Chapter 187

Chapter 187 Chapter 187 Su Bei had pondered that reversing the meteor shower’s changes required making the meteor vanish. The first step was locating it. But it seemed the meteor had shattered into fragments. How could they all disappear? He had no answer yet—perhaps a trip to the Nightmare Beast world would spark ideas. Another issue: the meteor couldn’t only be in the Nightmare Beast world; some must remain in the real world. Where were those? No, wait, that was overcomplicating. Su Bei’s brow relaxed. Knowing the author hadn’t planned the meteor, why add trouble? If Nightmare Beast world meteor fragments formed Nightmare Beasts, real-world fragments formed Ability users—a neat setup. Following this, they’d only need to eliminate the Nightmare Beast world’s fragments, erasing Nightmare Beasts while preserving Abilities. A perfect plan. Su Bei’s lips curved. He had to visit the Nightmare Beast world to confirm the meteor’s location and proceed. He wasn’t entirely convinced the floating stones were meteor fragments. If they were just a Nightmare Beast world feature, unrelated to the meteor, he’d consider if the "Life Stone" was the meteor. The "Life Stone," per the Knowledge Nightmare Beast, existed only in the Nightmare Beast world, brimming with energy, enhancing nearby Nightmare Beasts’ quality. This could be the meteor—Su Bei had suspected it when the Knowledge Nightmare Beast mentioned it. Both theories were daunting. Collecting all the Nightmare Beast world’s dust and stones or snatching rare "Life Stones" from powerful High-Level Nightmare Beasts were equally tough. Su Bei leaned toward the former, as the author hadn’t planned the meteor, making a "Life Stone" effect unlikely. Yet, the manga world was a full world. Not everything followed the author’s intent, especially in unplanned areas, where the world fleshed itself out. The author likely didn’t plan the world’s TV shows or novels, yet they existed. Knowing this was a manga world upended Su Bei’s worldview, but he never doubted its reality. He questioned only the plot and its characters. Elements and characters outside the plot were beyond the author’s control. Continuing, after entering the Nightmare Beast world, they followed coordinate items to find the farm’s Close Point. Su Bei skimmed their encounters, focusing on main plot or Nightmare Beast world secrets. The author seized this chance, weaving in settings. Most useful to Su Bei was that "Nightmare Beasts are amassing strength." Feng Lan’s team learned this after capturing a High-Level Nightmare Beast. A Control-Type, it succumbed to Wu Jin’s charm and Li Shu’s [Illusion], revealing memory fragments. In its memories, Nightmare Beasts once warred among themselves, hostile to all but most to humans. Without Close Points to attack humans, they turned inward. Decades ago, High-Level Nightmare Beasts led assaults on the human world, reducing infighting—why fight kin when humans were the target? Recently, despite fewer campaigns, Nightmare Beasts hadn’t fought internally. Su Bei suspected they were stockpiling strength for a major move. No campaigns in the human world, no Nightmare Beast infighting—it felt like the calm before a storm, one that might engulf humanity. Qi Huang’s group saw nothing in the beast’s memories, but Lei Ze’en grew grim, likely sharing Su Bei’s god’s-eye view, sensing the Nightmare Beasts’ quiet was brewing a grand plot. Suddenly, Feng Lan froze, eyes closed, body glowing faintly gold. Lei Ze’en, experienced, recognized his [Prophecy] Ability activating and guarded him. Using Abilities in the Nightmare Beast world was like lighting a fire in darkness, drawing attention. Nightmare Beasts swarmed, aiming to eliminate the stray sheep. To train the students, Lei Ze’en didn’t intervene, only filtering out overly strong beasts. That sufficed—Qi Huang’s group weren’t lambs for slaughter. After pages, Feng Lan awoke, receiving a prophecy: a massive campaign loomed, ensnaring countless, including first-year Ability users. It aligned with Lei Ze’en and Su Bei’s fears. By then, the farm’s task was trivial, but duty-bound, and with no imminent beast attack, they completed it steadily. Their plot centered on this story, followed by epilogues for all three locations. Su Bei checked the forums briefly. Lacking his multi-perspective view and main plot ties, readers found little, mostly marveling at the Nightmare Beast world’s novelty. Feng Lan’s prophecy hinted at the next arc—a major campaign, though its timing was unclear. The month-long event ended, and they’d return to campus, preparing for the mid-term tri-school competition. Su Bei guessed the campaign would wait until after. His priority was acing the mid-terms. He also needed to plan for the competition and campaign, seeking opportunities to act, ideally boosting his strength in the tri-school event to avoid being cannon fodder later. With his current power, he likely wouldn’t be fodder, but caution never hurt—strength was always good. After a car ride and teleportation array, they reached the school gate. The familiar yet strange campus stirred emotions. Only a month, yet it felt like ages. They’d faced too much, stretching time. But "Endless Ability Academy" students didn’t see a month as long, nor found Jiang Tianming’s group unfamiliar—they weren’t daily fixtures. Seeing the five appear, curious onlookers gathered, whispering about their trip. Su Bei’s group had no interest in being zoo exhibits, hurrying from the gate to the dorms. It was Friday, with two rest days ahead. Except Su Bei and Jiang Tianming, the others planned to visit home. A month away warranted a family check-in. By 8 p.m., other S-Class students trickled back but left for home after drop-off. Only Su Bei and Jiang Tianming stayed. Jiang Tianming and Wu Mingbai’s orphan status was known early, partly why Zhou Renjie bullied them. Su Bei’s background was murkier—his parents seemed deceased, and he lived alone. Though curious, neither Jiang Tianming nor Wu Mingbai pried, avoiding sore spots. Over dinner, they discussed the event, eventually landing on Zhou Renjie. "His betrayal—what’ll happen next?" Wu Mingbai sighed. "Teacher Ye Lin said the Zhou Family’s under surveillance. If Zhou Renjie shows, he’ll be caught." The criminal treatment left Jiang Tianming conflicted. Not witnessing the betrayal, he still saw Zhou Renjie as a classmate. He sighed: "I had a bad feeling, but him making that choice is still hard to accept." No hindsight bias—many classmates noticed clues. After failing the monthly exam, Zhou Renjie grew sullen, masking it with forced cheer. But with genuinely cheerful classmates around, and his natural demeanor not upbeat, it stood out. Faking wasn’t a big deal, but his dark, probing gazes were. Ability users, sensitive to stares, couldn’t miss his scrutiny. Most didn’t imagine betrayal, assuming personal vendettas. Betrayal implicated his family, a bigger leap. Wu Mingbai had sensed it, hence his wariness: "His betrayal likely ties to the match with Mo Xiaotian, but Mo Xiaotian acts like nothing happened. Dense as a brick—dumb luck, I guess." Su Bei chuckled. Mo Xiaotian, dense? He orchestrated Zhou Renjie’s betrayal, thrilled by it—why would he be sad? His laugh drew their gazes, but Su Bei shook his head, signaling to continue, resuming eating. They tactfully dropped it, chatting on. Wu Mingbai watched Mo Xiaotian; Jiang Tianming observed Si Zhaohua: "Zhaohua’s reaction was odd." "How so?" Wu Mingbai asked, Su Bei perking up. "Besides a brief reaction when he heard, he seemed to forget it, never mentioning it," Jiang Tianming said, soaking his rice in braised chicken sauce. Su Bei hadn’t noticed until pointed out—it was true. Not just Si Zhaohua; Ai Baozhu showed no reaction, as if Zhou Renjie’s betrayal was irrelevant. Yet, neither were cold-hearted. How could they be unaffected? But no signs showed—none at all. "Maybe rich folks take special expression management classes," Wu Mingbai said indifferently. "They won’t betray, and if Zhou Renjie shows, they likely won’t help unless he’s surrendering." Given their personalities, for self or family, they’d shun a traitor unless he turned himself in. But was that likely? Obviously not. "You’re right..." Jiang Tianming nodded hesitantly, still sensing something off. But as Wu Mingbai said, they wouldn’t betray or aid Zhou Renjie, so no worries. Su Bei, eating, pondered Jiang Tianming’s observation, finding it odd. Beyond the initial shock, Si Zhaohua and Ai Baozhu seemed unfazed. For someone like Li Shu or Mo Xiaotian, it might suggest callousness, but not them. Their behavior implied either perfect masking, as Wu Mingbai suggested, or... they knew something, unworried about Zhou Renjie’s fate. Su Bei’s eyes glinted. Was there more to Zhou Renjie’s betrayal? Had he missed details? Chewing sauce-soaked mushrooms, Su Bei gave up. Whatever the specifics, it barely concerned him. After dinner, they walked back. Jiang Tianming asked Wu Mingbai: "Your Ability got a big boost, right? I haven’t seen it since returning." He knew Wu Mingbai’s [Earth Element] had surged after ‘Black Flash’s’ scheme, but being in different locations, he hadn’t witnessed it. During "Alpha Ability Academy," he and Lan Subing video-called Wu Mingbai, who showed off his new powers. But a small screen couldn’t capture much, leaving both sides wanting. The question hit Wu Mingbai’s sweet spot. He’d been itching to flaunt his Ability naturally, and Jiang Tianming’s prompt was perfect. Fearing Jiang Tianming might back out or Su Bei leave, Wu Mingbai nodded, scanning the area, pointing to a stone pillar atop a building hundreds of meters away, and reached out. The knee-high pillar flew to him. "That far?" Jiang Tianming gaped. Wu Mingbai’s prior control over earth elements was far weaker. "Not just that—it’s just the farthest earth item we can see," Wu Mingbai said smugly. "Check this!" He raised his hands, face paling, forehead sweating. Just as he seemed to falter, a small stone fell from the sky into his hand. A stone from the sky?! Su Bei and Jiang Tianming’s eyes widened, a rare shared shock, especially Su Bei, delighting Wu Mingbai. "A meteor?" Su Bei ventured. Pondering the meteor shower, Wu Mingbai’s similar action naturally led there, though unlikely. Shockingly, Wu Mingbai nodded: "Yes, a meteor." "How?" Jiang Tianming exclaimed, thrilled. "Your Ability controls earth elements that far?" "Er... not quite..." Facing trusted friends, Wu Mingbai didn’t hide: "Just a little trick." Before they asked, he explained: "I used [Earth Element] to increase my mass, like becoming a mini-Earth, drawing my own asteroids. It’s not that simple, but that’s the gist." It sounded impressive. Though abstract, they grasped it. Jiang Tianming blinked, asking keyly: "What’s the biggest meteor you can summon?" Meteors were just stones, but falling from the sky added surprise. Large enough, they could deal damage. But if only as big as Wu Mingbai’s, it was underwhelming. Given Wu Mingbai’s strained effort, summoning larger ones seemed unlikely. As expected, Wu Mingbai, pale and leaning on Jiang Tianming, shook his head, unfazed: "Look at me—think I can summon bigger? Forget summoning, I can barely use my Ability now. It’s not combat-ready yet, but good for show." Currently flashy but useless, Wu Mingbai was young with growth potential. Meteor summoning was weak now, but with stronger Mental Energy, summoning numerous large meteors would be formidable. For Su Bei, the Ability’s value wasn’t its power but its meteor link. To eliminate Nightmare Beasts, the world-altering meteor was key. Wu Mingbai’s meteor control could fit his plan, boosting his world-saving mission with protagonist group aid. It was plausible but needed refining. Wu Mingbai summoned meteors, but Su Bei needed them destroyed. How could this Ability be leveraged? The weekend passed quickly, and Monday arrived. In class, Meng Huai announced their training goal: mastering team synergy. The tri-school competition included individual and team arena battles, with team battles weighted heavier. He explained scoring: individual battles were 2 points per round, 1 each for draws, five rounds total, no limit on appearances—a single person could sweep all five. Team battles were one round, 8 points for victory. Unless dominating individual battles, team battles were crucial. Even winning four individual rounds, losing the team battle could mean total defeat. Though familiar with the rules, Qi Huang frowned: "Team battles are worth so much—why bother with individual ones?" "Individual battles show personal strength, but team battles matter most for humanity," Meng Huai glanced at her, not mocking. He’d thought similarly in youth, learning better through experience. Seeing Qi Huang’s defiance, he explained gruffly: "What’s an Ability user’s primary goal?" "Eliminating Nightmare Beasts, obviously," Qi Huang said, as it was universal. "But if you’re strong enough—" Meng Huai cut in: "It’s handling masses of Nightmare Beasts in campaigns. Small skirmishes don’t threaten human society—only beast outbreaks do. Think one person can defeat that many?" Last semester’s final exam showed campaigns weren’t solo feats, not for most. Only one-in-a-million geniuses could, and they were rare. With many students, schools couldn’t cater to rare geniuses. The tri-school competition set examples for regular Ability users, not prodigies. Seeing Meng Huai’s logic, Qi Huang sat, silent. Confident in her future solo prowess, she knew schools considered more. Proud but not disruptive, she didn’t push.