A Guide for Background Characters to Survive in a Manga

Chapter 298

[Su Bei: ?]

Seeing his reply, Jiang Tianming, monitoring the watch, responded instantly.

[Jiang Tianming: Long story short, we learned the clowns weren’t meant to be like this—just punish liars by deducting half their fixed points. Somehow, the setting changed at the start. Can you alter their Destiny?]

No way—Su Bei knew his Ability. Changing present or future Destiny was possible, but not the past. He knew who could help.

[Su Bei: Find Elvis.]

Elvis’ Ability was perfect for changing past events. As a recurring character, he’d likely have a role. Su Bei figured the author planned for kids to use Elvis to solve this, but Jiang Tianming’s group, more familiar with him, asked him first.

They replied “Okay” and went silent, likely seeking Elvis.

Despite the suggestion, Su Bei had a bad feeling. He suspected he’d need to act.

From the Vixi Holy Land incident, the author didn’t mind his spotlight moments, sometimes giving him plot.

Reflecting, Su Bei thought the author, aware of his existence, used him pragmatically, unafraid of him breaking free.

So, he might have a role here. He quickly pinpointed the issue.

For Elvis, altering one clown’s timeline was easy—rewinding a few hours. But with so many clowns, it’d drain too much Mental Energy.

Time Abilities were costly, and with so many targets over such time, even with efficiency tricks, Elvis couldn’t manage.

Luckily, Su Bei had a solution. Long ago, via the manga forum, he’d studied group Ability casting to address this.

Pushing open the chest’s lid, he stood, dusted off, and headed out. He’d check clowns first, seeing if their Destinies could be linked. If so, great. If not, he’d need an excuse to refuse Jiang Tianming without exposing his limits.

Following sounds, he found a chasing clown, used his Ability, and noted its Destiny Compass. Finding another, he checked again.

Relieved, their Compasses were nearly identical, easing linking.

On the train, he’d seen over 200 clowns. If their pointers varied greatly, adjusting each would drain him.

He could force-link them, but it’d still cost much—less than individual tweaks, but still heavy.

If his Mental Energy was 100, linking similar Compasses cost about 20. Linking wildly different ones cost at least 50, depending on numbers.

Though less than tweaking each, Su Bei wasn’t satisfied. His priority was survival. Outside wasn’t safe—he needed enough Mental Energy for self-preservation.

Two clowns were proof enough. Confident, he returned to the train, waiting for Jiang Tianming’s message. If they solved it, he’d be happy.

His judgment was spot-on. An hour later, the watch pinged—not Jiang Tianming, but Wu Mingbai, likely because Jiang Tianming was embarrassed.

[Wu Mingbai: Su Bei, can you link the clowns’ Destinies? So Elvis can change one and affect all. Otherwise, his Mental Energy won’t hold…]

[Su Bei: Yes.]

Unsurprised, Su Bei confirmed. Jiang Tianming sent Si Zhaohua to fetch him—his train was easy to find via its track, especially for a flier.

Si Zhaohua arrived fast, flying Su Bei over, smiling: “The clown said if we fix their Destiny, they’ll send us out.”

It’s ending? Su Bei’s eyes lit up. Outside dangers might linger, but the manga suggested the author wanted Qi Huang to shine. By the time they left, she’d likely have handled most issues, leaving minor aftermath for the protagonists.

For him, leaving the Illusion meant near safety. Any remaining outside threats, with his Mental Energy, were manageable.

“That’s—” Starting to speak, he glanced with his Ability, then shifted: “Too optimistic.”

With their luck plummeting, leaving smoothly after fixing the clowns? He’d eat their Compass if so.

Si Zhaohua: “?”

“What’s that mean?” His ease turned tense, expecting safety, but Su Bei’s words suggested otherwise.

Su Bei didn’t know specifics, only saying: “Go with the flow. Your Destinies are set.”

The author’s plot was unchangeable. Even outside manga, he couldn’t alter so many Ability Users’ Destinies—too many, with varied pointers. Unlike clowns, they had Mental Energy, making it harder.

Adjusting their Destinies, saving enough Mental Energy for self-rescue, meant no clown tweaks. Choosing between them, he followed the plot.

Knowing Su Bei wasn’t baseless, Si Zhaohua frowned silently.

At their destination, the group, ready to celebrate, noticed Si Zhaohua’s look and sobered. Jiang Tianming asked: “What’s wrong?”

“Su Bei says…” Si Zhaohua glanced at him, seeing no objection, continued, “It won’t end as easily as we think.”

They understood—Su Bei’s Ability didn’t lie. Elvis glared at the clown: “He’s lying?”

Before the clown spoke, Jiang Tianming countered: “Clowns don’t lie. I trust that.”

Su Bei agreed—clowns likely didn’t lie, or their killing pretext would be absurd.

Not lying didn’t mean no deception. Jiang Tianming, aware, reexamined the clown’s words: “‘We can send you out of the Illusion.’ If that’s true, the issue is… where do we go after?”

Realizing the key, he stared at the clown’s painted face: “You’ll send us out—where to?”

“I’ve never been outside. Who knows where that is?” The clown kept its signature grin, unfazed by suspicion.

A perfect answer. Jiang Tianming thought, asking: “Is where we go out the same as where we came in?”

“I don’t know what it was like when you came in or will be when you leave,” the clown replied similarly.

“One last question,” Jiang Tianming said calmly. “Don’t dodge—is where we enter and exit the same?”

The clown’s earlier answers, though flawless, sidestepped the question. Jiang Tianming needed a “yes” or “no.” The clown’s evasion meant something.

Cornered, the clown’s smile faded, red lips shut, refusing to speak more: “…No.”

Jiang Tianming lost interest in asking. The clown had said it didn’t know their destination—further questions were pointless.

“Now what?” Elvis’ teammate said glumly. “It’s a trap—we’ll fall into one leaving here!”

Not just him—others were downcast. So close to success, only to face another pit. Why leave if it meant another trap? Better stay, wait for teachers.

“Who made you do this? Nightmare Beasts? Black Flash? Someone else?” Elvis demanded, wanting the culprit’s identity to gauge their intent.

Nightmare Beasts versus Black Flash had different implications.

The clown stayed silent.

Wu Mingbai, also curious, pressed: “Clowns bring joy, right? Are we joyful?”

“You’re bad kids. Clowns don’t bring joy to bad kids,” the clown replied, head lowered, voice dramatic, lips pouting in parentheses.

If the setting allowed, Su Bei would’ve studied that pout’s perfection.

Unsatisfied, Wu Mingbai mimicked its tone: “Wow, so we all lied? Kind Mr. Clown wouldn’t wrong good kids, right?”

Present at the purge’s start, he knew only ten lied. With no chance to lie again during the rampage, many were innocent.

“It’s you liars who harmed them,” the clown said, deflecting blame without hesitation.

“We’ll fix your setting—you don’t need to send us out,” Jiang Tianming said, tired of arguing, proposing his new plan.

Stopping the clowns’ attacks let them kill beasts and await rescue. He trusted their teachers, especially Endless’, to save them.

The clown shut its mouth, its reaction unclear.

Others didn’t know, but Su Bei did. He had to shatter their hope: “I said, Destiny won’t change.”

His tone was weary, annoyed at trouble. To others, it seemed he foresaw a bad outcome.

Indeed, Jiang Tianming’s unchanged luck showed they couldn’t escape the author’s plot. Nightmare Beasts, confident in their plan, wouldn’t leave such a gap.

Jiang Tianming’s group, and others, couldn’t let clowns run amok. Students’ stamina was finite, clowns’ wasn’t. Without knowing when teachers would help, they’d be wiped out. Stopping the clowns was essential.

But their luck suggested no good outcome even then. With the clown’s words, Su Bei boldly guessed: altering their setting would send everyone to another space.

To avoid that, they’d need to win by elimination, break the Illusion, or use the array eye.

Backing away slowly, Su Bei thought if his guess was right, outside was nearly safe. Once Jiang Tianming’s group was teleported, unrescuable, the outside crisis would end.

One place was safe; the other, unknown—possibly the Nightmare Beast world. He chose the former.

As the protagonist group acted, Lan Subing used [Word Spirit], with a senior amplifying sound park-wide, summoning clowns. When they arrived, Su Bei linked their Destiny Compasses.

While others were busy, he edged out. Without an Invisibility Charm, he was soon spotted.

Noticing his retreat, Lan Subing, task complete, asked: “Su Bei, where you going?”

Caught, he stayed calm: “Leaving soon—gotta play a bit more.”

With a clown present, he didn’t lie—he was leaving the Illusion, just differently, back to the venue, not elsewhere.

His park-playing was known, mentioned in chats. His words didn’t seem odd.

But Jiang Tianming’s group, knowing him, sensed trouble. Leaving now wasn’t good, and sneaking off without a word was suspicious.

Without proof, they couldn’t stop him. Unless caught red-handed, he wouldn’t listen.

Busy controlling clowns to prevent explosions, they could only watch him leave.

Su Bei dashed to the haunted house, needing to act before the clowns were rewound, or he’d be swept away.

An Ability User running full speed was fast—five minutes covered an hour’s walk.

At the haunted house’s center, he set his small pointer leftmost and stepped into the purple vortex.

Exiting felt like a mini-teleport, dizzying for a second. Recovering, he heard Qi Huang’s surprised voice: “Su Bei! You got out?”

Opening his eyes, he nodded to Qi Huang: “Take me to Teacher Li. Others can’t come back yet.”

Hearing this, Qi Huang grasped the severity, her joy fading, and led him to Teacher Li with a serious expression.

A few steps in, Manga Consciousness chimed: “King of Abilities updated. Please check.”

As expected, they’d left the Illusion. Where were they teleported? He hoped the manga gave hints.

On the way, Qi Huang recounted events post-Illusion entry: “Not long after, a Nightmare Beast wave hit. Thinking the Illusion was safer, teachers didn’t pull you out—no time either. When we realized something was wrong, Jiram was gone.”

She didn’t dwell, continuing: “Teachers were great, holding off most beasts. But there were too many. To protect normals, a Space Ability User sent most Ability Users and beasts to a new battlefield. I wanted to go, but Teacher Li said it’s for adults—I stayed.”

Her face showed no regret, only relief. Su Bei asked knowingly: “More beasts outside?”

Otherwise, she’d be disappointed, not relieved, especially since she stayed to fight beasts for reputation.

“Exactly!” Qi Huang snapped her fingers. “After they vanished, a small group emerged from the hotel, including a High-Level beast. Only me, some Support Ability staff, and comatose seniors were left. I protected everyone, wiping them out!”

Her tone was light, but Su Bei knew it wasn’t easy. Her spirited demeanor showed she’d earned major credit—maybe enough to beat Si Zhaohua for secretary.

The High-Level beast was likely the Gourd Nightmare Beast, which claimed no attack power. How did it attack?

Some unknown change, part of their plan. Su Bei felt lucky he wasn’t outside—he might’ve been tripped by his own intel.

Curious but knowing he’d see the manga in his room, he didn’t rush, following Qi Huang to the hotel’s second floor, where Teacher Li handled aftermath.

Seeing her, Qi Huang called excitedly: “Teacher, look who’s back!”

Teacher Li turned, her joy mirroring Qi Huang’s: “Su Bei! How’d you get out? The others?”