A Guide for Background Characters to Survive in a Manga

50:

Su Bei nodded, glanced around, and found that the compass needle above was almost the same in every direction. Clearly, the compass wasn’t infallible; often it worked sporadically, especially when nothing significant was happening.

Seeing this, Su Bei made a decisive call: “Let’s go back and find Jiang Tianming and the others. We split up earlier because we weren’t sure about accepting the mission and didn’t want to waste time. Now that we’ve accepted it, there’s nothing wrong with regrouping.”

Indeed, that was a reason, but not the main one. Su Bei wanted to meet up with Jiang Tianming because he knew that tranquility was impossible around the protagonist.

Mo Xiaotian had one very good quality: he was obedient. Without hesitation, he nodded: “Sure! There’s strength in numbers!”

The two checked the map for Jiang Tianming’s location and then headed in that direction together.

It’s uncertain whether Jiang Tianming, the protagonist, was indeed cursed, but Su Bei and his companion, who hadn’t encountered a single Nightmare Monkey on their long walk, stumbled upon one shortly after deciding to find Jiang Tianming.

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This ink monkey-like Nightmare Beast seemed to have sought them out, or perhaps Su Bei and his companion had entered its territory. Suddenly, they were pelted with stones until they were dizzy.

After realizing it was the monkey-shaped Nightmare Beast causing trouble, Mo Xiaotian said cheerfully, “To encounter one so quickly, our luck is indeed good!”

No, it was Jiang Tianming who Su Bei felt was truly “fortunate.” However, he didn’t voice this thought; instead, he turned his gaze to the Yanhou and flicked out a gear for a probing attack.

Without a doubt, the Yanhou dodged it effortlessly. Its monkey form was naturally swift, and in the forest, it was in its element.

Su Bei’s expression darkened immediately, realizing that this Yanhou might be more formidable than the lizard Yan beast they had encountered earlier. Both were incredibly fast, but the lizard moved in a predictable pattern, while this monkey could dart around using the tall trees.

Beside him, Mo Xiaotian had a wild instinct for battle and blurted out his shortcoming: “It’s too fast; I can’t seem to hit it… even trapping it is futile.”

Hearing this, Su Bei had to abandon his original plan. He had intended for Mo Xiaotian to use air blocks to confine the Yanhou’s movements within a small area, but Mo Xiaotian had anticipated his idea.

But Su Bei was battle-hardened and quickly devised a new strategy. If Mo Xiaotian’s containment wouldn’t work, they’d reverse roles. He would contain, and Mo Xiaotian would attack.

With a plan in mind, Su Bei dodged the human-head-sized stones thrown by the Yanhou while asking, “How many explosive blocks can you create at once?”

“Three,” Mo Xiaotian admitted, slightly embarrassed, “Any more, and I can’t control their detonation timing.”

“That’s enough,” Su Bei nodded in satisfaction, pleased with Mo Xiaotian’s straightforwardness. Had Mo Xiaotian pretended to be capable of more, it would have been problematic.

After surveying the terrain, he quickly instructed, “Place one explosive block at the top of the tree at 12 o’clock, on the middle branch of the sixth tree to the right, and at the Yanhou’s current position. Can you do that?”

Mo Xiaotian nodded immediately, narrowly avoiding two stones falling from above, his mood unaffected, excitedly saying, “So, Brother Bei, you’re relying on my bombs to attack the Yanhou?”

Now he wasn’t worried about the damage being insufficient. Mo Xiaotian was clever in this regard; he knew that if the Yanhou was this fast, its other abilities wouldn’t be as strong, or else the academy wouldn’t have left it here.

If explosive blocks couldn’t harm a person, surely they could handle a fragile monkey?

“Right, I’ll corner it to those three points, and you decide when to detonate,” Su Bei said without waiting for a reply, then emphasized, “You only have one chance.”

This wasn’t to pressure Mo Xiaotian; Su Bei was stating a fact. The Yanhou was clever, always keeping its distance from the duo and provocatively screeching to lure them into a trap.

Such a cunning enemy, once aware of Mo Xiaotian’s attack method, would surely be on guard. And Mo Xiaotian’s bombs, admittedly rigid, would be easy to dodge with mental preparation and ample space.

So, as Su Bei said, Mo Xiaotian only had one chance. The three blocks were to expand their options, but only one would truly explode.

Understanding the gravity, Mo Xiaotian nodded solemnly.

As they conversed, the Yanhou’s stone attacks continued unabated, and Su Bei could feel the creature conjuring more and more stones. He wondered about the Yanhou’s superpower process—unlike humans, who would tire, could it actually produce more the longer it fought?

But no matter what, he had to hasten his pace. With this thought, Su Bei began to release gears continuously, a series of gears flying towards the nightmare monkey in a slanted array, forcing it to swing through the branches and leap towards the square to avoid the attack.

Passing the first square, it didn’t explode. Su Bei said nothing, continuing to drive the nightmare monkey towards the direction of the second square.

“Squeak, squeak, squeak—” The monkey screeched, swinging through the foliage, dodging his attacks while hurling stones at Su Bei.

“Hisss!” Distracted, a stone struck his arm. Su Bei inhaled sharply, but there was no time to cover the wound; he immediately rolled to dodge another stone.

It was different from before; earlier, he only needed to dodge, and with two people sharing the attacks, it seemed effortless.

But now, the nightmare monkey’s attacks intensified, and since it was always Su Bei attacking it, it chose to prioritize attacking him. Su Bei, however, was distracted by controlling the gears to aim at the nightmare monkey.

This give-and-take resulted in Su Bei being unable to avoid the attacks completely, getting hit by stones if he wasn’t careful.

In fact, if anyone else from the first year were in his place, they would probably be covered in wounds by now.

He led the nightmare monkey past two more explosive squares, which did not detonate. Su Bei pursed his pale lips, silent, continuing to guide the monkey.

After a prolonged output of mental energy, he didn’t have much left. Coupled with being hit by stones several times, Su Bei felt pain all over. He was desperate to end this one-sided beating.

But he remained silent, not even glancing back at Mo Xiaotian. Trust those you use, and use those you trust. Since he had given the only chance to attack to Mo Xiaotian, he wouldn’t pressure him until he couldn’t hold on any longer.

He believed Mo Xiaotian would find the perfect moment for a fatal strike.

Finally, as Su Bei started the second round, leading the nightmare monkey to the third square, that moment came.

“Bang!”

“Squeal—”

A sharp explosion sounded, the nightmare monkey was blasted with black blood, screaming as it fell from the treetops.

Seeing this, Su Bei’s spirits lifted, and he immediately picked up several gears, shooting them towards where the nightmare monkey landed. Not finishing off a monster was akin to fighting in vain.

After all this, Su Bei checked his watch for the mission progress. Only when he saw the task bar change to (3/5) did he finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Clearly, not only had they succeeded, but others had made progress too.

“Brother Bei, are you alright?” Mo Xiaotian asked with concern, wiping the sweat from his forehead as he approached. It was then that Su Bei noticed, to his surprise, that he was sweating despite the winter chill.

Though Mo Xiaotian’s role seemed minor, responsible for just one explosion, the task of killing the swift nightmare monkey with a small bomb was no easy feat.

He had to focus all his attention, timing the explosion precisely as the monkey reached the designated spot, ensuring the bomb’s power was sufficient to kill it.

Each time Su Bei was hit, Mo Xiaotian’s pupils involuntarily shrank, and more sweat beaded on his forehead. Yet, he restrained himself, single-mindedly carrying out the task Su Bei entrusted to him. Mo Xiaotian knew that only by killing the nightmare monkey could he honor Su Bei’s efforts.

Fortunately, he succeeded.

“There’s actually something,” Su Bei said, looking down at himself.

At these words, Mo Xiaotian’s expression tightened, and he guiltily glanced at Su Bei’s arm, which was bleeding: “I’m sorry, it’s my fault for being too slow. What’s wrong? What do you need me to do?”

Su Bei chuckled, tearing off a piece of his undershirt to skillfully bandage himself. After a quick makeshift bandage, he ruffled Mo Xiaotian’s hair: “I’m hungry, let’s find something to eat.”

He wasn’t lying; although it was just past ten and far from mealtime, his energy expenditure had been significant since entering the otherworldly space, walking and fighting.

Hearing that hunger, not the wound, was the issue, Mo Xiaotian’s spirits lifted, and he immediately raised his head, which had been lowered in guilt: “Okay!”

Then, as if remembering something, he eagerly asked: “Can we eat the nightmare monkey’s meat?”

Su Bei laughed again: “You’ve never been to the school’s point-based cafeteria, have you? It’s edible.”

With that, he stepped forward to inspect the monkey’s corpse. Although it was a nightmare beast with black blood, its edible parts should be similar to those of ordinary animals, barring any surprises.

Su Bei cut several pieces of the blood-soaked meat with a gear for Mo Xiaotian to carry, then looked around: “Let’s find a place to start a fire first.”

He sighed. While he knew how to survive in the wild, it would be much more convenient if he could meet Qi Huang at this moment.

But with Mo Xiaotian by his side, starting a fire wasn’t difficult. Su Bei first arranged some twigs into a nest, then placed some kindling inside. He prepared the wood for friction fire-starting. Once everything was ready, he said to Mo Xiaotian: “Prepare an air block full of oxygen to cover this.”

With ample air, the tinder quickly caught fire.

Su Bei opened his bottled water, rinsed off the blood froth from the meat, then skewered it on a sharpened stick and handed it to Mo Xiaotian: “Can you grill the meat yourself?”

“I can!” Mo Xiaotian said excitedly, “I even worked part-time at a barbecue restaurant before!”

Seeing his confidence, Su Bei immediately handed over his portion of meat, then pressed his hands together in prayer: “Please, could you grill mine too?”

There was no helping it, Su Bei knew his own capabilities. It’s not that his cooking could poison someone, but it certainly wasn’t tasty.

Honestly, he didn’t understand why his cooking was always unpalatable. Was it because he offended the God of Food in a past life?

Mo Xiaotian was naturally willing to help, cheerfully skewering the meat and grilling it over the fire, propped against his knees. He flipped it occasionally, looking every bit the expert griller.

Su Bei sat cross-legged, supporting his face with his hands as he watched Mo Xiaotian grill. After a moment, he suddenly asked, “You mentioned earlier that you worked part-time at a barbecue restaurant? But aren’t we both still minors?”

Hearing this, Mo Xiaotian replied, “Actually, it’s my uncle’s shop. I help out there during the summer holidays.”

“I see.” Su Bei nodded thoughtfully, smiling casually, “It must be nice to have a relative who owns a barbecue restaurant, getting to eat and drink for free. It would be even better to have parents who run a convenience store!”

This struck a chord with Mo Xiaotian, his eyes lighting up as if he had found a kindred spirit: “That’s exactly what I think! My childhood dream was to grow up and open one of those convenience stores in front of a school!”

Su Bei joked, “So why did you give up? Did your parents disapprove? When I was a kid, I said I wanted to be a pirate, but my dad brutally crushed that dream with his ‘force value.'”

Mo Xiaotian couldn’t help but burst into laughter, and after calming down, he answered Su Bei’s earlier question, “I was raised by my grandmother, and she hopes I can be someone who benefits society. Running a convenience store is too trivial; I want to be a powerful superhuman who eradicates nightmare beasts!”

“The idea of running a convenience store being too trivial” didn’t sound like something Mo Xiaotian would say, causing Su Bei to frown slightly: “If you could turn the convenience store into a chain, you could benefit many students. Children are the flowers of the nation, so how wouldn’t benefiting students count as benefiting society?”

As he spoke, Mo Xiaotian’s eyes grew brighter, almost radiant: “You make such good sense! Why didn’t I think of that?”

“So who said it was trivial?” Su Bei asked, seemingly offhand.

“My teachers, classmates, grandmother… it seems everyone says so?” Mo Xiaotian pondered for a moment, “You’re the first person to think my dream is good!”

“You should ask Jiang Tianming and the others; they’ll surely think your dream is great too,” Su Bei said with a smile, though his eyes held no mirth. Realizing his acting wasn’t up to par, he decisively closed his eyes, pretending to rest.

Thinking Su Bei was resting, Mo Xiaotian didn’t speak further. However, Su Bei was deep in thought.

From Mo Xiaotian’s words, he could clearly sense something was wrong with the people around Mo Xiaotian. If teachers and parents didn’t agree with what sounded like a somewhat childish dream, that was somewhat understandable. But it was strange that his classmates also thought it wasn’t feasible.

After all, a convenience store at the school gate was paradise in the eyes of a child. Even if they didn’t want to open one themselves, they wouldn’t deny someone else’s dream. Moreover, Su Bei firmly believed that no child could resist a convenience store! Not one!

With this in mind, the children attending school with Mo Xiaotian seemed very odd indeed.

Reflecting on Mo Xiaotian’s identity as a member of the Black Lightning organization, Su Bei couldn’t help but ponder further. He reopened his eyes and asked, “By the way, which school did you attend for elementary and junior high?”

“I was directly promoted in elementary and junior high, at a private school in a small county town. You probably haven’t heard of it,” Mo Xiaotian handed him the grilled meat, “It’s ready!”

Su Bei glanced at him, took the grilled meat, and fell silent. Whether Mo Xiaotian was intentionally interrupting him with the grilled meat or not, he shouldn’t continue to pry.

Despite the time that had passed, he hadn’t forgotten his first encounter with Mo Xiaotian, and the terrifying reaction he had upon realizing he was being observed.

Before he was ready, it was better not to dig too deep.

The taste of the Yan Monkey meat was quite good, somewhat like chicken. Although unsalted, Mo Xiaotian’s grilling skills added a touch of delight to this lunch, making the meat tender, juicy, and uniquely flavorful.

With the Yan Beast meat settling in his stomach, Su Bei could faintly feel his strength returning. Compared to ordinary meats, long-term consumption of Yan Beast meat could enhance one’s physique, and some even boosted mental strength. No wonder the school had a special points-based cafeteria.

After this month’s exams, he could indulge in the points-based cafeteria to his heart’s content.

“It seems the aroma is coming from over here.”

As they were enjoying their lunch, a male voice came from not too far away.

It was Zhou Renjie’s voice!

Su Bei and Mo Xiaotian exchanged glances, quickly stuffed the last bits of meat into their mouths, stamped out the fire, and dashed into the bushes to hide.

They had just concealed themselves when Zhou Renjie squeezed through the dense bushes and arrived. Ai Baozhu and Si Zhaohua followed him, while Zhao Xiaoyu and Wu Jin were probably left to fend for themselves.

“The people here must have heard you and just ran off,” Ai Baozhu complained, looking at the still-smoking fire, “But I’m already hungry, what do we do now?”

Zhou Renjie gave a sheepish smile, sniffing the lingering scent in the air, “They must have been eating grilled meat, grilled Yan Beast meat. We can just catch a Yan Beast ourselves.”

For most people, this task would be difficult, but it was nothing for these three. Ai Baozhu turned to Si Zhaohua, “Zhaohua, it’s up to you.”

After saying that, she couldn’t help but laugh, finding it funny yet somewhat worrying, “I didn’t realize your ability had such a use, be careful in the future.”

“Don’t worry,” Si Zhaohua retied his silver hair into a ponytail, looking quite artistic, “There won’t be any problems.”

Listening to their conversation, Su Bei nudged Mo Xiaotian with his elbow, curious, “How do you think his ability will attract the Yan Beast?”

Mo Xiaotian shook his head blankly, “No idea, should we still go?”

“Of course we’re not leaving!”

Su Bei declared righteously, “Isn’t this the perfect time to complete our mission?”

They were short by two, oh no, now just one more nightmare beast and their mission would be accomplished. If Si Zhao Hua truly had a way to lure the nightmare beasts, then staying here would be the perfect opportunity to fish in troubled waters and complete their task.

On the clearing, Si Zhao Hua had already transformed into an [Angel]. He soared into the sky, his pristine feathered wings flapping gracefully. It was a pity there was no sunlight; otherwise, he would have appeared utterly divine.

But then again, forests and elves usually go hand in hand, don’t they? The presence of an angel here felt somewhat out of place.

After about five minutes of flight, the first nightmare beast appeared as expected. It was another nightmare monkey, which immediately charged at Si Zhao Hua. Without a doubt, it was attracted by the [Angel]’s ability.

“It’s the aura…” Mo Xiao Tian murmured to himself.

Indeed, it was the aura. If nothing else, it must have been the [Angel]’s aura that drew the nightmare beast.

This ability was undoubtedly dangerous for its possessor. After all, ability users are already prone to attracting nightmare beasts, and his ability only intensified this attraction. This meant that once in an alternate space, or in the unscoured wilderness, Si Zhao Hua would be in grave danger. Without using his ability, he couldn’t defeat a nightmare beast; using it would only attract more.

However, Su Bei noticed something very strange. Mo Xiao Tian’s expression at that moment was one of envy. He envied Si Zhao Hua for being able to summon nightmare beasts?

Why?

If Mo Xiao Tian were the kind of ability user who could easily kill nightmare beasts, his envy might be somewhat understandable. But as seen from their previous encounter with the nightmare monkey, at least for now, Mo Xiao Tian was not capable of killing them with ease.

So why would he envy such a power? Was he seeking death?

More and more clues about Mo Xiao Tian surfaced, yet Su Bei couldn’t find a thread to string them all together.

Attention returned to the field. The moment the nightmare monkey pounced, Ai Bao Zhu immediately activated [Glorious Domain], effortlessly repelling the attacking beast within her domain.

“Squeak!”

The nightmare monkey screeched, baring its teeth, and charged again, slamming hard against the barrier of [Glorious Domain].

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Ai Bao Zhu’s face turned pale; her domain was sustained by her mental strength, and such attacks undoubtedly accelerated the depletion of her mental energy. If the attacks were powerful enough, they could even shatter her mental fortitude.

“I’ll do it!” Seeing her like this, Si Zhao Hua didn’t want to waste time and proceeded to harvest with his feathers.

Unlike Su Bei’s previous encounter with the nightmare monkey, due to Si Zhao Hua’s strong allure, the nightmare monkey had no intention of dodging or toying with them. It was solely focused on breaking through the barrier.

It was precisely for this reason that targeting the nightmare monkey had become much easier. After enduring a fierce attack, the monkey’s muddled brain finally regained a semblance of clarity. It realized that continuing the assault was unwise, and it considered a temporary retreat in submission.

However, before it could act, a gear that had appeared unnoticed at its side silently glided across its neck, then vanished without a trace.

In the next second after the gear disappeared, pristine white feathers descended upon the same spot. The timing was so close that at first glance, one might have thought the nightmare monkey was slain by the feathers.

This act of stealing the kill did not arouse any suspicion from Si Zhaohua and the others. Su Bei and his companion exchanged a smile, their mission accomplished, they retreated.！