Chapter 179

Chapter 179 "What’s in it for me if I risk my life to save them?" Though I had some inclination to go, even now, I didn’t forget to secure benefits for myself. Praise, gratitude, and honor were empty—only tangible rewards mattered. Meng Huai wasn’t surprised by my question, raising a finger: "Alpha Ability Academy promises a skill book you can use if you succeed." Another skill book? I showed surprise. This event would see Alpha Ability Academy give out nearly twenty skill books, some very rare. One might think skill books were common as dirt. Especially my reward—a Destiny Track skill book was extremely rare. If high-quality, its price could skyrocket. Quite sincere. Noticing my shock, Meng Huai couldn’t help but sigh: "This school lacks many things, but not skill books. If only we could catch a Knowledge Nightmare Beast. Sadly, they’re scarce, strong in self-preservation, and guarded by High-Level Nightmare Beasts—hard to capture." Indeed, a Knowledge Nightmare Beast was an endless treasure trove. Alpha Ability Academy had this one for years, amassing an unimaginable stock of skill books. "But one thing to note," he added, "though Alpha Ability Academy says the skill book will be usable, it might not be Destiny Track." I understood instantly. Besides Destiny skills, I could use general body-enhancing skill books, but those were typically less valuable. I wasn’t too worried: "Alpha Ability Academy wouldn’t be that stingy, right?" If fifty-plus students were harmed, the school’s reputation would take a devastating hit. As the only one able to enter, agreeing to help was a huge favor. Reasonably, the reward shouldn’t be cheap. But I couldn’t demand top quality—Destiny skill books were rare, if it's usable it’s good enough. Meng Huai thought so too, his earlier comment just a reminder. Seeing I understood, he said no more: "Let’s go." He led me to an open training room where the Knowledge Nightmare Beast and several Alpha Ability Academy teachers waited. Their efficiency was impressive—finding a way into the book world so quickly outshone Endless Ability Academy. I just hoped Jiang Tianming’s group hadn’t already resolved it, making my trip pointless. The white-bearded principal asked kindly: "Are you ready? This was our oversight, letting enemies exploit us, and now we need a student’s help. On behalf of Alpha Ability Academy’s staff and students, I sincerely thank you." He didn’t ask if I was willing—only I could enter, so choice was irrelevant. Asking would seem overbearing. They could only offer better rewards to make my forced risk worthwhile. After brief pleasantries, I adjusted my small pointer to the leftmost position. Since landing was random, I wanted a spot convenient for action. Even without a view of the book world, I knew it was chaotic inside. Jiang Tianming’s group wouldn’t wait passively, and Black Flash wouldn’t let them find an exit easily. With my luck, entering blindly might drop me into the main battlefield, making me a target. Better to adjust my luck to land somewhere better. From countless tests, I’d learned everyone’s luck limits varied. The same leftmost small pointer let Lan Subing dodge danger entirely, while Jiang Tianming only got a chance to hide from immediate detection. As part of the less-lucky bunch, even with my pointer maxed, I might not land in a prime spot. But adjusting it was better than not. Sucked into the book world again, I was prepared, shaking my head to orient myself. I was in a storage room, with no apparent intel. Before I could open the door, a voice came from outside—a shrill male voice, clearly altered by a voice changer: "I must admit, I couldn’t have done this at your age. But sadly, this entire book world is under my control. I know your every move." I raised an eyebrow. Landed right at the boss' room? Nice luck—his counterpart was likely Jiang Tianming’s group. Sure enough, Jiang Tianming’s calm voice followed: "You captured us just to watch us die of old age?" He sounded composed, as if he had a plan. The shrill voice laughed: "Hardly. On the contrary, I captured you to experience this to find the path to immortality." This matched my guess. I grew curious about this Black Flash operative’s identity. "How could we find immortality?" Jiang Tianming asked, frowning. The man, wearing a doll-face mask, shook his head: "No, you know, don’t you? Someone among you can achieve it." He looked at a few silent students nearby: "What do you say?" Tiffany spoke first, sneering: "If you want immortality, let me embrace you. Your life will be tied to mine." She wasn’t wrong—those permanently embraced by [Vampire] Ability users shared their life, and with their long lifespans, it was near immortality. Her family had many vassals, powerful Ability users who traded freedom for longevity. "No need to mock, little girl. I know you have other ways," the man said, unfazed by Tiffany’s words. Elvis and Ian stayed silent, as did Lan Subing. Jiang Tianming pursed his lips, speaking again: "If you’re studying immortality, let the others go. They’re useless to you." "They’re not useful for immortality, but that doesn’t mean they’re useless to me. There are no useless abilities—only useless users," the man said disapprovingly, his tone like a kindly elder, absurd with his doll mask. No one wanted to talk, but they hadn’t stalled enough. Jiang Tianming calmly pressed: "What’s immortality worth? Didn’t you claim to be reasonable? We don’t care for it. If you’re reasonable, let us go." Predictably, the man shook his head, looking at them like naive kids: "You’re too young to understand life’s regrets needing centuries to mend." Thinking, perhaps needing to confide or due to the protagonist's aura, he sighed: "Let me tell you a story." He shared a love story. It was simple: he had a wife, deeply in love, working together in research. She died in an accident, and he grieved long. Then he found her as a Nightmare Beast and vowed to turn her human again. The masked man was a skilled storyteller, his deep emotions making it moving. I knew turning Nightmare Beasts human was impossible—his research would fail—so I felt nothing. But others didn’t know. Lan Subing rarely spoke: "How’s your research going?" "Not much progress yet, so I need more lifespan," he replied passionately. "Nightmare Beasts live forever. If I die, what happens to her?" If he died, his beast-turned wife, even if reverted, would be alone. Without his protection, humans might kill her—a cruelty he wouldn’t allow. His confident eyes showed he believed he’d find the way. Black Flash’s research confirmed his genius. I guessed his identity—likely Mo Xiaotian’s grandfather. The big boss himself showed up, stirring my urge to act. If I unmasked him now, could I expose Mo Xiaotian? But [Destiny Gear] didn’t work on Grandpa, so I’d need another way. I couldn’t release Mental Energy either—Black Flash’s leader surely had detection items. I couldn’t expose myself. The talk continued, with Jiang Tianming sounding swayed. Lan Subing chimed in, seemingly empathetic. Elvis frowned, urging them to stay sharp and not buy Grandpa’s tale. No matter how touching, it didn’t hide that he used others’ lives for his goals. Tiffany frowned too but stayed silent. They didn’t know Jiang Tianming and Lan Subing, but I did. They wouldn’t be swayed, especially not with others’ lives at stake. Their words were to stall, lowering Grandpa’s guard. I ignored them, pondering my move. Suddenly, a door crashed open. Si Zhaohua’s voice rang: "Tianming, we found the way out, like you said!" The sounds outside grew chaotic but soon quieted. The man sighed regretfully: "So you were stalling. I thought I’d found kindred spirits." Then, like a split personality, he laughed: "But did you think finding the exit lets you leave? This book world has no way for all to escape! The only exit allows thirty out. What about the rest? Would you abandon them?" A book world rule required an exit method, but Black Flash’s Space Lock limited it to three-quarters of the entrants. Knowing these justice-taught students wouldn’t abandon allies, the leader stayed calm, even with some uncaught and Jiang Tianming stalling. As expected, their faces darkened. Jiang Tianming looked at Si Zhaohua, who shook his head blankly: "I haven’t tried." But they knew the enemy likely wasn’t lying. It was my time to shine. Adjusting several Destiny Compasses, rubbing my pale face from Mental Energy overuse, I pushed the door open, smirking: "What’s that about someone not getting out?" "Su Bei?!" Jiang Tianming and the others exclaimed, shocked and thrilled. "How are you here?" After entering the book world, left to fend for themselves, they’d regrouped quickly but hadn’t seen me, assuming I wasn’t inside, especially since I’d vanished during the tower fight. Who’d expect me at this critical moment? "I’m here when I need to be," I grinned. "I brought books." I didn’t pull them out yet—safest in my storage ring. What if they got destroyed? They froze, then rejoiced. Everyone knew tearing any book let them exit. I’d come from outside to save them, so I must have plenty. No more exit worries. But I, poised to play hero, nearly cracked. Only now did I see their appearances. Honestly, seeing familiar faces as adults was hard not to laugh at. They were in their fifties or sixties. Jiang Tianming had white streaks in his black hair, wrinkles on his face, but stood straight, a spry old man. Lan Subing had white hair too—oddly, all hair turned white with age. Her cheeks were sunken, her bright blue eyes cloudy, yet still a lovely old lady. Ai Baozhu was also stunning, no white hair visible, but her style had shifted from a princess updo to a simple ponytail. I guessed she hid the white. Si Zhaohua had the edge—his silver hair hid any white. Sprightly, his style and aura made him a refined elder. Elvis and Tiffany hadn’t aged—Elvis' Ability dodged the book world’s mechanics, and Tiffany’s long lifespan made sixty trivial. Ian was absent, who knows where. I didn’t care, focused on Jiang Tianming’s group. "Pfft!" I couldn’t hold it, laughing. Sorry, their old faces were hilarious. They froze, then reacted. Ai Baozhu snapped: "What’s so funny?" I curbed my grin, clasping my hands apologetically: "No more, no more." The masked man, however, was the opposite. He hadn’t expected Alpha Ability Academy to breach the Space Lock so fast, letting someone in. His plan was doomed, but he stayed composed: "Well, you’ve outdone us. No matter, we’ll meet again. So I’ll..." I cut him off, raising a hand: "Wait." He looked puzzled. I snapped my fingers: "The show’s just starting." The next second, Ian dropped from the air, startling Si Zhaohua and Jiang Tianming into using their Abilities. Tense already, my door-opening had spooked them, let alone someone falling from above. Si Zhaohua used [Object Control] to grab a chair for defense, while Jiang Tianming’s feathers scattered to catch the sudden foe. Their actions forced the masked man to move. Sensing danger, he dodged feathers and jumped the chair. Thinking he was safe, a feather came from behind. It didn’t feel threatening, so he didn’t dodge. But it cut the mask’s strap, dropping it. "Clack." The mask’s fall froze everyone, all turning to see his face. Predictably yet surprisingly, it was shrouded in mist. Exposing Grandpa wasn’t easy. I was surprised but not too disappointed. Grandpa, the masked man, was shocked, his misty face showing it: "How’d you do that?" He knew his Destiny Compass was hidden—I shouldn’t control him. Yet, that sequence was destiny-guided, affecting him, or the mask wouldn’t have fallen. So he was stunned, unsure how I altered his destiny. I answered calmly: "Destiny can be hidden, but it doesn’t vanish." I couldn’t touch his compass, but he still had a destiny. As long as it existed, I could influence it with the right method. I used the connection method. Everyone’s destinies in this room were likely linked. Adjusting others’ affected his. Knowing this, I just needed to control the influence’s direction. It sounded hard, but with clear thinking, guiding pointers without seeing his compass was possible. I set his large pointer to “Expose.” From Dream Bubble studies, this position made someone reveal something. It was ideal—upper half, near the middle. As Black Flash’s leader, he wouldn’t die soon, so his pointer was in the upper half. Setting the target there made it easy for others to influence. But Ian was affected too. I now knew he’d been in his own book world initially, not pulling others in, and emerged suddenly. After my reply, the masked man paused, then vanished, likely exiting the book world. I raised an eyebrow, turning to Jiang Tianming’s group: "Let’s find the others." They didn’t move immediately, asking curiously: "What was that about? He knows your Ability—why ask that?" "He hid his destiny; did he really think it’d stop me?" I smirked, smugly humming. I had reason to be proud—making Black Flash’s leader, prepared, suffer a loss was a feat few could claim.