I Became the Most Popular Character by Acting as a Villain in the Manga

Chapter 39

Bai Xuechao's special ability—Devourment—allowed him to steal others' special abilities by devouring their special ability crystals.

It sounded cool, but activating Devourment had preconditions, and the special abilities acquired through Devourment would always come with some weakening or flaw, sometimes even both.

The fire special ability he used also had a flaw from Devourment: he couldn't immunize himself to his own flames and would get burned. That's why he controlled the flames to part for him when he walked towards the wall of fire; it wasn't for some grand entrance, but because if he didn't, he would get burned.

This small detail seemed insignificant at first glance, but as more information about him emerged, especially when he devoured Qiao Jing in front of the SAIDB without intentionally concealing his special ability, these things would accumulate and might eventually lead to his identity being exposed.

How should he put it? This kind of thing should be called "foreshadowing"?

Unfortunately, he couldn't communicate with Bai Guzi or convey his thoughts. At most, he could "shout" unilaterally. He could only guess the other party's intentions through the content Bai Guzi released. According to the outline he knew, his villainous identity would be exposed in the mid-to-late stages, so Bai Guzi was probably laying the groundwork for that exposure now.

But how did Bai Guzi know?

Bai Xuechao pondered for a moment and asked Xiao 6, "Can Bai Guzi see my settings?"

He had told Xiao 6 about his special ability before, but their communication was internal; Bai Guzi shouldn't have been able to hear. So, there was only one answer.

"Oh, right." Xiao 6 seemed to just remember, "I thought Systems could view all information in this world but couldn't view content related to their bound Host. Bai Guzi is the author, and also the master of this world, so she is not restricted and can see it."

Sure enough.

Bai Guzi probably looked through all the settings randomly generated by the System after Xiao 6 bound him. Otherwise, she wouldn't know his identity or how to cut his scenes.

Hmm, thinking about it this way, was he collaborating with the author to create?

Bai Xuechao was amused by his own thought.

At this moment, he was squatting on the sofa, his feet pressing against the edge of the sofa, which softly caved in.

He rested his chin on one hand, thinking that he would have to "work hard" on his future plot to make it more exciting, as this comic now also had his contribution, didn't it?

If Xiao 6 knew his thoughts, it would definitely say: What are you thinking of doing now?!

Bai Xuechao continued to read the comic.

His masked alternate identity officially debuted. The scene was a half-body shot of the black-ponytail youth, with one side of his pomegranate-red round-neck robe collar flipped down. He wore a half-smile, appearing refined and uninhibited, with a dangerous aura. Flames flickered in his azure eyes.

Beside the youth, a small close-up image of Ling Feng's expression was inserted, with his inner thoughts beside it: At least a Level 7 special ability user... This was bad, I'm no match for him.

If the youth's inherent aura and entrance were impressive enough, Ling Feng's inner thoughts elevated him further.

【Ahhh, ahhh, black hair, blue eyes, high ponytail, hitting my sweet spot!】

【Oh my god, a Level 7 special ability user. Was the protagonist group doomed?】

【Looking at the cover image, he must have come to steal the Special ability energy crystal. Danger, male lead, danger.】

【Wuwu, he was wearing the same round-neck robe as Axue hubby. Hubby, as soon as you left, the protagonist group was going to be bullied!】

Next, the black-ponytail youth burned Qiao Jing to death, instantly snatched the Special ability energy crystal from Zhou Chenhao's hand and knocked him down, while simultaneously fighting Ling Feng and Xia Xiaoxi, finally surrounding all three with fire.

In the distance, SAIDB members were rushing over. From their perspective, they saw the black-haired youth surrounded by a wall of fire reaching out to Qiao Jing.

The next panel was a close-up: a crimson light flowed from Qiao Jing's chest, converging into a half-formed crystal that was already coagulating in the air. That half-crystal reflected the surrounding flames, transparent in quality, very similar to the Special ability energy crystal.

The youth gripped the crystal, waved the hand holding the Special ability energy crystal, and said to the approaching SAIDB members, and also to the readers in front of the screen, "Goodbye."

Overwhelming flames obscured his figure.

【What did he pull out of Qiao Jing's body? The appendix didn't say, and I'm tearing my hair out.】

【Was it created with a special ability? Or was it some kind of high-tech method?】

【The new character clearly had fire special ability. A dual special ability user like my hubby should be unique; there shouldn't be another one right away, wouldn't that ruin the setting?】

【Speaking of which, my hubby also had fire special ability, and he was a Level 6 special ability user. If he had been there, the Special ability energy crystal might not have been stolen.】

【My hubby went looking for his brother and disappear? He should be able to sense the commotion here, right?】

【By the way, this thing looks like a Special ability energy crystal; was it extracting the special ability user's special ability energy to make an energy crystal?】

【Ahhh, what exactly happened!】

Bai Xuechao saw this, his fingertips tapped his chin.

He performed Devourment in front of the SAIDB, also with the intention of leaving some clues.

If he wanted to expose himself later, all he had to do was pretend not to notice and use his true form to perform Devourment in front of the protagonist group, and even the most foolish person would be able to connect him and the black-haired boy.

However, he couldn't be sure about future events; perhaps he would mess up halfway and expose himself? Although this probability was small, it wasn't impossible.

Bai Xuechao withdrew his thoughts and continued to flip the pages.

The comic panels showed him leaving: the first panel was his back, and in the distance ahead of him was a small platinum-haired figure; the next panel was a close-up of Duan Xingzhi, his light golden hair fluttering in the night breeze, his light blue eyes like glaciers.

Their scene ended here, followed by a pure black narrow panel, and then scenes of the SAIDB.

He had to say, it was a subtle narrative.

Even if two more panels had been shown, one could have seen him losing strength and about to fall, only to be supported by Duan Xingzhi. Two more panels, and one could have seen him transform back into his own appearance.

Readers were misled by such paneling.

【Ahhh? So this black ponytail was working with Duan Xingzhi?】

【Wuwu, my cold-faced hubby~】

【Duan Xingzhi was suspected of being a villain; this black-haired person stole the Special ability energy crystal, clearly opposing the protagonist, undoubtedly a villain. So, it was confirmed that the two were villains working together!】

【Was it finally going to be clear who the villain was and what their goal was? Wuwu, hurry up, I've been waiting for the main plot for a long time!】

Further on, the SAIDB processed the scene.

The protagonist group sat in the car sent by the SAIDB, initially discussing whether to include Bai Xuechao in the report. Later, Xia Xiaoxi asked Zhou Chenhao what he had said to Bai Xuechao when looking for the ghost bride, and Ling Feng, hearing Zhou Chenhao's answer, recalled the flaw Bai Xuechao left in the Magic Horror House, and the other two also noticed.

Seeing this, Bai Xuechao nodded with satisfaction.

Yes, they successfully discovered it. Just as he had predicted, Ling Feng was the first to notice.

The bullet comments were also very "relieved."

【They finally found it. (Wipes sweat)】

【As expected, Ling Feng Maomao was the first to notice something was off; the protagonist group's brains were still working today.】

【Hahahahaha, that's too much! Brother Hao and Xiaoxi also reacted later on!】

In the comic, Zhou Chenhao scratched his head in confusion: "But why would he conceal his level? Wouldn't that be troublesome for him?"

"It might be to purposefully approach us, after all, if his level was too high, we would be more wary of him, and even not let him act with us." Ling Feng's long eyelashes drooped slightly, the light and shadow from the street lamp fell on his face, his eyelashes casting a shadow in his azure eyes, and next to him was his inner thought bubble: Damn it, I was fooled.

"Um... I actually think that, although he did intend to approach us purposefully, he didn't actually have any ill intent?" Xia Xiaoxi finished speaking, and seeing Zhou Chenhao and Ling Feng both look at her, she wide-eyed shook her hands repeatedly as if thinking of something, "I'm not trusting him because of his sister and my brother's situation."

She said, "It's because he's been helping us all along."

Zhou Chenhao also revealed a thoughtful expression: "Actually, I also feel that way."

【So, was it only Maomao who became wary again because of this incident, hahahaha.】

【Had Brother Hao and Xiaoxi already defected to Axue's side? (Doge emoji)】

【Ling Feng: You guys trust him that much???】

Ling Feng's expression was a bit helpless, and he said, "Think what you want, but if we see him again next time, we need to remain vigilant."

The two said, "Got it."

This dialogue ended here, followed by a narrow white panel, serving as a time transition.

The next panel showed a scene inside the SAIDB, with small text noting: The next day.

The first panel was a file, stating that the Kunpeng Marine Floating Island Park incident was serious, the largest special ability incident since special abilities appeared. Approximately 62,000 tourists were trapped yesterday, with up to 26,000 injured and 2,000 deaths.

The situation was serious, and all departments of the SAIDB worked tirelessly through the night to conduct research and investigation with astonishing efficiency, having already investigated about 70-80% of the matter.

They found a lot of evidence in Qiao Zhanpeng's office. The only regrettable thing was that Qiao Zhanpeng's computer hard drive was burned out and beyond repair; even if it could be repaired, everything inside would be gone. However, the things they currently found were enough for them to understand the truth about the park.

Qiao Zhanpeng's documents in his office showed that he illegally and privately raised high-level mutated creatures below the Marine amusement park.

That octopus was a Level 6 mutated creature, possessing the ability to control human minds.

The tourists who went missing after leaving the park in the past were all due to the octopus controlling their minds; they would walk out of the hotel in the middle of the night for a "stroll," then throw themselves into the sea upon reaching the shore, only to be dragged away and eaten by the octopus's tentacles.

Each time tourists went missing, Qiao Zhanpeng would record whether the octopus ate them. Besides the octopus, there was also Qiao Jing.

—Qiao Jing would also eat tourists.

This discovery changed the investigators' expressions.

Fortunately, Qiao Jing also died.

Qiao Zhanpeng's files also contained Qiao Jing's special ability training records.

Qiao Jing was a Level 5 special ability user, his special ability named Horror Amusement Park, which allowed him to control amusement parks that belonged to him or were closely related to him, without area limitations, and to create terrifying creatures and establish terrifying rules within the park.

Most special abilities had flaws or limitations, and Qiao Jing's special ability was no exception.

His special ability had two limitations.

The first was that a hot air balloon would appear above the special ability user's head to display their position. Whenever a tourist completed an amusement ride, the hot air balloon would light up for a few seconds based on the special ability user's level. The higher the special ability level, the shorter the lighting time. If many tourists completed a ride at once, the lighting time would accumulate.

The second was that the terrifying rules had to leave room for survival and could not be unsolvable. Each time a tourist completed a ride, they would gain a period of immunity, during which terrifying creatures would not attack them.

After understanding Qiao Jing's special ability, a SAIDB leader, holding a thermos cup, lamented, "An ability to control a venue and set rules, such a special ability would be so good for training everyone, it's a pity it can't be used by us. If we had discovered him earlier, perhaps we could have brought him back to the right path."

After this leader finished speaking, there was a roar outside the window, and a huge "BOOM—" was written on the screen, indicating a very loud sound.

He showed a tired smile: "The training ground will need repairs again, won't it?"

【Hahahaha, the training ground was rebuilt daily.】

【There was a post on the forum before speculating on Qiao Jing's special ability, and it seemed to hit the mark!】

【So the missing tourists were all eaten by Qiao Jing and the octopus OTL】

【The octopus's ability was quite impressive, but unfortunately, it met the black ponytail and was directly turned into grilled octopus.】

【Did the protagonist group pick up scraps, hhh? They didn't fight, ate a full meal, and the enemies were all dealt with by others. (Doge emoji)】

The scene shifted.

At night, the streets were illuminated by brilliant lights, glowing brightly.

A towering skyscraper stood beneath the bustling night sky, its numerous windows emitting bright lights, fully lit. Not far from the skyscraper, there was also a slightly shorter television tower.

The scene continued to zoom in, approaching the top floor of the skyscraper.

In the next panel, the scene zoomed in again, this time pressing against the window of the very top floor, as if peering inside from outside the window.

Inside the window was a dimly lit room with a strong classical Chinese style: huanghuali wood tables, Grand Tutor chairs, pole-mounted lamp stands, and red sandalwood palace lanterns. The dark blue carpet was laid with beige dragon and auspicious cloud patterns, and a little further away were four-panel screens depicting plum, orchid, bamboo, and chrysanthemum.

At this moment, an old man with completely white hair sat in a Grand Tutor chair, holding a blue-and-white glazed red teacup.

Behind the old man on the left was a dialogue box: "Since both father and son of the Qiao family are dead, I won't pursue their private possession..."

In front of the table before the old man, which was also to the right of the frame, stood a person, but because the camera angle was outside the window, the edge of the window completely blocked the person's figure, only revealing an extremely fair hand placing a blood-red crystal on the table.

"Leader, this is the Special ability energy crystal I obtained from Qiao Jing."

【Calling this old man "Leader"! Has the villainous organization finally appeared?!】

【The person speaking was the black ponytail, right? He stole the Special ability energy crystal from Brother Hao.】

【Listening to what this Leader said, the Qiao family father and son were also members of this organization???】

【Suddenly, I felt that the Marine amusement park wasn't as simple as Qiao Zhanpeng privately raising mutated creatures. Could it be that his raising mutated creatures was related to this organization?】

"Good child, you truly never disappoint me."

This panel was a close-up of the Old leader's expression; a smile appeared on his wrinkled face, greed flickering in his eyes as he held the Special ability energy crystal.

"Our Dark Organization finally has a third Special ability energy crystal."

【Dark Organization, what a simple and crude name. (Smoking emoji)】

【Key point: they already had three.】

【I really want to complain about this organization name. Why couldn't they pick something cooler? Even if you called yourselves the "Dark Organization"! (Pulls at hair)】

Good question.

Bai Xuechao also wanted to know why it was called the Dark Organization. Using "dark" as a name was equivalent to pasting "I am a bad guy" on your forehead, wasn't it?

However, there was probably no reason for this; it was just the name given by Bai Guzi's settings.

This chapter of the comic was not yet finished, and the scene shifted again.

"Hmm~?"

On the screen was a handsome youth with long white hair parted in the middle. He wore a loose bathrobe, sitting on a sofa with his legs crossed, his slightly open collar revealing part of his collarbone and a small patch of his chest.

He tilted his head and supported his temple with one hand, his eyes a brilliant golden, smiling as he looked at the subordinate kneeling before him.

He said, "A special ability nullifier? Interesting."

【Who was this again! So many new characters!!】

【Ahhh, another white-haired person, white-hair fans were ecstatic!】

【Look at the appendix; he was the leader of the Apocalypse Society in S City, which also seemed to be a villainous organization.】

【Congratulations, male lead, you've been targeted by a villainous organization, haha!】

【Apocalypse Society, ah... at least it's a better name than Dark Organization. (not really)】

【Were villainous organizations also competing for superior names, hahahaha, dying of laughter.】

S City Apocalypse Society.

This organization currently outshone the Dark Organization, but according to Xiao 6's previous slip of the tongue, the Dark Organization should be superior in the future.

Bai Xuechao knew that the leader of this organization was a pervert who would do anything, and his special ability seemed to also be able to control people. Moreover, his security measures were very good; neither the intelligence department of the Dark Organization nor the underground intelligence peddlers had his photo.

So this was what he looked like.

This update ended here, with a line of small text in the bottom right corner: End of this chapter. One-week hiatus.

Readers: 【??? Damn it, I knew extra updates never meant anything good!】

Bai Xuechao entered the Pink Forum.

The forum homepage was still dominated by posts related to this comic, and the first thing he saw was the HOT post at the very top.

【Official Announcement! Volume 1 of "Special Ability × Food Chain" comic will be released soon! [HOT]】