A Guide for Background Characters to Survive in a Manga - Chapter 95



On Friday, everything was ready, just waiting for the right moment. The three of them interfered with the surveillance and arrived at the imposing silver door. This door looked like it couldn’t be easily breached; it could only be opened with a password.

Logically, this should have been a challenge, but it clearly posed no difficulty for the trio; each of them knew the password.

The most convenient was Su Bei, who directly “saw” the password being input by the scorpion braid using his mental power, of course claiming he had stolen a glance.

Si Zhaohua used his powers to gently place a feather on the elbow of the scorpion braid, allowing him to replicate the action later. That was just him; after all, Su Bei couldn’t replicate in such a situation.

Finally, there was Zhao Xiaoyu, who had somehow borrowed a strip of transparent tape and stuck it directly onto the keypad of the digital lock. Almost imperceptible fingerprints appeared on the tape.

She had deliberately observed the movements of the scorpion braid, clearly aware of the approximate location of the repeated button presses, and had deduced it as well.

Pushing the door open, the three stepped inside. Zhao Xiaoyu took a deep breath, beginning to walk step by step toward the “Crystal of Loyalty.” Su Bei and the other two kept their eyes fixed on her, trying to gauge from her expression whether she was growing weaker with each step.

But unexpectedly, Zhao Xiaoyu showed no signs of weakness; instead, her expression grew stranger, as if she had stumbled upon something peculiar.

When she reached the crystal ball, she turned her head, her face filled with doubt: “I… I don’t feel weaker at all; in fact, I feel stronger with every step?”

That vibrant sense of mental energy, that robust feeling of strength, was honestly quite pleasant. Yet this was completely different from what had been recorded in the experiments. In the experiment, the vitality of subject number ten had steadily declined, while her vitality, though changing at a stable rate, was steadily increasing.

Su Bei and Si Zhaohua: “?”

Did he really just speak a prophecy? The success data in that table was indeed inaccurate; it turned out that it wasn’t the proximity to the crystal that caused a stable decline, but rather stability itself that could be considered a touchstone.

He had misjudged one thing earlier—the comic author had no intention of diminishing Zhao Xiaoyu’s role. Even without his earlier words, the current plot points would have allowed Zhao Xiaoyu to establish her character.

Zhao Xiaoyu hesitated, as expected. Even with the “Revival Stone” provided by Si Zhaohua, once activated, the cost would shift from death to the loss of her powers, which was equally hard to accept.

Neither Si Zhaohua nor Su Bei spoke at that moment. Such a significant choice concerning life and death (and powers) could only be made by the person involved. Whether she chose to continue or to give up, they would support her.

Time was of the essence, and Zhao Xiaoyu was not one to dither. After a minute, she made her decision: “I want to continue.”

Though her situation was not entirely the same as the successful experimental data, her similarity to the successful cases far outweighed those of the failures. All those failed cases were chaotic; just the stability of her own feelings was enough for her to take a gamble.

Having stated her decision, she looked at the two, her tone resolute: “But this decision I make is not to save anyone.”

She was not that selfless; in fact, in Zhao Xiaoyu’s view, the term “selfless” applied to her was an absolute insult.

She would rather be seen as a selfish villain than one day be labeled a selfless gentleman. Thus, even knowing that not saying this would be more beneficial for her, she still spoke it aloud.

Si Zhaohua was somewhat bewildered, not understanding why Zhao Xiaoyu would say such a thing at this moment. No matter her reasons, hadn’t she saved everyone? He was the type who would genuinely choose to save more people in life-and-death decisions, so he couldn’t grasp Zhao Xiaoyu’s meaning.

But Su Bei understood her thoughts well, nodding slightly: “You are doing this for your own salvation.”

Zhao Xiaoyu paused for a moment, meeting Su Bei’s gaze, which held a faint, affirming smile. An idea slipped past her mind, and she blurted out instinctively, “Su Bei?”

In her understanding, among all the people she knew, only Su Bei could grasp the meaning she had just tried to convey.

The other classmates in their class were filled with the fiery sense of justice typical of their age, which sometimes made Zhao Xiaoyu feel overly pragmatic, as if she were an outsider.

But Su Bei was different. Though they were entirely different people, at least one thing united them: neither possessed that innate sense of righteousness.

Of course, there were two others in Class S who might share her thoughts in such a situation—Zhou Renjie and Li Shu. Yet they differed from Zhao Xiaoyu in their own ways.

Zhao Xiaoyu was selfishly generous, unafraid of others knowing her shrewdness. In contrast, those two preferred to mask their “badness.” Though their differences were significant, their outward expressions in this regard were ultimately about concealment.

Faced with her earlier words, Zhou Renjie and Li Shu would likely struggle to respond immediately. Even if their thoughts were solely on self-preservation, they would surely claim it was for the sake of everyone.

Only Su Bei would not hide his own “badness.”

So, when she heard the child Yan Nan’s response, Zhao Xiaoyu instinctively thought of him.

Yet, as she looked back, the child’s bare confusion in his brown eyes made her hesitate. Was this child really Su Bei? He resembled him, but it felt unlikely.

What she didn’t know was that Su Bei had already decided to reveal his identity only after their escape succeeded. After all, it was clear that even without him, Si Zhao Hua could manage to escape.

Since it would be the same with or without him, why not enjoy being a carefree child? If he transformed back, he would undoubtedly have to contribute afterward. Moreover, with his added strength, the danger from the kidnappers might increase. For him, it was a matter of no benefit, only harm.

Thus, he would absolutely not reveal his identity now. Su Bei, the master of disguise, looked at Zhao Xiaoyu with a face full of confusion: “Huh? What?”

“Nothing… it’s nothing.” In the end, Zhao Xiaoyu chose not to pursue the matter further. With no basis for her thoughts, even if she truly felt Su Bei resembled this child, she wouldn’t casually speculate.

Besides, there were pressing matters at hand. She didn’t intend to dwell on this question, shaking her head to clear her thoughts, and turned her gaze back to the black crystal ball.

With fate hanging in the balance, Zhao Xiaoyu took a deep breath and placed her hand on the crystal ball.

The air seemed to still for a moment.

In the next second, she exhaled deeply, feeling a slight weakness in her legs. But then came a powerful joy rising from the depths of her heart, a feeling of having survived a calamity: “I did it!”

“Wonderful!” Si Zhao Hua also breathed a huge sigh of relief, genuinely happy for her. “Quick, destroy the ‘Loyalty Crystal’!”

“I’ll return the necklace first.” With that, Zhao Xiaoyu began to take off the necklace. The thought of wearing this fragile piece, which would shatter and render her powers useless, made her quite anxious.

Si Zhaohua quickly stopped her: “Wait a moment, let’s not destroy the crystal just yet. No one has done this before; what if something goes wrong when it breaks?”

His words held a certain logic, and Zhao Xiaoyu had no choice but to keep the necklace for now.

Watching them pass the buck, Su Bei couldn’t help but find it amusing. The “Revival Stone,” which seemed invaluable to outsiders, appeared to them like a hot potato that no one wanted to touch.

Having faced intermediate nightmare beasts a few times, Zhao Xiaoyu was now quite adept at using her mental energy to attack. She summoned her powers, directing her mental force toward the crystal ball.

With ease, the crystal ball shattered with a resounding crash.

But unexpectedly, the dark essence within the crystal did not vanish; instead, it surged directly into Zhao Xiaoyu’s body.

“What’s happening?” The two onlookers clearly witnessed this scene, and Zhao Xiaoyu felt a wave of panic. Yet, since the “Revival Stone” showed no signs of malfunction, it seemed there was no major issue.

There was no time to ponder; the moment the crystal ball broke, a piercing alarm echoed throughout the entire base.

“Beep beep beep beep beep beep beep—”

The three of them instinctively opened the door and sprinted outside. They had planned their route in advance; it was the time for cargo ship exchanges, and most of the ability users should be outside. If they could escape through the back door, they could temporarily avoid most enemies.

Sure enough, they encountered only three or four ability users blocking their path. Given the circumstances, Si Zhaohua showed no mercy, his feather-like blades sharp as knives.

Like a god of death, he cut through any obstacle, truly living up to the role of a comic book hero’s counterpart.

Once outside the base, Su Bei ran up the mountain alongside them, yet he couldn’t shake the feeling that he had already been exposed. What ordinary child could keep up with the speed of ability users? Forget about keeping pace here; he would have fallen behind back at the base.

But he couldn’t risk revealing himself by asking Zhao Xiaoyu and the others to carry him. After all, the “Transformation Mask (Fake)” was merely a mask; it could change his appearance, but not his weight.

If someone picked him up, it would expose him even faster; it was better to keep running.

Logically, he should have been discovered long ago, but the reason he hadn’t been caught yet wasn’t due to Zhao Xiaoyu and Si Zhaohua’s lack of attention; it was simply that the current situation didn’t allow for meticulous scrutiny.

During intense physical exertion, even thinking consumed energy. In such moments, their focus was solely on the immediate tasks, and the finer details were easily overlooked.

If Su Bei were a real child who had fallen behind due to his inability to keep up, they would have surely noticed and come back to retrieve him. But since he managed to keep pace, Zhao Xiaoyu and Si Zhaohua didn’t give it a second thought.

After running a considerable distance, the three finally had a moment to discuss what had just happened.

“Xiao Yu, do you really not feel anything?” Si Zhao Hua asked, brow furrowed. “You saw something enter your body, right?”

“I did see it,” Zhao Xiao Yu nodded. “It was something from the ‘Loyalty Crystal.’ I don’t know what it is, but I truly don’t feel anything now.”

She was worried herself; who knew what that thing was? Especially since it was black. In the eyes of the world, black and purple—those darker hues—often conjured up ominous speculations.

But dwelling on it now was pointless; no amount of fretting would yield any answers. Moreover, she needed to conserve her strength and speak less, so Zhao Xiao Yu kept it brief: “Let’s ask Teacher Ye Lin when we get back; she might have a way.”

This was the only option left. The two fell silent, focusing on their escape. During this time, Su Bei kept his head down, running without uttering a word. It was already strange enough that he could keep up with the two; if he drew any more attention to himself, they might just remember him.

If they could guess his identity directly, that would be one thing—at most, it would just mean a little less intrigue in his storyline. But if they couldn’t guess, they might start spinning conspiracy theories, and that would be troublesome.

They ran fast, but the pursuers were swift as well. Once the kidnappers realized what was happening, they charged after them. Ordinary ability users could easily be left behind, but those formidable ones, like the Scorpion Braid, could keep pace, even outpacing Si Zhao Hua and the others.

The Scorpion Braid was truly flustered; she hadn’t expected to misjudge the situation so badly. She thought she had tamed three little pups, but instead, she had unleashed three wolves.

As a result of her oversight, the “Loyalty Crystal” was destroyed, and the mission was a complete failure. It was clear she would bear the brunt of the responsibility. She had been hoping to use this opportunity for a promotion and a raise, but now even keeping her life was in jeopardy—how could she not be furious?!

—

The Scorpion Braid no longer hoped to recover her losses; she just wanted to kill these three to vent her anger. At least with the culprit’s corpse in hand, she could somewhat redeem herself. As the distance closed, she immediately unleashed her ability, seizing Su Bei, who had fallen to the back.

Grabbing a child might not seem useful, but it could make the other two hesitate, achieving the greatest gain at the smallest cost.

Targeted, Su Bei felt an invisible hand tighten around his throat, pulling him toward the Scorpion Braid.

He didn’t struggle, merely feigning a lack of resistance, and was easily captured. Just looking at him, who would suspect he wasn’t just an eight-year-old child, raising any alarms?

However, the moment he stood before the Scorpion Braid, Su Bei suddenly exerted force, delivering a powerful kick to her chest. The Scorpion Braid was caught off guard; the sheer force sent her flying five meters away.

With her ability rendered ineffective, Su Bei seized the opportunity to rejoin the fleeing group, selectively ignoring the questions swirling in Si Zhao Hua and Zhao Xiao Yu’s minds.

Now was not the time for inquiries. Although the two were shocked by the sight of the child’s unexpected strength, they didn’t ask further and continued to run.

The Scorpion Braid was truly furious now, too enraged to ponder where a child could have found such strength. Clutching her chest, she barked an order to a nearby ability user who had just caught up: “Cough, cough! Quickly use your ability on that one in white!”

The only one wearing white among the three was Si Zhao Hua. The child was only eight; he shouldn’t have awakened any abilities, and Zhao Xiao Yu’s powers had already been tested—genuinely useless. The only one who could potentially pose a threat was Si Zhao Hua.

Upon hearing her command, Si Zhao Hua’s heart raced. Just as he tried to dodge, a beam of yellow light struck him directly.

Su Bei and Zhao Xiaoyu tensed up immediately. Zhao Xiaoyu hurriedly asked, “Are you okay? How do you feel now?”

“Feels like I’m fine?” Si Zhaohua indeed felt no soreness in his waist or legs, no sensation at all.

He concentrated, suddenly changing his expression: “My powers are sealed!”

The kidnapper’s abilities could actually seal someone else’s powers?!

Zhao Xiaoyu was equally taken aback. They knew that the most crucial part of their plan relied on Si Zhaohua activating his powers to lead them away. If he couldn’t use his abilities, they would stand no chance against the onslaught of so many powered individuals—certain death awaited them!

“Can you sense the duration of the seal?” It was Su Bei who first regained his composure, cutting straight to the heart of the matter.

Si Zhaohua felt again, his expression easing slightly: “Five minutes.”

Five minutes? That was somewhat acceptable. From their current position to the cliff’s edge would take about four minutes, meaning they only needed to hold out for one minute to escape.

It was certainly difficult, but there was still a chance.

As Si Zhaohua sprinted with long strides, he urged Su Bei, “When the time comes, you just huddle in the corner; we’ll do our best to protect you.”

Beside him, panting heavily, Zhao Xiaoyu retorted, “Do you… huff… really think… huff huff… he needs protection?”

She was beginning to realize something was off. This strength? This speed? What kind of monster was this guy? She could only hope that Su Bei truly was on their side, and wouldn’t suddenly stab them in the back at a critical moment.

In just four short minutes, the three of them experienced a barrage of long-range attacks. Arrows, bullets, sound waves, barriers…

Su Bei couldn’t help but suspect that they had known from the start that this mission would involve a chase; otherwise, it was hard to explain why there were so many long-range attackers.

Dodging the kidnappers’ ranged assaults with agility, the trio finally reached the edge of the cliff. Fortunately, they had sustained little injury; the worst was a cut on Zhao Xiaoyu’s arm.

Zhao Xiaoyu and Si Zhaohua indeed took the lead, fighting fiercely against the kidnappers. Though Si Zhaohua’s powers were unusable, his physical skills were formidable.

And with Zhao Xiaoyu’s “Laughter” assisting him, every time he exerted himself, uncontrollable laughter erupted from her. It was a strange, exhilarating feeling, and the kidnappers were certainly suffering from the very ability they had initially looked down upon.

As the distance closed, various close-range abilities found their purpose. The two could barely handle the physical attacks, but when combined with powers, they were stretched thin.

Su Bei couldn’t be bothered to complicate matters; he quietly used his abilities from the back to assist.

Whose pointer is misaligned?

Adjust, adjust, all must adjust!

With this hand of his, the enemy’s powers barely grazed the two of them.

Yet, despite this, Si Zhaohua and Zhao Xiaoyu were still forced to retreat step by step; after all, two fists cannot contend with four hands, especially when facing seasoned wielders of abilities. Victory was simply out of reach.

Fortunately, they did not need to win; they only needed to hold on for a minute.

“Five seconds left!” As the enemy’s powers were about to be unleashed, Si Zhaohua shouted loudly, rallying the spirits of his comrades. It was also to give the other two a sense of timing, so that when he activated his ability, he could immediately pull them along.

Seeing their group struggle against just two students, the Scorpion Braid felt a surge of urgency. Though she didn’t know what Si Zhaohua’s ability was, she sensed it must be significant; otherwise, they wouldn’t be so eager.

No, they couldn’t let them escape unscathed! The Scorpion Braid was truly anxious; if she couldn’t hold even one of them, wouldn’t that just prove her worthlessness?

Noticing the malice in her gaze, Zhao Xiaoyu’s heart raced with alarm. As she saw the Scorpion Braid preparing to strike at Si Zhaohua and Su Bei, Zhao Xiaoyu lunged forward, pushing Si Zhaohua out of harm’s way.

Si Zhaohua must not be harmed; if anything happened to him, they would surely be unable to escape. Saving him was imperative.

She calculated well; this position would allow Si Zhaohua to evade the attack, while she could use gravity to avoid most of the blow herself. Even if injured, it would only be a minor wound.

Sure enough, everything unfolded as she had predicted. The Scorpion Braid unleashed an attack akin to a shockwave, attempting to push Si Zhaohua off the cliff with sheer force.

But thanks to Zhao Xiaoyu’s timely intervention, the attack not only missed Si Zhaohua but the few strikes that did hit Zhao Xiaoyu were insufficient to send her over the edge; she could withstand it.

However, fate had other plans. Zhao Xiaoyu had intended to halt her momentum in time. But as she exerted her strength, darkness suddenly clouded her vision, and she felt inexplicably weak. The energy she had gathered dissipated, leaving her unable to resist, and she was sent plummeting off the cliff!

“Ah!” The sensation of weightlessness struck her, and Zhao Xiaoyu’s eyes widened in terror as she screamed.

Su Bei hadn’t anticipated such a twist; he could no longer hide his strength. Quick as lightning, he grasped one of Zhao Xiaoyu’s hands just before she fell.

Yet, the immense force of inertia made it clear to him that he could not pull Zhao Xiaoyu up alone; he would be dragged down with her.

With just the two of them falling, and entangled with the kidnappers, Si Zhaohua might not be able to activate his ability in time to save them.

So, without hesitation, Su Bei seized Si Zhaohua’s ankle, pulling him down as well.

Suddenly, Si Zhaohua was yanked down, his entire being jolted in shock. Yet he reacted swiftly, understanding that Su Bei’s intention was not to let the three of them perish together, but rather to await the awakening of his powers.

Two seconds—enough time.

The three plummeted rapidly, and just as they reached the cliff’s midpoint, Si Zhaohua’s abilities finally unfurled!

A pair of wings, pure white and a full meter in span, spread wide. With a powerful flap, Si Zhaohua soared into the air, as if an angel had descended, effortlessly lifting the two others with him.

Suspended in the air, he looked down upon the kidnappers on the cliff, their faces twisted in frustration, already far beyond their reach. The crisis had finally been averted.

He exhaled deeply, then lowered his silver head slightly to gaze at the child gripping his ankle, a mix of amusement and irritation bubbling within him: “Su Bei, you’d better watch out when we get back to school.”

How heavy could a girl and a not-so-chubby child be? Si Zhaohua was well aware that the weight beneath him was anything but normal!

Recalling the child’s extraordinary speed and strength, along with that lingering sense of familiarity, he realized there was nothing left to question.

Damn it! Su Bei had been putting on this act in front of him and Zhao Xiaoyu for nearly two weeks!

If it weren’t for his upbringing, Si Zhaohua would have truly lost his temper! He was both exasperated by Su Bei’s convincing performance and frustrated with himself for not seeing through it!

As he watched the usually graceful Si Zhaohua silently curse with his expression, Su Bei lowered his head, unable to suppress the laughter bubbling up from his throat.

Hearing the familiar laughter that no longer altered its tone, Zhao Xiaoyu, who had firmly grasped one of his wrists, shot a fierce glare at the figure above, her voice weak yet gritted: “You’re pretending, you…”

Class, class. She restrained the impulse to curse, echoing Si Zhaohua’s fierce words: “You’d better watch out when we get back to school.”

At this, Su Bei truly couldn’t hold back any longer, bursting into unrestrained laughter: “Hahahahahaha!”

With his bright laughter, the “transformation mask (fake)” was lifted, his form expanding, the unremarkable brown hair reverting to dazzling gold, his eyes shifting from brown to a mysterious deep purple.

Yet, the usual strategic smile on his face was, at this moment, strikingly different.

Seeing that familiar face now adorned with an unabashedly radiant grin, Si Zhaohua and Zhao Xiaoyu found their anger inexplicably dissipating by half.

The excitement of their successful escape, previously suppressed by frustration, surged back into Si Zhaohua’s heart, bringing with it a sense of lightness and joy.

But he still wanted to maintain his anger, deliberately letting out a “hum.” Yet, amidst Su Bei’s laughter, he couldn’t help but break character, the sound transforming into a chuckle.

—

At this, Zhao Xiaoyu could no longer hold back, a soft laugh escaping her lips.

The two of them simultaneously thought: Well, isn’t Su Bei always like this? Given that he had helped quite a bit this time, it was best to let him off the hook for now.

They flew from the island to the mainland, and even though Si Zhaohua had great stamina, he was already exhausted. But that wasn’t the real issue; the true problem was that as they flew, Zhao Xiaoyu suddenly fell unconscious.

Before losing consciousness, Zhao Xiaoyu had already recounted the situation. She could have easily resisted the attack of the scorpion tail, but she had suddenly lost strength and tumbled off the cliff.

After that, Zhao Xiaoyu felt her body weaken, her spirit utterly drained. If it weren’t for Su Bei holding her hand, she wouldn’t have been able to grip anything at all.

Clearly, something was amiss, and the only unusual occurrence with Zhao Xiaoyu was that black mist that had seeped into her body. So, if nothing else was at play, her sudden weakness must be due to that black mist.