Superman Termination Manual

June 21, 4:30 PM.

Ke Mingye walked out of his room, picked up a wireless controller from the sofa, and joined Bai Ziling and Ke Yongzhu in playing a cooperative game on the Switch platform, "Overcooked 2," on the TV.

Ke Yinzhi was playing chess with his father at the nearby table, the former propping up his chin and the latter holding his forehead, both deep in a closely contested game.

Ke Xiaomo leaned against the wall with arms crossed, quietly observing the chess game.

After eating a late lunch, Bai Qiuwu went back to her room on the second floor to continue resting.

She seemed quite down today, barely speaking during lunch as she fiddled with her chopsticks and remained mostly in bed, hardly moving.

Bai Wenna had gone shopping with a close friend, telling them to eat dinner out as she wouldn’t be back in the evening due to another commitment.

The fan slowly spun, and at the moment the clock hand hit 4:45 PM, the front door of the Bai Ke household suddenly clicked open, and someone hurriedly pushed through.

All eyes in the room instinctively turned towards the sound.

"The fabulous Magic Girl returns—did you miss me?"

Bai Zini steadied herself, hands on hips and a smile curling on her lips as she looked around at everyone. She was clutching a heavy shopping bag, its contents unknown.

Seeing that it was her, everyone quietly returned to their own affairs.

"Why is no one paying attention to me?" Bai Zini puffed her cheeks sullenly and frowned, "Guess what I brought back from my friend’s house. It’s this..."

She paused for effect, then pulled a black item from the shopping bag.

"Ta-da! A brain imaging helmet!"

At this revelation, everyone’s gaze shifted back to her.

The quickest to turn their heads were Ke Yinzhi, Ke Youqing, Ke Xiaomo, and Ke Mingye, all of whom displayed an almost identical mix of surprise... befuddlement... perplexity, and even shock.

Bai Zini held up the metallic helmet with excitement glittering in her eyes.

At that moment, her brilliant mind was buzzing with thoughts as follows.

"Just wait, I’m about to find out if there are any gamers in the family! It seems like my second brother and big sister haven’t used this helmet before. My oldest brother just got back from university and hasn’t tried it either... The master just mentioned in the meeting that people over thirty-five won’t be ’possessed’ by gamers, so there’s no need to test mom and dad, just skip them."

"So... my targets are my oldest brother, second brother, and big sister. I must get them to wear the helmet today to confirm there are no traitors in the family!"

As Bai Zini thought this, her gaze shifted to her oldest brother and father playing chess, her eyes gleaming with a "you can’t escape now" look, and her smile even wider.

At that moment, several in the room were still processing what was happening.

Especially Ke Youqing and Ke Yinzhi.

Ke Youqing furrowed his brows, eyes intensely fixed on the helmet. He opened his mouth as if to say something, then just rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

The corner of Ke Yinzhi’s eye twitched, his usual composure gone, his pupils flickering with a profound light.

He thought, "What’s going on? Why does Xiao Ni have a brain imaging helmet? According to the Management Bureau, only the three heads of the Magical Girl Alliance and Qing Ya from the Superhero Association should have these helmets at this time..."

Meanwhile, Ke Xiaomo slowly unfolded his arms, staring in stunned silence at the helmet in Bai Zini’s hands, his stern brows filled with disbelief.

"What’s going on? Why do dad and my older brothers look so suspicious? Could they really be gamers?"

Bai Zini, observing everyone’s reactions, slowly lowered the helmet, sensing that something was off, and continued brainstorming intensely.

"It’s okay, I have the winning ticket! If there are any players among them, they won’t be able to escape now. Damn, why do I feel so anxious? Maybe my older and second brothers have really been possessed... Right, what about my older sister? Is she sleeping upstairs?

Maybe she’s feeling guilty; after all, she was the first to flee in the cinema last time," she thought.

As she considered this, her gaze suddenly became resolute, yet her face still wore a happy smile.

Ke Mingye turned his head, staring blankly at the brain imaging helmet in Bai Zini’s hand.

Although his face was expressionless, his back was drenched in cold sweat; he was nearly scared to fall off the sofa.

"Holy shit, what the hell is this?!" he thought, "You go to New York for a meeting and bring this ominous thing home? Isn’t your secret identity as a Magic Girl completely ruined now?"

He guessed that Bai Zini had probably gone to New York for a meeting with the top three of the Magical Girl Alliance concerning ’players,’ and then obtained this brain imaging helmet from them.

Without even thinking about it, it must have been Xizi Yue’s doing; only Xizi Yue would carelessly give such a thing to Bai Zini to mess around with.

Right after getting the helmet, Bai Zini hurried home, wanting to see if there was a mole among them. If there really was one, she would blow his head off with a Cinderella shot!

Ke Yongzhu was the first to turn his head back, staring emotionlessly at the TV while dismissing with disdain, "Boring, didn’t we already play with this lousy helmet last time in the cinema?"

"Yeah, it’s not interesting at all, only elementary school students would enjoy playing with it," Ke Mingye added mockingly.

After speaking, he shrank back apprehensively against the sofa, cold sweat streaming down his forehead, thinking to himself, "Bai Zini, you fool, if you want to blow your cover, just don’t drag me into it…"

Bai Ziling said nothing, just stared at the helmet for a while, then slowly turned her head back too. It seemed that compared to this helmet, she found playing Switch games with the family more interesting.

The three on the sofa resumed the paused game of "Overcooked" and continued playing, acting as if it had nothing to do with them.

Ke Youqing thought for a few seconds, then turned to the three on the sofa with a somewhat hoarse voice asking, "Are you saying you played with this thing last time at the cinema? When was that?"

His eyes moved, scrutinizing each child’s expression.

Ke Yinzhi and Ke Xiaomo exchanged a glance, both seeking an answer from the other. However, the confusion in their eyes was clear — indeed, it was the two of them who had cooperated last time at the cinema, trying to test with the brain imaging helmet to see if their younger siblings had been possessed by players.

But what was happening now? Why did Xiao Ni have a brain imaging helmet?

While Ke Xiaomo thought, he averted his gaze and began to explain, "Dad, it was yesterday afternoon. I took Mingye and the others to the movies, and then we met a staff member. That staff member offered a free trial of this helmet as part of the movie experience, and we all tried it."

"Right," Bai Ziling said softly, "Last time only my second brother and Qiuwu didn’t play, everyone else did."

As she spoke, she cocked her head, the light-colored strands of her hair swaying, her slender fingers quickly pressing the glowing button on the controller. In the game, the chef avatar moved swiftly around the kitchen, chopping up salmon with a knife.

Ke Mingye and Ke Yongzhu on the sofa were equally silent, their eyes following the game characters as if their souls were sucked into the game, completely oblivious to the conversation around them.

Ke Youqing was silent for a long while, his gaze fixed on Ke Xiaomo, he asked in a deep voice, "Then... did anyone have any problems while playing with the helmet, like brain damage or something?"

On hearing this, Ke Xiaomo shook his head, his expression blank as he said, "No, they assured us that it was very safe. They even demonstrated it themselves; otherwise, I wouldn’t have let them play."

"Yeah, yeah, we tried it once in the cinema," Bai Zini hummed, "My classmates also assured me it was very safe, so I thought I’d bring it home for everyone to play with."

Saying this, she placed the brain imaging helmet on the table, looking around every corner of the home, puzzled, she asked:

"Eh, where’s older sister? We’re only missing her. It’s a shame she missed out last time!"

"I was resting upstairs..." Bai Qiuwu yawned as she came down the stairs, saying, "Why is it so noisy today, is there something going on at home?"

"Exactly, sister, how did you know there was a big event!"

Speaking seriously, Bai Zini raised the brain imaging helmet from the table, "It’s... a Brain Imaging Party!"