Chapter 298 - A Guide for Background Characters to Survive in a Manga

Chapter 298 [Su Bei: ?] Upon seeing his response, Jiang Tianming, who had been constantly checking his watch, immediately replied. [Jiang Tianming: I'll keep it brief. From what we've learned, the clown's original setup wasn't like this. They were only supposed to give deceptive students a small lesson by deducting half of their fixed points. However, somehow this setting changed right from the start to what it is now. We want to see if you can change the clown's fate.] Of course, he couldn't; he knew his own abilities. Changing the destiny of the present or the future was possible, but altering the past was out of the question. However, Su Bei knew someone who could help. [Su Bei: Find Elvis.] With Elvis's abilities standing out prominently, if anyone could change past events, it undoubtedly had to be him. Moreover, with an old character making a return, a story arc involving him was bound to happen. Su Bei surmised that the author's initial plan was probably for the children to seek Elvis's help in solving the issue. It was just that Jiang Tianming and the others, being more familiar with him, instinctively sought his help first. After receiving a reply of "Got it," there came no more messages—a sign they were likely off to find Elvis. Still, despite having suggested this successfully, Su Bei had an uneasy premonition. He suspected that in the end, he might have to take action himself. From the last incident at Vicy Sanctuary, it was clear that the manga author didn't mind giving him moments to shine; sometimes, the author even willingly offered him plot involvement. Reflecting on the author's actions, Su Bei surmised that once the author became aware of his character's existence, with a mindset of utilizing everything available, they wouldn’t mind letting him have tasks to do. After all, any character in the manga—whether protagonist, antagonist, beloved character, expendable minor role, or background extra—could die. The author bore this absolute confidence; giving Su Bei some plot couldn’t possibly let him escape their control. Thus, in this plot line, it was likely he also had a chance to appear. Su Bei pondered over this carefully and soon identified the problem at hand. While for Elvis, altering a clown’s timeline might not be difficult—requiring only a targeted adjustment to the clown’s timeline to a few hours prior—changing all the clowns in the amusement park would demand a great deal of mental power. The time-based power was inherently consuming, and with such a large number and extensive duration involved, even with Elvis's special methods to conserve energy, it would still fall short. Coincidentally, in tackling this very issue, Su Bei had encountered something similar long ago, and, aware of the forum's presence in manga, he hadn’t ignored this loophole. He had specifically devised a method to perform a group-wide power deployment. With this in mind, Su Bei closed the treasure chest lid and stood up, brushing off the dust as he walked outside. He aimed to first locate some of the clowns here, to preemptively assess whether their fates could be linked together. If possible, it would be great; if not, he would need to concoct a reason to refuse Jiang Tianming’s request without exposing his own limitations. Finding a clown currently chasing someone, Su Bei activated his power, recording the clown's fate compass with the gear. He found another clown today and similarly examined its fate compass. After this observation, he breathed a sigh of relief. The two clowns’ fate compasses were nearly identical, significantly easing his effort in linking their fates together. Earlier, while lowering his head on the surrounding small train, he noticed numerous clowns on the ground—definitely over two hundred. If their pointers markedly differed, adjusting each of them would have consumed a lot of mental power. Though he could forcibly link their fates, doing so would also take a considerable toll on his mental power, albeit much less than individually altering each fate. If Su Bei's mental power were quantified as 100, simply and naturally connecting the compasses with close pointers would only consume around 20. However, if he wished to forcibly connect a group with completely distinct pointers, the exhaustion might well reach at least 50, dependent on their numbers. Even though it would still demand significantly less mental power than altering each fate individually, Su Bei wasn't content with this. Everything he did aimed first and foremost at preserving his own life. Considering the ongoing external threats, not leaving enough mental power to protect himself once outside would pose a peril. With two clowns as evidence, Su Bei had a grasp of the situation. He returned to the surrounding small train, patiently waiting for Jiang Tianming and the others to message him again. Of course, if they didn’t, it wasn’t an issue; he would be relieved to see them resolve matters independently. Yet his forebodings were seldom wrong. After about an hour, the watch buzzed again. This time, it wasn't Jiang Tianming speaking, but Wu Mingbai. Presumably, Jiang Tianming might have felt too embarrassed. [Wu Mingbai: Su Bei, do you have a way to link the clowns' fates? That way, when Elvis changes one, he can simultaneously alter the other clowns' fates. Otherwise, changing them one by one might drain too much of his mental power...] [Su Bei: I can do that.] Expecting this, Su Bei wasn’t at all surprised. After affirming his answer, Jiang Tianming quickly dispatched Si Zhaohua to fetch him. After all, finding Jiang Tianming’s group was challenging, but finding Su Bei was pretty straightforward. There was just one small train and one track. In a scenario where flight was possible, following the track would easily lead to finding him. Si Zhaohua arrived promptly, picking up Su Bei, and as they flew mid-air, he casually quipped with a smile, "The clowns said once we adjust their fate, they can send us out." Could it really be over? Su Bei’s eyes brightened. Although outside dangers might not have dissipated, judging from the setup seen in the manga's recent issue, the author seemed intent on allowing Qi Huang to shine. Thus, by the time they exited, Qi Huang likely had dealt with most issues, leaving the protagonist group to handle any lingering small threats. For him, this meant that as long as he left the illusion realm, the danger was essentially over. And any slight danger from the outside could be easily dealt with, given the mental power he had reserved. “That truly is—” He hadn’t finished when he instinctively activated his power to glance, instantly pivoting his remarks, “Thinking too optimistically.” With such abysmal fortune, if they managed to smoothly leave the illusion after dealing with the clowns, he'd eat their fate compass whole. Si Zhaohua: "?" “What do you mean?” His earlier relaxed demeanor shifted to tension; he had assumed safety was near, yet Su Bei's words suggested otherwise. Su Bei wasn’t entirely sure what the issue was; he only knew, “Let it be natural; you guys can’t alter your fate anyhow.” The plot conceived by the author couldn’t just be changed; even if this wasn’t a manga world, Su Bei had no means to alter everyone’s fate. There were too many people; pointers varied greatly and wouldn’t align like the clowns. Moreover, these weren’t regular folks but rather super-powered individuals, making fate alteration even harder. After he tagged their fates, ensuring he conserved some mental power for self-preservation meant he wouldn’t assist the clowns anymore. Given a choice between two, he opted to flow with the author’s storyline. Realizing Su Bei wasn’t speaking idly, Si Zhaohua’s brows furrowed in silence. Arriving at their destination, everyone initially wore jubilant expressions to welcome them, but upon catching Si Zhaohua’s gaze, the smiles evaporated. Jiang Tianming queried in confusion, “What’s the matter? What happened?” “Su Bei mentioned…” Casting a glance at Su Bei, who showed no objection, Si Zhaohua continued, “Things might not end as easily as we thought.” Everyone understood the underlying meaning; Su Bei's power never lied. Elvis immediately shot a doubtful look at the clown, “Is he deceiving us?” Before the clown could respond, Jiang Tianming swiftly interjected, “Clowns don’t lie; I’m confident there's no mistake in that.” Su Bei also concurred with this notion; clowns deceiving wouldn’t sync with their peculiar reasoning for killings, which would then become laughable. However, not lying didn’t preclude speaking untruths. Zhang Tianming, evidently aware, began to reconsider the clown's earlier words, “‘We can think of a way to send you out of the illusion,’—if this promise wasn’t deceitful, the issue must lie with...where will we be after leaving the illusion?” Grasping the critical point, he swiftly turned to the clown, eyes fixated intently on its whimsically painted face, "You said you'd send us out of the illusion, where will we be once out?" "I've never been to the outside world, so who knows where that is," the clown maintained its signature smile, appearing utterly unfazed by their suspicion. His reply was flawless. Jiang Tianming pondered again, asking, “Once we’re outside, will it be the same place as when we entered?” The clown's response was similar to before: "I've never been outside, so I don't know what it was like when you came in or what it will be like when you go out." "Then, one last question," Jiang Tianming asked calmly, "Please don't deflect. Is the place we're going to exit from the same as where we entered?" Though the clown's answers seemed fine, upon closer inspection, it was evident that the clown hadn’t actually answered Jiang Tianming’s previous question. Jiang Tianming's inquiry required a simple "yes" or "no," and the clown’s response hadn't fallen between these two answers. He was attempting to change the topic, something Jiang Tianming understood all too well. There was no escaping the question now, and the clown finally stopped concealing the truth: "...No." After giving this answer, the smile vanished from the clown’s face, and his blood-red, sausage-like lips pressed together tightly, signaling he had no intention of saying anything further. Jiang Tianming, too, had lost interest in pursuing the matter. The clown had already answered that he had no idea where they would be transported next, so further questioning was pointless. "What should we do now?" one of Elvis’s teammates asked dejectedly. "This must be a conspiracy; the moment we get out, we'll fall into someone else's trap!" Not just him, but everyone else was also feeling down. They thought success was within reach, only to find another trap hidden beneath the surface. If leaving meant walking into another trap, was there any point in leaving now? Wouldn't it be better to wait patiently in the illusion, hoping the teachers would rescue them? “Who made you do this? Was it the Nightmare Beast, the 'Black Lightning' organization, or some other force?” Elvis questioned angrily, hoping to ascertain the true culprit and discern their purpose. After all, being captured by the Nightmare Beast versus the 'Black Lightning' organization would lead to completely different consequences. Yet the clown remained silent. Wu Mingbai also wanted answers, so he followed up, “Aren't clowns supposed to bring joy? Do you see us laughing?” “You are bad children; clowns don’t bring joy to bad children,” the clown replied with a melodramatic rise and fall in his voice, his lips deliberately forming a downturned arc. Honestly, if the setting wasn’t so inappropriate, Su Bei would have been tempted to learn how to curve his mouth so smoothly. Wu Mingbai was naturally dissatisfied with this response, mocking the clown’s tone, “Oh, is it because we all lied to you? Otherwise, why are we all being punished like this? Mr. Clown is so kind; surely he wouldn’t wrongly accuse an innocent person, right?” During the clowns’ purge, there were only ten people who actually lied. After the clown went on a rampage, no one had the chance to lie again, so many present must still be innocent. “It’s you liars who harmed them,” the clown retorted without hesitation, shifting the blame squarely back onto them. “We'll just help you adjust your settings; we don't need you to send us out,” Jiang Tianming, seeing the clown’s airtight internal logic, decided not to argue further and voluntarily shared his newly-formed plan. As long as the clowns ceased their attacks, they could focus on eliminating the Nightmare Beasts and await rescue. He still trusted the teachers outside, especially those from his academy, to come save them eventually. The clown said nothing more, leaving it unclear whether Jiang Tianming's plan was a good or bad idea. Others might have been clueless, but Su Bei knew far too well. He couldn’t help but break their hopeful illusion: “I’ve told you, fate won’t change.” Saying this, his expression showed slight fatigue and indifference due to the inevitability and his irritation with trouble. To others, it seemed as though he had foreseen the group's impending ill-fated destiny. And indeed, as evidenced by Jiang Tianming’s unchanged fortune after he spoke, it was clear they couldn’t escape the plot set out by the author. After all, for the Nightmare Beasts' plan to be foolproof, why would they leave such an obvious loophole? Jiang Tianming and the others couldn’t allow the clowns to continue their chaos. While the students’ stamina was limited, the clowns had no such bounds. With uncertainty over when their teachers might come to their aid, dragging things out would only lead to their complete defeat. Thus, stopping the clowns was imperative. Yet, given their current luck, it was apparent that stopping the clowns wouldn’t bring good fortune. Combining this with the clown's earlier statements, Su Bei boldly speculated that once the clown's settings were changed, those in the illusion would inevitably be transported to another realm. The only way to avoid being transported was by other means: defeating all but one team, forcibly breaking the illusion, or finding and destroying the array core. With these thoughts, Su Bei began quietly edging backward. If his previous guesses were correct, safety should soon be restored outside. Once Jiang Tianming and the others were transported and couldn’t receive immediate rescue, the outside crisis could also smoothly resolve itself. Choosing between a now-safe place and an uncertain destination that was likely a dangerous Nightmare Beast locale, Su Bei naturally leaned towards the former. The main hero team was preparing to take action, relying on Lan Subing's power of 【Word Spirit】 along with a senior sister who could project her voice across the amusement park to rally the clowns. Once they arrived, Su Bei would promptly use his skills to link their fate compasses. Seizing the opportunity amid the group’s fervor, Su Bei discreetly maneuvered away. Without the aid of the invisibility charm this time, his movements were quickly spotted. Noticing his departure from the group, Lan Subing, having completed her task, turned her head in surprise, asking, "Su Bei, where are you going?" Caught in the act, Su Bei remained unflustered, “We’re about to leave; shouldn’t I play a bit more before we do?” With the clowns present, he wasn’t even lying. He truly was about to leave the illusion—albeit differently from others. They would be transported to another location, whereas he would return directly to the venue before entering the illusion. Many were aware of Su Bei’s penchant for exploring the amusement park extensively, and Jiang Tianming and his friends had even heard him mention this when chatting. Hence, his reasoning didn’t seem out of place to them. Yet only those familiar with Su Bei, like Jiang Tianming and his close group, sensed the oddity. His sudden departure at such a critical time spelled bad omen no matter how they looked at it. Besides, if he were acting in good faith, he should have informed them before leaving rather than slipping away stealthily. Lacking solid evidence to detain him, they couldn’t very well stop him. Unless they had concrete proof, even if they called out to him, he likely wouldn’t listen. Moreover, they still needed to restrain the clowns and prevent them from exploding. They could only watch as Su Bei walked away nonchalantly. Once away, Su Bei briskly headed towards the haunted house, needing to act quickly and leave the amusement park before the clowns were rewound. Otherwise, he might be forcibly swept along with them, with no chance of escape. A physically robust superpowered individual running at full speed was incredibly fast, covering a distance in five minutes that would typically take an hour on foot. Reaching the haunted house’s core, without a moment to spare, Su Bei swiftly adjusted his small pointer to the far left and stepped into the purple vortex. Emerging from the array core functioned like a minor teleportation. After a second of dizziness, as he recovered, he heard Qi Huang’s voice filled with surprise: “Su Bei! Did you get out of the illusion?” Opening his eyes, Su Bei turned to look at Qi Huang, nodding slightly, and said succinctly, “Take me to find the teacher; the others won’t be back for a while.” Hearing this, Qi Huang immediately grasped the gravity of the situation, quickly dampening her excitement and adopting a serious expression as she led him to find Teacher Li. Before they had taken a few steps, a notification from "Manga Awareness" chimed in Su Bei’s ear: "‘King of Superpowers’ has updated. Please check it." They must have left the illusion by now, though where they’ve been sent was unknown. Hopefully, the manga would offer some hints. Along the way, Qi Huang recounted what had happened after they entered the illusion: “Soon after you entered, a Nightmare Beast surge broke out outside. With the illusion being relatively safer, the teachers decided not to pull you out. Besides, there wasn’t time to let you out even if they wanted to… Once we realized something was amiss later, Gilam had already vanished.” She didn’t elaborate on this, quickly continuing with the narrative: “The teachers were incredible and managed to hold off most of the Nightmare Beasts. But there were just too many of them this time. To prevent them from harming ordinary people, a spatial-type superpowered individual transported most superhumans and these creatures to a new battlefield. I wanted to join them, but Teacher Li said it was a fight for the adults and told me to stay outside.” As Qi Huang spoke these words, there was no trace of regret on her face; instead, she seemed rather relieved. Su Bei quickly understood and asked, "Are there still Nightmare Beasts lingering outside?" If it weren't the case, and it was merely a matter of missing out on the battle, Qi Huang would have felt disappointed rather than relieved. Especially since she stayed outside specifically to fight the beasts and gain prestige. If her opportunity had fallen through, her demeanor wouldn't be so cheerful now. "Exactly!" Qi Huang snapped her fingers with affirmation, "Shortly after they and the Nightmare Beasts disappeared, a small group of Nightmare Beasts emerged from the hotel, and there was even an Advanced Nightmare Beast among them. At the time, it was just me with a few support-type superpowered staff and the unconscious senior classmates left outside. I ended up protecting everyone and wiped out those Nightmare Beasts!" Though she recounted it with a carefree and joyful tone, Su Bei knew it couldn't have been as effortless as she made it sound. Seeing Qi Huang so buoyant, Su Bei realized she must have achieved significant merit this time. Perhaps she might fulfill her ambition and, through her newfound reputation, triumph over Si Zhaohua to become the new secretary-general. However, speaking of the Advanced Nightmare Beast Qi Huang mentioned, it should have been the Gourd Beast. Previously, it claimed to have no offensive capabilities, and indeed, that was how it behaved. So how come it suddenly became capable of attacking? There must have been changes or plans within the Nightmare Beasts' strategy that he wasn't aware of. Su Bei couldn't help but feel relieved he wasn't outside during that time; otherwise, he might have severely misjudged based on the information he knew. While curious about what had transpired during this period, Su Bei knew that once he returned to the hotel room, he could check the manga on his phone to get the storyline. Therefore, he wasn't in a hurry and accompanied Qi Huang to the second floor of the hotel, where they found Teacher Li assisting with the aftermath. At the sight of Teacher Li, Qi Huang exclaimed happily, "Teacher, look who's back!" Upon hearing the voice, Teacher Li instinctively turned her head, revealing an expression mirroring Qi Huang's earlier joy, "Su Bei! How did you get out? What about the others? Did they come out too?"