Chapter 240

Just as everyone was feeling relieved after eliminating the Maiden Nightmare Beast, Driver Wang’s expression suddenly changed. His finger trembled as he pointed out the window: “What… is that over there?”

Everyone turned to look, only to see a dense cloud of dust rising from the distant forest, along with several birds startled into flight. Clearly, something was approaching; either there were many of them, or they were enormous.

No, those weren’t startled birds flying in the sky! Looking at their bizarre forms, they were clearly Nightmare Beasts of unknown rank!

“It’s the Nightmare Beasts that followed the Advanced Nightmare Beast’s line of sight.” Jiang Tianming grimly assessed the situation. Advanced Nightmare Beasts naturally share a common vision, and since they knew he and the others possessed the Life Stone, they would naturally rush over.

Even more terrifying was that they now had almost no Mental Energy left. It would be difficult to deal with even a mid-tier Nightmare Beast, let alone the Advanced Nightmare Beasts that were surely among them.

Driver Wang also panicked. He desperately floored the accelerator but could only watch helplessly as the swarm of Nightmare Beasts drew closer and closer. What to do? Go faster! Once those Nightmare Beasts caught up, the few of them would surely die.

Just as everyone was sinking into despair, a resonant dragon’s roar suddenly echoed through the sky.

Following it was a vast shadow, like an enormous, sky-obscuring dark cloud enveloping the entire vehicle.

“That sound!” Jiang Tianming poked his head out and saw a gigantic Black Dragon circling directly above their car, spitting out gouts of black flame that easily repelled the pursuing Nightmare Beasts.

Meng Huai had arrived!

The moment they saw their teacher, everyone, including Su Bei, let out a long breath, feeling an inexpressible sense of relief. Wonderful, with the teacher here, they were safe!

In this regard, the author was still somewhat humane; their academy’s teachers were truly reliable. At least, before reaching adulthood, probably no one would be stronger than the academy’s teachers of the same type. The official authorities were also truly official, addressing problems from the public’s perspective and cleaning up after everyone. Unlike some comics, where such characters only served to hinder the protagonists.

After Meng Huai made his move, a black horse-headed Nightmare Beast stepped out from the nearby swarm: “Hand over the Life Stone now, and we can mercifully let you go back.”

Meng Huai ignored him. Standing atop the Black Dragon, he looked down at the few people inside the car, who were uniformly staring up at him. First, he subtly shot Su Bei and the other three a warning glance, implying “I’ll settle accounts with you when we get back,” then he addressed the stunned Driver Wang below: “Keep driving. Just take them to Endless Ability Academy.”

“Oh, oh! Alright!” Driver Wang nodded repeatedly, then pressed the accelerator and continued driving.

The car drove further and further away. Through the rear window, they could see Meng Huai already engaged in battle with the Nightmare Beasts. Besides the Black Dragon he rode, there was actually a Silver Dragon beside him! Two dragons plus him alone holding back so many Nightmare Beasts created quite the “one man can hold off ten thousand” spectacle.

“Your academy’s teacher is truly amazing,” Driver Wang couldn’t help but exclaim, saying enviously, “When I first found out I was an Ability user, I actually fantasized about a scene like this.”

“Actually, Master, the scene of you driving alone with a large group of Nightmare Beasts chasing behind you would also be envied by many if word got out,” Jiang Tianming said with high emotional intelligence.

However, his words weren’t purely flattery; Jiang Tianming was speaking the truth. Both Meng Huai and Driver Wang’s actions just now could earn them a close-up shot in a movie.

On the way back, they encountered several more Ability users coming for support. Meng Huai had arrived ahead of them, relying on Lei Ze’en’s [Teleportation] ability for assistance, so others would naturally be a beat slower.

It had to be said, Meng Huai was indeed reliable. With him leading the charge, Jiang Tianming and the others didn’t encounter any more Nightmare Beast ambushes, returning to the academy smoothly.

Less than a kilometer from the academy, Lan Subing, Zhao Xiaoyu, and Wu Mingbai were already arranged to meet them. Seeing their dilapidated car, all three wore indescribable expressions.

When they stopped, Zhao Xiaoyu walked over and said with a smile, “You’ve really made a splash this time. I heard you got the Life Stone, and both the government and the academy sent many people to assist. Come on, they want us to take you back quickly. Once the Life Stone is taken by the government, our part is done.”

“Doesn’t the academy want to keep the Life Stone?” Jiang Tianming asked curiously.

Wu Mingbai scoffed, “That’s a hot potato.”

Hearing this, everyone immediately understood. He was right; whoever possessed the Life Stone would be besieged by Nightmare Beasts—wasn’t that a hot potato? It was just that the academy’s function made it utterly unsuitable for protecting something like the Life Stone; otherwise, the government probably wouldn’t have accepted it at all.

After their new discovery, the Life Stone shouldn’t be something everyone avoided like this anymore. On the contrary, it might even become a treasure everyone eagerly sought.

“Let’s go find the person in charge first.” Without further ado, Jiang Tianming stated directly.

Soon, everyone arrived at the conference room, where the Head of Senior Year and several government staff members were already waiting. Jiang Tianming handed them the Life Stone, then began to recount the series of events that transpired in Longevity Town.

Hearing that the Life Stone could actually extend life, everyone was surprised. Since ancient times, longevity has been one of humanity’s greatest problems, and anything related to it always caused massive ripples.

Although the Old Ancestor’s research on the Life Stone’s usage was singular and weak, only allowing those who lived around a large Life Stone for an extended period to prolong their lives—small pieces likely wouldn’t have such a significant effect—the mere fact that one could live to 150 years old was enough to make people drool.

After a brief moment of surprise, the eyes of the government staff members immediately gleamed. If the Life Stone had indeed been a hot potato before this news, then after receiving this information, it was a genuine treasure.

“Since the situation is mostly understood, we’ll take the Life Stone for now. Leaving it here would invite trouble; if Nightmare Beasts were to raid, it would disrupt students’ classes, which wouldn’t be good,” the person in charge on the other side said righteously after Jiang Tianming finished speaking.

The person in charge from Endless Ability Academy glanced at the two of them. The unique authority of a Head of Senior Year could make even students tremble years later. The government official subconsciously took a step back, then realized his reaction was somewhat embarrassing, cleared his throat, and remained silent.

The Head of Senior Year nodded, pushed up her glasses, and looked at Jiang Tianming and the other three, her gaze gentle yet serious: “Although we did briefly discuss the ownership of the Life Stone just now, this item was ultimately brought back by you, so the final decision rests with you.”

After speaking, she looked at the official opposite her: “You have no objections, do you?”

“None, none,” the man shook his head repeatedly.

Jiang Tianming carefully observed the Head of Senior Year’s expression, confirming that she genuinely wanted to hear their opinion, rather than trying to use them to renege on the deal and keep the Life Stone. He exchanged glances with the others, then said directly, “Let the government keep it.”

It was as he’d said: the Life Stone needed to be used long-term to provide even a slight extension of life. As students, they would at most stay for three years unless they became teachers, which wouldn’t yield any significant effect.

Compared to the negligible benefits, the drawbacks of the Life Stone were significant. It was certain that if it remained in the academy, they would be harassed by Nightmare Beasts every few days.

Since the disadvantages outweighed the advantages, there was naturally no need to keep it at school. If the government wanted it, they would simply give it to them, and in return, they could accumulate a favor. Presumably, the academy staff negotiating next door would present them with a satisfactory outcome.

After their discussion concluded, the relevant teachers took the government personnel and left to deliberate on further matters. The Head of Senior Year then inquired about Zhou Min, the sole survivor in Longevity Town.

“Is this child still living in Longevity Town? We will send someone to pick her up and then see if we can find a temporary guardian for her,” the Head of Senior Year said with a frown.

After all, Zhou Min was still a minor, and her entire family was now dead. Although she possessed a large sum of money left by the Zhou family, it would easily attract covetous eyes if held by a child.

Jiang Tianming nodded, also finding the arrangement reasonable: “Yes, we told her to wait in Longevity Town. Officer Zhou, who handled the report, is also there, and he might be able to serve as Zhou Min’s temporary guardian.”

Most police officers were generally reliable, and since they were also from the same village, with only the two of them left, they could be considered to be depending on each other. It couldn’t be more appropriate for Officer Zhou to fill this role.

“When you send people, I hope you can also check if Zhou Min has an ability,” Su Bei casually dropped a bombshell.

At his words, the Head of Senior Year immediately became serious: “Su Bei, do you mean you suspect Zhou Min has an ability? Do you have concrete evidence?”

“Just a guess,” Su Bei shrugged. Based on Zhou Min’s behavior, she most likely knew the Old Ancestor’s plan, but it was impossible for the Old Ancestor to have told her directly, nor was it likely that the true plan was written down.

Moreover, eavesdropping from around a corner was unlikely to happen with powerful Ability users; even without Advanced Mental Energy, ordinary Mental Energy would be enough for them to detect a nearby eavesdropper.

On the way back, Su Bei had been thinking about this. Considering Zhou Min’s age of around fifteen or sixteen, Su Bei strongly suspected she had awakened a related ability and thus accidentally learned of the Old Ancestor’s plan.

After all, the comic’s protagonist was also around this age, and fifteen was precisely the age when abilities awakened. There was a high probability that ordinary people the same age as the protagonist had some secret.

“Alright, I understand. I will send someone to investigate,” despite him claiming it was just a guess, the Head of Senior Year still gave it sufficient importance and agreed without hesitation.

With all matters discussed, she stood up to see them off: “I think you all must be tired, so go back and get some sleep. I’ve decided to give you two days off. Get some good rest during these two days.”

Everyone was indeed tired and returned directly to their respective dorms without much discussion. Su Bei, having slept well last night, felt fine. After a quick shower, he went to find Wu Mingbai.

“Why aren’t you resting at this hour? What do you want from me?” Wu Mingbai asked somewhat surprised as he opened the door and saw who was outside.

Su Bei also went straight to the point: “I want you to help me examine the material of this thing.”

Saying this, he took out the Life Stone fragment, which had reverted to its original form, and handed it to Wu Mingbai: “It’s this.”

Seeing the seemingly unremarkable flat stone at first glance, Wu Mingbai looked at it curiously, not answering immediately but instead asking, “What is this?”

If it were just an ordinary stone, why would he ask him to investigate its material?

Su Bei tentatively gave an extremely perfunctory answer: “A piece of rock.”

Hearing this, Wu Mingbai was so amused he almost laughed: “Do you think I don’t know it’s a piece of rock? Do you still want my help to identify it?”

Indeed feeling threatened, Su Bei had no choice but to tell the truth: “A Life Stone fragment.”

Actually, even if he lied, Wu Mingbai definitely wouldn’t be able to tell; Su Bei was quite confident in his lying skills. But there was no need; he had already found a plausible excuse for possessing a Life Stone fragment, so why lie again?

In case the Life Stone was indeed related to a fallen meteor, letting Wu Mingbai know this information would actually help his plan.

“A Life Stone?” Wu Mingbai was startled. “How did you get this?”

But as soon as he asked, he realized he’d asked a foolish question. Su Bei had just brought the Life Stone back with Jiang Tianming and the others, so he had naturally come into contact with it.

But a new question arose, and he frowned, asking: “Wasn’t the Life Stone said to be incredibly hard, impossible to destroy? How did you manage to get this fragment off?”

Because they knew the reason for the Nightmare Beasts’ frenzy during this period was the Life Stone, everyone had more or less proactively learned some related information. Wu Mingbai, whose ability was [Earth Element], naturally knew even more.

“I have my ways.” Su Bei didn’t answer that question.

Wu Mingbai snorted but didn’t press further, returning to the main topic: “So you want to know what material the Life Stone is made of? I don’t understand what you mean. Isn’t the Life Stone just the Life Stone? It’s a material in itself, isn’t it?”

However, Su Bei’s next answer left him somewhat confused: “What if the Life Stone was transformed from something else?”

Although he found Su Bei a bit inexplicable, Wu Mingbai still agreed. Before doing so, however, he directly stated his condition: “I want an opportunity for you to answer a question. No matter when I use this opportunity, you must truthfully answer my question.”

This request made Su Bei raise an eyebrow, then he decisively nodded in agreement. Wu Mingbai’s question would most likely be about some prophetic content, which wouldn’t matter if he told him then. Solving the immediate problem was most important.

The deal was struck, and Wu Mingbai began to examine it using his ability. Soon he concluded: “It’s just the Life Stone. I really don’t know what you were worried about.”

Hearing this answer, Su Bei finally breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed he didn’t need to create extra complications; he just needed to find a way to clear out the dust from the Nightmare Beast World. This was truly the best news he had heard recently.

Su Bei wasn’t worried that Wu Mingbai hadn’t discerned it. Since he was able to accurately determine the material of the dust in the Nightmare Beast World before, there was no reason he couldn’t determine the material of the Life Stone now.

Therefore, the possibility that the Life Stone was also a fallen meteor could be completely ruled out.

After Su Bei left, Wu Mingbai pondered his intentions. It was impossible that he would exchange a promise for the answer to this question just out of momentary curiosity. Something must have prompted him to ask, and Wu Mingbai was very interested in finding out what.

Thinking carefully, this wasn’t the first time Su Bei had asked him this question. The last time, in the Nightmare Beast World, he had asked the same thing. On that occasion, he had asked him to examine the material of the dust.

Wu Mingbai still remembered the answer then: the dust was formed from fragmented meteorites.

Was there a connection between these two questions? Su Bei seemed to be in a good mood after getting the answer just now. Could it be that he was originally worried that the Life Stone was also formed from a meteorite?

What secret was hidden here that he didn’t know about?

Meanwhile, Su Bei was unaware that Wu Mingbai was analyzing him and was on the verge of uncovering the truth. Back in his dorm, feeling relaxed, he opened his phone and started reading the comic.

The comic began with a simple small task Wu Mingbai completed, a few single panels showing everyone teaming up for missions, and the students’ complaints in the classroom, perfectly outlining the academy’s recent situation for readers—everyone was frantically doing missions.

Immediately after, the scene shifted to the government’s side. They had captured an Advanced Nightmare Beast and, through Ability-based interrogation, finally learned about the Life Stone’s appearance in the real world.

The author thus introduced the concept of the Life Stone, letting readers know how important this item was to the Nightmare Beasts.

The next scene finally began the main story. Jiang Tianming, Su Bei, Li Shu, and Ling You’s group of four discussed the current mission case in the car, judging that based on the appearance time of the first victim in this mission, it probably had little to do with the recent frenzy of Nightmare Beasts due to the Life Stone’s aura.

The bullet comments all transformed into “Truth Emperors.”

“Hahahahahahaha, alright, hearing you say that, the Life Stone here is definitely a sure thing!”

“Looks like the Life Stone is hidden in this village.”

“So pathetic, hahahahahaha.”

“Babies, do you know you’re setting yourselves up for failure?”

“Feels like there’s going to be a tough battle ahead.”

Seeing his own words, “Longevity Town is interesting,” also drawn into the comic, Su Bei slightly raised an eyebrow. The readers almost immediately got his meaning, erupting into another wave of “hahahahas.”

Su Bei quickly skipped over the clue-gathering segment; since the truth was already out, the process naturally wasn’t as important. However, he did pause briefly to look at one part: the conversation between him and Ling You while searching the Old Ancestor’s room at night.

[“Are you pursuing longevity?” —“In a sense, yes.” “Whose longevity are you pursuing?” —“Humanity’s longevity.”]

Under the heavy night, this two-round Q&A sparked a significant reaction among readers.

“What does that mean? What does that mean?”

“Feels like what they’re saying is so profound.”

“At first, I also thought Su Bei was pursuing longevity like many comic characters, but now it seems not.”

“Humanity’s longevity?”

“Once again, I feel Su Bei’s mystery.”

“I always feel like Su Bei is playing a very big game!”

The bullet comments always had relatively little useful content. “I’ll go to the forum later to see if anyone is discussing this,” Su Bei thought, then continued flipping through. He didn’t stop to read slowly until he reached the part where he was arranged to go with Driver Wang to purchase cinnabar.

This segment initially followed Su Bei and Driver Wang’s perspective, illustrating the plot where Su Bei didn’t follow the arrangement to leave with Driver Wang, instead turning the car around and returning to the village as soon as they left.

“I have a premonition Su Bei is about to cause trouble.”

“How should I put it? It feels unexpected yet completely logical.”

“I’m so curious what he’s going to do!”

“Jiang Jiang: You’d better be staying behind to help.”

“I suspect Su Bei saw something.”

After briefly revealing Su Bei’s whereabouts, the main perspective shifted back to Jiang Tianming. The following plot involved their interactions with the villagers, which was exactly the same as what Su Bei had seen.

However, when the elderly woman decided to die, there was a segment Su Bei didn’t know about. The elderly woman had indeed heard the Old Ancestor’s voice while the others were talking.

The Old Ancestor tried hard to mislead her, telling her that if the array succeeded, everyone in the village would die. She had been abandoned by the villagers, used as a scapegoat for their longevity. Since death was inevitable anyway, why not take others down with her?

What he didn’t know was that the elderly woman didn’t truly hate the others, as the transaction was voluntary. But that didn’t stop her from being swayed by the offer.

It turned out the elderly woman had a son who owed a large sum of money outside, and the creditor was that young man from earlier. The man enticed the elderly woman with this debt, promising that if she willingly sacrificed herself, he would no longer pursue the outstanding amount.

Repaying the debt was impossible, so the elderly woman could only agree to his demand, using her own life to resolve her son’s predicament.

Initially, the truth brought by Jiang Tianming and the others shattered her hopes. If the array couldn’t succeed at all, then they wouldn’t need her life anymore. The debt collector clearly wouldn’t mercifully clear her son’s debt without her having paid anything, meaning their family would still be burdened with a huge debt.

At this point, the Old Ancestor’s words gave her a new idea: if the debtor died, her family would likewise no longer need to repay the debt, and she wouldn’t have to worry about the other party reneging. No one would even know about her son’s debt, effectively solving her son’s problem to the greatest extent.

This was the reason the elderly woman insisted on dying.

It had to be said, Longevity Town was truly a village full of villains, putting on quite a show. After reading this short background story, Su Bei couldn’t help but click his tongue. He wondered what had become of the elderly woman’s son; if he were also killed by this array, that would be truly ironic.

The Old Ancestor’s appearance and his fight with Jiang Tianming and the others were undoubtedly a minor highlight, and Su Bei’s performance in this segment naturally wouldn’t be overlooked by the author.

The moment Su Bei spoke up with a reminder, the author didn’t directly draw him appearing. Instead, in the top right corner of the dialogue box containing his words, there was a chibi version of Su Bei holding a megaphone. Simultaneously, the number of bullet comments soared.

“Ahhh, finally you’re here!”

“Your Lord Bei has made a grand entrance!”

“Well, well, so he was hidden inside the Life Stone. Hidden so deeply!”

“How exactly did Su Bei know this beforehand?”

“I thought the so-called true body was the corpse!”

“I knew Brother Bei staying behind would be very useful!”