Superman Termination Manual

Chapter 41 – 035 Secret Meeting
June 19, night, the Superhero Association branch building.

Qing Ya stepped out of the rest room and boarded the elevator reserved exclusively for Round Table Council members. He took an ID card from within his cape, swiped it through the card slot, and at once, the silver-white cabin started moving upward with a low hum.

Shortly after, the elevator stopped at the 99th floor, where the most secretive and secure meeting room of the entire Association’s high-rise was arranged.

He exited the elevator and walked for a moment down a corridor that seemed endless until a door-shaped gap opened slowly in the metallic wall on his right side, and a cool-toned light brushed over him.

Qing Ya stepped into the meeting room and sat down beside the technologically advanced circular table at the front, silently waiting for the arrival of his guests.

According to the message, the three giants of the Magic Girl troupe from the Alliance had already reached the 79th floor of the branch and were waiting downstairs for him. However, the Anomaly Control Bureau’s agent had stated a desire for a one-on-one conversation, so here he was, alone in the meeting room.

The official status of the Anomaly Control Bureau was slightly above the Superhero Association. Their work differed from the Association’s—the former was responsible for investigating anomalous phenomena, while the latter dealt directly with disasters and superhuman criminal incidents.

But that was only the official story. In actuality, the United Nations had created the “Anomaly Control Bureau” organization with the fundamental aim of thoroughly preventing any possibility of an uprising within the Superhero Association.

Experts within the Anomaly Control Bureau studied the abilities and characteristics of each superhero day and night, devising countless countermeasures against them. Should any superhero show signs of losing control, the Management Bureau would subtly issue a warning. If ineffective, they would then intervene directly.

Most of their time was occupied dealing with “out-of-control superheroes,” “rule-breaking superheroes.” The number of superheroes who died at their hands or were imprisoned in the Management Bureau was in the hundreds, if not thousands, although to the outside world, these superheroes were either already dead or had vanished without a trace.

Therefore, they only took action in two scenarios: first, when a significant bizarre event occurred that was difficult to explain, and second, when it was time to warn or handle a superhero.

Ke Youqing hoped it was the former.

Because if it were the latter, it meant that the Anomaly Control Bureau’s visit from the “Black Judge” was a clear sign that it wouldn’t be long before they moved against him.

But he was well aware that as “Qing Ya,” he had been ruthlessly attacking criminals for nearly decades, so it wouldn’t be surprising if he caught the attention of the Management Bureau.

At that moment, a series of footsteps could be heard slowly approaching along the corridor outside the meeting room.

With his eyes closed behind his mask, Qing Ya slowly opened them as the wall in front of him opened a door-shaped gap, and a narrow, tall figure slowly walked into the meeting room.

The newcomer was dressed in an all-black tailcoat and wore a sharply contoured mask. At its center was a prominent blood-red “V,” while the rest was covered in pitch black. That unique and eye-catching V-shaped mask alone was enough for Qing Ya to identify the other’s identity.

“Black Judge,” the monster rookie of the Anomaly Control Bureau.

Within just two years, he had risen from E-class to the highest rank of S-class in the Management Bureau, becoming a much-discussed figure. He was almost universally known.

Black Judge approached the metallic round table and, without ceremony, pulled a swivel chair and sat down, resting his elbows on the table surface, his fingers interlaced just below his jaw.

His V-shaped mask faced Qing Ya as he said mockingly, “Wow, what an honor to actually meet the famous ’Qing Ya.’ I thought the Association’s Chinese branch would send ’Ink Writer,’ ’Tai Chi Customer,’ ’Liquor Sword Feng,’ or some other people of empty fame to meet me.”

“No, if it weren’t for your specific request to see me, I wouldn’t have come here,” Qing Ya said slowly.

In the meeting room, both men’s voices, altered by their masks, echoed. Qing Ya’s voice was hoarse and sinister, while Black Judge’s had a metallic magnetism, resembling machinery.

“Yes, but I didn’t expect to meet you,” Black Judge chuckled.

“Time is precious,” Qing Ya glared at him with piercing eyes, “For what urgent matter has an agent of the Management Bureau taken the trouble to come here?”

“You misunderstand, I’m not here for you,” Black Judge shifted his head, the blood-red V on his mask tilting as he spoke, “Mr. Qing Ya, have you ever heard about ’players’?”

“Players?”

“That’s right,” Black Judge smiled, “Just yesterday at dawn, I was shopping in a supermarket chain in New York when I happened to encounter two armed robbers. I was in a bad mood, so I hacked off their hands and feet, captured, and beat them up. Guess what they confessed?”

Qing Ya remained silent, staring intently at Black Judge’s mask.

Black Judge let out a metallic snicker, raising his voice, “They actually thought this world was a game and all of us were NPCs, so they could act as they pleased without being bound by the law. So, the first thing they did when they came here was to try out an armed robbery. Ridiculous, isn’t it?”

“They’re delusional?”

“No, don’t be hasty, you’ll understand,” Black Judge shook his head and continued with a smile, “Initially I treated it as a regular robbery case, as you said, anyone else might consider their confession to be the ravings of a schizophrenic or someone with a persecution complex, but I was intrigued by what they confessed, so I had the Management Bureau’s people use the latest brain-imaging equipment to replicate their vision of the world into a series of images.

Guess what I found then?”