A Guide for Background Characters to Survive in a Manga

Chapter 82

“What changed?” Hearing Wu Mingbai’s intel, I felt an odd sense of relief, like “finally, here it is.”

From entering this Different Space, we’d smoothly obtained the token, found the exit, dealt with the Radicals, and lured away the Nightmare Birds... Everything went logically, not easily, but still too smoothly.

This Different Space seemed extremely tough, so there should’ve been significant plot points. Yet what we’d experienced, while challenging, barely touched the main storyline and lacked truly interesting content, revealing even less than the team battles.

If we were to stay here for days, it might’ve been engaging. But it was only the first night, and we’d already found a way to leave.

Were all the later plots reserved for Jiang Tianming’s group, who couldn’t leave yet? That’d be absurd.

From the moment we found the exit, alarm bells rang in my head. Something was wrong.

Until Wu Mingbai’s intel arrived.

“Three days ago”? What a meaningful timeframe—exactly the day we left the Academy.

We knew Black Flash was targeting us and aware of our itinerary. And this Different Space just happened to change on the day we left.

The connection was subtle, almost coincidental. But in this manga world, any coincidence could be a deliberate plot point by the author.

I was 80% sure this gate’s change was caused by the Black Flash organization.

Seeing I didn’t ask further, Si Zhaohua spoke: “How’d you learn this?”

So Wu Mingbai began recounting his day.

Unlike us, he started at the Conservatives’ stronghold. Facing a crowd’s attack, he wisely surrendered. Luckily, his Ability was [Earth Element], and the Conservatives needed someone for farming, so they kept him.

He took a moment to explain the Conservatives’ ideology. Some were too weak to leave and were stuck here. Others fled the chaotic outside world to seek refuge.

Only then did we learn this Different Space was well-known among veteran Ability users. Many had friends, family, or even themselves trapped here.

Back to Wu Mingbai, during his time with the Conservatives, he found Wu Jin and Zhao Xiaoyu. After two battles with the Radicals, he earned their trust, allowing him to gather useful intel.

The gate’s change was told to him by a Conservative who’d been in the Different Space for three months. They said it had never happened before.

“What now? Do we go in?” Zhou Renjie stared at the black gate, suddenly feeling a twinge of fear.

The others hesitated too. Mu Tieren looked at me: “Su Bei, what should we do?”

He was grasping at straws. With my Destiny-related Ability and knack for foresight, he hoped I’d have answers in this uncertain situation.

Having used my Ability twice, draining my Mental Energy, I felt sluggish and unmotivated.

At his question, I barely lifted my eyelids: “Smash the watch’s glass cover. End it once and for all.”

“Don’t joke,” Zhou Renjie said, half-nervous, half-amused. “A changed gate scares us into calling the teachers to surrender? Don’t we have any pride?”

Si Zhaohua and the others didn’t speak, but clearly agreed. Calling the teachers before anything happened would be panicking prematurely.

They were used to my joking. When I was in a bad mood, I often spouted nonsense.

But I was dead serious. I genuinely believed the best move was to call the teachers and escape this mess.

I understood their reluctance. Without my outside perspective, I probably wouldn’t think to call the teachers either.

Too bad. If they’d agreed, I could’ve gone along and safely escaped. But since they didn’t, I couldn’t leave alone.

If I missed the later plot, the manga author wouldn’t give me extra content.

“Chirp chirp—”

High-pitched bird calls came from the sky. Ling You tensed: “They’re coming back.”

If we didn’t decide soon, we’d have to leave now. But returning later would mean facing stricter Radical guards.

Finally, Si Zhaohua gritted his teeth: “Go in!”

We were at the gate—no backing out now. All gates had changed, not just this one. To leave without calling the teachers, any gate was the same.

He reported the situation via walkie-talkie, then resolutely stepped in.

I sighed silently and followed the group into the dark gate.

Darkness flashed, and light returned.

As expected yet surprising, we didn’t return to the outside world but arrived on a small island.

How did we know it was an island? Behind us was endless fog and a bottomless abyss.

Zhou Renjie, who’d glanced back, stumbled away from the cliff, barely restraining a scream since we were in an unfamiliar place.

The others were shaken too. The scene was eerie: a pitch-black night with chilling winds, a bottomless cliff behind us cloaked in thick, milky fog that seemed artificially made to obscure vision.

Around us, aside from sparse dry grass and withered trees, there was nothing. The vegetation formed a faint path leading to a jet-black castle, as if luring travelers toward it.

The five of us exchanged looks. Even an idiot could tell the castle was trouble. But it was our only option—nowhere else to go.

“Let’s rest here for a day and decide tomorrow morning,” Mu Tieren suggested sensibly. Night was riskier than day, so we’d wait. After a busy day, we were exhausted, both physically and mentally, and needed rest.

No one objected. Mu Tieren built a campfire. In the dark, flames were a clear beacon, usually avoided.

But this place was freezing. Even in vests, we felt bone-chilling cold. Without a fire, we’d all catch colds by morning.

It was 1 a.m. Five of us took turns keeping watch, each for an hour and a half. Since I’d drained my Mental Energy and needed recovery, I was first.

Bored, I poked the fire with a stick I’d picked up, wishing Li Shu was here. His brain wasn’t quite right, but he had manga books! An hour and a half was hard to pass just staring.

Sighing, I gazed at the castle. It was pitch-black, no light in the windows, like it was uninhabited.

Who knew what was inside? I’d thought entering the gate would get us caught, but Black Flash was planning something else.

Thinking this, I looked up, murmuring: “This sky... feels fake?”

The night sky was unnaturally black, lacking the purples and colors of a normal night—just pure black. No stars, only a round moon, like a mid-autumn moon, bright and bulb-like.

It looked fine at a glance, but up close, the sky and moon felt artificial.

I frowned thoughtfully. What was this place?

Then I heard a strange noise. I focused, listening closely.

“Rustle rustle...”

Something was brushing against the ground and grass!

Sensing danger, I stood and woke the others: “Wake up! Danger!”

As everyone roused, I turned back to the ground. I hadn’t noticed before, but now I saw a swarm of tiny black beetles crawling out, their backs sporting sharp-toothed mouths!

They didn’t seem dangerous, just utterly disgusting.

The others followed my gaze and jumped: “When did these get here?”

I shook my head, grabbed a torch, and swept it across the ground, burning a large patch and clearing a clean space. A foul burnt smell filled the air.

The unburned beetle corpses were instantly swarmed by others, who devoured them in seconds before crawling toward us.

More beetles kept coming, but since they were easy to kill, we weren’t too tense. Si Zhaohua laughed helplessly: “Good thing Baozhu isn’t here.”

Zhou Renjie, who also knew Ai Baozhu, nodded: “So many bugs—she’d lose it.”

Mu Tieren grabbed a stick to help clear the bugs, then asked: “Where are these coming from?”

Ling You pointed to the island’s edge, saying softly: “From there.”

We looked and saw she was right. The endless stream of Nightmare Bugs was climbing up from below.

Torch in hand, I cleared bugs while heading to the cliff edge. Looking down, the bugs’ origin was hidden by the fog, impossible to trace.

Since they seemed easy to handle, Zhou Renjie yawned and sat back: “I’m sleeping. Whoever’s on watch can deal with these.”

Si Zhaohua yanked the 200-pound guy up: “Stay sharp. Is this a place to sleep?”

“Why not?” Zhou Renjie, dead tired, rubbed his eyes. “These bugs don’t need all of us. One person’s enough.”

“Look again,” Si Zhaohua said coolly, letting go, causing Zhou Renjie to stumble.

The fall woke him up. He looked at the island’s edge, rubbed his eyes, and said uncertainly: “Are these Nightmare Bugs getting bigger?”

The outermost bugs were slightly larger than the inner ones, though not obviously unless you looked closely.

“They are,” Mu Tieren nodded calmly. “Let’s keep watching.”

If they only grew once, it was fine. But if they kept growing, we’d have a problem.

After about five minutes, the new bugs were even bigger, now with small wings. Instead of crawling, they flew slowly toward living beings.

“They... evolved?” Zhou Renjie said, stunned.

Ling You frowned, rarely speaking: “Something’s wrong.”

This was very wrong. If the Nightmare Bugs just grew, it’d be manageable. But growing and changing forms was too strange.

“Maybe their adult form has wings,” Si Zhaohua said uncertainly, but he was sure of one thing: “We can’t stay here long.”

The island was crawling with these bugs—some flying, some crawling, and their numbers were growing. The castle was likely the only semi-safe place.

We all knew the castle was trouble, but we had no choice. If the bugs evolved further, we might not even reach it.

At the castle door, we stopped instinctively. We really didn’t want to go in. How was this different from walking into a tiger’s den knowing it’s dangerous?

Oh, there was a difference. Those people chose to go. We were forced.

“Let’s delay as long as we can,” I said suddenly. “Smash a glass cover.”

Smashing the glass cover would create a shield and, more importantly, signal the teachers.

The teachers might not find the island quickly or arrive in time for danger, but it was some assurance.

Everyone agreed. They’d also thought of the signal. Before, they didn’t think the gate posed a threat. But facing this obvious trap, the hot-blooded teens finally chose caution.

“I’ll do it,” Mu Tieren said, smashing his glass cover without waiting.

The shield offered protection, like an extra layer of safety. By smashing his, Mu Tieren was sacrificing himself for the group.

A faint blue spherical shield rose around him. It wasn’t large—maybe enough for four slim people.

But with Mu Tieren and Zhou Renjie’s sizes, it could only fit three, and only in awkward positions.

Si Zhaohua, not wanting to squeeze, said decisively: “I’ll go out. With wings, I can hold out a while.”

“Don’t,” I cut in. “Don’t forget your Ability.”

From the team battles, I knew Si Zhaohua’s secret: his Ability attracted Nightmare Beasts. Using it here would draw the bugs to him. How long could his wings hold up?

He froze, then understood. He’d forgotten his Ability’s drawback. In a place crawling with Nightmare Beasts, using it was suicide.

But how did I know?

At this school, only Zhou Renjie, Ai Baozhu, and a few teachers knew this secret.

None of them would leak it. So how did I know?

Si Zhaohua studied me, half-joking, half-serious: “You make me think you know all our secrets.”

I met his gaze, smirking: “Maybe I do.”

Everyone went quiet, eyes flickering. Who didn’t have secrets? If I really knew them, that’d be terrifying.

Suddenly, Ling You, rarely excited, said: “Found it!”

“Found what?” We all turned to her.

She reverted to her expressionless state, but her eyes held a spark of joy: “A virus that can handle the bugs.”

Only then did we remember—right, Ling You’s Ability was [Plague]. Against numerous enemies, this was her stage!

“What do we do?” Mu Tieren’s eyes lit up, asking immediately.

Ling You thought: “Got any sweets or meat?”

The virus was potent but needed food to spread. Since the Nightmare Bugs ate their kin, infecting a few would suffice.

Zhou Renjie handed her cakes and sausages—luckily, he’d brought plenty.

With the items, Ling You applied her Ability and scattered them. The sweets were ignored, but the meat was swarmed by bugs.

Soon, the bugs that ate the meat swayed like they were drunk, then died. Their kin, oblivious, devoured the corpses.

Those bugs followed suit, swaying and dying in under five seconds.

Each corpse was eaten by three to five bugs, becoming new infection sources.

Visibly, more bugs fell, with more climbing up, following their kin’s fate.

In just half an hour, the island’s clearing was piled with bug corpses, a black, terrifying, disgusting mass.

Notably, over time, the bugs changed. Some grew fangs, others sprouted spikes, and some had eight spider-like legs.

Luckily, their habit of eating kin remained.

The air reeked, nauseating. Si Zhaohua, fighting the urge to vomit, said: “I can’t take it. It’s too foul!”

The others, less fastidious, could bear it. Mu Tieren, shocked and admiring, looked at Ling You: “Your Ability is insane.”

An overwhelming enemy was effortlessly defeated, a bloodless victory creating a sea of corpses.

Ling You rarely used her Ability, so while we knew [Plague] was powerful, we lacked a real sense of it.

This scene showed why teachers called [Plague] a war machine. On a battlefield, its devastation was unimaginable.

Despite her pale skin and Mental Energy drain, Ling You didn’t look weak, just paler-lipped. Expressionless, her cheeks held a faint flush, clearly thrilled.

She’d never had so many test subjects. This was her first time wiping out so many enemies with her Ability, giving her a new understanding of it.

No matter how others praised her Ability, nothing beat using it herself and seeing it firsthand.

“So we don’t need to enter the castle?” Zhou Renjie asked excitedly. The castle screamed trouble, and he didn’t want to go.

Mu Tieren nodded, giving Ling You a thumbs-up: “For now, probably not. This Ability is unreal. I’m impressed.”

“Don’t let your guard down,” Si Zhaohua said seriously. Though shocked by Ling You’s power, he stayed vigilant.

The mastermind clearly wanted us in the castle. They wouldn’t let us stay outside easily.

Sure enough, soon after he spoke, new bugs surged up. These ant-like bugs ignored their kin’s corpses and charged straight at us.

Note :

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