Translator: AkazaTL

Proofreader/Editor: JWyck

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Chapter 255

Though an intelligence organization was useful, Su Bei couldn’t help but wonder what it would’ve been like if he’d created a different kind of organization.

For instance, if he’d formed an assassin organization, could he kill whoever he wanted? No, no, that wouldn’t do. Killing was definitely illegal. If that identity was exposed, no matter how popular he was, the author could easily kill him off. After all, a murderer deserved death, and as the head of an assassin group, a death ending would be perfectly reasonable.

What about a government-like organization? That would’ve been harder, but with Manga Consciousness' help, it could’ve been created smoothly.

If he’d made something like the Vixi Holy Land, an independent regime, it would’ve provided intelligence and a real base to operate from—a solid choice.

But there were downsides. A regime couldn’t lack a leader for long, so he’d need a proxy. No matter who it was, they’d know his identity.

He could claim his deceased father was the original leader, casting himself as the new head after his father’s death. But that brought a new issue: the proxy might resent his authority and conspire to usurp power.

In the end, an intelligence organization was the best fit. Su Bei sighed at his foresight, though he hadn’t thought it through that much at the time. That didn’t stop him from patting himself on the back.

The Nightmare Egg was clearly vital to both the Nightmare Beasts and Black Flash. That afternoon, Moyun City started feeling off.

First, the number of Nightmare Beasts outside surged dramatically. Instead of rushing the gates, they spread out, as if encircling the entire city.

Second, the Ability Users in the Different Space were struggling, urgently recalling the three who’d left to help fend off High-Level Nightmare Beasts and find a way to close the Close Point.

Messages from the Different Space confirmed the new beasts came from the Nightmare Beast world. They suspected Ling You’s closure of the largest Different Space in another city forced the excess beasts to spread across other spaces.

The theory was reasonable, but Su Bei knew it wasn’t the full story. The Nightmare Egg’s presence here was the bigger factor.

Finally, traces of Nightmare Beasts were found inside the city.

Thanks to the Ability Government’s focus on affected cities, they’d distributed devices to detect Nightmare Beasts’ approach instantly. Just now, the device had gone off, signaling a Nightmare Beast nearby.

The situation grew tense, the city brimming with an impending storm. The surge in beasts and their sudden presence inside hinted at something brewing.

Facing the unknown danger, the commander decisively contacted the Ability Government for reinforcements. Su Bei let out a relieved sigh when he heard this.

Thank the world, he’d finally met a normal person. Though he knew with the protagonist trio around, reinforcements might not help much, the commander’s initiative surpassed most manga characters he’d seen.

As expected, help wasn’t coming. The Ability Government soon reported they couldn’t find the way to Moyun City—a likely effect of a Lost Nightmare Beast’s ability, Su Bei deduced.

Its ability could disorient humans or make objects unfindable.

Moyun City was now an isolated island. The Ability Government would need three to four days to break through. Undoubtedly, the Nightmare Beasts would act in that time.

Everyone went on high alert, rest times halved, the extra hours used for team patrols to find the hidden Nightmare Beast before it caused trouble.

Ability Users with trap-setting skills, like Wu Mingbai, placed traps around the city. They might not do much, but if Nightmare Beasts breached the city, they’d cause some damage.

The most helpless were the city’s ordinary residents. They weren’t blind and noticed the Ability Users’ recent odd behavior.

Though the Ability Users tried to hide it, with danger so close, it was hard to keep from the residents entirely. Learning the city might no longer be safe, many fell into despair.

Ordinary people had no means to resist Nightmare Beasts. If the gates fell, even if the beasts ignored them, they’d be the first to die.

In this climate, humanity’s darker side emerged. Some, believing they wouldn’t survive, began looting shops and even banks, aiming to fulfill forbidden desires in their final days.

This forced Ability Users to divert a small group to manage them.

Ideally, ordinary people could handle their own, forming teams to control the troublemakers. But these criminals were bold enough to commit crimes and might kill if cornered.

Ability Users could overpower them, but ordinary people risked injury. To minimize casualties, Ability Users had to step in.

Su Bei had said he wouldn’t fight Nightmare Beasts, but with the dire shortage, the commander asked his opinion and, with his consent, assigned him this task.

He initially hesitated, but the job, though busy, was low-risk. More importantly, it let him scout the city for issues, so he agreed.

Catching two scumbags trying to break into a lone woman’s apartment, Su Bei smirked mockingly, "Wow, the Nightmare Beasts haven’t even gotten in, and you’re already causing chaos?"

The two, each kicked against the wall by Su Bei, lay groaning, unable to stand. The hallway filled with their pained cries and curses, "Ouch! We’re all gonna die anyway, can’t we have some fun? You’re a guy—don’t you get it?"

Su Bei ignored them. Engaging with the morally bankrupt only lowered his own standards. Their values were clearly incompatible—what was there to say?

Knocking them out, he prepared to leave. Then, a door opened behind him.

The woman who’d called for help opened her door, eyes red from fear, voice choked with gratitude, "Thank you so much for helping. Really, thank you."

"No problem. I’ll take these two away," Su Bei waved casually, binding them with rope and dragging them out without mercy.

As he reached the hallway’s exit, he paused, glancing at the woman’s Destiny Compass. Oddly, her small pointer leaned left, but her large pointer was at the bottom.

Her luck was good now, but she was fated to die soon.

A strange combination—people nearing death usually had their small pointer to the right. Why was hers left?

Su Bei sensed something off about her but had no leads. Frowning, he checked his own Destiny Compass.

Not because he thought he was in trouble, but to check if the place was dangerous, causing her death. If his luck was poor, he’d leave immediately.

Surprisingly, his luck wasn’t just good—it was exceptional, the small pointer at the far left.

Su Bei: "?"

A once-in-a-century sight. When had a luckless guy like him ever had such naturally formed fortune?

This luck had to mean something. His eyes lit up, and he asked the woman as she was about to close her door, "Sorry, does your house have a black, egg-shaped stone?"

The only recent thing he could think of was the Nightmare Egg. If she had it and he’d just saved her, his luck was indeed stellar.

"How did you know!" As expected, she gasped, confirming his guess.

Su Bei pulled out his phone, "Can you sell it? I’ve been collecting these stones. Name your price."

He’d called it a hot potato—if discovered, he couldn’t protect it. But with the Nightmare Egg right here, he couldn’t let it go.

Besides, he’d asked. If someone was watching, they’d investigate. Rather than play blind, he’d hold the Nightmare Egg to take control.

She smiled, shaking her head and wiping tears, "No need. You helped me so much. It’s just a stone—take it."

She ran back inside, returning with an iron box. Opening it revealed a black, egg-shaped stone, "Here, is this what you want?"

"That’s it!" Seeing his target, Su Bei’s eyes flashed with delight. He’d thought finding the Nightmare Egg was like finding a needle in a haystack, yet here it was, so easily.

It felt unreal. If not for his luck, he’d suspect it was just a lookalike stone, not the real Nightmare Egg.

But his luck wasn’t fake. This fortune confirmed it was genuine.

In the end, Su Bei gave her two hundred yuan for the stone. Holding it, he eyed it suspiciously. He couldn’t fully believe his luck was this good. Getting the Nightmare Egg so smoothly felt less like a lucky break and more like something was wrong.

Not to belittle himself, but his luck was never great. This sudden fortune made him uneasy, like a neglected concubine suddenly favored by the god of fate.

Dragging the unconscious scumbags out of the building, he saw Cyril and Li Xiang approaching. Li Xiang was expressionless as usual, while Cyril wore a sly grin.

Cyril got straight to the point, "I knew you’d find it for us. Hand it over."

Su Bei: "…"

His silence was deafening.

A rare stroke of luck, only to benefit others. His self-awareness was spot-on—good luck was fleeting; his unlucky nature was eternal.

No choice but to hand over the Nightmare Egg. Su Bei lacked the resolve to hold onto it or destroy it in their faces. He had no protagonist halo, and with the author eyeing him, he couldn’t give any chance to kill him off.

Though forced to comply, he couldn’t seem too weak. Worried the author would put this in the manga, causing an out-of-character moment and losing popularity, he acted unfazed, tossing the Nightmare Egg like a hot potato and waving casually, "It’s yours."

His demeanor piqued Cyril’s interest. He raised an eyebrow, "That easy?"

"It’s what you deserve," Su Bei smirked, implying deeper meaning.

He’d taken Destiny’s task to help Black Flash find the Nightmare Egg. Giving it to them completed it.

If this got out, no one would think he was coerced. They’d assume even Cyril’s arrival was his plan to fulfill the task.

Before he could praise his clever move, an unwelcome voice rang out, "Su Bei? What are you doing?"

Su Bei: "…"

Like a robot, he turned frame by frame, seeing Jiang Tianming’s trio, their faces full of shock and suspicion.

He almost laughed. The author was relentless in painting him as a villain. No wonder he’d gotten the Nightmare Egg so easily—a trap was waiting.

The whole thing, from helping the woman, was a setup. If he’d left without asking, when Black Flash or Jiang Tianming’s group got the Nightmare Egg, she’d mention him.

Put in the manga, it’d spark conspiracy theories.

Taking the Nightmare Egg made it simpler. Cyril and Li Xiang confronted him. If he performed poorly, he’d break character, losing popularity. Not just externally, but in the manga, he’d lose credibility with Jiang Tianming’s trio, who saw him as near-invincible, not easily threatened.

If he performed well, Jiang Tianming’s trio would assume he’d planned to hand it to Black Flash, as they did now.

The author’s trap was meticulous, one ring after another, leaving no time to react. A bad performance was a pit; a good one was too. What could he do but play along? He’d planned to mingle with the villains anyway.

"I’m being threatened, can’t you tell?" Su Bei retorted confidently.

"Didn’t look like it," Wu Mingbai gave no face, "You seemed pretty willing."

When Su Bei met Cyril and Li Xiang, the trio arrived too. Planning to help, they overheard the exchange. As Wu Mingbai said, from an outsider’s view, it looked like a prearranged deal, not a threat.

Seeing them about to argue, Cyril gleefully fanned the flames, "Su Bei, pleasant cooperation. Looking forward to next time!"

"Wait, don’t go," Su Bei called as they tried to leave.

Quickly, he told Jiang Tianming’s trio, "They and the Nightmare Beasts came to Moyun City for the Nightmare Egg. You don’t need to know what it is—just that Cyril has it now."

Smiling, he stepped back, gesturing, "Your turn to perform."

He used an Invisibility Charm and vanished.

"He ran?" Wu Mingbai asked incredulously. Su Bei caused this mess and left without explaining?

Facing his question, Lan Subing shrugged helplessly, "What can we do?"

Jiang Tianming, equally exasperated, stayed calm, "They’re escaping. Prepare to fight."

As Su Bei predicted, though the trio didn’t know the Nightmare Egg’s importance, his words were clear. If Black Flash and the Nightmare Beasts—both their enemies—wanted it, they had to secure it.

As Su Bei vanished, the two sides clashed.

Normally, Jiang Tianming’s trio couldn’t match the two, but Moyun City had activated a device limiting Ability usage caps.

Ordinary Ability Users and Low- to Mid-Level Nightmare Beasts were unaffected, but strong Ability Users and beasts were restricted. Jiang Tianming’s group was fine, but Cyril and Li Xiang’s Abilities were weakened, making the fight even.

Soon after, the Nightmare Beasts launched a full assault, throwing Moyun City into chaos.

Invisible, Su Bei confirmed the fight and returned to the bell tower. Seeing Nightmare Beasts inside and outside the city move, he knew the author, after smearing him, had started the main plot.

He rolled his eyes, opting to slack off. The author likely only planned his framed plot. Without his involvement, the protagonist trio would handle the crisis.

Since there was no stage for him to shine, and after his last chapter’s spotlight of wiping out many Nightmare Beasts, repeating it would be redundant.

Too many spotlight moments would upset other characters’ fans, especially the protagonist trio’s. As a manga reader, he knew overpushing a “royal” side character was a toxic trope. He couldn’t let himself fall into that.

While slacking, Su Bei wasn’t idle. He opened Destiny’s notebook, submitted the task, and reviewed the incident.

First, the luck issue. If he hadn’t noticed the woman’s odd Destiny Compass and his own freakishly good luck, he wouldn’t have found the Nightmare Egg.

Whether he found it or not, he’d have fallen into the author’s trap. But this was a wake-up call: the Destiny Compass' luck wasn’t completely trustworthy.

Or rather, he needed to consider luck from the manga’s macro perspective.

The compass' pointers were fine—stumbling on the Nightmare Egg’s location was peak luck. But this rare fortune was the author’s plot, which he hadn’t realized.

Like a poor man suddenly rich, he hadn’t seen the trap. He’d even wondered if his luck had turned. Lesson learned: next time, he’d run far from such situations.

After reflecting, Su Bei planned his next steps. This chapter’s update would have many readers suspecting, or confirming, his ties to Black Flash.

Luckily, he’d taken the Destiny task. Even if the author used reader perceptions to cement his Black Flash ties, it wouldn’t change much.

Without the task, the next chapter might’ve given him false memories of working with Black Flash. But with the task, his “collusion” was factual, leaving the author with little to alter.

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