A Guide for Background Characters to Survive in a Manga

Skipping a few CP posts, Su Bei finally clicked into one. It was already very late, and after reading this post, he would go to sleep.

["Don’t put too much faith in your teammates..." I smell a knife!]

Chosen Knife Receiver No.0: Does everyone remember this line? It was said by Su Bei to Mo Xiaotian not long after the start of this chapter in the manga.

Ahhhh, such a short sentence, but it made me think of so many things!!!

Personally, I think the "companion" in this sentence refers to Su Bei himself. He doesn't consider himself a good person, but he was moved by the sincerity of Mo Xiaotian, which is why he said this—both as a warning to Mo Xiaotian and to himself.

Based on this plot, I feel that in the future, there might be a storyline where Su Bei, burdened by fate, is forced to go against everyone.

Sorry, Su Bei, but this is so intriguing! Is there anyone willing to write this? I'll hand you the pen!

No.1: OP, you... said it so well!

No.2: OP, you... said it so well!

No.4: Hahahaha, someone save Su Bei! Next door, there's a post saying he's the owner of those little white shoes.

No.5 replying to No.4: Isn't that just connecting to the main post! Because he's actually a mole planted by "Black Lightning" in the Abilities Academy, that's why he said those words to Mo Xiaotian—he's bound to betray them eventually. Damn! That makes so much sense!

No.6: What the person above said really makes sense!

No.7: I believe it.

No.8: Not gonna lie, the idea of Su Bei being a mole fits his character really well.

No.9: But would Black Lightning really send someone with such an important ability to the enemy side as a mole? That's fate we're talking about!

.....

No.27 replying to No.9: I think so too. Is there a possibility that the "companion" Su Bei mentioned isn't referring to himself, but someone else in the protagonist group? Maybe he already saw through the Gear of Destiny that there's a mole in the protagonist group, which is why he warned Mo Xiaotian?

No.28 replying to No.27: What you said also makes a lot of sense.

No.29: Everyone's imagination is so wild!

No.30: Am I the only one who doesn't want there to be a mole in the protagonist group? Everyone's such a good kid!

No.31: Su Bei might not necessarily be the mole; otherwise, it feels a bit too predictable.

.....

No.55: I saw someone say that this line might actually be based on Su Bei's own experiences. Are we overthinking it?

Chosen Knife Receiver No.56 (OP) replying to No.55: That's also intriguing!

No.57: More plot twists, please!

No.58: I admit, I just want to see the carefree one burdened with a heavy fate.

No.59: Seeing everyone as twisted as me is reassuring!

The content of this post was quite interesting. For a statement he made half out of reflection and half deliberately, the readers had come up with multiple interpretations—some of which Su Bei himself hadn't even thought of.

This was undoubtedly good news for him. The more guesses they made, the more options he had to respond.

After the monthly exam, perhaps because of the team competition, the school mercifully gave everyone a few days off. The next class would be on Monday, so there were a full five days of rest.

On the afternoon of the second day, everyone who had participated in the individual battles on the final day, including Zhou Renjie, was called to an empty classroom.

When Su Bei arrived, everyone else was already there. It wasn't that he was late; he had just been delayed on the way.

On his way, Su Bei ran into Zhao Xiaoyu, who had just finished her run and was heading to the cafeteria. Zhao Xiaoyu was a smart person. Seeing Su Bei appearing on this path to the teaching building at an unusual time, she immediately realized that the school might have something to do with him.

Feeling that the two of them could now somewhat talk, she quickly approached him to ask what he was going to do.

Su Bei had some guesses about the purpose of this meeting, but it was definitely not something he could tell her. So, he simply told her that it might be related to class placement.

This delay naturally made him arrive a bit later than the others.

Upon entering the spacious music classroom, Su Bei first observed the situation. The students all looked a bit curious, indicating that the teacher hadn't yet explained why they had been called here.

When his eyes met theirs, many of them nodded at him. Su Bei was surprised to find that he was actually quite popular among the top ten students?!

Even the most aloof Feng Lan and the most malicious Zhou Renjie didn't seem to hold any ill will toward him.

This gave Su Bei a strange feeling—he hadn't been playing the social butterfly route, had he?

Shivering, Su Bei quickly dismissed this absurd thought and continued to observe. There weren't many teachers in the room, only four. Besides the dean, there were the homeroom teachers of classes A, D, and F—the classes where the top ten students were from.

The dean looked calm, while the homeroom teachers of classes A and D seemed to be in a good mood. After all, their students had made it into the top ten—how could they not be happy?

However, Meng Huai was inexplicably scowling, and when he saw Su Bei looking over, he even glared at him. The other students from class F weren't surprised by this; they had probably all been glared at when they arrived.

Seeing that everyone had arrived, the dean didn't waste any time and got straight to the point: "We called you here today to discuss the monthly exam. First, regarding the team competition results, our final decision is that Jiang Tianming's team will be the first place. Although all of you participated in the final rescue mission, Jiang Tianming's team had more participants."

First Place? Upon hearing the results of the team competition, Jiang Tianming and the others couldn't help but show expressions of joy.

Lan Subing was also happy. With this result, she could go home and brag to her parents. But the next second, the dean's words made her smile drop: "There will be an award ceremony on Monday. Don’t forget to come to the auditorium by 7:30 AM to prepare."

The dean didn’t have time to worry about the feelings of socially anxious students and continued, "Many of you participated in yesterday’s team competition crisis, so you should understand that some people have their eyes on you."

This statement was correct. Everyone had some idea of what was going on. The invasion of the alternate space by Black Lightning was clearly targeting their first-year students, and among the first-years, the most "valuable" were undoubtedly those ranked at the top.

Since the school was aware of this, they would undoubtedly take measures. Everyone was curious about what the school’s response would be.

Next, the dean indeed explained the school’s plan: "For your safety and the academy’s considerations, we have decided not to publicly announce the rankings. Instead, we will open the S-Class ahead of schedule and include the top ten students in it."

The reason for not announcing the rankings was mainly because Jiang Tianming defeating Si Zhaohua would seem too shocking to outsiders. If Black Lightning found out, they would undoubtedly target him specifically. Not announcing the rankings was a precaution for Jiang Tianming’s safety.

Knowing that everyone might not understand what the S-Class entailed, the dean took a sip of water and continued to explain: "The S-Class admits fifteen students each year. Normally, it opens after the first semester’s final exams, followed by winter break training. After the break, five students are dismissed. However, given the current circumstances, you will need to start training early."

Hearing this, everyone’s expressions varied, but it was clear that they were all excited. The S-Class was like an urban legend to them—something they had only heard about but never seen. Now, they were actually going to be part of it. Especially for the members of the protagonist group, it felt incredibly surreal.

The dean observed everyone’s expressions and nodded in satisfaction. After giving them this sweet reward, she didn’t hesitate to deliver a warning: "Let me be clear upfront. S-Class students receive enhanced protection and a significant allocation of resources, but they also need to shoulder corresponding responsibilities."

She didn’t specify what those responsibilities were, but she did announce the consequences: "If you fail to meet the S-Class requirements, you will be dismissed. Although the fixed dismissal quota is five, it doesn’t mean only five will be dismissed each year. In fact, last year’s S-Class only had five students left—the other ten were dismissed."

Hearing the word "dismissal," everyone’s expressions turned serious. Although this dismissal likely only meant being removed from the S-Class and not expelled from the school, it still wasn’t something to take lightly. If nothing else, their pride alone would take a hit.

"You don’t need to worry about being targeted by those people after leaving the S-Class. They won’t pay attention to those who’ve been kicked out," she said confidently. "Similarly, if you choose not to join the S-Class at all, you can also avoid their attention."

The dean had every reason to be confident. In the past, aside from potential losses during missions, no S-Class member had ever died due to enemy targeting under the academy’s strong protection.

Because of this, the Abilities Academy would never force someone to leave or avoid joining the S-Class just to cover for them. After all, the protection provided to the S-Class was extremely reliable, and there was no need for underhanded tactics that would only hinder the students’ development.

She looked at the group: "So, is there anyone who chooses not to join? If you don’t join, you’ll be assigned to Class A. Class A also has excellent resources, and it’s much less dangerous."

At this point, the dean gave a very fair assessment: "For students without much ambition, I personally think this is actually a good choice."

However, no one raised their hand. They had worked so hard to get to this point—who among them didn’t have some ambition?

Even if some felt that their abilities might not be enough and that they might be dismissed later, refusing to join from the start was simply out of the question.

Clearly, the dean was used to no one raising their hand in situations like this. She shook her head with a hint of regret.

She didn’t know how many of these students would be dismissed or how many might lose their lives during missions. All she could say was that from the moment they made their decision, everything was likely already set in stone.

Setting aside her extra thoughts, the dean turned to Meng Huai: "Xiao Meng, it’s your turn to say a few words."

Seeing the confusion on everyone’s faces, she smiled and explained, "Xiao Meng will be your homeroom teacher for now. Originally, you would have been assigned to the same homeroom teacher as the other S-Class seniors, but since your class is starting early, Xiao Meng will temporarily take over. He used to teach the S-Class, so there’s no need to worry about his teaching skills. Plus, since most of you are from Class F, you’ll adapt quickly."

After saying this, she left the classroom with the other teachers, giving Meng Huai some space.

So that’s how it was. Su Bei finally understood why Meng Huai had been in such a bad mood today. Having read the manga, he knew that Meng Huai had originally slacked off by teaching Class F because he didn’t want to teach the S-Class.

Now, he was being forced back into teaching the S-Class, and one of the reasons was that there were so many students from Class F. No wonder he was glaring at them!

The others, without Su Bei’s omniscient perspective, were all very surprised. They never expected that the teacher who had been teaching Class F was actually a former S-Class teacher. The contrast was just too big!

After all, many people in the school, openly or secretly, looked down on Class F, and by extension, the teachers who taught it.

Who would have thought that this was actually a hidden master?

When called upon by the dean, Meng Huai didn’t even stand up. He just lazily spun his swivel chair to face the group: "I don’t have much to say. If I were to give a warning, I’d wait until all fifteen of you are here tomorrow, wouldn’t I?"

After saying this, he ignored Si Zhaohua and the others, turning his attention to the students from Class F: "As for you all, since you refused to give up voluntarily, if you can’t handle my training in the future—"

He didn’t finish his sentence, but instead made a slashing motion across his neck with his thumb.

The Class F students immediately felt a sense of dread. They definitely didn’t want to experience Meng Huai’s “special care”!

“Teacher, I have a question!” Mo Xiaotian, who never knew how to read the room, raised his hand. “What exactly was going on with those people during the team competition?”

Surprisingly, he had actually asked a useful question.

In truth, everyone was curious about this, but they all had their reservations. They were worried that asking might be inappropriate, and coupled with Meng Huai’s intimidating scowl, no one dared to bring it up.

At this moment, everyone realized the benefit of having someone as straightforward as Mo Xiaotian in the group. He could ask the questions everyone was too cautious to voice without any hesitation.

What they didn’t know, however, was that if anyone should have reservations about asking this question, it was actually Mo Xiaotian. After all, he was a member of Black Lightning. Wouldn’t asking such a question make him seem suspicious?

Sometimes, Su Bei thought that Black Lightning had sent him as a mole precisely because of this. If anyone else asked this question, they might be suspected, but when Mo Xiaotian asked, it seemed completely natural.

Perhaps this was a case of “fools have their own kind of luck.”

Jiang Tianming, who was also very curious about this question, seized the opportunity to follow up: “Yeah, teacher, I noticed that those people had the same tattoo on the back of their necks as the person who killed Sun Ming. Are they part of the same group?”

Hearing this, Meng Huai gave him a half-smile. “You’ve noticed quite a lot.”

However, since Jiang Tianming and the others were already being targeted, it wasn’t appropriate to keep them in the dark. After thinking for a moment, Meng Huai chose his words carefully: “They’re part of an organization called ‘Black Lightning.’ This group loves to capture young, overconfident ability users like you for research.”

His tone was eerily similar to saying, “The big bad wolf loves to gobble up obedient children.” Everyone couldn’t help but twitch their lips at the comparison.

Meng Huai, however, didn’t seem the least bit embarrassed. Seeing that the students were somewhat dismissive, he sneered, “If you don’t believe me, you can try it out for yourselves.”

Naturally, no one wanted to test that theory. Seeing Meng Huai’s unpleasant expression, everyone wisely decided to leave, dragging Mo Xiaotian along with them. Once outside the classroom, they split into small groups.

The team competition had indeed proven to be a great way to build camaraderie. The two sides, who had previously been at each other’s throats, were now mingling without issue.

In this situation, Zhou Renjie, who hadn’t reconciled with Jiang Tianming and the others at all, felt somewhat awkward. He looked around—Ai Baozhu was with Lan Subing, Si Zhaohua was hanging out with Jiang Tianming, and Feng Lan was walking beside Su Bei.

After some hesitation, Zhou Renjie decided to approach Su Bei. Although he wasn’t close to either of them, he also didn’t have any major grudges against them.

Zhou Renjie’s feelings toward Su Bei were complicated. When it came to making friends, he usually cared about two things: family background and strength.

Jiang Tianming and the others were orphans and from Class F, so they were completely outside his circle of potential friends. Even if they weren’t as weak as he had initially thought, the stereotypes had already formed, and the previous conflicts were hard to erase. Zhou Renjie definitely wasn’t going to reconcile with them.

Su Bei, on the other hand, was different. When Zhou Renjie first met him, Su Bei was already with Feng Lan. Anyone who could hang out with Feng Lan, the young master of the Feng family, was definitely not weak. Subsequent events had proven this to be true.

Additionally, although Zhou Renjie hadn’t investigated Su Bei’s family background, Su Bei’s demeanor made it clear that he was nothing like the poor, shabby types like Jiang Tianming and Wu Mingbai. So even though Su Bei had clashed with him before, Zhou Renjie wasn’t particularly angry about it.

In fact, he couldn’t afford to be angry anymore. Si Zhaohua and Ai Baozhu had already stopped disliking Jiang Tianming and the others, so what was he supposed to do? At the very least, he needed someone in the S-Class he could talk to…

Thinking this, Zhou Renjie tentatively spoke up: “What were you guys talking about just now?”

Hearing his question, the two finally turned to him. When Zhou Renjie had approached earlier, Feng Lan hadn’t paid any attention, and Su Bei had noticed but didn’t feel like engaging.

However, since Zhou Renjie had initiated the conversation, it would be rude not to respond. Su Bei answered succinctly, “We were talking about Black Lightning.”

He wasn’t lying—there was no need to. They really had been discussing the Black Lightning organization.

Like Si Zhaohua, Feng Lan, as a young master—or rather, someone of even higher status—knew a thing or two about Black Lightning.

According to Feng Lan, Black Lightning had indeed developed some things. While they appeared low-key on the surface, they secretly controlled many commercial channels to sell the tools and products they had researched.

One of these was a potion that could enhance mental strength, which many ability users used. Although it was expensive, the effects were indeed impressive.

Feng Lan knew about this because his family had considered using it on him. However, he had refused, preferring to improve his mental strength through his own efforts.

Assuming they were condemning the organization, Zhou Renjie immediately chimed in: “This Black Lightning is really getting out of hand! When I get home, I’ll make sure my parents deal with them!”

Hearing this, Su Bei immediately lost interest in the conversation. He had brought up the topic to gather useful information, not to listen to someone brag about something they couldn’t possibly achieve.

“Tch!” Wu Mingbai, who was walking not far away, couldn’t help but scoff at Zhou Renjie’s words. However, he didn’t say anything and simply walked away.

This reaction only made Zhou Renjie angrier. He furiously retorted, “What’s that supposed to mean? Huh? You don’t think my family can handle it? Don’t judge the elite with your commoner’s perspective!”

“Enough,” Si Zhaohua said calmly, unable to bear seeing his friend left alone. “Let’s go. We should head back to the dorm.”

His invitation immediately made Zhou Renjie forget his anger. He quickly put on a flattering smile and said, “Coming! Let’s go!”

Si Zhaohua nodded at Su Bei and then led Zhou Renjie away, leaving the others behind.

As they walked, Si Zhaohua couldn’t help but sigh. He and Zhou Renjie had known each other for almost ten years, having been classmates since elementary school. Although he hadn’t wanted to pay attention to Zhou Renjie when he first approached him, over the years, he had developed some feelings of camaraderie.

However, precisely because of this, Si Zhaohua knew very well that Zhou Renjie was genuinely unlikable.

He had also overheard their conversation earlier. While everyone else was discussing the "Black Lightning" organization—Jiang Tianming analyzing their motives, Wu Mingbai reviewing what went wrong during the team competition, Mu Tieren talking about the school's measures, Feng Lan sharing what he knew, Lan Subing trying to gather information, Ai Baozhu loading herself up with defensive tools, Mo Xiaotian curiously asking around, and Su Bei planning how to avoid danger—Zhou Renjie was the only one who thought his family could take on "Black Lightning."

What could Si Zhaohua even say to that?

In truth, Zhou Renjie wasn’t unaware that his family couldn’t handle "Black Lightning." After all, this was an organization that dared to openly oppose the Ability Academy. Anyone with half a brain could figure that out.

Moreover, Zhou Renjie was far from stupid. In their previous regular school exams, he had often ranked in the top ten.

But the family-first ideology he had been indoctrinated with since childhood made it impossible for him to admit that his family wasn’t capable.

Although Si Zhaohua knew that many children from branch families underwent similar brainwashing, and it wasn’t Zhou Renjie’s fault, it also wasn’t anyone else’s fault that he wasn’t well-liked.

"I just realized Si Zhaohua has the potential to be a 'male mother,'" Su Bei remarked, noticing that Si Zhaohu had intentionally taken Zhou Renjie away to help him save face.

Hearing this, Feng Lan blinked and repeated, "Male... mother?"

"It means someone who takes care of others," Su Bei replied without hesitation, keeping a straight face. While the term was often used teasingly, it did roughly mean that.

Lan Subing made a strange expression. Aside from Su Bei, she was the only one present who had heard the term before.

Before Feng Lan could respond, Ai Baozhu, who hadn’t left yet, nodded in agreement. "That’s right. That’s just how he is."

Although Si Zhaohua always appeared aloof and untouchable, Ai Baozhu knew he was actually quite soft-hearted. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have tolerated Zhou Renjie, who had clearly approached them with ulterior motives. It was also because of this personality that he could put up with her. Ai Baozhu had always known she wasn’t the most easygoing person, but she wasn’t ashamed of it. Her family had spoiled her so much; it was only natural that she had a bit of a proud temper.

Back in his dorm, Su Bei thought for a moment and decisively opened the forum.

It had been a while since he last used the "Prophet" account. Now was the perfect time to build up its persona using the information he had gathered today.

Coffee

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