Translator: AkazaTL
Proofreader/Editor: JWyck
***
Chapter 302
Back at the academy, ng Huai called to his office imdiately. He didn’t waste ti, asking straight: “Su Bei, any clues about ‘Black Flash’ involvent in the world competition?”
I raised an eyebrow, surprised, pointing at myself: “? What clues could I have? Just wish Jiang Tianming and the rest luck.”
“Not that,” ng Huai shook his head, pausing before asking, “Do you know what Ye Lin told us?”
Ye Lin?
I thought about any shared secrets with Ye Lin, quickly realizing. The only secret she knew was my “Destiny” mbership.
I’d wondered if she’d tell ng Huai and Lei Ze’en, since she didn’t seem loyal to “Black Flash,” unwilling to leak their intel. Besides, this wasn’t about “Black Flash.”
But even guessing, I wouldn’t admit it. What if I was wrong? That’d be self-sabotage. So I just asked innocently: “What?”
Seeing I’d play dumb, ng Huai cut through: “’A Destiny’ mber? I finally get to et a live one.”
As expected. I inwardly sighed in relief, chuckling at his words. I wasn’t the only one he’d t—Principal Wu Di was also “Destiny.” If ng Huai knew, he’d question life.
Since he’d outed , no need to hide. I feigned realization: “Oh, that. But what’s it got to do with ‘Black Flash’?”
ng Huai didn’t suspect I leaked “Black Flash’s involvent.” I was a victim, not a planner, and “Black Flash” didn’t appear in the illusion. In his view, I had no chance to get that intel.
He called to dig more through “Destiny.” As a mber, I surely had ways to buy intel.
“There must be other ‘Destiny’ mbers in the academy. Why not ask them?” I didn’t believe only Wu Di and I were in “Endless Ability Academy.” As the nation’s top academy, [Manga Consciousness] must’ve recruited plenty.
They recruit from the future, knowing who’ll rise. Except plot-involved characters whose fate lines can’t be pre-altered, they’ve got the rest in their grasp.
True, but ng Huai didn’t know who else was in “Destiny.” Soone did, but not him. He only knew about .
“I just know you. Don’t you want to save them?” ng Huai gave no refusal room. If I refused now, it’d dent my class rapport.
Early on, I didn’t care—I didn’t need popularity. But now I do, so I must balance ties with the protagonist group.
From years of manga reading, I knew cold-hearted or protagonist-ward personas both had fans, but they’re incompatible. Choosing one loses the other’s audience.
I didn’t want to lose either, so I chose distance—neither proactive nor dismissive. The scumbag mantra fits: don’t initiate, don’t refuse. I’d help if asked but avoid volunteering. Both audiences get explanations, and if they clash, I, the star, gain from the buzz.
“Fine, I’ll ask.” I shrugged, pulling the notebook from my storage ring.
“Destiny” notebooks were uniform; even mine, as leader, looked identical outwardly.
The inside was different—I had a backend interface capable of viewing all anonymous identities. Non-holders saw only a blank book.
ng Huai, encountering a “Destiny” item for the first ti, noticed I wasn’t hiding and peeked. Seeing only blankness while I pointed and tapped, he tried a magnifying glass-like item—still blank.
He gave up, sitting to wait.
I had nothing to handle—I started this. After fake tapping, I asked: “Connected. What do you want to know?”
Connected? ng Huai’s eyes flashed surprise. He’d only wanted to check intel, but I’d directly contacted the source?
He realized my “Destiny” status might be higher than he thought. Fair—a [Destiny Gear] user, young joiner, couldn’t be low-ranking.
ng Huai felt amused and exasperated. What feng shui treasure was this first-year S-Class? “Black Flash” Saint, “Destiny” bigshot—how’d “Endless Ability Academy” attract them all?
“Where’d ‘Black Flash’ take them?” With a chance, ng Huai asked the key question.
Great question—I wanted the answer too. Pretending to type, I preempted: “Suggest asking sothing answerable.”
If this could be answered, Sesbia would’ve asked already.
ng Huai knew this; that was an appetizer. After my denial, he asked: “I heard ‘Black Flash’ was researching sothing. Did they get results?”
“Endless Ability Academy” knew “Black Flash” deeply—they weren’t just passive. They studied “Black Flash’s” goal: total Nightmare Beast extinction.
Their last retreat aid at that goal, “Endless” had confird. Without that, the good guys would’ve struck when “Black Flash” was quiet.
ng Huai asked this seemingly unrelated question because if their research failed, he believed they wouldn’t threaten Jiang Tianming and co.’s lives.
With no thod to wipe out Nightmare Beasts, killing future world talents would let Nightmare Beasts dominate.
But if they succeeded, capturing students might be for using them as test subjects—or worse. Then, Jiang Tianming’s safety wasn’t guaranteed. Who knew “Black Flash’s” motives?
I knew this answer. After fake asking, I said: “Their research failed.”
Bad for humanity, good for Jiang Tianming’s group. ng Huai relaxed: “I’ll tell the others. Keep asking for updates and inform .”
Back in my dorm, I opened my phone, seeing Teacher Li’s ssage. Mu Yunfan and co. woke up—a healing Ability user brought a regular doctor friend.
The doctor, chatting at ho, recognized their symptoms as food poisoning from saccharin and eggs combined.
Checks confird it—saccharin and eggs, both non-toxic, evaded Ability detection. With Ability enhancent, it caused days-long comas. “Saint Dante Ability Academy” wouldn’t dare kill—exposure would ban their academy.
Making players miss the competition? Bla the lead teacher. Even if others knew, so what? “Saint Dante’s” reputation was already bad—a bit worse didn’t matter. Placing first in the World competition brought real benefits—resource allocation for a year. A bad reputation was nothing compared to the possible benefits.
They didn’t expect “Endless Ability Academy’s” players to be comatose, but “Saint Dante’s” main team died, eliminated by “Endless'” forced reserves.
Had the main team participated, they wouldn’t have chased Mu Yunfan’s group, avoiding counter-kills. Even if they were teleported later, their strength ensured survival till then—with their life or death uncertain.
What goes around cos around—they dood themselves.
The next few days were calm—for . For others, it was thunderbolt after thunderbolt.
First, the competition disaster news spread—nearly a total wipeout. A bombshell.
These were top academy Ability users, future anti-Nightmare Beast forces. Their loss sparked safety fears.
Then, “Endless Ability Academy” pressured “Saint Dante,” listing evidence of their attacks this year and in the past against sa-nation and other-nation teams, demanding the World Ability Federation punish them.
They’d been busy since Mu Yunfan’s incident, gathering evidence quietly. When they struck, it was a direct hit, giving no reaction ti.
If they only acted against “Endless,” it’d be a two-academy issue—resulting in a two-to-three-year ban at most.
But involving many academies with solid evidence? Those academies weren’t pushovers. Without evidence, they'd let it go—but now with proof on the table, inaction would be cowardly.
Outrage erupted. Non-Ability academies demanded “Saint Dante’s” expulsion, stripping their title, banning recruitnt.
For a regular academy, expulsion was fine. But “Saint Dante,” a perennial favorite, rivaled “Endless” in influence.
Like “Endless,” they had big shots in Ability roles, even in the World Ability Federation. Their nation didn’t want expulsion—more academies ant more resources.
Establishing an academy was tough—considering national Ability user “output” and conditions, plus real-world resistance. If “Saint Dante” was banned, no new academy could rise soon. For profit, they fought to block it.
Undoubtedly, “Endless” prevailed, resisting threats and bribes, refusing huge compensations, erasing “Saint Dante” from the Ability world.
“Teachers even asked if we’d let them off for compensation,” Zhang Sheng bragged in the student council office. “I refused instantly—I’d rather gain nothing than let those pests harm the Ability world!”
His righteous deanor had new council underclassn fawning, eyes full of admiration.
Wei Yuexi scoffed: “I recall soone was tempted? If we hadn’t all refused, soone might’ve agreed?”
“Who?” Zhang Sheng asked shalessly. “He Shang?”
He Shang, falsely accused, clasped hands: “Amitabha, monks don’t lie.”
Framing a monk was absurd. Facing underclassn’s doubting gazes, Zhang Sheng calmly pivoted: “Then Mu Yunfan—he was swayed by profit.”
“Wah! I’m your favorite president, aren’t I? How could you fra ?” Mu Yunfan cried, pink eyes theatrically disbelieving. “Manman, look at him! As the new president, you’ve got to handle this classmate slander!”
Feng Manman, reviewing docunts, calmly adjusted her glasses, not looking up: “Frankly, you’re all graduated—it's not my jurisdiction.”
They stayed at school because Jiang Tianming’s issue was unresolved. As main team targets, staying was safest.
“President, we’re still under you. Can you approve this application?” I asked, playing the good student.
Beside , Qi Huang looked expectant. We’d arrived earlier, assessed the council’s state, then submitted the request.
Feng Manman glanced at our form—a leave request. Normally, sumr break allowed leaving, but this incident complicated things.
“Why not ask your horoom, Teacher ng, right?” She showed no approval intent—she couldn’t leave, so how could she let others leave?
I answered logically: “Teacher ng’s been busy. We haven’t seen him in two days. President, have rcy—we don’t want to be stuck here.”
No wonder ng Huai was busy—it's been days since Jiang Tianming’s disappearance, with no news. Everyone was searching. No news was good news—who knew if sudden updates were good or bad?
Feng Manman, hardened by Mu Yunfan and co., was unmoved: “No. Go back. If you're bored, apply for gravity room training—I can approve that.”
I didn’t seek trouble, but I was keen on physical training. It’s the most reliable thod, especially with my innate talent.
Why, with such talent, didn’t I awaken a physical Ability? Even a weak one would’ve been a hundred tis better than [Gear Summon].
Sighing, I nodded: “Then please approve it, President.”
I couldn’t leave anyway—I might as well train. Second-years could finally use the gravity room; I’d make the most of it.
Qi Huang didn’t leave with , asking: “Senior Manman, about applying for Secretary—can I consult you?”
“Of course,” Feng Manman finally looked up, a smile in her glasses-frad eyes. “I won’t cheat, but I’d be happy if you beca my Secretary.”
anwhile, I, bored, browsed “Destiny” intel. Stuck at school for sumr, it was my only thing to do.
I searched for “Black Flash” intel—no new info, but a bounty task to rescue the students. It offered a huge reward—Sesbia went all in.
The poster gained massive Points recently, likely uploading key intel for Sesbia.
I was pleased, and out of curiosity, checked their uploads via backend. Mostly Ability item info, so strong Ability secrets, and miscellaneous bits.
Two were useful to . One: multi-Ability users’ Abilities often clashed; too many led to issues. Past triple-Ability users died from body explosion.
The solution? Simple yet hard. Sesbia’s Ability governnt research showed a space Ability could expand body capacity, letting it hold more Abilities.
The second: Yafei Kingdom’s guardian deity, Gao Di An Zhuo, was almost certainly a Nightmare Beast variant. Tests showed traits like Nightmare Beasts. But, since it was clearly non-hostile, even going as far as protecting Yafei humans, it wasn’t typical—likely another resentnt type.
Sesbia speculated it was non-human resentnt, thus not targeting humans. Or, human resentnt but sohow not hostile.
Either way, Gao Di An Zhuo was a Nightmare Beast variant.
Knowing our next arc was likely Yafei Kingdom, and I had business with Gao Di An Zhuo, this intrigued .
If it was a variant, great news. I aid to learn about Nightmare Beast changes through it, and this raised the odds it knew sothing.
Speaking of changes, I’d forgotten to search “Destiny”’s database—my easiest shortcut.
Searching keywords, I hit paydirt with “Earth Elent Nightmare Beast.” Soone asked my question: recently, more Earth Elent Nightmare Beasts appeared—why?
For curiosity, the post offered few Points, so there was only one reply: “Don’t know, but here’s a lead. Nightmare Beast births, especially Elent types, seem tied to their world. Heard it from a Nightmare Beast.”
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