Translator: AkazaTL

Proofreader/Editor: TenebrousGaze & JWyck

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Chapter 108

Early in the morning, Su Bei received a message from Wang Qiangxin: “The person I sent to warn the government has gone missing!”

Missing? It was indeed the worst-case scenario.

Su Bei’s heart sank. After thinking, he replied: “Don’t send anyone else. There’s a problem.”

Then he messaged Lan Subing: “If Jiang Tianming shows up, ask him to check if anyone new was locked up in the prison yesterday.”

“Got it. What about you?” Lan Subing asked.

“I’ve got something to do.”

Su Bei didn’t mention going to the sewers. In fact, he hadn’t decided what to do if the Different Space was indeed there.

Though he didn’t know why, relying on the government was clearly unreliable. This was the Academy’s test for the examinees, so he needed to rely on fellow candidates. But directly telling them the Different Space’s location to exit early felt too reckless.

An idea gradually formed in Su Bei’s mind, but he needed solid clues first.

With that, he shouldered his backpack and left home amid Su Bei’s Mother’s complaints about “going out to play with a backpack.” He dodged surveillance and headed straight to a sewer manhole.

A manhole cover that ordinary people couldn’t budge was easily lifted by him.

This was a pre-scouted entrance in a secluded alley, free of cameras, making it easy to exit without being reported.

He changed clothes first, sealing his original outfit in a plastic bag and stuffing it into his backpack to avoid returning home reeking and arousing Su Bei’s Mother’s suspicion. Then he put on a mask and rain boots.

Su Bei climbed down the iron ladder extending from the manhole. Before descending, he slid the cover back, leaving a small gap.

At the bottom, he covered his nose, turned on his flashlight, and scanned around. It was pitch black, the ground muddy. Good thing he’d smartly bought rain boots, or his sneakers would’ve been ruined.

He stood still, breathing shallowly at first, then gradually returning to normal. Even with the mask, the sewer’s stench was hard to mask. Once somewhat adjusted, he opened the map and followed his pre-planned optimal route through the sewers.

Besides the method ordinary people could use to find Different Spaces, there was a simpler one: sensing with Mental Energy. But it required Advanced Mental Energy. Ordinary Ability Users couldn’t feel it unless standing right where a Different Space entrance was about to form.

Su Bei, however, was an exception. He activated his Mental Energy, scanning the sewers widely.

In just half an hour, having covered half the sewers, Su Bei found seven spatial fluctuations—the telltale signs of imminent Different Space entrances. As expected, most entrances were indeed in the sewers. This was the urban chaos campaign!

Wasting no time, he continued searching.

Suddenly, at the sewer’s center, Su Bei stopped, frowning: “This entrance is already open?”

Following the fluctuation, he quickly reached a pipe and saw a manhole-sized black hole. The entrance had formed. Per usual patterns, Nightmare Beasts would emerge immediately after a Different Space entrance appeared.

That meant Nightmare Beasts were already loose in the city!

Su Bei’s purple eyes widened slightly at this unexpected find. But he quickly calmed down, analyzing the implications.

It was certain some Nightmare Beasts had escaped. Once in the real world, their sole purpose was to kill humans. Depending on their strength, there were three scenarios.

If they were Low-Level Nightmare Beasts, they’d follow instincts, quickly leaving the sewers to kill. They’d be spotted and subdued soon. But Su Bei had checked the news these past days and saw no reports of Nightmare Beast attacks.

Even if the government avoided publicizing Ability-related incidents, they’d at least send people to find the entrance that released the beasts, right?

Consider the second scenario: if Mid-Level Nightmare Beasts emerged, they might not be noticed immediately. Like one they’d encountered before, they could hide in walls, killing silently.

But they were teleported to a point just before the campaign’s outbreak, within a month at most. With beasts already out, Su Bei reasoned at least one person would’ve died, leaving a trail for candidates to follow.

Yet, checking the past month’s news on his phone, he found no reports of mysterious deaths.

Since Ability Users and Nightmare Beasts appeared, unnatural deaths attracted reporters like hyenas to blood, eager for firsthand Ability or beast-killing scoops.

Things were better now with restrictions, but ten years ago, in this timeline, the media was wild. Su Bei didn’t believe the sensitive media would miss a Nightmare Beast death.

Setting this aside, that left one possibility: a High-Level Nightmare Beast emerged. Supposedly, they had human-like intelligence and absolute dominance over other beasts.

If a High-Level Nightmare Beast came out first, ordering others to lie low and wait, it could indeed trigger a sudden beast tide.

In this case, their top priority was finding this High-Level Nightmare Beast.

But that assumed this scenario was correct.

The two scenarios he’d shelved shared another possibility: the beasts did kill, but the local government suppressed it, just like they did with the candidate who warned them and went missing.

Which one was it?

Pondering, Su Bei marked this spot on the map with a red circle, distinct from the other checkmarks, then used an Invisibility Charm and entered.

From Academy knowledge, a Different Space’s environment often indicated the type of Nightmare Beasts it spawned.

Ordinary natural terrains usually produced up to Mid-Level Nightmare Beasts. Special spaces like mazes could yield High-Level ones. Harsh natural environments also favored High-Level beasts.

Entering the Different Space, it was a common forest terrain, typically spawning only ordinary beasts. Su Bei frowned and ventured deeper.

With Mental Energy fully active, he sensed many hidden Nightmare Beasts—ordinary ones like Nightmare Snakes and Tigers, nothing special.

But the deeper he went, the more something felt off, a gut feeling. Ability Users, especially those with Advanced Mental Energy like him, had sharp instincts.

Especially with his Ability, [Destiny Gear], if Su Bei felt something was wrong, it was. He never ignored his instincts.

He stopped exploring inward, hesitated, and decided to head back. Since something was amiss, cutting losses was best. Alone, if something happened, no one would know.

Better to retreat and plan, maybe even tell Jiang Tianming’s group. With the protagonist team, danger often turned to safety.

But after a few steps back, Su Bei realized what was wrong—he was lost.

This was bizarre. Ordinary people getting lost in a forest was normal, but his sense of direction was solid, and he had Mental Energy guiding him. He even found several beasts he’d passed, yet couldn’t find the exit. What was going on?

Meanwhile, outside the screen.

“Not gonna lie, this S-Class kid from your school’s got skills,” said Principal Xiao of Houde Ability Academy, watching the frowning blond boy on the big screen with admiration.

The principal of Skydome Ability Academy nodded in agreement: “Finding the key point so quickly—looks like this campaign will be a breeze.”

Principal Wu Di smiled modestly: “Not as great as you make it sound. This kid’s too independent, doesn’t use his teammates. If he gets out fine, great. If not, he’s shooting himself in the foot.”

But despite his words, his smiling face betrayed his pride.

After all, though Su Bei didn’t seek teammates, he was cautious, using an Invisibility Charm before entering. Without it, barging in would’ve been reckless.

The other principals saw through him but didn’t call him out, shifting their attention to others: “Your S-Class kids are performing well. That student starting in prison is realizing his identity isn’t all bad.”

Indeed, while random identities couldn’t be fully fair, starting in prison wasn’t overly unfair either.

Such a setup meant the identity offered better clue access.

“That blond one, named... Su Bei, right?” Principal Xiao pointed at him. “With his clue, that prisoner student should find useful leads soon.”

Then Meng Huai entered. As an S-Class teacher, his status was high. This internal viewing room was accessible to a few teachers and principals, including him.

Skydome’s Principal Shangguan, not noticing him, continued: “If Su Bei escapes the Different Space, shares the info with students, and leads preparations to clear the forming entrances, first place is his.”

“As long as he doesn’t tell the government,” Wu Di added.

The other principals nodded, a shared disgust flashing in their eyes.

Hearing this, Meng Huai scoffed, shaking his head confidently: “Su Bei? He’ll never follow the script.”

The three principals looked over. Wu Di asked curiously: “Xiao Meng, what’s that mean?”

Meng Huai glanced at the boy on the screen, saying leisurely to Wu Di: “Teacher, Su Bei’s the type who thrives on chaos. I don’t know what he’ll do, but he won’t just share the info obediently.”

Following his gaze, they looked back at the screen. The blond boy, after a brief pause, resumed walking.

Su Bei had figured it out: this Different Space likely housed a High-Level Nightmare Beast, but whether its ability was terrain manipulation or Illusion was unclear.

If it was the former, things were tricky. Terrain manipulation could trap him indefinitely. In this case, he’d need to find and stop the beast quickly. Otherwise, with him in the open and the enemy in the dark, finding the exit was impossible.

If it was the latter, it was easier. Su Bei was now tackling the second possibility.

From Li Shu’s occasional leaks, he knew Illusions typically came in two types. One, in layman’s terms, was dream-like, like this “Campaign Reenactment,” trapping people in a space with high energy cost. Escape required finding the exit.

The other was a sleight-of-hand Illusion, altering an object’s appearance, smell, or feel, but not its essence.

This was easier to handle. With a firm mind, ignoring visuals, one could walk out.

Su Bei leaned toward the second. He’d been certain he was awake, only noticing scenery changes after turning his head, which fit the second type.

So, he activated Mental Energy to sense objects’ reality. But soon, he shut it off. This beast was something else—his Advanced Mental Energy detected no issues.

Luckily, he closed his eyes, steadfastly moving in his remembered direction. New obstacles appeared, mismatched with memory, but Su Bei pressed on.

Reaching the spot he recalled, he opened his eyes to a towering ancient tree, so thick it’d take a long detour to pass. But Su Bei had no such plan, his expression calm, untroubled. He walked straight toward it.

At the moment he should’ve hit the tree, he felt dizzy. The next second, he was back in the sewer.

As expected, it was all sleight-of-hand. Su Bei smirked faintly, but it faded as his brow furrowed again.

Being fooled by an Illusion in the Different Space meant the High-Level Nightmare Beast was inside. Without his Invisibility Charm, escaping wouldn’t have been so easy.

Honestly, exploring an unknown Different Space as a novice required preparation. Barging in unprepared was suicidal. Even if it was just Low-Level Nightmare Beasts, their numbers could overwhelm a weaker Ability User.

Back to the issue: a small-to-medium Different Space’s energy could only support one High-Level Nightmare Beast at a time. Otherwise, too many would’ve devastated humanity long ago.

That Different Space wasn’t large, yet it housed a High-Level Nightmare Beast.

There were two possibilities. This Nightmare Beast could be restraining the others from leaving. Or, the Low and Mid-Level Nightmare Beasts had left, but the government suppressed the news. If it was the former, the Beast had a plan, possibly tied to the many sewer entrances.

If it was the latter...

Su Bei shook his head, updating the map. The government issue would likely be clarified soon, revealing which guess was right. There was no rush—the exam had plenty of time.

Finishing his exploration, he emerged at 2 p.m. Su Bei cleaned up and exited the alley.

Despite changing clothes and shoes, a faint stench lingered. Wrinkling his nose, he hurried home.

Unlocking the door, he didn’t even close it, greeting his mother before rushing to the bathroom. She sighed, closing the door, then frowned at the odd smell, muttering: “Did this kid blow up a septic tank?”

After washing several times, ensuring no odor remained, Su Bei left the bathroom and returned to his room to check his phone.

A day offline meant several new messages: from Wang Qiangxin, Jiang Tianming’s group, and friend requests from Wu Mingbai, Qi Huang, Si Zhaohua, and Zhou Renjie. They’d joined the big group. Only Feng Lan hadn’t.

Su Bei checked the group chat first. Jiang Tianming had found the person Su Bei mentioned, locked up today for “spreading rumors.”

After learning Jiang Tianming was a candidate, the person angrily denounced the government: “This city’s leaders are trash! I handed them the info on a platter, and they spit it back out, saying it’s poisoned. Hah! They deserve what’s coming to them.”

Jiang Tianming comforted him while probing, soon linking it to Su Bei. After confirming the person was in prison, he @’d Su Bei, asking if he’d studied this campaign.

Others shared their findings. They hadn’t wasted two days, exploring the map while finding teammates.

Qi Huang said the “Campaign Reenactment” main map was this city, with some outer areas, but further travel was blocked. As a police officer with no recent cases, it seemed no Nightmare Beasts had surfaced.

But her precinct’s mysterious squad, reportedly Ability Users, went out days ago. They returned relaxed but said nothing.

Lan Subing, a government worker, noticed her boss’ recent irritability. Colleagues said he’d been busier, no longer sipping tea all day but running errands, returning grim-faced.

Honestly, how a social recluse like her gathered this intel was a mystery.

Wu Mingbai scoured streets, finding a Different Space entrance in an alley. Its small size left him unsure if it was tied to the campaign.

Zhou Renjie, also a doctor, checked the morgue, finding two bodies with odd deaths. They looked like homicides but lacked autopsy traces. He suspected Nightmare Beast kills.

Following this, he located the crime scene, but without beast-sensing abilities, he found nothing there.

Coincidentally, the crime scene was near Wu Mingbai’s entrance. It was likely a beast from that entrance that was the killer.

Lastly, Si Zhaohua found the others, besides the original three group members. Using an Invisibility Charm to fly and scout, he spotted familiar faces wandering the city, adding them as friends and finding the group.

Ironically, Si Zhaohua’s biggest role was finding people.

Even more ironically, it was Zhou Renjie’s clue that was most useful to Su Bei.

Deaths by Nightmare Beasts meant they’d escaped the Different Space. Qi Huang’s clue suggested the attacking beast was likely eliminated by the precinct’s squad, explaining their relaxed return. Their mission was accomplished—why wouldn’t they be relaxed?

However, it was suspicious that they didn’t suspect a Different Space opening when Beasts appeared in the city. Even if they hadn’t considered it before, the candidate’s warning should’ve sparked suspicion. Why jail them for “rumors” and ignore it?

And Lan Subing’s irritable boss, likely stressed by this, knew there was an issue but refused to act. Why?

“Ding!”

Jiang Tianming sent another message: “There’s a key clue in the prison. I’m handing over the phone. I’ll share the clue later.”

A key clue in the prison? Su Bei never doubted Jiang Tianming. As the protagonist, having key clues was too fitting.

Only now did Su Bei realize Jiang Tianming’s prison start was deliberate. Without a clue there, he wouldn’t have been so unlucky.

Of course, such pros-and-cons situations weren’t enviable. Su Bei preferred comfort.

But these clues clarified much. The only question was why the government hid the city’s Different Space appearances. Su Bei had a hunch that once Jiang Tianming found the clue, he’d piece together the full truth.

In high spirits, he stretched, glancing out the window, and froze.

Sitting downstairs, surrounded by concerned elderly neighbors, was a calm white-haired boy—was none other than Feng Lan! How did Feng Lan find him?

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