A Guide for Background Characters to Survive in a Manga

Chapter 272

A glint of intrigue flashed through my purple eyes. It seemed the key lay with the Neutral Faction. The Radicals and Conservatives likely had some collusion, and only the Neutrals, despised by both, would have more credible words.

But how to find the Neutral Faction? They were likely a small minority on the island, making them hard to pinpoint. And I couldn’t afford mistakes—if my intentions were exposed to the other two factions, I’d instantly be on their watchlist, making it even harder to find them.

My brows furrowed briefly but soon relaxed. I smirked as I walked back. Why should I care? This was the protagonists’ job. I just needed to get this information first, stay ahead, and occasionally help the protagonist group.

Back at the hotel dorm, the outside finally quieted down. The island-wide brawl, lasting two to three hours, had finally ended.

But my ears weren’t quiet. The Manga Consciousness sent a prompt: “《King of Abilities》 has updated. Please check.”

Perfect timing. I could use the manga to see what happened. How did Jiang Tianming and the others, just trying to pry information from the leaders, cause such a mess?

The manga started with their arrival at Vixi Holy Land. The previous chapter had mentioned going there to find a cure for Zhou Renjie’s poison, so this chapter dove straight in.

The first day had two plot points: one was the intelligence from Lin Qi after witnessing a guard fight, and the other was Jiang Tianming encountering a Nightmare Beast. Combining the two, readers reached the same conclusion as us: the Radicals wanted to collaborate with Nightmare Beasts to elevate Vixi Holy Land’s status.

“Isn’t Vixi Holy Land fine as it is? Why mess with this nonsense?”

“Human greed knows no bounds…”

“Feng Lan: Still want to cooperate?”

“As long as the Radicals are defeated in time, Vixi Holy Land shouldn’t be too affected.”

“The Conservatives are so pitiful. Their allies are causing trouble, but they can’t speak out to protect their shared honor.”

“Like the poor sap forced to cover for a group project teammate.”

From the manga’s content, the Conservatives seemed quite innocent. But with the information I had, they weren’t necessarily the good guys.

At night, the manga shifted to Mo Xiaotian.

[“Endless Ability Academy”’s restrictions on him finally took effect. Mo Xiaotian was in agony, writhing uncontrollably on the hospital bed.

A group of white-coated doctors surrounded him, discussing what to do, but their furrowed brows showed they were clueless.

Finally, Ye Lin injected Mo Xiaotian with a sedative to knock him out, then calmly judged: “This is likely caused by ‘Endless Ability Academy.’ The one who tied the bell must untie it.”

At that moment, the Purple-Haired Woman, who had appeared twice before in the manga, stepped forward. She was Ye Lin’s sister, Ye Shu: “What do we do, sister? With Xiaotian like this, Grandpa Leader will be heartbroken.”

Heartbroken? More like furious. Ye Lin lowered her eyes to hide her sarcasm: “Others will figure something out, but to be safe, we need to send someone to negotiate with ‘Endless Ability Academy.’”

“That person has to be you,” Cyril said with a grin, walking in. But beside him wasn’t Li Xiang—it was a mature woman with long, wine-red wavy hair.]

The woman wore a black deep-V dress that perfectly outlined her curvy figure. Her lipstick matched her hair, giving her a cohesive look. Her misty gray eyes were mysterious and alluring—a stunning beauty of a type not seen in this season of 《King of Abilities》.

“Hiss, wow!”

“Is this a villain? Then I’m joining the villain camp without hesitation.”

“Who’s this beauty? I need her full info in one minute!”

“This face, this figure—I hate that 《King of Abilities》 isn’t an anime!”

“The artist’s skills are getting better and better.”

[While readers went wild, Ye Lin calmly revealed her identity: “Gong Yuzhi, how did you end up with Cyril?”

“Don’t slander me,” Gong Yuzhi flicked her hair, stepping aside. “We just bumped into each other on the road.”

Facing their disdain, Cyril was displeased. He conjured a red rose from somewhere, bent slightly, and offered it to Gong Yuzhi with a playful air: “You’re not satisfied with a handsome guy like me?”

Gong Yuzhi gracefully took the rose, casually placing it in a water glass on the table nearby, her eyes smiling as if flirting: “Hmm, not satisfied.”

“Then what would satisfy you?” Cyril asked devotedly, as if enchanted, his peach-blossom eyes giving an intense, affectionate gaze.

“Solve Mo Xiaotian’s issue,” Gong Yuzhi said casually, as if tossing a bone to a dog.

But Cyril wasn’t a dog, nor truly enchanted. Hearing her request, he dropped the affectionate act, straightened up, and shook his head with a smirk: “Then stay unsatisfied.”

Ye Lin rolled her eyes, clearly used to their antics, and gently advised her confused sister: “Stay away from these two in the organization, got it?”

“Got it!” Ye Shu replied obediently.]

The plot ended there, not showing how the Black Flash organization negotiated with Endless Ability Academy. Clearly, they either had to come to Vixi Holy Land or negotiate honestly with the academy.

They likely had no chance here. Vixi Holy Land prided itself on being righteous and wouldn’t host villainous organizations. Everyone’s identity was vetted, leaving no room for infiltration.

Of course, I didn’t know if Black Flash could sneak in privately. If they did, it was fine—as long as they didn’t plan to return, they wouldn’t cause trouble here.

With Mo Xiaotian’s plot done, the manga returned to Vixi Holy Land. To my surprise, our hot spring scene was drawn.

Me: “?”

I could only be glad Si Zhaohua and Feng Lan didn’t know this was a manga world. If they knew countless readers saw them like that, they’d probably die of shame.

Compared to them, my shame was much lower. I openly reviewed the scene and nodded in satisfaction. The artist was fair, accurately depicting the differences in our abs, not making mine look like theirs.

I could proudly say my physique was the best in the class! Mu Tieren’s body was great too, but his was made of metal and synthetic leather, so it wasn’t comparable. The readers on the comments had good taste.

“Wow, wow, wow! Is this something I can see?”

“The artist’s selling fanservice so well.”

“Drooling, hiss, wow.”

“Can you draw the lower part clearer? Don’t just focus on the top.”

“Su Bei’s physique is definitely the best of the three.”

“I love Su Bei’s abs. Can I touch them? Feng Lan and Si Zhaohua’s are fine too; I’m not picky.”

“Artist, make merch! It’ll sell like crazy.”

The readers were as shameless as me—open and honest good kids. I closed the comments expressionlessly, comforting myself before continuing.

After the morning tasks, Jiang Tianming and Si Zhaohua teamed up to stir trouble. The plan followed what I knew: Vixi Holy Land’s leaders tried to deny the existence of factions and the Radicals’ impure motives.

Jiang Tianming and the others, receiving the news, started causing trouble on the island. They didn’t act together but split up to different locations to ensure at least one succeeded. Making a big mess wasn’t a bad thing, after all.

But they didn’t just succeed—they overdid it. All three locations erupted into fights under their provocation. The spots weren’t far apart, so when they pulled people into the fray, those people ran into each other on the way.

Seeing opponents armed and from rival factions, they assumed they were reinforcements and started fighting on the spot. The conflict escalated, quickly spreading across the entire island.

Thus, the island-wide war we witnessed.

Watching this chain of events through the manga, I fell silent. I had thought if the manga didn’t update, I’d ask Jiang Tianming how they caused such a mess. Now it seemed they probably didn’t even know themselves.

I couldn’t help but chuckle. Who would’ve thought I, an outsider, would understand the situation best? The manga was indeed a great tool.

In this chapter, the artist clearly didn’t hint at the Neutral Faction or suggest doubts about the Radicals and Conservatives’ relationship. As it stood, all readers likely saw the Radicals as villains and the Conservatives as heroes.

Some readers might share my suspicions, thinking the plot was too smooth and expecting twists. But without evidence, few would discuss it on the forum. This was the perfect time for my “Prophet” account to shine.

The Manga Consciousness had hinted I could use this account freely as long as I didn’t mention myself. So, I needed to boost its presence, aiming for 100% trust when I spoke.

《The Conservatives Aren’t Necessarily Good [Prophet Post]》

[ProphetNo.0: Per the artist’s usual style, every plot has multiple twists. Giving the protagonists clues without setbacks feels suspicious.

Since the current plot paints the Conservatives as the good guys, I reasonably suspect the artist will flip it next chapter, making them villains. But that doesn’t mean the Radicals are good. I think Vixi Holy Land might have a double-villain setup.

If both are villains, I boldly guess there’s a third, righteous faction on the island. Otherwise, this arc would be hell-mode for the protagonists.]

I was a bit omniscient, but that was the point. The artist wouldn’t care, and if I could make readers think I had insider info and trust me unconditionally, that was ideal.

I didn’t check the forum further, closing the manga and opening the chat app. While reading, I’d ignored several messages. With business done, it was time to check them.

First were private messages from Ai Baozhu, Mu Tieren, and Ling You, sent shortly after the island-wide war started. Their messages were similar.

In short, Vixi Holy Land had issues, and with the fighting outside, they asked if I was with Jiang Tianming and the others at the hotel. If so, we should meet up for safety.

Lower-tier identities couldn’t access higher floors, so they couldn’t check if we were in our rooms and had to message.

Half an hour later, realizing we weren’t at the hotel, they asked where we went, urging us to report back safely and meet them.

Most messages were from Ai Baozhu and Mu Tieren. Ling You sent only two: “At the hotel?” and “Please reply after returning.”

It seemed Ai Baozhu’s group had noticed something, or they wouldn’t be so insistent on meeting in person. I thought for a moment and sent a group message.

[EastSouthWest: I’m back first. Feng Lan and the others might take a bit. Let’s talk when everyone’s together.]

The short message sparked a flurry of replies.

[silent: Okay]

[MissFancy: You’re finally back!]

[MissFancy: You didn’t come back together? You snuck off again!]

[MissFancy: I won’t ask what you were doing, but one question: does the fighting outside have anything to do with you?]

[GoldWoodDualSpiritRoot: You okay? Taking so long, did you run into danger?]

[GoldWoodDualSpiritRoot: …You didn’t cause trouble, right?]

I gave vague, noncommittal answers to Ai Baozhu and Mu Tieren. Getting information out of me was impossible.

After replying, I curiously asked Mu Tieren.

[EastSouthWest: What’s with your username? I get the meaning, but it doesn’t seem like something you’d pick.]

[GoldWoodDualSpiritRoot: …Mo Xiaotian chose it for me. He was reading cultivation novels back then.]

[GoldWoodDualSpiritRoot: I’ll change it now.]

His expression seemed dazed as he replied. Even now, he couldn’t fully grasp that Mo Xiaotian was a Black Flash spy. It felt like Mo Xiaotian would reappear any second, saying it was all a prank.

Memories of Mo Xiaotian excitedly talking about cultivation plots and insisting on changing his username were still vivid. But now, everything had changed.

Mu Tieren lowered his eyes and quickly set a new username.

[Mu Tieren: Done.]

[EastSouthWest: PandaHeadHesitant.jpg]

[EastSouthWest: No need for that… And who uses their real name as a username? The old one was better.]

The chat showed “typing” for a while before Mu Tieren replied.

[IronTreeSilverFlower: Much better, right? :)]

Not only did he change his name, but he also swapped his plain “Mu” avatar for a picture of iron sparks.

I could tell he was genuinely pleased with the change. Speechless, I gave a perfunctory compliment and exited the chat. I couldn’t vibe with this old soul.

Closing my phone, I strolled to the window. The hotel was for tourists, who naturally wouldn’t join the island’s disputes. Hearing the fighting stop, many emerged to check the situation.

Most didn’t know the details, only that the natives had suddenly gone crazy fighting. If the natives hadn’t rationally avoided hurting tourists, they might’ve demanded to leave the island.

Rational… I smirked. Thanks to their restraint, I could spot the clues.

Using my ability to check the Destiny Compasses of the crowd below, I confirmed nothing was amiss and withdrew my gaze. But before I left the window, I saw Jiang Tianming and the others returning.

The plot was moving again. I sighed lightly and went to the elevator to wait.

“Ding!”

The elevator opened, and Jiang Tianming and the others jumped at seeing me at the door. Wu Mingbai quickly grinned: “Wow, you came to wait for us? We’re so touched.”

Though smiling, he wasn’t happy about my presence, his tone dripping with sarcasm.

I pretended not to notice: “Checked your messages?”

“Nope, what’s up?” Jiang Tianming asked, puzzled. After the fighting ended, they talked with the leaders, visited the All-Knowing Conch, and rushed back without time to check their phones.

As expected. I nodded, stepping into the elevator: “Check now. Ai Baozhu wants us to meet up after returning.”

“You’re finally here!” Ai Baozhu ushered us in. “Took you so long. The mess outside was your doing, wasn’t it?”

Si Zhaohua’s group hadn’t coordinated with Ai Baozhu’s trio, so they were in the dark. Si Zhaohua briefly explained what they did, but as expected, they didn’t know why it escalated into an island-wide brawl.

“So, what did the Vixi Holy Land leaders say?” Mu Tieren asked curiously. “After all that fighting, they can’t still be covering it up, right?”

The island-wide conflict was actually a boon for Si Zhaohua’s group. Without such a big mess, the leaders might’ve brushed them off with excuses. But with things this big, dodging wasn’t easy.

Jiang Tianming nodded: “They admitted it’s a conflict between two factions but didn’t badmouth the Radicals. They just said their ideas were too radical, disrupting the island’s peace, which upset the Conservatives.”

As he paused to drink water, Wu Mingbai continued: “Neither side would compromise, so every few months, the island might see an all-out brawl like this. Minor conflicts are constant. The leader said he’s troubled by it and told us tourists to stay out to avoid injury.”

“And they offered compensation,” Lan Subing quietly reminded.

“Right, compensation,” Wu Mingbai nodded quickly. “We can all stay an extra day. If injured, we get free treatment at the island’s hospital, plus compensation based on the injury.”

Mu Tieren glanced around: “None of us got hurt, right?”

Si Zhaohua shook his head: “Feng Lan and I were with the leaders. Tianming and the others fled after starting trouble. Su Bei…”

He looked at me questioningly. Before I could answer, Ai Baozhu cut in: “Where were you all this time? You only just got back, judging by your reply time.”

“Went to the library, avoided people on the way back, so it took a while,” I answered casually.

Not planning to elaborate, I quickly changed the subject: “Why’d you call us over?”

Getting to business, Ai Baozhu didn’t press further: “You know I have lots of items. One monitors my real-time status. During this Vixi Holy Land trip, I noticed something odd—my physical stats have been dropping by one point per hour.”

As she spoke, she placed a pink rose wristwatch on the table. It was her usual watch, which we thought was ordinary, but it was an ability item that monitored physical condition.

“Normally, it’d alert me to abnormalities. But the decrease is so small, and the activities here boost stats, so it didn’t trigger. I didn’t notice at first,” she continued as others examined the watch. “But today, someone bumped my hand. Worried about the watch, I kept checking and noticed the regular hourly decrease. This isn’t normal, so I suspect something’s wrong with Vixi Holy Land.”

Mu Tieren and Ling You already knew from her earlier, saying nothing. Wu Mingbai asked: “Could your watch be damaged from the bump?”

“Hmph, doubting MissFancy’s judgment?” Ai Baozhu raised her chin haughtily. “I checked; it’s fine. If you have similar items, test them and see.”