Chapter 264

After posting, Su Bei logged out of the forum, not forgetting to remind the Manga Consciousness, “If the author gets any ideas about banning my account, don’t forget to warn me.”

He had been dropping insane spoilers before, and the author hadn’t shown any inclination to do so, seemingly paying no attention to such things at all. But just in case, Su Bei needed to know in advance.

“Don’t worry, they won’t,” the Manga Consciousness reassured him. “The author doesn’t usually pay attention to this forum. Even now, they’ve only asked an assistant to gather some feedback about you.”

Hearing this, Su Bei nodded. It seemed that as long as he didn’t talk about himself on the forum, he wouldn’t attract the author’s attention. In that case, he could just keep leaking information as before.

A little after eleven, Su Bei ordered some lunch. Sun Nan’s recommendation was indeed excellent. The ‘crossing-the-bridge’ noodles from this shop were delicious, especially the broth. It tasted like a freshly simmered old hen soup, savory and fragrant, elevating the entire dish to another level.

The only slight imperfection was that halfway through his meal, Zhou Renjie called him. “Su Bei, are you not done over there yet? We’ve already wiped out a wave of Nightmare Beasts.”

“You know how it is, dealing with people is always more troublesome than dealing with Nightmare Beasts.” Su Bei had no intention of going, and he certainly couldn’t say he was already done. He skillfully made an excuse, “Besides, you guys don’t need me over there, right? I’m still not finished with things here…”

He was halfway through his sentence when his pupils suddenly constricted slightly. He paused for a moment before continuing, “Alright, now I’m really not finished. Do me a favor and pass the phone to Mo Xiaotian.”

“What the hell?” Zhou Renjie muttered in confusion as he handed the phone to Mo Xiaotian. “Su Bei’s looking for you.”

Mo Xiaotian cheerfully took the phone. “Brother Bei, what’s up?”

“I’m in the middle of lunch, and someone just showed up across from me. Any idea what that’s about?” Su Bei asked calmly, completely ignoring the woman with green braided pigtails opposite him.

The person opposite him wasn’t in a hurry either. She gently called over a waiter, ordered a dessert, and then sat there waiting for him to finish his call.

Mo Xiaotian wasn’t an idiot; he knew what Su Bei was talking about immediately. He said nonchalantly, “She’ll leave after a little while. Don’t worry.”

Hearing him say that, Su Bei understood. It seemed the Black Flash Organization had sent someone specifically to watch him, to prevent him from getting any sudden ideas about ruining Mo Xiaotian’s plan.

“Alright, I get it.” Su Bei hung up and looked back at the woman sitting across from him. “What should I call you? Teacher Ye, or…”

“Just call me Ye Lin.” Ye Lin didn’t give him the chance to mock her. “Long time no see, Student Su Bei. Have you been well?”

Although one was an academy student and the other a traitorous teacher, the atmosphere was far from tense. Instead, they looked more like a regular, unfamiliar teacher and student meeting.

Since the other party wanted to engage in meaningless pleasantries, Su Bei had no objection. “It’s been pretty good. Things have been quite exciting lately.”

Battles, traitors… wasn’t that the definition of exciting?

Unsure what she found amusing, Ye Lin covered her mouth and chuckled lightly. “It sounds like we have a lot to do with all this excitement. Since you enjoy watching the show so much, why not just join the Black Flash Organization? I guarantee you’ll get to see even more drama.”

“No need to persuade me, I’m quite satisfied as I am,” Su Bei refused decisively. The author was already eagerly waiting for a chance to push him into the Black Flash Organization; this was no time to be ambiguous. If the author used his words to stir up trouble, he wouldn’t even have a place to cry.

Ye Lin clearly wasn’t surprised by his refusal. She asked about something else, “Can you tell me what the Destiny organization is like on the inside?”

“We’re free-range. There’s not much difference between me and a freelancer.”

Su Bei had no intention of hiding it. From the moment he accepted the mission to help the Black Flash Organization obtain the Nightmare Egg, he was prepared for his identity to be exposed. In the readers’ eyes, being a member of Destiny was much better than being a member of Black Flash.

His answer was similar to what Ye Lin understood about the Destiny organization. She remarked with some emotion, “I should have guessed you were from Destiny long ago. That ‘Spatial Lock’ back then, was it you who got it for us?”

At that time, almost everyone in the monthly exam’s dimensional space was a student. Ye Lin believed that among them, only Su Bei could have been from the Destiny organization; it was impossible for the others to have joined Destiny at such a young and weak stage. Initially, they thought a member of Destiny was among the teachers who broke in after the Spatial Lock was breached, and they even considered trying to use that person. But their investigation turned up nothing, and the matter was gradually shelved. It wasn’t until they recently learned that Su Bei was likely a member of Destiny that everyone suddenly realized the truth. Of course, in their minds, they only thought Su Bei was the one who obtained the Spatial Lock, not the person who delivered it. After all, that person had been far too powerful; they didn’t believe Su Bei was that strong.

Su Bei had no intention of explaining; it would be pointless. He wasn’t even sure if this scene would be drawn in the comic. If it was, he’d see if he could use it to his advantage then.

“When is Mo Xiaotian making his move?” Seeing that he had finished his noodles and Ye Lin still showed no signs of leaving, Su Bei asked out of boredom.

He knew that Jiang Tianming and the others were on their way back to the country. The moment they got off the plane, everyone would surely rush to this team—the one with two suspected moles and the victim.

It didn’t take a genius to figure out that regardless of which of the two was the mole, this team composition was bound to lead to trouble.

And with a teleportation master like Lei Ze’en at the academy, he could instantly deploy a support unit to Mo Xiaotian’s location. So if they didn’t act fast, they’d likely be caught red-handed.

“He should have started already,” Ye Lin said with a smile, glancing at the time. “Aren’t you worried about your classmates at all?”

Su Bei’s lips curled into a slight smile. “You should be more concerned with what you’ll do after you fail.”

At these words, Ye Lin’s confident expression instantly changed. She asked anxiously, “What do you mean? Did you tip them off, or did you prophesize our failure?”

“There’s still time to tell Mo Xiaotian to leave, you know,” Su Bei said lazily, ignoring her question. “Any later, and even escaping might be difficult.”

Judging by his attitude, Ye Lin figured Su Bei hadn’t tipped anyone off. She relaxed slightly but still refused immediately. “No. We’ve made too many preparations just to make Zhou Renjie pay the price for betraying the organization. We can’t give up halfway. Besides, Xiaotian won’t be caught. He has plenty of escape items on him.”

As the Saint of the Black Flash Organization, Mo Xiaotian, much like Si Zhaohua, Ai Baozhu, and Feng Lan, was loaded with countless items. Before this mission, the organization had given him several more treasures that would allow for an instant escape. Thus, it was absolutely impossible for him to be captured by Endless Ability Academy.

But this treatment was reserved for the Saint. The other organization members with him weren’t so lucky. Su Bei could hear the complete indifference for them in Ye Lin’s words. One could only imagine their fate once support from Endless Ability Academy arrived and they couldn’t escape in time.

However, Su Bei didn’t care either. What did it have to do with him? They were a villainous organization, after all. Could you really expect them to care about their employees’ lives? Might as well demand they give their employees health insurance!

Although Ye Lin wasn’t worried about Mo Xiaotian’s escape, she was worried about the mission failing. So, she couldn’t afford to keep watching Su Bei anymore. She got up to leave. “I’m going to check on the situation. I hope I don’t see you there.”

“What a coincidence,” Su Bei said, standing up as well. “I was thinking of going to take a look, too.”

Ye Lin asked warily, “What are you going for?”

She was genuinely worried Su Bei would interfere. After all, his ability was incredibly hard to guard against. If Su Bei went, there could be even more unexpected complications.

Su Bei replied with perfect justification, “To watch the show, of course.”

The show was about to reach its finale; how could a key character like him be absent? While Su Bei didn’t plan on having a major presence in this act, not showing up at all would paradoxically make him stand out more in the aftermath than if he had made a brief appearance or two. After all, the former would make him look like the type to pull strings from behind the scenes.

Hearing this, Ye Lin frowned but eventually nodded and set off with Su Bei. With her ability, she would have to stay with Su Bei constantly to restrain him. Since she was leaving anyway, she couldn’t stop him. It was better to go with him; at least she could keep an eye on him.

Ye Lin knew Mo Xiaotian’s exact location. She got into her car parked outside and sped all the way to the vicinity of the destination.

Getting out of the car, Ye Lin looked refreshed as she casually swept back her bangs. She glanced at Su Bei, whose face was pale. “What’s wrong with you? Are you okay?”

“I’m not okay,” Su Bei said, suppressing the urge to vomit. “Haven’t Teacher Meng and Teacher Lei ever complained about your driving?”

He was truly impressed. Ye Lin’s driving could only be described as earth-shattering. They were supposed to be going in a straight line, but the journey could be described as having ‘nine bends and eighteen turns’. Yet, her speed was extremely fast. Several times he thought they were about to crash into another car, but Ye Lin would somehow manage to swerve away. He couldn’t tell if her skills were good or just terrible.

Hearing the two familiar names, Ye Lin’s eyes dimmed for a moment before she replied with a smile, “You guys are just too weak. Xiaotian loves riding in my car.”

Of course he does. This roller-coaster-style driving method would definitely be Mo Xiaotian’s favorite.

Too lazy to retort, Su Bei quickly walked towards the sounds of fighting in the distance. It was a wasteland, and just as Su Bei had expected, Mo Xiaotian’s group of four was battling members of the Black Flash Organization.

The opponents they sent were all offensive-type Ability users, unleashing lightning and conjuring flames. It was a good thing this was a large, open area; otherwise, Su Bei couldn’t imagine how much the academy would have to pay in compensation afterward.

That’s right, the academy had to pay for incidents like this. After all, they couldn’t count on the Black Flash Organization to pay, nor could they let the residents bear the loss themselves. Otherwise, the rift between Ability users and ordinary people would grow immense. ‘The kind are easily bullied’—an eternal truth.

Fortunately, the Ability World was wealthy, so the tradition was that whoever broke it, paid for it. If the Ability Government caused the damage, the government paid. If academy students caused it, the academy paid. As for graduated, independent Ability users, they could only suck it up and pay for it themselves.

There was a large boulder nearby that could conceal them. Su Bei and Ye Lin stood beside it, watching the battle.

Mu Tieren and the others were no longer the rookie Ability users who could only flee wretchedly from the Black Flash Organization. In the past year, they had completed more missions than many students do in all three years of high school.

The frequent danger brought a rapid increase in combat experience and skill. Now, as long as they weren’t facing top-tier Ability users, they could generally hold their own.

Moreover, they had already called the academy for help when the Black Flash members arrived. It wouldn’t be long before the academy sent reinforcements; they just had to hold on for a little while.

Meanwhile, Mo Xiaotian, coordinating with his opponents, was gradually moving behind Zhou Renjie. The other two were focused on fighting back and didn’t notice his slightly unusual path.

Watching this, Ye Lin suddenly spoke up. “I actually quite admire Zhou Renjie. Back at the academy, I thought his performance was average, but the fact that he resolutely went undercover in Black Flash is enough to change that initial impression.”

Indeed. Su Bei felt the same way. It probably wasn’t just him; most people likely thought so. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have had that sense of ‘I knew it’ when Zhou Renjie defected.

Only Si Zhaohua and Ai Baozhu, who truly trusted him, were different. The three of them were childhood friends, after all.

“Since you admire him so much, why not go easy on him?” Su Bei asked teasingly. Of course, he knew in his heart that Ye Lin wouldn’t. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have come here in the first place. She could have just stayed at the restaurant and let Endless Ability Academy’s reinforcements arrive.

Hearing his words, Ye Lin’s expression was as calm as water. “Do you know why the organization is hunting Zhou Renjie?”

The question was almost like asking what 1+1 equals. Even Su Bei hesitated, frowning for a moment before finally answering honestly according to his thoughts, “Because he betrayed the Black Flash Organization?”

“Exactly. So of course I can’t betray the organization either, or I’ll be the one being hunted.” Ye Lin shrugged. Freed from her role as a teacher, she seemed a bit more lively than before.

At this point, she chuckled again. “Knowing the leader’s personality, he’d probably even arrange for my sister, who’s been brainwashed by the organization since she was a child, to hunt me down personally. I can’t handle that, so of course I can’t go easy.”

She was her only living relative, the one person Ye Lin cared about most among the few she cared for at all. If the leader didn’t have this leverage, he wouldn’t have dared to send her to Endless Ability Academy as a mole, and for so many years at that.

Su Bei was speechless. Ye Lin’s reasoning was too sound; she truly had no room to go easy.

While the two of them were chatting idly, Mo Xiaotian began to make his move. Of course, he didn’t attack directly. If he did, Mu Tieren and Ai Baozhu would react immediately and protect Zhou Renjie. Ai Baozhu was a defensive-type Ability user, so protecting someone was quite easy for her.

He had moved behind Zhou Renjie simply to find the right moment to strike. The [Air] ability was inherently invisible, making it perfect for a sneak attack.

Observing from behind, Mo Xiaotian could easily sabotage Zhou Renjie. An invisible wall of air blocked the leg he was about to kick with, causing him to take a punch from his opponent; a tiny ‘bomb cube’ exploded by his hand, causing him to get kicked before he could react; a sudden inability to breathe almost made him fall backward…

One or two incidents wouldn’t have mattered much, but after several, the scales of victory naturally began to tip toward the Black Flash Organization.

Zhou Renjie was no fool. He quickly realized something was wrong. “Someone is sneak-attacking me!”

At his words, Mu Tieren and Ai Baozhu immediately grew serious. Zhou Renjie still had three opponents trapped inside his stomach. If something happened to him, the relatively balanced situation would be instantly reversed.

Ai Baozhu and Mu Tieren quickly moved closer to Zhou Renjie, with [Glorious Domain] firmly protecting them. They had already held out for a while. Based on their understanding of Endless Ability Academy, they just needed to hold on a little longer with Ai Baozhu’s ability, and support would arrive.

Mo Xiaotian also quietly closed in. The Black Flash members were now held at bay outside the barrier, so if Zhou Renjie was to be killed, he would have to do it himself.

Just as he was gradually approaching Zhou Renjie, having already gotten behind him, Mu Tieren’s voice suddenly rang out. “Xiaotian, I’ve been meaning to ask for a long time, why do you have a band-aid on the back of your neck? I remember you’ve had it on for ages.”

At these words, Mo Xiaotian’s movements froze for an instant. He subconsciously touched the band-aid on the back of his neck and said uncomfortably, “It’s a habit. I got injured there before, and I couldn’t be bothered to take it off after it healed.”

The reason was plausible enough, but it piqued Ai Baozhu’s interest. She said curiously, “Can you take it off now and let me see? When you wear a band-aid for a long time, the skin underneath gets much paler than the surrounding area!”

The first time she noticed this, she had even imagined whether covering her entire body with band-aids could be an effective skin-whitening method. However, the act would be too embarrassing if others found out, so she had never tried it.

Mo Xiaotian’s expression stiffened even more. He was never particularly good at lying, let alone making excuses. He could only say dryly, “I’m not used to it. Let’s talk about it after we’re safe.”

Ai Baozhu and Zhou Renjie didn’t find it strange, but Mu Tieren, who knew Mo Xiaotian better, gave him a look and said nothing.

Believing he had dodged that bullet, Mo Xiaotian turned back and continued to look for a chance to strike Zhou Renjie. To avoid any further complications, he needed to make his one shot count and take his life directly.

However, before Mo Xiaotian could find the right moment, he suddenly felt a source of heat on the back of his neck. Mo Xiaotian reacted with extreme speed, turning around, but he still couldn’t evade Mu Tieren’s outstretched hand.

With a ripping sound, a used band-aid appeared in Mu Tieren’s hand.

His and Ai Baozhu’s expressions were both filled with utter astonishment; they had clearly seen the pattern on the back of Mo Xiaotian’s neck. Ai Baozhu asked, shocked and uncertain, “Is this—”

Before she could finish her sentence, Mo Xiaotian spun around with the speed of lightning and plunged a poisoned dagger into Zhou Renjie’s waist.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to stab Zhou Renjie in the neck; it was mainly because Mu Tieren also reacted quickly, pouncing to stop him the moment he turned. Thus, Mo Xiaotian could only manage to stab him in the kidney area.

Ai Baozhu didn’t recognize the black lightning bolt pattern, but it was deeply etched in Mu Tieren’s memory. Back at the start of the school year, a student from F-Class had died, and the killer had an identical pattern on the back of their neck. He had known since then that it was the mark of a Black Flash Organization member.

Because of this, the moment he saw the pattern, Mu Tieren realized that Wu Mingbai had been framed. The real mole in S-Class was clearly Mo Xiaotian!

“How could it be you?” Zhou Renjie felt a sharp pain in his waist. Turning to see Mo Xiaotian was the one who had attacked him, he asked in disbelief.

He had suspected everyone but Mo Xiaotian. How could this idiot be a mole? A mole didn’t have to be as smart and resourceful as him, but they should at least have some cunning!

Never mind him; Mu Tieren and Ai Baozhu were just as shocked. Although Mu Tieren had already sensed something was off before ripping off the band-aid—otherwise he wouldn’t have done it.

But when it was truly confirmed that Mo Xiaotian was the mole, he still found it hard to believe. Mo Xiaotian’s usual foolishness couldn’t have been an act. How could such an idiot become a mole and remain undetected for so long?

Since his cover was completely blown, Mo Xiaotian dropped the act. “I’m sorry, Renjie. I originally told the organization to treat you well, but they didn’t listen to me… But that’s no reason for you to betray the organization. Betrayal can never be tolerated, no matter what.”

There was an absurd sense of earnestness in his words as he spoke. Su Bei watched and clicked his tongue in amazement. “You guys really brainwashed him, huh?”

“More or less,” Ye Lin admitted with a nod. “He’s just like my sister, brainwashed by the organization since childhood, utterly loyal to it.”

A worldview cultivated since childhood couldn’t be easily changed. Su Bei had long sensed that his values were different from the norm, so he wasn’t surprised. But one thing still made him very curious. “How did he hide his identity for so long?”

From what he knew of Mo Xiaotian, if he had a secret, he’d immediately make it public. He was not the type of person who could keep anything hidden.

Ye Lin had no intention of keeping secrets for the organization, especially not from Su Bei of the Destiny organization. In her view, if Su Bei really wanted to know, he could easily find the information by looking around their organization later, so there was nothing to hide.

“Before he came to work as a mole, he was hypnotized by that woman, Gong Yuzhi. He is compelled to strictly keep all matters related to his undercover mission a secret, and if he discovers his identity might be exposed, he is to kill the person who knows on sight.”