Superman Termination Manual

"I'll trust you for now... but your family's not wrong about you being neurotic."

After speaking, Cai Bing sipped her lemonade, when suddenly a chat panel popped up in her eyes.

[Paranoia: I get it, is drinking water a hint, are you suggesting we "take action?"]

[Cai Bing: Screw off, I've already cleaned up your mess, why haven't you scrammed yet? Want to die here?]

[Paranoia: Heh, according to the great Paranoid Detective's observation, hacker girl, you have a high likelihood of rebellion... You're even in cahoots with someone from the Management Bureau, and so close at that.]

[Paranoia: Wait till I, the Dog-headed Strategist, return and I'll report this... Sorry, hacker girl, but you're done for. Lord Paranoid must be ruthlessly just.]

[Cai Bing: Idiot, there's no point talking to you.]

By the time Cai Bing regained her composure, another private chat panel had popped up.

[Failed Man: Hacker girl, I don't have Paranoia as a friend, can you use the panel to tell Paranoia to add Gastella as a friend? I need to confirm if the person sitting here is her or if it's a puppet she's controlling.]

[Cai Bing: Oh.]

Sighing at his words, Cai Bing sent a message to Paranoia.

[Cai Bing: Spider Man wants you to add Gastella as a friend, the woman sitting opposite him, hurry up.]

[Paranoia: I can't send a friend request, it says the distance is too far, should I move closer?]

[Cai Bing: No, you're close enough, that means she's a fake.]

[Paranoia: Come to think of it... I also can't add Spider Man as a friend, why is that?]

[Cai Bing: Normal, he's fake too.]

[Paranoia: Oh my god, so those two fakes are sitting there chatting?]

[Cai Bing: Right, one is controlling a normal person with a psychic-type Skill, while the other created a puppet. Quite a matched pair, don't you think?]

[Paranoia: Lord Paranoia feels hurt. So Spider Man has always been interacting with Lord Paranoia with a fake; Lord Paranoia's defenses are down; Lord Paranoia wants to commit suicide.]

[Cai Bing: Roll over, he also interacts with us using a fake, only you make a big fuss about it.]

[Paranoia: Lord Paranoia feels ostracized, Lord Paranoia is going dark.]

[Paranoia: Loneliness... is a cold void, and I... have already been peerless in the world.]

[Cai Bing: Ridiculous.]

[Paranoia: Lord Paranoia departs... No need to miss me, loneliness is the destiny of a king.]

After sending that message, Paranoia stood up expressionlessly, walked away from the outdoor café, leaving behind a desolate and sad silhouette.

Before leaving, Paranoia took a deep look at Ke Mingye, a trace of an almost imperceptible bitter smile crossing his lips, as if savoring the taste of betrayal. It seemed... he was basking in his own tragic hero persona.

Seeing that the walking time bomb had finally left, Cai Bing let out a sigh of relief and sent a message to Ke Mingye.

[Cai Bing: Confirmed, the person sitting opposite you isn't Gastella.]

[Failed Man: Figured as much.]

[Failed Man: So what exactly do you want? You wouldn't be here just to date my brother, right, with love muddling your brain.]

[Cai Bing: I want to see if I can find a way to hack the Management Bureau's database through him. The Anomaly Control Bureau's database is much more crucial than the national ones, containing records of ninety percent of superhuman criminals, superheroes, Bureau enforcers... and even information on the internal structure of Azkaban Prison, along with those top-tier superhuman convicts detained in Azkaban.]

[Cai Bing: Therefore, if we really can hack into the Management Bureau's internals, it would provide tremendous convenience for our future actions and also help us prepare for the raid on Azkaban Prison in ten months, so we won't blindly rush in then.]

[Failed Man: No, bro, that sounds way too dangerous.]

[Cai Bing: Fortune favors the bold.]

[Failed Man: Just don't be bold to the point of sacrificing our teammates' lives; that would be a loss too great to afford.]

The camera shifts back to Ke Mingye.

Gastella fell silent for a moment, seemingly observing Ke Yinzhi from the corner of her eye. After a short while, she turned her attention to the Deception Puppet, leaning in slightly and whispering.

"It seems our luck is terrible, to encounter such a formidable figure just by coming out to meet, and one from the Management Bureau at that."

"Yeah... our luck is terrible."

Ke Mingye sighed, thinking to himself that if this was just bad luck, then his own luck must be rotten to the heavens. What was he to do if his whole family was made up of big shots of this caliber?

Without hesitation, Gastella said, "You must be the 'Failed Man' from the discussion group, right?"

Ke Mingye nodded calmly, responding, "Yes, they all call me Spider Man."

Gastella held her glass of lemon water with both hands, looking up intently at him, "Okay, Spider Man."

"This body isn't yours," Ke Mingye stated bluntly, "I sent you a friend request but got no response, which indicates that your real body isn't nearby."

At this, a hint of surprise showed in Gastella's eyes.

She extended her fair hand to prop up her chin, corners of her mouth curling slightly, "Then let me be clear... This body indeed isn't mine, it belongs to a passerby. I've controlled her body with a Skill to meet with you."
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"Why?" Ke Mingye asked.

"Simple, I don't trust you."

"If you don't trust us, why meet at all? What do you want from us?"

Gastella replied, "Simple, it's because according to the clues I received from a prophecy, there's a player hiding beside the white-haired vampire I'm looking for."

Upon hearing this, Ke Mingye was taken aback and murmured softly.

"A player?"

"That's right, a player. But I'm not sure who this player is, I only know he has a vampire with him, and they are part of one family," Gastella continued calmly.

"So you're saying that in the family background of this player, one of his family members is a vampire?"

Ke Mingye paused for two seconds, his voice tinged with surprise.

Gastella asked, "Hmm, that's more or less what I mean. And that vampire is quite strong, probably at least a B-grade in terms of power... With that said, do you have any idea who it could be?"

Upon hearing this, Ke Mingye pretended to ponder for a moment, then said, "If you insist on putting it that way... I believe out of all the players we're in contact with, there's one whose movements are highly suspicious."

He paused, adding very seriously, "This player never interacts with other players. He doesn't even add other players as friends... and up to this point, we haven't been able to figure him out. If there's anyone who might be hiding their family circumstances, it could only be him."

Gastella raised an eyebrow at these words, "Who? The paranoid from earlier?"

"No." Ke Mingye shook his head, stating gravely, "The ID of this player... is called 'Fan Quan.'

As he spoke, he lifted his gaze to meet Gastella's eyes, "I believe Fan Quan is very likely the player you're looking for; and the white-haired vampire you're after is probably hiding in his home."

Gastella and the Deception Puppet exchanged looks for a while before she lowered her gaze pensively, saying slowly.

"Fan Quan, huh..."

She silently noted this ID in her mind, lifting her head again, "Understood, for now I will ascertain this player's background. Well then, thank you for your cooperation."

"You're welcome, I'm willing to cooperate with you, just because I want to clear up Fan Quan's backstory too. Besides, I hope one day you can talk to me with your real body... and not with a puppet."

Speaking, Ke Mingye grabbed a glass of lemon water passed to him by the waiter, raised his cup, and took a light sip.

"Of course, I also hope you haven't lied to me," Gastella smiled, "After all, we're both players. Our stances should be aligned. Saving each other's lives shouldn't be so hard, right?"

"On that point, the feeling is mutual," Ke Mingye said.