Superman Termination Manual - Chapter 72

Chapter 72 – 061 Instance 7 Boss Battle (Part 1)
June 21st, three in the afternoon, Old Jingmai District Street No. 4.

This was one of the most deserted streets in Old Jingmai, under the eaves of the abandoned train station entrance, where three figures leaned against the wall, quietly waiting for someone’s arrival.

Mingye recognized them at first glance through the perspective of the Deception Puppet.

Fan Quan was wearing a dark-high neck jacket, a Lustig’s hat atop his head. He was looking down at his phone, the raised collar hiding his profile;

Qing Meng wore a band-printed tank top under her jacket, with her light blue hair still tied in a ponytail. She hugged her shoulders, bored, looking around;

Ju Zipi was dressed in casual clothes but also wore a cap. He was reading a novel from the Cthulhu Mythos titled “Fantasy Tales,” with a slight smirk on his lips.

Mingye walked slowly towards the trio and leaned against the wall next to them. The three of them silently shot a glance at him, with two quickly looking away.

“You’re here, Spider Man,” Ju Zipi said with a smile.

“Always the last one to arrive, quite typical of you,” Qing Meng said.

“Punk girl, what do you mean ’always the last one’? It’s only been twice, okay?” Mingye glared at them, “Also, can’t you call me ’Failed Man’?”

Fan Quan said, “It’s too long and complicated, Spider Man is just fine.”

Mingye turned to him, “Cultured man, in this hot weather, aren’t you a bit too suspicious dressed like that?”

“Am I not allowed to feel cold, mind your own business.”

“Speaking of which, the leaderboard says you’ve killed four superhumans, hasn’t the Superhero Association issued a warrant for you yet?”

“No, they’re not sure it’s the same person who did it. I’m actually looking forward to what nickname they’ll end up giving me,” Fan Quan adjusted his glasses.

“What if Qing Ya comes after you?”

“I’ll just die and show him,” Fan Quan said expressionlessly, “Enough chitchat, everyone’s here, let’s enter the instance. I told you I have something else today, let’s make it quick.”

With that, he closed the black leather book in his hands, stood up from the wall he was leaning against, and led the way to the entrance of the station.

Mingye was taken aback, “Just like that we’re entering the instance? Shouldn’t we discuss tactics first?”

“We’ll talk specifics inside the instance, it’s not that complicated. This instance is different from the last one, we need to walk a bit after entering before we reach the Boss battle area,” Fan Quan explained as he walked ahead.

Mingye looked towards Ju Zipi and Qing Meng, pointed towards Fan Quan’s receding figure with a facial expression that screamed ’this guy is nuts’, and silently mouthed, “You guys okay with this?”

“He’s the strategist,” Ju Zipi said.

“Dog-headed strategist,” Qing Meng remarked.

They brushed past Mingye, and although confused, he didn’t fall behind and quickly caught up, stretching out his hand.

As the team’s four hands touched, the panel seemed to surge with energy, gradually brightening.

The next second, their figures had already vanished from the spot.

[You have entered the “Crazy Train Station” instance, soon you will arrive at the Boss battle area.]

Mingye opened his eyes, and what met his pupils was a damp, cramped corridor with walls embedded with a sign, showing a blue background and black font that read “Platform 7 ahead.”

Looking back, he saw the path blocked by layers of rocks, seeming to signify that there was no turning back.

At this moment, Qing Meng had already taken out two firearms from her backpack. Unlike last time, she was wielding two Desert Eagles, their silver-white bodies stood out in the dark.

The four moved forward, with Fan Quan at the front speaking, “Once we leave this corridor, we’ll be at the Boss battle area.”

“Train platform?” Mingye said.

“This time the Boss is a train conductor.”

After this, Fan Quan began describing what this instance’s Boss looked like and the specific mechanics involved.

Mingye and Ju Zipi listened intently, unfamiliar with this instance, unlike Qing Meng and Fan Quan.

“Strategist, why does my role sound so dire?” Mingye couldn’t help asking after learning about his part from them.

“Just like last time, only you can do this,” Fan Quan replied.

“Why does this sound so much like a pyramid scheme sales pitch? Is Myanmar Train Station up ahead?”

“I’m just telling the truth.”

Soon, the four of them reached the end of the corridor, and what came into view was a stairway leading upwards, with the adjacent elevator having ceased operation. Light poured in from above the platform.

As they followed the source of light upwards, it was as if they were about to step into heaven, their eyes squinting slightly, unable to adapt to the sudden bright light.

They finally arrived at the boss battle site.

Ke Mingye turned his head to look around, finding himself on a long-abandoned platform.

The sign marked “Platform 7” was covered in moss, the ground pockmarked and wet with stagnant water, and the columns of the platform were marred with age-old cracks, spreading out like the arms of ghosts in all directions.

Water accumulated on the eaves and formed thin streams through the gaps, which slowly fell to the ground, tirelessly tapping on the old tracks with a drip-drop sound.

“Get ready, just a few more steps forward, and the boss battle will start.”

“Is it that exaggerated?”

Ke Mingye whispered, the sound of their footsteps overlapping with the falling water made him shiver, and the deep, eerie atmosphere in the air seemed to intensify.

[Total number of players participating in this instance: 4]

[The official raid instance begins now, please do whatever it takes to defeat the boss inside the instance—Crazy Train Conductor.]

As they walked, a warning panel popped up in front of them.

Following that, the platform under their feet began to change, the world seemed suddenly compressed, and the rectangular ground eventually narrowed into a square platform about ten meters wide.

In the sunset, an old rail track encircled the bizarre square platform tightly. Then, deep, bottomless tunnels appeared at each corner of the platform, their destinations unknown.

As the boss arena was set, the main character of this place made its entrance.

Puffing steam whistle sounds along with the thundering engine noises roared above the platform, nearly piercing Ke Mingye’s eardrums; a dark train then burst from the tunnel on the northwest side of the platform.

This train seemed endless, with a squad of pitch-black figures stationed on top of the carriages, resembling a cloud of dark clouds hovering over the roof.

They held flame guns or machetes.

Their faces were fierce, with a hint of red glow at the corners of their eyes, as if they could squeeze out blood.

[Boss name of the instance: Crazy Train Conductor]

[Boss level of the instance: Lv6.5]

[Introduction of the instance boss:

The conductor has gone mad.

A hundred years ago, he got lost on this Mobius Strip-like track, no matter which direction he went or which tunnel he entered, he would inevitably return to this square platform.

Many times, he tried to escape from the train with the passengers, to see if they could escape from the platform. But every person who disembarked died, turning into a burst of blood foam before his eyes.

Since then, the conductor has traveled on this looping track for many, many years.

He prayed every day, and slowly despaired, knowing he would never reach his destination and never see his child again.

But for the passengers, and for those lovely lads, he made a secret decision in his heart.

He decided to take up the responsibility of the train conductor, to form a team with the unfortunate passengers who arrived at this platform, and to ride forever on this track until death.

Then one day, after he woke up from the driver’s seat, he found a strange figure reflected in the mirror of the driver’s cabin.

The person was holding his stomach, laughing wildly at him.

The conductor placed his arms on the table, constantly moving his face closer to the mirror, staring blankly for a long time, only to realize that the one laughing was…

—himself.]