Ke Mingqing and the Theater Puppet

After returning to his bedroom, Ke Mingqing collapsed into his swivel chair like a dead fish.

He rested the back of his head against the chair, tilted his head back, and stared blankly at the ceiling fan for a while.

"Seriously, are there even any normal humans in this family?"

Ke Mingqing lamented inwardly. The blue fan turned lazily, driving away the summer evening heat. But before long, a red-and-black notification window suddenly popped up over the fan blades.

Seeing this, Ke Mingqing straightened up from the chair back, raised an eyebrow, and looked up.

[Notice: At the beginning of the game, every player receives one opportunity to claim an "exclusive talent."]

[Exclusive talent acquired—"The Disguiser" (Exclusive talents will accompany you throughout the game and cannot be changed.)]

[Ability One: You may alter your appearance and voice at any time to confuse others. (However, you currently cannot alter your height or body type.)]

[Ability Two: "The Disguiser" prevents other players from seeing your player identifier or proactively adding you as a friend.

If necessary, "The Disguiser" can also fabricate a false "Superhuman Panel" for you, concealing your true identity.]

"Ability One looks fairly useful, but what's Ability Two for? Guarding against my own side?"

Thinking that, Ke Mingqing could not help sighing.

"But since there are a hundred players, there'll definitely be one or two traitors among them... psychos who don't care about their own lives and side with the superhumans."

He stretched out a foot to close the bedroom door, then spun his chair around and leaned over the desk, lamenting inwardly:

Not only did they put my spawn point in a Boss's house, they even gave me an inferior exclusive talent. They really aren't leaving me any way to survive... Forget it. I should see what skills are available.

He raised a hand and tapped the "Skill Store" icon in the upper-right corner of his vision.

A series of text panels immediately appeared before his eyes.

[As a player's initial privilege, on the first day of the Extinction Game, you have one opportunity to obtain any skill for "free." Please choose one of the following five skills.]

[Your current level is Lv.01. Refresh probabilities: E-rank skill 40% / D-rank skill 30% / C-rank skill 25% / B-rank skill 5% / A-rank skill 0.001% / S-rank skill 0% (PS: The refresh probability of high-rank skills will increase alongside your level.)]

[Skill One: Moon-Seeking Step (D-rank Skill)—Each activation allows you to leap upward through the air and enter a brief state of weightlessness.]

[Note: 1. This skill can be used consecutively up to five times; 2. The distance of each upward leap depends on your "Agility" attribute.]

[Acquisition Requirement: Free this time.]

[Skill Two: Index-Finger Pistol (D-rank Skill)—Transforms your right index finger into a gun barrel. Each time you snap your fingers, it fires an air bullet.]

[Note: The bullet's power depends on your "Strength" attribute.]

[Acquisition Requirement: Free this time.]

[Skill Three: Theater Puppet (B-rank Skill)—Creates a ghastly white Theater Puppet and controls its movements with your mind. The puppet can inherit your "exclusive talent" ability.]

[Note: The puppet's maximum duration depends on your "Spirit" attribute.]

[Acquisition Requirement: Free this time.]

[Skill Four: Shift and Swap (E-rank Skill)—Instantly exchanges your position with that of a living target within twenty meters of you.]

[Note: The size of the detection range depends on your "Spirit" attribute.]

[Acquisition Requirement: Free this time.]

[Skill Five: Big! Big! Big! (E-rank Skill)—Causes one part of your body to rapidly grow larger for a short period of time.]

[Note: The degree of enlargement depends on your "Strength" attribute.]

[Acquisition Requirement: Free this time.]

[Note: At midnight each day, the five skills in the Skill Store will refresh once.]

After scanning from top to bottom, Ke Mingqing's gaze stopped on "Theater Puppet" and did not move again.

B-rank skill? he thought. It only has a 5% refresh rate, and I can get one skill for free on the first day. Isn't this hitting the jackpot?

Ke Mingqing suddenly understood what it meant when people said that when God closed a window, He opened a door. Without another word, he began considering his choice.

Growing bigger was every man's dream, while learning a double jump in midair was the desire of every gaming enthusiast. But as an unlucky bastard trapped in a cage and surrounded by enemies, Ke Mingqing had no right to be willful.

Right now, naturally, he had to choose whichever skill was strongest.

So, unsurprisingly, he chose the third skill in the store.

[You currently have one opportunity to obtain a skill for free. You have confirmed your selection of the B-rank skill—"Theater Puppet."]

["Theater Puppet" has been automatically equipped in your skill slot.]

After obtaining the skill, the store did not immediately restock it. Instead, the third skill slot was shown as empty.

The remaining four skills had changed as well: their acquisition requirements had shifted from "Free this time" to "Requires XXX Superhuman Coins."

The higher the skill's rank, the more Superhuman Coins it required. Ke Mingqing did not have a single coin to his name, so he did not dwell on it and simply closed the Skill Store.

Next, he opened his player skill bar and tapped the description for "Theater Puppet."

[When the "Theater Puppet" skill is activated, a Theater Puppet will be generated at a location within fifty meters of you.]

[Notice: At present, a maximum of one puppet may be created. The puppet's maximum duration is 6 hours. (The cooldown begins after the Theater Puppet dies or disappears. It must be at least 12 hours before the skill can be activated again.)]

"Within fifty meters?" As Ke Mingqing pondered this, an overhead perspective was suddenly forced into his mind.

This perspective, like God looking down upon the human world, covered the entire fifty-meter radius around him.

Whether it was the apartment building he was currently in, the deserted streets and alleys beneath the night sky, or even the neighboring building, every scene was laid bare before his eyes.

It was as if a game developer were examining the sandbox world he had created.

Ke Mingqing could also see the phantom of a marionette.

The puppet hung in midair from countless invisible strings, like Jesus bound to a cross.

After thinking for a moment, Ke Mingqing grasped the puppet's phantom with his consciousness and placed it on the rooftop of a nearby high-rise.

The next moment, the overhead perspective in his mind suddenly vanished.

He opened his eyes, rose from his chair, pulled open the curtains, and looked through the floor-to-ceiling window at the rooftop of the apartment building across from him.

The rooftop was empty, with only a clothes rack standing there. A snow-white bedsheet hung from it. The wind had risen. The evening breeze sweeping over the city lifted the sheet.

Behind the clothes rack, he saw a figure that looked utterly out of place with its surroundings.

The "Theater Puppet" was a humanoid figure entirely ghastly white.

It had no other facial features, only a pair of hollow eyes and a cracked mouth. It wore a tall white hat atop its head and held a black Magician's Wand in its right hand.

[The "Theater Puppet" can fly using the "Magician's Top Hat." The "Magician's Wand" is used for combat and can generate a patch of ghostly blue flame at its tip.]

[The first-person perspective of the "Theater Puppet" has been connected. You may control the Theater Puppet to perform any action.]

After seeing the Theater Puppet's appearance, Ke Mingqing suddenly noticed something strange.

His consciousness had been forcibly connected to a new vessel.

As long as Ke Mingqing closed his eyes, he could see what the Theater Puppet saw and hear what it heard.

It seemed that even its sense of taste and touch could be transmitted to him. At that moment, Ke Mingqing felt as though his soul had left his body.

So, his consciousness completely entered the Theater Puppet's body.

It was as though he had gained a second shell.

Every thought he had could make the puppet move.

The ghastly white puppet began hopping back and forth across the rooftop of the building opposite. Its light body stepped onto the railings, and it even began dancing ballet.

Every movement perfectly replicated what Ke Mingqing imagined, without even a millisecond of delay.

Under the night sky, the scene looked somewhat eerie and unsettling. If an auntie came up to the rooftop to hang laundry at this moment, she would probably faint on the spot from fright.

"Does this puppet's hat and wand have special abilities?"

As Ke Mingqing thought this, the Theater Puppet leaped high from the railing, and the Magician's Top Hat suddenly began to spin.

Like the blades of a helicopter, the hat lifted the puppet into the air.

Is this thing really not going to crash? Ke Mingqing thought for a moment. Oh, right... Since the puppet can inherit my talent ability, doesn't that mean it can use The Disguiser to change its face?

[Notice: The "Theater Puppet" has used your "player-exclusive talent"—The Disguiser, altering its appearance and voice.]

At that moment, the Theater Puppet's face and bodily details suddenly changed. It became a tall naked man with deep-set eyes and sharply defined features.

It looked exactly like his father, Ke Mingwei.

While doing radio calisthenics, the Theater Puppet altered its vocal cords, opened its mouth, and spoke in a low voice.

"I am Crow Man. I am Crow Man. One, two, one, two. Sir, please confirm."

Its voice was identical to Ke Mingwei's as well.

"This really works. In that case, I can have the puppet pretend to be me and deal with everyone else at home." Ke Mingqing was overjoyed as he pulled the curtains shut again.

But it's missing clothes to cover itself, and my The Disguiser can't alter body type yet. It can only disguise me as someone of similar height. There's still quite a gap between Dad's height and mine...

Thinking of that, he sighed. What a pity. I'll see whether my talent skill evolves after I level up later.

Before long, the puppet's appearance returned to normal, and its ghastly white skin covered its body once more. The Magician's Top Hat on its head began spinning at high speed again, carrying the Theater Puppet high into the air until it disappeared into the night.

"Come on, this is way too weird... Whatever, I'll use it like this for now."

With that thought, Ke Mingqing opened his eyes and opened the quest panel.

[Main Quest One (Phase One): Create a second identity to approach the superhero "Rain Crow," attempt to attract their attention, and establish contact with them.]

He stared at the quest displayed in the panel and pondered.

"Since Rain Crow's greatest principle is never killing criminals, I'll make him kill a criminal just once. I'll find a way to have my puppet die violently in front of him and draw his attention..."

Ke Mingqing spun the swivel chair beneath him, folded his arms behind his head, and looked up at the ceiling.

"First, I should think of a name for the puppet. Every supervillain needs a codename, right?"

As that thought crossed his mind, he suddenly turned his head and caught sight of a poster for the animated series Black Jack the Strange Doctor on the wall.

"Hmm, I'll call it 'White Jack.'" Ke Mingqing slapped his forehead and settled on the name, then thought:

But the key is still what kind of villain I should play to make Crow Man notice me... Every master begins with imitation. It's time to put those superhero movies from my previous life to use.