Superman Termination Manual

"Wow, I was really just thinking about this image."

Bai Qiuwu took off the helmet and gazed down at the screen on the back of the brain imaging helmet with her clear, limpid eyes, in silence.

The image printed on the screen was of fireworks blossoming in circles above the city, the brilliant pyrotechnics lighting up the night sky.

Bai Zini picked up the helmet, fiddled with it, and brought up the image that had been read from Bai Qiuwu's visual processing area, relieved to see that there weren't rows of icons in the upper right corner of the visual field.

Ke Youqing stood behind her, smoking and observing the imagery on the display.

"Alright, now that I've had my turn, can I go back to resting?" Bai Qiuwu turned her head and asked Bai Zini.

"Go ahead, sister, love you," Bai Zini said without looking up.

Good, the older sister wasn't a player, which seemed to leave only the eldest brother who hadn't tried it. Thinking this, she shifted her gaze, searching for Ke Yinzhi's figure in the living room.

At that moment, Ke Yinzhi was sitting on the sofa with his legs crossed, his gaze lowered as he read a book. He rested one arm on the back of the sofa, his fingers lightly tapping against it.

So suspicious, no, extremely suspicious!

Thinking this, Bai Zini walked over to Ke Yinzhi with her hands clasped behind her, holding the helmet, and whispered, "Eldest, eldest, eldest brother, I command you to try on this helmet too!"

"Why 'eldest, eldest, eldest brother'?" Ke Yinzhi asked, puzzled.

Bai Zini explained, "Since the third brother is 'eldest brother,' the second brother would be 'eldest, eldest brother,' so when it comes to you, the eldest, you'd be 'eldest, eldest, eldest brother.' Is that not okay?"

"What can I possibly say to that, you're the one with the highest standing in the house," Ke Yinzhi laughed.

"Don't know what to say? Then don't say anything! Just put on the helmet and try to imagine something, anything at all."

As she spoke, Bai Zini came closer and forcefully placed the helmet on Ke Yinzhi's head, not leaving him any room for resistance.

Ke Yinzhi shrugged helplessly, "I say, Xiao Ni, can you not be so aggressive? It's like a cop slapping handcuffs on a criminal, could I even escape?"

"This is the handcuff, no moving!"

"Fine, fine, fine, I surrender," Ke Yinzhi said as he raised his hands and closed his eyes, "Has it started?"

"Yes, if you can't think of anything, I'll give you an example... hmm... I remember last time at the movie theater, the example that the staffer gave went something like this..."

Bai Zini paused for a moment and lowered her voice, "When you hear the words 'player,' what comes to mind?"

Ke Mingye picked up a cup from the table, took a light sip, and almost spit out the water he had just drunk when he heard the phrase that popped out of Bai Zini's mouth.

"Man, the tables have turned, last time the eldest brother set you up, and now it's your turn to set him up, huh... Truly worthy of our Magical Girl Ash, effortlessly doing what I wouldn't dare to do," he thought to himself.

Although within the eight family members, Bai Zini didn't even know the identity of one, Ke Mingye still silently gave her a thumbs up in his heart. There weren't many in the world who could get the Black Judge to wear a brain imaging helmet, little sister, you should take pride in this one day!

At this very moment, Ke Youqing standing behind them furrowed his brow.

Upon hearing the word "player" from Bai Zini's mouth, he was completely certain that the cinema employee was indeed from the Anomaly Control Bureau.

But why would someone from the Anomaly Control Bureau appear in a movie theater? Was it to randomly test the safety of the brain imaging helmet on a group of ordinary people?

It was also too coincidental that they stumbled upon my child, indeed... I must go and ask about it.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Thinking so, he gently took a drag of his cigarette.

"Is it done?"

Ke Yinzhi said, opening his eyes from within the helmet.

"Done."

Bai Zini picked up the helmet, the image shown on the screen depicted a blood-red sky above a desolate graveyard, with black crows circling above the crosses.

"Wow, big bro, your imagination is quite stylish."

Bai Zini remarked as she turned the screen towards Ke Yinzhi and Ke Xiaomo, letting them both take a look, and took the opportunity to tease Ke Xiaomo,

"The images imagined by our older brother are the most boring, all mountains and rivers, clear skies, serene breezes, like something an old man would think of."

"What's wrong with mountains and rivers? Young people should look at more scenery to cultivate their demeanor."

Ke Xiaomo said emotionlessly, arms crossed over his chest.

"Can you stop calling me 'big big brother'?"

Ke Yinzhi just glanced briefly at the image before lifting his head to ask with a smile.

"I also don't want to hear the name 'big brother' anymore," Ke Xiaomo added his two cents.

Holding the brain imaging helmet in her arms, Bai Zini spoke earnestly, "Alright, big brother, second brother, thanks for your cooperation, I am extremely satisfied!"

She paused and then continued, "So, this 'Brain Imaging Party' is now over, everyone can disperse."

"You sure are dramatic," Ke Mingye, who was on the couch, couldn't help saying.

"What's it to you, someone who only has eyes for games, so heartless!"

Bai Zini said coldly, turning her cheek away while walking behind him, reaching to place the helmet over his head.

No way, what is she walking over here for, she's not seriously going to put that thing on my head, is she?

Ke Mingye appeared to be playing with the game controller but was actually keeping an eye on the reflection in the TV screen, his eyeballs nearly popping out of their sockets as cold sweat streamed down.

Just as he was about to stand up and make an excuse to go to the bathroom, thankfully, his great father spoke, "Xiao Ni, stop it now. We have had enough fun with this thing; it's time to return it to your friend."

Continuing after extinguishing his cigarette and casually throwing it into the bin, Ke Youqing said, "It looks expensive, we can't afford to lose it."

Bai Zini turned her cheek and stated with conviction, "Pshaw! If we can't afford it, I will just find a Contracted Beast and make a contract with it to become a Magic Girl on the spot and collect a salary from the Alliance every month, right?"

"Please, you really don't even know the basics?"

Ke Mingye couldn't listen any longer, playing his game while criticizing, "Unless a Contracted Beast comes to you for a contract, there's no chance, okay? Every year, there are loads of girls trying to get the temple's Contracted Beasts to make a contract with them. Everyone wants to be a Magic Girl, but first, you need the right qualifications, got it?"

Bai Zini was in an unconvinced mood, "Am I not qualified? I think I can become a very strong Magic Girl too, it's just that no Contracted Beast has chosen me yet."

Ke Mingye was about to speak when Ke Xiaomo replaced him, asking in a calm tone, "Xiao Ni, do you know how many Magic Girls die around the globe every year?"

"How many?"

Before Ke Xiaomo could speak, Ke Yinzhi took a sip of his tea, speaking unhurriedly.

"Nearly a hundred Magic Girls die each year. Don't be fooled by their glitz and glamor on TV, you can't imagine how horribly one could be tortured if caught by criminals."

Bai Zini glanced at the three of them, the anger bubbling within her, "Fine, fine, fine, so the three of you, big brother, second brother, and third brother, are ganging up on me, right? Then I'm not playing with you guys anymore."

With that, she put the brain imaging helmet into her backpack and briskly walked towards the second floor, leaving behind an angry silhouette.

"I'm going to sleep, just you guys are amazing… then you go be Magic Girls!"

Her muttering faded away as her figure vanished into the shadow of the stairwell.

Catching this scene from the corner of his eye, Ke Mingye finally let out a breath, his tense nerves relaxing.

"To deal with this drama every day, it seriously shortens one's life…"

He rubbed his Tianming Acupoint, thinking to himself that the afternoon had been too agonizing, feeling like seconds ticked by like years.

Ke Yinzhi glanced at his phone and spoke up, "Mom says she's not coming home to cook tonight and wants us to eat out. It's almost six, should we go now?"

"Okay, I'll go call Xiao Ni and Qiuwu to come down." Ke Xiaomo stood up and headed to the second floor.

"Have you three had enough fun?"

Ke Yinzhi put away his phone, smiling at the three on the couch, then glanced at the TV where they were playing "Overcooked 2."

Ke Mingye yawned, set the game controller on the couch, and turned to Bai Ziling and Ke Yongzhu beside him, "I'm tired of playing, let's go eat."

Ke Yongzhu gave him a sidelong glance, "You're hopeless, no help at all. Even a pig plays better than you."

"Exactly."

Bai Ziling nodded lightly in agreement, her pale forehead-framing hair gently swaying along.

"You guys are real tyrants, what with your Darwinian gamers, so no one can play games poorly?"

Ke Mingye slumped on the couch, pouting, thinking he'd been on edge the whole time, fearing Bai Zini would suddenly go crazy and jam the helmet on his head—how could he focus on the game seriously?

"Let's go, dinner time."

Ke Xiaomo had one hand on Bai Zini's shoulder, the other on Bai Qiuwu's, leading the two downstairs from the upper floor.

"Uhh…" Ke Mingye posed an important question to everyone, "So, with seven of us going out to eat, who's picking up the bill?"

The seven siblings exchanged looks, and then, collectively, their eyes settled on their dad sitting on the couch, smoking a cigarette.

"A bunch of brats, I'll reimburse you," Ke Youqing said disdainfully, lighting up another cigarette, "I'll just find some leftovers from lunch at home. You guys go ahead."

Ke Xiaomo asked, "So what do you guys want to eat?"

"I'm easy," Ke Yinzhi casually replied, fiddling with his phone, "Let's hear what the little ones have to say."

"If dad's paying, we've got to have Wellington steak for each of us," Ke Mingye suggested.

"Lobster," said Bai Ziling.

"Panda," Ke Yongzhu chimed in.

Ke Youqing turned his head, about to say you kids really want to eat me out of house and home, but before he got the words out, the seven children were already neatly shod and out the door.

He rested his arm on the back of the sofa, lighting a cigarette with his lighter, taking a deep drag, "Really, these little devils are such a worry."

The seven of them took the elevator down and had just stepped out of the house.

Ke Mingye stood behind his older brothers, walking quietly in the middle, and lifted his gaze from his phone screen.

The sun was setting, casting a spiral contrail against the evening's madder-colored sky. The last rays of the sun slowly sinking into the city bathed everyone's cheeks in a flickering twilight glow.

It felt as if reaching out to touch it would cause it to shatter into a puddle of foam.

"What are you daydreaming about?" Bai Ziling tugged at his sleeve.

"Nothing," Ke Mingye lowered his gaze, meeting her eyes, "I was just thinking, when we all grow up and go our separate ways, whether we can still gather like this."

"There you go, getting sentimental. It's true what they say in books; adolescent boys do get overly sensitive," Ke Yongzhu commented, arms behind his head, yawning and muttering.

"Looking for a beating, are you, elementary schooler?"

Ke Mingye chuckled, reaching out to roughly ruffle his hair.

Listening to their conversation, Bai Qiuwu turned to look at Ke Yongzhu and asked amusedly, "There you go, making fun of others. Won't you also be hit by puberty in a couple of years?" Discover more stories at empire

"Exactly," Bai Ziling added.

"That's what elementary schoolers are like," Bai Zini chimed in.

"Let's go, enough with the chatter."

"Fine, whoever speaks first is a pig."

"You…"

"Pig."

"Pig."

"There's the pig."

"Knew it, a pig."

Amidst the soft chatter, seven elongated shadows stretched out by the setting sun slowly receded into the dusk, reminiscent of a distant shot in a movie gradually fading out.