A Guide for Background Characters to Survive in a Manga

Chapter 273

Speaking of similar items, Feng Lan and Si Zhaohua actually had some. Hearing Ai Baozhu’s claim, out of caution, they took out their items to test.

While waiting, we didn’t sit idle, discussing the situation based on Ai Baozhu’s findings. The test was just for extra caution, but we trusted her judgment.

If our physical stats were indeed dropping every moment on Vixi Holy Land, things got interesting.

A 1-point hourly drop wasn’t a big deal for ability users. Even if not staying long-term, soaking in the hot spring or training at the “Gravity Beach” could quickly recover those points.

But the issue was, no normal place would cause such a thing. Air that reduces physical stats? If we were elderly, it might be our own issue, but at our youthful age, it had to be something wrong with Vixi Holy Land!

Though Vixi Holy Land controlled the number of visitors, its treasure-filled nature meant a terrifying annual visitor count. One person losing 24 points a day was nothing, but a thousand? Ten thousand?

It added up…

“If Baozhu’s watch is fine, is this issue ongoing or recent?” Si Zhaohua idly fiddled with a blood-testing device on the table.

It was his item, which judged physical status via blood. Testing now and again in an hour would show any changes.

His question pointed to two scenarios. If it was the first—ongoing—then the stat drop might just be a natural phenomenon of Vixi Island.

After the meteorite event, Vixi Holy Land gained many great things, so it was reasonable for some bad ones to emerge too. If so, keeping quiet was understandable, as it could slightly harm Vixi Holy Land’s reputation.

The impact was minor, easily offset by activities, and most wouldn’t notice. Not mentioning it was fine.

But if it was the second scenario—recent—then Si Zhaohua had to link it to the Radicals’ schemes.

Though the exact purpose was unclear, it was ultimately harmful to people. Among our guesses about the Radicals, one was that they were up to something against humanity.

Draining ability users’ stats, cooperating with Nightmare Beasts—who knew their ultimate goal?

After some thought, Mu Tieren shook his head first: “No way to verify, right?”

The stat loss was too small for most to notice. Without this incident, Ai Baozhu wouldn’t have either. With no one noticing, how could we trace the source? Even if someone did, how would we find them?

“No, there’s a way,” Jiang Tianming looked up, his dark eyes glinting with wisdom. “Tourists might not know, but the natives must.”

From what we’d learned, both Radicals and Conservatives knew something about the Radicals’ misdeeds. So, we just needed to ask one of them. For safety, a high-ranking Radical would be best.

But how to make them answer truthfully, and how to avoid alerting others afterward, was the real challenge.

“I can force them to talk,” Lan Subing said decisively. The power of [Word Spirit] was undeniable. As long as we caught someone whose mental energy wasn’t much higher than hers, she could make them answer.

That left the second issue. Jiang Tianming looked at her: “Can your ability cause memory loss?”

Lan Subing pursed her lips, hesitant: “It should, but I’ve never tried. It’d require their mental energy to be lower than mine.”

This couldn’t fail, or we’d be in an awkward spot. With lower mental energy, [Word Spirit] usually worked. So, for safety, this was the best approach.

But how could we know their mental energy? We exchanged glances, thinking other methods might be needed.

“Ling You, do you have a virus to threaten someone with?” Wu Mingbai suddenly lit up, asking Ling You.

Everyone caught his meaning. He wanted Ling You to infect the person we questioned with a virus, forcing them to stay silent to survive.

After a moment, Ling You nodded firmly: “Yes.”

Realizing her answer was vague, she added: “I can use a delayed, lethal [Plague].”

To get the antidote, they wouldn’t betray us rashly.

“But what if they secretly seek help from Vixi Holy Land?” Jiang Tianming calmly questioned. “They must have strong healing ability users. [Plague] should be countered by healers, right?”

Indeed, plagues were just highly lethal and contagious viruses. Strong healing abilities could easily cure them before they spread.

This was a big issue. Ai Baozhu grew impatient: “Just go all in and lock them up. We’ll leave in a week anyway.”

Whether we figured it out or not, we had to leave when the time came. Once off the island, Vixi Holy Land’s reach wouldn’t extend elsewhere.

Her plan had obvious flaws and was just a casual suggestion. But Si Zhaohua saw potential, refining it: “A missing native would raise suspicion, so we need someone whose disappearance won’t.”

“You mean…” Jiang Tianming caught on instantly. “Someone about to leave the island?”

Si Zhaohua nodded approvingly: “Vixi Holy Land is strict on entry but lax on exit. We can stake out the teleportation array and grab a lone native as they leave.”

“I’ll handle it,” I volunteered.

Facing skeptical looks, I winked playfully: “Since I’m contributing, don’t ask me for more later, okay?”

After listening, I figured this was the easiest task, especially with my Invisibility Charm. Instead of doing nothing now and getting guilt-tripped later, I’d take this simple job and have grounds to refuse further tasks, even calling them greedy.

Understanding my intent, Jiang Tianming and the others exchanged glances and agreed. Future help was uncertain, but my current help was tangible.

An hour passed quickly. Si Zhaohua dripped blood into his device again. The stats showed a slight decrease, almost negligible, but a decrease nonetheless, confirming the issue with Vixi Holy Land.

“Told you I was right,” Ai Baozhu smiled smugly, though no one knew why she was so proud.

Jiang Tianming nodded slightly: “Since it’s confirmed, let’s proceed as planned. Su Bei, when will you act?”

“Rest an hour first. After that chaos, no one’s likely teleporting soon,” I said lazily. Everyone knew I just wanted a break, but my logic was sound, leaving no room for rebuttal.

After planning, Mu Tieren remembered something: “By the way, you visited the All-Knowing Conch today, right? Any answers on curing Zhou Renjie?”

“We got it. On the way back, we sent the results to Teacher Meng. Renjie should be fine,” Si Zhaohua said cheerfully, then grumbled, “They only told us after we paid that the All-Knowing Conch doesn’t answer all questions. If there’s no answer within ten seconds, the money’s wasted. Not only that, but you pay with your life, answered or not.”

“That’s such a scam!” Everyone was stunned. Charging money was one thing, but taking lives for unanswered questions? Wu Mingbai looked at Feng Lan: “Did you know?”

Feng Lan nodded, then shook his head: “I knew the All-Knowing Conch isn’t truly omniscient. Being a Nightmare Beast, it avoids many beast-related topics. But I didn’t know the specifics. Vixi Holy Land keeps it confidential.”

Shrugging helplessly, Si Zhaohua added: “They have a confidentiality agreement. We fought to tell you the truth, but we can’t spread it further, or they’ll sense it immediately.”

Wu Mingbai sneered: “Vixi Holy Land’s so clever! If someone gets no answer, they pocket a billion. Easy money!”

He didn’t comment much on the life-costing part. It was a Nightmare Beast, after all—not expected to be charitable. It was within expectations.

Though Si Zhaohua was annoyed, he accepted it: “I should’ve known there was a catch when a billion could buy an answer. My mistake, but at least we got results.”

Ai Baozhu agreed: “Yeah, a billion’s cheap for an item like that.”

The room full of poor people: “…”

If a billion was cheap, what was expensive? The rich world was beyond their reach, even as high-earning ability users.

After a break, I finally started moving. I planned to finish this, head to the library to read, and if chaos erupted again, hide at the Holy Spirit Skyward Banyan to cultivate.

Honestly, I wasn’t much of a reader, but in this manga world, libraries were surprisingly safe. I rarely saw incidents there. Even my kidnapping by a murderer happened after leaving the library.

I chalked this odd pattern up to shonen manga encouraging teens to study by making libraries safe zones. I didn’t know if readers were motivated, but I sure was.

Near the departure teleportation array, there was a small church with no guards. Vixi Holy Land had little to steal, so they guarded entrances strictly but relaxed on exits. I scanned with mental energy, confirmed no ability items, slapped on an Invisibility Charm, and swaggered in.

Despite controlling visitor numbers, Vixi Holy Land was always packed due to high demand. Natives often left to “see the world,” making room for tourists.

Tourists and natives were easy to distinguish. Tourists left in groups or with escorts, moving cautiously and unfamiliarly.

Natives, however, often left alone, confidently, chatting with guards.

With several people lined up to leave, I wasn’t in a hurry to grab someone. I sat patiently, observing.

After confirming the teleportation process, I stepped forward. Just before a native completed their teleportation, I knocked them out with a hand chop and slapped an Invisibility Charm on them.

In one smooth move, I princess-carried the native away under everyone’s noses.

Yes, princess-carried. To avoid this scene being drawn embarrassingly in the manga, I chose this dignified method. Though the guy was just a random extra, I couldn’t be careless.

Carrying them like a sack of rice would’ve been easiest, but I was sure readers would prefer the princess carry, at least for my character.

Back at the hotel, Jiang Tianming and the others were still there, clearly confident I’d complete the task quickly.

And I did—out and back in just 20 minutes.

“No one saw you?” Jiang Tianming asked, just to be sure.

I nodded, sitting on a sofa and pointing to the unconscious native: “Should wake in a few minutes. Tie him up.”

Ability users had strong physiques; my hit would only knock him out for about ten minutes.

Jiang Tianming’s [Immortal-Binding Rope] came in handy, easily tying the guy up. We waited for him to wake.

As soon as he did, Lan Subing used [Word Spirit]: “「Answer truthfully」, are you Radical or Conservative?”

“Radical,” the man, still dazed, answered instinctively under [Word Spirit].

“How’d you know he’s a Radical?” Si Zhaohua whispered to me, wondering what we’d do if I’d grabbed a Conservative. But it was me, so no mistakes. Still, he was curious how I knew—surely not by asking?

I smirked: “Doesn’t matter who.”

Radical, Conservative, or even the unknown Neutral Faction—they all likely knew what both sides were up to. Otherwise, how could they be colluding?

Si Zhaohua didn’t catch my meaning, pausing before nodding: “True. Like the Conservative Lin Qi we met yesterday—she knew what the Radicals were doing. Maybe many Conservatives do.”

As he spoke, the now-fully-awake man screamed in panic: “Who are you? Why’d you grab me? Do you know who I am? You’ll definitely be caught!”

Lan Subing ignored him, asking the second question: “What’s the Radicals’ scheme?”

His face twisted in terror, clearly desperate not to answer. His body trembled, but [Word Spirit], a top-tier ability, wouldn’t let him escape. His mouth, ignoring his brain’s resistance, answered: “We’re ‘creating a god.’”

Bang!

The next second, his head exploded like a watermelon, red and white juices splattering everyone nearby. Several in the room couldn’t help but scream.

“Ugh!” Ai Baozhu, too shocked to care, bent over and vomited. She stumbled to the bathroom, slamming the door. Soon, the sound of running water echoed out.

Si Zhaohua looked like he might puke too. Though he was far enough to avoid most of the splatter, his cleanliness obsession made it unbearable: “Ugh… I’m going to shower…”

“No,” Jiang Tianming calmly refused. “The hotel corridors likely have cameras. Going out now will expose us.”

“Wipe down first,” Mu Tieren said, cleaning blood off his face with a tissue and passing some to others.

“Damn, I didn’t ask about the stat drop,” Lan Subing said, frustrated. “Should’ve asked that first.”

She hadn’t expected his head to explode, rendering her prepared questions useless.

Notably, Lan Subing, Jiang Tianming, and I were the calmest. We’d seen such scenes before and after school started, handling it well.

The others, supposedly more “worldly,” were shaken. They were just students—when had they seen such gore?

I was shocked too. No amount of manga gore matched the impact of seeing it in reality. But I was good at keeping a poker face, so despite my heart skipping a beat, I looked calm.

While everyone wiped blood off themselves, I leisurely fiddled with a tissue: “Guess we can’t get answers from natives’ mouths. You’re not expecting me to grab another, right?”

Having done my part and not planning to interrogate, I stood far enough away, with Si Zhaohua shielding me. So when the man’s head exploded, not a drop hit me.

I had to say it was just luck, but the others didn’t think so. Feng Lan looked at me resentfully: “You foresaw this?”

His words drew everyone’s gazes, Si Zhaohua’s the most intense. Feeling the tangible resentment, I quickly clarified: “Don’t slander me! Who’d predict this for fun?”

“Then why’re you the only one clean?” Wu Mingbai asked.

Luck, obviously. I sighed inwardly, knowing they wouldn’t buy it. But I had to say it: “Because I’m lucky. You non-lucky folks, stay away.”

That only reminded Wu Mingbai. His dark expression brightened, and he grinned: “We’re good friends, right? Shouldn’t we share blessings and burdens?”

Jiang Tianming caught on, smirking wickedly: “Right, Su Bei, you’re too clean. Doesn’t fit the group, does it?”

Everyone got it, including me. My face changed, and I backed away: “What’re you planning?”

Obviously, a pointless question. Their expressions varied—smirks or blank—but their steps toward me were unified.

Just as I backed into a corner, ready to fight, urgent footsteps sounded outside.

The hotel’s soundproofing was good, so hearing footsteps meant a big commotion.

As everyone stopped, I sighed in relief, scanning outside with mental energy. My expression changed again: “They’re coming for us.”