Chapter 250

By the time they had a general understanding of the situation, the snacks on the table were nearly gone. Chen Ze stood up. “Let’s go. I’ll take you over.”

On the way to the city tower, the main road was deserted, with no one around except for a few isolated pedestrians. Today, you suddenly remembered something. “Oh, right, Chen… Teacher, how have the casualties in Moyun City been during this time?”

“The casualty situation is manageable. The Ability Government must have received some information in advance, as they immediately sent us to take over the city not long after the interdimensional space appeared.” Chen Ze was part of the first group to arrive, so he was quite clear on these matters. “Some people in the city died at the very beginning, but after we arrived, we quickly sealed the city gates and cleared out the Nightmare Beasts inside, so it’s been safe for the time being. The residents who couldn’t be evacuated were instructed to stay indoors to prevent any Nightmare Beasts from sneaking in and harming them.”

They could defend the skies, but not the underground, so occasionally, a Nightmare Beast would still burrow into the city. In those cases, it was up to the Ability users stationed inside the city to clean them up. If civilians were walking on the streets, they could potentially obstruct the mission and get injured themselves, so they were asked to self-isolate at home.

“Then what about the supply issue…” Wu Mingbai asked hesitantly. The incident had happened so suddenly that the city was surely unprepared. With so many ordinary people staying at home, the daily consumption of food and water was a considerable amount. If supplies ran short, they would definitely descend into chaos.

However, before he could finish his sentence, Chen Ze said with a laugh, “There’s a Teleportation Array in the city. Cities outside that are unaffected send us supplies periodically, and we just distribute them door-to-door. Besides, even without their help, it wouldn’t be a big problem. Do you know what my ability is?”

“What is it?” Wu Mingbai asked subconsciously. At the same time, he realized he had been thinking about it the wrong way. He was still looking at the problem from the perspective of an ordinary person, but they were Ability users!

“It’s Logistics Master,” Chen Ze replied. “My ability is sufficient to support the daily needs of a large number of people. The government specifically assigned me here to prevent the Teleportation Array from being destroyed by Nightmare Beasts.”

That’s right, they were Ability users. Whether it was teleporting food or creating it, both were easy. If they were ordinary people, maintaining daily necessities during this lockdown would not be so simple. The Nightmare Beasts outside would only need to besiege the city, and chaos would soon erupt from within.

Upon arriving at the city gate, Chen Ze left, as he had his own tasks to attend to. Su Bei and the others went up the stairs. Hearing the commotion, the person in charge immediately walked over.

Seeing the four youthful faces, the person in charge was surprised for a moment before asking in a rapid-fire tone, “I’m the person in charge and the commander here. Now, state your abilities. If you have any AoE skills, mention them separately.”

Everyone reported their abilities. On paper, the ones with AoE abilities were Jiang Tianming and Wu Mingbai. Jiang Tianming’s AoE capability naturally came from his Frost Mage ability. And because it was a replication of a powerful Ability user’s power, the various skills of this ability were very well-developed. As long as he had enough Mental Energy, its power could completely replicate the effect of the original user.

Wu Mingbai’s land subsidence skill could create a small earthquake, and he could also create swamps, collapses, earth spikes, and other skills, all of which could serve as AoE attacks.

Only an ability like Earth Element could possess so many skills, and Wu Mingbai was doing his best to maximize his ability’s potential. It was also thanks to the enhancement of his earth element concentration he received from the Black Flash Organization; otherwise, with his original aptitude, he wouldn’t have been able to use so many skills.

Although Su Bei and Lan Subing’s abilities were also quite strong—the kind of strong you could tell just by hearing the name—the person in charge didn’t pay them much attention since they lacked AoE capabilities and were still students. He casually assigned them to support roles and then began to focus on arranging tasks for Jiang Tianming and Wu Mingbai.

Although there were many people around, Lan Subing felt relatively at ease because no one was looking at her. She tilted her head and looked at the departing back of the person in charge with a sense of wonder. “We were ignored?”

Whether during her time as an ordinary person or after becoming an Ability user, she had always been treated like a prodigy. She had never been ignored like this before. She wasn’t angry, just found it very novel.

“Isn’t that good?” Su Bei said leisurely. “Being highly regarded in a place like this is not necessarily a good thing.”

As the saying goes, with great power comes great responsibility. The more highly they were regarded, the more they would have to do, and the more danger they would encounter.

Although Su Bei was determined to perform well in this battle, it didn’t mean he would willingly become a workhorse, toiling away on this basic battlefield.

He knew the author was probably trying to prevent him from gaining popularity right now. If he only performed well in ordinary situations, the author likely wouldn’t even draw the relevant content in the manga. Only by acting at a critical moment could he force the author to draw his shining moment.

So, Su Bei was waiting for an opportunity. Until that opportunity arrived, he was still the same old Su Bei who loved to slack off.

Unlike Su Bei, Lan Subing was not the type to slack off or shy away from trouble. The mere fact that she could become close friends with Jiang Tianming and Wu Mingbai showed that beneath the girl’s quiet exterior was a restless heart.

Not long after arriving, she let everyone present feel the power of Word Spirit. With a single word, “Freeze,” Lan Subing managed to control the vast majority of Nightmare Beasts, forcing them to stand still and be attacked.

She was able to control so many Nightmare Beasts at once mainly because they were all low-tier and too weak. Furthermore, Lan Subing only made them freeze; she didn’t try to kill them. If the Word Spirit she had used was “Die,” the mental energy consumption would have been more than double what it was now, far beyond what she could handle.

This move stunned everyone. Jiang Tianming and Wu Mingbai were the first to react, jumping down to engage in close combat. Using ability attacks and physical combat weren’t mutually exclusive; combining both would only result in more slain Nightmare Beasts.

Seeing this, the others also snapped out of it and swarmed down to eliminate the Nightmare Beasts.

After this battle, Lan Subing made a name for herself in Moyun City, successfully surpassing everyone to become the most valued Ability user.

During lunch that day, many people gathered around Lan Subing, wanting to befriend this Ability user who clearly had a boundless future.

Lan Subing was on the verge of a breakdown. True, her social anxiety had improved considerably over the past few years of training. But being ambushed by so many people at once was still a death sentence for her. Forget talking; right now, she just wanted to find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

Seeing her situation, the three of them stood up to go help her. On the way, Wu Mingbai said with a laugh, “It seems the three of us have been left out in the cold.”

Hearing this, Su Bei couldn’t help but laugh out loud. “Not long ago, she said the exact same thing as you.”

Talk about the tables turning!

But he figured Lan Subing must be regretting it now. If she hadn’t jinxed it by saying that, she might not be facing this situation. And even if she were, she wouldn’t have to endure Su Bei’s teasing.

Escorted by the three, Lan Subing successfully returned to her room. Only when there were no outsiders around did she let out a long sigh of relief, her face pale. “That was terrifying.”

“Weren’t you just envious back on the city wall?” Su Bei, as expected, didn’t let her off the hook.

Remembering what she had said, Lan Subing’s face flushed red, and she defended herself in a small voice, “I was envious that Ah Jiang and Mingbai were assigned important jobs, okay?”

Jiang Tianming handed her a Mental Energy Crystal, as her own was severely depleted, urging her to replenish it quickly. Then he asked, “That ability of yours, when can you use it again?”

“If I have enough crystals from now on, I can use it again in two hours. If not, it’ll be at least five hours,” Lan Subing replied after assessing her condition.

This frequency was acceptable; it wasn’t a one-and-done ability. Even without the support of Mental Energy Crystals, she could use it four times a day. Each time, they could eliminate twice the usual number of Nightmare Beasts, which would add up to a significant amount.

“I have plenty of Mental Energy Crystals here.” Su Bei casually took out a few. To him, these things were truly worthless. He had obtained many before, but with his Advanced Mental Energy, he didn’t need them, so they just sat in his Storage Ring taking up space. Now was the perfect time to give them away.

The other two also took out some; they all had a few. While it might not be enough to supply Lan Subing for the entire duration, it would sustain her for a good amount of time.

After counting the crystals, Jiang Tianming looked out the window. “Later, I’ll ask Teacher Chen if they can get some more Mental Energy Crystals. If we can maintain your two-hour interval, our combat power will definitely increase significantly.”

After a short rest, the three of them, excluding Lan Subing, returned to the city tower to defend against the Nightmare Beast assault. Su Bei watched from above while slacking off, lamenting that he even had to be careful about how he exerted himself.

In truth, with his abilities, the best way to maximize his damage output without consuming too much Mental Energy was to find a weapon-type ability item—like a saber, spear, or sword—then max out his luck and jump down to engage the enemies in close combat. When he got tired, he could have a flying Ability user bring him back.

With luck on his side, his own excellent fighting skills, and gear attacks, he might not be able to dominate the battlefield, but he would be far more effective than his current half-hearted attacks.

Unfortunately, a wise man does not stand under a collapsing wall. If he did that, someone would inevitably find it strange that the Nightmare Beasts seemed to be going easy on him, which would once again bring up the topic of him colluding with them.

To avoid creating unnecessary complications, it was best for him to just keep slacking off.

That afternoon, Lan Subing repeated the same tactic twice more, and a large number of Nightmare Beasts were eliminated. After witnessing Lan Subing’s effectiveness, Chen Ze indeed managed to scrounge up a pile of Mental Energy Crystals.

These crystals were provided by the Ability users in the city. Although the items weren’t common, everyone had prepared a few due to their practicality.

Furthermore, Chen Ze told them that he had already informed the outside. A new batch of Mental Energy Crystals would be delivered with the next supply shipment. He told Lan Subing to use them without restraint; as long as they could eliminate the Nightmare Beasts, supplies were guaranteed.

The next day was the same. With the support of Mental Energy Crystals, Lan Subing could go out and use her skill once every two hours. If things continued to develop like this, the Nightmare Beasts outside the city would likely be wiped out in less than a week.

Seeing the situation in Moyun City looking so promising, Su Bei knew that trouble was just around the corner. He glanced at the Destiny Compasses above everyone’s heads and confirmed his suspicion. The Minor Destiny Pointers for everyone were on the right side, and for many, the Major Destiny Pointers had dropped completely below the compass.

It was obvious that something was going to happen today.

That night, he didn’t even plan to sleep. He nimbly climbed to the top of the clock tower, the highest point in the city. Having learned from his past experience, Su Bei even brought a small stool this time and adjusted the angle to sit comfortably.

Normally, the highest point in a city would have a guard on duty, but since the city tower was also very high, no one paid any attention to the clock tower. Even the alarm bell was installed on the city tower, leaving the clock tower to simply announce the time. When the time reached midnight and noon, the clock tower would chime.

Outside, the night was thick with darkness. Dark clouds completely obscured the moon, leaving the night sky almost devoid of light. In their room, Wu Mingbai was drowsily looking at his phone when he suddenly spoke up, “Su Bei isn’t back yet.”

The three of them shared a dorm room, so they were well aware of each other’s movements. An hour ago, Su Bei had said he was going to the restroom and hadn’t returned since.

“Are you afraid something happened to him?” Jiang Tianming looked up, surprised. To be honest, if it were anyone else who went to the restroom and didn’t come back for so long, he would have already gone looking for them. But since it was Su Bei, the thought of searching for him never crossed his mind.

Wu Mingbai was the same. Hearing the question, he scoffed, “I’m afraid he’s up to something.”

Being gone for so long, especially late at night, meant he was either in trouble or causing trouble. With Su Bei, the former was unlikely. Given that guy’s ability to avoid risks, he would surely be the first to flee from danger. They should be worried about themselves being left behind by him.

Jiang Tianming agreed with that. He shook his phone. “I already sent him a message, but he hasn’t replied yet.”

Hearing this, Wu Mingbai frowned and thought for a moment. “We should warn Bing, I feel like something’s about to happen.”

Jiang Tianming gave an “OK” gesture. “Get some sleep. Whatever he’s up to, we still have a mission tomorrow and need to be well-rested. Besides, the person in charge mentioned we’ll probably be on night duty tomorrow.”

Although they had a rotating guard system, you can’t make bricks without straw. With so many Nightmare Beasts and so few Ability users, no matter how rationally the schedule was arranged, the amount of rest each person got was pitifully small.

By nightfall, everyone’s Mental Energy was basically depleted. Without sufficient sleep, it would be difficult to last the whole next day, let alone a night shift.

“If that guy hadn’t suddenly decided to stay out all night, I’d have been asleep long ago,” Wu Mingbai grumbled in dissatisfaction. He was, of course, exhausted, but Su Bei’s sudden departure made it hard for him to fall asleep.

Jiang Tianming felt the same. He also strongly suspected that something would happen tonight, which was why he didn’t dare to sleep. But one of the three of them staying awake was enough; there was no need for all three to lose sleep. What if nothing happened tonight?

Meanwhile, the subject of their discussion, Su Bei, was still on the clock tower, enjoying the breeze. The summer wind was hot, but thankfully he had also prepared a small fan. When you’re away from home, you have to be fully prepared, or else how much would you suffer?

He had come out at midnight, and it was now past one in the morning. Except for the faint lights on the city tower, the rest of the area was pitch black. The entire Moyun City was like a dead city, utterly silent.

If nothing unexpected happened, the time for the Nightmare Beasts to make their move was near. But where would they strike? Su Bei had a lot of Mental Energy, but not enough to cover the entire city, so he needed a more specific location to search.

Fortunately, he had his own prophecy ability, so achieving this wasn’t difficult. Su Bei manifested a Prophecy Gear for the first time in a while, silently chanting in his mind, “An image of Nightmare Beasts appearing in the city.” Then, he flicked the gear into the air.

The next second, the gear turned into smoke, and beneath the smoke, a well could be faintly seen.

A well?

There weren’t many wells in Moyun City, only five in total. Su Bei had carefully studied the map on his way here, so he naturally knew where all five were. As he released his Mental Energy to locate them, he pondered another matter: what did the smoke represent?

The prophecies given by the Prophecy Gear never contained any useless information; that was a rule he had set when he created the skill. This meant that the well was one piece of information, but the smoke was another, not just a background detail for the well.

The smoke was above the well, almost looking like it was rising from it. Thinking about the content of his prophecy, a guess immediately formed in Su Bei’s mind. Could this smoke refer to the appearance of the Nightmare Beast that would emerge from there?

A smoke-type Nightmare Beast… Su Bei began to recall all the Nightmare Beasts he knew of that could turn themselves into smoke. Thanks to absorbing a large amount of data from the Destiny organization, his mind was a vast repository of knowledge, and he instantly thought of several types of Nightmare Beasts with this ability.

Now it was time for the process of elimination. The Nightmare Beast sent to sneak into the city would likely have certain characteristics, such as powerful crowd control abilities. It would need to control as many people in the city as possible to create an opportunity for the Nightmare Beasts outside to breach the walls.

And the one with such an ability… Su Bei’s expression turned serious. He immediately flipped over and jumped into the clock tower, shattered the glass of the giant clock face with a punch, and then wrenched both hands to the twelve o’clock position.

“Dong—Dong—Dong—”

The massive chimes instantly echoed throughout the city, waking everyone up. Although the sound of the clock was very different from the alarm bell, it was effective enough to rouse the sleeping populace.

After alerting everyone, Su Bei headed directly to the location his Mental Energy had just sensed. It was not far from the clock tower, a well in the city center.

As soon as he reached the well, Su Bei saw pale green smoke rapidly spreading out from it, as if a block of dry ice had been dropped inside.

Su Bei took a mask from his Storage Ring and put it on, then found a spot far from the well to sit and wait for others to arrive. The location wasn’t hidden; though it was definitely invisible from the city walls, anyone who climbed the clock tower could easily spot him.

“Huff… What’s going on?” Sure enough, after a short while, a group of people rushed over. Leading them was a boy with a dog’s nose, and he was the one who asked the question.

Calling him “dog nose” wasn’t an insult; he literally had a dog’s nose at that moment. However, after finding Su Bei, he immediately retracted it, and it returned to a normal nose. Clearly, this was an Ability user with tracking capabilities, of which Su Bei had seen many at the academy.

“Su Bei, what are you doing here?” Before Su Bei could say anything, Jiang Tianming and the other two squeezed out from the crowd, looking at Su Bei with a mixture of surprise and understanding. How should they put it? Seeing Su Bei here gave them a feeling that was both unexpected and completely predictable.

This guy sneaking out in the middle of the night definitely meant no good.

Su Bei pointed at the green smoke nearby, which had already spread quite a bit and was nearing the residential buildings, and said in a relaxed tone, “A Nightmare Beast got in.”

The crowd: “…”

Everyone immediately surrounded the well, looking at the green smoke with警惕. The junior leader, Chen Ze, reached out to touch the smoke but felt nothing solid. “Is this a Nightmare Beast’s skill? What kind of Nightmare Beast?”

“This is the skill of an Advanced Nightmare Beast, the Sleep Nightmare Beast. It can make anyone who comes into contact with the smoke fall into a deep sleep,” Su Bei answered calmly from his distant position.

The crowd: “…”

Chen Ze took a moment to process this, then his expression changed drastically. “Then doesn’t that mean I’m—”

Thud!

Before he could finish his sentence, he was hit by an overwhelming wave of drowsiness. His consciousness didn’t even have time to react before it dragged him into slumber, and Chen Ze collapsed to the ground.

This was followed by a continuous series of thuds as everyone who had inhaled the green gas without any protection passed out. The only ones who remained standing were Jiang Tianming and his two friends, who were with Su Bei.

Su Bei was standing in an upwind position, so the smoke wouldn’t blow toward him for a while.

Jiang Tianming was dumbfounded. “Hey, aren’t you going to warn everyone?”

“Didn’t I ring the bell?” Su Bei said righteously. “As for just now, they rushed over so fast I didn’t have time to stop them. By the time I could have, it was already too late.”

Of course, that was just an excuse. The truth was, he couldn’t be bothered to stop them. A green, purple, or any other colored mist like this, anyone with half a brain would know it’s trouble. Yet they dared to rush in and breathe it so carelessly. Weren’t they just asking for death? People who don’t use their brains are useless anyway. Letting them take a nap could be considered a good deed on his part.

The three were speechless. Fortunately, they were familiar with Su Bei and had wisely chosen to stay by his side instead of joining the crowd. Otherwise, they would be among the unconscious right now.

“So what do we do now?” Jiang Tianming frowned deeply. “If this smoke really spreads throughout the whole city, it’ll be a disaster.”

Lan Subing asked expectantly, “Can I stop it with my ability?”

Compared to its effect on groups, her ability was undoubtedly much more powerful against a single target. Even if the opponent was an Advanced Nightmare Beast, it shouldn’t be a problem.

“Not really,” Su Bei shrugged. “The Sleep Nightmare Beast is immune to control and physical damage.”

Seeing him speak so knowledgeably, Wu Mingbai looked at him suspiciously. “The academy never taught us about this Nightmare Beast. How do you know so much about it?”