Translator: AkazaTL

Proofreader/Editor: JWyck

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Chapter 99

After dinner, Su Bei gave Si Zhaohua a look and took the initiative to approach Li Jie for a chat. He kept it casual—asking about Li Jie’s family, expressing envy, and sharing stories from his life before entering the Different Space, highlighting its hardships but mixing in some amusing anecdotes.

Despite his usual aloofness at school, Su Bei could easily bond when he wanted. Li Jie, forgetting his task to watch them, chatted happily until reaching the mine, when he suddenly asked: “Where’s your friend?”

Su Bei looked around, feigning surprise: “It’s almost work time—where is he?”

He explained: “After dinner, he said he needed the toilet. I came to chat with you and haven’t seen him since...”

Three people entered, tense yet excited, their guilty eyes occasionally flicking to Su Bei.

Su Bei understood—these three did it. Pretending not to notice, he anxiously checked the time and door. With one minute to work, he stood: “I have to find Little Grass.”

“Don’t!” Li Jie stopped him, perhaps due to their rapport, advising kindly: “He won’t make it back now. Going will only get you in trouble.”

Su Bei seemed persuaded, slumping and scratching his head: “What do I do? Where is he? Do you know the punishment... Should I request leave for him?”

His disjointed words showed worry for Si Zhaohua. Li Jie didn’t suspect, initially thinking Si Zhaohua skipped to probe the Different Space. But Su Bei’s anxiety dispelled that.

He soothed: “Don’t worry, we’ll look after work. You can’t request leave—only sick leave, but a doctor checks. If he’s not sick, you’ll both be punished.”

As for the punishment, Li Jie’s eyes showed pity, but he didn’t answer.

Su Bei didn’t press, looking distracted.

The Supervisor arrived, taking roll and noticing one missing, demanded: “Where’s Mu Cao? Anyone know?”

No one spoke. Su Bei started to, but Li Jie pulled him back, silencing him.

With no answer, Si Zhaohua’s tardiness was confirmed. The Supervisor sneered: “Get to work.”

He left the cave.

No doubt, Si Zhaohua vanished next. The next day, the Supervisor announced his punishment: for tardiness, he lost his job and had left.

Su Bei knew the Supervisor’s “fired” meant fed to Nightmare Beasts, but he feigned relief.

That night, in the toilet, Su Bei found Si Zhaohua’s mark at their agreed spot—a red leaf. He was fine, so Su Bei relaxed, slacking off.

On the third day, he followed Si Zhaohua’s mark to locate him, in case they couldn’t escape and he needed to guide Meng Huai.

The mark was a leaf, with no other clues, suggesting Si Zhaohua had little time. They’d set three mark points—whichever was closest, he’d use.

A leaf meant trees where Si Zhaohua was.

But this was red sand—where were the trees?

Puzzled, Su Bei circled the toilet area, finding nothing. Despite sand dunes, a forest couldn’t hide. No trees meant Si Zhaohua’s leaf came from elsewhere.

Thinking, Su Bei considered: if no trees were above, were they below?

The idea felt right. Since the Different Space’s resources were underground, why not Nightmare Beasts?

A forest or Nightmare Beasts above ground would be visible in this barren sand, even with dunes.

But, how could one get underground? Digging by the toilet was impractical—frequent visitors left no time.

He needed the actual entrance, not a hole randomly dug.

From his Storage Ring, Su Bei took a camera, placing it on a tree by the toilet, ensuring it was hidden but could record nearby activity.

Done, he headed to the mine for his plan. Waiting for another mistake might take too long for his camera to catch useful intel.

He had to act, find a mistake-maker, and force the Supervisor to open the punishment site’s entrance. Lunch break was nearly over, but the Supervisor arrived early, which suited Su Bei perfectly. He rubbed his eyes to redden them, approaching the Supervisor.

“Supervisor, I’m reporting someone for framing a dorm mate.”

“Oh?” The Supervisor showed rare interest, guessing what Su Bei meant. He’d caught Si Zhaohua himself, knowing he was innocent, but rules were rules—tardiness meant punishment.

He hadn’t expected someone to stand up for him. If he recalled, these two were close.

Su Bei pointed at the last three who entered, angrily: “Little Grass was disciplined. How could he knowingly risk punishment? Someone stopped him, and those three are the culprits!”

The Supervisor smiled, noncommittal: “Cases need evidence, not just your word.”

“I have evidence!” Su Bei replied. “Check their persons or beds—you’ll find money with a grass mark. Finding it proves they stole Little Grass’ money. Stealing deserves punishment, right?”

He looked regretful: “I realized earlier—it must be because we mentioned bringing money yesterday, and they overheard, leading to their crime.”

The Supervisor’s eyes showed approval. Su Bei quickly identified the culprits, found evidence, and used it to make them suffer. For a teen to do this for a friend was impressive.

The Supervisor disliked framing but usually ignored it. With evidence, he didn’t mind acting.

As Su Bei predicted, the three had his prepared money—some on them, some under pillows, all easily found.

With solid evidence, the Supervisor sneered, grabbing them. They resisted, trying to flee. Predictably, the Supervisor, an Ability user, swung a massive iron hammer, killing one instantly, shocking the other two into submission.

Others were stunned—ordinary people rarely saw Ability users, let alone one committing murder. They all trembled, silent.

Satisfied with his display, the Supervisor boomed: “I warned you—be honest, work hard. Break rules or frame others, this is your fate!”

He dragged the two away, leaving the cave.

Li Jie hurried over: “What happened?”

Su Bei’s eyes were red, looking heartbroken: “Last night, I kept thinking—how could Little Grass not show up? It wasn’t a long bathroom trip.”

“While sleeping, I remembered us talking while mining, when I told him to guard his money. Some people were nearby—maybe they heard. Those three guys who came last acted odd, so I reported them.”

Li Jie pieced it together, patting Su Bei’s shoulder: “Sorry, man. Lesson learned—don’t flash wealth.”

Su Bei looked dejected, unwilling to talk. Li Jie tactfully left him alone.

After the night shift, Su Bei grabbed the camera by the toilet, paused recording, and checked the footage.

As expected, the Supervisor dragged the two boys behind the toilet and pushed a boulder, revealing a cave. He entered with them, exiting alone five minutes later.

Su Bei’s lips curved.

Found it.

Past midnight, a “boom” woke everyone. Panicked, they sat up, looking around: “What happened?”

Su Bei knew—Meng Huai had stormed in. Feigning panic, he slipped on shoes, running out: “An explosion? I’ll check!”

Li Jie, groggy, mumbled: “What’s the point?”

Only a breeze answered.

Su Bei followed the blast to the scene. Meng Huai, in a tight black T-shirt, muscles bulging, faced several opponents—or rather, they faced him alone.

Each step Meng Huai took, they retreated warily, utterly outmatched.

“Teacher!” Su Bei called softly.

Meng Huai turned, locking onto him. Confirming it was Su Bei, he stomped, collapsing a large patch of ground, trapping all the enemies.

The force was staggering. Su Bei saw it wasn’t an Earth Element skill but pure inhuman strength.

Not just strength—precise control ensured only enemies fell. Both aspects were beyond Su Bei’s reach.

Trapping them, Meng Huai strode to Su Bei: “Just you?”

“Si Zhaohua went for Jiang Tianming,” Su Bei said, leading him to the toilet, handing over the footage.

At the toilet, Meng Huai finished watching. He raised an eyebrow: “Well hidden. How’d you find it?” Su Bei briefly explained their plan, while watching Meng Huai push the boulder like a door. Su Bei asked curiously: “Teacher, is your Ability strength-based? [Beast Tamer]? [Spirit Warrior]? [General]?”

He veered into fantasy, as Abilities could be anything within professional types. Per his earlier guess, Meng Huai’s Ability likely shared Si Zhaohua’s professional nature.

Professional, summoning, and strong, these options matched the criteria. There were likely others, but he couldn’t think of them.

Hearing Su Bei’s guesses, Meng Huai knew he was close but not quite there.

He shrugged: “Keep guessing.”

The boulder moved fully, revealing the cave. As they prepared to descend, a “bang” explosion came from below.

Meng Huai’s brows furrowed, ready to go. Su Bei followed, judging: “That’s Mo Xiaotian’s Ability.”

Mo Xiaotian’s [Air] could create explosive air cubes. Su Bei, familiar from prior encounters, recognized it.

Su Bei activated his Ability, using [Destiny Gear] to shift his pointer fully left.

The underground held opportunities he’d likely missed by staying above. With max luck, could he snag a bonus?

Following Meng Huai underground, they found a crimson forest—leaves, trees, and ground all red, a world of scarlet.

They rushed toward the explosion. Soon, several black mists fled toward them.

“That’s the mist in Zhao Xiaoyu!” Su Bei shouted, dodging.

Meng Huai, reacting quickly, conjured a large Mental Crystal, absorbing all the mist.

Mental Crystals were standard for rich Ability users like him. Knowing from Su Bei and Si Zhaohua that they could likely contain black mist, he used one immediately.

Jiang Tianming’s group ran from the forest, first thrilled, then Jiang Tianming urgently asked: “Teacher, did you see...”

“Here,” Meng Huai shook the now-black crystal. “Let’s go—this won’t hold the energy long.”

He started back, then remembered: “Wait, check the room where you found the mist for leftovers.”

Problems needed to be dealt with thoroughly to avoid future trouble.

At a forest Villa, they split to search. Su Bei went to the second-floor Main Bedroom, rifling through, ready to leave. At the door, he tripped on a shoe, bumping a cabinet.

The next second, a solid wood panel popped open, revealing a drawer with an ornate box.

Su Bei was stunned but realized this was [Destiny Gear]’s work. He wouldn’t waste his Ability’s gift. He opened the box, eyes widening.

Inside was a heart-shaped pink fruit, identical to the auction’s finale item Zhao Xiaoyu mentioned, which could awaken Abilities in ordinary people!

No way! Su Bei nearly cursed. He’d only wanted a small boost, but fate handed him billions. Too insane!

Holding the hot potato, Su Bei hesitated, then resolved, stashing the box in his Storage Ring.

No one knew it existed; he found it, so it was his. The Academy would assume Black Flash took it, never tracing it to him.

Such a treasure might be crucial later. Su Bei wasn’t selfless enough to return it, much like Zhao Xiaoyu—neither were generous.

Finding no issues, they left. Outside, Su Bei asked why the explosion happened.

Jiang Tianming answered: “We’ve been probing this place’s secrets. Recently, we found a huge crystal ball with black mist.”

“Like the one we saw, but three times bigger,” Si Zhaohua added.

Jiang Tianming continued: “We decided to destroy it. Without someone to touch it, Xiaotian’s Ability could harm the mist. We planned to blow the crystal and mist, but...”

He glanced at Mo Xiaotian, who scratched his head, sheepish: “I misplaced the explosive cube; some mist escaped.”

Wu Mingbai’s smile was innocent, but his words were sharp: “Some people are never careful enough.”

Su Bei suddenly laughed, saying softly: “Really careless.”

Everyone looked at him, surprised. Su Bei, usually a bystander unless involved, rarely spoke so sarcastically, more like Wu Mingbai or Li Shu. What was up?

Mo Xiaotian, oblivious, grinned: “I’ll be careful next time!”

Su Bei said no more—going any further would be out of character. His remark wasn’t mockery, but a hint he knew Mo Xiaotian was a mole. Lan Subing consoled: “It’s fine—the mist was contained. Back home, we might learn how it’s made.”

Jiang Tianming recalled: “The mist was likely derived from Nightmare Beasts. We saw them capture many.”

Meng Huai listened, leading them to the Different Space’s exit. Seeing its state, even Si Zhaohua gaped ungracefully: “How’s this done?”

The cave-like black hole’s exterior was gone, leaving a tattered black hole, edges jagged, as if torn by hand.

Three foreigners guarded the exit, surrounding Meng Huai’s group. A man in a black top hat, suppressing anger, asked in their language: “Mr. Meng, why barge in? Isn’t such rudeness disregarding our nations’ friendship?”

Meng Huai scoffed: “You kidnapped our students, and you dare accuse us?”

“What students?” The man paused, then seeing the kids behind Meng Huai, was shocked. “We didn’t kidnap them—our laborers are volunteers. A mistake!”

He truly didn’t know how these students got in. Had he known, would he have let such trouble enter? Even if he’d taken Academy students, he wouldn’t let them live now, leaving such a liability!

“Check if you don’t believe me,” Meng Huai said confidently. They had student IDs—easy to verify.

The Black Top Hat knew they weren’t lying. What a scam! He felt wronged. He’d thought he had the moral high ground, but seeing the students, he knew he’d lost it. Kidnapping them, intentional or not, justified their rescue.

Now, his plan backfired. Heaven knew how much chaos these brats caused down there, yet they’re still alive!

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