Chapter 177

Chapter 177 It could only be Black Flash. The Knowledge Nightmare Beast figured this out. Su Bei was right—it had agreed with Black Flash to help it escape in exchange for capturing people. Now, caught by Su Bei, Black Flash couldn’t save it. The deal was broken, so if it compromised and released the captives, the threat shifted from the academy to Black Flash. If it died, those in its book world would too. "Why should I trust you?" Su Bei’s words sowed doubt, but without proof, the beast wouldn’t fully believe him. Su Bei anticipated this, answering: "They won’t let you release the captives, so they’ve sabotaged you. Try releasing someone now and see." After circling, Su Bei revealed his goal: to make the beast try releasing someone to confirm if Black Flash sealed the book world. He could’ve asked directly for the same effect, but his analysis served two purposes. First, to make the beast willing to try under his persuasion. Second, and more critical, to hide his intel source. Claiming the beast’s destiny neared death justified knowing the book world was sealed. Suspecting Black Flash was explainable—they’d targeted him before, so he could plausibly bluff the beast with confidence. But knowing the book world was sealed was inexplicable. He’d deduced it from Black Flash’s message, and they could, from his response, deduce he knew. If he openly showed he knew without cover, a mole might suspect his Destiny connection. So, he used his Ability as a plausible excuse. No one could know or disprove what he saw, making it airtight. The beast, though a Nightmare Beast, nearly laughed in anger: "Think I’m an idiot? I’m smart. If I release them, I lose my leverage, becoming fish on your chopping block." Su Bei rolled his eyes: "Call you dumb, and you act it. You’ve got dozens of captives—releasing one won’t dent your leverage." True—at least fifty students were inside. One release wouldn’t matter. "...Fine, you’re right," the beast conceded, not hesitating. "I’ll try, but if I can release them, no more lies. I won’t believe you." Su Bei had no issue. If it could release someone, his guess was wrong. With only this theory, he’d have no more lies to spin. Moments later, Su Bei felt the black book tremble, then the beast’s voice: "You were right..." It hadn’t expected its book world to be out of its control, sealed, unable to summon people or alter the plot. It fully believed Su Bei—Black Flash had tampered with its world. It had worked fine before, so why not now? The only difference was letting Black Flash’s people in. They must be behind it. Black Flash’s meddling shattered their deal’s stability. After brief anger, the beast felt deep fear. Su Bei’s prophecy—its impending death—loomed. Though a Nightmare Beast, it cherished life most among its kind. With so much knowledge unseen, how could it die? It didn’t want to die, and the best way to live was to beg the boy: "Su Bei, right? You can change destinies. Help me, and I won’t shortchange you." A perfect extortion chance. Su Bei feigned difficulty: "Changing destinies takes lots of Mental Energy, especially death. I might not handle the drain." He decided his Ability’s Mental Energy cost. Destiny Abilities naturally consumed much, and even with his high Mental Energy, the beast couldn’t argue. "I can give you a life-force-replenishing item," the beast said, too desperate to hoard. It had treasures from its long life. They were useless to it—Nightmare Beasts didn’t need life force. But for Ability users, or humans, such an item was priceless. Su Bei nearly fainted from the surprise, coughing to calm down. With such sincerity, he couldn’t refuse, mainly fearing the beast might retract: "If so, I’m fine." Before it spoke, he added: "But even if I change your death destiny, if Black Flash targets you, they might strike again. You must earn Alpha Ability Academy’s forgiveness." This ensured it wouldn’t act recklessly during the academy’s interrogation, thinking it was safe. "You’re right! Take me to your teachers! I’ll confess and ask for protection!" the beast agreed eagerly, then asked expectantly, "Change my destiny now?" Change what? Its large pointer wasn’t even in the lower half. Thinking this, Su Bei stayed calm: "How do I know you’re not tricking me? What if I change your destiny, and you ditch me without the item?" A valid concern. The beast also feared empty promises. It replied: "I don’t have human contract items. How about we get one later and sign? Sound good?" Su Bei agreed instantly. The beast couldn’t write, so he’d draft the contract, fudging it to gloss over details. They waited for the teachers. Kayla didn’t fail—within ten minutes, a teleportation gate appeared. Led by Alpha Ability Academy’s principal, teachers stepped out. Seeing the tower’s state differed from surveillance, their faces darkened. Meng Huai addressed Su Bei: "Your note said Jiang Tianming’s group was trapped in the Knowledge Nightmare Beast’s book world. Is that certain?" "Certain," Su Bei nodded, shaking the black book. "And it collaborated with Black Flash." The beast let out two awkward laughs, quickly assuring: "But I’ve turned back now! I’ll tell you everything!" Before they could react to Su Bei’s claim, they looked puzzled. Hadn’t it joined Black Flash? Why surrender so spinelessly without a word? Meng Huai, knowing his student, asked: "What did you do to it?" "Not much. I made it realize Black Flash sealed its book world, showing it was betrayed," Su Bei said lightly. The beast followed: "He’s right. Black Flash never intended an honest deal. I had to find another way." Seeing its cooperation and the urgency, they didn’t probe, taking Su Bei and the beast out of the Different Space. Outside, the beast urged: "Can I get a contract paper now?" "Why?" The principal stroked his beard, eyeing Su Bei. "Made a deal with this kid?" Su Bei nodded openly: "I saw its death destiny. It doesn’t want to die and asked me to change it." "Remarkable Ability," the principal mused, conjuring a contract paper and pen. "Write it, but I want this deal done in our presence." This protected Su Bei from being cheated. "No problem," Su Bei agreed, writing. The contract was simple: he’d remove the beast’s death destiny, and it would give the promised item. Since it had no death destiny, he didn’t need to adjust anything. The beast, unable to tell, signed willingly. It sensed the contract’s Ability aura, confirming its authenticity, and fulfilled its part: "Open me to see the item. Touch me to receive its rules." Since Su Bei didn’t specify the item, the smart beast knew he wanted it hidden. Humans were cunning—caution was normal. Needing his help, it didn’t expose it. Relieved he could keep the item private, Su Bei relaxed. Despite the high-status crowd, he was wary of a life-force item sparking greed. Without a protagonist halo, he couldn’t risk it. Touching the book’s cover, his mind received the item’s details—Life Stone Necklace. Life Stone, a treasure of the Nightmare Beast world, useless to adult beasts but boosting High-Level beast birth rates, making it precious. Only a few existed, each guarded by powerful beasts. Most humans didn’t even know of them, let alone take one. The beast’s piece was a fragment, naturally shed, lacking the full stone’s powers, so it could take it. The fragment had two functions. Primarily, when fused into the heart, it fully restored life force—a one-use item, vanishing after. Second, a self-protection mechanism: it could morph into any shape within its size, though this was minor. But this suited Su Bei’s dilemma perfectly! Pretending to open the book, he reached in, touched the necklace, and morphed it with a thought before pulling it out. Everyone saw a necklace with a Gear pendant. Su Bei smiled innocently: "My Ability is [Destiny Gear], so this item helps me." The first half was true, the second too, but linking them implied the Gear necklace enhanced his Ability. His tone made others assume this cause-and-effect. He boldly wore it, tucking the pendant under his clothes, then used his Ability. Though unnecessary, he had to play the part. Even if the beast suspected his earlier claims were exaggerated, he needed to show some weakness. He tweaked the beast’s small pointer left and boosted his own luck, burning Mental Energy until his face paled, then stopped: "Done." With the contract, the beast didn’t fear deceit. After resolving its crisis, it faced questioning. Su Bei watched. Nothing new—his guesses were correct. It connected with Black Flash via another High-Level beast’s vision. Black Flash promised to return it to the Nightmare Beast world. In exchange, it sent Jiang Tianming’s group into the book world upon entering the tower, along with Black Flash’s people, granting partial control, including entry and plot design. Unconcerned with their plans, it hadn’t monitored the book world until Su Bei revealed Black Flash sealed it, unable to release anyone. It was stunned. "How did you know Black Flash sealed the book world?" a teacher asked, catching the issue. Su Bei gave his prepared excuse. Though slightly flawed, it was plausible enough—no one pressed in such a moment. John continued: "What’s the book world’s plot?" Knowing the plot, they could gauge when a death trap appeared, like the beast tide in Su Bei’s prior book world. "The main plot is they live in a building with fast time flow. Every hour, residents age a year," the beast summarized simply. To Su Bei, this was unexpected yet logical. Black Flash targeted Elvis' group, with the exchange students as a bonus, for longevity-related reasons. A life-themed plot made sense. He understood, but others didn’t. John frowned: "What’s the point? Let students die in despair to forge stronger Nightmare Beasts?" John could be a screenwriter—his grim, plausible theory. "I don’t know," the beast said, uninterested. John dropped it, discussing with other teachers. The book world’s time matched reality—aging a year every ten minutes. They could last ten hours, reaching their seventies, when some might die from age, even with Ability users’ longer lifespans. Ordinary humans might die around sixty. From 12:30 a.m. entry, two hours had passed. Time was short. "Do you know how to break this plot?" After discussion, some teachers left quietly, and John asked again. Typically, book world exits had three methods: the beast releasing them, tearing the book inside, or resolving the plot. John meant the third. Their plan was to send intel to the students inside on escaping. But since Black Flash designed the plot, the beast didn’t know the solution. "Let’s figure out how to enter the book world," the white-bearded principal said, stroking his beard, calm but serious. "Even sealed, it’s not impossible." With no more from the beast, they’d force entry technically. Studied extensively by the academy, the beast’s book world was well-understood by Alpha Ability Academy. Seeing them leave, unnoticed, Su Bei headed to his dorm to rest. At the door, Meng Huai caught up: "Su Bei, wait. I have questions." Su Bei turned无奈: "What, Teacher?" "How’d you know it was Black Flash with the beast?" Meng Huai asked suspiciously. "I bluffed," Su Bei said confidently. "They caused trouble at Ability User Job Base recently. When something happened, I naturally thought of them." Logical, but too logical, making Meng Huai sense something off. Su Bei’s reactions—from Jiang Tianming’s trouble to alerting via another student to finding the beast—were too swift, as if he’d known. During the questioning, Meng Huai watched Su Bei, noting his lack of surprise at anything the beast said. Though [Destiny Gear] could foresee via destinies, did he know too much? Meng Huai hadn’t met many Destiny Ability users, unsure of their limits, but his dragon knight intuition screamed Su Bei was hiding something. He stared meaningfully: "We can trust you, right?" "Maybe," Su Bei shrugged, avoiding empty promises. Meng Huai didn’t press, smirking mischievously: "Good news and bad news. Which first?" Familiar line. Su Bei’s mouth twitched, choosing opposite Jiang Tianming: "Bad news." "Bad news: you’ll likely help with the rescue," Meng Huai said, knowing this was bad for Su Bei. As expected, Su Bei’s face soured: "Why?" "You’re the only one recently in the book world. You’re most likely to break the seal," Meng Huai said, citing his youthful adventures and Alpha Ability Academy’s teachers’ confirmation. Su Bei sighed, knowing his slacking chances were nil. With no hope for good news, he asked: "Good news?" Predictably, Meng Huai grinned gleefully: "You’ll probably get a ‘Helpful’ banner. It’s their tradition." Su Bei: "..."