Su Bei quickly realized something was off.
From this page of the comic, it was clear that the "him" in the comic was killed by having his throat slit by a sharp weapon. Based on his memory before he lost consciousness, the death scene suggests that the masked man successfully killed him with a dagger.
However, the problem was that he had successfully avoided that danger. He hadn't been harmed by the dagger and had even managed to counter the attacker.
Thinking of this, his sharp eyebrows raised, and a defiant smile returned to his face as he loudly asked the empty space, "This was supposed to be my original ending, right? What's your purpose in showing me this, or rather, in helping me change my fate?"
He should have reached the ending in the comic, but in the restroom, he suddenly shook off that hazy state, which allowed him to successfully avoid the fatal danger.
Now that he had arrived in this space, it wasn't hard to guess that the person behind the scenes had helped him.
In less than two seconds, a voice that sounded like a cute child's came from all directions: "It wasn't in vain that I specifically chose you; you're not a fool after all. Just as you guessed, I want you to help me with something, and in return, you'll have a chance to change your fate."
"What do you want me to do?" Su Bei didn't let the words "change your fate" cloud his judgment. His eyes remained calm as he asked casually, as if he were just asking, "What do you want for lunch?"
Luckily, the other party didn't beat around the bush and said straightforwardly, "You've probably realized by now that the world you're in is a comic world. As a comic meant for the public, it naturally needs to ensure that good triumphs over evil."
Indeed, from the first volume, it was clear that this was a typical shonen manga. A shonen manga naturally needed the protagonist to win.
The childlike voice sighed in an exaggeratedly old-fashioned way: "But it wasn't until the world was fully established and the comic world was generated that the author suddenly realized the villains were a bit too powerful. If the comic world were allowed to develop on its own, it might very well lead to the protagonist's early death, with the villains ultimately winning."
"So, to ensure the comic passes review and gets published, I, the 'Comic Consciousness,' have chosen you to be the one to reverse the plot."
Upon hearing this, Su Bei quickly analyzed the deal. He would help the other party reverse the potential outcome where the villains win, and in return, he'd get a chance to survive.
Though it didn't sound entirely fair, he had no other choice. If he refused, judging by the situation, he'd likely follow the original plot and die.
Rather than dying for no reason, it was better to take a chance. It was no wonder the other party was so confident; they knew he wouldn't refuse.
"First question." After finishing his thoughts, Su Bei asked, "Why did you choose me?"
"Because although you were killed off early as cannon fodder, you're also a key character in opening the second volume of *Yi Neng Wei Wang.* You have the potential to become an important character. There's a fixed number of important characters in a book, and your identity is flexible. All candidates must have this trait."
Hearing this, Su Bei thought for a moment and quickly understood what it meant.
As a fully established comic, the important characters were already set; otherwise, it would overshadow the main plot. If he were just ordinary cannon fodder, even if he escaped death, he'd have no chance of becoming an important character.
But he was different. He was already an important character, though only as an "important death character."
In this case, if he survived, his identity would have a lot of room to maneuver.
"But there's something you need to know," the "Comic Consciousness" said after giving him some time to think. "Even if you change your initial trajectory, your status as cannon fodder doesn't change. So, if you don't cooperate with me, you'll likely die in another way soon after leaving."
It brought up this point specifically to prevent Su Bei from turning on them after agreeing to help.
"So if I agree to cooperate with you, I won't die?" Su Bei pointed out a key question.
"…No." The "Comic Consciousness" coughed, sounding a bit guilty. "You're still cannon fodder, but you have the chance to change your identity, to become what I mentioned before—a truly important character."
Cannon fodder dies, but important characters can die too. Su Bei clearly remembered that in the first volume of the comic he had read earlier, a fairly crucial and seemingly popular character had died in the mid-to-late stages.
The "Comic Consciousness" was clearly avoiding the issue, but he didn't pursue it. For him, getting rid of his cannon fodder status in the short term was already enough.
From his previous experiences, it was clear that cannon fodder characters were subject to forced plot deaths, while important characters probably weren't.
"I understand. Third question." Su Bei tilted his head. "If I fail, what will happen to this world?"
If the "Comic Consciousness" could simply choose someone else to complete the task if he failed, then it was all good, and he only needed to worry about himself.
But if this was a one-time mutual choice, with success or failure directly affecting the world, he'd have to carefully consider whether to accept it.
Can he really take on the heavy responsibility of saving the world?
After all, the two of them were about to be in the same boat. The "Comic Consciousness" didn't hide anything from him: "That depends on what the comic's author decides to do."
"What do you mean?"
"If the author chooses to continue writing and eventually lets the villains win, then this world will naturally continue to develop in that direction. But if he decides to forcefully lower the story's logic and give the protagonist an overpowered boost just to ensure their victory, this world will collapse, and the comic will lose its soul."
When the characters in the comic can't save themselves, everything depends on the author's choice.
However, the "Comic Consciousness" answer also revealed another issue, prompting Su Bei to ask, "So there's no second chance? Once you've chosen me, you can't choose anyone else?"
"That's right, there's only one chance to choose. The comic will officially begin serialization in the real world next week."
Upon hearing this, a serious look flashed in Su Bei's eyes. While he certainly wanted to survive, he wasn't so keen on living if it meant bearing the responsibility of an entire world.
After all, if he failed, no matter what the author decided, the people in this world wouldn't have it easy. They would either face direct destruction or live in a hell ruled by the villains.
If that were the case, he might as well die now and at least have some peace.
Perhaps noticing his hesitation, the "Comic Consciousness" hurriedly tried to persuade him in its childlike voice: "You're already the one with the highest calculated success rate, more than double that of the other candidates."
At this point, it paused, seemingly reluctant to say, "…If you don't take on this task, this world is almost certain to collapse. But if you do, there's still a sliver of hope. So you don't need to carry too heavy of a mental burden."
It must be said, these words did manage to comfort Su Bei quite a bit. He raised his eyelids and asked curiously, "Can I ask what your predictions are for my success rate compared to the other candidates?"
"Yours is 3%, while the others don't even reach 0.1%."
The "Comic Consciousness" had no choice. It wished there were more reliable candidates so that even with only one chance to choose, it could have more options.
But the problem was that the other candidates just didn't measure up. Those who were smarter than Su Bei weren't as handsome as him, and those who were more handsome… well, in fact, among those candidates, none were more handsome than Su Bei.
He truly had outstanding looks, with golden hair like rippling wheat fields, framing a fair and handsome face. A section of hair on the left was braided, adding a touch of playful charm.
His eyes were deep purple, mysterious and profound. When he glanced at someone, his pupils seemed to pull them into a narrow vortex.
When he smiled, his phoenix-like eyes narrowed slightly, and the corners of his mouth lifted, giving him a mischievous and roguishly handsome appearance. When he raised his eyebrows, he exuded a sense of wickedness. Wearing the gray-blue uniform of the Supernatural Academy only added to his striking appearance. He was the rare type who could easily play both hero and villain roles.
Based on the "Comic Consciousness" accumulated experience from years of surfing forums on behalf of the comic's author, it knew that a face like this would have no shortage of fans once it appeared in the comic.
The stark difference in success rates made Su Bei pause for a moment, and then a thoughtful look appeared in his eyes. It seemed that, just as the "Comic Consciousness" had said, he was indeed the best candidate.
In other words, they were in a mutually beneficial relationship, not one where he solely owed the other party a favor, so he didn't need to feel any mental burden.
With this in mind, Su Bei relaxed, lazily chuckled, and asked, "I do want to cooperate with you, but what makes you think I can change the course of the world?"
After all, his supernatural ability was only to produce gears, which was practically useless, making him one of the lowest-ranking individuals in the world of superhumans.
Su Bei didn't feel inferior because of this. Superhumans were, after all, a minority in this world. His ability might be weak, but that didn't make him weak in character, so there was nothing for him to feel inferior about.
Having a supernatural ability or not, and what kind of ability it was, made no difference in being a person and living a life.
But to save the world with this ability seemed impossible. In fact, Su Bei just wanted to stay away from all danger and live quietly as an ordinary person.
The "Comic Consciousness" naturally understood this: "Of course, I'll give you a cheat ability, but how you use it is up to you."
"So what's my cheat ability?" Su Bei asked, unusually eager. He had already thought of many super-cool protagonist cheat abilities from various comics.
A powerful supernatural ability? A hacked system? Guidance from a master? Any of these would be enough to make a 15-year-old's heart race.
"Your cheat ability is—when comic readers completely believe the information you provide, that information will become reality."!