A Guide for Background Characters to Survive in a Manga

Chapter 56

After Jiang Tianming and Si Zhaohua reached an agreement, they did not leave but discussed strategies under the tree. Seeing they had no intention of leaving, Su Bei immediately felt a headache.

Who wouldn’t know that where the protagonist was, there would surely be a plot? He had originally wanted to quietly get through this storyline, but now he was in a tough spot.

As expected, where the protagonist was, things would never be calm. Not long after, they were found by an enemy. However, this wasn’t the one chasing Si Zhaohua earlier but a stranger.

The opponent had short, deep purple hair that perfectly suited a villain’s identity, wearing a black bodysuit. If one only looked at the eyes, they might seem gentle. But the lower half of the face sharply tapered into a pointed chin, paired with fiery red lips, making one instantly think of a venomous beauty.

The comic world was great in this aspect—except for some undercover agents, good people and bad people were usually clearly distinguished by their appearances.

“Ho, look what I found? Two little rats!” She cast a playful glance at Jiang Tianming and Si Zhaohua. “Are you ready to obediently let me capture you?”

As she spoke, the woman activated her ability, and a two-meter-long snakeskin whip appeared in her hand.

“This whip leaves scars on the body and ruins the face. You two are so good-looking, I almost can’t bear to do it~”

Her tone was as tender as water, but her expression didn’t hide her malice. “If you surrender directly, I might be a bit gentler.”

Surrender was obviously impossible. Si Zhaohua sneered, spreading his wings. “Make us surrender? You’re not worthy!”

With that, he grabbed Jiang Tianming with one hand, flapped his wings, and flew to a tall tree. He could have flown higher, but going too high risked being spotted by others, attracting more enemies.

Jiang Tianming, suddenly forced to fly: “?”

He wasn’t afraid of heights, but being abruptly lifted into the air made him dizzy. He exclaimed in surprise, “What are you doing?”

“Saving you!” An obvious question! Si Zhaohua glared at him irritably, feeling they were indeed at odds.

His thinking was clear: the purple-haired woman’s whip had a long attack range, making it easy to get hit on the ground.

Though her strength was unclear, getting struck would definitely hurt. So, flying into the air where the whip couldn’t reach was a permanent solution.

“You could’ve warned me first,” Jiang Tianming said, finally not dizzy anymore. He knew Si Zhaohua meant well, but that didn’t stop him from bickering. “Can you handle it? Don’t drop me.”

“I can’t,” Si Zhaohua sneered.

“I’ll throw you down now.”

“You two are quite carefree?” The purple-haired woman laughed in anger but was sharp enough to recognize Si Zhaohua’s ability. “[Angel]? I didn’t expect to catch a big fish.”

As the young master of the Si Family, Si Zhaohua was a key target, and those involved in this operation knew of him.

Though the organization had assigned specific people to capture him, anyone who caught him would receive substantial rewards. She hadn’t expected such luck to run into him.

Thinking of the rewards for capturing Si Zhaohua, the purple-haired woman smiled sweetly. “Flying so high to keep me from reaching you?”

With that, she swung her whip toward them. The two-meter-long whip suddenly extended, shooting toward Si Zhaohua.

Si Zhaohua, unprepared for the whip’s extension, changed expression and flapped his wings quickly, barely dodging. But his wings had no speed advantage, and continuing like this would lead to trouble.

The whip made a sharp sound as it cut through the air, grating on the ears. It struck a tree, leaving a deep gash in the trunk. One more hit, and the tree might break, showing the attack’s strength.

Having fought Si Zhaohua before, Jiang Tianming understood the situation and shouted, “Attack!”

Only by attacking could they find a chance to survive.

“Do you need to tell me?” Si Zhaohua snapped back but began his feather attack.

Though they hadn’t coordinated, Jiang Tianming naturally used [Object Control] to manipulate the feathers Si Zhaohua had released, directing them for a second attack.

As a novice, Si Zhaohua’s mental energy wasn’t strong, so his feather control was average. He could manage some control but not freely, at best achieving a boomerang effect.

With Jiang Tianming sharing the load, he felt much lighter. Together, they controlled the feathers, varying their attack patterns.

The purple-haired woman’s whip was suited for long-range attacks but struggled against numerous small projectiles. Though she could deflect many, their sheer number still caused injuries.

“Quite the teamwork,” the purple-haired woman said, looking at her wounds and swatting away feathers, her expression darkening.

These two were just novice ability users. If she couldn’t defeat them, it’d be a humiliating failure, and she’d be laughed at back at base.

With this in mind, she stopped holding back. Initially, she thought the Si Family’s young master might be treated well by the organization, so injuring him could be problematic. But now, it wasn’t about injuring them—it was about capturing them.

Once she got serious, her attacks grew fiercer. The two, who could previously attack to defend, were now forced to flee desperately.

They had returned to the ground, as staying in the air didn’t block her attacks and made dodging slower. On the ground, they were more agile.

Earlier, Si Zhaohua had closed his wings when the whip came, but after a few times, the purple-haired woman tried to bind him with it. After barely breaking free, Si Zhaohua immediately flew down with Jiang Tianming. Better to escape on the ground than die in the air.

The villain organization cared little for the environment, especially in this different space. The purple-haired woman swung her whip recklessly, sweeping through grass and trees, nearly hitting Jiang Tianming and Si Zhaohua several times.

They could only attack while dodging, realizing they couldn’t harm her directly for now and targeting her ability instead. The whip looked thin, so they took turns attacking a single point with feathers.

Even an ability’s product followed physical rules. Since the whip was tangible, it could be damaged.

Feeling the damage to her whip, the purple-haired woman grew frustrated, intensifying her attacks while resolving to train her physical skills after returning.

She had neglected physical training due to her whip’s long-range nature, and now she was paying the price.

If she dared to fight up close, those two wouldn’t be so bold!

But their teamwork split her attacks. If it were just one person, she’d have captured them already.

She considered calling for backup, which would ensure their defeat, but asking for help against two first-year ability users would be too humiliating.

So she held on, waiting for their stamina or mental energy to run out, confident she’d win eventually.

Watching from the tree, Su Bei found their fight entertaining, like a game of jump rope.

Jiang Tianming and Si Zhaohua’s coordination was seamless. Though two people controlled one’s ability, they not only avoided hindering each other but dealt multiplied damage, achieving a 1+1>2 effect.

Fights with real ability users were indeed more exciting. During the individual battles, everyone fought like it was a game, creative but not visually impressive, except for the final day’s match.

Battles with nightmare beasts were lackluster, likely because they were low-level and relied on instinct rather than ability mastery, making them underwhelming.

This fight was different—powerful and visually stunning. Su Bei enjoyed the show.

Perhaps due to excessive joy, just as he thought about grabbing some snacks, the whip swung and sliced off most of the tree he was on.

As the whip came, Su Bei, comfortably perched on a branch, was startled. Luckily, he reacted quickly, leaping back to avoid the attack.

But with the leaves gone, his figure was fully exposed to everyone present.

Su Bei: “…”

Jiang Tianming: “…”

Si Zhaohua: “…”

Purple-haired woman: “…”

For a moment, the air seemed to freeze, everyone’s eyes filled with confusion. No need to guess—everyone’s mind was likely full of question marks.

Who could’ve imagined a fight would reveal a hidden Easter egg: someone was here?

Su Bei twitched his lips, knowing he needed to cover up. Suppressing his embarrassment, he forced a playful smile and looked at the purple-haired woman. “Oops, I’ve been found.”

With that, he conjured a gear in his hand, casually spinning it before letting it vanish.

“Who are you?” The purple-haired woman eyed him warily, not daring to act.

Though his school uniform suggested he was a first-year participant, his calm demeanor after witnessing her attack made her cautious.

Coincidentally, as the gear vanished, a leaf slowly fell from the air. With everyone focused on Su Bei, no one noticed. The leaf drifted down, landing on the woman’s weapon.

At the same time, Su Bei snapped his fingers.

The next second, a snapping sound rang out, and the whip suddenly broke!

“Pfft—”

Her ability severely damaged, the purple-haired woman didn’t even have time to be shocked before spitting blood and fainting.

From the tree trunk, Su Bei looked down at the scene, his amethyst-like eyes full of amusement. “What a great show.”

Jiang Tianming was dumbfounded, and Si Zhaohua, uncharacteristically, gaped. The enemy they struggled to evade was defeated so effortlessly by Su Bei?

Si Zhaohua, who had beaten Su Bei before, couldn’t help but wonder if Su Bei had held back during the individual battle. If he’d used this ability then, how could Si Zhaohua have won?

But they didn’t know that Su Bei, who appeared in control, was secretly relieved.

During their fight, he wasn’t just watching. He used his ability to observe their destiny compasses.

From the moment Jiang Tianming and Si Zhaohua focused on attacking one spot on the woman’s whip, the pointer on her destiny compass began shifting right.

Her pointer was already tilted right, as she was opposing the protagonist—how could she win?

When Su Bei was exposed, the pointer was nearly at its limit, meaning she was moments from defeat.

Earlier, during their intense fight, Su Bei had seized the chance to use his mental energy to place a gear in the groove of her compass, just in case. It paid off.

He activated his ability, nudging the pointer right with the gear, and as expected, she lost instantly.

He had to admit, he found this move pretty cool.

Even without him, a few more attacks from Jiang Tianming and Si Zhaohua would’ve achieved the same result.

Now, with both staring at him in a daze, Su Bei sat back down, one leg bent, the other dangling, tilting his head slightly. “What are you staring at? Tie her up already.”

Jiang Tianming and Si Zhaohua snapped out of it, using ropes from the item store to bind the purple-haired woman tightly.

Notably, Jiang Tianming handled the tying alone. In the first season of the comic, he often did this, so he was quite skilled.

Seeing his proficiency, Si Zhaohua’s expression grew complex. He opened his mouth to ask something but ultimately stayed silent.

Compared to Jiang Tianming’s minor quirk, Su Bei was the real mystery. Thinking of him, Si Zhaohua’s expression grew truly complicated.

He retracted his wings, hesitating as he looked at Su Bei, then asked the simplest question. “Why are you here?”

Good question—why was he here? Su Bei didn’t know either. He just wanted a place to slack off, yet in such a vast different space, he somehow picked the plot’s epicenter.

Grumbling inwardly, he gave an innocent smile. “Who knows? I just came to sleep.”

Unsurprisingly, no one believed this truth, assuming he didn’t want to explain.

“Then why didn’t you act earlier and only stepped in now?” Si Zhaohua asked, sensing Su Bei hadn’t intended to help initially.

Su Bei answered casually, “Disturbing my show comes with a price.”

After dragging the tied-up woman under the tree, Jiang Tianming returned. “Did you just change her fate?”

Unlike Si Zhaohua, as a classmate and teammate, Jiang Tianming knew Su Bei better. From Wu Jin’s incident, he’d guessed Su Bei could alter fate.

But he hadn’t expected this ability to be so strong. The purple-haired woman was clearly a seasoned ability user, yet Su Bei defeated her in one move. He couldn’t even tell how the whip broke.

Indeed, neither Jiang Tianming nor Si Zhaohua noticed the leaf. By the time they focused on the whip, it had already broken, and the leaf had silently fallen to the ground.

To them, Su Bei spun a gear, and the whip snapped. They had no idea his ease relied on their prior attacks weakening the whip.

But he did change her fate, so Su Bei smirked, pinching his thumb and forefinger in a gesture. “Just a little.”

Indeed, just a little—he merely sped up the whip’s breaking. His mental energy wasn’t even heavily drained, or he’d be pale by now.

But truth rarely convinced anyone. Si Zhaohua said incredulously, “No way it’s just a little! Did you hold back in the individual battle, not using this ability?”

With the power Su Bei just showed, even with [Holy Judgment], Si Zhaohua had no confidence in winning. This fate-altering ability was too bizarre to comprehend.

At least Si Zhaohua knew if Su Bei had altered fate back then, that gear could’ve hit his neck, making him lose before using his ultimate move. It was a close call, almost like fate played a small joke.

But he could understand. Such a cheat ability was too powerful. If Su Bei wanted to showcase regular skills during the monthly exam to identify weaknesses, not using it made sense.

Wait?

Si Zhaohua suddenly realized something. If Su Bei could alter fate to make the gear hit his neck, he could also make it miss.

Shocked, he asked angrily yet aggrievedly, “You didn’t deliberately make the gear miss my neck, did you?”

No wonder he reacted this way. Si Zhaohua cared deeply about winning and losing, raised to always win by his family.

His victory over Su Bei was a narrow one with his ultimate move. Learning Su Bei had a special skill he didn’t use, Si Zhaohua mentally compared their non-special abilities, concluding they were evenly matched.

Though Su Bei nearly won, he missed. Even without his ultimate, Si Zhaohua felt he could’ve fought on, not necessarily losing.

Now, he realized Su Bei might’ve deliberately missed, meaning Su Bei could’ve won even without special skills!

No way? You think that too? Su Bei couldn’t fathom Si Zhaohua’s logic. Comic readers assuming he held back was one thing—they loved to theorize. But Si Zhaohua?

For a moment, Su Bei didn’t know how to respond. Denying it might ruin his persona; admitting it could anger Si Zhaohua. After thinking, he used a universal reply: “Guess?”

Si Zhaohua: “…”

His face darkened, taking it as confirmation. “If you didn’t want to win, why fight me? You could’ve forfeited or not joined the exam!”

Clearly, Si Zhaohua was furious. He valued competition and winning, so Su Bei’s intentional loss felt like an insult to both the match and him.

If a stranger did this, Si Zhaohua wouldn’t care. But Su Bei was a friend he acknowledged after their fight, making him feel foolish.

Su Bei, inexplicably accused, was dumbfounded. Wasn’t this supposed to be a protagonist-sidekick plot? Why was it happening to him?

But he wasn’t angry. He somewhat understood Si Zhaohua. If someone toyed with him, he’d be mad too.

Knowing this would likely be drawn in the comic, Su Bei’s mind raced for the best response.

Brush it off with a cheeky smile?

That would anger Si Zhaohua more, possibly ruining their relationship. Su Bei didn’t want that. Clashing with another sidekick wouldn’t enhance his persona—it’d only cause trouble.

Coldly walk away?

That’d still strain things, and Su Bei disliked that approach. To him, having a mouth was for explaining.

Though he thought a lot, only two seconds passed. Knowing he couldn’t stay silent, Su Bei looked at Si Zhaohua. “Didn’t you enjoy the fight?”

Si Zhaohua was stumped.

He couldn’t deny it—the fight was genuinely thrilling.

His match with Jiang Tianming was long but mostly him dominating. He didn’t lose to Jiang Tianming’s ability but to his persistence.

With Su Bei, it was different—they traded blows evenly. At home, sparring partners either crushed or yielded to him. At school, no one could match him.

Only fighting Su Bei felt exhilarating, which was why he changed his view of Su Bei afterward.

Hearing this, Si Zhaohua’s expression softened. After a pause, he nodded.

Su Bei grinned. “So did I. Isn’t that enough?”

In that split second, he understood Si Zhaohua’s anger. On the surface, it was about Su Bei not caring about winning, but deep down, it was because he thought Su Bei toyed with him.

So Su Bei addressed that, making it clear he valued the process, not the outcome. He enjoyed the fight, so he wasn’t mocking Si Zhaohua.

As expected, Si Zhaohua felt less angry. He cared about winning, but didn’t demand others do too. Knowing Su Bei fought seriously and shared his view of the match, he let it go.

But he still had one question. “Why didn’t you want to win?”

“Sometimes, victory isn’t a good thing,” Su Bei replied cryptically.