Superman Termination Manual

June 22, Huanjing Time 1:00 PM, Tokyo Port Area.

After Ke Mingye and his group returned to Shiba Park, they swiped their cards to board the train back to the abandoned train station at Old Jingmai District, where they had started.

Fan Quan greeted everyone and then disbanded the team. Deception Puppet stored its spare mobile phone with the supermarket owner in Old Jingmai District.

Then, it boarded a bus and found a deserted alley in the neighboring district to self-destruct.

Soon after, Ke Mingye pretended to buy a drink, went downstairs, and retrieved the spare mobile phone.

He spent some time at home; outside, the sky slowly transformed its colors from the bright sunshine of noon to the sunset in the evening and then to a blood-red twilight that faded away, and the city welcomed another night.

At this time, the city would experience its unique charm. Past deeds of sin always seemed to emerge under the cover of night. In the glitzy urban environment, among the endless flow of people, sinners revealed their sharp fangs on a stage constructed from neon lights, and superheroes were too busy to catch their breath.

After dinner, Ke Mingye went out for a walk alone and seized an opportunity to release Deception Puppet.

Before July 4th arrived, Ke Mingye needed to upgrade his "Calamity Dice" from D level to C level and also to increase the "Dice Monster's" wanted level on the Superhero Association's official website, targeting "Qing Ya" at the main plot point. Thus, he decided to throw a dice on the streets of the downtown area to see the Association's reaction.

Perhaps a major incident would occur, and the Superhero Association would directly upgrade his wanted level from C to A.

So, he had Deception Puppet swing through the bustling urban area with spider silk, casually taking a bronze gong, a toy drum, and a drumstick from an antique shop on Yandai Commercial Street.

Then he arrived above Huanjing Tower, sitting on the railings of the observation deck, fiddling with those objects in the night breeze.

Suddenly, the sound of gong and drum attracted the nearby tourists.

They raised their heads in confusion, looking at the gray humanoid sitting on the railing, bathed in the intermingling light of the moon and the tower, its high grin visible even from dozens of meters away.

"Hey, I am Dice Monster. You should recognize me; I'm in today's trending topics," it said.

With that, the puppet bent over, supporting its waist, and casually placed the bronze gong, drumstick, and the barely used toy drum on the ground of the observation deck.

Then it turned around, its hollow gaze overlooking the crowd below the tower.

Swinging its legs, it tilted its head and said, "I am going to perform a terror attack right here. In twenty seconds, I will throw a dice, and I have no idea what will happen. So, I advise you to get as far away from here as possible."

Then it began to count down unilaterally, "Ten, nine, eight, seven, six..."

The countdown rang out in mid-air, with Ke Mingye having adjusted the voice of Deception Puppet to the maximum, as loud as a horn, so each number clearly reached the ears of the citizens.

Soon, a sheep-like frenzy of fleeing ensued, with shrill screams as visitors near Huanjing Tower quickly evacuated the area.

"Three..."

"Two..."

"One..." Find exclusive stories on empire

Ke Mingye lowered his gaze, casually surveying the pedestrians on the street, deliberately slowing the pace of the countdown to allow some time for people to evacuate.

Finally, after scanning to ensure no one was at the bottom of the tower, he released a D-level skill— "Calamity Dice".

A blood-red dice appeared in his hand.

He held the dice, extended his arm forward, released his fingers, letting the dice crash toward the base of the tower.

Then, he slowly stood up, pushing off the railings with his feet, his figure disappearing into the neon-flickering city, shooting upwards with a web spun across the night sky.

The howling cold wind cut across his cheeks like a carving knife, and a cold notification tone rang in his ear.

[Current D-level skill—"Calamity Dice" has been used 2 times, this skill will undergo a qualitative change after 10 accumulative uses (Progress: 2/10)]

[D-level skill "Calamity Dice" released, six events drawn from the event library this time are—

Number ①: A giant turtle will crawl up Huanjing Tower;

Number ②: A historically famous band of the dead will appear on the street to perform songs;

Number ③: A giant mole will burrow out of the ground, starting to dig holes on the street;

Number ④: The next rainfall;

Number ⑤: A group of mechanical giants will appear on the street, beginning a parade;

Number ⑥: Someone will pull the trigger aimed at the back of your head.]

"Hey, hey, what the hell does someone pulling the trigger at the back of my head mean?" Deception Puppet cocked its nonexistent eyebrow.

Thump...

The red and black metal dice swiftly fell from the sky, striking the ground and producing a crisp sound on the deserted road.

The dice collided with the ground, bouncing repeatedly, reaching heights of over four meters at its peak, and continued this pattern for two or three rounds before slowly coming to a halt.

Finally, the number facing upwards was... 3.

[The event represented by the number 3 has been triggered: A giant mole burrows out from underground, beginning to dig holes in the street.]

At this moment, Deception Puppet had already left Huanjing Tower far behind to evade being captured by Qing Ya but could hear distant tremors and the deep roars of a beast, along with continuous screams from people.

Ke Mingye was curious about who would take care of the giant mole, so he took out his phone and logged onto the Grey Pigeon Dark Web.

Indeed, since his appearance as Dice Monster at Huanjing Tower, pirated live streams of the incident had already started on the dark web.

In the city, bright with lights and wine, the neon outshone the moonlight, tinting every corner of the streets.

The pirator aimed the camera skyward, and the figure that appeared on screen was the superhero "Ink Writer," who at this moment, was standing atop the head of an Eastern dragon formed by converging ink.

This ink dragon had two deer-like antlers on its head, with empty eye sockets and long whiskers by its mouth fluttering in the wind. It gently swayed its four legs and sixteen claws.

It lacked wings, yet its body undulated through the air like a black and white sea wave swaying gently.

Dressed in a white battle robe, Ink Writer drew the attention of the crowd. His fans pointed at his silhouette, screaming loudly as they lifted their phones. The flash from their cameras seemed to light up the city's night sky.

In all of Huanjing, the only other superhuman who would dress up like this was perhaps the villain "Fly Immortal." These days, everyone valued cultural heritage; being too foreignized as a superhero could make it hard to gain popularity and was politically incorrect. Adding a touch of Chinese elements made it easier to attract fans, so his agency had designed his hero image in this way.

Ke Mingye had viewed Ink Writer's information panel.

This was also a character from the Ninja Sect. However, for reasons unknown, he had later become a superhero. He derived his powers from the secret arts passed down in the Ninja Sect, not from superpowers.

Ink Writer's popularity in Huanjing was evident from the rapidly increasing count of comments on the Grey Pigeon Dark Web. If Qing Ya embodied the negative stereotypes of superheroes, Ink Writer represented the pinnacle of positive images; he was honorable, often participating in various charitable activities, and was keen on cooperating with official efforts to promote national culture.

When he had free time, he would also live stream himself painting in ink wash or writing with ink brushes, each work worth a fortune. Ink Writer's reputation and capabilities were evident; any of his works that appeared at an auction would fetch at least a million, making him a regular fixture at the Huanjing nobility auctions.

As Ke Mingye saw the screen crammed with an overwhelming number of comments, he opened the settings and blocked all the comments.

Immediately following, the pirator's camera caught two more figures, one of which was Magic Girl Ash arriving from the corner of the sky, seated on the handle of Cinderella's umbrella.

The gothic-style Magic Girl had changed her usual entrance today, no longer opening an umbrella upwards but sitting on the handle like a witch on a broomstick.

The neon lights of the city brushed across her snow-white face, and the wind from the night sky lifted her brightly powdered hair. Yet she lowered her gaze, her pupils revealing a cold sharpness.

As for the other figure captured by the thief's camera, it was right above Huanjing Tower.

It was Diviner Black Wukong, standing on a swirl of dark chaotic clouds.

She gazed at the mole, her crimson eyes behind the monkey mask shimmering with a bizarre hue under the moonlit night, her silver and black hood flapping alongside her metallic coat in the wind.

"Please... am I really that popular?"

When Ke Mingye saw these two sisters together again after a week, he knew they were both there to settle scores with him, so he silently shut down the dark web.

He focused on controlling his Deception Puppet, moving faster through the city while gradually reducing his usage of web-slinging as a mode of transport, lest others catch his trace before the webs dissolved. With his current physical fitness, just using his legs, the puppet could easily jump out ten meters and move between skyscrapers without issue.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Before long, the Deception Puppet leapt from the glass façade of a skyscraper, coming infinitely close to the deserted No. 7 overpass.

He shot a web towards the underside of the bridge, then held onto the web with one hand as he dangled upside down beneath the bridge, quietly overlooking the brightly lit city in the distance.

As time ticked by, the giant mole summoned by the Disaster Dice battled with the ink-dyed Eastern Dragon, their roaring sounds spreading across the skies, drowning out the noise of the news and advertisements. Bursts of dark ink momentarily swallowed the city's neon lights, making the vibrant neon dull under the shadow of the dark behemoth.

Finding herself outmatched, the giant mole tried to burrow into a street hole, but Magical Girl Ash arrived on the scene and immediately unleashed her powerful attack.

Perhaps because her opponent wasn't human, she aimed Cinderella's umbrella tip directly at the mole trying to escape into the ground.

In an instant, a magnificent beam of light burst from the tip of the umbrella, like thousands of gray roses blooming in unison, or like a ferocious gray beast stretching its sky-covering claws. The world seemed to turn gray at that moment, all the neon colors shrouded by the dim magic power.

Countless electronic signs lost their signals, and the giant screens on the skyscrapers went dark, as if a vast cloud of darkness had covered the human world and taken away all other colors.

In just a moment, it pierced through the mole's back, and blood gushed out like a waterfall. The nearby skyscrapers were stained with a grim red, standing side by side like blood-soaked giants.

"Where's Wukong?"

The Deception Puppet wasn't surprised by the spectacle in front of him; instead, he was more curious about where the other guest had gone. So he wiped his mouth and carefully observed the city's sky.

As his thoughts settled, from above the clouds, a figure known to be extremely dangerous, riding on dark clouds, swept down and stopped beneath the Huanjing No. 7 overpass.

Turning his head to look at her, the Deception Puppet held onto the web with one hand while waving to her with the other, his lips parting in a grin.

"Isn't this our Sun Wukong... Long time no see, I've really missed you."