A Guide for Background Characters to Survive in a Manga

20:

“What were you guys talking about just now?” Mutie Ren, who was waiting for them at the entrance, suddenly asked, “Did Su Bei give you any hints?”

Due to his special abilities, his senses were quite sharp. Although he was standing some distance away, he had still caught bits of Jiang Tianming’s conversation. He didn’t understand what they said afterward, but he did catch a little about Su Bei.

From the very first day of school, he was curious about Su Bei’s special ability. Anyone who had listened carefully to his conversation with Jiang Tianming would not believe that his ability was really something as mundane as “Gears.”

Although he wouldn’t actively seek it out, he couldn’t help but be curious when he heard about it.

Hesitating for a moment, Jiang Tianming shook his head: “Sorry, perhaps you could ask Su Bei directly?”

He didn’t want to withhold the information from Mu Tie Ren. After all, the week’s interactions had made it clear to Jiang Tianming that the class president was indeed a good and honest person. He was not stingy in helping classmates and was always careful not to pry into others’ secrets.

But after all, this was Su Bei’s matter, and speaking rashly could bring trouble to Su Bei. The latter had helped him, after all, and repaying kindness with ingratitude was not right.

Mu Tie Ren was not angry about the concealment, but instead showed understanding: “I should be the one apologizing. If I want to know, I should ask Su Bei directly, not trouble you.”

“What are you guys talking about?” Mo Xiao Tian approached with curiosity, “I think I heard Mu Ge wants to ask Bei Ge? If there’s something to ask him, Mu Ge, take me with you next time?”

Clearly, this guy knew nothing but was keen on joining in the excitement. Wu Ming Bai scoffed: “An idiot, why on earth would Tianming bring him along?”

Jiang Tianming looked at him helplessly: “Then you go and send him away.”

Wu Ming Bai fell silent. Even he couldn’t drive away someone who couldn’t understand human speech, especially since Mo Xiao Tian, though not smart, hadn’t done anything wrong. Surely he couldn’t really lay a hand on him?

The five of them walked into the cafeteria together. With the help of the school authorities, the cafeteria staff from that day had all been gathered in the dining hall.

It’s worth mentioning that the special abilities academy did well in this regard. They didn’t look down on them because they were students; instead, they actively helped Jiang Tianming and the others find the murderer.

After all, this was not an ordinary school, but a special abilities school. They were not training ordinary students, but future ability users who would have to fight against shadow beasts.

Ability users often faced accidents, dangers, and death. Students who could face such dangers could not be cultivated in the ivory tower of a school. This is also why special abilities schools often organize competitions and real combat exercises.

Now that they had encountered an unexpected situation at school, if they could resolve it themselves, the school authorities would naturally be pleased.

At this moment, there were about twenty people sitting in the cafeteria, precisely the cafeteria staff from that day. They had been working in the cafeteria all along and had heard about the incident. Now that they had been summoned, many of them faintly realized what had happened, and their faces looked troubled.

Being inexplicably involved in a murder case and becoming a suspect, no one could take it lightly.

Everyone stood in batches according to their positions, and Jiang Tianming scanned the crowd: “First, each of you tell us what you were doing between four and five o’clock that afternoon.”

That time period was when the victim died. Sun Ming was stabbed

through the heart from behind, with no delayed death.

The Ironwood man reliably added, “If there’s an issue with his timeline, or if he’s omitted anything, others may rebut after he’s finished speaking.” ()

A mechanical voice announced, “A reward of five thousand yuan will be given for providing valid evidence. ” It was coming from Lan Subing’s phone.

During this time, because the investigation often required communication with others, and although Lan Subing was still severely socially anxious, she finally found a method that suited her—communicating via her phone.

While this wasn’t much help for using her special abilities, at least she had a means to interact with strangers.

With the support of the reward money, everyone indeed became enthusiastic, their eyes no longer filled with complaints of being implicated, as they took turns recounting the events of that day.

It was soon the turn of a male chef.

Jiang Tianming and the male chef locked eyes for a moment, and suddenly, Jiang Tianming was taken aback. In that instant, a realization dawned on him, almost uncontrollably altering his facial expression.

But he quickly recovered, adjusted his expression, and after the man finished presenting his timeline, and after listening to two others, he spoke, “Let’s all take a short break, have some water, and discuss the information we’ve just received.”

The cafeteria staff thought he was being considerate of them, after all, they were only slightly suspicious and hadn’t actually harmed anyone, so taking a break didn’t make them feel guilty.

Others might not know, but his companions could sense something was off with Jiang Tianming. So, without objection, they obediently followed him out of the cafeteria.

As soon as they stepped out of the cafeteria, without waiting for others to ask, Jiang Tianming’s expression turned serious: “Just now, one of the chefs’ eyes, they were the exact same color as the clue given by Su Bei!”

At these words, Lan Subing and Wu Mingbai were momentarily stunned; they hadn’t noticed such a minor detail.

It had to be said that Jiang Tianming was indeed the most meticulous among them. After receiving Su Bei’s hint, he carefully recalled the purple-red smoke that Su Bei had created with his abilities that day, which allowed him to notice the difference in that chef immediately.

Although Wu Mingbai hadn’t noticed this detail, he trusted his friend’s judgment: “Among the suspects just now, besides the one you mentioned, indeed, none had purple-red eyes.”

“So it seems, one of the meanings of that clue actually represents eye color?” Lan Subing had also tried to analyze the hint given by Su Bei at the time but had never quite understood it until now, when they were beginning to uncover the tip of the iceberg.

At this point, Mo Xiaotian couldn’t hold back any longer. He had been patient thus far because the Ironwood man had already asked Jiang Tianming, and they were unwilling to speak, so he didn’t want to be annoying.

But at this point, if they still didn’t speak, it would be rather pointless: “What exactly is this hint you’re talking about? It’s about time, you can’t keep hiding it, right?”

Jiang Tianming indeed had no intention of continuing to hide: “The hint we received should be a clue to the murderer’s identity, it was a mass of purple-red smoke, the same color as the eyes of the purple-red-eyed chef we saw just now.”

In fact, Su Bei’s hint at the time wasn’t explicitly about anything in particular, but as things had developed to this stage, the hint must have been about the murderer’s identity; otherwise, it wouldn’t have been of any use.

“Su Bei gave it to you?” Mo Xiaotian’s eyes lit up, then he wrinkled his nose, “He’s not being very fair, is he?”

“He never told me his superpower was so formidable! I’m going to be angry with him when I get back!”

Despite saying so, he clearly bore no grudge, but rather, he was overjoyed. And this joy wasn’t the kind from clinging to someone powerful; after all, he himself was the pride of Class A, simply delighted by his friend’s newfound strength.

After all, for superhumans, being weak not only meant a lack of prominence but also a full measure of danger.

As long as one is a superhuman, regardless of strength, they will attract the attacks of nightmare beasts. Even if one never steps out of the city for a lifetime, safety isn’t guaranteed—only personal strength can secure it.

This was also why Mo Xiaotian was so happy.

After more than a week together, Lan Subing had grown fond of the innocent Mo Xiaotian, even starting to speak a little in his presence: “Su Bei didn’t tell us what his superpower actually is.”

The implication was that it wasn’t a deliberate concealment from you; he equally hid it from everyone. To this day, Su Bei still adamantly claims his superpower is “Gear,” regardless of whether anyone believes it.

Knowing Lan Subing was comforting him, Mo Xiaotian showed a big smile and nodded vigorously: “Yeah! Then I’m relieved!”

Lan Subing: “?”

“Pfft!” Wu Mingbai, who had listened to the entire conversation, burst out laughing, not sparing his friend’s dignity, and said proudly, “See? Didn’t I say I clashed with his persona?”

—Both are black and white.

Jiang Tianming’s eyes were also full of laughter, but upon hearing Wu Mingbai’s shameless words, he still glanced at him: “There’s no need to slander Xiaotian like that.”

It was the most reliable elder brother, Mutieren, who brought the increasingly off-topic discussion back on track: “If, as you say, purple-red represents the killer’s eye color, then what does the smoke represent?”

The clue was purple-red smoke; initially thought to be one entity, but now that purple-red had a place, the smoke naturally should have its own significance.

“What could the smoke represent?” Jiang Tianming’s thoughts also returned, “Smoking?”

Wu Mingbai also started guessing, but he hadn’t completely separated purple-red from smoke, so his thought was: “A fire?”

Mo Xiaotian looked left and right, scratching his head: “Didn’t anyone guess it’s a superpower?”

A statement that woke everyone from their dreams!

Before, no one had considered the possibility of a superpower, but now it seemed highly likely.

Many staff members at the Superhuman Academy were superhumans, though most were weak F or D class. These people, not wanting to abandon their superhuman identity yet fearing attacks from nightmare beasts, and having some skills, came to work at the school. So it’s really hard to say whether these suspects have superpowers.

And the murderer, so elusive and unpredictable, could very well be using some supernatural power.

Jiang Tianming made a snap decision: “I’ll go ask the head teacher if the school has a machine to detect supernatural abilities. You guys hold them off, don’t let anyone sense there’s a problem.”

The group split up, and Jiang Tianming quickly found Meng Huai to explain the help he needed.

Meng Huai didn’t suspect a thing and decisively brought out a machine, the very one used to test students’ supernatural abilities at the start of the school year.

He thought further ahead than Jiang Tianming. Apart from the teachers and staff, the school had no one with abilities above a D-level. If among those suspects there was someone with a higher level of ability, even if they weren’t the murderer, they probably harbored ill intentions.

Having obtained what he wanted, Jiang Tianming hurried back to the cafeteria, this time with Meng Huai by his side. After all, if the murderer really was in the cafeteria, they might lash out if exposed, so it was safer to have him along.

As they entered the cafeteria, all eyes turned to them. When they saw the machine in Jiang Tianming’s hands, Wu Mingbai, who was closely watching the prime suspect, clearly saw a change in the suspect’s expression.

But the suspect quickly regained composure, and had Wu not been watching intently, the moment might have gone unnoticed.

With everyone’s cooperation, the machine worked quickly. In less than half an hour, everyone had been checked, and no issues were found.

The chef with the amethyst eyes didn’t even have any supernatural abilities.

Could they have been wrong? Jiang Tianming was doubtful. Perhaps the smoke signal wasn’t indicating a supernatural ability, but something else? If that were the case, they were back to a deadlock.

After all, the clue given by Su Bei’s ability was incredibly abstract. If it weren’t for the direct eye contact with the suspect, Jiang Tianming would never have realized that the purple smoke was a clue to both ‘purple’ and ‘smoke’, and that ‘purple’ referred to the color of the murderer’s eyes.

Honestly, who would have guessed that!

The expressions of the few in the know weren’t looking good either. They had thought they were on the verge of uncovering the truth, only to encounter a setback at the last moment.

Could they really have been mistaken?

“Since nothing unusual was detected, I’ll be taking my leave then?” Packing up the machine, Meng Huai prepared to leave. Although he had nothing pressing in his office, he shared the school’s view that the students needed to be challenged. If these students could solve the case on their own, all the better. He preferred not to interfere if possible.

“Um…” Jiang Tianming hesitated, not speaking. He still felt their conjecture was correct.

Just as he was doubting himself, Wu Mingbai’s eyes suddenly flashed with insight, and he stepped forward to whisper in Jiang’s ear: “The detective’s ability didn’t work on the murderer either.”

With that revelation, Jiang Tianming had an epiphany.

Indeed, the machine designed to test supernatural abilities operates by harnessing a stored ability that can test other abilities. In essence, it uses one supernatural power to test the user’s powers.

The detective had mentioned before that he couldn’t summon the spirits of the deceased because they were “supernaturally prohibited.”

If the dead can be “supernaturally prohibited,” then so can oneself. If the murderer applied such a power to himself, it would be normal for the machine not to detect anything.

Jiang Tianming is increasingly convinced that this chef is the murderer. With Meng Huai right beside him, this is the perfect opportunity to expose him.

“Teacher, is there a way to lift the ‘supernatural prohibition’?” He knew their recent actions must have already raised the alarm. It would be too risky to discuss his suspicions with Meng Huai in private now, as it might put the latter on guard. Better to confront him directly, without giving him time to prepare.

As soon as he spoke, Meng Huai understood his implication. After all, he was present when the detective attempted to use his powers and knew that the victim was “supernaturally prohibited.”

However, before he could respond, the chef with the purple-red eyes suddenly lunged forward like a hunting leopard, charging at Wu Mingbai, who was closest to him, clearly intending to take him hostage as a means of escape.

His speed was too fast for Wu Mingbai to react. Indeed, no first-year student could have responded to a surprise attack from a high-level supernatural being.

But this did not include their homeroom teacher. Being a teacher at a school for the supernaturally gifted, and having taught the S-class, Meng Huai was no pushover. Almost simultaneously with the murderer’s move, he became a blur, rushing to protect Wu Mingbai and subdue the criminal.

He was confident in his own strength; it was nearly impossible for anyone below S-class to escape from him, let alone attack someone in his presence. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have dared to follow them alone, knowing that Jiang Tianming and the others might have identified the murderer.

As expected, despite the murderer being less than two meters away from Wu Mingbai, Meng Huai, who was five meters away, managed to intercept the assailant before he could strike, swooping in like a teleportation beside Wu Mingbai, ready to capture the criminal.

But the murderer was no fool; he was well aware that he was no match for the school teacher. So, in the moment he was about to be caught, he suddenly turned into smoke and fled.

Meng Huai tried to catch him, but a smoke-form criminal is not so easily captured, and he dissipated into the air in no time.

“He’s fast,” Meng Huai remarked, seemingly unruffled by the disappearance, casually withdrawing his hand without any intention of pursuing. Instead, he took out his phone and fiddled with it for a bit.

After he finished, he put the phone back in his pocket and turned to see everyone staring at him in shock. Meng Huai frowned but ignored the staff and looked at the students, arms crossed: “What are you standing around for? Go find someone, quick!”

Even Jiang Tianming was bewildered: “How do we find him?”

Wu Mingbai, equally perplexed, followed up, hoping for more guidance: “Aren’t you going to search, teacher?”

Then came the class president, Mu Tie Ren, with a furrowed brow, always thinking of the people’s welfare: “Us search? What if he hurts someone in the meantime?”

With hands flying over the keyboard, Lan Subing, who had been preparing the voice command on the phone, pressed the play button the next second: “Where is he?”

In the end, he looked left and right, feeling out of place for not speaking, though he had nothing to say. Mo Xiaotian, ever eager, raised his hand: “Mission accepted! The detective game turns into hide-and-seek!”

Lan Subing held her forehead, pulling down his hand, signaling him to be quiet.

After everyone had spoken, Meng Huai calmly said, “He can’t hurt anyone, that ability won’t last long, and the indoor buildings have been sealed. Can we go find him now?”

Meng Huai’s confidence meant he had a solid plan. With the issues he addressed out of the way, the culprit could only move physically outside the school buildings, making it much easier to find him.

Without further hesitation, the group left the cafeteria.

On the other side, Su Bei had just left the library, heading back to his dorm. He hadn’t planned on going to the cafeteria today; a simple meal would suffice. He knew the cafeteria wouldn’t be peaceful today, likely triggering his cannon fodder fate.

He hadn’t walked far when he frowned, sensing something was amiss.

When had this place become so quiet? Why was there no one around?

Although the library was seldom visited by other first-year students, it was next to the teaching building, so it wasn’t usually this deserted.

But now, the entire road was empty, not a student in sight.

What had happened?

Su Bei subconsciously took out his phone and turned it on, immediately receiving two messages. There was a signal blocker in the library, so he hadn’t received them in time.

Both messages, one from his class group and one from his grade group, read the same — “A dangerous individual has appeared on campus, please stay indoors and do not go out.”

Su Bei: “……”

He rolled his eyes and decisively turned to return to the library for refuge.

Even a fool knew that the “dangerous individual” mentioned in the message was the killer of Sun Ming. Being someone already entwined with the killer, appearing outside made it highly likely he’d be targeted. Better to hurry to a safe place.

Speak of the devil, and he shall appear.

Just as his hand touched the library door, Su Bei felt a chill on his neck.

He didn’t need to look down to know that a sharp dagger was pressed against that fatal spot.

“Stay still if you don’t want to die!” the voice behind him hissed venomously, while another hand gripped Su Bei’s neck tightly, almost as if intending to strangle him.

Su Bei sighed silently, moving compliantly with the force applied: “Stop choking me. If I die, where will you find another unlucky soul to be your hostage?”

Hearing this, the assailant’s arm indeed loosened a bit. He didn’t believe Su Bei could escape his grasp, especially since a high-level superhuman’s physical abilities far surpassed those of a lower-level one, not to mention the added boost from his powers, leaving no chance for an overturn.

He didn’t realize this was the same student who had thrown him over the shoulder before, and of course, Su Bei had no plans to repeat that move.

Last time, it was because the other party was completely unguarded, and perhaps the “comic consciousness” had also lent a hand, allowing him to subdue the assailant so easily. But this time, he was a hostage, and the criminal wouldn’t let his guard down.

So running was out of the question; better to make himself comfortable.

Clearly, Su Bei’s attitude left the assailant somewhat puzzled: “Aren’t you afraid?”

“Afraid? I’m terrified,” Su Bei drawled, his tone lazy and nonchalant, clearly spouting nonsense.

He truly didn’t feel afraid; aside from anger, his heart harbored a sense of resignation.

This damned case, he hadn’t dared to get involved for the sake of his own life. Yet, stepping out the door, he still managed to bump into the criminal, making it hard not to suspect that he might end up dying at the criminal’s hands.

Fate couldn’t be avoided; all his actions had merely added another death.

If that was the case, then he might as well die along with that damned “comic consciousness,” and let this comic world die too.

So now, he embraced resignation; if he could live, he would live; if not, so be it. After all, he had done everything he could.

The “comic consciousness” was also playing dead at this moment, not daring to utter a word, fearing Su Bei would break down completely.

“You…”

The assailant’s words were cut off by the sound of footsteps approaching. His arm tightened again, forcibly turning Su Bei around and rushing towards Jiang Tianming and the others.

With a slightly hoarse voice, the assailant barked, “Stand still! If anyone moves, I’ll kill him!”

Jiang Tianming and the others stood in a row, looking over with some surprise. They weren’t shocked that the criminal had taken a hostage, but they hadn’t expected the hostage to be Su Bei.

How did he get caught?

“Didn’t the teacher say no one would get hurt?” Since discovering the culprit, Mutei Ren’s brows had never relaxed.

Hearing this, Su Bei’s brows imperceptibly lifted.

“I don’t know…” Jiang Tianming shook his head, looking at the calm-faced Su Bei, and miraculously, his heart wasn’t so worried anymore. If it were Su Bei, he wouldn’t get into trouble so easily, right?

It wasn’t entirely luck; mainly because Su Bei had always seemed to know a lot. If he died so easily, wouldn’t that be strange?

Thinking this, he also asked, “Su Bei, do you have a way to save yourself?”

After a second of silence, Su Bei calmly replied, “Yes, but this is your stage.”

The implication was that he wouldn’t help, even to save himself.

But actually, his help wasn’t needed. Su Bei silently watched the protagonist group of five communicate with him on the surface, but in reality, they were quietly laying out their plan—Lan Subing’s scarf seemed to move, Mo Xiaotian’s fingers dangled and spun…

He immediately felt at peace. Worthy of the protagonist group, they were well-coordinated.

But the culprit hadn’t noticed this, or rather, because he didn’t take these first-year students seriously, he didn’t care about their subtle movements.

However, Su Bei’s words made him feel a bit uneasy. The dagger leaned back, and a purplish-red mark appeared on his neck. A little lower, and it would turn into a line of blood: “Don’t play tricks, speak! What can you do?”

“Hey!” The five who were quietly making their moves were startled by his action, looking at Su Bei worriedly, fearing that he might actually kill him by accident.

Even though Su Bei said he had a way, facing such direct harm, he probably couldn’t come out unscathed.

“Can I deceive them and not you?” Su Bei looked helpless, whispering, “What can I do? It’s just to reassure them.”

The culprit didn’t quite believe his words, but couldn’t think of what else he could do, so he warned him again before turning back to the protagonist group: “Let me leave the school, and I’ll release him.”

The five exchanged glances, and Jiang Tianming spoke up, “Don’t hurt him, walk to the school gate first, we’ll talk to the teacher.”

Reaching the school gate, once the school doors opened, he could leave immediately. The culprit nodded, taking Su Bei and striding forward.

“Thud!”

Before he had taken two steps, a sudden crash echoed. It seemed as if the assailant’s head had collided with something, and the grip that held Su Bei captive inevitably loosened.

Su Bei was never one to waste an opportunity. Fully prepared, he seized the moment, breaking free from the assailant’s hold with all his might and sprinting forward as fast as he could.

As the hostage fled, the assailant instinctively gave chase, only to be tripped by a clump of earth that had risen beneath his feet at some unknown time. And it was this stumble that cost him the chance to recapture his captive.

In the next second, a cage of vines rose from the ground, trapping the assailant within.

This cage was not the supernatural ability of Jiang Tianming and the others, but rather the support of the school.

With the situation resolved, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Mo Xiaotian gave Su Bei a thumbs-up, his eyes sparkling: “Brother Bei, you ran so fast just now! We really do have a great understanding!”

It was precisely because he had seen Mo Xiaotian flick his fingers that Su Bei had been able to run out at the first opportunity. If nothing had gone awry, the object the assailant had collided with was likely Mo Xiaotian’s supernatural ability.

Having a great understanding with a naive sweetheart—was that even a compliment? Before Su Bei could ponder this question, he heard Wu Mingbai ask curiously, “So, did you really have a way to escape?”

Hearing this, the others also turned their gaze to Su Bei, equally curious about the answer. Without their help, how would Su Bei have saved himself?

Only Mutie Ren was not very curious. Due to his superior physical condition, he had overheard the quiet conversation between Su Bei and the assailant and did not believe that Su Bei truly had a means of escape—it was merely to reassure everyone else.

Seeing the crowd’s persistent questioning, he intended to speak up and help Su Bei out of the predicament. However, before he could say anything, he saw Su Bei shrug his shoulders and bellow, “Teacher, save me… Ouch!”

No sooner had the words left his mouth than he received a thump on the head.

Meng Huai, who had appeared behind him out of nowhere, withdrew his hand from Su Bei’s head, saying irritably, “What are you shouting for?”

After speaking, he looked at the people present and smiled with satisfaction: “Well done.”

The next second, the long-missed voice of “Comic Consciousness” rang out: “‘Supernatural King’ has been updated, please check it out!”!

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