Superman Termination Manual

"I suppose I don't need to introduce this one, right? He's the most famous person in all of Huanjing, although his fame is... less than positive."

As Qing Ya stepped into the classroom from the corridor of the teaching building, Xizi Yue spoke with a hint of mockery in her tone.

"I've heard of him," Xiaohongmao said.

"Not interested," Ash said.

Qing Ya stood still at the entrance of the classroom, his pitch-black cloak tightly enveloping him like a giant crow standing erect.

He spoke up, "To cut a long story short, I have a few questions for you. Once I'm done, I'll be on my way."

The tone that fell was still so hoarse and dark, like a crow speaking human language, sending shivers down the spine.

To be honest, if placed in a world akin to "Magic Girls" battling against "Magical Beasts" or "Monsters," the moment they saw Qing Ya, all the Magic Girls in the room should have drawn their Magic Wands and shouted, "Die, Crow Man!" Unfortunately, even if they didn't want to admit it, the man before them was also a superhero.

"He's so asking for a beating, acting as if someone owes him money."

That's what Magical Girl Ash thought.

Normally, Ash would never dare to face this terrifying, upright crow man alone, but her grand master was right there— in Ash's eyes, her grand master, Xizi Yue, was the most powerful person in the world.

What rubbish Crow Man, always there striking a pose, what's he pretending for? In the end, isn't he going to be sent packing by a single magic card from her grand master?

Thoughts aside, she didn't dare to be reckless in front of her grand master, lest she be transported by Xizi Yue on a space-time train to Myanmar tomorrow, so she reluctantly asked, "What's the matter?"

Qing Ya slowly said, "Concerning the incident that occurred at 'Wanxiang City' yesterday."

"But didn't my master tell me, that matter is under the jurisdiction of the Anomaly Control Bureau?" Ash retorted with irony, "And if I recall correctly, you are from the Superhero Association, I have no reason to answer you, right?"

"That's true, but any event occurring in this city is my responsibility."

"Wow, who do you think you are, Huanjing's mayor or the president?"

Ash rested her chin on her hand, her cold sarcasm unrestrained.

Qing Ya gazed at her, silent for a long moment before replying, "We don't have a president here; didn't your parents ever teach you such basic knowledge?"

If you don't know, ask; aren't you her parent, effectively scolding yourself, dad? Xiaohongmao thought.

She coughed softly twice, her hands folded neatly over her skirt, pretending to be quiet and obedient.

"Ha, are you looking for a fight?" Ash asked.

Qing Ya shot her an icy look, "How immature..."

"You..."

Ash was about to speak when Xizi Yue interrupted her.

"Ash, I don't recall teaching you to talk like that," Xizi Yue said, sipping her hot tea and looking at Ash with a cool gaze for two seconds.

Ash couldn't help but glare at Xizi Yue, her eyes seemingly pleading, "Master, how can you let me suffer like this, saying one more word to this idiot will kill me, you know?"

The two locked eyes, Xizi Yue's gaze calm yet containing an undeniable firmness. Ash got the message.

To be honest, she couldn't fathom why her master gave this terrifying Crow Man so much face, but she had no choice but to compromise.

"What do you want to know?" she asked.

"Based on the information I have, you were at the scene then. I need to know the specifics of what happened, and all the Superhumans you encountered," Qing Ya stated.

Hearing the latter part, Ash turned away impatiently, "Come on, there were so many people there, how could I remember any Superhumans I came across?"

"Just describe a few whose features left the deepest impression on you."

After thinking for a while, Ash began, "One wore a red V-shaped mask, talked frivolously; another was that 'Black Wukong,' you know, that annoying monkey; and then there were so many Ninjas, I couldn't tell them apart. But there was one, a bald guy in a suit, who was pretty tough—but I blew him away."

Upon hearing this, Qing Ya's gloomy eyes pondered for a moment: "Black Judge, and Black Wukong..."

Xiaohongmao seized the chance and ventured, "Since I'm not involved, may I leave?"

"No, I have questions for you too."

Turning his head, the cold gaze from behind the mask fell upon her.

Xiaohongmao shuddered inwardly at the thought, "Dad, can you be less intimidating?" Then, with an impassive face, she looked down and responded obediently, "Oh, alright then."

She thought to herself, I must have been screwed over by Bai Zini; this dolt must have complained about me to her master, who then told Qing Ya. That's why he knew I was there yesterday.

"He might look scary, but he doesn't actually eat people," Xizi Yue said.

"That actually makes him sound even scarier," Xiaohongmao muttered, pulling her cap down.

"Let's get started," Xizi Yue glanced at the increasingly impatient Qing Ya and said calmly, "Ash, repeat to this man dressed up like a midlife crisis crow what you told me about yesterday's events."

"A man dressed up like a midlife crisis crow," Qing Ya mused, "What kind of name is that?"

"A term of endearment."

"Hardly necessary."

Ash, growing more annoyed with the conversation, interrupted, "But Master, if I already told you about it yesterday, why do I have to tell him? Can't you do it?"

Taking up her tea, Xizi Yue replied, "Forgot all about it after a good night's sleep. Sorry, I couldn't even open my eyes when you texted me yesterday."
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Hearing that, Ash sighed deeply and said, "Master, you... really only ever think about yourself."

"Isn't that what I just told you?" Xiaohongmao whispered.

"Can't I just learn it on the fly?" Ash whispered, "Aren't you just stealing lines from anime too?"

"Xiaohongmao steals first, steal again and you'll pay, watch out or I'll sue you."

"You..."

Ash glanced sideways at Xiaohongmao, stifled with annoyance, thinking to herself that it was one thing for strangers to annoy her, but now this newcomer from the Alliance had the nerve too. It looked like she had to put a serious damper on this behavior.

Qing Ya said coldly, "Enough with the chit-chat, I'm short on time."

Sighing inwardly, he thought: What a hassle; this is why I'm reluctant to engage with the Alliance. It's just a bunch of immature kids, yet they have the nerve to talk to adults as equals.

Xizi Yue teased, "Did you hear that? Mister Midlife Crisis dressed as a crow says he's in a hurry. Probably hasn't been home for a week, and the Superhero Association has a mountain of work waiting for him."

She paused, "Or perhaps it's some family matter."

You finally got something right, that is indeed a family matter. Isn't the mess at Wanxiang City caused by his own family... Xiaohongmao thought to herself as she sighed.

What with the Dragon-Ninja war and the Magic Girl convention, these are our Bai Ke family issues. Every family has its own set of problems; do you have this kind of family drama?

"Then I'll cut to the chase too," Ash said reluctantly, "At that time, I was shopping in Wanxiang City at Luo Dehua Commercial Street. Right after I walked out of a store, I noticed a bunch of weirdos in ninja outfits surrounding me. I was pissed off, so I blew them up."

She paused for a moment and turned to Xiaohongmao, "Xiaohongmao just happened to be there too, and she came to help me."

Qing Ya interrupted her, "Did you perhaps leave someone out?"

"Who?" Ash frowned, "Oh, I know, you're talking about the 'strange thing,' right?"

"Dice Monster, are you very familiar with it?" Qing Ya said with lowered face.

"Not familiar. It came along with that guy next to me," Ash pointed out, poking Xiaohongmao's cheek with her finger, "Speak up."

Xiaohongmao said flatly, "I'm not close with it either. It's just been clinging to me unilaterally. Didn't a superhero called 'blue owl' show up last night? He got entangled with the Dice Monster too. It shows this kind of thing is quite common."

Qing Ya asked, "When is the first time you met it?"

"About half a month ago, when I was wandering around in the middle of the night as a Magic Girl."

Upon hearing this, Qing Ya fell silent for a moment, "Why did you transform in the middle of the night at that time?"

Xiaohongmao answered, "I had just become a Magic Girl, surely the experience of flying felt novel, so I did it just for that."

Xizi Yue glanced at the thoughtful Qing Ya. It was clear what he was thinking, so she said, "Looks like there's a good chance that Dice Monster is a player."

Qing Ya nodded slightly without agreement or dissent.

"Player?"

Magical Girl Ash raised an eyebrow, muttering to herself.

She had only heard about the "player" from Xizi Yue during a conference in New York, and as soon as she got home, she had each of her family members use a brain imaging helmet. After that, she completely put the matter out of her mind.

Now, hearing Xizi Yue mention it again, she suddenly remembered the existence of "players."

So that weird thing was a "player"? Master had mentioned players could access other people's information; no wonder the strange thing knew mine and Xiaohongmao's identities...

Magical Girl Ash had an epiphany, everything made sense now.

She thought, Damn that weird thing, next time I'll have to get some straight answers from it!

"What happened next?" Qing Ya continued to ask, "After you joined forces with the Dice Monster to defeat the ninjas inside Wanxiang City, what took place?"

Before Ash could speak, Xizi Yue gently reminded, "Qing Ya is a master of lie detection, so it's best not to lie in front of him, Ash."

Upon hearing this, Ash turned to look at Qing Ya, resting her chin on her hand and speaking with interest, "Is that so? Then let me tell a lie, and you can tell me whether it's true."

Qing Ya remained silent.

Ash began, "I don't think you're a jerk."

Qing Ya continued to be silent, offering no response.

"Forget it, you're no fun. No wonder you're having a midlife crisis..."

Ash mumbled, then continued, "Then I left for the outside of Wanxiang City. On Luo Dehua Commercial Street, I saw a heap of ninja corpses and a dragon. That guy wearing a V-mask and a trench coat was fighting with the dragon along with Black Wukong. As they fought, the dragon ran into Wanxiang City then vanished without a trace."

"Vanished without a trace?"

Qing Ya furrowed his brows slightly, emphasizing his words almost one by one.

"Yes, vanished without a trace."

Finished speaking, Ash looked up unflinchingly into his eyes, "If you really want to know, why don't you just ask the people from the Management Bureau, or find that monkey, or even the guy with the V-mask? Why bother me?"

"What kind of features did that dragon have?" Qing Ya asked.

Upon hearing this, Ash took a pen and a notebook from the drawer and scribbled randomly for a while, eventually producing a drawing of a dragon with a bow on its head and a red scarf around its neck.

Trying to hold back her laughter, she lifted the notebook with one hand towards Qing Ya, turning her face away as she said, "Roughly like this."

Xiaohongmao looked at the dragon's neck with its red scarf and silently critiqued: What a grade-school dragon.

Qing Ya stared at the drawing for a moment before saying, "That's enough questions for now." With that, he turned and walked out of the classroom. Before departing, he left a message for Xizi Yue, "Thanks for arranging their presence."

"It's nothing. You're always welcome to come by," Xizi Yue said nonchalantly. The next moment, accompanied by a sound like a giant bee's wings flapping, Qing Ya had already scattered into a shower of crow feathers and disappeared on the spot.