Superman Termination Manual - Chapter 100

Chapter 100 – 082 The Battle of Black Tengu Host Club
June 22, Japan time 12:15 PM, Shinjuku Ward.

The dark green JR train whipped the raindrops aside and stopped at the platform of Shinjuku Station. Ke Mingye and the others got off the train and after a short walk arrived on the streets of Kabukicho.

It was a rainy day, dull and melancholy, but this city that never sleeps was still brilliantly lit, overflowing with light.

In the downpour, the endless stream of people, holding umbrellas, shuttled between malls, izakayas, and maid cafes. The dazzling electronic billboards were hung densely in the air, spreading a hazy neon halo through the rain curtain.

A girl dressed like a cat girl stood outside the maid cafe, holding a sign written in Japanese and shouting slogans to the passersby.

“Do maids actually solicit customers on the street?” Orange Peel raised an eyebrow.

“This is Japan, you know?” Qing Meng said.

“It seems that Japan is the same in any parallel world,” Fan Quan said.

“It’s a bit too much from the second dimension.”

While walking, Ke Mingye looked up into the sky.

The huge screens on the buildings were showing the latest Quick Rush Coffee advertisement—a Magical Girl Kokonoe Sakura dressed in a dark red kimono, wielding a tachi walked from afar. Her blade transformed into thin, drifting sakura in the sky.

She walked slowly towards a serene spot surrounded by plants and trees, sitting down to quietly enjoy her coffee, a faint smile playing at the corner of her eyes.

The girl’s aura was like that of the freshly bloomed Yoshino cherry trees, with a light pink that bordered on white, causing the pedestrians to stop in their tracks and look up at the screen.

Trendy and fashionable pop music floated through the air, sung by the very popular idol group in Japan—”Divine Communicator Yamata no Orochi” and “Divine Communicator Ebisu Divinity.” Explore more adventures at empire

The former had a voice as raspy as a hissing snake, quite distinctive and magnetic; the latter’s voice was sweet and cunning, like a landowner’s daughter from ancient times.

The rich aroma of ramen from the famous Ichiran Ramen Shop mixed with the humid scent of rain, tantalizing every passerby’s taste buds.

At the entrance of a cutlery model shop stood a painting of the superhero “Ji Feng Samurai,” famed for being able to manipulate a ghost hand and fight with six blades at once.

The showcase in the mall displayed mannequins either dressed in Magic Girl Cosplay or superhero battle suits. Looking through the showcase into the shop, the glass cabinets housed various figurines of Magic Girls and superheroes.

Among them, one could even spot Magical Girl Ash, which gave Ke Mingye a surreal feeling, as if his sister was still accompanying him in another form in this foreign land.

The puddles on the road reflected the blue neon light, mirroring the silhouettes of the four individuals.

They had bought raincoats on their way here and now walked enveloped in them through the bright lights of Kabukicho, their figures frail like paper cutouts, ready to be swallowed by the ubiquitous electronic billboards at any moment.

Soon, Ke Mingye and Fan Quan stopped in front of a host club with a sign saying “くろてんぐ,” directly translated as Black Tengu Host Club.

The notice on the door indicated that the host club wasn’t open at noon; it officially opened at seven in the evening.

Fan Quan took off his raincoat hood and pushed the door open walking in.

The four approached the bar, where a red-haired man, dressed as a bartender and wiping glasses, stood behind the bar and quietly watched them.

“The shop isn’t open yet,” the red-haired man said with a forced smile.

Fan Quan, speaking fluent Japanese, said, “I’m looking for someone.”

As he spoke, he pulled out a photo of a man in a bartender outfit with golden shoulder-length hair and sunglasses.

“Tell him the words ’Top Bull’ and ’Player’; he’ll understand what I mean,” he said.

Fan Quan slid the photo across the bar, adding a comment as he did so.

Ke Mingye watched the scene, recalling what Fan Quan had said during their journey.

The hacker with the ID “Cai Bing” became interested when she noticed a high-ranked player named “Top Bull” while scanning the player leaderboards. Curious, she started investigating local host clubs in Tokyo and successfully hacked into the surveillance system of the Black Tengu Host Club.

She soon discovered that Black Tengu was not just a business hub but also a base for the Anti-Superhuman Organization.

She was certain that the player called “Top Bull” was likely hidden in this host club.

Players know players, Cai Bing noted some subtle behaviors in the surveillance footage, like browsing the marketplace and skill enhancements, along with changes in the “Top Bull’s” kill count, progressively narrowing down a suspicious individual—Yasushi Yamamoto.

Yasushi Yamamoto’s pattern of movement matched the dynamics of “Top Bull” on the leaderboard perfectly; each time he disappeared from surveillance, it coincided with an increase in the player’s kill count on the leaderboard.

And whenever that happened, it was precisely the time for action at the Black Tengu Host Club, typically targeting superhumans spending leisurely in Kabukicho or attacking superheroes who passed by.

At that moment, the red-haired man behind the bar picked up the photo, took a glance at the man in the picture, looked up at Fan Quan, and smiled, “Sir, there is no such person here in our club. Could you be mistaken?”