A Guide for Background Characters to Survive in a Manga

Chapter 58

Around eight in the evening, when it was already quite dark, Su Bei, perched on a tree, suddenly felt a rustling below, as if someone was running. He looked down but saw no one, though the grass was bent.

Seeing this, Su Bei showed an understanding expression. It seemed someone had used an Invisibility Charm to escape from the main base, and from the sounds, there were quite a few people.

If the captured people from the main base had escaped, it meant Jiang Tianming and the others had started their operation.

In that case… Su Bei raised his head, his gaze falling distantly on the main base’s location.

“Boom!”

“Boom, boom, boom!”

Soon, a series of intense explosions echoed from the main base, with flames soaring into the sky, screams mingling with the blasts.

“Beep!”

His watch let out a short chime. Su Bei glanced at it, and a line of red text appeared on the main interface—“Countdown to leaving the different space: 04:59.”

Five minutes left to leave.

Seeing he could soon exit, Su Bei stretched lazily. After hiding in the tree for a day, he felt stiff all over. He’d need a good rest back at the academy.

As he thought this, he suddenly saw a red beam shoot into the night sky from near the main base, exploding into a small firework.

Su Bei paused, then realized what it was.

When he’d posed as the baseball cap man’s superior, he’d told him to fire a signal flare if he needed help.

That must’ve been the signal flare.

Tch, trouble’s here.

Su Bei checked his watch again, mentally estimated the time, tore open an Invisibility Charm, jumped down, and sprinted toward that direction.

Five minutes was short, but with an ability user’s physique and his regular training, Su Bei reached the destination in four minutes.

It was a small clearing with clear signs of a fight. From the traces, the people here had fought while heading west.

So why did he fire the signal flare then?

Su Bei frowned, searching the area. He hoped the flare was to guide him to something left here, not to rescue the man.

If it was the latter, he’d have to abandon this thread. Su Bei had no confidence in saving someone under the protagonist team’s siege.

Luckily, he guessed right. Not long after, he found a white sheet of paper in the grass near the clearing.

The paper stood out in the forest. They’d entered with only two water bottles and a backpack, nothing else.

If it wasn’t an ability product, it could only have been brought by “Black Flash.”

The moment Su Bei picked up the paper, a line of text appeared—“The Saint’s name is.”

Seeing this, he raised an eyebrow, knowing he’d found the right thing. He pocketed the paper and turned to leave.

Soon, the five minutes ended, and everyone in the different space was teleported out.

At the same moment, “Manga Consciousness” prompted in Su Bei’s ear: “King of Abilities has updated. Please take note to view.”

The comic updated. Looks like a late night ahead.

Unless special circumstances applied, the different space’s time flow matched the outside world. Under a starry night sky, the field suddenly filled with students.

The teachers waiting outside were ready, quickly starting roll call. Those called went to the other side of the field for registration.

Luck was on his side—Su Bei was the first called. Under everyone’s gaze, he loudly answered, then went to register.

Meng Huai was there, likely to keep students in check. Seeing Su Bei, he slapped his back hard. “Coming out this late without a scratch? Well done, you’ve made me proud!”

Clearly, he assumed Su Bei had fought the whole time while staying unharmed. Su Bei didn’t explain—if he admitted to slacking off, the days ahead wouldn’t be pleasant.

The registration teacher was the School Nurse, Ye Lin. Her gentle eyes and soft voice seemed to soothe the students’ anxiety.

But she didn’t affect Su Bei, who listened to her questions absently, his eyes fixed on her. It was his first time observing her so closely.

Ye Lin wasn’t annoyed by his stare. She patiently waited, then asked softly, “Su Bei, may I ask what you were looking at?”

Su Bei asked thoughtfully, “Teacher, do you have siblings?”

“I do. I have a younger sister,” Ye Lin replied, smiling after a pause. “Why do you ask, Su Bei?”

Seeing her nod, Su Bei smiled. “Because you seem so gentle, like someone who’d take good care of siblings.”

Ye Lin tucked a stray hair behind her ear, feigning sternness. “Flattery won’t skip registration. Tell me, what did you do after the academy issued the special mission?”

“I kept avoiding the black-clad people’s searches and saved five people from them. Nothing else,” Su Bei answered skillfully.

He didn’t mention slacking, with Meng Huai watching closely. Nor did he mention knocking out the Purple-Haired Woman—only Jiang Tianming and Si Zhaohua knew, and they wouldn’t reveal it rashly.

But the other incident was different. Five people were involved, including Zhao Xiaoyu and Mu Tieren, but the other three wouldn’t all cover for him. They saw the gears, and a little inquiry would point to him.

So, he openly admitted it, earning some credit to avoid looking idle and exposing his slacking.

“Well done,” Ye Lin praised. “Saving five people from them is remarkable. Don’t sell yourself short, Su Bei. It’s a pity this incident canceled rankings, or your team would’ve ranked high.”

Everyone loves compliments. Su Bei smiled. “Thank you, Teacher. I think so too.”

By the time she finished, a long line had formed behind him. Glancing at it, Su Bei was grateful again for being called first. He asked, “Can I go now, Teacher?”

“Yes,” Ye Lin nodded, letting him leave.

But before he took a few steps, Jiang Tianming, at the end of the line, called out, “Su Bei, can I come to your place later?”

Good question—could he say no? Su Bei sighed inwardly but nodded. “Sure.”

He didn’t want late-night hassle, but who knew what Jiang Tianming wanted to ask? If it was something useful, missing it could cause problems.

Back in his room, Su Bei took out the paper. The question had vanished, but it shouldn’t affect the answer.

He wrote “Mo Xiaotian” on it. The next second, the words disappeared, and a silver, toy-like orb popped out, which he caught.

Then, a message appeared on the paper.

“The one who got this paper is probably the collaborator the boss mentioned, right? I’m not sure, but if I threw this paper out, it means I’m likely doomed. So, if someone picks it up and answers the question, please take this item and the following message to 26 Mushroom Road. The ‘Black Flash’ organization will offer generous rewards:

No. 10 is incompetent and failed the mission. Please recover the mission item.”

26 Mushroom Road.

Su Bei’s eyes gleamed with excitement. Undoubtedly, this was an address to contact “Black Flash.” Once he misled readers into believing he truly collaborated with “Black Flash,” he could visit this address.

What was this silver orb?

Su Bei held it up, examining it. It was a delicate item, a hollow, carved silver sphere with a solid smaller ball inside. It didn’t seem like an ability item but rather a rich kid’s toy.

The baseball cap man called it a mission item, meaning it was crucial to their mission of capturing students in this team battle.

From what Su Bei could tell, “Black Flash” had tampered in several ways: preventing people inside from leaving and outsiders from entering, capturing Feng Lan early, altering the Mission Stele tasks, and making the main base’s location undetectable under normal conditions.

The first was unlikely, or the base’s destruction wouldn’t have allowed escape. The other three were possible.

But Su Bei didn’t know how to use the orb, and even knowing its function wouldn’t help. With that, he stored it carefully in the innermost layer of his suitcase, deciding to buy a hidden compartment tomorrow.

Comics, novels, and dramas often had plots where secrets were exposed by knocking over a suitcase. Su Bei wouldn’t make that mistake, letting anyone suspect he was a spy. Readers finding it “exciting” was fine, but classmates or teachers knowing would ruin him.

“Knock, knock, knock!”

Shortly after storing it, a knock came. Su Bei opened the door, and as expected, Jiang Tianming stood there.

He was alone, his expression calm but with an indescribable undertone.

Once Su Bei let him in and closed the door, Jiang Tianming got straight to the point. “When I escaped, I saw you in the tree, but when I went back, you were gone. Where were you?”

“Are you… questioning me?” Su Bei’s heart tightened, but he gave Jiang Tianming a half-smile.

He hadn’t expected Jiang Tianming to notice him in the tree or return to look for him. It was an oversight, but not enough to make Su Bei feel guilty.

He’d done the task under an Invisibility Charm, unseen. He’d also dispelled it before leaving the different space, leaving no flaws.

So, he had no need to feel guilty or explain.

“No, I’m just curious,” Jiang Tianming shook his head. He hadn’t suspected Su Bei, as there was little to suspect. “You’ve been disappearing these past two days, like you had a mission.”

Was this the protagonist’s intuition? Su Bei raised an eyebrow, mixing truth and lies. “Maybe fate told me to slack off.”

Jiang Tianming gave a deadpan look. “Even fate would be offended by that slander.”

He turned to leave, then remembered something and turned back. “Oh, Mu Tieren and Zhao Xiaoyu asked me to thank you. It’s too late tonight, but they’ll come thank you in person tomorrow.”

This was about Su Bei saving them.

“Got it,” Su Bei nodded, seeing him out.

After leaving, Jiang Tianming didn’t leave immediately but lingered. He still had doubts. If Su Bei was slacking, why not leave the different space? Where did he go last?

But Su Bei always had secrets, so Jiang Tianming didn’t press when he saw Su Bei didn’t want to answer.

In his room, Su Bei sighed deeply. He wanted an alternate identity, but while reader suspicion was fine, protagonist team suspicion was not. In the real world, unlike the comic, people could investigate him easily.

Whatever, time to check the comic update. Though short, this update packed a lot—an entire team battle.

The comic opened with the field assembly, everyone getting watches and entering the portal. After some lighthearted moments, the first Mission Stele appeared, and they decided to split into groups.

As expected, the focus followed Jiang Tianming. To take the task, he and Mu Tieren didn’t wander far, just exploring nearby for anything useful.

The early plot was fairly mundane, so Su Bei skipped it. He focused on two parts: his own plot and the events after “Black Flash” began their operation.

As a group-focused comic, the lens didn’t stay on Jiang Tianming. After their fight with a team of classmates, it shifted to Wu Mingbai and Lan Subing, then to Su Bei and Mo Xiaotian.

Their segment was lackluster, briefly showing Mo Xiaotian’s childhood to establish his character. The Nightmare Monkey fight was glossed over.

Notably, when Su Bei said, “Don’t think too highly of your companions…,” the comments exploded.

“Aaah, I see foreshadowing!”

“Aaah, I see a knife!”

“What does that mean? Was Su Bei betrayed by a companion?”

“Smells like a knife.”

“Is he talking about himself? Warning Mo Xiaotian not to trust him too much?”

No one guessed Su Bei’s true meaning, but without an omniscient perspective, they probably couldn’t.

The encounter with Si Zhaohua’s group could barely count as half a foreshadowing.

Next, the lens on Su Bei was his meeting with Zhao Xiaoyu and Wu Jin.

Seeing Zhao Xiaoyu lead a group, trying to guilt-trip Mo Xiaotian into being their free bodyguard only to be brushed off by Su Bei, the comments flew.

“Wow, Zhao Xiaoyu’s leadership is amazing.”

“Bringing so many Class F students to the exam for cannon fodder?”

“Tea-level manipulation!”

“Damn, Mo Xiaotian’s eyes are teary.”

“Hahahahaha!”

“Full marks for this push-and-pull.”

“Mo Xiaotian: Oh, I get it! (epiphany.jpg)”

Su Bei’s inquiry about Feng Lan’s whereabouts was drawn, with a few shouting “ship it” while most discussed the plot.

From the comments, seasoned readers sensed something was off with this team battle—Feng Lan’s sudden disappearance was a red flag.

The next perspective followed Zhao Xiaoyu. Seeing her talk with Wu Jin, Su Bei raised an eyebrow.

Wu Jin, as he’d said, was highly sensitive to emotions.

At this, Su Bei recalled that stunning face and their conversation in the different space. He paused the comic, rubbing his temples in thought.

He’d thought Wu Jin had dual personalities, with different traits and abilities.

But Wu Jin denied having split personalities, and he likely wasn’t lying. That made his two displayed abilities worth examining.

Did he naturally have two abilities, or were they two expressions of one?

After thinking, Su Bei messaged Meng Huai. For academic questions, ask the teacher—he was still a student, right?

[EastSouthWest: Teacher, is it possible for someone to have two abilities?]

After a wait, Meng Huai replied.

[DisturberDies: …Why ask this?]

[EastSouthWest: I noticed someone’s ability is odd, with two very different uses. I suspect it’s two abilities.]

[DisturberDies: No natural cases of one person having multiple abilities exist.]

No natural cases? So modified people might have two abilities?

Su Bei caught the implication, but was Wu Jin a modified person?

Too little info. Back to the comic.

Zhao Xiaoyu’s reason for rallying Class F students was indeed to use them as shields. When enemies came, she led the group to flee, staying mid-back so enemies from any direction would catch those closer, not her.

After escaping, she comforted everyone with max healing vibes. No one noticed her scheming, and the group was deeply grateful.

Seeing this, even Su Bei had to admit Zhao Xiaoyu was skilled. By tomorrow’s class, her prestige in Class F would likely surpass the Class Monitor, Mu Tieren.

The plot returned to Jiang Tianming, chased with Mu Tieren, fighting back while fleeing. After the monthly exam’s individual battles, everyone’s combat skills had improved slightly. Unless they fought to the death, they’d only eliminate one or two enemies, still getting chased.

Exhausted and ready to go all-in, they heard a rustle in the grass. Thinking enemies had caught up, they were tense—only to see Su Bei and another emerge.

“…”

Seeing four chibi bean-eyed characters on his phone, each with crows flying overhead, Su Bei chuckled.

Flipping a few pages, the second (fake) Mission Stele appeared. Handing over the watch for 5,000 points tempted everyone but Su Bei, their eyes turning to coins.

Though tempted, they smartly sensed something was off. Even Wu Mingbai’s group, just arriving, grew wary upon hearing the task.

With Su Bei’s “misfortune” vision confirming it, it was clear the task was flawed.

Through questions, Su Bei guided them to realize leaving the different space relied on the watch, piecing together the anomalies.

The comments went wild.

“Here it comes, the conspiracy!”

“Will everyone who handed over their watch die?”

“Can’t shonen manga avoid deaths? This green-haired kid is kinda cute.”

“You calling the green-haired kid cute are starving.”

“Everyone’s so smart. I’d have rushed to claim the task to avoid missing rewards.”

“Full team of smart protagonists, yay! (Mo Xiaotian: ?)”

“Su Bei seems so calm…”

“Time to stir things up!”

“Why do I feel Su Bei knows something?”

Next was Su Bei’s fate prediction, with a glaring arrow practically shouting the answer, no guessing needed.

But readers didn’t think so, insisting the arrow had deeper meaning. They analyzed its color (black), size, and shape, but none questioned its direction.

Seeing the varied guesses, Su Bei’s lips twitched.

The plot moved on. Since Su Bei chose to split from the protagonist team, he was absent for a long stretch.

But likely because the author saw him as part of the team and didn’t want him fully gone, he got one panel—reminding Qi Huang not to separate from teammates who removed their watches.

When the second day’s special task appeared, even the slowest realized something was wrong, especially the prepared protagonist team.

They planned to stick together for safety, but a larger group drew attention. Soon, several strangers in school uniforms tried to join.

Though a month at school didn’t let them recognize all hundreds of first-years, familiarity was possible. With so many strangers and the special task hint, they stayed cautious.

Fighting while fleeing, they scattered after shaking off enemies.

The lens showed others’ plots first, then Jiang Tianming. He passed through grass, heard voices, and met Si Zhaohua.

Their banter sent comments into a frenzy. Seeing them decide to team up, everyone knew they’d become friends. Though Su Bei saw it live, the comic gave a fresh perspective.

Until the Purple-Haired Woman’s arrival broke the harmony.