A Guide for Background Characters to Survive in a Manga - Chapter 82



However, the next moment, the words of the wooden iron man dispelled his doubts: “There is indeed someone behind that corner. But it’s still a ways off; we didn’t go over while waiting for you.”

So that was it. Su Bei nodded in realization, a smile breaking across his face. “Well, you arrived just in time.”

If they hadn’t come early to guard the entrance, waiting for this group to meet up with the ones inside would have been a real hassle.

“Then let’s head to the exit now,” Si Zhao Hua said, glancing at Zhou Renjie. “You hold off on using your powers for now; wait until you see who’s the strongest before you act.”

↑Return to Top↑

Zhou Renjie’s ability, “A Chancellor’s Stomach Can Hold a Ship,” was a formidable hard control skill, capable of directly creating a pivot point.

Originally, he needed to make contact to activate his powers, but after a month of training, his mental strength had improved, and countless beatings had finally allowed him to use his abilities from a distance—though he still couldn’t stray too far.

“I understand,” Zhou Renjie replied, his expression darkening slightly. Since Su Bei had first seen him, he had worn that lifeless look.

At this moment, seeing him respond to Si Zhao Hua with that same expression, Su Bei’s curiosity was piqued, and he leaned closer to the wooden iron man, whispering, “What’s wrong with him?”

Though he tried to keep his voice low, it wasn’t particularly quiet; after all, everyone here was a superhuman with enhanced physical abilities, and at this close range, it was hard not to be overheard.

But Su Bei didn’t care; his attitude of watching the show had always been clear enough, and as long as he didn’t go overboard, most people wouldn’t mind.

Sure enough, after he asked, Zhou Renjie’s face darkened further, but he remained silent.

Yet the wooden iron man was not like Su Bei; he was quite considerate, simply mouthing two words to Su Bei: “Qing Qing.”

At this, Su Bei recalled that Qing Qing had vanished mysteriously, and it was no wonder Zhou Renjie looked like that. He had probably been consumed with thoughts of arguing with the ability government over sentencing Qing Qing to death, and now, in the blink of an eye, not only was the death sentence off the table, but even sentencing her again would likely be a challenge.

As Zhou Renjie’s expression grew increasingly grim, Si Zhao Hua cleared his throat. “Let’s go.”

“I’ll use my mental power to scout ahead,” Su Bei said, moving to the corner to sense with his mind. “There are five people… and it seems there are many Nightmares inside?”

From the information he gathered through his mental perception, those five were guarding the perimeter, while inside lurked a swarm of Nightmares.

But it made sense; this was the habitat of the Nightmares, and these people probably lacked the ability to kill them all. However, this also meant that after they defeated these five, they would have to face the Nightmares blocking the exit.

Thinking of this, Su Bei couldn’t help but let out an annoyed “tch.”

As he rounded the corner, the scene before him unfolded completely. It was a large circular platform, at the center of which stood a massive black door adorned with silver-white patterns.

Beside the door, six or seven obsidian-black nightmare birds perched, their stillness suggesting no intent to attack.

Outside stood five men sent by the radicals to guard the entrance. They clearly knew someone would come, but when they saw that Su Bei and his group numbered five, they froze for a moment.

What was even more surprising was that none of their supposed allies had appeared; it seemed they had all been dealt with long ago.

From noble mtl dot com

Facing an enemy of the same number was not particularly difficult. The only troublesome factor was an ability user wielding a “toilet brush” power, who charged forward, brush in hand, shouting, “This toilet brush is the real deal—it’s cleaned toilets!”

The crowd: “…”

Not just them, even this man’s few teammates recoiled in disgust, retreating as if afraid of catching something undesirable.

Si Zhao Hua looked pale, his voice cracking as he urged, “Don’t let him come near! Ren Jie, use your ability quickly!”

Yet in this extreme situation, Zhou Ren Jie surprisingly stood his ground, “I won’t!”

If he swallowed the opponent, and that guy started poking around with the toilet brush, he felt he’d never eat again in his life.

To demonstrate his resolve, he directly “swallowed” an enemy who had shrunk back. Zhou Ren Jie could only consume one at a time; he couldn’t use his ability again until he released the one in his stomach.

Mu Tie Ren, Ling You, and Su Bei all wore grim expressions; who could look good in such a situation?

Mu Tie Ren, usually a brawler, dared not step forward. Even he didn’t want to touch that thing!

Ling You was even less equipped to deal with such a rogue with her abilities.

Su Bei could attack from a distance, but the toilet brush man was no slouch; he wielded the brush with skill, deflecting most of the gears aimed at him, especially those targeting critical areas like his throat.

They were out of options, with nowhere left to retreat. Su Bei sighed, finally deciding to use his ability. Among the countless gears that had flown past, one had brushed against his head, successfully linking to the toilet brush man’s fate compass.

Su Bei gently nudged the pointer.

In that moment, everyone present saw the blond boy’s face pale slightly, and the next second, the toilet brush man, charging forward, unexpectedly tripped over his own left foot and fell to the ground.

Almost instantly, Mu Tie Ren stepped forward decisively, delivering a hand chop that knocked the man out cold.

Seeing him completely unconscious, everyone present let out a small sigh of relief. With such a “big weapon” on the field, it posed a significant threat to both sides.

The remaining three exchanged glances, and after a moment, they spoke in unison, their voices resolute: “We concede! We concede!”

“I’ve only knocked you out; I won’t harm you, rest assured.” The wooden iron man said gently to the trembling trio, then proceeded to render them unconscious in the same manner.

Immediately after, the one within Zhou Renjie’s belly was expelled. Upon seeing four of them sprawled on the ground, he understood the situation without needing further explanation from the wooden iron man, and willingly exposed his neck for the blow.

Now it was time to deal with the nightmare birds that plagued their home. Si Zhaohua, having faced such creatures once before, wore a grave expression: “They are not easy to fight; their damage is high, and their defenses are formidable.”

Just from their spiky, hedgehog-like appearance, many characteristics were evident, not to mention their numbers. It was clear that these were not the only ones; many more circled above. Su Bei was certain that once they began their assault, the ones in the sky would swoop down swiftly.

In simple terms, the odds of victory were slim.

Even the proud young men had a basic assessment of their own strength. If the gap were merely slight, they would fight without hesitation. But when faced with such a vast disparity, caution was warranted.

Si Zhaohua looked at Su Bei with hopeful eyes: “Can you still use that skill of yours?”

He knew that the fall of the toilet brush man had been Su Bei’s doing, and recalling their previous encounter with the purple-haired girl, Si Zhaohua believed Su Bei’s ability was extraordinary, truly worthy of its connection to fate.

Now, confronted with an insurmountable foe, he instinctively sought Su Bei’s help.

“Too many,” Su Bei replied, shaking his head in resignation.

If there were only two or three nightmare birds, he could manage. But with so many, even exhausting his mental energy wouldn’t suffice!

He could use an invisibility talisman, but he hadn’t exchanged for enough, and he didn’t want to waste them here. After all, Si Zhaohua and the others were the protagonists; Su Bei couldn’t believe they would be stymied by such a minor obstacle.

Sure enough, it wasn’t long before Si Zhaohua had a new idea: “Since we can’t fight, let’s lure them away.”

It was a sound strategy; if they could use food or some noise from outside to draw the birds away, they could leave without a fight.

Everyone pondered his words. Moments later, Su Bei raised an eyebrow, looking at the one who had proposed the idea: “So that means it’s up to you?”

At his words, the others suddenly understood, and Si Zhaohua meant just that: “I’ll fly up from outside to lure them away. You all take this chance to escape; every one of you that can get away, do so.”

“That won’t do.” The wooden iron man was the first to object. “If we leave, we leave together.”

If the exit was narrow, allowing only a few to pass, he could accept that someone might have to stay behind. But if it meant sacrificing one for the sake of others, that was absolutely unacceptable.

Knowing his temperament, Si Zhaohua felt a slight headache: “But this is the only way; nothing can be perfect.”

“Not necessarily,” Su Bei suddenly interjected.

He glanced at the small pointer above Si Zhaohua’s head, which was indeed tilted to the right, indicating that he would soon face a minor setback. If all went as expected, this setback would be that he could not leave with them.

He could not change the fate of six or seven nightmare birds, but altering one person’s destiny was still a trivial matter for him.

With a flick of the pointer, Su Bei casually said, “Go.”

“This…” The wooden iron man hesitated, but out of trust in Su Bei, he said nothing.

Meanwhile, Si Zhaohua immediately turned and walked away after Su Bei finished speaking.

Before long, the nightmare birds seemed to sense something, suddenly flapping their wings and soaring into the sky, vanishing in an instant.

Once they had departed, Su Bei and the others hurried to the side of the door. In the center of the grand entrance was a square recess, perfectly sized to hold the token they had obtained.

Ling You took out the token from his possession and pressed it into place. The next moment, the door indeed swung open, revealing a bright red number—“5.”

“This means five people can exit, right?” Zhou Renjie exclaimed, excitement bubbling in his voice; there were exactly five of them!

“Should be,” the wooden iron man nodded affirmatively.

Suddenly, hurried footsteps echoed from behind. The group turned to see Si Zhaohua approaching, jogging with bright eyes: “Just now, another person suddenly flew up into the sky, so I hurried back down.”

At this revelation, everyone turned to Su Bei, their eyes wide with shock.

Su Bei waved his hand, barely able to speak before the intercom crackled to life with Wu Mingbai’s voice: “I just received new intel; it seems the exit has changed since the day before yesterday.”

“What kind of change?” Upon hearing Wu Mingbai’s report, Su Bei felt a sense of reassurance wash over him, as if he had been waiting for this moment.

Since entering this alternate space, they had smoothly obtained the token, located the exit, dealt with the radicals, and led the nightmare birds away… Everything had unfolded in a seemingly logical manner, though not without difficulty. Yet, Su Bei still felt it had all been too easy.

This alternate space appeared to belong to the exceedingly difficult category; logically, there should have been some significant plot developments. Yet, the experiences they had gone through were not only disconnected from any main storyline, but also lacked truly engaging content—there was even less information revealed than in a group battle.

If they were to stay in this alternate space for a few days, that would at least be somewhat interesting. But the problem was, it was only the first night, and they had already found a way to leave.

—

Could it be that the unfolding plot was all meant for Jiang Tianming and the others, who couldn’t even leave? That was simply absurd.

From the moment he found the exit, Su Bei’s internal alarm had been ringing incessantly, a nagging feeling that something was amiss.

Until the intel from Wu Mingbai arrived.

“Three days ago”? What a profoundly significant time, precisely the day they had departed from the academy.

It was known that the “Black Flash” had decided to target them, and they were aware of their itinerary. And this alternate space just happened to undergo a change on the very day they left the academy.

The connection was subtle, almost appearing as mere coincidence. But this was a world of comics, where any coincidence could very well be a plot point crafted by the author.

Su Bei was eighty percent certain that this alteration was brought about by the “Black Flash” organization.

Seeing that he had fallen silent, Si Zhaohua asked, “How do you know all this?”

Thus, Wu Mingbai began recounting his experiences of the day.

Unlike the others, he had first appeared at the stronghold of the conservatives. Faced with a throng of attackers, Wu Mingbai wisely chose to surrender. Fortunately, his ability was [Earth Element], and the conservatives, having a need for farming, decided to keep him around.

At this point, he took a moment to introduce the ideology of the conservatives. Some among them were too weak to escape, forced to remain here. Others felt the outside world was too chaotic and had fled to this refuge.

It was only then that everyone realized this alternate space was quite well-known among seasoned ability users; many had friends or family, or even themselves, trapped here.

Returning to Wu Mingbai, during his time with the conservatives, he had successively found teammates Wu Jin and Zhao Xiaoyu. Following two battles with the radicals, he had earned the trust of the conservatives, which allowed him to gather useful information.

The change in the exit door was something an elder, who had been in this alternate space for three months, had informed him about, stating that such a situation had never occurred before.

“What now? Should we go in?” Looking at the black door, Zhou Renjie felt a sudden pang of fear for reasons he couldn’t quite grasp.

The others were equally hesitant. Mu Tieren turned to Su Bei: “Su Bei, what do you think we should do now?”

In truth, he was grasping at straws, as Su Bei possessed a fate-related ability and had often displayed a knack for foresight. In this uncertain situation, Mu Tieren thought perhaps asking Su Bei could yield an answer.

Having used his abilities twice in quick succession, draining a significant amount of mental energy, Su Bei now felt lethargic, lacking any spirit.

Upon hearing the question, he merely flicked his eyelids: “Smash the glass cover of the watch, and be done with it.”

“Don’t joke around.” Zhou Renjie felt a mix of tension and amusement, “Are we really going to let a mere altered door scare us into surrendering? Do we have no pride?”

—

The three of them, Si Zhaohua, did not speak, but it was clear they shared the same thought. To call the teacher when nothing had happened? Wasn’t that just throwing themselves into chaos?

They had grown accustomed to Su Bei’s joking demeanor. This guy loved to spout nonsense when he was in a bad mood.

Yet, by the heavens, Su Bei was dead serious about this suggestion. He genuinely believed the best course of action was to summon the teachers immediately, to extricate themselves from this quagmire.

Still, he could understand the others’ reluctance. If it weren’t for Su Bei’s godlike perspective, he probably wouldn’t have thought to call for the teachers either.

What a pity it was! If they were willing to call for help, he could naturally take advantage of the situation and escape the danger with flair. But since they were unwilling, he couldn’t just leave them behind.

Otherwise, if he were the only one not involved in the unfolding drama, it was clear the comic author would never grant him any additional content.

“Chirp chirp—”

A few sharp bird calls echoed from the sky, and Ling You’s expression tightened: “They’re coming back.”

If they didn’t make a decision soon, they would have to leave right now, but the next time they thought of this place, they would inevitably face even stricter scrutiny from the radicals.

Finally, Si Zhaohua gritted his teeth and made a decision: “Let’s go in!”

They had already reached the door; there was no point in fleeing at the last moment. After all, all the doors had changed; it wasn’t just this one that had transformed. Leaving without calling for the teachers, it didn’t matter which door they chose.

With that, he reported the situation into the intercom and resolutely stepped inside.

Su Bei sighed silently, following the others toward the gaping black door.

Darkness vanished in an instant, and light returned.

As expected yet surprising, they did not find themselves back in the outside world but rather on a small island.

How did they know it was an island? Because behind them lay endless mist and a bottomless abyss.

Zhou Renjie, who had turned back inadvertently, was so frightened he stumbled away from the cliff. If he hadn’t remembered he was in an unfamiliar place, he might have screamed outright.

The others were equally shaken, primarily because the scene was undeniably bizarre. In the pitch-black night, a chilling wind howled, and behind them was an unfathomable cliff, shrouded in thick, milky-white mist that seemed artificially created to obscure their vision.

Aside from a few dry trees and patches of hay, there was nothing around. The sparse vegetation formed a meandering path, leading to a pitch-black castle that seemed to beckon travelers closer.

The five exchanged glances; even a fool could see that the castle was certainly suspicious. Yet, the only place they could go was that very castle, and they had no choice but to proceed.

“Let us rest here for a day, and speak again come morning.” After a moment’s thought, the Ironwood Man proposed a reasonable plan. Night, after all, was fraught with more peril than day; it would be wiser to wait until dawn to make their calculations. Besides, after a day of toil, everyone was weary—both in body and spirit—and needed a proper recovery. Now was the perfect time to rest.

With no objections from the others, the Ironwood Man gathered a pile of firewood. In the oppressive darkness, the flames became a stark beacon; generally, one would avoid lighting a fire if possible.

Yet this place was bitterly cold, and even clad in vests, they could feel the bone-chilling wind. If they were to sleep without a fire, come morning, they would all surely wake with fevers.

It was now one in the morning, and five of them took turns keeping watch, each interval lasting an hour and a half. Due to the considerable drain on his mental energy, Su Bei was assigned the first watch.

Bored, he poked at the fire with a stick he had picked up, musing how much better it would be if Li Shu were here with them. Though his mind was a bit unhinged, he had brought comic books! An hour and a half was a long stretch to pass in silence.

With a sigh, he gazed distantly at the castle. It loomed dark and foreboding, its windows devoid of light, giving the impression that it was uninhabited.

What could be lurking within? He had thought they would be captured the moment they stepped through that door, yet the “Black Flash” organization seemed intent on other schemes.

Lost in thought, Su Bei looked up at the sky, murmuring to himself, “This sky seems… a bit unreal?”

The night sky was terrifyingly black, lacking the purples and hues that a normal night should possess; it was pure darkness. No stars adorned the heavens, only a full moon. It hung there like a bulb, round and bright, reminiscent of the moon on the sixteenth night of the eighth month.

At a glance, it seemed unremarkable, but upon closer inspection, the entire night sky, along with the moon, felt somewhat artificial.

A contemplative expression crossed Su Bei’s face. What place was this, truly?

Just then, he heard a strange rustling sound. Su Bei focused his mind, straining to listen.

“Rustle, rustle…”

What was that? The sound of something scraping against the ground and through the grass!

Realizing something was amiss, Su Bei sprang to his feet, rousing the others. “Wake up! There’s danger!”

As everyone jolted awake, he turned back to the ground. To his shock, a mass of tiny black beetles had emerged, crawling across the earth. Upon closer inspection, he noticed that the backs of these beetles bore rows of sharp, jagged mouths!

They didn’t appear overtly dangerous, but they were utterly revolting.

The others followed his gaze, startled. “When did these come?”

Su Bei shook his head, brandishing a torch in his hand. He swept it across the ground, igniting a patch of the writhing mass, successfully clearing a space, the air now thick with the acrid scent of charred flesh.

The bodies of the insects that had not been reduced to ash were immediately surrounded by others, who, in the blink of an eye, devoured their fallen comrades, then continued to crawl toward Su Bei and the others.

The beetles kept surging in thick waves, yet the ease with which they could be killed kept everyone from feeling too anxious. Si Zhao Hua chuckled helplessly, “At least Baozhu isn’t here.”

Zhou Renjie, who knew Ai Baozhu well enough, nodded with a hint of sympathy, “With so many insects, she’d go mad.”

Mu Tieren, mimicking Su Bei, found a stick to help clear the insects, then asked in confusion, “Where do these bugs come from?”

Ling You, standing nearby, pointed toward the edge of the small island and said softly, “From there.”

The group followed her finger and indeed saw that the endless stream of Nightmares was crawling up from beneath the island.