Chapter 9
If his guess was correct, judging by Feng Lan's demeanor and the amount of money on his meal card, he was likely wealthy. People like that usually encountered enough schemes and hidden agendas, so instead of tiptoeing around the subject and giving him any reason to suspect ulterior motives, it was better to ask directly.
After all, everyone in Class F was probably curious about the [Prophecy] ability. Su Bei figured that his question wouldn't raise any issues.
Sure enough, Feng Lan didn't intend to hide anything. After swallowing a bite of rice, he answered, "[Prophecy]. It allows me to use mental energy to predict general events, like 'something will happen on the first day of school,' for example. I can also predict more specific things, but that costs more mental energy, and with my current condition, I can only do the latter once a month."
"Something will happen on the first day of school?"
Most people would be confused by such a prediction. But to Su Bei, this prophecy clearly showed the strength of Feng Lan's ability.
This was exactly the kind of ability Su Bei had initially wanted to give himself.
After a moment's thought, his eyes gleamed. "So, it doesn't have any offensive or defensive capabilities; it's not useful in a fight?"
Feng Lan nodded, then shook his head. "While the ability itself doesn't offer combat skills, it can be used strategically in battle."
With that, he lowered his head and continued eating, and Su Bei didn't ask further. He knew their relationship wasn't deep enough to share too many details, and Feng Lan had already shared more than expected.
What Feng Lan revealed was enough to spark some ideas. Since Feng Lan's ability wasn't offensive, Su Bei could use this as an opportunity to adjust his own ability plans.
Now, how to adjust a fate-based ability to include some offensive power…
After finishing lunch, they both returned to the boys' dormitory.
Endless Abilities Academy was quite generous; each student had their own room. Even the students in Class F, with limited prospects, were provided with private rooms that included a bathroom.
Since there were no other classes on the first afternoon, Su Bei said goodbye to Feng Lan and went into his room to tidy up his hastily arranged belongings.
As he organized, he asked, "Hey, Comic Consciousness, you there? Could you send me a copy of the previous chapters? I want to study the earlier storyline."
The first part of the storyline would help him understand the personalities of the main trio better, and the beginning of the second part held a lot worth investigating.
"Sure. I've already uploaded the comic along with the forum to your phone. You can access it anytime, and it'll appear as study materials to anyone else."
Su Bei breathed a sigh of relief. This setup was convenient, and in case he lost his phone, there would be no cause for concern.
He felt genuinely grateful for this uncharacteristically considerate gesture from the Comic Consciousness. Many students in the lower-ranked classes, after all, would often study regular academic subjects during their time at the Academy.
They didn't have much talent in the world of abilities, so they'd eventually return to the world of ordinary people, where academic qualifications held significant value.
The Academy was actually lenient on this front, even providing additional academic courses for Class F students. Upon graduation, they'd also assist with school recommendations.
Opening his phone, he saw a newly added comic app with an icon of Jiang Tianming, Lan Su Bing, and Wu Mingbai smiling together.
When he opened the app, he saw a simple green interface with two titles available: King of Abilities Part One and Part Two.
At the top, there were two sections, one for the comic and another for the forum.
After some thought, Su Bei slid right to enter the forum.
Posts included:
• "The Academy Arc is finally starting! I'm so excited!"
• "Please, more handsome characters for the Academy Arc. This series is seriously lacking hot characters."
• "What did Jiang Jiang mean with his last line in Part One?"
Highlighted posts had a yellow label, making them stand out. Su Bei was immediately drawn to posts speculating about plot twists; he, too, was curious about Jiang Tianming's final line in Part One.
However, he didn't click in. The second part of the comic hadn't started updating yet, so if viewers could already guess plot twists, there'd be no point in updating it further.
After finding nothing particularly useful, he returned to the comic section and opened Part Two. Part One was longer and likely contained more hidden information, but Part Two's content was more urgent for him to review.
With his belongings all set, Su Bei sat on the bed, ready to open Part Two. Before he did, he suddenly asked, "Originally, the storyline of Part Two started with my character's death. Since I didn't die, how will the comic handle that?"
The Comic Consciousness, surprised that he'd thought of this, hesitated before answering—it knew this couldn't be kept hidden for long. "Someone else will die in your place."
The room fell into a heavy silence, as if even the sound of breathing had ceased. The Comic Consciousness, unable to bear the quiet, spoke again. "So, you…"
"So what?" Su Bei cut it off with a chuckle. "Are you about to say, 'You should work hard not to waste this person's sacrifice'?"
Anyone observing closely would notice that, though Su Bei was smiling, his eyes held no warmth—only a deep chill.
His tousled bangs partially obscured his expression, but a glint in his eye, a faint smirk on his lips, and a hint of defiance flowed effortlessly through his demeanor.
"What's wrong with saying that?" asked the Comic Consciousness, slightly confused by his reaction.
Su Bei, with his background and exposure to crime through his father's work, rarely fell into logical traps; he'd always kept a clear mind. "You should know that even back then, I wasn't killed by the assassin because I was careless."
He distinctly remembered that his mind had been foggy, his actions almost involuntary, until the Comic Consciousness snapped him out of it.
In other words—"My death, or the substitute's, was a scripted 'plot kill.'"
Su Bei stated it firmly.
He wouldn't let himself feel guilty over the substitute's death, because it wasn't his fault. He was just as much a victim.
"The real cause of our deaths is the assassin, the storyline, and the comic itself! Why should a victim like me feel guilty, let alone use it as motivation to work harder?"
As he finished speaking, he raised his head, his smile mocking, a hint of warning in his voice. "No one should feel guilt over that. Trying to guilt-trip me here, are we?"
This was something he'd realized after reviving and learning the situation. Otherwise, he wouldn't have accepted the idea of a substitute dying in his place and continued living with a clear conscience.
His words left the Comic Consciousness silent once more. It now realized that, while it hadn't intended to manipulate him, Su Bei had a point—its approach was misguided from the start.
After all, Su Bei's initial death, and now the substitute's, were just parts of a storyline predetermined by the author to keep the comic running smoothly.
But authors wouldn't feel guilt over this; to them, the characters were creations of their pen. How could it be wrong for them to dictate their fates?
"My phrasing was indeed inappropriate. I apologize; this really has nothing to do with you." Lacking the human emotions of shame, the Comic Consciousness promptly apologized after recognizing its mistake.
Su Bei returned to his usual smiling expression, as if the cold anger from moments before had been an illusion. "Since you've admitted it's your mistake, shouldn't you offer me some compensation for almost pinning a murder on me?"
"…What compensation do you want?"
"Let me simulate the original 'me's' death scene," Su Bei said, pointing to the last page of Part Two, which depicted his corpse in the bathroom with gears scattered around it. "I'm guessing the original me must have noticed something about the killer before he died."
Knowing himself, Su Bei was certain he wouldn't instinctively use his ability to protect himself.
After all, that ability seemed useless for anything besides reducing overhead in a hardware shop. In a life-threatening situation, his self-defense training would be more reliable.
So why were so many small gears scattered around his body in the comic?
There was only one possibility: he'd left those gears on purpose. They must be a clue for the main character. The number, placement, size, and shape of the gears… could they be hinting at the killer's identity?
In other words, he must have seen the killer's face, or at least some identifying detail, just before he died.
And right now, Su Bei really needed that clue.
There were two main reasons he wanted to know this. First, he feared the killer might come for him again. Though he hadn't seen the killer's face, given their ruthless nature, they might not leave him alive.
Second, knowing the storyline in advance would help him set the stage and establish his character.
It was worth noting that killers in the opening scenes of comics generally fell into one of two categories. Either they were quickly caught, serving to immerse the audience in the plot while introducing later story elements—like organizations or conspiracies lurking behind the killer.
Or they became a long-running mystery, possibly with their identity only revealed at the very end.
Su Bei hoped it was the former. If it turned out to be the latter, things could get complicated.
That would mean he couldn't escape the danger immediately and might even have a huge threat hanging over him, which would conflict significantly with Su Bei's goal of maintaining a "low-profile, unentangled" persona.
Regardless, the clues his original self had left before his death were essential to analyze. The more information he had, the better he could set himself up as a character with foresight and insight.
After all, once this moment passed, he wouldn't be able to read ahead in the comic again. This was his best and only chance to create the "prophetic" image he aimed for.
The Comic Consciousness hesitated, but after a moment, it agreed, "I'll simulate the final moments leading up to your original character's death. You'll be able to see what happened and observe the killer's actions."
With that, Su Bei's vision blurred, and he found himself in the dim, quiet atmosphere of the bathroom from the comic's scene. He could feel his original self's fear, confusion, and a strange sensation of something blocking his mind, like an instinctive fog clouding his judgment.
Then he saw it—a shadowy figure, half-hidden, their face obscured by a silver mask with narrow, cruel eyes peering out. The killer approached swiftly, and in his mind's eye, Su Bei understood why his original self had tried to use his ability in those last moments.
Instead of self-defense, his focus had been on gathering enough mental clarity to leave behind a message, however subtle. He'd managed to scatter a series of small gears, each one placed with intention, as though leaving a coded trail of clues for anyone perceptive enough to understand.
The vision faded, and Su Bei found himself back in his dorm room, breathing heavily as he processed what he had seen.
"Well, that confirmed it," he muttered to himself. "The killer was wearing a mask, and those gears weren't random. I left them to reveal something, probably about the killer's identity or intentions."
This was exactly the kind of lead he needed. By leveraging his "knowledge" of this scene, he could build up his character as someone with inside information or even prophetic insight. He just needed to be careful not to reveal too much too soon—keeping his advantage hidden would be key to navigating the complex relationships and dangers he was now part of.
"Looks like I'll need to be more cautious than ever," Su Bei thought, a glint of determination in his eyes. He was going to survive this twisted storyline, and if he played his cards right, he might even thrive in it.