Superman Termination Manual - Chapter 42

Chapter 42 – 035 Secret Meeting_2
“`

“What have you found?” Qing Ya asked.

The Black Judge pressed a button on the table, and a groove opened, slowly raising a metal projector shaped like a fountain pen.

He picked up the projector, and methodically loaded a memory chip he carried, and then said,

“I’ve discovered that in the perspectives of these two ’players,’ there’s a row of icons similar to game functions, just like… uh, those tacky online games. Moreover, they can open a game store by touching these icons, make purchases within it, or open a mission panel issued by the game system. As long as they complete the tasks on the panel, they escalate in level and receive rewards.

And the ultimate goal given to them by the system is…”

He paused, continuing with a ghostly tone, “to annihilate the superhumans within one year.”

“Are you joking with me?” Qing Ya fell silent for a moment before asking.

“No, I’m not joking,” the Judge said calmly, “Based on the intelligence I’ve extracted from those two players, there are currently a hundred players in the world. Whether this number will increase is another matter. Excluding the two players I’ve captured and one who has already died, there are ninety-seven players remaining.

They are lurking all over the world: the United States, England, China, India… players could appear anywhere.”

Having said this, he pressed a button on the pen-like projector, casting an image onto the meeting room wall.

Qing Ya turned his head, staring at the picture projected by the Black Judge on the wall.

The screen was displaying a first-person view of the scenery visible to a character’s eyes. This person was staring blankly at a blank ceiling; his field of vision in the upper right was lined with seven tiny “icons.”

Soon, a bright red warning panel popped up in front of him, on which large black letters read, “WARNING, do not disclose any information about ’the players’ to any superhuman. Your actions will seriously disrupt the progress of other players’ missions and directly endanger their personal safety! WARNING, you are violating the Taboo Treaty! You are violating the Taboo Treaty!

You are violating the Taboo Treaty! WARNING ineffective, your body and soul will be forced to die in five seconds.”

The next moment, all the panels and functional icons in the player’s view disappeared, replaced by a giant blood-red number “5,” which was counting down by the second.

Accompanied by a burst of panicked screams and wails, the timer’s numbers dropped from “5” to “4,” then to “3,” and finally only “2” remained…

The lower the number, the more violent his resistance became.

But when the number reached “1,” the player completely stopped resisting, and his brain imaging scene gradually darkened.

The recording ended there. The Black Judge casually pressed a button on the projector, and the projected image on the wall disappeared.

Qing Ya was silent.

The meeting room was briefly shrouded in absolute silence, as though the two had reached a tacit understanding and said nothing.

“This is the brain imaging of that player,” the Black Judge was the first to break the silence. He twirled the projection pen between his index and middle finger, saying, “The technicians from the Anomaly Control Bureau put in quite a bit of effort to meet my demands, even utilizing some neuro-decoding technologies, to barely realize this concept.”

He spread his hands out, “It’s a real pity. They got snuffed by that thing called ’the system’ before I even had a chance to toy with them a bit more.”

“When did they start appearing?” Qing Ya asked.

“Four days ago.” The Black Judge put down the projector pen, “Although currently they only possess the combat capabilities to rob a supermarket with guns, they are still dangerous. Based on my current conjecture of the system, it can likely enable these players to achieve incredible power boosts in a short period of time.

So don’t look at them as weak now; a year from now, they might be something entirely different, like… a humanoid nuclear bomb.”

“Are you telling me this because you want the Superhero Association’s assistance in helping the Management Bureau to find these ’players’?”

“Correct.”

“From ten billion people, you want to find ninety-seven…” Qing Ya said sarcastically, “Quite the pipe dream.”

“This task should technically fall to the Superdimensional Control Bureau, but ’players’ are not traditional transmigrators. Their souls transferred to this world, directly occupying the bodies of some of the locals to disguise themselves, which means the Superdimensional Control Bureau’s usual methods don’t work on them… thus the job has fallen into our hands at the Anomaly Control Bureau.”

“`

Judge paused, “But I believe this matter is far more significant than they imagine, which is exactly why I’ve come to seek your help.”

“So why should I assist you? This is not part of my job.”

“Because even you, Mr. Qing Ya, everyone around you might already have been silently replaced by players, they’re just very good at hiding it, without alerting you.”

“Are you any different, then?” Qing Ya snorted coldly, “Worry about the people around you first.”

“Of course, I won’t deny it,” Black Judge laughed, “It’s even possible that at this very moment, either you sitting between us, or I, have already been replaced by the so-called ’players.’”

Qing Ya stared at Black Judge’s mask for a moment, then scoffed, “To treat our world as a game, how arrogant…”

Black Judge’s hands were on the armrest of the swivel chair, fingers intertwined, and a mechanically textured chuckle came from behind the mask.

“It seems we have, surprisingly, reached an agreement.”

After speaking, he slowly rose from the swivel chair, “Then, please convey my words to the three Magic Girls next door, they should be informed of this too.”

“You won’t meet them personally?”

“No, I’m not quite adept at dealing with these ostentatious people,” Black Judge said, “That’s why I specifically selected you as my intermediary. I have great respect for you, Mr. Qing Ya, you are a true hero. But you should know the Anomaly Control Bureau has been watching you closely in recent years. One day, if you truly lose yourself and cross that line, we will be on opposite sides.”

As he spoke, he suddenly laughed, “Of course, should that day come, I would be quite thrilled because I’ll finally be able to tear off your mask myself and see who you really are…”

“You’re not worthy to be my opponent,” Qing Ya said flatly, facing him.

“Without trying, who can know?”

“It’s time for you to leave.”

“Yes, then, goodbye, Mr. Qing Ya.”

With an unhurried farewell, Black Judge turned and walked towards the exit of the conference room, walking down the corridor to the elevator at the end.

Soon, he arrived on the 45th floor and entered the private guest room prepared for him by the Superhero Association.

Black Judge first checked the room with a device on his wrist to confirm there were no surveillance devices, then he took off the V-shaped mask on his face, exhaling a breath.

He stood by the window, pulled back the curtain, and flipped the slats of the blinds.

His gaze overlooked the brightly lit city; trains thundered over the elevated tracks, and the traffic flowed endlessly like waves on the roads.

“Well, after a year of fighting, I’m about to have enough, and in a couple of days, it’s time to go home and enjoy a vacation.”

Ke Yinzhi curled his lips and muttered softly. He looked down at his phone.

The phone’s lock screen was a family photo, and he remembered that summer, six brothers and sisters crowded on the sofa, he and his parents standing in the back, and as the camera clicked, every child’s face lit up with a smile.

“Hopefully those maggots… haven’t made their way into my home.”

He murmured to himself, his pupils reflecting a profound light, the smile at the corner of his mouth slowly fading away.