Superman Termination Manual

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I definitely know him—either I was behind his arrest or his downfall...

Ke Mingye rolled his eyes internally, raising his eyebrows to look at the distant viaduct as the light rail thundered by, the evening breeze lifting his bangs.

He sighed: "I know, of course."

"Then you still have that kind of thought?"

"I guess so."

Hearing this, Ke Youqing took a drag on his cigarette and said leisurely, "You kids these days are influenced by the internet and always think the world of superheroes is cool, believing that being the center of attention is wonderful. But reality is much crueler than you imagine; it's only because you are unaware that you feel longing."

"Sounds like you're quite familiar with superheroes, old man."

"I... have a friend who is a superhero."

You're not talking about yourself, are you? Ke Mingye couldn't help but comment to himself.

"After all I've said, you still want to be a Commander?"

"Maybe, but not necessarily. I mentioned it just to see your reaction." Ke Mingye shrugged, "I had guessed you and mom would never agree, but since I'll be in my senior year next year, if I don't start aiming for Commander University, I probably won't have another chance, so I wanted to bring it up with you."

Ke Youqing was silent.

He said, "I have another friend who is a Commander."

"Why do you have so many friends?" Ke Mingye asked, sounding a bit strange.

"What I mean is, if you want to be a Commander in the future, I might be able to contact that friend, and have him mentor you for a while."

"Really?"

"Really." Ke Youqing spoke softly, "I've always thought, maybe one of our kids will eventually take this path, but their personalities aren't quite suitable."

"Unsuitable in what way?"

"Yin Zhi is too frivolous, seemingly humble but arrogant because of his intelligence; Xiao Mo is too stubborn and rigid, likely to stick to the rules; and Yongzhu, let's not even mention, he's still young, and his temper..." Ke Youqing paused, "You know."

"And what about me?"

Ke Mingye pointed at himself, curious to see how his dad would assess him.

"I'm actually quite relieved about you." Ke Youqing paused, but didn't elaborate, "It's hard to say about superheroes, but maybe... you're quite fit to be a Commander."

"So, do you support me?" Ke Mingye pressed.

Upon hearing this, Ke Youqing looked into the distance with a deep and weary gaze, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes slightly showing. He suddenly spoke of something seemingly trivial.

"There are things I've never told anyone, if you become a Commander, maybe I'll tell you."

"What things?" Ke Mingye asked.

"When you graduate, some of the old folks in this city should be retiring. I believe they will resolve some issues before they go, and by then society will likely be much more stable, and the risks of being a Commander won't be as great. The pay and benefits of the Commander are decent, and the social status is high, your mom would be proud of you too."

Ke Mingye thought for a moment and asked, "The 'old folks' you mentioned... could it be Qing Ya?"

"Who knows." Ke Youqing took a pull on his cigarette and changed the subject, "Anyway, by that time, I'll introduce you to some experienced friends."

"Like the Commander you mentioned?"

"Right... He is probably the best Commander I've ever seen."

"Oh, I'm looking forward to it."

"And..."

"What else?"

Ke Youqing extinguished his cigarette, replying, "Being a Commander is busy work; if you develop the habit of staying up late, you might not last a few days after starting."

"I told you, I just had insomnia, I don't normally stay up late."

"Anyway, go to bed early."

"Alright, same to you, old man." Ke Mingye said.

Ke Youqing waved his hand and walked back from the balcony into his own bedroom.

Ke Mingye smirked silently, watching his father's retreating figure.

He went to the restroom and then returned to the bedroom. Stretching his body and pulling some muscles, he lay down on the bed.

He put his arms behind his head, lost in thought.

"Old man, don't worry. In a year, I'll crush the superhumans of this world, and then society won't be stable even if it wants to—after all, with the superhumans gone, the world's powers will regress a century in military might, and without those superhuman criminals and cops abusing their power, society won't be so turbulent."

Ke Mingye lifted his chin, staring at the ceiling, continuing his thoughts.

"Speaking of which, how can I get in touch with the Clock Customer Alliance?"

"Logically, Dice Monster is already high-profile in Huanjing, and I've always been moving around Lan Ou... If the Timekeeper has started paying attention to Lan Ou, he should naturally notice the weird stuff too, but he's still no-show."

With that thought, he sighed: "Wait, this twisted guy won't pull some stunt like 'Qing Ya and his disciple are my toys, you're not worthy to compete with me,' and then squash our family's weird thing, will he?"

"Forget it, time to sleep."

Ke Mingye closed his eyelids and turned off the light.

A silent night.

When he opened his eyes again, it was the morning of August 17th at nine o'clock, just one day away from the cultural people's proposed Bedlam Asylum plan.

After getting up, he closed the cumbersome daily notification panels and turned on the spare phone.

He received a QQ message, which read:

[Ash: Come to Yandai Elementary School, and bring Shi Neian along.]

Ke Mingye rubbed his eyes and typed a reply.

[Little Red Riding Hood: Senior, I just woke up, really sleepy, what's up?]

[Ash: Didn't I say there would be four girls from the Magical Girl Association coming as reinforcements? One of them has already arrived; we need to at least make a show of welcoming her.]

[Ash: I suggest you head straight for Shi Neian's place to avoid her sneaking off to a hotel to sleep in and ditching us again. She's done it more than once or twice, Teacher Xizi Yue said we need to keep an eye on her next time.]

[Little Red Riding Hood: Oh, I'll grab Shi Neian for you, don't worry.]

[Little Red Riding Hood: Speaking of which, I actually have something I need to discuss with you too, senior.]

[Ash: What do you need me for?]

[Little Red Riding Hood Selling Matches: Last night, I was chased by a witch.]

[Ash: ...Huh?]

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