Chapter 248

Just then, Su Bei heard the prompt from the “Manga Consciousness”: “King of Abilities has been updated. Please check it out.”

Upon hearing this prompt, his heart involuntarily skipped a beat. It could be said that apart from the very first few comic updates, this one caused the most emotional stir in him.

If the plan succeeded and the author truly put the plot he performed into the comic, then his mission would be more than half complete. One could even say that with a definitive method to eradicate Nightmare Beasts, even if he did nothing else, the author would design the plot themselves to solve the fundamental problem of this comic world.

Returning to his room, Su Bei eagerly opened his phone to read the comic. This update primarily detailed the series of events that happened today. Su Bei wasn’t interested in other content, so he quickly scrolled through and soon found what he truly wanted to see.

As he expected, the comic author did indeed draw what Jiang Tianming and the others had overheard into the comic. From Jiang Tianming’s perspective, it showed the process of their eavesdropping. The entire process had no flaws, making it impossible to tell that someone had deliberately led them to hear this information.

With no flaws in the plot, readers naturally had no suspicions, all of them shocked by the information revealed in the comic.

“The method to eliminate Nightmare Beasts has finally appeared!”

“Eavesdropping大法好 (great technique) “

“That meteorite isn’t just a setting, it’s actually useful?”

“Damn! It’s actually the碎石灰尘 (meteorite dust) in the Nightmare Beast World’s air!”

“So difficult, this is completely impossible, isn’t it?”

“Feels a bit familiar somehow.”

“Ahhh, Fallen Meteorite! Didn’t Su Bei ask about this before!”

Seeing that no one doubted the information revealed in the comic, although he knew it was normal, Su Bei couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. Just like when he created new abilities for himself, even if the process was flawless, it didn’t stop him from worrying about the outcome.

After finishing the parts he wanted to see, Su Bei re-read the comic carefully and then noticed something very strange – the author seemed to be intentionally guiding readers to suspect him.

He had drawn many things, such as Jiang Tianming wondering why he would actively “lure” everyone to the Shopping Mall, or the Nightmare Spider’s words when he helped.

Of course, those things really happened, and Jiang Tianming and the others did indeed suspect Su Bei. But it was strange for the author to draw them. These things were completely unrelated to the plot and could have been omitted. In fact, the author had never drawn his slip-ups before, and would even help to conceal them.

When he used the comic to change his abilities back then, because it was his first time doing something like that, he actually left many loopholes. But the author didn’t draw them at all, instead using comic effects to completely cover them up for him.

He had done this many times before, so why was it different this time?

No, it wasn’t starting from this time, but from last time. Su Bei frowned, recalling the doubts he had then.

Combining it with the current situation, it seemed the author was indeed intentionally trying to expose something about him. Exposing that this was a comic world was definitely impossible. So it could only be that the author wanted to expose his collusion with the Nightmare Beasts.

The author wants to cultivate him into a villain?

Su Bei lay back on the bed, closed his eyes, and asked the “Manga Consciousness” in his mind: “Am I right?”

After waiting for a while without a reply, Su Bei gave a mocking laugh: “Don’t play dead.”

This time, the “Manga Consciousness” finally appeared: “No, I was dealing with other things just now, I didn’t notice you.”

Su Bei didn’t even bother to expose the clumsy excuse. He asked bluntly: “Answer my question.”

“…”

Another silence.

To be honest, the “Manga Consciousness” really didn’t expect Su Bei to be so perceptive. The author had just made a change, and he immediately noticed it. This keenness for details caught it off guard; it had originally wanted to hide it as long as possible, but now it seemed impossible.

Without waiting for an answer, Su Bei instantly understood: “It seems it’s true.”

A rare feeling of confusion arose in his heart: “But why?”

What good would it do the author to portray him as a villain? Besides, hadn’t the author ignored the existence of his character before? Why would he suddenly have a different arrangement for him?

“…Because he noticed you.” The “Manga Consciousness” stopped playing dead and finally answered a question.

But the answer left Su Bei somewhat bewildered: “Why did he notice me? Aren’t you his subconscious, helping me to conceal things? And even if he noticed me, why would he make me a villain?”

The “Manga Consciousness” couldn’t help but sigh: “What you changed this time was quite significant, it was at the comic’s setting level. No matter how much I tried, I couldn’t hide it.”

That was true. If the author didn’t even notice changes to the comic’s settings, then he wouldn’t be paying much attention to this comic.

Before, Su Bei rarely actively participated in the plot or fought bosses. So, even though there was an extra character like him, the plot never conflicted with the author’s original settings, and the “Manga Consciousness” could naturally hide it from the author.

But now, the change was too great. Even with an “insider” helping him, the author still discovered him, or rather, noticed this character who seemed to be beyond his mental control.

“So the author wants to design me as a villain?” Su Bei frowned and asked, “But there’s no need, is there? There are enough villains in S-Class.”

There was Zhou Renjie, a long-disappeared defector, and Mo Xiaotian, an undercover agent who hadn’t left yet. Out of fifteen people, two had already emerged, so why design a third?

“Actually…” After a long hesitation, the “Manga Consciousness” steeled itself and decided to reveal the author’s true intentions, “He wants to write you out directly. It’s just that your popularity is too high, so he wants to see if making you a villain can reduce some of that popularity, or make readers more accepting of your death.”

Upon hearing this, Su Bei’s eyes snapped open. After repeatedly pondering it in his mind, he asked in disbelief: “Burning bridges?”

He had painstakingly perfected the comic world, and as soon as his mission was complete, the author wanted to kill him off?

Seeing his misunderstanding, the “Manga Consciousness” quickly explained, “No, no, you won’t truly die. The author just hasn’t designed your character and doesn’t know how to write you, so he wants to write you out. But I can prepare another body for you; after your death, you can directly revive in that body. You can decide the age, family background, appearance, and so on for this new body, and I’ll try my best to fulfill your wishes. So you—”

Before it could finish speaking, Su Bei interrupted it cleanly: “Why should I?”

“What?” The “Manga Consciousness” was stunned. It thought it had come up with a good solution that would satisfy both sides.

But Su Bei clearly didn’t think so; he even laughed in anger: “I helped you save the world, and in the end, I have to lose everything I have now. If you had made it clear this was the case, I might not have even been willing to revive in the first place. Not to mention now — our deal was for you to help me revive, and I help you save the world. Now that I’m about to complete the mission, you’re trying to pull the rug out from under me?”

And just because he didn’t want to write this character, he should die? Su Bei found it unacceptable. He absolutely didn’t want to die so ignominiously.

The “Manga Consciousness” knew it was in the wrong. Seeing that Su Bei disagreed with its proposed solution, it could only appease him kindly: “Don’t be angry, I was too presumptuous, but this matter is not without room for maneuver. The author intends to write you out, but he won’t destroy his own comic. So you might not necessarily die, and I will try my best to help you.”

Su Bei understood its meaning. In other words, as long as he could make readers highly unreceptive to his death, the author wouldn’t force his demise. Just like now, the author would only use various roundabout methods to try and increase readers’ acceptance.

Calming down slightly, Su Bei began to consider what to do. He might not be able to escape the author’s arrangements, but he could find a way to make himself, even as a villain, still incredibly popular.

In this situation, as long as he didn’t commit any crimes, readers would most likely not accept his death.

However, while self-preservation was important, the “Manga Consciousness”’s attempt to burn bridges couldn’t be so easily overlooked.

In a way, the author himself was rather innocent in this matter. He was unaware of their transaction at the beginning, and subsequently, due to the “Manga Consciousness,” he was unable to notice Su Bei’s existence. Therefore, upon suddenly noticing, wanting to remove this character not designed by him was something Su Bei, while unwilling to accept, could actually understand.

Suddenly discovering a character in one’s own work that was not in the original outline—never mind the trouble of redesigning that character’s plot, the mere fact of it was enough to be frightening.

Even if the “Manga Consciousness,” as the author’s subconscious, alleviated the author’s fear, making him less aware of the strangeness of the situation, given the author’s lazy nature, it was normal for him not to want to design this unfamiliar character.

But the “Manga Consciousness” was not entirely innocent. In any case, this was its mistake. It hadn’t anticipated this, hadn’t hidden Su Bei well enough, and hadn’t managed to dissuade the author, which was why Su Bei suffered this unprovoked disaster.

And after the problem occurred, it didn’t even plan to tell Su Bei, only intending to conceal it until the incident happened, and then give him a new body. Although in the eyes of the “Manga Consciousness,” this was a perfect solution that served both parties, it clearly hadn’t considered Su Bei’s feelings.

“So what do you plan to compensate me with?” Su Bei asked directly.

It was clear that the “Manga Consciousness” wasn’t truly unreasonable or intending to burn bridges. So Su Bei chose to ask this question directly. If the “Manga Consciousness”’s attitude hadn’t been so good just now, Su Bei wouldn’t have asked directly, but would have chosen to demand compensation in his own way.

That is, by finding a way to destroy the method for completely eliminating Nightmare Beasts that he had unhesitatingly created.

This was simple: he just needed to tell Meng Huai immediately, and Meng Huai would help debunk the rumor. As long as the rumor was successfully debunked before the next comic update, the author could no longer use this method.

Without disappointing Su Bei, the “Manga Consciousness” indeed showed remorse: “I’m truly sorry for this. I don’t know what you want, but as long as you state it, and it doesn’t violate the rules, I will do my best to fulfill it.”

What did he want? Su Bei pondered again. This request must be greatly beneficial for his survival, and he must rely on the “Manga Consciousness” to have a better chance of contending with the author.

After all, he had made quite a few subtle moves before. If the author casually added a few flashbacks revealing his past actions in the comic, readers would immediately believe he was a villain. At that point, the setting of “readers’ impressions can change the plot” would backfire on him, genuinely turning him into a villain.

With this thought, he proposed his first demand: “I want the author not to dredge up old scores and draw my past actions into the comic.”

“Understood.” The “Manga Consciousness” agreed to this request very readily, “Anything else?”

Based on its understanding of Su Bei, he would never make just one demand, especially one of such low difficulty and impact.

As expected, Su Bei nodded and continued: “Secondly, I want you to promptly inform me of the author’s intentions regarding me each time.”

The current situation was that the enemy was in the dark and he was in the light, with the opponent holding absolute initiative. Only by knowing what the author intended beforehand could he better respond.

“I might not be able to detect his thoughts and tell you promptly; I can only say I’ll try my best.” The “Manga Consciousness” said honestly, not daring to be untruthful since it directly concerned Su Bei’s life.

Su Bei wasn’t surprised by this; he was quite satisfied that the “Manga Consciousness” could agree to this request.

However, satisfaction didn’t mean he would stop there. Su Bei then proposed a third demand: “Finally, I need a reminder. Once the author can achieve, or is about to approach, the goal of ‘making readers accept my death,’ you must remind me.”

At that point, the situation would be extremely critical. Knowing this information beforehand, even if it couldn’t help him devise a countermeasure, it could help him come up with a way to deliver a significant blow to the author.

“No problem.” The “Manga Consciousness” readily agreed again in one breath.

Su Bei didn’t push his luck any further: “That’s enough. You can go.”

The “Manga Consciousness” dared not have any objection to his dismissive behavior, meekly saying: “I’m truly sorry, I’ve let you down. The plan I proposed earlier is always valid; you always have a way out.”

It couldn’t do many things. It couldn’t tell the author that his comic had already created a new world, and that every stroke of his pen could determine the life and death of a real person.

Once the author knew such a thing, his worldview would collapse, and the comic might not be able to continue. At that time, it, as the “Manga Consciousness,” would also perish.

So, currently, the comic author’s impression of Su Bei was that he was a character he had created before, but later didn’t know how to write. When the “Manga Consciousness” instilled this information into the author, it thought it through well. Generally, authors would simply draw such popular characters according to the readers’ wishes. And Su Bei was very good at manipulating readers’ thoughts, so in the end, nothing would change, a win-win outcome.

However, the author of “King of Abilities” was clearly not a typical author. From his previous behavior, where he knew there were flaws in the world-building but was simply too lazy to fix them, it was evident that this guy really didn’t want to use his brain.

So, he felt the same way about the character Su Bei. Because he had no subsequent plans for him in his mind, rather than re-planning a reasonable storyline for him, he hoped Su Bei could just be written out directly.

After all, there were quite a few popular characters written out in comics, as long as it was reasonable enough.

To be honest, when it realized the author had this idea, the “Manga Consciousness” felt like the sky was falling. Someone had worked so hard to help complete the small world, and then the creator of the world wanted to kill that person. Who wouldn’t call that ungrateful and burning bridges?

But the author, unfortunately, didn’t know about this. He also didn’t know that these characters were real lives, so writing out a character seemed fine to him.

There was nothing for it; the “Manga Consciousness” could only find a solution itself. As it turned out, it didn’t even come up with a good solution, and Su Bei didn’t accept its proposal at all.

Fortunately, both sides ultimately negotiated successfully. Otherwise, it truly feared Su Bei would throw caution to the wind and destroy the comic.

Su Bei ignored it and opened his phone to check the forum.

The highest-trending thread in the forum was naturally the one discussing the method to eliminate Nightmare Beasts.

“How to Clean Up the Dust on Earth? Those who understand, come in.”

[Yellow Handbag No.0: I don’t know what you guys thought after reading this chapter about the method to completely eliminate Nightmare Beasts, but my thought is exactly what’s in the title.

The碎石灰尘 (meteorite dust) in the air of the Nightmare Beast World, I originally thought it was just a setting to show how different the environment of the Nightmare Beast World was from the real world. But now you’re telling me that they all need to be cleaned up for the Nightmare Beasts to completely disappear? What’s the difference between this and Journey to the West, where the Jade Emperor ordered that only after a chicken ate all the rice, a dog licked up all the noodles, and fire burned through a lock, would it rain in the county? It’s fundamentally an impossible task.]

[No.1: Exactly, I was also stunned when I heard what Wu Mingbai said.]

[No.2: Seriously, which Ability user has such a wide range for their ability? Like the original poster said, this is simply an impossible task!]

[No.3: Good news, the method to eliminate Nightmare Beasts has been found. Bad news, it’s impossible to do.]

[No.4 Reply to No.2:

That’s not quite right. After all, meteorites don’t proliferate, so Earth-element Ability users could slowly clean them up. There’s no need to clean them all at once.]

[No.5 Reply to No.4:

The problem is, the Nightmare Beasts know about this too. Will they allow humans to clean up the meteorites little by little? The Nightmare Beast World is originally their territory, and it’s very troublesome for humans to enter and clean. And once cleanup begins, it’s bound to be met with encirclement by Nightmare Beasts. At that point, one goes in, one dies; two go in, both die.]

[No.6: Hahahahahaha, what the above user said is a bit funny.]

[No.7: I feel like Wu Mingbai is finally going to have a big role.]

[No.8 Reply to No.7:

Of course! He’s the only Earth-element Ability user in the protagonist’s group, and his ability is the most fundamental 【Earth Element】!]

[…]

[No.52: I suddenly thought of something! The first time Wu Mingbai’s ability was enhanced was through the research of the Black Flash Organization. Could they also know this truth, and are specifically researching how to concentrate all Earth Element abilities into one person, so that this person can eliminate the meteorites in one go?]

[No.53 Reply to No.52:

If you put it that way, then the Black Flash Organization is truly working for the nation and its people ()]

[No.54: You know, they really do take sacrificing oneself for the greater good to the extreme.]

[No.55: Is it possible that the Black Flash Organization is actually the good guys?]

[No.56 Reply to No.55:

Enlightening! (not really)]

[No.57: The villains in “King of Abilities” really… each have their own hidden stories. This is probably why, even though they’re hated, they always have fans.]

[…]

[No.111: Speaking of which, how do you think Su Bei knew about this? This information seems to only be known by Nightmare Beasts and high-level righteous figures.]

[No.112 Reply to No.111:

Is it rare for Su Bei to know information others don’t?]

[No.113: Not interested at all.]

[No.114: Your Bei’s intelligence network…]

[No.115: But Su Bei’s performance in these two chapters is really a bit strange, there are already discussion threads about it next door.]

[No.116 Reply to No.115:

Which thread? Give me a link.]

[No.117 Reply to No.116:

[Link]]

[No.118: The user above seems to be driving traffic, I’m heading over there first, haha.]

Seeing the latter part of the post, Su Bei immediately clicked on the link provided by the floor owner to read another thread.

For him now, saving the world was no longer the most important thing. As long as the idea that “eliminating meteorites can eliminate Nightmare Beasts” was established, the task of saving the world could virtually be considered complete.

What was truly important was whether he could continue to live as Su Bei, and naturally, the readers’ attitude towards him on the forum was closely related to this.

If they thought he deserved to die, then the author could justifiably kill him off. So becoming a villain was nothing, but he absolutely had to manage his public image among the readers.

“Analysis of Su Bei’s Plot in These Two Chapters”

[You Are Me, Then Who Am I? No.0: Things started to feel off from the previous chapter when Su Bei made a deal with someone in the dark. From those brief two lines of dialogue, it’s clear Su Bei was actively giving “achievements” to someone who shouldn’t be on his side. What these achievements are, we don’t know, but someone not on his side only leaves two options: either the Black Flash Organization or the Nightmare Beasts. At least, that’s what I think.

Next, let’s look at this chapter’s content. Su Bei is someone who slacks off whenever possible and runs away whenever possible. If we look at importance, for him, safety > slacking off. Yet this time, he actively recommended everyone go to the more dangerous Shopping Mall. If you say it was just for slacking off, I certainly don’t believe it.

Then let’s look at what the Nightmare Spider said—“What are you doing?” This question is very strange. As a human, isn’t it normal for Su Bei to attack it when it’s attacking his teammates? What was the Nightmare Spider questioning?

Overall, I think you all know what I suspect. I suspect Su Bei is secretly communicating with the Nightmare Beasts, deliberately leading Jiang Jiang and the others to the Shopping Mall. However, I don’t know his motive; at least after they arrived, I really haven’t seen Su Bei do anything bad to anyone.]