A Guide for Background Characters to Survive in a Manga

Chapter 60

Su Bei had learned a lot from this group battle, and so had the readers. Many new threads had appeared on the forum:

[Mu Tieren fought two black-clothed enemies by himself???]

[Their teamwork was so perfect! I’ll always love stories about friends working together to defeat enemies!]

[So cool!!! Su Bei, you’re amazing!!!]

[Discussion thread on the ‘Black Lightning’ organization]

[Who was that person at the end?]

[Shipping Su Bei and Si Zhaohua—do they have a CP name?]

[Were a few people missing from the final battle in this arc?]

[‘Don’t put too much faith in your teammates...’ I smell a knife!]

The first thread immediately caught Su Bei’s attention. Because he had been flipping through the manga quickly, he hadn’t noticed this detail. But now that he thought about it, it made sense. While other classmates from Class F had helped, their contributions were minimal. It was entirely plausible to say that Mu Tieren had fought two enemies alone.

[Mu Tieren fought two black-clothed enemies by himself???]

[SnowSugarNo.0]: I’m starting to think Mu Tieren’s combat ability is an enigma. He seems to be the weakest in the protagonist group, but Jiang Tianming and Si Zhaohua needed two people to take on one enemy, while he fought two by himself. Are you out of your mind old thief?

[No.1]: Hahaha, I didn’t notice this until you pointed it out.

[No.2]: Are you out of your mind old thief?

[No.3]: That is pretty strange now that you mention it.

[No.4]: Maybe the enemies weren’t as strong? Those two looked kinda dumb anyway.

[No.5]: Am I the only one who became a fan of Mu Tieren because of this? Tough guys are the best!

[No.6]: I also think battle damage looks so cool! Though this type of portrayal is common in manga, it’s rare to find one that can depict it with real charm.

[No.7]: I feel like the author wouldn’t let Mu Tieren simply be the big brother type; he definitely has more storylines coming.

[No.8 Replying to No.7]: May your kind words come true

No.9 Replying to No.7: May your kind words come true

No.10 Replying to No.7: May your kind words come true

No.11 Replying to No.7: May your kind words come true

[...]

[No.35]: In this segment, I can only feel pity for Mu Tieren—he was held back. The righteous side often faces these issues; when someone becomes a hostage, their actions are restricted. But Zhao Xiaoyu really hit my sweet spot!

Although she doesn’t have strong abilities, her high emotional intelligence allows her to maneuver easily among enemies. Such a person makes me feel that they’d thrive in any situation.

[No.36 Replying to No.35]: Ahhhhh! Finally, someone mentioned this! Zhao Xiaoyu is truly amazing!

[No.37]: Among the female characters, I like Zhao Xiaoyu the most. She’s the ultimate scheming beauty!

[No.38]: Zhao Xiaoyu was the only one who didn’t get hurt and even helped everyone. Sometimes, emotional intelligence can be more powerful than strength. No, emotional intelligence is a kind of strength.

[No.39]: I envy people with high emotional intelligence so much. I can’t communicate at all. If I had to empathize, while Zhao Xiaoyu feels more like an ordinary person, Lan Subing is easier to relate to.

...

[SnowSugarNo.72 (Original Poster)]: When I returned after eating, I found that the discussion had gone off-track. Does anyone still remember my original question?

[No.73]: Wow, this has completely turned into a fan thread for Mu Tieren and Zhao Xiaoyu.

[No.74]: Why don’t you just start a new thread?

[No.75 Replying to SnowSugarNo.72 (Original Poster)]: Actually, I think the author hasn’t gone crazy. Mu Tieren’s injuries are much more severe than Jiang Jiang and the others. In fact, Jiang Jiang and Si Zhaohua hardly got hurt while fighting their opponents, but Mu Tieren took all the enemy’s attacks head-on.

The two opponents also had average attack power and were melee fighters, which allowed Mu Tieren to achieve such a feat. But if he had faced the purple-haired enemy, he might not have won.

That said, if Jiang Jiang and the others switched places with Mu Tieren to face those two, they might not have achieved the same results. It’s clear that while Mu Tieren’s attack power is weaker than theirs, his endurance is far superior—especially compared to Si Zhaohua.

[No.76]: An expert has suddenly appeared above!!

[No.77]: So many words, I’m feeling dizzy and overwhelmed!!

[No.78]: Mu Tieren is incredibly resilient. You can tell by how he managed to walk despite his injuries. But I think Jiang Jiang isn’t inferior either. Didn’t the last season mention his childhood experiences?

[No.79 Replying to No.78]: Whoa! Are you trying to stab me in the heart with that?

[No.80 Replying to No.78]: My poor Jiang Jiang baby. Damn bullies! All bullies should suffer!

[No.81]: Jiang Tianming’s resilience makes sense given his tough childhood. But why is Mu Tieren also so enduring?

[No.82]: Good question. It feels like a hidden backstory.

Seeing this, Su Bei closed the thread. He was indeed curious about Mu Tieren’s family background. However, despite subtly probing twice before, Mu Tieren always brushed it off.

It was clear that Mu Tieren didn’t want to talk about his family situation. Yet, from Su Bei’s observations, he didn’t seem like someone with an unfortunate childhood or family issues.

People like that often exhibit certain traits in their personalities—for example, Jiang Tianming’s cautious aloofness or Wu Mingbai’s sly demeanor. But Mu Tieren didn’t show any of these traits. He seemed like a typical eldest son from a happy family—kind and caring.

If that’s the case, why doesn’t he want to talk about it?

Forget it, the author will definitely write about it later anyway. Without any clues, and since Su Bei doesn’t have the ability to investigate, he can only temporarily let go of this doubt.

Regarding the threads about Su Bei himself, most were fangirling posts, with only a few wondering what his ability actually is. Doubts are good—where there’s doubt, there’s speculation. The stronger they imagine his ability to be, the stronger he will actually become.

When Su Bei came across threads about the "Black Lightning" organization, he immediately clicked on them. While he knew more than the readers, there was always a chance they’d notice something he hadn’t.

[Discussion Thread on the 'Black Lightning' Organization]

[AnalysisFreakNo.0]: As the plot has progressed, the essential villains in every manga have finally surfaced.

The 'Black Lightning' organization is currently known to have been founded by scientists with abilities. For unknown reasons, it went underground and now opposes the Ability Academy.

Known incidents orchestrated by 'Black Lightning':

1. The murder case: Sending a purple-eyed individual disguised as a chef into the Ability Academy. The purpose is unknown, but a student was killed. The culprit has been apprehended.

2. The team battle incident: A large number of the organization’s clones entered a separate dimension to capture first-year students from the Ability Academy. However, there seems to be a deeper motive.

3. The infiltrator incident: From the latest developments, it’s evident that 'Black Lightning' planted an infiltrator in the Ability Academy—someone in the first year. Personally, I suspect there’s more than one infiltrator, possibly even a teacher. Compared to students, teachers can achieve much more.

Since the organization has just emerged, there’s not much information yet. This summary is based on what’s been depicted in the manga so far.

[No.1]: Wow, respect to the expert…

[No.2]: Wow, so many words! (Sounds like someone who’s never seen the world before.)

[No.3]: The username suits the poster perfectly.

[No.4]: I didn’t realize this organization had already done so much! I read all the chapters, yet it didn’t feel like it.

[No.5]: About the undercover agent, I think the OP analysis is very accurate. There's absolutely more than one undercover agent planted by the villains in the Ability Academy, and there might even be someone with significant power and authority among them.

I remember that before the group competition, the head instructor said this alternate space was under the school's control. If there weren’t any undercover agents in the school, how could they have entered this alternate space?

[No.6 replying to No.5]:

Makes sense. The fact that the chef was able to get into the school might also be due to an undercover agent.

[...]

[No.26]: I suspect that the villains’ goal in entering the special dimension this time was to capture the first or top two students. Do you all remember Su Bei saying before that victory isn’t always a good thing? Perhaps that was referring to this matter.

[No.28 replying to No.26]:

That makes so much sense!

[No.29]: Damn riddler! Why can’t Su Bei just explain things clearly?

[No.30]: Su Bei definitely knows a lot. Prophecy really is such a great ability.

[No.31]: If we’re discussing who the undercover agent is, I suggest heading over to the neighboring thread. The guesses there are all over the place!

[No.32 replying to No.33]: I'll go take a look!

The thread starter had indeed summarized everything well, but it was all information Su Bei already knew. Seeing that there was nothing new in this post, Su Bei decided to head over to the other thread as well.

"Who Was That Person at the End?"

[Blank Space No.0]: I’m sure everyone knows which chapter I’m talking about, right? The owner of those white sneakers at the end is definitely the undercover agent planted by the "Black Lightning" organization in the first-year class of Ability Academy.

After seeing this information, I went back and reread the chapter.

(Screenshot of the sneakers)

Many people wear white shoes, so it’s impossible to determine who this person is based on the shoes alone—not even their gender.

(Side note: Who wears white sneakers to fight in a forest? These students really have no life experience. Only Jiang Jiang and Wu Mingbai wore black shoes—now that’s what I call practical and experienced kids!)

Ahem, I’ve seen other posts saying that “Black Lightning” couldn’t have planted just one undercover agent in the Ability Academy. I agree, but let’s not discuss that here since we have no leads.

What’s certain is that this white-sneaker undercover agent isn’t some completely random character. They’re either a student in Class F or a character who’s appeared before. Back to the main topic—does anyone have any suspects?

[No.1]: I’m guessing Li Shu. He’s only appeared once or twice, but his ability is quite interesting.

[No.2 replying to No.1]:

After reading your comment, I specifically went back to check who Li Shu is. I hadn’t paid attention to him before. Turns out, hey! He’s a pretty boy!

[No.3]: It’s always the pink-haired characters who turn out to be yanderes. Blindly guessing that he’ll see the protagonist as his salvation. I’ll ship it first, thank you!

[No.4]: You upstairs…

[No.5 replying to No.3]: Alright, alright, playing this way, huh?

[No.6]: How did you all decide he’s a yandere so quickly? I didn’t see it at all.

[No.7 replying to No.6]: We’re not sure yet, but let’s just guess for now. Let’s see if anyone starts cooking pre-made meals.

[No.8]: Feels like Jiang Jiang is really about to get entangled with a yandere.

[...]

[No.21]: This thread is going off track. Personally, I don’t think it’s Li Shu. He seems to have a strange fondness for Jiang Tianming. If he really were a yandere, I feel like he’d reveal himself easily.

[No.22]: Or maybe even the "Black Lightning" organization couldn’t stand this yandere and specifically sent him out as an undercover agent.

[No.23 replying to No.22]: Hahaha, sent out to torment others, huh?

[No.24 replying to No.22]: That’s an interesting idea. I’ll buy it.

[...]

[No.37]: I still think it’s some random person from Class F. They wouldn’t attract much attention but could still gather the same information as other students.

[No.38]: Feels like the undercover agent must be in Class F. If they weren’t with the protagonist, how would there be any story? Our Class F is just full of hidden talents!

[No.39]: Based on this, Wu Jin and Zhao Xiaoyu are both strong possibilities!

There’s no need to explain Zhao Xiaoyu—she can chat and laugh with the men in black. I used to think she was just emotionally intelligent and had a strong heart, but now it seems like she might actually be one of the enemy. Naturally, she wouldn’t be afraid.

Wu Jin is also a strong possibility. Everyone should remember his strange ability during the competition. I think he might have been deliberately holding back and hiding his true ability.

[No.40]: The possibility of an undercover agent in Class F is quite high.

[No.41 replying to No.39]: Great analysis! But I won’t let you underestimate Xiaoyu’s abilities. It must be Wu Jin! He’s the most suspicious.

[No.42]: I’m guessing Wu Jin as well. His low-presence ability is also perfect for an undercover agent.

[No.43]: Has the undercover agent been guessed so quickly? I feel like you all are underestimating the old thief.

[No.44]: The person above makes a good point.

[No.45]: I’m still guessing Zhao Xiaoyu. She seems quite cunning (in a good way).

[...]

[No.81]: Am I the only one whose thoughts are completely different? Personally, I suspect the undercover agent is someone from Class A... Why would "Black Lightning" send a weakling as an undercover agent?

Besides, Class A would definitely have access to more information than Class F. Didn’t the manga also show that Class A students frequently take on missions to earn points?

[No.82]: The people above have been led astray, haven’t they? Like [No.81] said, think realistically! How could the undercover agent be some rookie?

[No.83]: If the undercover agent is in Class A, then Zhou Renjie seems likely to defect...

[No.84 replying to No.83]: Indeed... He even decided to take revenge on the protagonist after being embarrassed in an individual battle. During the team battle, he wasn’t with Si Zhaohua or Ai Baozhu, and he wasn’t captured with them either. Honestly, who knows what happened during that time?

[No.85]: Just a moment ago, I was convinced the undercover agents had to be Wu Jin and Zhao Xiaoyu, but now I’m starting to think it’s Zhou Renjie. Turns out, I’m really just a grass on the wall*.

[No.86]: Didn’t they say the undercover agent was planted a long time ago? Even if Zhou Renjie is an undercover agent, wouldn’t he have been turned recently?

[No.87 replying to No.86]: The problem is that the manga never explicitly said the undercover agent was planted earlier. At least, you can’t tell that from the final scene.

[No.88]: Oh, that makes sense. In that case, it does seem quite possible that Zhou Renjie was indeed persuaded to defect.

[No.89]: By the way, I just thought of another possibility. If Zhou Renjie did defect, even he wouldn’t be dumb enough to actively seek out the men in black during the group competition. So the premise for him being turned would be that "Black Lightning" knew he hated the protagonist group and approached him first.

But this event happened at the school. If "Black Lightning" knew about it so quickly, there must be another undercover agent who informed them of it.

We might be able to use this to reverse-engineer who the high-level undercover agent in the school is. After all, not many people knew that Zhou Renjie was eliminated the day before last.

That’s assuming Zhou Renjie really is the undercover agent.

[No.90 replying to No.89]: 66666

[No.91 replying to No.89]: Good point! With that logic, I’m starting to hope Zhou Renjie is the undercover agent.

[No.92]: Honestly, Zhou Renjie being the undercover agent is the outcome I can accept the most. But I want to say—could someone with that kind of body weight even fit into those small white shoes?

[No.93 replying to No.92]: Good question.

[No.94 replying to No.92]: It feels like everyone is so focused on Zhou Renjie being the undercover agent that they’re ignoring these little details.

[...]

[No.126]: By the way... does no one think there could be an undercover agent in the protagonist group?

[No.127 replying to No.126]: No!

*****

Zhao Xiaoyu and Wu Jin were options Su Bei hadn’t considered before, but now they seemed like rather suitable candidates. Especially Wu Jin—his secret made it easy for people to misunderstand him.

From the size of the shoes shown in the manga, Zhou Renjie didn’t seem like a good scapegoat. But it ultimately depended on what the author thought. If the author decided he fit, then he fit.

“Tch.” Su Bei suddenly felt a bit annoyed. Those shoes weren’t his, yet he had to make an effort to avoid suspicion.

There were still two posts that interested him, so Su Bei decided to click on one first.

[Were Some Characters Missing From the Final Battle of This Arc?]

[LeewenhoekIsHere No.0]: As we all know, group battles are a time to emphasize team spirit. Yet, in the final battle of this arc, the participants were Jiang Tianming, Lan Subing, Wu Mingbai, Mu Tieren, Si Zhaohua, Ai Baozhu, and Feng Lan.

So where were Su Bei and Mo Xiaotian? They were practically MIA the whole time! Author, can you please treat everyone equally and give them some screen time?

[WhatAreYouLaughingAt No.1]: I wanted to point out how Su Bei and Mo Xiaotian were missing too. I can still understand Su Bei disappearing—I could even accept it if this character suddenly joined the villain's side, let alone just disappear.

But what about Mo Xiaotian? Even Feng Lan was there—why wasn’t Mo Xiaotian? Author, don’t tell me you listened to those Wu stans and decided not to make Mo Xiaotian part of the protagonist group!

[No.2 replying to What Are You Laughing At No.1]: Wait, what? Did I miss some drama?

[No.3]: Same question—who are the Wu stans?

[What Are You Laughing At No.4 replying to No.2]: A lot of Wu stans commented under the manga accusing Mo Xiaotian of stealing Wu Mingbai’s character arc and spotlight, asking the author to treat the “veteran characters” fairly. Honestly, it’s hard to judge.

[What Are You Laughing At No.5 replying to No.3]: They’re die-hard Wu Mingbai fans.

[No.6]: Wow... fandom drama in a manga forum now?

[No.7]: I can understand a popular character having die-hard fans, but Wu Mingbai isn’t even that big of a deal, is he?n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

[No.8]: "The King Of Superpower" is a super popular series. Wu Mingbai is one of the main characters, so of course he’s significant. Jiang Tianming and Lan Subing have plenty of die-hard fans too. After this update, I think Su Bei will start getting them too. Honestly, I’ve become a fan myself.

[No.9]: This really does feel like fandom drama.

[No.10]: Help! Is this seriously a manga forum?

[No.11]: What’s your point, OP? We fans are just standing up for our favorite characters—it doesn’t affect you.

[No.12]: I didn’t dare to say it earlier, but this thread feels super hostile toward Wu Mingbai.

[No.13 replying to No.12]: Could it be that we’re not hostile toward Wu Mingbai but toward you die-hard fans?

[No.14]: Who knows what Mo Xiaotian was doing? He didn’t get any screen time, so why blame us?

[...]

[No.84]: Mo Xiaotian’s absence is strange, but I don’t think it’s for the reason OP mentioned. I suspect he might have some hidden storyline that hasn’t been revealed yet.

[No.85]: Wow, kudos to you for still discussing the plot seriously when this thread has devolved into this mess.

[LeewenhoekIsHere No.86 (OP)]: It’s become so routine for threads to derail that I’m genuinely moved to see someone discussing the plot seriously.

[No.87]: I also think Mo Xiaotian must have another storyline. The author wouldn’t just forget about him.

Honestly, Su Bei’s fans are the ones who should be complaining. He’s the one who really didn’t get any plot this time.

[No.88 replying to No.87]: As a Su Bei fan, I was happily eating popcorn until I saw your comment. Now I’ve dropped my popcorn.

[No.89 replying to No.87]: ...Damn! That’s a good point!

[No.90]: Could it be that Su Bei really was slacking off during this time? For crying out loud, old thief, can you act like a decent person!

[No.91]: But seriously, if Su Bei does have a plot during this time, what would it be? Now I’m starting to think about the undercover agent theory in that other thread!

[No.92 replying to No.91]: ...What? No way. I’d rather he be slacking off!

[No.93]: Actually, Su Bei being an undercover agent would be pretty cool...

[No.94: I don’t want there to be a mole in the protagonist team, and if Su Bei is the mole, wouldn’t that be too obvious?]

[No.95: For a moment, I can't decide whether it’s better for him to have a storyline or not.]

Note: grass on a wall, which sways with the wind in whichever direction it's blowing. It metaphorically describes someone who changes their stance, opinion, or allegiance depending on the situation, often implying indecisiveness or a lack of firm principles

Coffee

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