Chapter 222

After discussing their plan, the three went to the neighboring tribe and saw the few people they had visited before. Su Bei immediately walked over, feigning to be lost and looking somewhat flustered. He gestured wildly with his hands, “Can you understand what I’m saying?”

His age had always been his best protective color; it was normal for someone his age to panic when encountering unexpected situations. Furthermore, because he was a minor, most people wouldn’t suspect him. Even if the underground people viewed things differently from those on the surface, they would subconsciously perceive him as weak.

Naturally, these people couldn’t understand. After sizing up Su Bei and the other two, they chattered amongst themselves, and one of them left. The other two made calming gestures to Su Bei’s group, indicating that they should wait for a while.

Even without a common language, many gestures were universally understood. Understanding their meaning, Su Bei acted very grateful and waited patiently.

Before long, the person who had left returned with Caige. Seeing the three of them, Caige was somewhat surprised and asked in song, “How did you get here?”

“We came looking for you,” Su Bei answered truthfully. He never liked to lie directly; the world of Ability users was too complex, and who knew when he might encounter someone like Wu Jin who could see through lies. Being caught in a lie would be too passive, so it was better to stick to the truth as much as possible.

“Looking for me?” Caige was puzzled.

Su Bei nodded, “I wanted to ask if you can still be exposed to sunlight. The cave we fell through connects to the surface, so there must be light shining in. If you can’t be exposed to ultraviolet light, and something happens when you take us there, we would feel very guilty.”

This statement actually had a loophole, because the underground people first found them at that very cave entrance, so they wouldn’t have had any issues going there. But this was actually Su Bei’s deliberate act.

He merely wanted to use this question to lead into a later topic, so even if the loophole was pointed out, it didn’t matter. In fact, Su Bei intentionally left such a loophole for the other party to notice, hoping it would better spark the subsequent conversation.

“You’ve forgotten that the clan leader brought you back from there. No light shone in at all,” Caige replied with a smile.

As Su Bei expected, Caige indeed noticed the loophole and pointed it out. He deliberately put on an embarrassed expression, “My apologies, I truly didn’t remember. I was just being meddlesome and worrying unnecessarily.”

As he spoke, he subtly tugged at the hem of Wu Jin’s clothes, signaling that it was his turn to act. Although Wu Jin didn’t quite understand what Su Bei wanted him to ask, he knew that agreeing with Su Bei was always the right thing to do.

So, he seemingly unintentionally turned his head slightly, revealing a stunning profile. His expression carried a hint of guilt, making him look truly pitiable. “Did we waste your time by asking this question? We are truly sorry, it was inconsiderate of us.”

“It’s alright, no need to apologize. Actually, you’re quite thoughtful.” Seeing such a face, even though it didn’t align with Caige’s personal aesthetic, it evoked a surprising sense of beauty. Her expression momentarily wavered, and she subconsciously wanted to offer comfort. “We genuinely cannot adapt to light…”

Passive charm alone was still somewhat lacking. At this point, Caige suddenly sobered up, realizing she seemed to have said something wrong, and quickly added, “I mean, we’ve lived underground for so long, I guess we definitely can’t adapt to life on the surface anymore.”

However, this was enough. Su Bei’s eyes flashed with a glimmer of insight. He pretended not to notice any issues, foolishly nodding, “That’s truly a pity. I was hoping that if there was a chance, I could take you all to see the surface.”

But what he was actually thinking was that these people indeed knew about the surface world’s existence and might have even been there themselves; otherwise, they wouldn’t know they were sensitive to light.

Since they had been to the surface, it meant they had a direct way back. Yet, this group clearly had no intention of letting them leave, instead telling them they would help them find the cave they fell through.

So, the problem was obvious: they had no intention of letting them go.

However, judging by their attitude, they probably weren’t trying to silence them by killing. In that case, Su Bei’s second test wasn’t necessary. Regardless, they certainly didn’t want them to return.

Upon hearing this, Caige shook her head. Before she could say anything, a person nearby suddenly interjected, “Then tell us what the surface world is like! Are the people there as strong as you?”

If he wasn’t mistaken, this should be a man. He had white hair cut into a crew cut, and his clothing was more masculine. It’s worth noting that not all men here had short hair; a good portion had long hair, like the clan leader they had seen earlier.

Perhaps because they had been in the underground world for hundreds of years, many of them still retained ancient customs. However, some were also moving towards modernity, and hairstyles were one of the manifestations of their change. After all, even in isolation, societal progress in small communities was still proceeding as scheduled.

This question from the crew-cut man made Su Bei’s eyes light up again. Curiosity about the surface world was good news. Curiosity was the beginning of everything. If he could ignite this person’s longing for the surface world, perhaps he could help them leave this place.

Although Caige had said they couldn’t adapt to light, judging by the fact that these underground people could provide glasses to help them adapt to darkness, who knew if they might have tools to return to the surface? After all, they originally came from the surface; they couldn’t have left no way back at all.

Thinking this, he began to introduce things with a smile. Of course, he didn’t mention sensitive topics like strength differences that might cause unease, but rather some interesting things. For example, they could play games, watch TV shows, and there were many delicious foods on the surface.

However, to his surprise, the other party didn’t seem interested in any of these topics. Although Su Bei couldn’t discern his expression due to the lack of eyes, his body language spoke volumes. From his subconscious shaking of his head and unconscious arm movements, it was clear that he was somewhat impatient with Su Bei’s answers.

After a short while, he said something else to Caige, gesturing for her to translate for Su Bei. However, upon hearing the man’s words, Caige’s expression changed, and she resolutely told Su Bei, “Little Fan isn’t feeling well. You can talk to him next time. Good children, you two go back first. I’ll take him to see the doctor.”

Seeing that they were being dismissed, Su Bei gracefully bid them farewell and turned to leave with Wu Jin and Si Zhaohua.

Once they were out of sight of these people, Si Zhaohua frowned, “They’ve been to the surface?”

Wu Jin also wanted to ask the same question. Although he didn’t initially understand Su Bei’s intention, he subconsciously cooperated. But when Caige gave that answer, Wu Jin understood Su Bei’s meaning and also picked up on the information Caige had revealed.

“It seems so, and they clearly don’t want us to go back.” Su Bei shrugged, not elaborating on the topic. Instead, he asked another question, “Wu Jin, in your perception, what was that crew-cut man’s mood when he was listening to me just now?”

The ability to perceive emotions was also Wu Jin’s passive skill, so he could still use it even with his Ability sealed, just not as sensitively as before. “I didn’t pay attention when we first spoke with Sister Caige, but when you mentioned taking them to the surface, his emotions flared up for a moment, probably surprise. But later, when you answered his questions, it was impatience.”

As it was his area of expertise, he uncharacteristically spoke for such a long stretch. After finishing, he became withdrawn again, unwilling to say another word.

Su Bei looked at him with amusement and began to ponder the information in Wu Jin’s words. From the emotion of surprise, the crew-cut man was indeed very interested in the surface world and wanted to go there.

But what interested him wasn’t the entertainment activities Su Bei had mentioned at the time, but a topic that would make Caige’s face change color.

What could it be?

Su Bei was very interested in this topic. Caige must know something, but she prevented the conversation. Su Bei felt she might not be guarding against them, but possibly against the crew-cut man.

After all, if the group led by Caige didn’t want Su Bei and the others to return to the surface, then they likewise shouldn’t want to go to the surface, especially knowing they were sensitive to light. The crew-cut man was clearly interested in the surface, and such a conflict of ideas was enough for Caige to guard against him.

“Could it be that he wants to go to the surface not just out of curiosity?” Si Zhaohua skillfully applied conspiracy theories. “The space on the surface is definitely wider than underground, and there are more resources. Even if they weren’t originally surface dwellers, after knowing relevant information, they would definitely covet a better environment. Moreover, they were originally driven down from above.”

When he said the first sentence, Su Bei understood his meaning. “You think Little Fan wants to lead his entire tribe back to the surface?”

Si Zhaohua nodded, “Perhaps we can use him to return to the surface. Let’s talk to the others when we get back.”

Back in their room, Jiang Tianming and the others hadn’t returned yet. Su Bei took out his phone and checked the time. Although the phone had no internet or signal, fortunately, some basic functions still worked. It was already 8 PM, and he wondered what the situation was like on the surface.

Cyril hadn’t lied before; this really seemed to be an independent space. Otherwise, after such a long time, the teachers would have found them already. And since they couldn’t come down from the cave entrance above, even if they found the entrance, they probably couldn’t go back. Perhaps this was why the clan leader was willing to help them find the cave tomorrow, because he knew that particular cave entrance was no longer a way back. They would have to find another method to return.

Caige must know this method to return to the surface, and the clan leaders of the various tribes might also know. To obtain this method, interrogating them was unlikely to work; they would have to investigate the rooms of these people.

Having figured out what to do tomorrow, Su Bei opened his phone to read the manga. Although he couldn’t charge his phone here, the battery would probably run out after finishing the manga. But aside from checking the time, the phone wasn’t very useful in the underground world. The others also had phones, so he didn’t necessarily have to use his; it was better to take this opportunity to finish reading the updated manga content.

The manga started after their individual exhibition ended, with Ai Baozhu and the others touring the venue. From their lack of any reaction upon returning, it could be inferred that they hadn’t discovered anything unusual during their tour.

But from the manga’s perspective, it was different. To lay groundwork, the author subtly exposed flaws in many places. For example, when they walked to the audience stands, occasional sounds could be heard. However, because there were people around at the time, they didn’t suspect a problem in the audience stands, assuming it was just the sounds made by staff.

When they approached the arena, several people also sensed malicious gazes fixed on them. Unfortunately, there were many people around, so they couldn’t pinpoint where the gazes were coming from.

Being immersed in the situation, they couldn’t sense it, but the readers all noticed something was amiss and speculated that something bad was about to happen. This was the advantage of an omniscient perspective; the author’s foreshadowing could often be easily seen through.

After laying the groundwork, the plot moved to the second day’s team battle. The first battle, not involving the main characters, was only shown with a single panel by the author. The real battle plot began with the second match, between “Houde Ability Academy” and “Endless Ability Academy.”

Since Su Bei was participating in this match, he didn’t skip it and watched carefully. The first half of the match saw Jiang Tianming and the others having a great advantage, with the comments section full of praise.

Readers weren’t surprised; after all, Jiang Tianming and his team had gone through so many crises and increased their strength so many times. If they could only draw with students from other academies under such circumstances, wouldn’t all those dangers have been for nothing?

The turning point in the plot came when the opponent’s support, Li Bowen, rushed towards Su Bei, and Su Bei then said, “Oh, so you’re here to drag me down, huh?”

Like Jiang Tianming and the others, readers immediately sensed something unusual from their dialogue.

“What’s going on? How is he dragging people down?”

“Didn’t Jiang Jiang and his team have a guaranteed win? What does Su Bei mean?”

“I have a bad feeling.”

“Ahhh, are they going to lose?”

“Is Su Bei going to be eliminated?”

“What kind of ability does this support have? I’m starting to get curious!”

Immediately after, the situation indeed reversed. As the control-type user voluntarily fell off the arena, and Lan Subing also fell, the others began to drop like dumplings, and in an instant, there were only a few people left on the field.

It wasn’t until Jiang Tianming explained the opponent’s Ability usage that readers understood what was happening. Everyone lamented that Houde Ability Academy’s method was too insidious. Fortunately, Jiang Tianming had the ability to immunize against Abilities; otherwise, this match would indeed have been a guaranteed win for the opponents.

However, the next second, Su Bei made his move.

[The blond boy in the manga smiled calmly, his handsome face occupying an entire panel: “I can see your plan, and you still think I can’t do anything to you? Aren’t you looking down on me a bit too much?”

In the next panel, a Destiny Gear shot out. As the support and Su Bei fell together, the main attacker, who should have been left for last, was also hit by the gear and fell down.

In the final scene, Jiang Tianming stood alone on the arena, the outcome of the match clearly revealed.]

“Ahhhhhh Su Bei, you are my god!”

“Who are you trying to make swoon?”

“This is the invincible Destiny-type!”

“My Brother Bei is the most handsome man in this manga, no contest!”

“That gear truly hit me right in the heart!”

“Jiang Jiang also got a free win!”

“If you don’t eliminate Su Bei at the start, you’ll face a comeback!”

Su Bei blinked, skipping past the readers’ insane gushing compliments, and continued to read. The third round was also intense, and Wu Jin’s face was finally fully revealed to everyone.

His art style whenever he showed his face was truly leagues apart from the others. If everyone else had the serious, signature style of the author, then Wu Jin’s art style was absolutely a beautiful manga style.

His delicate brows and eyes, chiseled jawline, and the background filled with purple roses all indicated that he was an exceptionally beautiful character. And the heart shapes in his gray eyes added a forbidden allure, making him even more eye-catching.

In this world where颜值 (appearance) is justice, Wu Jin’s popularity in the real world had always been high. This time, his full face was finally revealed to all the characters in the manga, and the comments section erupted like rockets.

“Ahhhhh Wu Jin, you’re so handsome!”

“This is the number one handsome face announced by the author!”

“Although Su Bei, Si Zhaohua, and Feng Lan are also very handsome, Wu Jin is clearly superior!”

“I really want to see Wu Jin’s looks in real life!”

“Finally revealed! Heaven-shaking and earth-moving!”

Wu Jin’s Ability played a significant role. Su Bei hadn’t noticed during the match, but every time Wu Jin looked at someone, if that person met his gaze, they would pause for a few seconds. These few seconds were harmless in normal situations, but in combat, they could be very effective.

Wu Mingbai’s performance was also brilliant; when Elemental-type Abilities are powerful, they possess an ultimate sense of strength. The manga specifically gave a wide-angle overhead shot of the entire arena, showing it cracking inch by inch, which looked very shocking.

Then Jiang Tianming’s Ability finally proved highly useful, successfully neutralizing Huangfu Mingzhe’s ultimate move.

When the ultimate move disappeared, the author even drew Huangfu Mingzhe with wide, bewildered, dot-like eyes, which made Su Bei really want to pluck that little figure out and show it directly to the real Huangfu Mingzhe.

The match ended, and this chapter’s manga update concluded. Su Bei immediately began reading the next chapter.

The chapter opened with the voting for the Exhibition Match. The popularity of the ten individuals was clearly displayed on the big screen. The results were not surprising; those who were successfully selected were characters who had some prior plot involvement. Even before the voting, readers had already guessed that these people would likely be chosen.

Zu Zong’s name, without a doubt, once again caused a stir of shock, but this time not in the manga world, but in the real world. Su Bei saw many comments saying, “I’ve learned something, I’ll name my child like that too in the future.” He could only mourn for their children; while the name might offer some advantage, it was also too easy to invite trouble.

After a brief everyday scene, the next page’s plot was Feng Lan’s Prophecy. Everyone marveled at how good it was to have a prophet in the team, while also hoping that Jiang Tianming and his group could use this prophecy to avoid danger.

Although everyone knew this was impossible.

Sure enough, readers quickly realized that everyone’s focus was completely wrong, mistakenly believing that the enemy was targeting the audience.

“Oh my babies, the real danger is you!”

“Hahahahaha, I’m dying of laughter!”

“This is probably ‘correct process, wrong result,’ right?”

“Feng Lan’s prophecy is accurate, but it’s really easy to misunderstand!”

“Save the children!”

“Their subconscious first thought was the audience’s safety; everyone’s good kids, just not very bright…”

What Su Bei hadn’t expected was that the next part was the conversation he had with Mo Xiaotian that night. The author had actually drawn that segment too!

However, after reading it, Su Bei didn’t find anything particularly concerning. The author didn’t intend to expose Mo Xiaotian’s identity through this; aside from being surprised that “Mo Xiaotian could think that far ahead,” their previous conversation just looked like a somewhat amusing, ordinary daily interaction.

The only thing that seemed out of the ordinary was Su Bei’s reaction after talking with Mo Xiaotian. The author perfectly depicted the solemnity on his face, his purple eyes deeper than usual, as if a storm was brewing within them.

Such a portrayal also led to numerous speculations.

“Why does Su Bei have that expression?”

“Is there something wrong with this conversation? Why can’t I see anything?”

“It seems to echo the anomalies Jiang Jiang and the others discovered earlier…”

“Did Su Bei also sense that there’s a problem with the venue?”

“It feels like he was enlightened by Mo Xiaotian, or perhaps he also saw something through prophecy.”

“Gotta say, Su Bei looks really good like that.”

For the second day’s Exhibition Match, the author naturally didn’t draw all the hide-and-seek games. Only the first match, Lan Subing’s, was drawn in detail. The remaining few rounds were shown through several split panels, highlighting the more interesting moments.

The scene was harmonious and pleasant, yet all readers knew that this was merely the calm before the storm.

Indeed, something went wrong in the first match of the afternoon. Black-clad figures in the audience poured out, using their lives as a sacrifice to create a magic array, summoning Cyril and Li Xiang.

Looking at the long-awaited bloody scene, everyone exclaimed that the contrast was too great, luring people in only to kill them.

Such a bloody opening also indicated that this “Black Flash” organization’s actions were no small matter. Cyril immediately dropped a bombshell, directly pushing several people’s lives to the edge of a cliff.

Either join “Black Flash” or die. Even in shonen manga, such a resolute choice was rare. Readers could only pray for a quick turn of events, hoping no one actually died here, as that would ruin the fun.

There was indeed a turn of events, but unfortunately, it wasn’t from danger to safety, but from a tiger’s den to a wolf’s den. After everyone unanimously decided to perish together with Cyril and Li Xiang, and Wu Mingbai, along with Huangfu Mingzhe, collaborated to cause the arena to collapse a second time, everyone arrived in the underground world.

The last scene of the manga was in a pitch-black environment, with blurry silhouettes surrounding everyone.

Su Bei didn’t even need to think; the forums would definitely be discussing this final scene.

Although it was somewhat pointless—readers were unlikely to guess much, and certainly wouldn’t know more than he did—Su Bei still opened the forum. He was just idle anyway; waiting for others or looking at the forum, he might as well be entertained. As Su Bei expected, there were indeed many posts speculating about where they had fallen. He clicked on the one with the highest number of replies.