Chapter 310 - A Guide for Background Characters to Survive in a Manga

Chapter 310 "I don't think that's a matter you need to be curious about," Su Bei said disinterestedly, waving his hand casually as he pushed the door and walked back. "If it's just about the video, then I'll be heading back." "Hey, wait a minute!" the younger brother quickly called after him, his expression shifting repeatedly. "We have already... already been punished, sorry, it was our mistake yesterday! We shouldn't have tested you so recklessly." Unexpectedly, this guy was surprisingly straightforward, and he apologized even faster than his more rational brother. Su Bei showed a rare look of surprise. The elder brother soon followed suit with an apology, then cut to the chase: "As a friend of Mingbai the prince, you wouldn't do anything against the Yafei Nation, would you?" "As Wu Mingbai's brother, you wouldn't do anything against his friends, would you?" Su Bei thought to himself how short the map of the Yan Nation was. However, he maintained his composure, borrowing the same phrase to respond sarcastically. They could act against him, so why would he feel favorable towards the Yafei Nation because of Wu Mingbai? Not to mention himself, even Wu Mingbai probably didn't feel much goodwill towards the Yafei Nation; at most, a trivial sense of yearning. Understanding the implication in his words, the younger brother became anxious: "So didn't we apologize? And from the start, we never intended to actually harm you. We know you can definitely handle an intermediate Nightmare Beast! If you don't believe it, you can..." "I know." Before he could finish speaking, Su Bei calmly cut him off, "Otherwise, do you think you could have walked away so easily yesterday?" This wasn't said to create an impression. If they had truly come to take his life, even if these two were princes, Su Bei would not have shown mercy yesterday. As he had threatened them then, since they had destroyed the evidence of their meeting with him themselves, he could do as he pleased. Indeed, for a moment, the two brothers realized his point. They also thought that perhaps Su Bei's attitude towards them wasn't as harsh as they imagined, and couldn't help but continue the conversation: "Then..." However, Su Bei didn’t intend to let them continue, and he directly pushed the door open and walked back in. "Alright, there's nothing that two eight-year-olds are essential for, is there?" The recognition banquet quickly started. Although it was called a recognition banquet, after Wu Mingbai made an entrance like a showpiece to be ogled by the crowd, it transformed into a network exchange event. No one paid attention to a newly arrived prince, even though he had the potential to become king, that possibility was quite slim. For most people, the benefits of befriending the new prince did not surpass the advantages of connecting with some powerful figure at the banquet. However, despite this, there were many people surrounding Wu Mingbai, leaving him no chance to seek out Jiang Tianming and the others. He could only occasionally glance around, hoping someone would save him from this ordeal. Unfortunately, he was evidently let down; no one came to rescue him. Meanwhile, the others sat together in a corner, indulgently enjoying the feast. Though the Yafei Nation faltered in other areas, their food was undeniably commendable. Though the flavors were exotic, they weren't unpleasant, and the novelty made everyone quite satisfied. "What did those two guys want with you earlier? From your expressions... were they here to apologize?" Zhao Xiaoyu speculated while skewering the sweet and sour chicken on her plate with a fork. When the three returned, Su Bei's expression was as calm as ever. Meanwhile, the two children seemed somewhat reluctant but not angry, suggesting the conversation was relatively peaceful. Recalling that Wu Mingbai had mentioned complaining to the king yesterday, she quickly thought of this possibility. Not really wrong, Su Bei nodded. Their obedience rendered things uninteresting, and Zhao Xiaoyu withdrew her gaze out of boredom, then turned to Ai Baozhu, "I thought you all might go out and mingle with those people?" She wasn't accustomed to such gatherings, but Ai Baozhu and the others surely were. Many major figures from the Yafei Nation were present, and even if they weren't from that nation, it would be beneficial to make some connections. "There's no need." Ai Baozhu gestured towards Wu Mingbai's direction, "We already have a major connection in the Yafei Nation." Being a distant foreign country, distant waters cannot quench a near fire; establishing connections here would be nearly negligible. Besides, they already had Wu Mingbai as a connection, so there wasn't a need to forge others. Zhao Xiaoyu understood and nodded in agreement, "That's true." "Mingbai is on stage again." Jiang Tianming looked at the platform. It was Wu Mingbai's first time dressed so extravagantly; the brown attire matching his hair color made him resemble a knight straight out of a fairy tale, loyal and reliable. This time, he was delivering the closing remarks. From Su Bei's perspective, it meant the prince was about to step down, and no longer play the role of a spectacle, allowing everyone to move about freely. Good news. He exhaled lightly, turning to Si Zhaohua next to him, "I’m going to the restroom, then heading back to my room." After speaking, he walked straight out of the banquet hall and into the restroom, taking out the "Dream Bubble" to fabricate the illusion that he had left the restroom and returned to his room. Meanwhile, he used an invisibility talisman to sneak back into the banquet hall. The stairwell by the back door of the banquet hall, he had thoroughly investigated that morning; it was a staircase unique to the banquet hall, not accessible from other places. Going up these stairs should lead to the top floor, while going down should lead to the basement. By the time Su Bei returned, Wu Mingbai and the king's entourage had already disappeared, leaving Weiss presiding over the event. The troubling part was the back door was shut tight. If he were to open it, it might draw attention. He knew from yesterday that many offensive or special types of superpower tools were unusable at the venue, and activating them would instantly draw detection. Su Bei thought for a moment, then tossed a gear wrapped in tissue paper to shatter a distant vase, taking advantage of the moment when everyone turned to look, he swiftly pushed open the door and slipped inside. As for that gear, it vanished without a trace once its task was complete. Presented with the option of upstairs or downstairs, Su Bei unhesitatingly headed downstairs. The path was dimly lit by a few scattered wall lamps, painting an ominous scene. At the very bottom lay an iron door, similarly shut, though not locked, appearing easy to open. Su Bei frowned as he examined the door for a few seconds, enhancing his luck before tapping the walls beside it. With a little thought, it was clear this door couldn't be the entrance to the Guardian's chamber. The route was unobstructed, just a stairway leading directly to the Guardian; who would believe that? Su Bei was convinced that this door was a trap. Knowing that, he had no intention of rushing blindly, opting to seek alternative clues elsewhere. If there was another entrance, there ought to be traces as well, either on the walls or the floor. Looking down, Su Bei quickly made a discovery. The last section of the plush carpet was unlike the rest, appearing untouched by foot traffic. Meaning, this was where they ultimately stopped... Su Bei positioned himself at that spot and proceeded to knock on the wall, striking an unfamiliar empty sound. He blinked at the blank wall, sensing a revelation, and his gaze shifted to the wall lamp above. A minute later, Su Bei successfully opened a hidden door and stepped through. Another stairway awaited, and upon reaching the first turn, he began to faintly pick up on sounds from below. It seemed like the elder brother's voice, fragmented and indistinct: "Don't... not much noise... continue..." A quick listen confirmed it. Despite his efforts to stay quiet earlier, a noise had indeed been made. The other party was aiding him by diverting attention, preventing the king from unexpectedly intervening and checking above. Getting closer, even while invisible, risked detection. Su Bei halted, gradually extending his mental power outward. Below, there were eight individuals in total—the entire Wu Mingbai family. Apart from them, Su Bei sensed no other energy sources, indicating the Guardian had yet to appear. This was undoubtedly good news. If the Guardian were present, it might easily detect Su Bei’s presence, despite his reliance on invisibility to engage in this risky endeavor. Since the Guardian hadn't emerged yet, he could take this opportunity to prepare, avoiding immediate exposure when it did appear. Su Bei produced a low presence tool he had specifically requested from Wu Jin, preserving his special feature. This tool was quite intriguing, classified as a defensive item, undetectable by the machines at the banquet hall. As the king commenced the summoning ritual, Su Bei felt a consistent stream of energy flowing from the surroundings, converging into a focal point, soon transforming into an intensely unpleasant energy. Su Bei was all too familiar with this energy; it was resentment. The Guardian was about to emerge. Unsurprisingly, shortly thereafter, another energy source materialized within the room. Su Bei retracted his mental power at the opportune moment, advancing a few more steps to ensure he could clearly hear their conversation. An unfamiliar voice resonated, resembling the gruff tones typical in special effects films: "Is this your firstborn son?" "Yes, this is him, O Guardian Spirit, please bestow your blessing upon him," the king said without any preamble, diving straight into the main concern. The Guardian hesitated for a moment, not agreeing immediately. Instead, he brought up another matter first: "It took a considerable amount of energy for me to come out this time, and providing protection for this child will also consume a lot of energy." "I will hold a nationwide three-day tour extolling your virtues, and all citizens must participate," the king responded smoothly, clearly knowing exactly what the Guardian desired. This statement greatly satisfied the Guardian, and He immediately agreed to the king's request: "Then I have no issue with it. As per the previous procedure, let him drip his blood here." Su Bei wasn't interested in the ensuing blessing procedure; he was deep in thought about the information he had just acquired. As he had suspected, the Guardian indeed had requests from the royal family of Yafei, which explained His repeated assistance. What He seemed to ask for resembled reputation, gratitude points, or something akin to incense offerings—the more people praised Him, the better. It was no wonder they had formed an agreement; relying on the royal family was the easiest way to accumulate long-term fame in a country. Furthermore, the Yafei royal family evidently knew the old adage of "when the birds are gone, the fine bow is put away," and they didn't allow the citizens to truly treat the Guardian with the reverence they would show a deity. Without the support of the royal family, Gaodi Anzhuo would lose the people's trust within a generation. So here's the problem: if what the Guardian needs is prestige, how can Su Bei meet His demands and have His questions answered? A solution soon popped into Su Bei's mind. The "Fate" organization in his hands was always a valuable tool. If he could provide information within the organization that portrayed Gaodi Anzhuo as powerful and then ensure that others saw it, it certainly could earn Him quite a bit of prestige. He could proceed with this plan, though moderation was vital. Just as the Yafei Nation understood not to overly satisfy Gaodi Anzhuo, Su Bei could not allow His prestige to rise too high. After all, He was a Nightmare Beast, and even if He did not target humans, that didn't necessarily mean He was benevolent. The current state was adequate—He could only wield influence within Yafei Nation, capable of helping the populace but unable to establish Himself as king. Soon, the ceremony concluded, and the king led everyone out. Once the doors were shut again, Su Bei emerged. Still invisible, he addressed the stone wall in an altered voice that betrayed no hint of his true tone: "How about we strike a deal?" Startled by the unfamiliar voice, the Guardian's stone face, though featuring clear features, was remarkably ordinary and unmemorable, appeared from the stone wall, its mouth moving like an animated sequence: "Who?" He didn’t immediately call the king back; as a variant of an Advanced Nightmare Beast, Gaodi Anzhuo had full confidence in his strength. Although He indeed hadn’t detected the presence of the person speaking, it didn’t hinder His belief that the person couldn't defeat Him; otherwise, why wouldn’t this person reveal themselves? But compared with insignificant worry, curiosity was clearly in the lead. Gaodi Anzhuo hadn't forgotten what Su Bei had mentioned: "What kind of deal?" Su Bei first answered the identity question: "I am from the 'Fate' organization, which is an intelligence network capable of..." "I've heard of that organization." Before Su Bei could explain further, the Guardian spared him the trouble. To Su Bei's surprise, the Guardian knew about "Fate," though he hadn't underestimated the organization, he had only thought "Fate" was somewhat known among human superhumans and lacked fame within the realm of Nightmare Beasts, especially such a unique existence. "I represent the land of Yafei Nation. If I wish, nothing here can escape me," said the Guardian blandly as though these words were anything but remarkable. Since He was familiar with the "Fate" organization, things became much easier. Su Bei concisely addressed the second query about the deal: "In exchange for you answering three questions of mine, I will disseminate information favorable to you within the organization's intelligence database and ensure others become aware of it. Isn't that what you want?" If it could indeed let members of the organization know information beneficial to Him, Gaodi Anzhuo thought that would be a good thing. Especially since the price was merely three questions, in a sense, it was a low-cost, high-reward transaction. Nevertheless, He was quite skeptical—not in Su Bei's ability to fulfill the promise, appearing unannounced before Him suggested considerable skill. Furthermore, with a superpower contract, there was no worry of deceit. What Gaodi Anzhuo suspected was, where did such a rare opportunity come from? Free deals that seem like a win-win often turned out to be traps. "Can I know what you want to ask first?" Su Bei didn't hesitate, decisively shaking his head: "No, you can't." What if Gaodi Anzhuo discovered the questions and decided not to answer them? After all, He was a Nightmare Beast and might be unwilling to divulge secrets of the Nightmare Beast world. If Su Bei disclosed his goals and received no answers, it would be a loss rather than a gain. "...Alright, I agree to your terms, but we must sign a superpower contract." Ultimately, the lure of fame proved irresistible. Despite the perceived trap, Gaodi Anzhuo consented to Su Bei's proposal. Su Bei had long prepared the contract and promptly presented it. After Gaodi Anzhuo meticulously checked for any issues and signed, the contract emitted a golden light, marking its activation. With the partnership established, Gaodi Anzhuo wasted no time: "What do you wish to ask?" "The first question," Su Bei raised a finger, "Why are the earth-element Nightmare Beasts multiplying in the Nightmare Beast world? I understand it's because the world needs more of them, so my real question is why does the world need so many earth-element Nightmare Beasts?" Though it sounded like a tongue-twister, the question wasn't hard to comprehend. Nonetheless, it successfully prompted the Guardian, who was about to answer, to fall silent. After a long pause, He countered, "What are you trying to do with this question?" Su Bei crossed his arms: "I believe our agreement doesn’t require me to answer your queries?" Indeed, having been countered, Gaodi Anzhuo conceded and promptly continued, "I can only tell you that the Nightmare Beast world needs more earth, especially the kind suspended in the air. And these need more earth-element Nightmare Beasts to maintain." It seemed his assumptions were accurate, and Su Bei immediately comprehended. The Nightmare Beast world had sensed humans deliberately purging meteorites, and the loss of meteorites would lead to the dissolution of their power. Therefore, instinctively, it had birthed more earth-element Nightmare Beasts to protect itself. Then, onto the second question: "What impact would it have on the Nightmare Beast world if all earth-element Nightmare Beasts vanished or suffered significant losses?" In reverse thinking, since the Nightmare Beast world created more earth-element Nightmare Beasts for protection, could removing them harm the world significantly? Su Bei didn’t assume that removing the earth-element Nightmare Beasts would make the world vanish, for while the Nightmare Beast world was connected to the meteorites, the earth-element Beasts weren't responsible for creating the meteorites—they were extraterrestrial. Yet, the disappearance of the Nightmare Beast world didn’t mean it couldn't suffer severe blows. Eradicating all meteorites at once was challenging, but if making it harder still yielded good results, Su Bei didn’t mind putting in extra effort. With each question growing harder, Gaodi Anzhuo, were he human, might have been sweating profusely: "It would lead to... soil shortage, decreasing the earth element density in the Nightmare Beast world." Though sounding innocuous, Su Bei found His hesitations suspicious... Noting this insight, Su Bei's thoughts spun. While soil scarcity wouldn’t reduce meteorite fragments by even a tiny piece, if a significant loss of earth-element Beasts occurred, meteorite fragments might lose their natural protection and be exposed. Convenient for elimination, but somewhat overzealous. Was he mistaken? Would the disappearance of earth-element Beasts not offer much benefit? Wrinkling his brow with sudden realization, Su Bei recognized his earlier line of thinking was flawed—the absence of earth-element Beasts most significantly meant they couldn’t protect the airborne meteorites. With them, creating soil blocks for obfuscation, gathering and hiding the meteorites, or fortifying them against destruction effectively halted humanity's quest to eliminate meteorites, which was the Nightmare Beast world's agenda in constructing so many earth-element Beasts. Once gone, other Beasts lacked adequate means to intercept humans. Merely relying on killing would achieve little more than their past efforts, where humans continued to prevail. Having grasped this, Su Bei's mind ventured into strategies to eliminate these Beasts, acknowledging it would take time to figure it all out and accepting he wasn't in a rush. "Final question," Su Bei declared, his fingers counting to three, "Why do you seek fame?" Ordinarily, one would assume that Gaodi Anzhuo would be unwilling to answer questions related to his essence. Yet, compared to the two previous questions, he found this one surprisingly straightforward: "I need those to enhance my power, maintain my sanity, and preserve my true form." As a variant of a Nightmare Beast, Gaodi Anzhuo was not a stable product of posthumous resentment and thus could not exist stably. Due to his mutated nature, absorbing resentment would cause him to lose his sanity. Despite possessing the strength of an Advanced Nightmare Beast, he would mentally degrade to the level of a Low-level Nightmare Beast. Thus, Gaodi Anzhuo developed a new survival method tailored exclusively for himself—sustaining himself by absorbing prestige. Both are forms of thoughts; resentment is a thought, and the people's remembrance is also a thought. However, having large numbers of people worship him proved to be a daunting task. In the times when communication was not well-developed, Gaodi Anzhuo could only receive veneration from a single village, which merely sustained his basic physiological needs. Progress was impossible, and even using his abilities became arduous. Fortune smiled upon him when he met the first King of the Yafei Nation by chance; they formed a pact in which the king provided him prestige, and in return, he safeguarded the Yafei Nation. Upon hearing the word sanity, Su Bei felt a sharp twinge of concern. As a Nightmare Beast, if Gaodi Anzhuo were to lose his sanity, he would instinctively turn to hunting humans. His power related to the earth seemed to verify the prophecy of Fenglan, which foresaw a future of landslides and earthquakes in the Yafei Nation. Su Bei felt he had pieced together the origins of the crisis— the "Black Lightning" organization's intent to induce insanity in Gaodi Anzhuo to wreak havoc on humanity. Among Advanced Nightmare Beasts with various abilities, Gaodi Anzhuo, capable of unleashing natural disasters, was undoubtedly an optimal tool for human annihilation. As for how the "Black Lightning" organization planned to strip the Guardian of his sanity, Su Bei didn't dwell on it. It was not his concern; his role in this matter was complete, and now he could relax entirely. Truthfully, if it weren't so abrupt to leave now, Su Bei seriously wished to return to his country with Zhao Xiaoyu and the others to resume his idyllic vacation. Natural disasters like landslides and earthquakes... His next objective in this affair was to find a shelter that wouldn't be affected. Ideally, this hiding place would also allow him to keep constant tabs on the battlefield, so he could intervene if necessary.