A Guide for Background Characters to Survive in a Manga

Chapter 21

Hearing the reminder from “Manga Consciousness,” Su Bei kept his expression neutral, his hand in his pocket brushing against his phone. He steadied his mind and continued observing the situation.

Clearly, Meng Huai had no intention of lingering. After that brief praise, he walked toward the cage. The killer inside seemed frozen, only able to glare with his purplish-red eyes at the group that had ignored him for so long, unable to move an inch.

“I’ll take this guy now,” Meng Huai said. At some point, a black box had appeared in his hand. With a light twist, the cage and the killer inside were “whooshed” into it.

Jiang Tianming and the others, who hadn’t seen much of the world, widened their eyes in amazement at such a magical tool. No wonder they were ability users!

Su Bei was equally surprised, but his focus was more on the protagonist group. When the teacher used the tool, the only two who showed no surprise were Lan Subing and Mu Tieren.

Lan Subing made sense—she was a rich heiress, so even if she wasn’t an ability user before, she’d have seen plenty of ability tools.

But Mu Tieren? What was his deal?

As he pondered, Mo Xiaotian was already cheering and rushing over: “Wow! Such a cool tool! Teacher, teacher, can we play with it?”

Su Bei vaguely felt like he saw a wagging tail spiraling behind him. Was this guy actually a puppy spirit? In a manga world, anything seemed possible.

Shaking his head, he dismissed the odd thought and joined the others gathering around.

Meng Huai had already firmly rejected Mo Xiaotian but told everyone that these ability tools could be bought with points at school. Outside, they were priceless.

Points could be checked on the campus network’s personal page. Su Bei had checked his before—over twelve days, he’d only earned 10 points from attending classes.

He’d also browsed the ability tool section of the campus store once. The cheapest tool cost 100 points, and the most expensive was an astronomical figure—out of the question for now.

Clearly, these tools weren’t meant for ordinary students. Only special activities could earn enough points quickly to buy ability tools. And for now, Class F students had no access to those.

After scolding the overconfident kids, Meng Huai checked a text on his phone, reading slowly: “To thank Jiang Tianming, Wu Mingbai, Lan Subing, Mo Xiaotian, and Mu Tieren for helping apprehend the campus killer, the school has decided to award each of them 100 points. Additionally, Su Bei, who was startled on campus, will receive 10 points as compensation.”

“Ugh—so little!” Su Bei deliberately complained, though he had no intention of asking for more. Whether 10 or 100 points, it was better than nothing. Even with the points earned from classes, before the monthly exams, the most expensive tool he could afford would be a small storage ring.

A storage ring was useful, but since he’d be with the protagonist group during the exams, as long as they had one, he didn’t need one himself.

Suddenly, Jiang Tianming spoke up: “Su Bei also contributed to this. He provided us with a lot of help, and we only identified the killer because of his tip. I think he should get 100 points too.”

The others nodded immediately, hoping the school would reconsider Su Bei’s reward. They knew the “purplish-red smoke” hint came from Su Bei. Though he didn’t participate throughout, he provided a critical clue and shouldn’t get just 10 points.

Seeing their reaction, Meng Huai glanced at the slightly stunned Su Bei: “Evidence?”

Jiang Tianming pulled out his phone, showing a message Su Bei sent before they entered the cafeteria: “This should prove he helped us, right? As for the specifics of the hint, we’d rather not say. That’s okay, isn’t it?”

The message made Meng Huai raise an eyebrow. He gave Su Bei another deep look, then nodded briskly: “Fine. Then he gets 100 points like the rest of you. Any objections?”

No one spoke, so the matter was settled.

Wu Mingbai suddenly thought of something, flashing an innocent smile: “Teacher, can we hand the killer over to the Sun family tomorrow night?”

It was the twelfth day, with two days left until the fourteen-day deadline set by Sun’s parents. Handing over the killer tomorrow would still be in time.

But the reason for the delay was to give the Lan Corporation outside more time to pressure the Sun family. Sometimes, a single day could be decisive.

Meng Huai knew what they were up to and showed a hint of amusement: “Sure. We need to interrogate this guy first anyway, so we won’t hand him over too quickly.”

Everyone exchanged knowing smiles—except Mo Xiaotian.

Mo Xiaotian didn’t care about that and was curious about something else. Unable to hold back, he raised his hand: “By the way, Teacher, what’s your ability? You can teleport, make that plant cage, and move so fast.”

At this, the others also looked at Meng Huai curiously. As Mo Xiaotian said, Meng Huai had shown so many skills—they couldn’t imagine what ability could encompass all of them.

“The plant cage and teleportation are abilities built into the school,” he said, giving the group a half-smile. “As for my ability, how about this: the first one to guess it correctly gets 200 points, funded by me.”

200 points was no small sum—100 more than they got for catching the killer. As expected of a teacher, he was loaded.

But their focus wasn’t on that—it was on “school abilities.” The school had teleportation capabilities and could restrain anyone on campus at will?

That was surprising news. It must be an emergency security measure activated after Sun Ming’s death. While it boosted students’ sense of safety, it also made them ponder: was this entire investigation under the school’s control from the start?

Except for one person, of course.

“[Body Enhancement]? [Speed Boost]? [Strength Augmentation]?” Mo Xiaotian noisily pestered Meng Huai, determined to keep guessing until he got it.

Annoyed, Meng Huai vanished on the spot. Mo Xiaotian looked innocent: “Huh! Why’d he leave?”

Wu Mingbai couldn’t help rolling his eyes at him, then turned to Su Bei: “Did you already know that yelling ‘Teacher, save me’ would bring the teacher to rescue you?”

Earlier, when they asked if Su Bei really had a way to escape, he’d shouted “Teacher, save me,” summoning Meng Huai. It was hard not to think he’d known the school’s secret beforehand.

Sure enough, Su Bei nodded.

He had known, but not as early as Wu Mingbai and the others thought. It was when Mu Tieren said, “Didn’t Teacher say no one would get hurt?” that Su Bei suddenly pieced it together.

If the teachers made such a promise, it wasn’t baseless. Indoor safety alone couldn’t guarantee every student’s security—especially with unlucky cases like his. There had to be another way to ensure safety in such situations.

Yelling “save me” was likely to actually save you.

He didn’t call out the moment he realized this for two reasons. First, he wanted to give the protagonist group a chance to shine—couldn’t steal their manga spotlight. Second, seeing the teacher hadn’t shown up, he figured they wanted the students to get more experience.

So, he went with the flow.

But there was no need to explain this. Su Bei waved at the group: “Thanks for the great show. I’m heading back to the dorm.”

With that, not wanting to wait for them to stop him, he turned to leave.

He had a manga to watch, after all!

But the moment he turned, Su Bei keenly sensed a gust of wind rushing from behind.

With agile footwork, he stepped aside. The next second, Mo Xiaotian came crashing into the spot where he’d been.

With no one there, Mo Xiaotian, who’d meant to jump onto Su Bei’s back, predictably missed. In true manga fashion, he froze in midair for a split second before face-planting heavily onto the ground.

“So in love with the school’s dirt?” Seeing Mo Xiaotian’s foolish state, Wu Mingbai, who never got along with him, instantly perked up, mocking him without hesitation.

Unfortunately, it was like playing music to a cow. Mo Xiaotian didn’t mind at all, standing up and brushing off the dirt before eagerly scooting back to Su Bei’s side: “We finally caught the murderer! Shouldn’t we celebrate with a big meal together?”

Ignoring his starry-eyed pleading, Su Bei firmly refused: “No.”

With that, he grabbed Mo Xiaotian by both shoulders, turned him around to face Jiang Tianming and the others, and gave a gentle push, sending him back to the protagonist group.

Su Bei nodded slightly at Jiang Tianming: “Take him away.”

Catching the incoming Mo Xiaotian and setting him aside, Jiang Tianming hesitated before asking: “You really won’t come? We’re kind of…”

He faltered, a faint embarrassment coloring his face. Mu Tieren, catching his drift, smoothly finished: “We’re kind of looking forward to having you join us.”

Relieved he didn’t have to say it, Jiang Tianming nodded to confirm that’s what he meant, then said earnestly: “How about as friends?”

“You don’t think the help you gave us is worth a meal, do you?” Wu Mingbai said with mock innocence, using reverse psychology.

Lan Subing promptly punched him, then, while holding Mo Xiaotian, who’d just been passed back by Jiang Tianming, pulled down her scarf and said very softly but expectantly: “Please?”

Amid Mo Xiaotian’s “Come on, come on” background chatter, Su Bei was silent for a moment before nodding somewhat helplessly: “Tomorrow.”

He had to hurry back to watch the manga today, or he wouldn’t feel at ease.

Watching his retreating figure, Mo Xiaotian, finally free from restraint, scratched his head in confusion: “What’s that mean? Did Bei-bro agree? Are we still eating today?”

This guy, forever out of the loop! The group couldn’t help but facepalm, saying in unison: “Tomorrow, idiot!”