Superman Termination Manual

June 21st, 2:30 PM, at the Ke Bai family residence.

Ke Xiaomo went upstairs, hesitated for half a second, and with slightly bent fingers, gently knocked on the wooden door in front of him, producing a thunking sound.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

"The door's unlocked," Ke Yinzhi said.

Hearing this, Ke Xiaomo reached out, turned the doorknob, pushed the door open, and entered the room, promptly closing the door behind him.

Looking up, he saw Ke Yinzhi lying on a black recliner, holding a copy of "Ulysses" in one hand and constructing a tower with playing cards on the windowsill with the other.

He pulled a playing card from the deck, pinched it between his index and middle finger, and slowly laid it atop the inverted V-structure made by two other cards.

After ensuring that the tower remained stable, Ke Yinzhi closed the book in his hand and moved his gaze to ask, "What's up?"

Ke Xiaomo fell silent for a moment before asking, "This morning during my run, I encountered a strange character. He called himself 'a strange thing.' Do you have any clue about him?"

"Strange thing..." Ke Yinzhi mumbled the name then suddenly raised his eyebrows and turned to him, "Are you talking about 'Dice Monster'?"

"You've met it?" Ke Xiaomo asked, his expression curious.

"I have," he said.

Speaking, Ke Yinzhi shrugged and set the book on the table, "Ah, that thing isn't exactly human. It's more like a kind of robot or puppet. The person controlling it probably doesn't care if it gets destroyed, which is why they let it wander in front of us without any fear."

Speaking, he self-mockingly smirked, "Uh... at that time, my mind was so preoccupied with Bai Qiuwu, I didn't bother with this Dice Monster. Looking back now, seems like I ought to have given it some respect."

Ke Yinzhi hesitated for half a second, debating whether to tell Ke Xiaomo about Qiuwu meeting the Dice Monster on the overpass the previous night, but ultimately he decided to keep it to himself.

"Do you think there's a chance?" Ke Xiaomo suddenly asked.

"A chance of what?"

"That it's a player," Ke Xiaomo proposed.

"There's a chance," Ke Yinzhi paused, "but it can't be confirmed yet."

"Why not?"

"Based on the information I have, these players should still be quite weak. Like the two players I caught before, they robbed a convenience store with rifles, not superpowers," Ke Yinzhi added, pausing, "so, I think, at this stage, it's unlikely for a player to possess such complex abilities."

Ke Xiaomo recalled the morning's events and said softly, "Even though the guy looked intimidating, his combat strength was weak. What was unique was his ability to shoot highly adhesive, tough spider silk, and even that wasn't his own ability, but achieved through some sort of technological device on his wrist."

"Indeed," Ke Yinzhi looked up, "so, what else did it tell you?"

"It mentioned something about 'Ninja Sect' and 'Catastrophe Dragon Kind.' It was rambling, and the gist was that I would face a painful choice eventually, but it wasn't very clear," Ke Xiaomo explained, pausing, "It also said... that it's friends with Qing Ya, Magical Girl Ash, and Black Wukong, and maybe they could help me when the time comes."

Upon hearing this, Ke Yinzhi couldn't help but chuckle, as if he had heard some grand joke.

After coughing twice, he said lightly, "The moment you heard 'Qing Ya,' you should have known it was bluffing. In my memory, Qing Ya never privately associates with others, even including me."

"Indeed, but I don't know why..."

Ke Yinzhi cut him off, "Are you very concerned about it?"

"A bit," Ke Xiaomo admitted.

"You know, if I took every villain's illogical rantings seriously, letting them disturb and influence me, by now I would probably not be sitting here but locked up in England's Bedlam Asylum," Ke Yinzhi remarked.

Sipping his coffee, he continued, "So, I suggest you not take that unknown character too seriously, lest you entangle yourself unnecessarily."

He shrugged, "Especially since it doesn't seem to be mentally stable."

"Right," Ke Xiaomo said softly, "it's embarrassing that I thought I had disciplined my mind well, yet I was still affected by it."

"Don't worry, I already submitted its file to the Management Bureau's upper echelon last night. According to them, they've forwarded its details to the Superhero Association, which means this matter is now under their jurisdiction," Ke Yinzhi said, "The Superhero Association has already issued a warrant for 'Dice Monster' on their official website.

Superheroes will soon join the effort to capture it."

Setting down his cup, he asked with interest, "Speaking of superheroes in Huanjing, who's the first one that comes to your mind?"

"Qing Ya?" Ke Xiaomo blurted out.

Apart from Qing Ya, other iconic superheroes in Huanjing largely fell short, with only a few exceptions. Thus, Ke Yinzhi once said that if they worked together, they could take on half the Superhero Association with no problems.

"Right, meaning this matter is now Qing Ya's responsibility. Given his abilities, it shouldn't take long to uncover the truth behind the Dice Monster and arrest it," Ke Yinzhi said with a smile, "If you are still uneasy, I can ask about those nonsensical ramblings on your behalf when I go there."

"I'm relieved to hear that," Ke Xiaomo said, lowering his eyes and letting out a long sigh, "let me know the moment you get any information about that Dice Monster."

"Of course, but you should rest a bit, don't be too tense," Ke Yinzhi replied, looking straight at Ke Xiaomo, "It's just a juvenile disaster dragon species, not as difficult to deal with as you imagine. Your Sect Master is making too much of a fuss over it, and moreover, he's underestimating your strength; you might even be able to handle that dragon perfectly on your own."

"Being cautious is a good thing."

"But being overly cautious can trip you up. Since we were kids, that's one thing I've never understood about you," Ke Yinzhi said slowly.

"That's the difference between us, otherwise I wouldn't be a Ninja, and you wouldn't have become an officer in the Management Bureau."

"That's just your old 'personality determines fate' spiel," Ke Yinzhi said, "but I really can't see myself ever becoming a Ninja. How is that any different from being a Taoist?"

Ke Xiaomo was frank, "If it wasn't for that accident, I think you'd most likely have ended up a gambler."

Ke Yinzhi brushed it off, picking up the book from the table again, "Then I should be grateful I became a mutant, at least I don't have to bear the unpleasant title of a gambler."

"Anyway, I'm off now," said Ke Xiaomo.

"Heading to training?"

"Yes, conserve and build up energy, preparing for the battle in two weeks' time."

"Good luck."

Ke Xiaomo turned the doorknob, walking slowly out of the room and casually closing the door behind him.

He lowered his head, thinking that if it were Qing Ya, he would be able to dig up the details on that Dice Monster soon.

By then, they would be able to know whether all those cryptic words were just nonsense or if they really meant that something was about to happen…

......

......

Time rewound to a few minutes earlier.

Ke Mingye listened to the faint conversations coming from the adjacent room. Although he couldn't make out the details, he confirmed that his second brother was in there talking with his oldest brother.

He glanced at the clock on the wall, thinking, "It's almost time; I need to hurry and meet up with Fan Quan and the others at the instance site. While my second brother is in the next room, I'll let the Deception Puppet out."

With that in mind, Ke Mingye walked to the coat rack and took out a casual T-shirt and a pair of jeans. Then, he walked to the French windows, opened them, and placed the Deception Puppet on the windowsill before stuffing the two pieces of clothing into its arms and commanded it to jump up to the rooftop of the duplex.

Subsequently, the Deception Puppet slowly dressed in the T-shirt and jeans, its feet still bare.

Regarding the shoes, Ke Mingye planned to have the Deception Puppet steal a pair of children's shoes from a nearby children's clothing store. It must be said that the web shooter was perfectly convenient for stealing, grabbing whatever it touched as it retracted the sticky web.

At this moment, Ke Mingye ordered it to transform into the appearance of a 16-year-old boy, a look familiar to Fan Quan, Ju Zipi, and the other three players.

After a series of preparatory actions, he let it leap from the rooftop, using the web shooter to move quickly through the streets towards the children's clothing store in Old Jingmai District.

The Deception Puppet shot a web towards the eaves of the store, dangling down as it stretched out its hand to open a window high up.

Then, it lowered its right hand, shooting a web through this hidden window, sticking to a box containing new shoes, pulled it forcefully into its hand, quickly unwrapped it, and slipped on the shoes.

Shortly after, the puppet released the web and gently landed in a nearby alley, straightening its tousled hair.

While stepping out of the alley, it turned its head to glance at its reflection in the glass of the children's clothing store, looking completely like the vibrant young teen it was supposed to mimic.

"Should I light some incense and pray that this instance doesn't go south? If the puppet dies even once, they'll immediately figure out I'm deceiving them," Ke Mingye lay on the bed, placing his right arm under his head while staring at the mold spots on the ceiling, pondering.

Honestly, ensuring that no instance goes south is a difficult task, but luckily Fan Quan only alerts them once the necessary preparations are made.

As ironic as it was, this actually gave Ke Mingye the courage to bluff his way through.

Soon, the puppet approached the entrance to the abandoned train station on Old Jingmai District No. 4 Street, where three figures clothed from head to toe were waiting for it.

Simultaneously, the instance panel also appeared in its vision.

[Instance Name: Crazy Train Station]

[Instance Location: Old Jingmai District, Abandoned Train Station]

[Instance Difficulty: F Level (Recommended for players under level 10 to team up)]