A Guide for Background Characters to Survive in a Manga

Chapter 20

“What were you guys talking about?” Mu Tieren, waiting for them at the door nearby, suddenly asked. “Did Su Bei give you some kind of hint?”

Due to his ability, his five senses were sharper than most. Though he stood a bit far, he vaguely caught some of Jiang Tianming and the others’ conversation. He didn’t understand the latter part, but the bit about Su Bei—he got the gist of it.

Since the first day of school, he’d been curious about Su Bei’s ability. Anyone who’d paid attention to Su Bei’s conversation with Jiang Tianming back then wouldn’t believe his ability was really just [Gear].

Though he usually wouldn’t pry, having overheard, he couldn’t help but be curious.

After a moment’s hesitation, Jiang Tianming shook his head: “Sorry, maybe you should ask Su Bei directly?”

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to tell Mu Tieren. After more than a week of interaction, Jiang Tianming knew the class monitor was a genuinely upright person. He wasn’t stingy about helping classmates and usually had the tact not to dig into others’ secrets.

But this was Su Bei’s matter, and blurting it out could cause trouble for him. Su Bei had helped him, after all—repaying kindness with betrayal wouldn’t do.

Mu Tieren wasn’t upset by the evasion and said understandingly: “I’m the one who should apologize. If I want to know, I should ask Su Bei myself, not put you in a tough spot.”

“What’re you guys talking about?” Mo Xiaotian chimed in curiously, edging closer. “I think I heard Mu-bro wants to ask Bei-bro something? Mu-bro, if you’re gonna ask him, can you bring me along?”

Clearly, the guy was clueless but eager to join the fun. Wu Mingbai pursed his lips: “What a goofball. Tianming, why do you keep bringing him?”

Jiang Tianming looked at him helplessly: “Then you try shooing him away.”

That shut Wu Mingbai up. Even he couldn’t drive off someone who didn’t take hints, especially since Mo Xiaotian, though not the brightest, hadn’t done anything wrong. They couldn’t exactly get physical with him, could they?

The five of them entered the cafeteria together. With the school’s help, the cafeteria staff from that day had been gathered in the main hall.

It’s worth noting that the Endless Ability Academy handled this well. They didn’t dismiss Jiang Tianming and the others just because they were students; instead, they actively supported their search for the killer.

After all, this wasn’t an ordinary school but an ability school. They weren’t training ordinary students but future ability users who’d fight Nightmare Beasts.

Ability users often faced accidents, danger, and death. The ivory tower of a school couldn’t produce students capable of handling such risks. This was why ability schools frequently held competitions and real-world training.

Now that an unexpected situation had occurred at school, if the students could resolve it themselves, the administration was happy to see it happen.

At this moment, about twenty people sat in the cafeteria—the staff who’d been working that day. Since they worked there, they’d heard about the incident. Now, being summoned, many vaguely realized what was going on, and their faces looked grim.

Being inexplicably dragged into a murder case and becoming suspects—no one could take that lightly.

Everyone lined up in groups by their roles, and Jiang Tianming scanned the room: “First, each of you tell us what you were doing between 4 and 5 p.m. that day.”

That was the time of the victim’s death. Sun Ming was stabbed through the heart from behind—no delayed death was possible.

Mu Tieren reliably added: “If someone’s timeline doesn’t add up or they leave something out, others can point it out after they’re done.”

“Those who provide valid evidence will receive a 5,000-yuan reward,” a mechanical voice announced, coming from Lan Subing’s phone.

During this time, since the investigation often required talking to people, despite Lan Subing’s severe social anxiety, she’d finally found a method that suited her: communicating through her phone.

Though it didn’t help much with using her ability, it at least gave her a way to interact with strangers.

With the incentive of a reward, the group’s enthusiasm surged. The resentment of being implicated faded from their eyes, and they began recounting their activities from that day one by one.

Soon, it was a male chef’s turn.

The moment Jiang Tianming locked eyes with the chef, he froze. In that instant, a sudden realization hit him, and he nearly lost control of his facial expression.

But he quickly recovered, adjusted his expression, and after the chef finished his timeline—and two more people spoke—he said: “Everyone, take a break and have some water. We’ll discuss the information we just got.”

The cafeteria staff assumed he was being considerate. Since they were only suspects and hadn’t actually done anything, they didn’t feel guilty about resting.

Others might not have noticed, but his companions could tell something was off with Jiang Tianming. So, no one objected and followed him out of the cafeteria.

The moment they stepped outside, before anyone could ask, Jiang Tianming’s expression turned serious: “One of the chefs’ eyes matched the color Su Bei hinted at exactly!”

At this, Lan Subing and Wu Mingbai were stunned. They hadn’t noticed such a detail.

Jiang Tianming was undeniably the most observant of the group. After Su Bei’s hint, he’d carefully recalled the purplish-red smoke Su Bei’s ability had produced, which allowed him to spot the chef’s distinct feature right away.

Though Wu Mingbai hadn’t noticed, he trusted his friend’s judgment: “Among those suspects, aside from the one you mentioned, none had purplish-red eyes.”

“So, one meaning of that hint was actually about eye color?” Lan Subing had tried analyzing Su Bei’s hint before but hadn’t figured it out. Only now did she start to uncover the tip of the iceberg.

At this point, Mo Xiaotian couldn’t hold back. He’d stayed quiet earlier because Mu Tieren had already asked Jiang Tianming, and they didn’t want to share, so he hadn’t pressed. But now, if they still kept it secret, it’d be a bit much: “What hint are you guys talking about? Come on, you can’t still be hiding it now, right?”

Jiang Tianming indeed had no intention of keeping it under wraps: “The hint we got should be a clue to the killer’s identity. It was a cloud of purplish-red smoke, the same color as that chef’s eyes.”

Su Bei’s hint hadn’t explicitly stated what it was for, but at this stage, it could only be about the killer’s identity—otherwise, it wouldn’t be useful.

“From Bei-bro?” Mo Xiaotian’s eyes lit up, then he wrinkled his nose. “He’s so unfair, never told me his ability was that awesome! I’m gonna go sulk at him later!”

Though he said this, he clearly wasn’t holding a grudge—just genuinely happy. This wasn’t the joy of latching onto a powerful ally, since he was already a top student in Class A. It was simply happiness that his friend had gotten stronger.

After all, in the path of an ability user, a weak ability didn’t just mean limited prospects—it meant real danger.

Any ability user, strong or weak, would attract Nightmare Beast attacks. Even staying inside a city for life wasn’t guaranteed to be safe. Only personal strength could ensure security.

That was why Mo Xiaotian was so thrilled.

After more than a week together, Lan Subing had grown fond of the pure-hearted Mo Xiaotian and could manage to say a few words to him: “Su Bei didn’t tell us what his ability really is either.”

The implication was that he wasn’t hiding it from Mo Xiaotian specifically—he was equally secretive with everyone. Even now, Su Bei stubbornly insisted his ability was [Gear], regardless of who believed it.

Knowing Lan Subing was comforting him, Mo Xiaotian flashed a big smile and nodded vigorously: “Got it! That’s a relief!”

Lan Subing: “?”

“Pfft!” Wu Mingbai, who’d heard the whole thing, burst out laughing, not sparing his friend’s feelings at all. He even said smugly: “See? Told you we’re clashing character types!”

—Both were white-on-the-outside, black-on-the-inside.

Jiang Tianming’s eyes were full of amusement, but at Wu Mingbai’s shameless remark, he shot him a look: “No need to slander Xiaotian like that.”

The ever-reliable big brother Mu Tieren steered the drifting conversation back on track: “If, as you say, the purplish-red color represents the killer’s eye color, what does the smoke mean?”

The hint was purplish-red smoke, initially thought to be one thing. But now that the purplish-red color had a purpose, the smoke should have its own meaning too.

“What could smoke represent?” Jiang Tianming’s thoughts returned. “Smoking?”

Wu Mingbai also started guessing, though he hadn’t fully separated the purplish-red color from the smoke, so he suggested: “A fire?”

Mo Xiaotian looked left and right, scratched his head, and said: “No one’s guessing it’s an ability?”

His words snapped everyone out of it!

They hadn’t considered the possibility of an ability before, but now it seemed highly likely.

Many of the staff at the Endless Ability Academy were ability users, though most were weak F- or D-class. These people didn’t want to abandon their ability user identity but feared Nightmare Beast attacks. With some skills, they came to work at the school. So, it was hard to say if these suspects had abilities.

And this killer was so elusive—perhaps it really was due to an ability.

Jiang Tianming made a snap decision: “I’ll ask the homeroom teacher if the school has an ability-testing machine. You guys stall them and don’t let anyone notice anything’s off.”

They split up. Jiang Tianming quickly found Meng Huai and explained what he needed.

Meng Huai didn’t suspect anything and promptly handed over a machine—the same one used to test students’ abilities at the start of the term.

He thought a step further than Jiang Tianming. Aside from teachers, the school’s staff didn’t have anyone above D-class. If any suspect had a high-level ability, even if they weren’t the killer, they likely had ulterior motives.

With the machine in hand, Jiang Tianming rushed back to the cafeteria, this time with Meng Huai in tow. After all, if the killer was in the cafeteria and got exposed, they might lash out, and having Meng Huai there was safer.

As they entered, everyone in the cafeteria looked over. When they saw the machine in Jiang Tianming’s hand, Wu Mingbai, who was closely watching the prime suspect, clearly saw the person’s expression shift.

But the suspect quickly regained composure. If Wu Mingbai hadn’t been staring, he might’ve missed it.

With everyone’s cooperation, the machine checked quickly. In just half an hour, everyone was tested, and no issues were found.

The purplish-red-eyed chef didn’t even have an ability.

Had they guessed wrong? Jiang Tianming grew doubtful. Was the smoke hint not about an ability but something else? If so, the case would hit another dead end.

After all, Su Bei’s ability hint was so abstract. If he hadn’t locked eyes with the suspect, Jiang Tianming would never have realized the purplish-red smoke was two hints: purplish-red color and smoke, with the color pointing to the killer’s eye color.

Honestly, who could figure that out?

The others in the know looked grim too. They’d thought they were on the verge of the truth, only to stumble at the last step.

Had they really gotten it wrong?

“Since nothing unusual was detected, I’ll head out,” Meng Huai said, putting away the machine, ready to leave. Though he had little to do in the office, he and the school shared the same view: students needed to grow through challenges. If these students could solve this themselves, all the better. He’d avoid interfering if possible.

“Hm…” Jiang Tianming hesitated, still feeling their guess wasn’t wrong.

Just as he was doubting himself, Wu Mingbai’s eyes flashed, as if realizing something. He stepped forward and whispered in his ear: “The detective’s ability didn’t work on the killer either.”

At that, Jiang Tianming had a revelation.

Right—the ability-testing machine worked by storing an ability designed to detect other abilities. In essence, it used an ability to test the user’s ability.

The detective had said he couldn’t summon the victim’s soul because the victim was under “Ability Suppression.”

If the killer could apply “Ability Suppression” to the victim, they could surely do the same to themselves. If the killer used that ability on themselves, it’d be normal for the machine to detect nothing.

Jiang Tianming grew more convinced this chef was the killer. With Meng Huai right there, now was the best chance to expose him.

“Teacher, is there any way to lift ‘Ability Suppression’?” He knew their earlier actions had likely tipped off the suspect. Discussing his suspicions privately with Meng Huai now might give the killer time to prepare. Better to say it openly, leaving no room for them to react.

The moment he spoke, Meng Huai understood. He’d been there when the detective tried his ability and knew the victim was under “Ability Suppression.”

But before he could respond, the purplish-red-eyed chef suddenly sprang forward like a hunting leopard, charging straight at Wu Mingbai, the closest person, clearly intending to take him hostage to secure an escape.

His speed was terrifyingly fast, and Wu Mingbai couldn’t react. No first-year student could possibly respond to a sudden attack from a high-level ability user.

But that didn’t include their homeroom teacher. As a teacher at an ability school who’d taught Class S, Meng Huai was no pushover. Almost simultaneously with the killer’s move, he turned into a blur, rushing to protect Wu Mingbai and subdue the attacker.

He was confident in his strength. Below S-class, no ability user could escape him, let alone harm someone in his presence.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have dared come alone, knowing Jiang Tianming and the others might’ve found the killer.

As expected, despite the killer being less than two meters from Wu Mingbai, Meng Huai, starting from over five meters away, managed to “whoosh” in like he’d teleported, positioning himself beside Wu Mingbai and reaching out to grab the killer.

But the killer wasn’t foolish. He clearly knew he was no match for a school teacher. The moment he was about to be caught, he suddenly turned into smoke and fled.

Meng Huai tried to grab him, but a killer in smoke form wasn’t so easy to catch. In moments, he dissipated into the air.

“Runs pretty fast,” Meng Huai remarked, unfazed despite the escape. He calmly retracted his hand, showing no intent to chase, and fiddled with his phone for a bit.

After finishing, he pocketed the phone and turned to see everyone staring at him in stunned silence. Meng Huai frowned but ignored the staff, focusing on the students with arms crossed: “What’re you standing around for? Hurry up and find him!”

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

Wu Mingbai, equally clueless, followed up, hoping for more help: “Teacher, aren’t you going to look for him?”

Next was Mu Tieren, the ever-conscientious class monitor, frowning with concern: “We’re supposed to find him? What if he hurts someone in the meantime?”

Lan Subing, rapidly typing on her phone, hit play a second later: “Where?”

Finally, Mo Xiaotian, looking left and right, had nothing specific to say but felt left out by staying silent. He eagerly raised his hand: “Mission accepted! Detective game turned into hide-and-seek!”

Lan Subing facepalmed, pulling his hand down to signal him to hush.

Only after everyone spoke did Meng Huai unhurriedly say: “He can’t hurt anyone. That ability won’t last long, and indoor buildings are already sealed. Can you go find him now?”

If Meng Huai was confident enough to say this, he had his reasons. With those issues addressed, the killer could only move in his physical form around the school’s outdoor areas, making him much easier to find.

The group didn’t hesitate and left the cafeteria together.

Meanwhile, Su Bei had just left the library, heading back to the dorm. He wasn’t planning to go to the cafeteria today—just grab something simple for dinner. It was obvious the cafeteria would be chaotic, and going there risked triggering his cannon fodder fate.

A few steps in, he frowned, sensing something off.

When did this area get so quiet? Why wasn’t there a single person around?

Though other first-year students rarely came to the library, its proximity to the teaching building meant foot traffic was decent.

But now, the entire path was deserted, not a student in sight.

Had something happened?

Su Bei instinctively pulled out his phone and opened it. Two messages popped up immediately. The library had a signal jammer, so he hadn’t received them earlier.

One was from the class group, the other from the grade group, both with the same message: “A dangerous individual has appeared on campus. All students, stay indoors and do not go outside.”

Su Bei: “…”

He rolled his eyes, turned on his heel, and headed back to the library to take shelter.

Any fool could guess the “dangerous individual” was Sun Ming’s killer. As someone already tied to the killer by fate, wandering outside was practically begging to be targeted. Better to head to a safe zone and stay alive.

Speak of the devil.

The moment his hand touched the library door, Su Bei felt a chill on his neck.

Without looking, he knew a sharp dagger was pressed against that fatal spot.

“Stay still. Move, and you’re dead!” the person behind him snarled, their other hand tightly gripping Su Bei’s neck, as if ready to strangle him.

Su Bei sighed silently, complying with the force: “Don’t choke me. If you kill me, where’ll you find another sap to be your hostage?”

At that, the killer’s grip loosened slightly. He didn’t think Su Bei could escape his hold. After all, a high-level ability user’s physical strength far surpassed a low-level one, and with his ability, there was no chance of failure.

He didn’t realize this was the same student who’d thrown him over his shoulder before. Of course, Su Bei had no intention of trying that again.

Last time, the killer was completely off-guard, and “Manga Consciousness” had likely helped, making it easy to subdue him. But now, as a hostage, the killer wouldn’t lower his guard.

So escaping was out of the question. Might as well make himself comfortable.

Su Bei’s attitude clearly puzzled the killer: “You’re not scared?”

“Scared? I’m terrified,” Su Bei drawled lazily, his tone so carefree it was obvious he was bullshitting.

He genuinely wasn’t scared. Beyond anger, his mind was mostly in a “whatever” state.

This damn case—he’d stayed out of it to save his skin. Yet, just stepping out, he ran into the killer. It was hard not to suspect he’d still die by their hand in the end.

You couldn’t escape fate. All his efforts might just mean one more death.

If that was the case, he might as well drag this cursed “Manga Consciousness” down with him and let this manga world die too.

So now, he was in a “screw it” mindset. Live if he could, die if he couldn’t—he’d done all he could.

“Manga Consciousness” was playing dead, not daring to say a word, afraid Su Bei would snap.

“You…”

Before the killer could finish, footsteps echoed nearby. His arm tightened again, forcibly turning Su Bei and charging toward Jiang Tianming and the others.

The killer, with a slightly hoarse voice, shouted: “Stay where you are! One step closer, and I’ll kill him!”

Jiang Tianming and the five others stood in a line, looking over in surprise. They weren’t shocked the killer had taken a hostage, but they hadn’t expected it to be Su Bei.

How’d he get caught?

“Didn’t Teacher say no one would get hurt?” Mu Tieren’s brows had been furrowed since the killer was identified.

Hearing this, Su Bei’s eyebrow twitched almost imperceptibly.

“Don’t know…” Jiang Tianming shook his head, looking at the calm Su Bei. Miraculously, he wasn’t too worried. If it was Su Bei, he probably wouldn’t go down so easily, right?

This wasn’t entirely wishful thinking. Su Bei had always acted like he knew a lot. If he died so easily, wouldn’t that be odd?

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

After a second’s silence, Su Bei replied calmly: “I do, but this is your stage.”

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

But honestly, they didn’t need his help. Su Bei silently observed the protagonist group of five. On the surface, they were talking to him, but in reality, they were already subtly setting up—Lan Subing’s scarf seemed to twitch, Mo Xiaotian’s fingers were spinning as they hung down…

His heart instantly calmed. As expected of the protagonist group—they had coordination down pat.

The killer, however, didn’t notice. Or rather, because he didn’t take these first-year students seriously, he didn’t care about their small movements.

Su Bei’s words, though, made him slightly uneasy. The dagger pressed closer, leaving a purplish-red mark on his neck. A bit lower, and it’d be a bloodline: “No tricks! Speak! What’s your way out?”

“Hey!” The five, who were secretly making moves, were startled by this, looking at Su Bei with worry, fearing the killer might actually kill him by mistake.

Though Su Bei said he had a way, facing such direct harm, he might not come out unscathed.

“If I can fool them, can I fool you?” Su Bei said helplessly, lowering his voice. “What way could I have? Just wanted to put their minds at ease.”

The killer didn’t quite buy it but couldn’t think of what else he could do. He warned him again before turning back to the protagonist group: “Let me leave the school, and I’ll let him go.”

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

Getting to the gate meant the school could open the doors, and he could leave immediately. The killer nodded, dragging Su Bei forward with long strides.

“Thud!”

Barely two steps in, a sudden impact sounded. The killer’s head seemed to hit something, and his grip on Su Bei loosened.

Su Bei never missed an opportunity. Already fully prepared, he seized the moment, broke free with all his strength, and ran forward as fast as he could.

With the hostage escaping, the killer instinctively tried to chase but tripped over a block of earth that had risen from the ground at some point. That stumble cost him his chance to recapture the hostage.

The next second, a vine cage sprouted from the ground, trapping the killer inside.

This cage wasn’t the work of Jiang Tianming or the others’ abilities—it was the school’s support.

With the situation fully resolved, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Mo Xiaotian gave Su Bei a thumbs-up, his eyes sparkling: “Bei-bro, you ran so fast! We totally have perfect teamwork!”

It was because he saw Mo Xiaotian move his fingers that Su Bei had bolted at the right moment. If he wasn’t mistaken, the thing the killer hit was likely Mo Xiaotian’s ability.

Perfect teamwork with a naive goofball—was that a compliment? Before Su Bei could figure it out, Wu Mingbai asked curiously: “So, did you really have a way to escape?”

At that, the others also looked at Su Bei, curious about the same question. Without their help, how would Su Bei have saved himself?

Only Mu Tieren wasn’t as curious. Due to his enhanced physical senses, he’d overheard Su Bei’s hushed words to the killer and didn’t believe Su Bei actually had an escape plan—just wanted to ease everyone’s minds.

Seeing them press, he was about to speak up to cover for Su Bei. But before he could, Su Bei shrugged and shouted: “Teacher, save me… ouch!”

Before he finished, he got a knock on the head.

Meng Huai, who’d appeared out of nowhere behind him, retracted his hand, grumbling: “What’re you yelling for?”

Then, looking at the group, he gave a satisfied smile: “Good job.”

The next second, the long-silent voice of “Manga Consciousness” sounded: “King of Abilities has updated. Please take note to watch.”