Superman's End Manual

“Uh…excuse my bluntness, but what if I say no?” the strange thing asked seriously.

Bai Qiuwu was stunned for a moment, as if she hadn't expected to be rejected, and her eyes flickered.

The strange thing clicked its tongue, shook its head, and sighed deeply: "Alright, actually I'll help you, because I can't stand seeing girls sad."

Bai Qiuwu slowly raised her head and stared at it.

"Really?"

"Oh really."

As the strange creature spoke, it met her gaze and suddenly changed the subject.

It said, "By the way, you know... I've never really liked your fiery eyes. I prefer the natural color of your eyes; they're much prettier than those fierce red ones."

Bai Qiuwu's face flushed slightly. She frowned slightly, turned her face away, and her gaze drifted towards the city.

The two remained silent for a while, sharing the tranquil air on the overpass.

"By the way... how long has it been since you last tried to yell?" the strange thing suddenly asked.

Bai Qiuwu thought for a moment and said, "A long time... a very long time. Rather, I feel like I've never yelled at anyone since I was a child, let alone tried to shout at someone who was alone."

"Then let's do what you call stupid and shout at the city, how about that?"

"No."

"That was a very decisive refusal. I'm hurt." The strange thing looked down and clutched its chest. "Since it's your birthday today, it's not so bad to do something outrageous once in a while."

"This is just too strange."

“What’s so strange about it? Could it be any stranger than me?” the strange thing said.

Upon hearing this, Bai Qiuwu slightly curled the corners of her lips. "That's true. There's probably no one in the world stranger than you." As she spoke, she lowered her head and pondered for a moment.

After a long pause, he slowly raised his head and asked, "What are you shouting for?"

"Say what's on your mind."

"Why don't you demonstrate first?"

"completely fine."

The strange thing shrugged and shook its head, speaking casually. Then it turned its head to look at the Superhero Building with the SHA logo in the distance and shouted, "I really want to be a supervillain! You damn superheroes, one day I'll show you how powerful the supervillain Strange Thing is!"

Bai Qiuwu paused for two seconds, then her cheeks puffed out slightly, and she couldn't help but raise her hand and mouth, letting out two soft chuckles.

The strange thing was shouting breathlessly, raising its hand to cover its chest, "Then it's your turn next, Miss Bai Qiuwu."

Upon hearing this, Bai Qiuwu hesitated for a moment, then closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

A moment later, she suddenly opened her mouth and shouted at the brightly lit city, "I don't want to..."

Halfway through her sentence, her voice seemed to catch in her throat. After two seconds, she opened her mouth again and said in a barely audible voice, "Never mind, I still can't."

"You can make the sound a little louder."

"I do not want……"

Bai Qiuwu raised her voice slightly.

“It can get a little bigger, you know. There’s no one else here but me…” the strange thing said, then suddenly covered its ears. “If you don’t want me to hear, I can cover my ears.”

As soon as she finished speaking, in the dead silence in its eyes, Bai Qiuwu suddenly took a deep breath, raised her right hand, which was wrapped in a gauntlet, and opened her mouth to shout something in a low voice.

The girl's shouts echoed on the empty overpass, only to be drowned out by the whistling wind a few seconds later.

The strange thing covered its ears and couldn't hear anything.

After a while, it let go of its grip and asked curiously, "What did you say?"

“I said…” Bai Qiuwu lowered her head, took a deep breath, and then shouted at the brightly lit city, “I don’t want to die—!”

Her hair danced in the wind, and her hoarse voice echoed into the distance through the night sky.

The strange thing stood there for a long time, then scratched its ear with its finger.

Bai Qiuwu seemed to have not yet had enough. He took a few more breaths and continued shouting towards the city.

Although no one responded to her words.

After a long silence, she murmured to herself, "It feels so good to shout it out..."

"You did surprisingly well. Miss Bai Qiuwu, are you really the kind of person who surprises people when you unleash your true nature?" The strange thing squinted at her.

Bai Qiuwu said softly, "It feels strange to hear you call me by my first name."

"Then, Miss Qiuwu?"

"Isn't this the same?"

"Miss Sun Wukong?"

"Yeah, I'm used to it now."

"Oh, you know what? Actually, both 'Miss Bai Qiuwu' and 'Miss Qiuwu' are limited editions for special occasions." The strange thing said in a serious tone, "Today is your birthday, so that's why I call you that. You won't hear me talk to you like that anymore. Don't you think it's a shame that you insisted I call you 'Miss Sun Wukong'?"

Bai Qiuwu hesitated for two seconds, then said, "Alright then. But after my birthday, you have to call me by my real name."

“Yes, Miss Qiuwu,” the strange thing said.

"You said you'd help me protect them." Bai Qiuwu paused. "But don't you really dislike Mingye?"

"I really hate him because he's repulsive, arrogant, disdainful of others, unruly, and always makes his sense of humor at inappropriate times."

Bai Qiuwu casually mentioned, "Just like you?"

The strange thing paused for a moment, rubbed its chin with its hand, and lowered its head to think for a while.

“Yes, just like me,” it said. “That’s why I hate him. But actually, I don’t hate him that much.”

Both of them were silent for a moment. Bai Qiuwu smiled gently, as if she was relieved.

Seeing that she didn't speak, the strange thing held up a finger and said, "Okay, although you might be sad to hear this, celebrating your birthday was just a side thing."

As he spoke, he sat down on the bridge railing. "Actually, the main reason I asked you to come here is to talk to you about something."

"what's up?"

The strange thing said, "Remember to keep a close eye on the two people in your house during this time: that cute white-haired little sister, and that little guy who likes to dress up as an owl and go out to fight criminals."

Bai Qiuwu was taken aback: "Why?"

“They’ll be in danger,” the strange thing said. “Especially that white-haired girl. It’s best to keep an eye on her and not let her leave the house.”

It paused for a moment: "I should probably go now. I suggest you go home as soon as possible. Something very important and serious is going to happen at your house tonight."

"Something serious?" Bai Qiuwu was taken aback, then frowned. "Don't try to scare me."

You'll find out when you get back.

The strange thing spoke in a low voice, rose from the bridge railing, and fell towards the building bathed in neon light. Its body gradually cracked and heated up, and finally, flames burst from thousands of tiny cracks, turning into a strange laugh and disappearing into the air.

Upon seeing this, Bai Qiuwu was stunned for a long time, her heart pounding rapidly.

Something happened at home? How could that be?

With that thought, she quickly put on a mask to cover her face, then gathered her long, black hair together and covered her head with a silver and black hood.

Immediately afterwards, a surging, turbulent cloud slowly appeared beneath her feet. Then, amidst a deafening roar, she rode the cloud into the night and vanished without a trace.

Ten minutes later, in the old Jingmai neighborhood, in the stairwell of a duplex apartment building on the 12th floor.

Bai Qiuwu stepped out of the brightly lit sedan chair, her head slightly lowered, looking deep in thought.

"Important things? What exactly is that strange thing saying?"

With a nervous heart, Bai Qiuwu quickly entered the password for the electronic lock and placed her hand on the doorknob.

I turned the doorknob and pushed the door open with a barely perceptible force.

Then, through the crack in the door, she glimpsed the scene inside.

The entire entryway, and even the living room that it connected to at the end of the entryway, was dark and so dark that you couldn't see your hand in front of your face.

"It's only seven o'clock, and nobody's home?"

Seeing that the room was completely dark and there was no sound at all, and recalling the strange thing's words, Bai Qiuwu couldn't help but pause, her heart pounding even faster.

"In the end what happened?"

Fine beads of sweat appeared on her forehead. Thinking this, she bent down and pushed open the door.

The next second, Bai Qiuwu suddenly noticed someone walking quickly towards her from the darkness, close to the wall in the entryway.

Bai Qiuwu was taken aback when she sensed the aura emanating from the figure, and then breathed a sigh of relief.

"So that's what happened."

As she was thinking, she suddenly heard a "snap" sound beside her ear.

Immediately afterwards, silver confetti landed on Bai Qiuwu's head. Someone pressed a button on the wall, and the light in the entryway was turned on, casting a warm, orange glow on her profile.

Bai Qiuwu pretended to be startled, widened her eyes, and slowly straightened up after a long while.

Happy birthday, big sister.

Holding the cake, Ke Mingye muttered irritably, "Why do I always have to hold the cake? Don't you guys have hands?"