A Guide for Background Characters to Survive in a Manga - Chapter 332 : Chapter 332

Chapter 332

“Should we tell the teachers?” Zhou Renjie asked. He actually wanted to ask who would do the mission, but he felt that asking this question right away was too utilitarian. Anyway, they were bound to talk about it, so it was better to ask something else first.

Before anyone else could answer, Ai Baozhu denied it first, “Of course we’re not telling them. They failed such an important mission. If we tell them in advance, who knows what kind of accident might happen.”

After learning that the Tri-School Base’s plan had failed, Ai Baozhu had lost her trust in them. After all, from this future, it could be inferred that Mu Tieren’s research must have been successful. With such a good opportunity to clear the meteorites, the Tri-School Base failed to seize it. It was no wonder she reacted this way.

Si Zhaohua also nodded. He didn’t share Ai Baozhu’s thoughts. He mainly felt that since the Tri-School Base could fail in the previous timeline, it wasn’t impossible that there were problems within their ranks.

Rather than taking such a risk, it was better to have the completely trustworthy classmates complete this mission. Anyway, they were the ones who brought back the machine, the research was done by someone from their class, and it was only logical that the final mission be handed over to them, right?

Everyone agreed with his idea almost immediately. They were not people who followed the rules. Knowing that the base would fail, they naturally wanted to take the future into their own hands.

Now that the decision had been made, they faced that crucial question. After a moment of silence, I was the first to break it, “There are six Boundary Stones. Who will deal with them?”

“Six?” The few of them were all stunned.

The fact that there were only five Boundary Stones was no secret. As long as one was in the ability world and had the mind to investigate, they would definitely know. Jiang Tianming and the others had all researched it and knew that there were five Boundary Stones on the surface.

At this moment, hearing me say that there were six, they were all extremely surprised. However, no one doubted that there was a problem with what I said. My intelligence had always been notoriously accurate in the class.

At this moment, Qi Huang suddenly realized something and said with a bitter smile, “We don’t even know the locations of the other five Boundary Stones, let alone the sixth one. The base leader might know, but didn’t we say we were going to act without them knowing? It’s not good to get the locations of the Boundary Stones from him now.”

“Feng Lan, in the future you foresaw, did you see where they went?” I looked at Feng Lan and asked curiously.

Hearing this, Feng Lan gave me a strange look, then shook his head, “My prophecy isn’t that specific. And in my prophecy, they only went to five places. Don’t you know where those places are?”

“My prophecy isn’t that specific either.” I shook my head and chuckled, but then casually took out five teleportation charms. “I have the teleportation charms for five Boundary Stones. As for the sixth one, I just feel that it might exist.”

At this point, I wasn’t so confident anymore. After all, the existence of the sixth meteorite was entirely my speculation, with no substantial evidence.

Although I had just deduced that there were six people who could complete this mission, one of the six people I deduced was me! I couldn’t be sure if the author would arrange a plot for me.

However, I wasn’t too worried. Even if I guessed wrong, it didn’t matter. If there were only five large meteorites, the trouble could be solved directly, which would only benefit me. As for the one I got wrong, so what? My goal had already been achieved. Did I still care what the readers thought?

“When did you get these five teleportation charms?” Without paying attention to the sixth Boundary Stone, Zhou Renjie asked with a hint of curiosity and suspicion.

I answered lazily, “After I found out you would need them.”

As I spoke, I casually opened my notebook and glanced at it, then raised my eyebrows in surprise. “Hmm, the sixth Boundary Stone has been found.”

I didn’t expect the efficiency to be so high. Of course, it was also possible that the author was secretly manipulating things. In short, I had really found the location of the sixth Boundary Stone.

It was right next to one of the other Boundary Stones. Because their auras were similar, it had never been discovered. However, the Nightmare Beasts probably knew this, as their protection range included this sixth Boundary Stone.

Getting this news, I instantly understood. It seemed that even if I hadn’t provided this information, the person who went here would definitely have discovered the sixth Boundary Stone by chance.

With this in mind, I exchanged for another charm to go here. “Then let two people go to this place.”

It was worth mentioning that the Tri-School Base had an ability user with the [Mirror Copy] ability, who could copy the machine. At that time, each person would take one machine. As long as they could complete their respective tasks, they could destroy all the Boundary Stones together.

This was the basis of their action. After all, this kind of thing could only be done by catching the Nightmare Beasts by surprise. It was impossible to complete them one by one; they had to be completed at the same time. Otherwise, once the Nightmare Beasts reacted and hid the Boundary Stones again, or sent more guards, it would be difficult to destroy them.

Watching me casually take out another teleportation charm, the admiration in their eyes was palpable. Awesome, so awesome. I was like a treasure chest, not only with countless pieces of information, but also able to easily produce the relevant items to complete the mission. Having such a person as a teammate simply saved them a ton of trouble.

Now that all six Boundary Stones had been found, the next step was to continue selecting the mission personnel. I handed five of the teleportation charms to Jiang Tianming and kept the last one for myself. “I’ve given you the items, you can decide on the personnel yourselves. I want a spot. Call me when it’s time to act.”

Just as everyone was wondering why I was so proactive this time, providing mission items and personally participating in the mission, Ling You’s eyes flashed, and she suddenly remembered what I had told her a long time ago, that I was pursuing the longevity of humanity.

So that’s what it meant…

“By the way, Su Bei.” Before I left, Jiang Tianming called out to me and reminded me, “Don’t go out to eliminate Nightmare Beasts for the next few days.”

I gave him an OK gesture and walked out of the room with Feng Lan following behind me.

“Do you think… we can change the future?” Arriving at my room, Feng Lan, who had been following me, finally couldn’t help but ask.

In the past, he never cared about what happened after a prophecy. Whether they could successfully change the future after knowing it didn’t matter to him. As he said, he was just an observer.

But this time was different. It involved the survival of humanity, a war that had lasted for hundreds of years. Even someone as indifferent as him couldn’t help but feel a little apprehensive.

“We will definitely succeed,” I answered without hesitation. This was a manga world. When it came to saving the world, how could the protagonist not succeed?

After saying this, I suddenly broke into a laugh. “That doesn’t sound like something I would say, does it?”

Feng Lan nodded, not mincing his words at all. “Yes, too certain. It’s as if you’re really sure, and also as if you’re trying to comfort yourself.”

Indeed, although I was very sure in my heart that the author would ultimately let the protagonist team succeed, from the words that just slipped out of my mouth, it was clear that there was a hint of anxiety hidden in my heart. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have used words to reassure myself.

For the next few days, Jiang Tianming’s side was very busy. First, they came up with an excuse of a collective injury to prevent the few people participating in this mission from fighting. It was worth mentioning that the people they chose were exactly the ones I had speculated before, namely me, Jiang Tianming, Lan Subing, Wu Mingbai, Si Zhaohua, and Qi Huang.

As for the others, they naturally had to go on the field. Although they couldn’t stand on their own and turn the tide, they were still a formidable force.

Next, Jiang Tianming went to find Mu Tieren to explain the situation, asking him to cooperate and not tell the leader that his research was successful yet, and to secretly give them the copied research results in advance.

After learning that he could succeed in his research, Mu Tieren’s efficiency actually improved by a large margin. Originally, he was always timid, afraid of breaking the machine, as this was his first time conducting independent research. Now he was much bolder, and indeed, every step he took was on the right path.

In just five days, Mu Tieren completed his research ahead of schedule and obtained the reverse-converter.

“What do you want from us?” It was the same familiar conference room, the same familiar participants, but this time it was a different initiator.

Jiang Tianming calmly told the leader the results of Feng Lan’s previous prophecy and stated their decision, “So we want to go and convert the meteorites ourselves. This is the most convenient way.”

“No, I disagree.” The leader refused him without hesitation. “Thank you very much for the information you brought. I think we can wait for the Nightmare Realm Gate to be unsealed and find a team from outside. They also won’t be detected by the Nightmare Beasts. This loophole can be remedied. There’s no need for you to take the risk.”

Jiang Yan, who was next to him, nodded in agreement and tried to persuade them earnestly, “You are still students, don’t always think about taking risks. In terms of both experience and ability, you are still far behind adult ability users…”

No matter what, she couldn’t agree to let this group of kids go on this mission. Converting the Boundary Stones was a matter of great importance and had to be completed by experienced and powerful ability users. Besides, such a dangerous mission shouldn’t be undertaken by a group of students in the first place. Did they think the adults were just freeloaders?

However, before she could finish her words, Jiang Tianming interrupted, “We have already set off.”

“What?” The two adults in the conference room were stunned in unison, unable to comprehend the meaning of his words for a moment. Weren’t they still here? How could they have already set off?

The next second, they saw the figures of me and the others slowly disappear from their seats.

Only then did the two of them suddenly realize that the figures they had been talking to were actually illusions! The real Jiang Tianming and the others had already embarked on the path to convert the Boundary Stones!

While a miserable-looking Li Shu was trying to explain, I and the others had already teleported to the location of the Boundary Stones using the items.

The destination of these teleportation charms was not fixed; it could only be determined to be in the vicinity of a Boundary Stone. So, to prevent everyone from being directly teleported into the face of a Nightmare Beast for an instant kill, I generously gave each person an Invisibility Charm.

As long as they could approach the Boundary Stone while the Invisibility Charm was active, put it into the converter, and then use the teleportation spheres given by Lei Ze’en to return, they could perfectly complete the mission.

The reason why each person was given only one Invisibility Charm was to control the time for everyone to complete the mission. After all, they were fighting against time. Everyone had to complete the mission within a very close timeframe.

High-level Nightmare Beasts shared their vision. After one person completed the mission, the other Nightmare Beasts would react almost immediately and then guard the Boundary Stones strictly.

So with only one teleportation charm, everyone had to complete the mission at the nine-minute mark, just before the charm expired, and then return to the base together. Giving one more teleportation charm would not make everyone safer, but would instead put everyone in crisis.

I chose to go with Jiang Tianming as a group, to the place with two Boundary Stones. It was expected that he would be chosen for this place. I estimated that without my “unnecessary” action, Jiang Tianming would have been able to discover the last Boundary Stone.

But there was no way around it. I couldn’t really pin my hopes on Jiang Tianming’s protagonist halo. What if the author had arranged a plot for me here? If I didn’t complete my plot, who knew what would happen.

I could be a bystander in other matters, but this involved my long-standing goal. I couldn’t really just do nothing. When it came down to it, I couldn’t allow any accidents in this matter.

“Has everyone arrived?” After turning invisible and arriving at the location, Jiang Tianming asked in a low voice.

The others in the phones all shook their phones, filming the surrounding scenery.

This was my request. I wanted everyone to turn on their video call, with the camera facing themselves. This would allow me to keep an eye on the Destiny Compass of these people at all times to ensure that there were no problems.

But although I said that, I was actually quite relieved now. The Destiny Compasses above their heads were all very normal. The large pointer was at the top, and the small pointer was to the left. It could be said that there was no problem in completing the mission.

The place we came to, at first glance, had no problems. It was just an ordinary stone forest. But with a slight sweep of my mental energy, I could feel that something was wrong. I frowned, “This stone forest is alive.”

That’s right, a living stone forest. I could even feel the heavy breathing of the stone forest. If nothing unexpected happened, this entire stone forest should be the external manifestation of a Nightmare Beast.

We knew what the Boundary Stone looked like. It was a black stone taller than a person, about two meters high. And this stone forest was full of such stones. The Boundary Stone was hidden among them, and it was impossible to tell which one it was.

After hearing me say that this stone forest was alive, Jiang Tianming quickly made a judgment, “The two Boundary Stones can’t both be in this stone forest.”

The stone forest was alive, which could only mean it was a Nightmare Beast. Since it was a Nightmare Beast, the best way to deal with the one hiding the Boundary Stone was to kill it directly. That way, the Boundary Stone would naturally be revealed.

It was precisely because of this that if both Boundary Stones were hidden in the stone forest, it would lose the meaning of hiding two Boundary Stones in one place.

“I’ll go for the one in the open, you go find the hidden one.” I strongly agreed with his idea. While I was speaking, I adjusted the pointer in my hand, turning Jiang Tianming’s luck to its best to ensure that he could find the hidden Boundary Stone as soon as possible.

Jiang Tianming was a little hesitant. “But my luck has always been bad.”

In fact, it wasn’t just bad, it was terrible. Even as a manga character, Jiang Tianming could sense how bad his luck was. If it weren’t for his particularly bad luck, he wouldn’t have had an accident every time he went on a mission.

But actually, the first time he realized his luck was bad was because of what I said when we first met. If I hadn’t said at that time that his luck was particularly bad, he really might not have realized it.

“Is my luck any better?” I had a feeling of a dead pig not being afraid of boiling water. “I’ve already made your luck better. you’ll definitely find it.”

The hidden Boundary Stone definitely required the protagonist’s halo to be found. A cannon fodder like me might not be able to find it even if I set my luck to the best. Since I couldn’t directly say that he had the protagonist’s halo, I could only use this as an excuse.

Hearing this, Jiang Tianming was indeed relieved a lot. He also didn’t dwell on why I didn’t go to find the hidden Boundary Stone, and left with his phone video on.

I, on the other hand, looked at the Destiny Compass above this Nightmare Beast’s head, thinking about when I should act. The most powerful thing about the Destiny system was its unreasonableness. With just a slight movement of the pointer, the stone forest Nightmare Beast would die.

So I wasn’t in a hurry at all. I just had to wait until the time was close to nine minutes to eliminate the Nightmare Beast, and then convert the Boundary Stone with the machine.

This vicinity had more than just the stone forest Nightmare Beast. However, the strongest was still the stone forest Nightmare Beast; the rest were just small fry. As long as my hand speed was fast enough, I could even complete the mission without dealing with these small Nightmare Beasts.

Our agreement was to start acting after everyone had found their Boundary Stone. And among the six of us, the most difficult person to complete this first step was undoubtedly Jiang Tianming.

He had no idea where the Boundary Stone was hidden. The only clue was that the Boundary Stone was definitely not in the middle of the stone forest.

No, that might not be true!

Realizing something, Jiang Tianming immediately said to Wu Mingbai in the video, “Can you help me see if there is a sixth Boundary Stone under that stone forest?”

With Wu Mingbai’s current ability, he couldn’t control the Earth Element through the screen, but it was easy to see through it.

But unfortunately, Wu Mingbai couldn’t see through it for a while. “The situation below is blocked by the Nightmare Beast above. I have to wait for it to be eliminated first before I can see the situation below.”

To gamble or not to gamble? That was a question.

If they won the gamble, it would be a happy ending for everyone. The others would convert the five Boundary Stones, and Jiang Tianming would then convert the sixth one hidden underground.

But if they lost the gamble, it would mean that they had already alerted the enemy but had not successfully found the sixth Boundary Stone. With the speed of the Nightmare Beasts, it would probably only take a few minutes to reach the battlefield. Then things would be troublesome.

“My luck is very good now, right?” Jiang Tianming asked me in the group chat. Because of his invisibility, he didn’t know where I was now.

【EastSouthWest: Yes, just do as you think.】

Jiang Tianming no longer hesitated and told everyone to start eliminating the Nightmare Beasts now. After I eliminated the stone forest Nightmare Beast, he would go to the stone forest to find the sixth Boundary Stone.

With his command, everyone immediately began to act. In the past ten minutes, everyone had already made arrangements with their invisibility. Now that the action had begun, everyone almost immediately started fighting and gained a huge advantage.

But no one’s battle could be faster than mine. With one adjustment of the pointer and an instant skill, the stone forest Nightmare Beast didn’t even last five seconds.

Because I had to leave space for Jiang Tianming to find the sixth Boundary Stone next, I didn’t try to save my mental energy by going for speed. Instead, I eliminated the other two high-level Nightmare Beasts in the vicinity as well.

All the stone pillars suddenly shattered and scattered all over the ground. Only a black stone pillar in the middle stood tall. Needless to say, this was the Boundary Stone they had to eliminate.

While I was walking towards the Boundary Stone, Jiang Tianming had already quickly contacted Wu Mingbai, asking him to help find the sixth Boundary Stone in the ground during the battle.

With Wu Mingbai’s current ability, dealing with one or two high-level Nightmare Beasts was nothing. He took some time to help look around and soon found what they were looking for. “In the corner east of the stone forest, under those piles of stones.”

I wasn’t in a hurry to convert the meteorite. I went over to help dig. Wu Mingbai’s perception was not wrong. After digging five meters deep, we found the sixth Boundary Stone.

“Great, now all six have been found!” Even someone as calm as Jiang Tianming couldn’t help but show joy on his face at this time. Now they just had to wait for the others to get the Boundary Stones, and they could act in unison.

The reason they had to act in unison was that Jiang Tianming suspected that there might be some kind of trap on these meteorites, such as if one was destroyed, the other meteorites would automatically generate a protective skill. Or, as soon as one was destroyed, the Nightmare Beasts would immediately descend.

To be cautious, it was better for them to act in unison.

No one dropped the ball. Everyone quickly witnessed their respective targets. Except for me, the others’ goal was only to get close to the Boundary Stone, not to eliminate the Nightmare Beasts, and this was much less difficult than eliminating these Nightmare Beasts.

Luring the tiger away from the mountain, besieging Wei to rescue Zhao, creating a diversion in the east and attacking in the west… everyone used their own clever tricks and eventually successfully came into contact with the Boundary Stones.

Seeing that the second step of the mission had also been completed, Jiang Tianming gave the order. Everyone suppressed their excitement and took out their machines. The machine automatically absorbed and converted as soon as it touched the Boundary Stone.

Then, the next second, everyone heard a unified mechanical voice: “Earth Element concentration is not enough, conversion cannot be completed. Please quickly increase the machine’s Earth Element content, please quickly increase the machine’s Earth Element content.”

Everyone’s excited expressions froze on their faces.

Element concentration not enough?

Cannot complete the conversion?

What to do now? The only one who could increase the Earth Element concentration now was Wu Mingbai, but Wu Mingbai didn’t have a cloning technique and couldn’t possibly go to the others to “refuel” their machines at once.

At the same time, countless Nightmare Beasts were already approaching from all directions at an extremely fast speed. If they couldn’t solve the problem immediately, they could only leave quickly. And the converter could not be teleported twice in a row, which meant they couldn’t even take the Boundary Stones back.

What should they do now?