A Guide for Background Characters to Survive in a Manga

18:

Mu Tie Ren’s eyes lit up at his response. Before he could inquire further, the blond-haired boy sitting in the chair asked curiously, “But why would you ask me that?”

Mu Tie Ren didn’t hide the truth: “I remember you telling Jiang Tianming yesterday that he was the unluckiest person in this batch?”

Someone had remembered the incident from yesterday. Despite Mu Tie Ren’s burly appearance, he was actually very attentive.

At the time, he hadn’t thought much of Su Bei’s words to Jiang Tianming, only finding the content interesting. But considering what had happened to Jiang Tianming today, Mu Tie Ren suddenly felt that Su Bei’s words might not have been said in jest.

After all, sitting next to a corpse in an overcrowded cafeteria, then being harassed by the deceased’s family for discovering the body—it indeed qualified as the unluckiest.

If everyone had anticipated this incident, then perhaps there was also a way to resolve it.

Su Bei’s eyes shifted, leaning back lazily in his chair, he said with a cynical smile, “I was just joking. Don’t you think his black hair and eyes make him look like a villain from a novel?”

With that, he showed a look of disappointment: “I didn’t expect him to be a victim.”

The reason sounded far-fetched, but Mu Tie Ren didn’t press further. Instead, he looked worriedly towards the door: “I wonder if they’ll be able to handle this properly.”

He had already seen that just because Su Bei had a way, it didn’t mean he would help.

Upon hearing this, Su Bei seemed contemplative as he looked at him: “The class president really does care about his classmates.”

Having known each other for only two days, Mu Tie Ren felt such genuine empathy for another’s suffering. Was it his nature, or was there something more?

Scratching his head, Mu Tie Ren appeared not to have caught the hidden meaning, and with a simple smile, he said: “After all, I am the class president.”

After he left, Feng Lan looked at Su Bei inquisitively and suddenly spoke: “You seemed different just now.”

Su Bei put down his half-searched phone, turned to look at him, and asked with interest: “How so?”

Feng Lan thought hard for a moment, then shook his head: “Can’t quite put my finger on it.”

Su Bei couldn’t help but laugh, but he knew the other person was right. His behavior wasn’t entirely in character; after all, changes are needed if one wants to be in the spotlight.

Indeed, Su Bei guessed that the incident might be recorded in a comic, so naturally, he had to act more in line with his character.

This assumption was because of the scene he saw today involving Meng Huai. If comments about the protagonist could be recorded, what about discussions behind the protagonist’s back?

Especially when one of the parties involved was Mu Tie Ren, whom he believed would play a part in the upcoming plot.

As they spoke, the bell signaling the end of class rang, and Jiang Tianming and Lan Subing finally returned. Both looked displeased, the latter visibly upset.

Adjusting his expression, Su Bei approached with a grin: “Care to share the gossip?”

Feeling down, Jiang Tianming wanted to refuse, but then something clicked, and his eyes lit up, the words at the tip of his tongue changing: “Was the hint about the future you gave yesterday about this?”

“I really don’t know,” Su Bei shrugged, spreading his hands in a helpless gesture, “Can I join in on the gossip now?”

After a moment’s hesitation, Jiang Tianming exchanged a glance with Lan Subing and finally nodded: “Alright, I’ll tell you.”

Soon, Su Bei learned the rest of the story from Jiang Tianming.

The deceased Sun Ming’s parents were wealthy, rivaling the Lan Corporation. Sun Ming was their only child and born late in their lives, so his death drove them to madness.

They knew that if even the supernatural academy couldn’t find the culprit, their chances were slim. To vent their anger, they turned their attention to Wu Mingbai, who was alone and unprotected.

The academy couldn’t protect him forever, and once Wu Mingbai left the school, he would likely face retaliation from the unreasonable couple. But despite knowing their plans, the academy was powerless to act since they hadn’t done anything yet.

The final agreement was that if the school could find the culprit within two weeks, the couple would cease their disturbances. But if not…

As Jiang Tianming spoke these words, a suppressed anger simmered in his eyes, his dark pupils appearing somewhat intimidating. He was truly angry; the hardships he had endured before at least had some justification, but this calamity was entirely unprovoked.

After hearing the whole story, even Su Bei, who had long known that the protagonist group would be involved, couldn’t help but twitch the corner of his mouth. They were too pitiful, encountering such relatives of the murderer. Merely having discovered the body, they had to innocently bear the brunt of their vengeance.

This was even worse than doctors who faced harassment for failing to save a life, for they had no such obligation!

“So, what do you plan to do?” Su Bei asked with sympathy, though it was the kind that cost nothing more than companionship.

Hearing this question, both of them looked weary. If not for the fact that they were not yet familiar and might need Su Bei’s help, Jiang Tianming would have rolled his eyes: “What else can we do but join the school in searching for the murderer!”

Since the discovery of the body yesterday, the entire school had been sealed off by psychics with a barrier, allowing entry but no exit, not even a fly could escape. So even if the murderer’s ability was to turn into smoke, they must still be within the school.

“Just like that?” Su Bei raised an eyebrow.

As he asked, he called out in his mind to “Comic Consciousness”: “Are you there, ‘Comic Consciousness’? Can the protagonist not take revenge on others?”

“Comic Consciousness” immediately appeared: “This is a righteous youth comic, going too far will affect the comic’s popularity.”

“So, it means there’s still something to be done?” Su Bei’s lips curled into a smirk.

Jiang Tianming paused, puzzled: “What do you mean?”

He then let out a wry smile: “What else can we do?”

He understood what Su Bei meant; was their only option in the face of the couple’s threats to compromise?

But in reality, compromise was all they could do. The Sun family was too powerful for two orphans to confront, and without the school’s protection, they would undoubtedly die.

Lan Subing’s family could contend with them, but it would likely end in mutual destruction. So as long as Lan Subing wasn’t targeted, they wouldn’t act rashly. After all, Jiang Tianming and Wu Mingbai were just Lan Subing’s friends, not worth their full effort.

“Do you know? The Sun family runs a family business, and that couple holds the top two positions in their company,” Su Bei said slowly.

This was information he had just found on his phone; such large enterprises still had some public information online.

Jiang Tianming was clueless, but a thoughtful look flashed in Lan Subing’s eyes.

Su Bei disclosed another piece of public information: “To prevent the culprit from escaping, the school is now in a state of entry without exit. According to the wishes of Sun’s father and mother, they will stay in the school for at least two weeks, or even longer.”

Jiang Tianming vaguely understood something, while Lan Subing, who had been nurtured by her family since childhood, asked with uncertainty, “What do you mean?!”

However, having said so much, Su Bei believed it was enough and did not entertain her question, waving his hand and turning back to his seat.

As soon as he sat down, “Comic Consciousness” eagerly asked, “Why would you do this? What good does encouraging them do for you? If the protagonist group does something bad, the comic’s popularity will decline. If the author decides to abruptly stop updating, it won’t be good for you either!”

It clearly understood what Su Bei meant. He had just mentioned two pieces of information, but they could be integrated into one—that the Sun family was now headless.

As long as Sun’s father and mother’s contact with the outside world was cut off, the Sun family business would have no leader to make decisions. If they could find leverage against them during this period, they could even achieve a one-hit kill, directly bankrupting them!

It was precisely because it understood his plan that “Comic Consciousness” became anxious. After all, this was a righteous youth comic! What kind of thing was it for the protagonist group to conspire to harm others?

Readers often have very high moral expectations for protagonists, especially in righteous youth comics. A protagonist with moral flaws could see their popularity plummet.

“Who said the protagonist group is doing something bad?” Su Bei showed a puzzled expression. “If they listen to me and take this time to find leverage against the Sun family, that would be a benefit to society!”

Hearing this, “Comic Consciousness” suddenly understood something: “Are you saying they’re breaking the law?”

Su Bei nodded with a smile: “A couple so arrogant, threatening innocent students without any scruples, how could they abide by the law? Searching from the aspect of illegal activities, you’ll catch them red-handed!”

“Comic Consciousness” thought about it and realized there really wasn’t a problem. If they could find evidence of the Sun family’s illegal activities and report them, it would be a very legitimate form of revenge. Not only would there be no moral issue, but it would also bring readers the thrill of strategic revenge.

“But I still have one question.” After being silent for a while, “Comic Consciousness” suddenly spoke again, “What benefit is there for you in doing this?”

The author’s original design was actually for the protagonist group to find the culprit, leading to the Sun parents tearfully apologizing. Although Su Bei didn’t know this ending, most people could guess it more or less accurately.

No matter the outcome, it made no difference to him. “Comic Consciousness” felt that, based on its observations over this period, Su Bei should be a person motivated by profit, so why encourage the protagonist group to take revenge on Sun’s father and mother?

“If the mountain won’t come to Muhammad, then Muhammad must go to the mountain. I’ve already used most of the information I received before. If I don’t do this, where will I get my comic scenes?” Su Bei looked as if it was only natural.

But what he didn’t say was that the reason he just gave was actually made up on the spot. The real reason was that he couldn’t stand the behavior of those parents. After all, he also had military parents; how could he not have a sense of justice?

However, justice is something you know in your heart; it’s easy to be manipulated by “Comic Consciousness” if you say it out loud. Letting it think he was a person motivated by profit was definitely better than letting it know he was a good person.

Honestly, if it weren’t for the need to maintain the protagonist group’s image of justice, the plan for revenge he would have given should have been to use the culprit to kill Sun’s father and mother.

After witnessing Su Bei’s success in getting the scoop, other classmates couldn’t help but gather around to ask about it.

Unfortunately, Jiang Tianming was preoccupied with his own concerns and brushed them off hastily, turning to discuss with Lan Subing the suggestion Su Bei had just made.

Originally, he had thought that if the murderer wasn’t found by the deadline, they would find a way to kill Sun’s parents before they left the school.

But after hearing what he said, Jiang Tianming suddenly realized that causing trouble for the other party’s company during this time was the right move. It would avoid the stigma of murder and eliminate the threat.

After all, Sun’s parents dared to threaten them so brazenly because of their company, didn’t they?

Lan Subing whispered a reassurance to him, “Although my parents wouldn’t oppose the Sun family for our sake and harm their own interests, taking advantage of their absence to bring down the Sun corporation is fair business competition, and they wouldn’t refuse.”

It was also a reflection of her limited thinking; she only considered how opposing the Sun family could harm the company’s interests, without realizing that handling this matter well could also benefit the company.

A fair fight was an even match, but attacking while the dragon is headless shifts the odds to their favor, and they were the eight.

“Let’s go, we need to discuss this with Mingbai!” Jiang Tianming decided on the spot and stood up.

He had noticed that Wu Mingbai was in a bad mood when they parted ways. Despite his seemingly cheerful demeanor, how could the two who knew him well not see the gloom in his eyes?

He was never a kind-hearted person, and now, having discovered a victim in the cafeteria and being retaliated against by the victim’s family, he was certainly very angry.

That’s why they didn’t comfort him directly but chose to let him be alone for a while, as they also tried to think of what to do.

Now that they had a good plan, they naturally had to hurry and discuss it together.

On the playground, Wu Mingbai was excited, his orange eyes brimming with vitality: “This is indeed a good plan! If executed well, it could completely bankrupt those scumbags, even send them to prison! Who thought of this?”

Jiang Tianming and Lan Subing exchanged glances: “…Su Bei, it was Su Bei who reminded us.”

At these words, Wu Mingbai’s excitement faded somewhat: “Su Bei? Why would he… Jiang, you haven’t traded something with him again, have you?”

Jiang Tianming shook his head, equally puzzled: “On the contrary, he offered the suggestion after asking about my situation, without asking for anything in return.”

“I think he’s paying the fare,” Lan Subing speculated, “We told him what happened afterward, and he gave us the advice we needed, isn’t it just like the previous trade?”

“Makes sense!” Jiang Tianming had an epiphany. He was willing to tell Su Bei the follow-up, mainly because he thought they might need his help with the matter. He didn’t expect to receive such an unexpected boon.

“But regardless, I owe him one for this,” Wu Mingbai said, rarely dropping his usual facade and showing a serious expression in front of his two friends.

He was not ungrateful, for many things are judged by actions, not intentions. Regardless of what Su Bei thought, this reminder was invaluable. After all, compared to his two friends, he was much more vengeful. A tip that could lead to revenge against Sun’s parents was more appreciated than one revealing the murderer’s identity.

Jiang Tianming and his companion understood his gratitude and nodded, “If there’s a chance, we’ll repay this favor.”

Once their thoughts were clear, they stopped dwelling on it. Jiang Tianming said, “We have a plan, but now we need specific steps to implement it. Su Bing, contact your family to investigate any illegal activities of the Sun family’s company, like tax evasion. That would be the easiest way to get them locked up. Meanwhile, we shouldn’t alert them with our actions; let’s continue our investigation and finding the murderer would be ideal.”

“There’s one more thing,” Wu Mingbai’s eyes gleamed, “Steal their phones and cut off their contact with the outside world completely.”

If they could still freely communicate, being trapped in school wouldn’t make much difference; they could still give orders.

Only by ensuring these two genuine leaders couldn’t receive timely and accurate information, creating a time lag, could they be dealt the heaviest blow.

In other words, they didn’t need to actually deprive Sun’s parents of their phones, as they could borrow from other teachers. They just needed to ensure they didn’t have a fixed, readily available phone number.

The time difference was crucial.

The other two had forgotten this point, but after pondering for a moment, they agreed and nodded. Jiang Tianming said, “There’s no rush. They’ve brought several bodyguards. Let’s find out how many phones they have before we act. And as long as we’re careful initially, their company shouldn’t notice our small maneuvers. Once they do, that’s when we’ll steal their phones.”

The two quickly divided the tasks and set off in different directions. Jiang Tianming went to ask for leave from the teacher, while also learning more about the situation. Lan Subing negotiated with her parents, and Wu Mingbai checked how many phones Sun’s parents had.

Meng Huai was in his office and wasn’t surprised to see Jiang Tianming knocking, “Are you here to ask for leave?”

Jiang Tianming nodded, speaking to him while also addressing the Class D teacher, “We can’t focus on classes until this matter is resolved; it’s better to find the murderer quickly. So, we’d like to ask for leave for both of us.”

Considering the educational aspect, the Class D teacher pondered for a moment and said, “I know you’re eager to find the murderer, and the school is also investigating. You don’t need to worry too much. Although Sun’s parents have given a two-week deadline, the school can protect you for two years. As long as the murderer is found within these two years, they probably won’t hold it against you.”

This was a reasonable assurance, but Jiang Tianming’s heart was not at ease. Indeed, they would be safe for the next two years, but what about the other children in the orphanage?

The school had done its utmost to protect them; it certainly couldn’t protect everyone else. If the murderer was found, the orphanage would be gone. He couldn’t accept such an outcome.

Moreover, the school could only be closed for two weeks. After that, when it reopened, the murderer might flee, and even if they knew the murderer’s identity, they might not be able to catch him. And if they couldn’t catch the murderer, there was no guarantee that Sun’s parents wouldn’t continue to target them.

“Teacher, I still hope we can find the murderer as soon as possible,” Jiang Tianming said with determination, “Can we bring in some detective psychics to investigate this matter?”

Detective psychics typically have abilities related to investigation, such as the ability to retrace the deceased’s death process or to contact the deceased’s spirit, all of which play a crucial role in solving the case.

Meng Huai nodded, “We are already in contact, but the detective with special abilities is quite busy. The only one who can make it within two weeks is expected to arrive the day after tomorrow. His ability is ‘Spirit Communication,’ which allows contact with the souls of the deceased. Once he arrives, the murderer will be known with just a question.”

The day after tomorrow, there would be enough time. Jiang Tianming breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that finding the murderer shouldn’t be difficult. For him, resolving this matter was the top priority; revenge could only come second. If they could find the murderer, even if they couldn’t avenge Grandfather and Grandmother Sun, he could accept it.

The homeroom teacher of Class D said with a smile, “Don’t worry too much, the matter should be easy to resolve. So we won’t approve your leave just yet. Before that special abilities detective arrives, you should still attend classes as usual. There’s nothing you need to worry about. Everything will be discussed after his arrival.”

At that time, almost everyone thought this farce would end soon. Although the students were all curious about the incident, they considerately refrained from asking too many questions.

Only Su Bei occasionally looked at them as if watching a good show, his gaze sinking the hearts of the two who noticed it, giving rise to an ominous premonition.

That look seemed to hint to them that things were far from over.

The bad premonition turned into reality after the detective’s arrival.

He was actually unable to summon the spirit of the deceased!

“I’m sorry, my ability cannot affect the deceased,” the detective shook his head, frowning deeply, as he rarely encountered such a situation, “It seems like he has been ‘Ability Blocked.'”

“‘Ability Blocked’? What does that mean?” Wu Mingbai raised his hand to ask, slightly out of place, but his naive and sweet appearance didn’t make it seem strange.

Since his ability was ineffective, the detective explained proactively, “It means that no special abilities can be used on this deceased person.”

After saying this, he suggested, “Perhaps you should seek a time-reversing ability user, retracing what happened in the cafeteria might make it easier to find the murderer.”

That was true, but the problem was that the next available appointment with such an ability user was a month away. Although it was possible to jump the queue regardless of the cost, the school obviously wouldn’t spend so much for a few students from Class F.

Moreover, as Meng Huai had said earlier, as long as the murderer was found within two years, Jiang Tianming and his companion wouldn’t be retaliated against. As for the orphans behind them, who cared?

After receiving this news, Jiang Tianming and his companion were deeply furrowed in thought, realizing that the school probably wouldn’t offer much help.

“Why not suspect that the murderer possesses an ability to isolate other abilities?” Jiang Tianming asked doubtfully, “If that’s really the case, it should be easy to find the murderer, right?”

The abilities of ability users must be registered; not registering and being discovered is equivalent to breaking the law directly. If the opponent’s ability is known, it wouldn’t be difficult to find the murderer.

Hearing this, Meng Huai sighed, “Such a possibility indeed exists, but it’s extremely slim. Firstly, abilities that isolate other abilities are very rare, and those few known ones all have their own jobs and haven’t left their posts.”

“Secondly, although the surveillance in our school’s cafeteria is broken, there are many other surveillance cameras outside the cafeteria. Our school’s buildings are made of special materials, and abilities like phasing through walls can’t be used. The only way to enter the cafeteria is through the main entrance; even the windows won’t work. But there was no trace of any suspicious person in the surveillance at the entrance, so it’s only possible that the person used their ability to evade the external surveillance search. Having an ability to avoid surveillance, they certainly wouldn’t have any other abilities.”

Wu Ming quickly pinpointed a loophole: “Entering the cafeteria can only be done through the front door, but what about leaving the cafeteria?”

“There are indeed many ways to leave the cafeteria, such as the back door or the windows,” Meng Huai said honestly. “After all, the cost would be too great if we used materials that isolated both ways.”

Hesitating for a moment, he turned on the computer and opened a video: “Look, this is the surveillance footage from the cafeteria entrance, recording the images before and after the victim’s death.”

In the footage, Sun Ming casually walked into the cafeteria. Soon after, more students arrived in succession. The surveillance ended as Jiang Tianming and another person entered the cafeteria.

“Sun Ming was the first student to come to the cafeteria for dinner. Before he arrived, there were only the cafeteria staff, who, according to regulations, must leave through the back door. We’ve confirmed that none of them violated this rule.”

Both of their expressions were very grim; anyone would be in a bad mood upon realizing that a sure thing had slipped away. The school wouldn’t waste another two weeks, the trail of the murderer had gone cold, and now they could only rely on themselves.

Finally, Jiang Tianming spoke with a heavy tone: “Then, teacher, since the school can’t find the murderer in the short term, we hope to move freely these two weeks to try to catch the killer as soon as possible.”

Unlike the head teacher who decided to deal with the matter a month later, Meng Huai, who also came from the lower class, understood their concerns and nodded without hesitation: “Okay.”

The D class teacher looked at him and finally agreed: “Alright, but I have a condition. Wu Ming, you can skip classes for these two weeks, but you must make up for the lessons afterward.”

In his view, whether F class students learned or not didn’t matter; 99% of them wouldn’t become real superhumans after graduation.

But it was different for D class students; their abilities were useful. And Wu Ming’s ability had the potential to take him to other classes; the homeroom teacher didn’t want this incident to delay him.

Reminded by this, Meng Huai suddenly seemed to remember something: “Right, right, right, the two of you as well. After these two weeks, make up the classes for me, or you’ll see what happens!”

Leaving the office, the two exchanged glances and headed towards F class. At present, the most likely person to know something about this matter was definitely Su Bei.

His behavior during this period almost indicated that he knew something.

Entering F class, Su Bei was still sitting in the corner. But next to him, there was a red-haired youth, Mo Xiaotian from A class.

These days, Mo Xiaotian could be said to be a frequent visitor to F class, often coming over. He was lively and cheerful, friendly to everyone. Coupled with being a powerful A class student, it didn’t take long for him to be loved by the whole class, including Jiang Tianming and Lan Subing.

The only one who didn’t like him was Wu Ming, who said, “We’ve clashed in character!”

Upon hearing his unabashed words, even Lan Subing, who usually only liked to snark inwardly, couldn’t help but speak out: “Stop trying to imitate the little sun, will you?”

Back to the present.

The two approached Su Bei’s seat, and Jiang Tianming addressed Mo Xiaotian first: “Xiaotian, we need to talk to Su Bei for a moment.”

Mo Xiaotian, who was chatting one-sidedly with Su Bei, blinked in surprise. “Ah? Do you want me to leave now?”

“Yes, it seems you’re not very welcome here,” Wu Mingbai said with a sunny disposition, his words dark as mud.

Jiang Tianming didn’t hesitate to pat him on the head, then shook his head. “Ignore him. No need, you can stay. Su Bei, could you step out with us for a moment?”

Finally able to escape the chatterbox, Su Bei raised an eyebrow, understandingly stood up, and said somewhat eagerly, “Let’s go.”

He was truly regretting showing kindness to Mo Xiaotian that day. Although the other was indeed like a little sun, it’s well-known that the ‘little suns’ in comics often possess the traits of being ‘oblivious’ and ‘talkative’ while being sunny and cheerful.

He couldn’t fathom whether it was because he was the first to express kindness directly to Mo Xiaotian, but these past few days, he had indeed been entangled by him.

Su Bei really couldn’t understand how a trivial matter like “a new rose always appearing on Si Zhaohua’s desk every class” could be discussed by Mo Xiaotian non-stop for ten minutes.

He had had enough!

Leaving the classroom for the sports field, they found it sparsely populated with students. Despite its vastness, it still felt quite empty.

They casually picked a quiet corner with fitness equipment. Jiang Tianming and another sat on the sit-up bench, while Su Bei easily flipped onto the horizontal bar, swinging his legs. “So, what do you need me for?”

Jiang Tianming, who had already thought it through, got straight to the point. “Do you know who the murderer is?”

Su Bei was taken aback by the question, then raised an eyebrow, surprised by the directness.

Perhaps knowing how abrupt his question was, Jiang Tianming quickly explained, “I just want to have a clue.”

Su Bei understood.

If he knew, then they could trade for this information, securing a so-called safety net. Faced with matters concerning the safety of his companions, even someone as calm as Jiang Tianming couldn’t help but feel anxious.

Unfortunately, he didn’t know.

“I don’t know,” Su Bei answered honestly. There was no need for lies here. But as for what Jiang Tianming might assume from this answer, that was none of his concern.

True or false, the response was within reason. Jiang Tianming wasn’t too disappointed, but he extended another invitation. “Do you want to investigate with me? Watching from the sidelines is one thing, but experiencing it firsthand is surely more interesting, right?”

He was clear-headed about it. From Su Bei’s previous actions, it was evident that at least in this matter, he bore them no ill will. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have reminded them that they could take action against Sun’s parents’ company during this time.

With that in mind, bringing someone as capable as Su Bei into the team would definitely help in finding the murderer.

“Agree to it! Agree to it!” The voice of the ‘Comic Consciousness’ suddenly rang out, sounding urgent. It hoped that Su Bei would quickly join the protagonist’s group and get closer to the main plot.

However, contrary to its expectations, Su Bei refused: “If a spectator goes on stage, they become part of the play. That would be… uninteresting.”

As he spoke, his brows slightly furrowed, his purple pupils dark and deep, his gaze filled with an inexplicable weariness. The expression that was always lively had now turned into a detached cynicism.

Rejection was normal, but the fleeting strange demeanor of Su Bei took Jiang Tianming by surprise. Why did he show such an expression? Was his invitation troubling Su Bei?

Unfortunately, that expression was only momentary, and soon Su Bei’s face was smiling again: “After finding the murderer, make sure to attend class properly. I don’t want the teammates I find to be dragging their feet during the monthly exams.”

Having said that, he seemed to lose interest in chatting, waved his hand lazily, and walked away.

Watching his retreating figure, Jiang Tianming blinked.

“After finding the murderer”?

Was he so sure that he could find the murderer?

On the other side, the ‘Comic Consciousness’ was still chattering in Su Bei’s ear: “Why refuse? Didn’t you always want to get close to the protagonist’s group? Now you finally have such a good opportunity, the protagonist is inviting you personally! How can you refuse?”

“What’s the rush?” Su Bei suddenly retorted, annoyed by the questioning.

The voice of the ‘Comic Consciousness’ abruptly disappeared.

Did it feel guilty? Su Bei scoffed lightly: “School has just started not even two weeks ago, even if I joined the protagonist’s group, it’s absolutely impossible to start addressing the issue of combat power balance. So what’s the rush? Why are you so eager for me to join the protagonist’s group?”

“I was thinking that after you join the protagonist’s group, you’d get more screen time, which would make it easier to mislead the readers,” the ‘Comic Consciousness’ explained.

However, this explanation did not win over the skeptic: “You know that my goal is to mislead the readers! Since what I need is for them to misunderstand my special ability, then it’s enough to just show up at critical moments to display my ability. The more I say, the more mistakes I make, and the more screen time I get, the more likely I am to be suspected. You couldn’t have overlooked this, could you?”

After waiting two seconds without a response from the ‘Comic Consciousness’, Su Bei put away the smile on his face, his eyes calm as an ancient well: “To be honest, we’re in a cooperative relationship right now. If you don’t want me to mess things up, I advise you not to lie to me.”

“…Alright, I do have a bit of a selfish motive.” Eventually, the ‘Comic Consciousness’ gave an answer, “I hope you can form more bonds with the protagonist’s group, so that your heart to save the world will become more resolute.”

From the time Su Bei was revived until now, the ‘Comic Consciousness’ hadn’t particularly felt his desire to save the world. Although what he’s doing now is indeed methodically misleading the readers to enhance his strength.

But the ‘Comic Consciousness’ felt that a big part of his effort to improve his strength was because he didn’t want to die due to his cannon fodder status. And once he escapes the imminent death status, he might very well let loose and stop caring about the world.

Therefore, it hoped that Su Bei would join the protagonist’s group, and perhaps under the influence of Jiang Tianming and others’ charismatic personalities, he would be genuinely moved to want to save the world.

Regarding that answer, Su Bei remained noncommittal, suddenly asking as if struck by a whimsical thought, “What would happen if I suddenly tied up Jiang Tianming and the others and took them to the North Pole?”

“Ah?”

“Comic Consciousness” was utterly befuddled, not understanding how the topic had leaped to this: “Don’t be impulsive. If my actions have upset you, I apologize. Please don’t change the plot on a whim.”

“I have no intention of doing so; just curious,” Su Bei replied with an utterly innocent expression, “Will the comic switch to a new protagonist? Or will it turn to depict the life of Jiang Tianming and the others in the Arctic?”

He truly had no intention of doing so; he was merely seeking a possibility. If the main storyline could be influenced to go off course, then it meant many things could likewise be changed.

“Comic Consciousness” was somewhat skeptical of his rebuttal, observing for a while without detecting any flaws, before reluctantly answering, “Neither. The inertia of the plot will bring everything back to the main storyline. If you tie them up and take them to the North Pole, then perhaps the school’s next event will be in the Arctic. But then again, the plot will never allow you to take them away from the school. Even if you persist stubbornly, you’re bound to fail.”

“I see.” Su Bei nodded thoughtfully, and with a chuckle, added, “I really have no such intention; you needn’t be so wary.”

He was just pondering that if the main storyline couldn’t be changed, then by joining the protagonist group, the inertia of the plot would inevitably entangle him with the main storyline. Especially since Su Bei was following the “fate” thread, he was more likely to be influenced by the plot. After all, as an observer, he could still maintain his rationality, but once he became a member of the protagonist group, his thinking would definitely be altered. At that point, the direction of many events would no longer be under his control.

Was “Comic Consciousness” harboring this idea?

No, if it were just that, “Comic Consciousness” wouldn’t have answered his question truthfully. After all, Su Bei knew very little about the comic world, and concealing the truth from him wouldn’t be difficult.

Su Bei boldly speculated that “Comic Consciousness” answered truthfully because it believed that its response about wanting him to join the protagonist group was genuine.

But in reality, this thought was already influenced by the world, even without such awareness. All actions of “Comic Consciousness” were for the sake of this comic world.

Just like how “Comic Consciousness” had unconsciously manipulated him before, but upon being called out, it promptly apologized, proving that it indeed had no such intention; it was simply unaware of its mistake.

Everything was the work of the subconscious.

This discovery was not good news for Su Bei. If “Comic Consciousness” had harbored malice, it would have been easy for someone as sensitive as him to detect, like a black spot on white paper.

But “Comic Consciousness” was not malicious; it was merely influenced by the subconscious, completely unaware that its actions were harmful, even believing that it was acting in his best interest. This kind of well-intentioned inducement couldn’t trigger his radar; he could only rely on his own judgment.

However, this wasn’t entirely bad news either. “Comic Consciousness” still harbored goodwill towards Su Bei, which was a good thing. They were now in a cooperative relationship, and internal strife due to divergent thoughts would be the real trouble.

Since “Comic Consciousness” was influenced by the world yet unaware, the solution was to find a way to prevent it from affecting himself.

Nodding to himself, Su Bei withdrew his sorted thoughts, returning to the main topic. He declared resolutely, “I will not join the protagonist group.”！