A Guide for Background Characters to Survive in a Manga

22:

“I thought you’d go to the dinner with them first.” “Comic Consciousness” said, somewhat puzzled, “There must be a plot here, right?”

Su Bei shrugged, “I’ve said I want to read the comics first; otherwise, I can’t eat in peace. Besides, I need to check on my special ability.”

At the same moment “Comic Consciousness” informed him of the comic update, Su Bei felt a subtle change in his ability.

The reason he was so eager to return to the dormitory was largely because of this.

Of course, there was another reason: Su Bei needed to adjust his mood to attend the celebration banquet, knowing well that 90% of what he did was for his own benefit.

Since he couldn’t attend the banquet with a pure heart, he could only go with a performer’s mindset, and naturally, it was better to rehearse in advance, though there was no need to tell “Comic Consciousness” about this.

Sitting on his dormitory bed, Su Bei temporarily ignored the change in his ability and instead turned on his phone to check the latest chapter of the comic that had just been updated.

This chapter picked up from the last, with Sun Ming collapsing and Jiang Tianming rushing to check on him. The voice-over revealed his thoughts, “Is this the ‘act’ Su Bei talked about?”

Corresponding to this thought was his subconscious action of looking up for someone, but since he couldn’t find Su Bei, he had to first confirm Sun Ming’s condition. Having seen death before and even taken lives himself, he quickly concluded—Sun Ming was dead.

The following plot was something Su Bei had experienced himself; he quickly skimmed through, focusing on the scenes featuring him and those he hadn’t experienced.

After the teacher checked and found no issues with the three of them, they were let go. This segment even depicted Su Bei winking at the protagonist group, followed by Lan Subing’s comment, “He’s so handsome.”

For Su Bei, this was an unexpected pleasure; he hadn’t thought this period would be illustrated in the comic.

At this moment, the live comments were all howling.

“Wink! It’s a wink!”

“So handsome!!!”

“How can you just wink at a girl? A playboy? I like it even more!”

Watching these comments, Su Bei tugged at the corner of his mouth and hurriedly flipped the page.

What followed was the scene of Meng Huai teaching in class. This part wasn’t glossed over; instead, it depicted Meng Huai expelling a few students who had slacked off during yesterday’s run, as well as the class content about “exhaustion of mental energy does not equate to physical exhaustion.”

Clearly, this lesson left a deep impression not only in the students’ hearts but likely also in the readers’. From the readers’ perspective, Meng Huai had successfully established his character.

The plot quickly moved to the arrival of the Sun family, and Meng Huai was called out. Su Bei was tested because of the ordinary gear, but he explained well and did not arouse any suspicion.

The argument outside was conveyed through text, including two panels where Wu Mingbai faced the accusations of Sun’s father and mother with his head bowed. However, from the images, it was clear that Wu Mingbai was not passively accepting the scolding; his usual smile was gone, and his body radiated a dull yellow glow.

This deep brownish glow, in Su Bei’s view, should be the comic’s representation of the spirit. In the last season, when Jiang Tianming and others used their abilities, they would emit different colored glows.

In the previous chapter of the comic, when he himself used his abilities, there was also a glow around him, and it was dark gold?, Su Bei was very satisfied. This color represented understated luxury with depth, fitting his own persona perfectly.

Jiang Tianming was black, Lan Subing was blue; both perfectly embodied the relationship between mental power and their hair and eye colors, serving as standard cases for display.

As Jiang Tianming and Lan Subing burst out the door, the perspective also shifted outside. The friendship, the anger, the resistance—all were fully displayed by the comic.

As expected, the comic readers exploded. The Sun parents were just too repulsive, and even though they were victims who had lost their child, it was hard to garner sympathy for them.

After all, they were victims, but what wrong had the protagonist group done? They owed nothing to this couple, and being inexplicably threatened and angered, it was hard not to make the fans of the protagonist group furious.

After the argument with Sun’s parents concluded, the comic generously shifted the scene back to the classroom. The frame showed a conversation between Su Bei and the Wooden Iron Man, including Su Bei’s comment that “Jiang Tianming resembles a villain in novels” and Wooden Iron Man’s good-natured behavior.

To the readers, the content of their conversation was not short on information. First was Su Bei, who, in the eyes of the readers, had the ability to predict the future! Yet such a person had made the remark that “Jiang Tianming is very much like a novel’s villain.”

This led everyone to joke that the dimensional wall had broken, while also fearing it was some kind of foreshadowing.

“Hahaha, a villain, really? Actually, it’s the protagonist’s turn!”

“Is this a rant from the author? Poor Jiang Jiang, he’s really unlucky. When will there be a lucky protagonist in a youth manga?”

“Am I the only one who’s worried? Su Bei has the ability to predict the future! Could this be one of his prophecies?”

“Old thief, you can’t let the dragon-slaying youth turn into a dragon himself!”

Speaking of Mu Tie Ren, the big brother’s character is indeed common in comics, but the doubt Su Bei showed towards his retreating figure makes the readers vigilant.

Is Mu Tie Ren really just a simple good guy?

For this part of the story to make it into the comic, Su Bei feels a sense of ‘Heaven rewards the diligent.’ It wasn’t in vain that he performed a play at that time, and the author didn’t disappoint him. He can already imagine the intense discussions this plot will spark on forums, evident from the barrage of comments.

The comic continues, with Jiang Tianming and another person returning full of anger, and then they seek out Su Bei. The part where Su Bei gives advice is shown to the readers exactly as it is in the comic.

The reviews on this part of the barrage are not entirely consistent; a small group of people think Su Bei is too cold-hearted. The Sun parents are already miserable enough, and yet he came up with such an idea, practically corrupting the protagonist group.

But more people find it thrilling, as compared to other youth comics that follow the main theme of ‘forgiveness, understanding, tolerance,’ whether it’s the ‘shocking’ suggestion made by Su Bei or the fact that Jiang Tianming and the other person accepted the suggestion without hesitation, it feels both novel and satisfying.

“For Su Bei’s suggestion, the protagonist group decides to work together, on one hand to bring down the Sun family’s company, and on the other to find the murderer.”

Now, it’s the detective hired by the school, but as expected, he didn’t play a significant role. In Su Bei’s view, his greatest contribution should be introducing the new concept of ‘prohibition of special abilities.’

() Feeling the pressure, the protagonist group tries to invite Su Bei to join them, but he refuses with an interesting reason—

“If a spectator goes on stage, they become part of the play. Then… it loses its charm.”

To Su Bei’s delight, the comic did not betray his half-real, half-fake acting skills, depicting his lonely expression after he finished speaking.

However, the drawing is slightly eerie, not like a lonely observer, but more like a world-weary person behind the scenes.

Su Bei: “……”

Well, as long as it provokes the readers’ imagination.

And as expected, the readers go wild with comments in front of this scene.

“Su Bei, the ever-entertaining character, never falls.”

“Stubbornly thinks he’s just an observer? Feels like a flag, I bet he’ll be pulled into the play by the protagonist group sooner or later!”

“What does this expression mean? Could Su Bei really be a villain? Why do I feel like this is all part of his scheme?”

“So handsome, so cool! Every scene with Su Bei makes me want to swoon over his looks.”

[After being rejected by Su Bei, the protagonist group began to investigate within the school. The first to join their investigation was Mu Tie Ren, the ever-reliable class president. He first leveraged his authority to help them ask a few classmates questions, then, out of concern for their safety and the opportunity to skip some classes, naturally joined the protagonist group in their investigation.

Next to join them was Mo Xiao Tian, who, as can be seen from the comics, initially came looking for Su Bei. However, with his warm and harmless nature, he quickly became one with the protagonist group and learned of the difficulties they faced.

Thus, Mo Xiao Tian unhesitatingly chose to join the investigation, not just to satisfy his own curiosity but also to uphold the justice in his heart. In a sense, he is also the quintessential young comic hero.]

However, Su Bei did notice some things that the readers couldn’t see—Mo Xiao Tian’s joining the investigation was definitely not a complete coincidence. On the day of the incident, when returning to the dormitory, Su Bei was stopped by Mo Xiao Tian, who inquired about the situation in the cafeteria.

And in the comics, Mo Xiao Tian had also casually mentioned the cafeteria incident at the beginning, which successfully opened up the conversation.

This is understandable, after all, he and the murderer are from the same organization, and it’s normal for him to want to get involved in the other party’s case.

But strangely, apart from this initial segment, Mo Xiao Tian didn’t deliberately do anything in the rest of the plot. It’s evident that he was earnestly helping the protagonists with the investigation. Although his scatterbrained nature often led to blunders, it wasn’t likely intentional stalling.

Moreover, when he himself was kidnapped, Mo Xiao Tian also made significant efforts to capture the culprit. If it weren’t for knowing his identity, Su Bei might not have noticed that anomaly.

[Amidst the noisy and comical daily life, as the protagonist group meticulously investigated, the range of suspects gradually narrowed, eventually pinpointing someone within the cafeteria.

Just as they were about to enter the cafeteria, Su Bei sent a message. This message took up an entire frame—”Don’t forget the hint I gave you earlier. I’ll be sad if you didn’t use it.”]

The comments bubbled with excitement once more.

“Oh, oh, oh! I almost forgot about this hint!”

“It’s the purple-red smoke, right? Still don’t know what it means.”

“

I came from the back, all I can say is Su Bei is the best!”

“I really love these strategists, even if they’re not involved throughout, they still manage to make their presence felt at critical moments”

“Speaking of which, how can Su Bei send messages so accurately at this time? Is he monitoring the protagonist group?”

Among the comments, the one about “Su Bei monitoring the protagonist group” piqued his interest. Su Bei hadn’t expected that the comic author’s omission of the plot where Mo Xiao Tian tells him they were going to the cafeteria would lead to such a misunderstanding.

—

But isn’t this misunderstanding somewhat delightful? Maybe it can be used to my advantage.

What follows is the protagonist group investigating in the cafeteria, where not only their mental activities are depicted, but also, after the chef with the amethyst eyes is suspected, his thoughts are directly revealed, making no attempt to conceal that he is the murderer.

Honestly, when Jiang Tianming noticed the culprit at first glance because of the color of his eyes, Su Bei couldn’t help but be moved. He hadn’t really expected the protagonist group to decipher the secret of the “purple-red smoke” clue; realizing the murderer’s ability was smoke was impressive enough.

Once the event concludes, all he needs to do is mention the relationship between the clue and the truth, and he can establish his character in front of the readers.

But making the discovery themselves is far more clever than him pointing it out, especially since Jiang Tianming’s timing was early, and he identified the murderer directly by the color of his eyes, which made his hint even more valuable.

When they got the ability-testing machine and failed to detect the murderer’s power, but immediately thought of “ability prohibition,” Su Bei felt like applauding them.

“What great teammates!” he exclaimed, finally understanding what it means for a good teammate to make actions twice as effective.

What came next was something he experienced firsthand. Surprisingly, the comic generously depicted the conversation he had with the murderer before the protagonist group arrived.

At that time, his mind was filled with defeatist thoughts. But looking at the comic, even he felt that his depicted self was truly fearless.

[The blond boy, clearly the one being held hostage, seemed instead like the mastermind of it all. In contrast, the kidnapper appeared more panicked than the hostage.

“Aren’t you scared?” the kidnapper asked with a dagger pressed against the blond boy’s fair neck, his voice fierce yet hollow. But comparing their expressions, anyone would feel a sense of disarray—wasn’t it Su Bei who was holding the kidnapper hostage?

The next scene is a full shot of Su Bei, his demeanor casual, his eyes and brows relaxed: “Scared? I’m terrified.”]

It must be said, this lazy yet infuriatingly clever strategizing really strikes a chord with the readers. Although Su Bei, upon reviewing the comic, felt unexpectedly annoying, the comments revealed everything.

“So cool, Brother Bei!”

“Cool is the word, I’ll say it just once.”

“What are you scared of? The kidnapper is the real scaredy-cat, hahaha!”

“I’m swooning, ahhh!”

“Why isn’t he scared? Even if his ability is strong, he’s still a rookie, right? Could he really beat the murderer?”

“Hahaha, I’m laughing so hard, I came from the back, hahaha!”

“This scene is so good! Screenshotting for my wallpaper.”

—

—

The scene that follows is of Jiang Tianming and others rushing to the rescue. Su Bei watched carefully, wanting to understand their individual abilities.

[It was clear that Jiang Tianming and his companions were working in coordination. Jiang Tianming was responsible for distracting the perpetrator by engaging in conversation with Su Bei and negotiating;

Mu Tie Ren used his towering stature to stand in front, preventing the perpetrator from seeing the subtle movements of others;

Lan Su Bing uttered the “Word Spirit” command “Impatience,” causing the perpetrator to become slightly more agitated. With a significant power gap between her and the perpetrator, she could only slightly influence him;

Wu Ming Bai subtly raised a small clump of earth with his “Earth Element” power, tripping the perpetrator as he rushed forward;

Finally, there was Mo Xiao Tian, whose specific abilities were unclear, but he could create transparent cubes in the air. It was when the perpetrator stumbled that he collided with a transparent cube, giving Su Bei the chance to escape.]

Most readers cheered for the well-coordinated teamwork of the five protagonists and were happy that Jiang Tianming had made new friends.

However, from the barrage of comments, it was evident that a small portion of readers could not accept the new member of the protagonist group, especially Mo Xiao Tian.

Mu Tie Ren was acceptable; his big brother demeanor did not steal the spotlight and provided backup for the protagonist group without drawing hate.

But Mo Xiao Tian was different. His sunny disposition could attract many fans but also garner many detractors. Those who liked him found his naivety endearing, while those who disliked him thought he was just a drag.

Moreover, at least in appearance, Mo Xiao Tian and Wu Ming Bai seemed to clash in character design. This made some of Wu Ming Bai’s fans quite displeased with him.

Seeing Mo Xiao Tian play a significant role in this rescue operation, a few comments cursed him for being of royal descent, feeling that the author was deliberately highlighting him.

Upon seeing these comments, Su Bei’s eyebrows raised, and he suddenly said, “Can we settle our previous bet now?”

He had bet with “Comic Consciousness” that the new character would not receive high support.

After a moment of silence, “Comic Consciousness” replied, “You’ve won.”

Although the comic had not been updated for long, the trend was already clear. Even though Mu Tie Ren did not attract any animosity, Mo Xiao Tian alone had definitely surpassed 10%, not to mention the two combined.

Realizing that he had indeed been presumptuous, “Comic Consciousness” candidly admitted, “Alright, I don’t understand the readers well, and I won’t interfere with your judgment anymore.”

Hearing this, Su Bei inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. With this promise, at least he wouldn’t have to worry about “Comic Consciousness” being inadvertently hurt, which was more concerning than malice.

He continued reading, and the chapter ended with Meng Huai telling everyone, “Well done.”

—

But Subei keenly noticed that within the frame, a crucial piece of information was subtly hidden.

The composition of this panel showed the students facing the camera, while Meng Huai had his back to it, and behind him was a cage of plants. The murderer, also with his back to the camera, had his collar slipped down due to the previous struggle, revealing a black lightning mark on the back of his neck.

Clearly, this was a foreshadowing.

After reading the comic, Subei went straight to the forum.

Every time the comic is updated, a wave of traffic hits the forum, and now was no exception. The forum was bustling, with an endless stream of posts, and many hot threads.

Subei’s gaze fell on one of the posts, feeling inexplicably that this post might have something to do with him.

“Polaris Assembly!”

【My God North Bro No.0: I changed my name especially for my North Bro, and now that I’ve joined Polaris, I’m an old fan of Subei! Blond hair, purple eyes, such a handsome guy, it’s a win to invest!

Subei】

【No.1: Subei looks so handsome in this one, I didn’t feel much when I saw the first picture, but after reading the second chapter, I fell into the pit. That feeling of being incredibly present despite not participating, I absolutely love it!】

【No.2: Purple eyes are my weakness, blond hair too, meeting such a handsome guy who fits my tastes, I’m in love.】

【No.3: So, Subei’s fans are called Polaris? Finally found the organization, what a great name!】

【My God North Bro No.4 (original poster) replies to No.3:

Big Eyes has already established a super-topic, and the name is also taken from there, come join us!】

【No.5: There’s already a super-topic? I’m coming right away!】

【……】

【No.23: I’m going to die laughing at the last part, who would have thought Subei’s method of self-rescue would be this?

Subei shouting “Teacher, save me”.jpg

Meng Huai with a hammer.jpg】

【Reply No.24 to No.23:

This part is indeed funny, but upon closer thought, it’s quite terrifying, isn’t it? How did Su Bei know about these protective measures in the school?

From his behavior, it’s clear he knew from the start; otherwise, he wouldn’t have faced the murderer with such confidence.

Yet, the other students clearly didn’t know, and the school’s protection wasn’t activated from the beginning. It seems it was only after the murderer was discovered and fled, and after Meng Huai fiddled with his phone, that the school’s protection was activated.

From the activation of the school’s protection to when Su Bei was captured by the murderer, it took no more than ten minutes, perhaps even less. How did Su Bei receive this news in such a short time?】

【No.25: The person above wrote a lot, I’ll listen to them.】

【No.26: Yeah, now that you mention it, Su Bei’s source of information does seem strange.】

【No.27: Poster No.24 is awesome, I didn’t notice anything amiss at all.】

【No.28: That’s not right, why didn’t the school activate the protection right after Sun Ming died? There’s no evidence that it was Meng Huai’s message that triggered the school’s protection, right?】

【Reply No.29 to No.28:

Poster No.24 is correct, the school activated it after the message. Look here.

Meng Huai rushing towards the murderer.jpg

This plot clearly shows Meng Huai using his speed to rush in front of Wu Mingbai before the murderer could attack, shielding them.

If the school’s protection had been activated at that time, he would have teleported there, not run.】

【No.30: Wow wow wow, there’s a master in the forum.】

【Reply No.31 to No.29:

I’m convinced, this analysis is very persuasive. It does seem strange how Su Bei got the news so quickly…

Of course, this doesn’t affect my fondness for him. The idea of him being a behind-the-scenes boss feels even more thrilling!】

【……】

Watching the discussion shift to other topics, Su Bei raised an eyebrow, ready to enter the fray himself. In the second chapter of the comic, he didn’t display any new abilities, but rather reinforced the impression among readers that he possesses a sort of “prophetic” power.】

—

But he was not satisfied with just this. Each change in his special ability had to wait for the next comic update. This meant if he did nothing now, there would be little change in his ability when the next issue came out.

But such a pace was too slow; only by strengthening his ability quickly could he plan ahead. Therefore, before the next comic release, it was best to give the readers some new insights into his ability.

Su Bei started a new thread.

“The Source of Li Tao Su Bei’s Information”

[Prophet No.0: Based on the content released in Chapter 2, I believe Su Bei has a hidden source of information.

There are three reasons for this conclusion:

1. Su Bei sent a message to Jiang Tianming a second before he entered the cafeteria.

He wouldn’t have sent such a message if he didn’t know he had already arrived.

2. Su Bei knew that shouting “Teacher, save me” could save himself.

That is, he knew that the school had already activated protective measures. But these measures were only initiated by Meng Huai via message after the culprit fled, which was very recent. How could he know if he didn’t have a special source of information?

3. Su Bei’s “coincidental” capture by the culprit.

Let’s look at the situation when Su Bei was caught; the comic showed him running towards the library with his back to the culprit, holding a book. That is, he immediately wanted to return to the library after receiving the message.

But in fact, the library’s location is quite secluded and wouldn’t be found immediately. Logically, there was no need for him to hurry.

So, I speculate that he might have known in advance through some means that the culprit was heading in his direction, which is why he was in such a rush to go back.

Map of the Special Ability Academy.jpg

These speculations might seem far-fetched when viewed individually, completely explainable by “coincidence.” But what if all three are combined? Too many coincidences become inevitability.]!