Chapter 265

“They’re here.” Just as he finished speaking, Su Bei’s gaze fell upon the sky. Several small black dots had appeared in the distant sky, and they were rapidly growing larger. With their eyesight, the two of them could naturally tell that these were Ability users, undoubtedly the reinforcements sent by Endless Ability Academy.

Ye Lin knew she couldn’t wait any longer. If she didn’t leave now, even with the item, Mo Xiaotian might not be able to escape unscathed. In any case, the dagger had already pierced Zhou Renjie’s flesh. She knew the potency of the venom on it and wasn’t worried about him being fine. She immediately leaped out, shattered Ai Baozhu’s [Glorious Domain] with a palm strike, and grabbed Mo Xiaotian’s hand. “Let’s go!”

At her words, Mo Xiaotian stopped holding back Mu Tieren, activated his item, and vanished on the spot with Ye Lin.

In the second after they disappeared, the reinforcements finally arrived. Ai Baozhu had no time for anything else and immediately pulled the purple-faced Zhou Renjie forward. “Quick, save him! He’s been poisoned!”

At this moment, a faint white light shimmered around Zhou Renjie’s body. It was his own defensive item protecting his life. Ai Baozhu was familiar with Zhou Renjie’s defensive item and knew that if it had been activated, it meant he was in critical condition.

This item wasn’t a panacea; it couldn’t protect him forever. He needed medical attention as soon as possible.

The severity of the situation was evident from Zhou Renjie’s complexion. The leader of the support team wasted no time, immediately dispatching the fastest member to take Zhou Renjie back.

Only after the two had left did he begin to ask what had happened and why members of the Black Flash Organization had come here.

Before Mu Tieren could answer, the team leader suddenly received a phone call. He answered it and listened for a moment, his expression turning grave. “Where is Mo Xiaotian? Is he… is he still here?”

Mu Tieren gave a bitter smile. “He’s a member of the Black Flash Organization. He was behind this attack and Zhou Renjie’s injury. He’s already left with Teacher Ye Lin, who defected previously.”

Hearing this and seeing their downcast expressions, the team leader couldn’t help but fall silent. Suddenly, he remembered something. “I recall you were a team of five this time. Where’s the other student?”

“Right here.” Su Bei walked out from behind the massive boulder.

He didn’t need to hide his tracks. After all, this involved an undercover agent. The academy would surely investigate the movements of everyone involved with Mo Xiaotian and the Black Flash Organization, so he wouldn’t be able to hide it even if he wanted to. It was better to appear openly and be seen as forthright.

“Su Bei, what are you doing here?!” Ai Baozhu’s eyes widened in surprise, momentarily forgetting her earlier sorrow.

Su Bei shrugged. “I came with Teacher… Ye Lin. She was watching me to make sure I didn’t make a move.”

If anyone else had said this, it would have sounded utterly ridiculous, but coming from him, it felt like the truth. After all, this was Su Bei; it was certainly plausible that the Black Flash Organization would treat him with such caution.

The team leader didn’t say much more and brought them back. Upon returning to the academy, the three of them were isolated. It wasn’t that they were suspected, but it was better to be cautious with certain matters.

Before long, Su Bei was called out. The ones questioning him were Meng Huai and the detective from before. Meng Huai tilted his chin up. “Tell us. What happened to you today?”

Su Bei didn’t hide anything and began to recount honestly, “After we arrived at the mission location, I went to complete the main objective while the others went to kill Nightmare Beasts. After finishing the mission on my own, I went to a restaurant to eat, and then Teacher Ye Lin showed up. She watched me and didn’t let me leave until I reminded her that reinforcements from Endless Ability Academy were about to arrive. Then, we went together to where Mu Tieren and the others were. After Mo Xiaotian made his move and the reinforcements arrived, Ye Lin took him away. That’s it. Nothing more.”

After hearing his story, the detective seized on a strange point. “You completed the mission, so why didn’t you go find the others directly? Based on the intelligence I have, you shouldn’t have finished your mission right at noon, should you?”

He was right. Su Bei had finished his mission at ten o’clock, which was by no means lunchtime. Logically, he should have gone straight to his companions.

However, he showed no signs of guilt, looking at the detective as if he were an idiot. “To slack off, of course.”

The detective was speechless.

It was hard to imagine someone saying that so brazenly. At a loss for words, he looked at Meng Huai. Meng Huai nodded at him, indicating that this was just Su Bei’s personality and there was nothing abnormal about it.

“Then what did you and Ye Lin from the Black Flash Organization talk about?” Seeing that he wouldn’t get anywhere with the previous question, the detective decisively moved on to the next one.

Su Bei said succinctly, “She invited me to join the Black Flash Organization. I refused.”

The Black Flash Organization had always been dedicated to recruiting talent, so it wasn’t strange that Su Bei had been invited. The detective didn’t ask foolish questions like why he didn’t resist. She hadn’t attacked him, so why would he fight back and get himself injured?

After a moment’s thought, he asked his final question. “Have you ever cooperated with the Black Flash Organization before?”

“Yes.” Su Bei admitted it freely.

Seeing him like this, the detective found it hard to say anything more. Whatever students did in their private lives was their own business as long as it didn’t break the law; the academy couldn’t control it. He could only nod. “I’m done with my questions. You may leave.”

Su Bei returned to the classroom, where the other students of his class were gathered. Although there was no class at the moment, that didn’t stop them from coming to get the latest gossip. Everyone in S-Class knew that if you wanted to know what was going on, the classroom was the most likely place to find out.

“Su Bei, did you know? Mingbai is actually a prince of a country!” As soon as Su Bei entered, Zhao Xiaoyu announced it excitedly as if it were a major event.

To ordinary people like them, it was indeed a major event. An orphan with no parents had transformed into a foreign prince overnight. Who hadn’t had such a wonderful dream as a child?

However, Su Bei already knew from the manga, so he wasn’t surprised. “So, has he been released?”

“Of course, he’s in another classroom reuniting with his parents right now.” Zhao Xiaoyu nodded, then her expression grew slightly worried. “I wonder if Mingbai will just go back to his country with his parents. If so, he’d definitely have to drop out…”

What she didn’t say was that the academy’s previous actions had been outrageous. Although they had been misled by the Black Flash Organization into thinking Wu Mingbai was the mole, it was ultimately their failure to investigate thoroughly. If Jiang Tianming and Lan Subing hadn’t believed in Wu Mingbai enough to insist on continuing the investigation, they might not have realized Wu Mingbai was innocent until Mo Xiaotian defected.

Of course, the outcome wasn’t much different now.

Under these circumstances, it would be perfectly normal for Wu Mingbai to be disappointed with Endless Ability Academy and want to drop out. The academy might only feel a loss of face, but losing one student wouldn’t have a major impact on them.

But for the people in S-Class, it was different. They had genuinely spent a year with Wu Mingbai. Losing a companion for such a reason would be a very sad thing for them.

The thought that they hadn’t stood firmly by Wu Mingbai’s side made them feel even more upset.

“If Tianming and the others don’t leave, Mingbai will probably stay as well,” Si Zhaohua said rationally. “Let’s apologize to them when they get back. It was indeed our poor judgment.”

Su Bei didn’t share their strong sense of morality and could still manage a smile at a time like this. “His opponent was Mo Xiaotian, after all. It’s perfectly normal that you couldn’t tell.”

The crowd fell silent.

Although it felt a bit immoral to say so, it was the truth. Mo Xiaotian was the universally acknowledged naive and sweet guy. Who would believe a naive and sweet guy was an undercover agent?

After a moment’s thought, Su Bei offered a rare kindness. “Teacher Ye Lin told me that Mo Xiaotian has undergone hypnotic brainwashing. He won’t betray the organization, nor will he expose his identity as a mole.”

While this information didn’t change the current situation, it at least offered the others a small bit of comfort. At least it wasn’t that they had failed to see Mo Xiaotian’s true colors all along, but rather that Mo Xiaotian had been ‘cheating’.

“How is Zhou Renjie?” After a brief silence, the usually quiet Ling You suddenly asked.

Ai Baozhu’s expression turned even grimmer. “The poison has already seeped deep into his nervous system and can’t be removed. We can only use an item to stabilize Renjie’s condition for now and then try to find a solution.”

It was clear that Zhou Renjie’s situation was dire, but this was also expected. The Black Flash Organization was determined to have Mo Xiaotian kill Zhou Renjie, so naturally, they wouldn’t hold back.

At that moment, Meng Huai walked in with Mu Tieren, who was the last to be questioned.

As soon as he entered, Meng Huai said bluntly, “It has been confirmed that Mo Xiaotian is the mole from the Black Flash Organization. He has now been expelled from Endless Ability Academy. Also, it’s not that retribution is lacking, it’s just that the time has not yet come. Mo Xiaotian will not get away scot-free. We have already taken action.”

At these words, everyone looked surprised. The academy had already taken action against Mo Xiaotian? But he had only just been discovered as a traitor. How could they act so quickly?

Su Bei raised an eyebrow. He had underestimated Endless Ability Academy. Because he had previously thought of this place as just an official institution in a manga, Su Bei had subconsciously assumed the academy wouldn’t be very effective. But it seemed that wasn’t the case. Perhaps Endless Ability Academy had already taken measures against all four of them when they narrowed down the list of suspects.

Of course, these measures weren’t intended to actually harm their lives, but rather to serve as effective countermeasures in the event of their betrayal. Although they had believed Wu Mingbai was the real mole, they hadn’t lowered their guard against the other suspects.

It had to be said, while a bit unethical, it was indeed a very clever method.

“Teacher, is there a way to treat Zhou Renjie?” Mu Tieren, who was following him, finally couldn’t help but ask. He was there at the scene, so he knew exactly how severe the poison was.

A less severe poison wouldn’t have turned someone’s face from a flesh tone to a deathly purple in a mere second.

Regarding this question, Meng Huai didn’t use a white lie to calm everyone. He said honestly, “It’s not looking good. I asked the academy’s doctors. Because we don’t know what kind of poison the Black Flash Organization used, and this kind of specially made poison is inherently difficult to cure, we have no leads at all. To quickly develop an antidote, it would be almost impossible without a large number of samples.”

“A large number of samples?” Si Zhaohua’s eyes gleamed. “Does that mean if someone drinks Zhou Renjie’s blood, they’ll be afflicted with the same poison?”

“You want to volunteer yourself? No way. Not just me, but even the Si family wouldn’t…”

Before Meng Huai could finish, Si Zhaohua calmly interrupted him. “Of course I won’t use myself to test the poison. Money makes the world go round, doesn’t it?”

At these words, everyone immediately understood what he meant. Si Zhaohua intended to recruit a group of test subjects by paying them, letting them serve as the samples. And just as he said, with enough money, anything is possible. As long as the pay was high enough, there would be no shortage of volunteers.

Ai Baozhu was the first to nod in agreement. “Great idea! I’ll pay for half.”

Listening to their conversation, Zhao Xiaoyu’s expression was complicated. Although this was a consensual transaction, and given the character of the Si family and Ai Baozhu, they would never force anyone unwilling to do it. But as an ordinary person, she couldn’t help but feel a chill down her spine the more she thought about it.

This seemed like a consensual transaction, but who’s to say there’s no coercion under the guise of volition? If an absolutely powerful person forced a relatively weaker person to “voluntarily” sign up, wouldn’t they be indirectly committing an evil act?

On one hand, she felt she was overthinking it. This was just a one-time thing, not something they did regularly. What were the chances of something going wrong? But on the other hand, she felt that some doors should never be opened, because opening them would lead to problems.

Meng Huai didn’t quite approve of this approach either; he shared the same concerns as Zhao Xiaoyu. An additional layer to his worry was that he didn’t want his students to learn a worldview where money could solve everything.

Of course, money was very powerful, but there were times when it was useless. He preferred his students to solve problems through their own means, rather than paving the way with wealth.

If someone who volunteered were to die in this experiment, would Si Zhaohua and the others feel guilty? He knew his students very well; most of them were very kind children.

Even though Si Zhaohua seemed very calm when he proposed the idea, if someone really died because of it, he would surely be upset, even if the money was paid in full.

But now, the life of a classmate was at stake. With no other good options available, Meng Huai simply couldn’t stop Si Zhaohua and the others from doing this. Compared to a lesson in worldview, a student’s life was of course more important.

“Perhaps there’s another way.” Suddenly, Feng Lan spoke up. “Do you know about the ‘Omniscient Conch’?”

Zhao Xiaoyu and the others had naturally never heard of it, but to those with deep connections in the Ability World, its name was legendary. Su Bei had also learned about it from the “Destiny” organization’s database.

It was a conch that could answer questions. Each person had only one chance to ask a question, and the answer received was guaranteed to be correct.

However, although the “Omniscient Conch” was said to be an item, it was actually a special type of Nightmare Beast, just without a consciousness of its own. But as long as it was a Nightmare Beast, it was definitely harmful. The harm of the “Omniscient Conch” was that once it was used, the user would die.

Yes, it was that simple and brutal.

But this death effect could be borne by items. Whether it was a “Substitute Doll,” a “Life Substitution Array,” or “Life Stone Fragments”… any of them would work. The user would remain unharmed after receiving the answer.

And these were the kinds of items Si Zhaohua and the others had in abundance. If they could find the “Omniscient Conch,” they could easily get the cure for the poison affecting Zhou Renjie.

“Good idea!” A smile finally appeared on Si Zhaohua’s usually calm face, which was enough to show that he himself did not want to resort to his original method.

“What’s a good idea?” Just then, Jiang Tianming and the other two walked in. All three of them looked very happy, clearly having had a pleasant chat.

Mu Tieren briefly explained the situation, then looked at Wu Mingbai in the middle of the group and apologized solemnly, “I’m sorry, Mingbai. We misunderstood you before. If we had believed in you enough at the time, you wouldn’t have suffered so much.”

With him taking the lead, the others immediately followed with apologies. No matter what, misunderstanding a companion was their fault, and an apology was due.

Seeing everyone sincerely apologizing to him, Wu Mingbai pursed his lips. “I didn’t really suffer that much…”

Because Jiang Tianming and Lan Subing were still searching for clues, unconvinced that Wu Mingbai was the mole, the Ability Government hadn’t mistreated him much, only keeping him isolated in a room.

After all, they were also afraid that if their judgment was wrong, treating Wu Mingbai poorly now would lead to them being held accountable later.

As for being angry, there was certainly some of that. The feeling of being distrusted by companions was not pleasant, especially when he had no way to defend himself. That feeling of frustration was even more unbearable.

But was he particularly angry? Not really. After all, his opponents were Su Bei and Mo Xiaotian. If he were an outsider, he would never have suspected those two either.

With Su Bei’s ability, the fact that he allowed them to directly discover his cooperation with the Black Flash Organization was enough to prove he definitely wasn’t the mole. If he could still so openly make deals with the Black Flash Organization as a mole, then Wu Mingbai could only say he accepted being framed.

The same logic applied to Mo Xiaotian. If the Black Flash Organization dared to send such a naive and sweet guy as a mole, Wu Mingbai would admit defeat wholeheartedly. He had suspected the intelligence Zhou Renjie brought back was fake, but he never suspected these two.

Looking at the earnest gazes of the crowd, he sighed, and a smile returned to his face. “Forget it. Since you all got backstabbed by Mo Xiaotian anyway, I’ll be merciful and forgive you!”

Seeing them about to stage a happy family reunion, Su Bei, completely ruining the atmosphere, spoke up. “So where can we find this ‘Omniscient Conch’?”

This single sentence immediately brought everyone’s worries back to Zhou Renjie’s critical condition. Feng Lan calmly replied, “There is one in the Wesi Sanctuary.”

Although such items were recorded in texts, the only one known to exist in the world today was at the Wesi Sanctuary.

And luckily, all of them happened to have the opportunity to go to the Wesi Sanctuary. Although the timing was uncertain, with the “honored guest” level treatment Su Bei and the others had received, they could change the time. Not only could they change their own, but as long as the times didn’t conflict too much, they could help Mu Tieren and the others change theirs as well.

Now, there was only one last question. Si Zhaohua looked at Meng Huai. “How much longer can Renjie hold on in his current state?”

“If nothing is done during this period, he can last for two weeks,” Meng Huai replied immediately, having a clear understanding of Zhou Renjie’s condition.

The reason he specifically emphasized “if nothing is done” was because under normal circumstances, they would definitely have to pause the item and study Zhou Renjie’s body to determine the appropriate treatment method. And pausing the item would lead to the problem of shortening Zhou Renjie’s survival time.

But if Si Zhaohua and the others could find a cure through the “Omniscient Conch,” then there would naturally be no need for research.

“We understand.” Si Zhaohua nodded and looked at Feng Lan. “Could I trouble you to contact the Wesi Sanctuary and move all of our visit times to the next two days?”

Apart from the Ability Government, only the Feng Family could contact the Wesi Sanctuary. The Feng Family’s strength might not match the Si Family’s, but their reputation was truly great.

“I can.” Feng Lan nodded with little expression. Although he was naturally stoic, he had no intention of refusing to help a classmate. While he wasn’t particularly close to Zhou Renjie, they had been classmates for a year. Feng Lan was naturally willing to help with such a small favor that was within his power.

“Oh, one more thing.” Wu Mingbai sat down in his somewhat long-vacant seat. “My… father plans to take me back to my real country, the Afei Nation, during the break to announce my identity. Do you all want to come along and visit?”

Originally, the others only had a vague idea about his background, knowing only that Wu Mingbai might be a prince. Now that they finally knew which country he was from, they couldn’t help but gasp.

Although the Afei Nation was not large, it was a very special country. Their country had a well-known guardian deity that appeared when Nightmare Beasts first emerged and continues to play a role to this day.

This guardian deity was not one of those gods that only offered psychological comfort, but a real, existing entity that had saved the Afei Nation from peril several times throughout history.

Su Bei hadn’t paid much attention to the specific information about the guardian deity, but it was a well-known piece of “common knowledge,” so he was somewhat familiar with it. The guardian deity was called Godean Zhuo by the people of the Afei Nation. No one had seen its specific form; it was said that only members of the royal family knew.

Whenever foreign tribes invaded, the Afei Nation would become impregnable with its help. Mountains and rivers would suddenly shift positions, turning the terrain into a easily defensible one. The enemy’s location would also frequently experience various natural disasters, such as earthquakes and floods.

It was precisely because of this that many people went to the Afei Nation every year in search of Godean Zhuo, but no one ever found it, all returning empty-handed in the end. However, when Su Bei saw this news, he seriously suspected that those who supposedly returned empty-handed were merely survivors, and many more had probably died directly in the Afei Nation.

It was worth mentioning that the information about Godean Zhuo in the “Destiny” organization’s files was far more interesting than what was available on the market. Although Su Bei hadn’t looked at it in detail, he had some impression of it.

“Then does that mean you’ll be able to find out what the Afei Nation’s guardian deity really is?” Ai Baozhu said excitedly. Her mood had brightened considerably now that there was a way to save Zhou Renjie.

The guardian deity of the Afei Nation wasn’t something only known in the Ability World; it was an open secret, so Wu Mingbai was also well aware of it and very curious.

However, he shook his head in response to Ai Baozhu’s words. “Not necessarily. I’m only going back halfway through, after all. And even if I really did find out, I probably wouldn’t be allowed to tell anyone.”