Chapter 246

Chapter 246

However, he didn’t know that this time, I really didn’t need this opportunity. I had to go in and participate personally, or else Dream Bubble wouldn’t get a chance to be used.

But I still had to put on a show. I pretended to argue reluctantly for a couple of sentences, then “begrudgingly” followed everyone into the shopping center.

Unlike outside, the shopping center had not a single low-level Nightmare Beast in sight. The entire first floor was eerily empty, without a trace of life. It was obviously problematic.

“Hasn’t anyone checked this place?” Lan Subing asked softly, using her ability lightly, “Nightmare Beasts appear!”

After waiting a moment with no response, she shook her head: “No Nightmare Beasts on the first floor.”

“Then let’s head upstairs,” Jiang Tianming said, leading the group to the stairs. In a place like this, taking the elevator was too risky; the old-fashioned way of climbing was safer.

I followed behind, silently wondering where the Black Nightmare Spider was hiding. Its goal was to take us all down, and “us” definitely included me. So, it couldn’t be hiding in the cinema, the spot I knew about.

The first floor had no Nightmare Beasts, meaning it was planning an ambush. Based on my earlier scouting, the best ambush spot was—I looked up at the massive crystal chandelier on the distant ceiling.

Ambush spots and eavesdropping spots shared similarities. Since I couldn’t find another good one, the spider likely couldn’t either. Its choice wouldn’t be ordinary.

Ignoring shop rooms, the only “unordinary” places were above or below. I didn’t know if it was underground, but above, there was a ready-made hiding spot—the chandelier.

If someone hid there, the huge chandelier could fully conceal them. They could jump down when needed. For a Nightmare Beast, even a fifth-floor drop was nothing. It was a near-perfect ambush spot.

With this in mind, I subtly moved away from the chandelier’s coverage, then activated my ability to check everyone’s Destiny Compass.

Several people’s small needles had shifted right, like Jiang Tianming, Si Zhaohua, Qi Huang, Ai Baozhu, and Mu Tieren—coincidentally, those under the chandelier.

No doubt, my guess was right. The Black Nightmare Spider was likely hiding there. I raised an eyebrow and stepped back further. Jiang Tianming noticed and, without suspicion, asked curiously: “Su Bei, why’re you backing away?”

I pointed upward, unable to hide a gleeful smirk: “Someone’s about to have a bad time.”

“Who?” Jiang Tianming asked, looking up where I pointed. Then, a massive spiderweb descended.

The web fell fast, and the five under the chandelier were caught before they could dodge.

Immediately, a Black Nightmare Spider dropped from above, landing on Jiang Tianming and the others.

Ai Baozhu reacted quickly, activating her ability. Gorgeous Domain formed a pink barrier around those trapped in the web, temporarily protecting them.

Qi Huang was quick too, summoning phoenix flames to burn the web. Normally, flames countered webs, and she could’ve freed them easily. But surprisingly, the web didn’t catch fire, as if it were incombustible.

“No use. My web is immune to water and fire,” the Black Nightmare Spider said smugly, attacking Ai Baozhu’s domain with its steel-like legs.

Si Zhaohua, not to be outdone, tried cutting the web with sharp feathers. But obviously, he failed too. The web was not only fireproof but also impervious to blades.

With Qi Huang and Si Zhaohua, the most likely to counter the spider, stumped, the others were out of options, relying on Ai Baozhu’s ability to hold out.

While they were helpless, the four of us outside the web prepared to attack. Mo Xiaotian used air cubes to trap the spider, trying to lift it. Lan Subing used Word Spirit to make the web vanish.

As they fought back, Jiang Tianming quickly described their situation: “We can’t move. The web’s sticky—once you’re caught, you’re stuck. We can still use abilities, but they’re weakened. Baozhu might not hold out long.”

Hearing this, Ai Baozhu said: “Right, in this web, my Mental Energy drains faster. Hurry up—”

Before she finished, her eyes widened: “Watch out behind you!”

Thankfully, Wu Mingbai reacted in time, raising an earth wall to block an attack aimed at Lan Subing from behind.

Another High-Level Nightmare Beast—a cockroach-like one, head-sized and revolting. Behind it were countless tiny black cockroaches, too many to count, nauseating to look at.

One of the small cockroach Nightmare Beasts had just leaped to attack Lan Subing.

“…Help…” Seeing so many cockroach-like Nightmare Beasts, Ai Baozhu’s eyes glazed over, her face pale, looking like she might faint. As a refined young lady, she wasn’t afraid of bugs generally, but cockroaches and rats were unbearable.

Not just her—Si Zhaohua’s face was ashen too. He also had a cleanliness obsession and loathed cockroaches. Worse, he was trapped in the web, unable to fly. If those cockroaches crawled on him, he’d rather die.

With Jiang Tianming’s group trapped, the battlefield couldn’t stay stalled here. I was counting on the protagonists’ perspective to get my big plan into the manga.

I pinched my fingers, and a silver Gear appeared at my fingertip. I flicked it toward the web. The next second, it bounced off the Black Nightmare Spider, then onto the web.

Surprisingly, the web disintegrated the moment it touched the Gear!

Mu Tieren, quick-handed, grabbed the Gear as it flew, rubbing it with a strange expression: “It’s greasy, slippery.”

Jiang Tianming seemed to realize something, controlling a nearby chair to smash the spider. The attack was too weak to harm a High-Level Nightmare Beast, and the spider didn’t bother dodging.

But before it could mock Jiang Tianming’s futile attack, he made the chair, now coated with the spider’s substance, hit the web.

The moment the chair touched it, the web began to dissolve, opening a large hole for those trapped.

The experiment worked. He concluded: “The spider’s body has a substance that dissolves its web.”

“Is this the antidote within five steps?” Lan Subing quipped, half-pitying, half-gloating at the spider. If her plan was ruined by her own body’s substance, she’d be furious.

No emotions showed on the spider’s face, but it wasn’t looking at Jiang Tianming. It glared at me, demanding: “What are you doing?”

Wasn’t it missing a “did”? Shouldn’t it be “What did you do?” Lan Subing found it odd but brushed it off, thinking it normal for a Nightmare Beast to speak imperfect human language. Even High-Level ones weren’t exactly like humans.

“The show’s just starting. How could I let you end it so soon?” I shrugged, replying nonchalantly.

I knew what it meant—it was asking why I intervened. We’d agreed to train Jiang Tianming’s group, so why was I stopping it now?

I didn’t want to act, but if they stayed stuck here, how could I stir the pot? Only by keeping things moving could I achieve my goal.

After saving everyone, I stepped back. Glancing at the cockroach Nightmare Beasts closing in due to the spider’s failed plan, I leaped onto the railing, then onto a decorative fixture, climbed a poster, and reached the second floor.

Thanks to my ability-enhanced physique, I could pull off such feats. In the past, no amount of parkour could’ve gotten me this high.

Though I climbed casually, others in the class couldn’t replicate it without abilities.

“Like qinggong. I’m so jealous every time I see Su Bei do this,” Ai Baozhu said enviously, wishing she could trade places.

Part of her envied such martial arts-like skills; part wanted to escape this cockroach-infested hellhole. My and Jiang Tianming’s web-breaking briefly distracted her, but now, facing her situation, she wanted to faint again.

Qi Huang nodded in agreement: “Impressive, but no worries. He’s got qinggong, but I can fly! Come on, I’ll take you up!”

Meanwhile, after reaching the second floor, I headed straight to the fifth-floor cinema. The cockroach Nightmare Beast had countless minions, some in the cinema. Though unsure of the link between the big and small cockroaches, I cleared the cinema’s cockroaches to avoid trouble.

Thanks to the Destiny Compass, without its guidance, I couldn’t have found all those cockroach Nightmare Beasts.

Perhaps the High-Level cockroach got intel from the spider, as no new Nightmare Beasts entered after I cleared the cinema.

The shopping center’s poor soundproofing let me hear the outside’s chase, clashing weapons, and chaos. With nothing to do, I used Mental Energy to scan the fifth floor.

Besides the two High-Level Nightmare Beasts, there were no others. This reassured me—nothing should go wrong this time.

After wandering bored for a bit, someone approached the cinema. My Mental Energy showed it was Jiang Tianming’s trio, fleeing up here.

Earlier, the cockroach Nightmare Beast wreaked havoc across floors, crippling Ai Baozhu and Si Zhaohua’s combat ability due to their cleanliness phobias. They could only provide ranged support from the air. Si Zhaohua could’ve used Holy Judgment to kill a High-Level Beast, but it risked attracting more, causing trouble.

Plus, it wasn’t his first time using it on a High-Level Beast. From their dodging, they knew the skill. They might find a way to evade it.

After using it, Si Zhaohua wouldn’t faint like before but could barely use abilities. If dodged, they’d lose a fighter and gain a liability, making things worse.

Unlike them, Qi Huang shone. The spider’s web was fireproof, but the cockroach and its minions weren’t. A blaze filled the floor with the scent of charred meat.

But despairingly, the cockroach’s minions had strong regeneration. Soon after burning, more crawled from the corpses.

We could tell the High-Level Beast was powering them. Without killing it, the small cockroaches would keep regenerating.

But the High-Level cockroach was formidable—fast, flying, and blending like a chameleon. Its semi-invisibility caused huge trouble, making it hard to catch.

Gathering this intel drained our Mental Energy, forcing us to split up, find a safe spot to recover, and plan against the two High-Level Beasts.

My constant Mental Energy use to keep my luck maxed paid off—I got the protagonist trio I needed. With them here, the author would surely draw the next part.

“Don’t know where Su Bei went,” Lan Subing sighed. “He’d know how to handle that cockroach Nightmare Beast.”

Wu Mingbai, outwardly cheerful, dripped with sarcasm: “Our Su Bei’s the escape master. I can’t even remember the last time he was upfront in a fight.”

Jiang Tianming and Lan Subing couldn’t help laughing. Indeed, whenever trouble hit, I always vanished at the perfect moment. They were used to it, even if they didn’t want to be.

“Let’s hit the cinema to plan. Maybe Su Bei’s hiding there,” Jiang Tianming said, leading the way.

As they neared, he heard a faint noise inside. His relaxed demeanor turned alert. He signaled the others, and the trio quietly crept in.

The “people” inside didn’t notice, and soon, voices spoke: “Honestly, it’s pointless to open three Different Space Gates for a small Life Stone.”

“No kidding. As long as things keep going this way, we’ll wipe out humans eventually,” a female voice replied.

The words startled the eavesdropping trio. These weren’t humans—clearly High-Level Nightmare Beasts!

Two more High-Level Nightmare Beasts in the shopping center? Their situation was dire! The earlier two had already overwhelmed them. Two more meant they could only stall for two hours until Wu Jin and Li Shu got help.

Even stalling might lead to casualties. Four High-Level Beasts together were beyond a few students. Divide and conquer might work, but with cockroaches everywhere, fighting any Beast would quickly draw others.

The trio’s minds raced, frantically planning.

But the next conversation stopped their worries. The male Beast agreed, voice light: “How many ability users do humans have? We Nightmare Beasts are endless. Build up our strength, and they’ll fall instantly.”

“Too bad this war will cost us a lot,” the female sighed, then perked up. “But no matter. Teaching humans a lesson is fine. As long as they don’t find a way to wipe us out, we’ll win.”

The male scoffed: “How could they? Even if they did, they couldn’t do it!”

What did that mean? Was there really a way to wipe out Nightmare Beasts?

The trio’s breathing grew heavy. The Beasts’ infinite spawning was humanity’s bane. After learning their origin, we were helpless.

Though we didn’t think Beasts could wipe out humans, we couldn’t find a way to eliminate them either. But from these Beasts, it seemed there was a way!

The cinema Beasts seemed done talking, and the trio panicked. At this critical moment, how could they stop? Even if the method was impossible, humans needed to know and study it before giving up.

They had to make the Beasts keep talking.

So, the question was: how could they get two High-Level Beasts to spill the truth? If Lan Subing’s Word Spirit were stronger, it could work. But she wasn’t there yet, and they couldn’t risk alerting them.

Wu Mingbai’s eyes gleamed. He glanced at his partners, backed out a few steps, and suddenly said brightly: “Hey? This place looks good. Why don’t we hide in the cinema?”

Hearing his sudden words, Jiang Tianming and Lan Subing weren’t confused. Their perfect sync let them instantly grasp his plan.

“Sure, but we should check it,” Jiang Tianming said, acting like they’d just arrived.

Lan Subing nodded seriously: “Gotta check thoroughly. Who knows how many Nightmare Beasts are hiding here?”

After a brief chat, they seamlessly shifted to eliminating Nightmare Beasts. Wu Mingbai continued: “Don’t be ridiculous. If there was a way to wipe out Nightmare Beasts, humans would’ve found and done it already.”

“What if they found it but couldn’t do it?” Jiang Tianming asked casually.

Wu Mingbai scoffed: “How could there be something humans can’t do? If there’s a way, we’d manage.”

After their taunting ploy, Lan Subing pointed elsewhere: “Baozhu’s waving at us. Let’s join them!”

They stomped to mimic running, then hid in a corner where they could hear the cinema without being seen.

Inside, I couldn’t help smirking. Not bad—they didn’t waste my staged play. Since they’d used their taunt, I “had” to take the bait.

After a pause, the male Beast’s voice rang out: “Hah, those narrow-minded humans.”

“If they knew the way to wipe us out was to clear all the Meteorite fragments from our world, they wouldn’t think they’re invincible,” the female said confidently, clearly believing it impossible.

She didn’t linger: “Alright, let’s go. Leave this to those two Beasts.”

“No need to stick around and help?” the male asked.

She refused firmly: “If they can’t kill a few students together, they don’t deserve to live and waste resources.”

Two whooshing sounds followed, and the cinema fell silent.

After waiting patiently, the trio emerged from their corner, their faces a mix of shock, excitement, doubt, and gravity.

“Where are those Meteorite fragments?” Jiang Tianming asked. He guessed they referred to the falling Meteorite from the black book, which brought Nightmare Beasts and ability users.

Lan Subing shook her head: “No idea. We could ask—”

Before she finished, Wu Mingbai said gravely: “I might know the answer.”