Chapter 34

Chapter 34

Hearing Su Bei's words, everyone had different reactions. What did he mean by "whether he wants to or not, he has to win?" Could Su Bei actually control the outcome of the match? At least Jiang Tianming thought so.

He suddenly realized that these abilities labeled as "prophecies" weren't as simple as they seemed. He had already noticed something unusual about Feng Lan's performance in the ring and guessed the truth. Feng Lan's "prophecy" ability was definitely not as straightforward as they initially thought.

And now, it seemed that Su Bei's ability was also just the tip of the iceberg.

The others more or less had similar thoughts. With this in mind, they stopped trying to dissuade him and instead focused on the ring. They wanted to see how Wu Jin would manage to win such an overwhelmingly mismatched duel.

As they predicted, Wu Jin was gradually pushed back, and it wasn't long before he was forced to the edge of the ring by his opponent, who had double-enhanced physical strength. Just one more step, and he would be pushed off.

Was Su Bei about to fail? Jiang Tianming watched the unfolding situation while also trying to figure out what was going on. He couldn't imagine how Wu Jin could possibly win.

But in the next moment, the situation took a sudden turn!

Wu Jin abruptly closed his mouth and crouched down, and his opponent froze in place as if blinded, completely unaware that Wu Jin was right under his feet.

The blue-haired boy looked confusedly at his outstretched hands, glanced around, and, seeing no one, scratched his head in puzzlement. "Where did he go? Did I already push him off? Or did he fall off on his own? It happened so fast I didn't even notice."

This was the only explanation he could think of. Otherwise, what—could the other guy turn invisible? That would be a joke, especially for an F-Class student.

With that in mind, the blue-haired boy smiled victoriously and swaggered off the ring, waiting for the referee to declare him the winner. The referee only comes down early when there's a dispute in a match. In cases like his, where victory seemed clear-cut, the declaration is usually made after both contestants have stepped down.

However, to his surprise, the crowd remained eerily silent. The few people who had been watching the match weren’t looking at him, nor at the ring, but rather at a handsome blond boy.

What's going on? Why is all the attention on someone else?

Feeling dissatisfied, the blue-haired boy started to walk over to reclaim the spotlight, but after taking just two steps, he heard footsteps coming from the ring behind him.

Turning around, he saw that Wu Jin, who he thought he had knocked off the ring, was slowly walking down from it.

"What?" He was shocked. "How are you still on the ring?"

It was only then that he finally realized he might have been tricked.

Before Wu Jin could respond, the referee walked over and announced the result: "Wu Jin wins."

"No! That's impossible!" The blue-haired boy, unwilling to accept reality, grabbed Wu Jin by the collar, his face red with anger. "What's your ability? How did you disappear just now?"

Most students had no idea that they could obtain information about other students' abilities from the campus wall. Quick-witted people like Su Bei were a rare breed. If the blue-haired boy had known, he wouldn't have been caught off guard like this.

The referee quickly pulled him away and warned, "No attacking fellow students off the ring. If you do it again, it won't just be a warning."

In this school, fighting outside of official matches could result in anything from losing points to expulsion.

After being warned, the blue-haired boy finally calmed down a bit, but he still stubbornly stared at Wu Jin, demanding an answer. He wasn't just a sore loser; he genuinely didn't understand how he had lost.

Although he had won, Wu Jin's face showed no joy; he remained as gloomy as ever. In a flat, almost monotone voice, he replied, "It's called [No Presence]."

He was smart enough not to mention the drawback that "staying silent is the only way to become unnoticeable." Even though this weakness wasn't particularly deadly, and even if others knew about it, they wouldn't easily be able to exploit it. Still, it was always better to keep an ace up one's sleeve in case he ran into someone who could counter his ability.

Having received an answer, the blue-haired boy finally understood how he had lost. Wu Jin hadn't fallen off the ring as he had thought; he had used his ability to erase his presence. He had foolishly believed he had already won and walked off the ring, practically giving away the victory.

He had sensed something was wrong at the time, so why hadn't he persisted a little longer?

Thinking about this, he snorted like an angry bull, taking a while to calm down. Finally, he shot a glare at the boy who had defeated him and strode off.

Wu Jin, who had won, silently glanced at Jiang Tianming and the others, but even though he knew they had been watching his match, he didn't greet them and quietly left.

Jiang Tianming and the others had no intention of engaging him either; they were all still processing the shock that Su Bei had just given them.

After everyone involved had left, Jiang Tianming finally let out a long sigh and looked at Su Bei with a complex expression. "Did his victory have anything to do with you?"

He could clearly see that Wu Jin's victory was due to Su Bei's strategy—a brilliant move, indeed. But he couldn't help but wonder if Su Bei had somehow orchestrated everything behind the scenes.

Especially after Su Bei had summoned that strange gear—Jiang Tianming was sure Su Bei's ability was related to gears. Now that the gear had disappeared, it was hard not to think it had played a crucial role.

However, Su Bei just shrugged, looking innocent and sincere. "Nope."

He was telling the truth, but unfortunately, no one believed him. After what had just happened, who could believe that Su Bei had nothing to do with it?

No one said anything more; they all fell into deep thought. Even Mo Xiaotian, usually the most curious, merely stared at Su Bei without pressing for answers.

"Aren't you afraid you'll lose your bet?!" Manga Awareness was almost scared to death. Although he knew that Wu Jin was destined to win this round, the problem was that Su Bei didn't know that!

Manga Awareness couldn't understand how Su Bei dared to make such a bold claim without knowing the outcome. Wasn't he afraid of things going wrong?

If Wu Jin had lost, everything Su Bei had just said would have been a complete joke. Manga Awareness didn't even want to imagine how badly Su Bei's image would have crumbled in that scenario.

Facing the gazes of surprise, admiration, or curiosity from the others, Su Bei maintained his calm and composed demeanor, but inwardly, he couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.

He had won the bet!

Hearing Manga Awareness's question, Su Bei's lips curled into a barely noticeable smile. "Isn't a 99% probability worth betting on?"

He wasn't wrong. If the probability of winning was truly 99%, then it was definitely worth taking the risk. If you're too scared to bet with those odds, you might as well just give up and admit defeat.

On this point, Manga Awareness agreed with Su Bei. No matter how terrifying the consequences of failure might be, if the odds of winning were high enough, it was worth taking the gamble.

But what puzzled Manga Awareness was: "Where did you get that 99% probability? As far as I know, your knowledge of Wu Jin's character is entirely speculative up to this point. The only thing that supports your theory is that he joined Si Zhaohua's team, and even then, he was brought in by Zhao Xiaoyu."

"My initial guess that he would play an important role in the story had a 50% chance of being correct. When he joined Si Zhaohua's team, that probability jumped to 100%. He's definitely an important character with significant plot involvement," Su Bei explained internally.

"Si Zhaohua's team exists to contrast with the protagonist's group, so the members of that team must keep winning. This way, when they eventually lose to the protagonist's group, the impact will be more pronounced. Therefore, Wu Jin had a 95% chance of winning this match."

This analysis made a lot of sense. Manga Awareness actually felt that this was enough to justify the bet. But it still pressed on: "What about the final 4%? Didn't you say 99%?"

"The last 4% is because he was talking non-stop from the moment he entered the ring. His ability is [Silence is Silence], so the fact that he was talking suggests he didn't want to reveal his ability just yet and was waiting for the right moment," Su Bei said, hands in his pockets, eyes twinkling with amusement. "In other words, he had the will to win."

Now Manga Awareness fully understood. Wu Jin wasn't supposed to lose according to the plot, and with a strong desire to win, it would be hard for him to fail.

At this point, it could almost be considered a 100% chance, but Su Bei insisted that there was still a 1% chance of the author acting unpredictably. In this day and age, authorial unpredictability is a common issue and shouldn't be carelessly ignored.

"You're impressive." Manga Awareness was once again thoroughly convinced, completely understanding the significance of that 3%. It now fully believed that if there was one person who could complete the task of saving the world, that person could only be Su Bei.

After Manga Awareness disappeared, Su Bei closed his eyes to calm his racing heart. No matter how confident he was, it was hard not to feel nervous in the face of such severe consequences for failure.

Fortunately, he had succeeded. He hadn't wasted the information that "Wu Jin might be an important character."

When he had previously reviewed the available information, Su Bei had been pondering how to use this particular piece. Although it seemed almost useless and inaccurate, it was something he couldn't afford to discard given the limited resources at his disposal.

But he had been stuck for a while. He couldn't exactly tell Jiang Tianming to get along with Wu Jin, right?

It wasn't until he saw Wu Jin step into the ring that Su Bei had a sudden flash of inspiration and figured out the correct way to use the information.

After a brief moment of consideration, Su Bei finalized his plan. Even though the consequences of failure would be unbearable, the plan had a very high success rate, and the rewards would be significant. Weighing the pros and cons, he decided to take the risk.

Now that he had succeeded and reaped the rewards, Su Bei was already thinking about how to guide public opinion on the forums when the time came.

Next up were the matches of Mo Xiaotian, Wu Mingbai, Lan Suibing, and Jiang Tianming.

As a member of Class A, Mo Xiaotian was matched against someone from Class B. With just a few transparent blocks, he easily blocked off his opponent's path. Although the opponent could unleash powerful fire attacks, the transparent blocks completely shielded Mo Xiaotian. Left with no choice, the opponent kept retreating and eventually fell off the ring without noticing.

After Mo Xiaotian stepped down, everyone headed out to eat. It was already noon, and the second half of the matches would begin at 2 p.m., so they had time.

While eating, Jiang Tianming finally asked the question everyone was curious about: "So Xiaotian, what exactly is your ability?"

The boy was stunned. When he refreshed his phone, he indeed saw that there were now four more people betting on Wu Mingbai, making it five in total.

“Are you crazy?” He couldn’t help but widen his eyes, pointing at Wu Mingbai in the ring. “He’s from Class D! And she—” He pointed at the purple-haired girl, “She’s from Class B! Didn’t you mix them up?”

Seeing that Jiang Tianming and his friends didn’t show the regretful expression he expected, the boy was puzzled. But soon, he was happy again: “Whatever, suit yourselves. The more people bet on him, the better.”

The more points bet, the more he would earn. It was usually hard to get points, but this time he planned to make a big profit!

While they were talking, the situation in the ring finally changed. The one who couldn’t hold back was the purple-haired girl. She felt that, with her strength from Class B, there was no need to be so cautious against the brown-haired guy who was running around like a fool.

Thinking this, she flipped her wrist, and a brush suddenly appeared out of nowhere. The brush was as long as an arm, with simple patterns carved on the handle, giving it a rustic yet grand appearance. The brush tip was soaked in ink, full and dripping.

The purple-haired girl wielded the brush and wrote the word "刀" (sword) in the air. The next second, the ink twisted and gradually transformed into a sharp long sword.

At the same time, the girl’s face turned pale, clearly due to the excessive consumption of her mental energy. But she wasn’t worried; instead, a smug look flashed in her eyes.

This was her ability, [Magic Brush Ma Liang]. Anything she wrote or drew with the brush materialized in reality under the influence of her mental energy.

However, her mental energy was currently weak, so she could only write words in a chosen direction. For this match, she specifically chose the direction of weapons. The word "sword" was the easiest to write and had great attack power, making it perfect for a beginner like her.

In the ring, someone with a weapon could easily defeat someone without one.

Seeing the long sword about to fully form and drop, the girl’s expression grew more confident. As long as she had the weapon, she was sure to win.

But just at that moment, the situation changed!

A pillar of earth suddenly shot up from the ground, heading straight for the sword. Before the girl could react, the pillar touched the fully formed sword.

The sword, which was supposed to drop straight down, was deflected by the impact and flew directly towards Wu Mingbai.

Wu Mingbai didn’t miss the opportunity he had created. He leaped up and caught the sword firmly in his hand. He looked down, smiled, and weighed the sword, sincerely praising, “What a good sword!”

“Who wants your praise?” The purple-haired girl was furious. “Give me back my sword!”

This sword had consumed almost all her mental energy to create, so how could it be taken away just like that? She might not have the mental energy to create another sword. If she couldn’t get this one back, she would definitely lose this match.

Just like the girl had thought earlier, someone with a weapon could easily defeat someone without one, right?

However, Wu Mingbai wasn’t foolish; there was no way he would return the weapon. He smiled and nodded, “I’ll give it back to you after I leave the ring.”

“Who would want it then?” The girl was even more furious. But she knew she probably couldn’t get the sword back. Her skills were inferior; how could she let someone snatch what she had created?

Sure enough, Wu Mingbai completely ignored what she had said earlier. He simply held the sword and walked towards her, asking, “So, do you choose to step out and forfeit, or do you want the referee to declare your loss later?”

The option of the referee declaring the loss obviously meant the girl would suffer a fatal injury.

Hearing this, the girl’s face turned even paler. But she was unwilling to be defeated so easily in the monthly exam, so even though the situation was dire, she tried to negotiate: “Wait, listen to me.”

Knowing that her mental energy wouldn’t recover anytime soon and that victory was in his grasp, Wu Mingbai tilted his head playfully like a cat and teased, “Go ahead, I’m listening.”

The purple-haired girl didn’t care what he was thinking; she just wanted to grasp her last chance to win: "You know that your victory over me this time is actually just a fluke. Your next opponent might not be as careless as I was. You’re from Class D, and you could very well lose tomorrow. But I’m different—I have a good chance of making it into the top 50. If you let me win this time, we can make a deal. I’ll give you half of my reward... no, three-fifths. What do you say?"

You have to admit, the purple-haired girl was indeed smart. She had assessed the situation correctly. If her opponent were just an ordinary Class D student, he might actually be tempted by her offer.

After all, it was impossible to keep winning by relying on luck, and not every opponent would be as careless. Trying to break into the top 50 with just Class D abilities was nearly impossible.

In such a situation, it might be better to let the girl win. If she really did make it into the top 50 and earned 50 points, he could get 30 points for free—a nice profit.

But unfortunately, the girl was dealing with Wu Mingbai. He wasn’t someone who liked to pin his hopes on others.

So, he shook his head regretfully and said, "Sorry, even if I lose tomorrow, I want it to be my own loss."

With his appearance and those words, he really did resemble a hot-blooded manga protagonist. But those who knew his true nature understood that he was probably mocking her, implying that even if she won today, she would lose tomorrow.

The outcome was already decided, and everyone averted their gaze. Only the boy who bet on the purple-haired girl was still stubbornly watching the ring, hoping for a miracle.

Unfortunately, his hopes were shattered in front of Wu Mingbai. When the referee declared Wu Mingbai the winner, the light in the boy’s eyes dimmed.

“No! This can’t be real!” In a dramatic fashion, the boy fell to his knees, clutching his head. “My hard-earned 50 points!”

The purple-haired girl, dejected, walked over. Seeing that someone was sad on her behalf, she joined him in crying, “Boo-hoo! I lost in the first round! I’m so miserable!”

Su Bei was utterly exasperated. Once again, he felt like he had had enough of this manga world!

This awkwardness puzzled him, so he asked his "Manga Awareness" in his mind: "Why do I feel so embarrassed? Aren’t I also part of this manga world? Why do I realize how silly this behavior is?"

“Because you’ve been exposed to the real world,” the "Manga Awareness" replied calmly. “Exposure to the real world detaches you from the manga world’s awareness.”

Hearing this, Su Bei couldn’t help but sigh, which immediately alerted the people around him. Jiang Tianming, like a startled black cat, whipped his head around and asked in alarm, “Why are you sighing?”

What could possibly make Su Bei sigh?!

Hearing his question, the others also turned to look at him, all wearing expressions of cat-like surprise.

Su Bei paused for a moment before finding an excuse to explain casually, “You all split the points with me this time, so I earned a lot less than before.”

Everyone immediately breathed a sigh of relief. Mo Xiaotian cheerfully said, “I’m planning to bet with you next time too, Brother Bei!”

Recalling Su Bei’s miraculous ability during Wu Jin’s match, Wu Mingbai’s eyes lit up. He nodded along with Mo Xiaotian, and they both seemed like a pair of joyful brothers: “Help us earn some points too, Brother Bei~”

Seeing that someone wanted to share in his points, Su Bei forced a smile and said, “You can follow my bets, but don’t forget—you won’t know how many points you can bet on each person.”

“What do you mean?” Mo Xiaotian didn’t understand.

However, everyone else, being smarter, naturally understood what Su Bei meant. He could deliberately bet one point on someone he predicted would lose, and if the others followed him without knowing, they’d suffer a huge loss.

Before anyone could say anything, Mo Xiaotian, carefree as ever, slung his arm around Su Bei’s shoulder and said boldly, “Whatever, I’ll stick with you no matter what!”

Su Bei gave him a disdainful yet helpless look and said, “Suit yourself.”

Seeing this, everyone exchanged amused glances and laughed. They all tacitly decided to ignore Su Bei’s earlier warning. With such a good opportunity to earn points, they were going to follow him too!

At this moment, Su Bei’s peripheral vision suddenly caught sight of Zhao Xiaoyu stepping into the ring. She was facing a classmate.

A match between two people from Class F wasn’t very interesting, and no one placed any bets. However, each of the two had placed a bet on themselves, which was obvious.

There was hardly any profit to be made in Class F, except for the class monitor who could earn a few extra points. The rest only had a meager 15 points each.

Although even a small profit is still a profit... Su Bei glanced at the five people beside him. But with so many people involved, each would barely earn two points. It wasn’t worth the effort. He already had quite a few points, so there was no need to bother with this.

Noticing his gaze, Jiang Tianming followed it and asked, “Are you thinking of betting on Zhao Xiaoyu’s match?”

Su Bei shook his head, “There’s almost no profit to be made.”

It seemed that he did initially consider it, so Jiang Tianming became interested. “It’s okay if there’s no profit. Who do you think will win?”

Hearing this question, Su Bei raised an eyebrow. Even if there’s no profit, it’s a good chance to build his image! It would be a waste not to take advantage of the opportunity. He decisively answered, “Zhao Xiaoyu.”

Mu Tieren pondered for a moment. Based on the previous match, he no longer doubted Su Bei’s judgment. “If I remember correctly, Zhao Xiaoyu’s ability is [Laughter Speechs], which makes people smile while speaking. The other one, Li Qian, has the ability [Make The Bed], which, as the name suggests, does exactly that. The outcome of this fight should depend entirely on physical strength, right?”

You have to admit, as expected of Class F students, these two abilities were utterly useless in combat.

“No...” Su Bei shook his head and said with deep meaning, “I believe Zhao Xiaoyu will definitely use her ability.”