Superman's End Manual

Next time we meet, I'll ask Spider-Man about this dice-wielding weirdo and see if I can get any information out of him.

Anyway, killing a minor superhero is quite simple; just set a trap... and kill that Blue Owl while you're at it, then see what the Dice Monster has to say.

Gastro rested his chin on his hand in thought, then dismissed the puppets in the alley. He then activated the worms within He Jiali's body, restoring her control over her body.

He Jiali stood blankly in the alley, her legs gave way, and she collapsed onto the dirty ground.

"What...what's wrong with me?" she murmured to herself.

On the other side, in the open-air cafe directly opposite the Yandai Cinema.

Ke Mingye sat in his chair and took a sip of matcha milk. Looking up, he could no longer see Ke Yinzhi and Cai Bing; they had left after finishing their coffee.

"The most crucial thing now is how to find Gastro's true form, and just how strong those vampire hunters around her really are."

“They’re after Bai Ziling, which could easily disrupt my plans and completely ruin the status quo I’ve worked so hard to achieve. Maybe… my identity will even be exposed to my family, since Gastro won’t care whether I live or die.”

"I must first find out who these vampire hunters are, and then stop them."

"Besides... Gastro doesn't trust me. She thinks I might betray the players for my family, so there's no need for me to cooperate with her."

As Ke Mingye was pondering this, the backup phone in the puppet's hand suddenly rang. He raised an eyebrow, controlled the puppet to look down, and saw it was an unfamiliar number.

So he answered the phone and held the microphone to his ear: "Who is it?"

"Gastro." A deep, powerful male voice came from the other end of the phone, immediately conjuring up an image of a sweaty, smelly athlete.

Ke Mingye shrugged: "Let me guess, you've used a new puppet to call me again."

Gastro quipped, "Of course. The puppet I'm using this time is male. Are you not used to it?"

"I don't even know if you're male or female, what's there to be uncomfortable about?" Ke Mingye retorted.

"I just ran into that dice freak, a big celebrity in your city."

"Hehe... We've all been harassed by that thing. You can ask Anti-Dog and Ice-Cutting. Basically, all the players in this city have been harassed by the Dice Monster."

“Wow, I’m really curious, what is its origin?” Gastro asked.

"I don't know."

"Can I assume you're cooperating with it? It actually knows my intentions."

"No, no, no, it knows my intentions too." Ke Mingye said expressionlessly. "According to the rumors I found online, the Dice Monster's ability seems to be to see through other people's thoughts."

Ke Mingye knew he could no longer hide this from the players, so he sent a message to Anti-Dog.

[Failed Man: Please send a message to Qingmeng, Juzipi, and Pianzhi. They should all know that I'm the Dice Monster, since I used the Web Shooter in a public video.]

[Anti-Dog: I've already told Orange Peel and Qingmeng. They're not that stupid; they're already tacitly helping you keep your identity a secret. As for the paranoia, I can't talk to him; you'll have to talk to Caibing.]

[The Failed Man: That's true. In any case, make them keep it a secret from Gastro.]

[Anti-Dog: Understood. We all have doubts about this new player and won't trust him easily.]

[Failed Man: I can now confirm that her skill is to create insects that burrow into other people's bodies, thus enslaving them.]

After typing this message, Ke Mingye sent a photo taken with the player's built-in eye-camera. The photo showed three worms crawling into the mouths of three ordinary people in the alley.

[Anti-dog: This is really appetizing.]

[The Failed Man: I don't know what she's up to, but in any case, it's impossible for us to coexist. She wants my sister's heart, which will most likely indirectly lead to my identity being exposed.]

[Anti-dog; Let's take it one step at a time. In short, don't make any rash moves and wait for me to come back.]

Ke Mingye sighed, thinking to himself that it was precisely at times like these that intellectuals were absent, and his ever-present strategist was forced to participate in his father's massive arms smuggling operation.

He opened the chat panel with Cai Bing and gave her a long explanation of Gastro's insect skills, along with a disturbingly graphic photo.

[Cut Ice: That's awful?]

[Cai Bing: No, bro, we're on a date. Can you please not send such disgusting photos? I almost threw up in your face.]

[The Failed Man: It's okay, just spit some more on my brother's face and say you have a sensitive stomach. I'll laugh at him when he gets home.]

[Failed Man: Wait, we're still on a date! My bro's about to die, can't you do something useful and get this Gastro's real body and her vampire hunter organization out of the box?]

[Cai Bing: You'll have to wait until I get home, what's the rush?]

[Failed Man: Anyway, quickly check this face's identity and information, then check the surveillance footage to see when she was controlled by those bugs.]

After typing this line, Ke Mingye sent a photo, which showed the appearance of "He Jiali," the ordinary person controlled by Gastro when he met with him.

[Cai Bing: Received. I'll check the surveillance footage when I get back to see when she was controlled by Gastro.]

[Failed Man: It shouldn't be too difficult to investigate. Gastro's insects were initially spread by himself, and later by the puppets of the insects. As long as we keep investigating backwards, we will eventually find Gastro himself.]

[Cai Bing: You're making things too simple for me. I'm the one doing the work.]

[Cai Bing: Anyway, I have to go now, your brother's urging me to get the popcorn. Seriously, is he missing a screw? Isn't it usually the guy who gets it in these situations?]

Ke Mingye rubbed his forehead and sighed deeply, thinking to himself, "How can these teammates be so unreliable?"

Half an hour later, at Yandai Cinema, Screening Room 5.

Compared to the other screening rooms being packed, screening room number 5 was empty, with only two people in it. They had specifically chosen a screening where they wouldn't be disturbed, to watch a re-released old movie, "A Brighter Summer Day".

Ke Yinzhi was drinking cola through a straw, her clear eyes reflecting the images on the giant screen, her expression quite focused;

Cai Bing rested her chin on her hand, casually popping popcorn into her mouth while watching the movie, her slightly curly short hair drooping over her shoulders.

"By the way, how old are you?" she broke the silence in the theater.

"21 is old."

“One year younger than me.” Cai Bing pondered for a moment, then said calmly, “It’s not impossible. I can accept a relationship between an older woman and a younger man.”

As she spoke, she turned her head to glance at Ke Yinzhi's profile, "And you?"

"Well... for people I'm interested in, I only care about their character and behavior; age doesn't matter."

Ke Yinzhi paused for a moment, then suddenly thought of the higher-ups in the Control Bureau, and said sarcastically, "Some useless people are still useless no matter how old they are."

He had already toned down his tone considerably; in fact, his resentment towards those high-ranking old men in the Control Bureau was far greater than what he had said.

“Is that so…” Cai Bing looked up at the giant screen, her tone casual, “That’s good then.”

Ke Yinzhi was about to say something, but the pendant on his right ear trembled slightly, emitting a subtle electromagnetic sound, which stopped him from speaking.

So he shrugged helplessly, leaned close to Cai Bing's ear and whispered, "Miss Song, I'm going to the restroom."

"Okay."

Cai Bing replied without looking up, his calm gaze fixed on the giant screen in the theater.

Ke Yinzhi got up from her seat, walked slowly out of the screening room, and stopped in a blind spot of the surveillance cameras in the audience aisle.

He raised his hand and gently pressed the black metal earring, and a projection panel popped up in front of him.

[Welcome to the dedicated communication device for S-level executors of the Anomaly Control Bureau, Mr. "Black Judge".]

[An investigation mission has been received from a high-ranking official in the Control Bureau (codename "GE3"). The following is a video introducing the mission.]

As the crimson text disappeared, a video began playing on the projection panel: on the sunny eastern coast of Beijing, a woman was lying on the beach enjoying a sunbath.

Suddenly, a man in a swimsuit walked over, opened his mouth, and spat out a dark worm. The worm wriggled rapidly across the sand before burrowing into the woman's mouth.

Immediately afterwards, the woman stood up with vacant eyes, followed the man away from the beach, and joined a marching group.

They walked toward Hongge Commercial Street like zombies, chanting eerie slogans.

The recording ended there, and the projected image went black.

"Isn't this the news from yesterday morning?"

Ke Yinzhi raised an eyebrow slightly, thinking to herself as she ran her index finger across her philtrum.

He saw the news on TV yesterday morning: hundreds of brainwashed and controlled people vandalized public buildings on Hongge Commercial Street, causing a terrible impact and topping the Weibo hot search list that day.

He originally thought this matter would fall on the shoulders of the Blue Raven, not on his own... In the end, the Bureau of Control still pushed this troublesome matter onto him.

"Those high-ranking old men still don't trust Qingya enough, that's why I have to get involved..."

Ke Yinzhi leaned against the wall of the audience passage, tilted her head slightly, and complained inwardly.

The next moment, with a "click-clack" sound, crimson text gradually appeared on the projection panel.

[Video Analysis: The mastermind behind the riot in Hongge Commercial Street is the small parasite shown in the video. The origin of this parasite is currently unclear, but it is suspected to be the work of a superhuman, a gamer, or a mad scientist.]

The detailed objective of this mission is: to find the mastermind behind the creation and spread of this parasite, capture them alive, and bring them back to the Control Bureau.

[Initial assessment of task difficulty: Level B]

"I finally get a break, and it's all about the Ninja Clan and Dragons, and some parasite stuff. Maybe God doesn't want me to take a break..."

Ke Yinzhi muttered to himself, then suddenly thought of something and raised an eyebrow.

"Oh right, why don't we leave this to Xiao Mo? It's perfect timing, before he goes back to manage the Ninja Clan, let him repay his good older brother for his help."

Thinking this, he pressed the earring to turn off the projection panel, and then took his phone out of his coat pocket.

I opened WeChat and sent a few messages to Ke Xiaomo, briefly describing the details of the task.

[Ke Xiaomo: Perhaps I can help you.]

[Ke Yinzhi: How can I help?]

[Ke Xiaomo: Let's find that dice-wielding weirdo and see if we can get the mastermind behind this incident out of him.]