Superman Termination Manual - Chapter 82

Chapter 82 – 069: Fan Quan’s Wonderful Adventure
June 21, dusk at seven o’clock, Old Jingmai District No. 4 Street.

“Old Jingmai Street, Block 1, Phase 1, Building 5, Room 1201, Qing Ya’s residence is just ahead on the next two streets…”

Fan Quan walked slowly with his head lowered, his hands buried in the pockets of his coat in the street where one could barely see their hand before their face.

Putting together the clues he had gathered earlier, he was nearly ninety percent certain that the true identity of Spider Man was hidden within this family of nine.

“Enter the high-rise building opposite the duplex apartment and place a miniature camera beneath the railing of the rooftop. Then I’ll be able to observe the comings and goings of the family—the players can see the info panel of the superhumans through the live camera feed, just like in real-time video footage, so later, I can make judgments based on the images captured by the camera.”

Fan Quan touched his pocket to confirm that the miniature camera was still there as he continued to think.

“At the same time, players can’t see the info panels of ordinary people and other players, only those of the superhuman kind.”

“So among this family, the first step will be to filter out those without info panels above their heads, then carry out a secondary selection based on age and characteristics within this narrowed pool to most certainly identify Spider Man’s true identity.”

“But I must first ensure I have an escape route ready… If the ’Door of Humanities’ doesn’t yield a practical skill for survival, then the plan will have to wait for another day.”

With this in mind, Fan Quan preemptively activated the skill “Door of Humanities,” and the Bible he was holding opened by itself as if blown by an unfelt wind.

Three pages tore themselves out and curled upward, transforming into three paper figures that slipped into his sleeves, clutching at his wrists and chattering away in dispute.

The first paper figure was muttering in Romanian, “Holy time,” “Sacred Space,” “Eternal Return”;

The second, in Ancient Greek, was muttering “Allegory of the Cave,” “Metaphysics,” “Rationalism”;

The third, in Classical Chinese, was muttering “The Doctrine of the Mean,” “Benevolence as the Foundation,” “Unity of Knowledge and Action.”

Each paper figure had a maximum lifespan of 2 hours. Within those 2 hours, unless one of the three theoretical skills was used up, they would not disappear.

So there was no problem with releasing them ahead of time; on the contrary, it allowed him to verify the effects of the theories that had emerged.

“These will suffice…”

Fan Quan listened to the whispers of the three paper figures in his sleeves, and in his mind envisioned the effects of the skills corresponding to each theory.

Once he had prepared his contingencies for escape, he tucked the Bible into an inner pocket of his coat and put on a face mask to prevent his face from being exposed by nearby surveillance cameras.

Fan Quan commanded the three paper figures in his sleeve to be quiet and then he stepped out of the alley.

Just as he passed by a vending machine, he suddenly noticed seven figures slowly passing by a corner ahead, causing him to halt in his steps.

Fan Quan lowered the brim of his Lustig’s hat and took a ten-yuan coin out of his pocket, inserted it into the vending machine, selected a canned orange juice using the interface, all the while keeping an eye on the seven figures with his peripheral vision.

Leading the group was a white-haired girl in a white dress. With her gaze lowered and hands clasped behind her back, she moved lightly forward, her pupils casting a faint red glow in the dark.

[Name: Bai Ziling]

[Strength: A-minus grade (possessing top combat power far surpassing 90% of the world’s superhuman population)]

[Hidden Identity: “Vampire,” also known as the “Blood Clan.”]

“An A-grade vampire?” Fan Quan was startled for half a second, thinking, “Are there such superhuman species in the world that aren’t listed in the Superhuman Encyclopedia…”

Following closely behind the white-haired girl was a girl in a denim jacket, her head lowered as she played with her phone, while the breeze fluttered the ribbon atop her head.

Too far to see her face clearly, Fan Quan could, however, see her info panel unfold before his eyes.

[Name: Bai Zini]

[Strength: B-double-plus grade (an absolute elite among superhumans)]

[Hidden Identity: As “Magical Girl Ash,” she has long been active in China, and is also one of the core members of the “Magical Girl Association.”]

With a “thump,” a canned orange juice fell out of the vending machine’s collection port.

“Magical Girl Ash, huh… So these people must be Qing Ya’s children.”

Fan Quan bent down to take the drink out of the vending machine, all the while considering and observing the fleeting figures at the end of the street.

Next in his field of vision was a boy in overalls with a panda design.

The boy yawned with his arms behind his head, his gaze filled with sleepiness. His attention briefly shifted from what was ahead and glanced in Fan Quan’s direction for a fleeting moment before swiftly turning away.

[Name: Ke Yongzhu]

[Strength: A-plus grade (possessing top combat power far surpassing 95% of the world’s superhuman population)]

[Hidden Identity: A juvenile form of the Calamity Dragon kind.]

From the casual glance Ke Yongzhu had cast, Fan Quan felt a deep unease in his heart… It was as if he was being looked down upon by a dragon, contempt and amusement filling its gaze.

“A-plus grade combat power?”

Fan Quan murmured, his deep-set eyes narrowing slightly and shrouded by the shadows under the brim of his hat.

“Calamity Dragon kind, another superhuman category that I’ve never seen before… No, that’s not quite right, it shouldn’t be counted as a human category; this is more like another animal entirely.”

“Did it notice me with that glance just now, yet it seemed too disdainful to bother with me…”