Ke Mingqing had just pulled his leather shoes out from the trench beneath his feet.

He stared at the teenager’s slightly bent finger in the distance, freezing in place.

”What’s coming next...”

In the next second, accompanied by a booming rumble, an elliptical spatial rift tore open directly above Ke Mingqing’s head, appearing just like a miniature black hole.

He snapped his head up. That primordial blackness acted like a ravenous beast, madly sucking in everything around it.

Like a gigantic meat grinder, slot machines and billiard tables from all directions were dragged inside. They were instantly crushed to pieces, as if gnawed apart by the sharp fangs of Satan himself!

Genkawa Tsuguo finally pulled himself free from the human-shaped crater in the pillar.

”I don’t believe it. There’s no way you survive this time...”

He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. Peering out from beneath the brim of his frog hat, he stared at the scene unfolding in the distance and gently exhaled a breath laced with a bloody mist.

This was the only B Rank skill in Genkawa Tsuguo’s arsenal. He only ever used this move when he was absolutely certain it would end the battle.

In fact, against the vast majority of enemies, his spinning tops were more than enough to finish the job. Ke Mingqing was one of the very few opponents capable of forcing him to use this trump card.

”Fuck, is it really necessary to go this far? This is why I hate players.”

Facing that rift above his head, which looked like a black sun, Ke Mingqing froze in his tracks.

Under the berserk suction force, his body had almost no power to resist.

Ke Mingqing drained his last shred of electricity. But no matter how much he used the lightning to generate friction against the air, his body was irresistibly dragged toward the black hole by the crushing suction.

[Warning: The power of the ’Blended Lightning Form’ is infinitely approaching zero.]

At this moment, Ke Mingqing abruptly extended his right arm, grabbing onto one of the casino’s pillars. Simultaneously, a tiny paper doll appeared in the palm of his other hand.

The paper doll gripped Ke Mingqing’s thumb tightly, its body fluttering violently in the gale. A split second later, its arms were torn off, and its minuscule body was yanked toward the black hole.

Just then, the paper doll suddenly turned around. Facing the bottomless black hole, it spread its arms and shouted into the howling wind:

”Superman Philosophy!”

[Superman Philosophy (This skill originates from the philosopher of the ”Gate of Truth”—”Nietzsche”)]

The moment the paper doll was swallowed by the black hole, Ke Mingqing was enveloped in a profound golden light. That golden barrier shielded him from everything in the outside world—whether it was the coin bullets shot from his flank, the spinning tops burning with three elements, or even the black hole attempting to devour everything. None of it could get an inch closer to his body.

At this moment, he looked like a tyrant standing tall in a silent world, rejecting everything from the outside with the coldest, most supreme authority.

A second later, the elliptical rift in the center of the casino vanished. It closed without warning, the profound pitch-blackness fading away entirely, taking the tiny paper doll ”Plato” along with it.

”How is this possible... Even this didn’t work on him?”

Looking at the completely unharmed Ke Mingqing, Genkawa Tsuguo pulled down the brim of his frog hat and muttered hoarsely.

His gaze trembled and his lips turned pale. In this instant, his entire worldview shattered completely.

This miniature black hole capable of lasting for two seconds was his final trump card. Yet this ultimate move had just been effortlessly neutralized by Ke Mingqing right before his eyes.

”Fuck me, we’re really cursed,” Lan Feng hissed. ”Does this guy have hacks...? We’re all players; how can the gap be this massive?”

Soon, Ke Mingqing plummeted from midair, his feet touching the ground.

He dusted himself off and wiped the thick sweat-mingled blood from his neck. Behind him, the pillar slowly collapsed with a thunderous rumble.

”I’m so fucking done with this... Good thing I finished off the first few players quickly. If every single one of them pulled out a move like that, I really wouldn’t be able to hold on.”

Amidst the swirling dust, Ke Mingqing looked up at the dumbfounded Genkawa Tsuguo, thinking to himself.

But he had also confirmed the true potential of ”players.” Once four months had passed, every single player would transform into an unstoppable colossus. The system had been created purely to help them become world-enders.

[Warning: The electrical power accumulated in the ”Thunder God” form has been completely depleted. The ”Blended Lightning” form has been automatically deactivated.]

The moment the Pop-up window appeared, the ink-like lightning, shifting between pitch-black and deep blue, faded from Ke Mingqing’s body.

Watching the crackling light vanish from Ke Mingqing, Lan Feng raised an eyebrow. His cheek twitched slightly as he lowered his head. Finally, he let out a laugh—a wild, gloomy guffaw.

”Looks like the duration for that skill of yours is finally up... Your A Rank skill is gone. Let’s see what else you have up your sleeve. Got the balls to pull out another A Rank skill?”

”We’re all players. Why would you think I only have one trick?” Ke Mingqing tilted his head and rolled his shoulders, his tone thick with sarcasm.

”Or is it that incompetent players like you, who coasted through the last two months, only know one or two tricks? Do you have any idea what I went through these past two months?”

”I don’t know, but all I know is that you’re a beast who sold out your own kind...”

Saying this, Lan Feng pulled a cigarette from his pack. Clamping it between his teeth, he said grimly, ”There are only a hundred players, yet a piece of trash like you had to show up among us. I guess we’re just unlucky.”

”Please, can you not talk as if I’ve had great luck either? Who here isn’t involuntary... Besides, does she deserve to die?”

”If she doesn’t die, we die?”

”I don’t know, but the only person who gets to kill her is me...”

”You just want her heart, making it sound so noble...” Lan Feng hissed. ”But I don’t get it. Since you found her ages ago, why didn’t you make your move sooner?”

”Because I made a promise to her. During the final week before the countdown ends, I’m going to take her around the world. We’ll see the Eiffel Tower she wants to see, visit the Perlan in Iceland, and look at the polar bears and Penguins... Adults need to act like adults and keep their promises.”

Ke Mingqing spoke softly, his face expressionless. The gaze Lan Feng directed at him grew increasingly incredulous.

At that moment, he reached a hand backward, stopping Bai Ziling as she hurried over to protect him from afar. ”Don’t come any closer yet. It’s not over.”

Bai Ziling stared silently at his back. Ke Mingqing had already become a man of blood; the original color of his flight attendant uniform was completely unrecognizable.

”Fine. Since it’s come to this, talking is useless. The one I’m killing is the strongest player in the world! Once I take that heart, I’ll be the strongest!”

The next second, just as Ke Mingqing expected, Lan Feng roared and charged straight at him.

Lan Feng bit off the end of his cigarette, spitting it to the floor, and violently tore open the collar of his floral shirt. At the same time, Genkawa Tsuguo shot in from the flank like a bolt of lightning.

Wearing his frog hat, the teenager looked like a giant humanoid frog sprinting at high speed, incredibly swift and ferocious.

Seeing this, Ke Mingqing secretly clicked his tongue, while a frightened Bai Ziling tightly gripped the hem of his uniform.

Just then, Genkawa Tsuguo’s body completed a spin. Two spinning tops whirled at high speeds, merging into an elemental storm that swept toward Ke Mingqing.

”You bastard, let’s see you block this again! As long as we’re in this shitty casino, your grandpa’s supply of coins is endless!”

Lan Feng bellowed furiously as he flipped a coin upward with his thumb and index finger, then used his billiard cue to smash it right at him!

The coin shot forward in a straight line like a golden cannonball, and the spinning top storm swept in once again. Ke Mingqing simply pulled Bai Ziling into his arms, quietly calculating their flight trajectories in his mind.

A second later, he took a leisurely step back. At the same time, he spread the five fingers of his right hand, aiming his palm at the two of them.

”Wall of Ten Thousand Armies.”

Ke Mingqing murmured silently. While tucking Bai Ziling’s head against his chest, he twisted his right arm and casually pushed his palm forward.

His clothes were already dyed a deep scarlet, and the stench of blood was heavy, yet Bai Ziling felt incredibly safe.

In this moment of absolute silence, she blinked and peeked out slightly. Thus, she once again witnessed the very scene she had seen in Tokyo.

A sight she would never forget for as long as she lived.

In an instant, a burst of gold as dazzling as the sun erupted from his palm.

[Prompt: B Rank Skill ”Wall of Ten Thousand Armies” has been released.]

Amidst the deafening rumble, both Lan Feng and Genkawa Tsuguo slammed on the brakes.

Half a second later, they finally saw what that golden light really was. It was a wall. An unstoppable, brilliant golden wall. This colossal barricade bore down on them like Mount Tai. The howling gale whipped their clothes, raging violently past every pore on their bodies.

Amidst the flapping of fabric, a giant wall composed of dozens of aligned soldier statues pressed forward.

The spinning tops and coin bullets struck the surface of the wall like a child’s tricycle crashing head-on into a freight truck. They didn’t even earn the right to make a sound before being instantly deflected away.

Both Lan Feng and Genkawa Tsuguo were left dumbfounded.

Fortunately, they still maintained some distance from Ke Mingqing. The two immediately reached a silent consensus, swiftly turning their backs on the sweeping, sun-like gold. Legs pumping like mad dogs, they fled in total panic.

Almost half the casino floor and its arcade machines were flattened by the giant wall. Pillars collapsed one after another. The entire building teetered on the brink of collapse, the glow of the chandeliers flickering on and off like a portrait of the apocalypse.

After a long while, Lan Feng and Genkawa Tsuguo each came to a halt, leaning against a wall.

Panting heavily, they looked back at the magnificent, colossal wall that had stopped a short distance behind them and let out a small sigh of relief.

By this time, the golden sculpted wall had already dimmed. Its surroundings were dead silent; the casino was so quiet that they could hear the sound of cold sweat trickling down their skin.

In the dead silence, Lan Feng and Genkawa Tsuguo exchanged a glance. Then, they turned their heads once more, their gazes bypassing the giant wall entrenched in the earth to look at Ke Mingqing in the distance.

At this moment, Ke Mingqing was cradling an egg the size of a palm. The egg was trembling slightly, with faint cracks extending across its shell.

[C Rank Item ”Dragon Egg” has been released. The Dragon Egg has begun to hatch.]

[Prompt: There are still 60 seconds left on the hatching countdown until the birth of the ’Blue Dragon’. Please wait patiently and protect the Dragon Egg from being destroyed.]

”Sixty seconds.”

Ke Mingqing raised his eyes, staring fixedly at the two men in the distance as he thought, ’My electricity is already drained. This is my last chance at victory. I have to stall until the blue dragon hatches.’