Chapter 228

Understanding his meaning, Wu Mingbai immediately left with Si Zhaohua to find the Mud Tribe leader. Su Bei, meanwhile, set up a simple trap at the door, then moved Li Bowen onto Qiao Mu’s bed. Since the bed was quite large, there was still ample space even with two people lying on it.

After clearing the other bed, Su Bei lay down directly. “Good night.”

Wu Jin looked left and right, then decisively chose the latter between sleeping on the floor and sleeping on the bed. “Leave some space for me.”

Su Bei didn’t make things difficult for him. The two lay on the bed, one on each side, feigning sleep with their eyes closed. Under these circumstances, they definitely couldn’t sleep too soundly; who knew when the underground humans might break in.

Although he had set up a simple trap at the door that would immediately make a loud noise if someone entered, allowing them to react in time, if they slept too soundly and reacted too late, they could easily be caught in such an overwhelmingly disadvantaged situation.

Su Bei was woken by a noisy commotion. No one had entered during the night, but early in the morning, there was a loud clamor outside the door, as if something major had happened.

Seeing that Wu Jin was still asleep beside him, Su Bei didn’t wake him. He walked to the door and listened intently. It turned out that some members of the Flora Tribe had also collapsed. This collapse seemed like a contagious disease, with many underground humans throughout the entire subterranean world falling into the same situation, inexplicably lapsing into a coma from which they wouldn’t wake.

At this moment, the people outside were discussing whether to compromise with Cyril and Li Xiang. After many had fallen unconscious, the two had directly revealed their intentions, using a dead man’s mouth to tell them that if they wanted the unconscious people to wake up, they had to obey their commands.

Since there were only so many underground humans in total, they were more or less related to each other. One person could involve a whole group, and with so many comatose individuals, they truly didn’t know how to proceed.

Checking the time on Wu Jin’s phone, it was now eight in the morning. They had less than five hours until they could leave. If the situation wasn’t resolved within these five hours, Su Bei would leave no matter what; he certainly didn’t want to stay and face a massive brawl.

Just then, Wu Jin also woke up, rubbing his messy purple hair. “What’s going on?”

“Cyril and his group have revealed their hand and are forcing these people to make a choice,” Su Bei summarized very succinctly.

Hearing this, Wu Jin immediately sobered up and asked several questions in a row: “What should we do then? Have Jiang Tianming and the others found a solution? Should we go out and help?”

Su Bei spread his hand towards the door, gesturing for him to go. “Do as you please.”

Let whoever wants to do such hidden, tiring work do it. As for him, he would absolutely not leave the safe room before anyone broke in. Regarding Wu Jin wanting to go out, Su Bei could only say he supported him wholeheartedly. The more people who helped, the faster the problem would be solved, and the safer he would be, right?

After a moment of hesitation, Wu Jin ultimately chose to go out and help. As a member of a shonen manga protagonist group, no matter how he usually acted, at a time like this, he couldn’t hide the passion in his heart.

Lounging until noon, Si Zhaohua and Wu Mingbai arrived as expected. Behind them was a robust underground human, their companion who had come to assist them in creating the earth tremor.

“Who is this?” Seeing another outsider in the room, and a conscious one at that, the underground human was somewhat surprised and asked Si Zhaohua warily.

“Don’t worry, he’s our companion.” Understanding his concerns, Si Zhaohua immediately explained, then said to Su Bei, “Just leave these two to us from now on. You can go.”

His original intention was for Su Bei to go outside and help control the situation or something similar, but that was precisely what Su Bei didn’t want to do. He immediately put on a shocked expression. “What do you mean? Abandoning the donkey after it grinds the mill?”

Si Zhaohua: “…”

Wu Mingbai was smarter and immediately guessed his meaning. “So, what do you want to do?”

“Take me up with you,” Su Bei requested without hesitation. “Si Zhaohua, you’ll probably want to come back down after taking Qiao Mu and the others up, right? Take me along. I’ll explain the situation to the teachers, and you can come right back down.”

He had to admit, Su Bei had accurately grasped Si Zhaohua’s psychology. Both parties agreed; after all, taking two or three made no difference. Su Bei clearly intended to keep slacking off, so having him play a final useful role was a good idea.

Because an underground human was leading them, Si Zhaohua and the other two weren’t rushed and captured. The others merely watched from a distance, occasionally asking the leading underground human what was happening.

The underground human was also very clever. Instead of telling the truth, he informed them that he had captured Su Bei and the two others and was going to find a place to confine them. With his explanation, the others naturally didn’t block their path, watching them leave.

They arrived at the cave where they had fallen. As before, many people guarded the cave entrance. Only after learning the truth did Su Bei understand that these people weren’t afraid of them secretly returning, but rather constantly watched above to prevent outsiders from falling down.

Seeing their group, the guards’ captain had evidently received prior notification and let them pass directly. Wu Mingbai and the Mud Tribe member used their Abilities together, and with their actions, the entire cave began to faintly tremble.

The trembling grew stronger, and loose rocks and clumps of earth fell from above, making it almost impossible for everyone to stand steady. The Mud Tribe member let out a loud shout, “Now!”

With his command, Si Zhaohua grabbed Li Bowen with one hand and flew upwards along the hole in the ceiling. Su Bei, with one hand holding Li Bowen and the other grabbing Qiao Mu, followed him, flying towards the sky above.

Above was a dark and narrow passage. Fortunately, glasses that allowed them to see in the dark helped them avoid obstacles. Falling from above was instantaneous, but flying upwards from below took much longer. Si Zhaohua flew for a full five minutes before successfully seeing light.

The appearance of light at this moment meant they had indeed broken through the spatial barrier and could return to the surface. Si Zhaohua’s surprised voice came from above. “I see people!”

As expected, upon noticing movement at the cave entrance, the people guarding on the surface quickly used their Abilities to enlarge the opening, immediately spotting Si Zhaohua and the others.

The other party was also pleasantly surprised and shouted loudly, “The missing students are back! Quick, get some people to assist them!”

After saying this, he took a step back, giving Si Zhaohua ample space. The four arrived on the surface, and Si Zhaohua, without a word, quickly jumped back down. He had to take advantage of the ongoing earth tremor to quickly return to his own battlefield.

Su Bei, meanwhile, stopped a surprised staff member who was about to pull Si Zhaohua back, and proactively explained, “He still needs to go back for the others.”

“We can send people to retrieve them too.” The staff member called over several colleagues behind him. “Ten of you fell down; it’ll be too troublesome to come up one trip at a time. Speaking of which, where exactly did you go? We dug down for a long time but couldn’t find any trace of you.”

“It’s a rather long story. In short, going down now would only cause more trouble. You might as well just listen to me explain, and in the meantime, send these two to the infirmary to rest.” Su Bei pointed at Qiao Mu and Li Bowen, who he had already placed on stretchers. Knowing that they would be fine once they returned to the surface, he wasn’t worried about their safety.

But the staff member didn’t know. Hearing Su Bei mention the two, he immediately seized on the critical issue: “What’s the situation with these two students? Quick, quick, quick! Send them to the infirmary! Don’t worry, we’ll do our utmost to save them.”

“Actually, they…” Su Bei hadn’t finished speaking when another large group of people majestically approached, consisting of teachers from various academies, led by Wu Di.

After all, so many students had gone missing, and all of them were elites. This was a huge loss for the entire Ability world, so as soon as they received the news, they immediately rushed over via teleportation arrays.

Those who needed to guard stayed, those who needed to go to the infirmary went, and those who needed to go to the conference room went there. Once in the conference room, Su Bei began to unhurriedly recount their experiences in the underground world.

Hearing that there were so many strange-looking humans in the underground world, the well-informed principal of Houde Ability Academy immediately guessed their identity, just like Cyril had.

Su Bei didn’t keep them in suspense. From an omniscient perspective, he directly revealed all the secret conspiracies within, concluding: “They don’t want to join the Black Flash Organization. If the government can find a way to help them lift the threat of the prophecy, I believe they will certainly be willing to follow the government’s arrangements.”

“We will certainly handle this matter properly.” Wu Di stood up. Their academy had the head of the Feng family, so it would be most appropriate for him to negotiate. “I’ll contact the Feng family.”

As a family of prophets, no one in the entire Ability world knew better how to solve such problems than they did.

“Then we’ll go underground now to control the situation.” The principal of Skydome Ability Academy also stood up. Since they now knew how to reach the underground world, there was no reason for them to just wait above ground.

Both of them had tasks, and the principal of Houde Ability Academy was not to be outdone: “I’ll arrange for people to wait in ambush above. Those two Black Flash Organization members will definitely come up through the cave entrance. When they do, we’ll trap them like turtles in a jar.”

Seeing that everyone had their own tasks, Su Bei stretched lazily. “So, can I go rest now?”

“Of course.” Wu Di turned to look at him, speaking gently. “Get some good rest. You’ve all worked hard. I promise when you wake up, everything will be over.”

High-ranking leaders always acted relatively gently towards their subordinates, but a direct superior was different. As soon as they left, Meng Huai, who had been silent all this time, revealed his true nature. “So you just came up like this? Logically, Si Zhaohua could have brought everyone up by himself, right?”

Su Bei, though in the wrong, spoke boldly. “Didn’t he want to go back down and continue fighting? I could only ‘sacrifice’ myself out of selflessness.”

“So Si Zhaohua should thank you then, huh?” Meng Huai rolled his eyes, then got to the point. “Although you falling into the underground world was an accident, the Black Flash Organization invading the venue was the Ability Government’s oversight. We will do our best to secure compensation for you.”

The school was reliable after all; they hadn’t suffered in vain. Su Bei nodded and, understanding the implication, asked, “Is there anything you need me to do?”

If there was nothing for him to do, Meng Huai could have waited until the compensation was issued, even giving them a pleasant surprise. Announcing it this early definitely wasn’t just to tell him something simple.

Seeing Su Bei ask directly, Meng Huai stated plainly, “When they ask, exaggerate the severity.”

Hearing this, Su Bei immediately understood. The more severe they made the situation sound, the more compensation the school could secure for them, and the easier it would be. He immediately made an “OK” gesture. “No problem.”

After the discussion, everyone, led by the staff, went to the venue’s lounge. Knowing that Su Bei hadn’t eaten lunch, a sumptuous meal had already been prepared for him there.

After eating, he lay on the bed. Just before drifting off to sleep, Su Bei suddenly spoke up to remind, “If the comic updates while I’m asleep, just tell me when I wake up.”

When he woke up, it was already dark outside. Just as Su Bei had guessed before falling asleep, the comic had updated. Hearing the “Manga Consciousness” notification, he didn’t check the comic immediately but first got out of bed, pushed open the door, and walked out.

Not far from the door, government-arranged guards were stationed. As soon as they saw him emerge, one walked over. “May I help you? Your companions have all come out. If you wish, I can take you to them.”

Su Bei nodded. “Then please take me.”

Arriving at the conference room they had visited before, everyone was indeed there. Not just them, but several underground human tribal leaders were also present. This was Su Bei’s first time seeing what they looked like under proper lighting. Compared to his previous perspective, they had many more colors on their bodies. But these colors didn’t necessarily make them look better; in fact, quite the opposite—the tribal leaders’ non-human appearance became even more pronounced.

Originally, despite having more arms and tentacles and being taller, they still looked human overall. But now, their grayish-blue skin was exposed, and the corpse-like spots that had been hidden by the darkness were now fully visible in the light, appearing very eerie.

Although they were indoors, because the lights were on, each of them held an umbrella. These umbrellas were opaque; while they couldn’t block light from all directions, they significantly alleviated their symptoms of light sensitivity.

The person who opened the door was Jiang Tianming. He was startled for a moment upon seeing Su Bei, then quickly stepped aside to let him in. The others didn’t bother with pleasantries either, continuing to listen to Clan Leader He speak.

They were discussing the conditions for joining the Ability Government. “First and foremost, the prophecy problem must be resolved. The deadline for solving this issue is before our people start dying again. Once we begin to experience unnatural deaths again, then, I’m sorry to say, we will have to seek another path.”

Right from the start, Clan Leader He stated his bottom line. The implication was that if the government couldn’t solve their prophecy problem, they would turn to the Black Flash Organization.

This demand was reasonable, and no one had any objections. However, even if they truly couldn’t solve the prophecy, they certainly wouldn’t allow these underground humans to seek out the Black Flash Organization.

Seeing that they had agreed to the first demand, Clan Leader He continued, “We wish to continue living underground for now. We cannot adapt to the light of the surface world.”

Regarding this issue, the government’s negotiator said, “No problem. However, we’d like to arrange for some personnel to accompany you underground, to help you build your homes and enrich your supplies.”

He made it sound good, but everyone knew the primary purpose of these people was actually to supervise the underground humans, preventing them from feigning one thing while secretly doing another, and secretly contacting the Black Flash Organization. However, given that they could bring down supplies, Clan Leader He still agreed.

At this point, Su Bei was already regretting it. What was he doing here? He originally just wanted to ask about the aftermath, but ended up being stuck in a meeting. And a meeting that had nothing to do with him, at that.

However, someone was even more impatient than he was. Huangfu Mingzhe first deliberately coughed, then raised his hand. Once called upon, he asked bluntly, “May I leave first? These discussions don’t really concern us right now, do they?”

A true warrior! Everyone looked at Huangfu Mingzhe with admiration. Meanwhile, the teacher from Skydome Ability Academy who remained there immediately scowled, roaring in a low voice, “Huangfu Mingzhe! Is this how Big Sister taught you?”

Indeed, this teacher also shared the Huangfu surname.

Huangfu Mingzhe showed a supremely confident expression, declaring brazenly, “Mother taught me not to waste time on trivial matters.”

Before Teacher Huangfu could say anything else, the negotiator directly ended the conversation. “For now, there’s nothing for you to do. It was our oversight; you’ve been in the underground world for so long, you must need rest now. Please go back first. We’ll handle your matters tomorrow.”

Granted special dispensation, everyone quickly left the conference room. Once they were outside in the open, Lan Subing finally let out a long sigh of relief. “We’re finally out.”

“What about Cyril and Li Xiang?” Su Bei asked a rather important question. He knew there were people guarding the cave entrance, waiting to trap them like turtles in a jar, but it was clear they hadn’t caught these two. Otherwise, the discussion just now would likely have focused on these two individuals. The question was, how did the government let them escape?

At this, everyone had a belly full of grievances to air. Zu Zong waved his hand. “Don’t even mention it. We came up first, and then they followed. We originally came up to bring government personnel down to catch them, but they came up right on our heels, and even took two underground humans hostage.”

Hearing this, Su Bei fully understood. With the underground humans held hostage, the government naturally couldn’t risk acting rashly without considering the hostages’ safety. Otherwise, even if the hostages ended up unharmed, their cooperation with the underground humans would likely be ruined.

After all, witnessing this, the underground humans would surely think: ‘They didn’t value us from the start, so how can we expect them to value us in future cooperation?’

He nodded in understanding, then asked curiously, “How did those two manage to come up with two hostages?”

According to the Abilities they had learned about previously, neither of those two should have flight skills. Jiang Tianming and the others probably knew this, which was why they dared to come out first. They were convinced these people couldn’t escape.

And as long as they were trapped underground, it wouldn’t matter if they took hostages. As long as the underground humans above didn’t know, they could first secure the cooperation.

As it turned out, the two simply came up, taking their clansmen hostage right in front of the various underground human tribal leaders. At that point, they had no choice but to rescue them. Both the government and the underground human leaders had to choose to save them.

“They climbed up,” Si Zhaohua said with a helpless expression. They truly hadn’t expected Cyril and the other man to be able to climb out of such depths purely by physical prowess, especially while carrying two hostages.

Even Su Bei rarely showed such envy, admiring their physical prowess. Before Ability users turn eighteen, their physical capabilities continuously grow with age, which is why most adult Ability users have superior physiques compared to minors.

However, once they passed eighteen, this period of natural rapid growth ended, and any further increase could only be achieved through training. Thus, Su Bei was only a little envious of their current strength but didn’t feel he couldn’t achieve it himself. After all, everyone turns eighteen, right?

“By the way, Qiao Mu and Li Bowen are fine now.” Unsure if Su Bei would ask, Jiang Tianming proactively answered as a precautionary measure, “The doctors say they’ll wake up tomorrow, but it’s uncertain if there will be any lingering side effects, as the underground humans have never released fallen surface dwellers before.”

Su Bei didn’t bother asking more questions; he just found a spot and sat down. “Anything else interesting happen?”

Everyone thought for a moment, and Wu Mingbai replied, “That human who became an underground human also returned to the surface. She came many years ago, and all her relatives have passed away, but she said she still wants to see if she can resume her original life. She’s now been sent to the Ability Hospital with Qiao Mu and the others.”

Next, Lan Subing also thought of something. “The Ability Government raided a Black Flash Organization hideout.”

Because she wasn’t used to speaking too much at once, and seeing Su Bei’s puzzled expression, Jiang Tianming helped explain: “Those people who jumped from the audience stands during the Exhibition Match that day—while we were missing, the government followed the clues and found a Black Flash Organization stronghold that controlled ordinary people. They used Abilities to brainwash these ordinary people, making them unconditionally obey the Black Flash Organization’s commands.”

Speaking of those who died as blood sacrifices, Su Bei had to admit that while it was indeed partly due to the Ability Government’s oversight, the Black Flash Organization was simply too insidious.

They exploited Ability users’ contempt for ordinary people, guessing that the venue would only thoroughly check Ability users and overlook ordinary people. So, they sent ordinary people to hide in the audience. If they had sent Ability users, they would certainly have been discovered long ago.

“We’ll probably sign a non-disclosure agreement tomorrow. Does concealing the existence of underground humans count?” Wu Jin asked uncertainly.

“Huh? We have to keep it a secret?” Zu Zong first showed a surprised expression, then one of disappointment. “Then how am I supposed to boast about this experience to my friends when I get back? I finally got to experience such a big event!”

A world of complete darkness, alien-like humans, and battling wits with the underground humans and the Black Flash Organization… any of these would surely open his classmates’ eyes. If he couldn’t show off, it would be such a pity!

“There’s nothing we can do about it, but you can certainly talk about your clashes with the Black Flash Organization members,” Jiang Tianming kindly consoled him.

Unlike the others, the students from Endless Ability Academy weren’t particularly emotional about this matter. They had seen too many major events, so one less wouldn’t make much difference.

Seeing Zu Zong squatting like a gloomy, molding mushroom, Su Bei chuckled softly. “The very fact that the government is making us sign a non-disclosure agreement, doesn’t that already prove your experiences during this time were extraordinary?”