Translator: AkazaTL

Proofreader/Editor: JWyck

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Chapter 97

Lei Ze’en, with his [Teleportation] Ability, took Zhao Xiaoyu back to school. Ye Lin briefly told Su Bei and Si Zhaohua what happened after their kidnapping.

When darkness fell, not only they and the politicians vanished, but also some valuable auction items and Jiang Tianming, Wu Mingbai, Lan Subing, and Mo Xiaotian.

Hearing these names, Su Bei raised an eyebrow. It seemed this was a side plot for the original protagonist group. Their trio had a small arc, while the rest likely had no screen time.

A question arose, and he wanted to ask Manga Consciousness. But it was busy with his intelligence organization and hadn’t returned, so he tucked the question away.

Five days ago, Meng Huai received a letter from Apogod. It contained no intel, just a greeting to a sister at school.

Ye Lin showed them the letter. It was brief, with no hidden info, but the handwriting was clearly Jiang Tianming’s.

“Jiang Tianming sent it?” Si Zhaohua recognized it, surprised.

Ye Lin nodded: “We realized he’s likely trapped somewhere in Apogod with limited means of communication. Plus, our investigation tied the robbery to Apogod, so we came.”

“What’ve you found?” Si Zhaohua asked curiously. “What do we need to do?”

“We found this incident stems from Apogod’s internal conflict, which is now affecting us. One government faction collaborates with Black Flash, targeting us.”

Si Zhaohua was confused: “Internal conflict—shouldn’t they target opposing factions? The Loyalty Crystal could control them. Why target us, so far away?”

Meng Huai scoffed: “That’s Black Flash’s demand, though they also meant to experiment on us. No matter—once we have solid evidence, we’ll show them the cost of messing with us.”

Ye Lin agreed, continuing: “That faction has underground operations. Jiang Tianming’s likely trapped there. We need to pinpoint those operations’ locations.”

“As for your tasks,” seeing their serious looks, she smiled reassuringly, “they’re not dangerous. We need you to identify if any kidnappers are among them. It’ll help us locate them.”

The task was indeed safe, done behind the scenes. Su Bei relaxed, but Meng Huai added: “Then you might need to infiltrate the place where Jiang Tianming’s being held to rescue them.”

Su Bei: “?”

Before he could speak, Si Zhaohua clenched his fists, righteously: “We’ll definitely save them!”

Su Bei: “??”

Bro, express your justice if you want, but why “we”? What “we” are you referring to?

He cursed Zhao Xiaoyu’s coma—she’d have backed him in rejecting this teacher-student duo.

Now alone, he couldn’t outtalk them. Su Bei looked to Ye Lin pleadingly: “Teacher, didn’t you say it’s not dangerous?” Ye Lin was helpless: “Don’t let him scare you. Rescuing is a low-probability event. Once we find the underground operation, we’ll storm in—you won’t need to.”

Si Zhaohua was disappointed. Despite his proud demeanor, he was a hot-blooded youth, else he wouldn’t hang out with Jiang Tianming.

Infiltrating to save Jiang Tianming, with whom he still clashed, would be so satisfying. Missing this chance would be a real bummer.

But Su Bei, seemingly getting his desired outcome, wasn’t happy. Meng Huai was surprised: “What? Not satisfied?”

Su Bei forced a smile: “I’ll be satisfied if we don’t have to help.”

He couldn’t be happy. Low-probability events rarely happened normally, but in a manga world, it was practically guaranteed.

A day later, Meng Huai brought photos for them to identify. They quickly found familiar faces.

Three days later, Su Bei’s fear became reality. Meng Huai sighed: “Looks like the low-probability event happened. We need you two.”

Su Bei was speechless: “What’s going on?”

Ye Lin explained: “We tracked those people and got results. Jiang Tianming’s trapped in a Different Space, controlled tightly by one consortium. Only laborers get in—outsiders can’t.”

Public Different Spaces were open to all, but private ones required keys, hard to breach without.

“How do we get out after going in?” Su Bei frowned. If Jiang Tianming couldn’t escape, how could they? Trapping three or four was bad enough—adding them would worsen it.

Meng Huai scoffed: “Who said you’d struggle to get out? Find Jiang Tianming, and we’ll storm in.”

Once they found their students, the action was justified. Even if Apogod objected, they couldn’t say no.

Su Bei paused, then understood. He’d underestimated Meng Huai’s strength. Private Different Spaces were hard to breach, but not impossible. With absolute power, nowhere was off-limits.

They were sent in because Meng Huai worried Jiang Tianming was hidden deeper. If they stormed in and couldn’t find them, they’d lose legitimacy, so they needed to scout in advance.

Ye Lin entered, knowing what Meng Huai was discussing: “If you don’t want to, it’s fine. Others can do it.”

She looked mainly at Su Bei—his reluctance was obvious.

Su Bei didn’t refuse outright, just pointed at his face, then Si Zhaohua’s, incredulously: “I’m not narcissistic, but do you really think our looks make us believable as laborers in a Different Space?”

He knew manga logic might ignore this bug, but he had to say it.

Everyone fell silent.

Si Zhaohua looked at himself, then Su Bei, suddenly doubting the plan. Like Su Bei, he wasn’t unaware of his looks.

As the Si family heir, he’d been praised since childhood, only proud, never insecure. Beyond looks, his refined upbringing didn’t suit a suffering laborer.

Meng Huai and Ye Lin exchanged looks, realizing they hadn’t considered this. Su Bei’s point exposed their oversight.

But Ability items were plentiful. Meng Huai quickly found a solution: “No problem. We’ll give you each a ‘Transformation Mask’ to change your appearance and sneak in.”

Ye Lin nodded, agreeing: “So, your decision? Agree or disagree?”

“I agree!” Si Zhaohua answered without hesitation but didn’t speak for Su Bei. He saw Su Bei’s reluctance and wouldn’t force him.

Su Bei answered just as firmly: “Then I won’t—”

Halfway through, he recalled something, using his Ability to check everyone’s Destiny Compass.

Meng Huai and Ye Lin’s pointers were slightly left, normal for most. But surprisingly, Si Zhaohua’s pointer was heavily left!

The likely cause was the upcoming rescue mission, suggesting Si Zhaohua would gain greatly from it.

The gain might be his alone, but it could also be shared. If Su Bei didn’t go, he might miss a hefty reward.

With this, Su Bei switched gears, righteously: “—shirk my duty. Saving them is my responsibility!”

Everyone: “...”

Did Su Bei think they were fools? He was clearly about to refuse—who couldn’t see that?

Meng Huai’s eyes glinted with interest: “What changed your mind?”

“Teacher, what’re you saying?” Su Bei feigned innocence. “I’ve always wanted to save them. How could I let Little Hua risk it alone?”

Si Zhaohua’s face darkened. Little Hua? Since when were they that close? Meng Huai pressed, amused: “But you were refusing earlier.”

“I just thought Little Hua agreed too rashly, so I wanted to think it over,” Su Bei said logically.

Meng Huai wasn’t done: “But you seemed hesitant, not as firm as you claim.”

“That’s because Little Hua...”

Before he finished, Si Zhaohua snapped: “Enough! Stop, Teacher, don’t ask anymore!”

Three “Little Hua”s showed Su Bei’s intent. If Meng Huai kept probing, he’d keep saying it.

Si Zhaohua was exasperated—who did he provoke?

The Academy was efficient. In a day, new identities were ready. Ye Lin explained the plan.

It was simple: three days after entering the Different Space, the Academy would storm in. Su Bei and Si Zhaohua had to find Jiang Tianming by then, or the mission would have failed.

The next day, they used the Academy’s Transformation Masks to take on plain appearances. Unlike Su Bei’s fake, these were genuine, priceless Transformation Masks.

They changed appearance, build, voice, and weight, flawless unless facing a unique Ability user.

They also had no storage issues, allowing new faces each time.

The Academy prepared two haggard-looking faces for them to use.

After transforming, through various maneuvers, they ended up in a truck transporting laborers to the Different Space. They huddled in a corner by the door, observing others.

Besides them, the truck held many young teens, thin, ragged, and dirty, clearly from poor families.

They seemed to be gathered from around the world, including one compatriot from the same country. Ye Lin had explained their assigned identities: most kids were sent by families who couldn’t afford them, others volunteered.

Even in harsh Different Spaces, laborers were fed enough to work. Compared to starvation, selling oneself was better for most.

Some sat numbly, heads down, while others, like Su Bei and Si Zhaohua, cautiously observed, tense and uncertain about the future. Many quietly chatted with peers to ease nerves.

The truck smelled bad—stuffy air, oil, and the stench of unwashed kids. Si Zhaohua, unable to bear it, hid behind Su Bei.

He was starting to regret—not the rescue, but if this was the environment, he wasn’t sure he could avoid blowing his cover.

Noticing his discomfort, Su Bei sighed inwardly, slipping a small mint candy from his pocket.

He always carried various candies—useful for hypoglycemia, hunger, Mental Energy, and now motion sickness. Truly versatile.

“Um... were you two sent by your family?” A blue-haired boy from their country asked softly in their language.

To avoid behavioral slip-ups, the Academy gave them domestic identities, minimizing foreign language use.

The blue-haired boy likely struggled with foreign languages, bypassing others to talk to them.

Su Bei shook his head, sticking to the backstory: “We’re orphans. Couldn’t survive, saw an ad, and signed up.”

The blue-haired boy didn’t know whether to pity them or himself. He had parents, seemingly luckier, but they sent him here, perhaps more pitiful.

After a pause, he perked up: “I’m Li Jie. You?”

“Yan Nan,” Su Bei used his prior alias, only told to Si Zhaohua and Zhao Xiaoyu, safe from kidnappers.

Before Si Zhaohua could react, Su Bei added: “He’s Mu Cao.”

Zhao (dawn) to Mu (dusk), Hua (flower) to Cao (grass). Yes, Su Bei suggested this to Meng Huai, who, loving the joke, approved it without giving Si Zhaohua a chance to object.

Si Zhaohua had fought the name, to no avail. Now, low on energy, he gave Su Bei a resigned glare and closed his eyes to rest.

“We’re the only ones from our country here. Let’s help each other,” Li Jie said warmly. As foreigners, the three naturally felt closer.

Su Bei, initially brushing him off, grew interested at the last sentence. Feigning fear, he asked: “What do you mean? Is the mine dangerous?”

Si Zhaohua chimed in: “Yeah, even mute, we can work. As long as we work hard, we’ll eat. How could we die?”

Li Jie realized his slip, nervously glancing around. Luckily, the noisy truck and his low voice meant few heard, and none paid attention.

Relieved, he tried to brush it off. Seeing this, Su Bei followed Si Zhaohua: “Little Grass, you’re right. Work hard, and we won’t die.” “Little Grass”? Si Zhaohua, supposedly resigned, glared again.

Su Bei ignored him, glaring at Li Jie: “Why scare us for nothing?”

Li Jie was annoyed. He was telling the truth, hard-won family intel! These clueless guys thought he was lying.

“I’m not lying! My parents paid for this info! If the recruiter wasn’t family, I wouldn’t know!” Forgetting his intent to downplay, he just wanted to prove himself: “What do you know? Think that place is just for mining?”

“Not mining in a mine? Eating dirt?” Su Bei shot back.

Li Jie was furious: “You know nothing! My family took less profit to ask. That place is a Different Space, with dangerous beasts like lions and tigers. Some of us mine, but others get fed to them!”

Su Bei and Si Zhaohua exchanged looks, realizing much of his words were likely true. Ordinary people thought they were sent to mine, but they knew it was a Different Space.

Li Jie’s “beasts” were probably Nightmare Beasts, lending credibility to his info.

But it was odd. A privately owned Different Space should first seal its “closure point.” Schools left them open for student training, but resource-heavy spaces should eliminate Nightmare Beast threats.

Why keep the closure point?

Puzzled, Su Bei showed fear: “Is that true? That’s terrifying! When do they pick food? I don’t want to die!”

His fear pleased Li Jie—not sadistically, but because Su Bei’s earlier doubt now turned to fear, satisfying him.

In a good mood, he shared more: “The recruiter said as long as we work hard and don’t cause trouble, we won’t die.”

Seeing he wouldn’t say more, Su Bei lost interest, brushing him off with talk of planning his future, sending Li Jie away.

“What do you think?” Su Bei asked Si Zhaohua.

After pondering, Si Zhaohua answered: “They’re experimenting with Nightmare Beasts with Black Flash, maybe tied to the Loyalty Crystal.”

Su Bei nodded, thinking the same. Black Flash’s Nightmare Beast research was in prior manga arcs. Keeping Nightmare Beasts in a place they shouldn’t be was intentional.

The Different Space was rich in Mental Crystals, the Loyalty Crystal’s vessel. What role did Nightmare Beasts play?

Su Bei mused softly: “That black mist—could it be tied to Nightmare Beasts?”

Si Zhaohua was startled, realizing Su Bei’s guess was likely right, logically sound. He immediately thought: “What? Then isn’t Zhao Xiaoyu in danger?”

If Nightmare Beast stuff entered her, how could that be good? If so, their prior judgment was wrong—Zhao Xiaoyu’s situation couldn’t be ignored; they had to extract the mist!

Su Bei shook his head. Not wanting Si Zhaohua to lose focus and expose himself, and too lazy to explain, he said bluntly: “It’s good for her.”

“...Good?” Si Zhaohua was stunned, then, without doubt, said, “Ok then...wait. Since when did you know?”

Su Bei’s Ability had been proven countless times; no one in S-Class doubted his prophecies.

“When she fainted,” Su Bei said truthfully.

Si Zhaohua’s eyes widened: “Why didn’t you tell me then?”

He’d been worried sick!

Su Bei, with pure mischief, grinned: “You didn’t ask.”

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