Superman's End Manual

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 195 Fireworks, Lies, and the Last Wish of a 17-Year-Old Girl

July 20, 7 p.m., on the No. 7 elevated highway around Beijing.

As the red and black die slipped from the strange thing's hand, Bai Qiuwu frowned slightly.

He wanted to raise his golden cudgel to stop it, but he couldn't help but think of something else.

"What is this weird thing up to now?"

Thinking this, her movements slowed slightly. Before she could even raise the stick, the die had already pierced the night and plummeted straight down to the ground.

The sudden explosion startled her for a second. She turned her face to the right and looked at the sky around Beijing through the empty eye sockets of the monkey mask.

In the blink of an eye, the bright fireworks engulfed her vision.

Bang, bang!

The sound of fireworks exploding echoed through the night sky. Faintly mixed in with the sounds were exclamations and gasps of wonder from the crowd, sometimes near, sometimes far, lingering in the air.

She tilted her snow-white neck back, gazing silently at the night sky. As if forgetting to maintain her fiery eyes, the flame in them slowly died out.

The crimson-gold color that lingered in his pupils dimmed, as if it had been covered by flames.

The girl's deep, ravine-like eyes reflected the fireworks in the sky.

The evening breeze, blowing from the horizon, swept across the star-studded sky and silently knocked off her hood. Strands of hair cascaded down the back of her head, swaying in the wind and gently brushing against the back of her long, metallic coat.

Bai Qiuwu remained silent for a long time before turning her face to the side.

She raised her clear eyes from behind the mask, stared at this strange man whose thoughts were hard to fathom for a few moments, then slightly opened her mouth, only to close it again.

"Uh...you seemed to have something to say just now?" the strange thing asked.

Bai Qiuwu hesitated for two seconds before slowly asking, "You seem to have said that you can't control the outcome of the dice?"

"Wow, you remember that so clearly?"

The strange thing turned around and met her gaze. "That's right, I'm not very good at controlling this die."

“Otherwise?” Bai Qiuwu said, “You said it was a carefully prepared gift for me, but now it’s been exposed.” She paused and said in a low voice, “It was just a random result.”

Upon hearing this, the strange thing first raised its right hand and gently stroked its chin, then tilted its head and asked in a puzzled tone, "That's strange... Did I say the word 'careful'?"

Bai Qiuwu paused for a moment, opened her mouth slightly, and lowered her eyes to think carefully for two seconds. Then she turned her face away and said coldly, "Oh, I'm sorry. I was just being presumptuous."

"You know what? I actually want to call in a band to dance for you. Michael Jackson, The Beatles, anything you like is fine."

"Are you serious?"

Bai Qiuwu crossed her arms, tilted her head, and the monkey mask on her face swayed.

"Okay. I also think that doesn't quite suit your personality. You should prefer music with a more tranquil atmosphere."

“No,” Bai Qiuwu said. “I don’t like listening to music. I wish my ears could be quiet.”

"Is it because the monkey in your head keeps making noise?"

“I’ve tried wearing headphones and turning the volume up to the maximum, but it still can’t drown out the noise,” Bai Qiuwu said softly. “It’s already noisy enough, and adding music makes it even noisier.”

“That’s true, but on my birthday, someone hired a star band to celebrate this important day,” the strange thing said. “Aren’t you happy about that?”

"You talk as if...you know me very well."

Bai Qiuwu spoke softly, then sat on the bridge railing, looking down at the city. On the bustling streets, children were excitedly shouting and yelling at the sudden bursts of fireworks.

The strange thing shrugged, slowly walked over to her, and sat down on the bridge railing.

It said, "I really know you... a girl who takes things too seriously and likes to keep everything to herself. Facing the erosion of divinity all day long, she is helpless and lonely, but she can never muster the courage to speak to the people around her, or even dare to say 'help me'. So she can only hide all the cries for help in her heart, like a swamp, she clings to them and sinks deeper and deeper."

As it spoke, the strange thing shrugged. "You know, most of those martyrs and ascetics are men. This is the first time I've ever seen a woman with these labels on her head, or even a 17-year-old girl..."

It sighed: "Humans are like goldfish: no matter how good they are at swimming, they still need to surface for air every now and then, or they will drown."

"Here we go again, spouting all this mystical nonsense," Bai Qiuwu sighed and said in a low voice.

"So you don't like it?"

“From what I’ve observed, you could easily act more normally,” Bai Qiuwu paused, “but you don’t want to.”

"For example, how do you define normal?" the strange thing said sarcastically. "Those who care too much about the opinions of others, suppress their own feelings, and live cautiously in this society like livestock are considered 'normal'; while someone like me who expresses my thoughts frankly and is not understood by others is considered 'abnormal'?"

It paused for a moment: "Then don't you think that what's actually sick is this society?"

Bai Qiuwu shook her head.

“When I said ‘normal,’ I just meant you shouldn’t talk in such a strange way,” she said. “You’re quite normal sometimes.”

"For example, when?"

Bai Qiuwu thought for a moment and said, "For example, that day under the overpass, you said 'there were two voices in your head.' Although I forgot what you said at that time, your tone was normal, not so neurotic, as if you were speaking your mind."

"Is that so?" The strange thing seemed thoughtful upon hearing this. "Perhaps it was just because my acting was superb at the time, which masked my strangeness. How much credibility can there be in what someone like me says?"

"It cannot be trusted."

She paused for a moment, then said softly, "But you know, I'll be dying soon. So... I don't care that much."

“Yes, you will die.” The strange thing shrugged and said calmly, “Soon, you will lose your mind due to the backlash from the divine pathway, becoming a puppet in name only. Driven by the self-destructive tendencies of divinity, you will kill yourself, or... someone else will kill you when you are out of control.”

It paused, then said, "It's a tragic story, but you know what's even more poignant?"

"what?"

The strange thing slowly said, "What's even more poignant is that you know you'll end up with the same fate no matter what, yet you still maintain this cautious way of life, afraid that everything you have will collapse in an instant."

“Otherwise…” Bai Qiuwu lowered her eyes and asked softly, “What do you think I should do?”

“I think you should be a more individualistic girl, instead of spending your days either trying to meet your parents’ expectations by wasting time on textbooks, or wearing ugly battle clothes and rushing into the city to protect people who have nothing to do with you, getting your clean hands stained with blood.”

"This is my choice."

“You don’t have to choose this,” the strange thing said. “Everyone has the right to choose, especially a girl who doesn’t have much time left to live.”

"No, this is enough for me to live like this."

As Bai Qiuwu spoke, she gently shook her head. “Actually, when I met you, I sometimes thought that I could actually take off my disguise... At home with my family, and outside with criminals, heroes, and police officers, I feel like I’m wearing a mask in front of everyone. Even when I feel like I’m about to break down, I don’t know who to tell, or who I can tell... So, only when I’m chatting with you can I breathe a little easier.”

She paused for a moment and said softly:

"Strange thing, you are my only friend."

Upon hearing this, the strange thing remained silent for a while.

It said, "Okay, I admit I'm honored to hear you say that. But please don't get me wrong... Even though I may be the only person in the world who understands you and did something as touching as setting off fireworks to celebrate your birthday, I still hope you won't build your emotional support on a supervillain of unknown origin."

The strange thing paused for a moment, then continued rambling on.

"Maybe I'm secretly recording this right now, and then I'll upload it to the dark web with the title 'Black Wukong's Little Secret' and the description 'Look at this pretentious girl, she actually calls herself 'Black Wukong'? Turns out she's so fragile inside, like a lamb to the slaughter, hehehe, she believed me so easily, she's incredibly stupid. It feels so good to manipulate a superhero's emotions.' What do you think?"

"Doing such a despicable thing, do you even qualify as a supervillain?"

Bai Qiuwu disagreed and asked irritably.

"Doesn't that count?" The strange thing held up a finger and said seriously, "By the way, I attacked your brother's superhero team a few days ago and killed a berserk superhuman. He killed a lot of people, so I guess I rid the world of a menace."

"I'd forgotten... I came here wanting to ask you why you did that?"

Bai Qiuwu paused for a moment, then turned to look at him, her tone turning noticeably colder.

The strange thing explained calmly, "There are many reasons: I want your brother to see the error of his ways; I want him to realize his own limitations; I want him to give up his superhero identity as soon as possible."

It sighed, "Anyway, I didn't lay a hand on him, nor did I kill his teammates, hmm... I guess so. But judging from the current situation, that kid seems to be getting more and more enthusiastic, showing no intention of giving up his hero status at all. Are all the people in your Berke family so unwilling to listen to reason?"

Bai Qiuwu was silent for a moment, then said softly, "He's always been like this. He seems indifferent to everything. But when it comes to things he's decided on, he's as stubborn as an ox and won't listen to anyone."

"Oh, this is such a loving relationship between siblings. I'm so touched to see how much you care about your brother."

The strange thing shrugged and spoke in a sarcastic tone.

Bai Qiuwu stared at the bustling city in the distance, raised her hand, took off the monkey mask from her face, and placed it on the bridge railing.

She looked up at the night sky.

It was a sky with fish-scale patterns, and wavy cloud patterns were everywhere, filling the deep blue night sky in waves.

A sliver of moonlight appeared and disappeared in the clouds.

The girl's clear, cool face was bathed in moonlight, and her beautiful hair danced in the evening breeze.

She said, "After I die, I want to ask you for a favor."

"Tell me, what is your last wish?"

"First of all, please protect my sister, Bai Zini."

"Miss Ashes?"

“Well, she’s not like me; she’s not a reckless girl. You just need to protect her for me until a year from now… When the comet comes in a year, she will no longer be a magical girl and will no longer be involved in danger.”

"Of course, are there any other last wishes?"

Bai Qiuwu rested her hands on the bridge railing, lowered her head and thought for a moment before continuing, "And there's my younger brother, Mingye."

She paused for a moment: "I never imagined he would become a superhero. I hope... after I'm gone, you can take good care of him for me, or at least remind him not to get into danger."