At that, Jiang Tianming and Lan Subing looked at him in surprise: “What is it?” “Don’t you remember the dust and gravel in the air when we went to the Nightmare Beast world?” Facing their incredulous stares, Wu Mingbai nodded firmly. “That’s it.” Jiang Tianming’s eyes widened. After processing for a moment, he asked doubtfully: “How do you know?” From what he knew of Wu Mingbai, he wouldn’t idly study the composition of floating gravel in the Nightmare Beast world. “Su Bei asked me about it before,” Wu Mingbai answered. “I suspect he knew something in advance.” He recalled another thing: “Not long ago, he had me test the material of Life Stone fragments, probably suspecting they were made of Meteorite. But I tested it—it’s just Life Stone, unrelated to Meteorite. So, to wipe out Nightmare Beasts, we just need to find a way to clear the gravel dust from their world’s air.” “‘Just’?” Lan Subing looked at him incredulously. “You make it sound easy.” Though she was only venting, the trio fell silent at her words. As she said, this method to eliminate Nightmare Beasts was far from easy—it was baffling. No wonder those two Beasts were so confident. Even the strongest ability users couldn’t do this! The situation didn’t allow much thought. The Cockroach Nightmare Beast, with its horde of minions, chased up. The Black Nightmare Spider was likely dealing with Qi Huang’s group. The trio, too busy to plan, resumed fleeing. The dark cinema was no good—though the two High-Level Beasts had left, who knew why they were there? Best to avoid it. After Jiang Tianming’s group and their pursuers left, I emerged from the cinema. Using an Invisibility Charm, I trailed them slowly. My task was done, so I had no reason to stay in the cinema. I followed to ensure they didn’t rashly leak what they heard. Whether to the government, teachers, or Nightmare Beasts, I didn’t want that. As I’d said, making my staged plot real via the manga took time. This chapter would likely update tonight or tomorrow, but for it to fully take effect, it’d need the next update—days away. Any slip-up in the meantime could ruin it. If humans or Beasts learned of this, they’d investigate its truth. No doubt, they’d find it false. If they announced that, my plan was dead. Even if the plot was in the manga and readers believed it, the author could easily reverse it . Leaving the cinema, Jiang Tianming’s trio fought while retreating. The once-empty first floor was now crawling with low-level cockroach Nightmare Beasts and purple liquid—likely the spider’s venom. The first floor was now a no-go zone. Flying out wasn’t an option—the doors were sealed. Forcing them open would get us surrounded before we could. Clearly, Jiang Tianming’s plan was to wait—hold out two hours until Wu Jin and Li Shu got help. It wasn’t hard for us. High-Level Beasts were strong, but unless in a specific environment, killing us wasn’t easy. With Jiang Tianming’s escape plan ready, though we seemed on the defensive, the Beasts were the ones cornered. We just had to keep running. Google seaʀᴄh 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵✦𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮✦𝓷𝓮𝓽 But running was exhausting, especially with enemies chasing. Lan Subing soon ran out of stamina. She was the weakest physically, and with the most Mental Energy spent, she was the first to falter. “I… huff, I can’t go on. Let’s rest somewhere!” Lan Subing panted, speaking quickly, then focused on breathing to avoid gasping out. The others had no objections. The trio found a high platform, where Wu Mingbai used Earth Element to build a fortress, hunkering down like turtles. They chose a high spot because cockroach Nightmare Beasts could burrow from below—a special skill that concrete couldn’t stop. Lan Subing remarked that cockroaches were like that. Inside the fortress, they enjoyed a brief rest. Wu Mingbai couldn’t sustain it long—when it broke, they’d leave. Suqi City was dangerous, so he saved some Mental Energy for safety. “While we rest, let’s discuss what we heard,” Jiang Tianming brought up. “The method to wipe out Nightmare Beasts—should we tell the government right away?” “There be light,” Lan Subing said, using a simple Word Spirit. The dark space lit up. “Knock, knock, knock!” Before they could discuss, knocking came from outside. It sounded human—low-level Beasts didn’t knock so rhythmically, and the High-Level cockroach wouldn’t try to trick them into opening the fortress. But who would show up now? The trio exchanged puzzled looks. Curiosity won, and Wu Mingbai opened a small door for one person. The next second, I appeared and slipped inside. Wu Mingbai quickly closed it, looking at me oddly: “Why are you here?” “Saw your fortress, thought I’d join the fun,” I said casually, as if my behavior wasn’t strange. In truth, I risked coming because I couldn’t hear their conversation from outside. I needed to monitor to prevent them from deciding to tell the authorities. My presence could steer their thoughts. Though they found my words absurd, they didn’t dwell on it, returning to the topic. With me there, the discussion couldn’t start directly. Jiang Tianming cut to the chase: “Why did you ask Mingbai about the gravel and Life Stone’s material twice?” If it were someone less familiar, he’d have probed indirectly. But with me, no need—he knew directness saved time. A flash of realization crossed my eyes: “So you’ve learned something?” He knew it! The trio thought, then relaxed. My knowing didn’t guarantee help, but it cleared some confusion. “We overheard two High-Level Nightmare Beasts. To wipe them out, we need to clear the falling Meteorite fragments that brought Beasts and abilities from their world’s air,” Jiang Tianming summarized, then watched me expectantly for an explanation. I didn’t hide: “I did know this early on. Asking Wu Mingbai was to figure out what the Meteorite became.” Their last doubts vanished. Lan Subing’s blue eyes sparkled with joy: “It’s great there’s a way to wipe out Nightmare Beasts!” No matter how hard, its existence gave hope. “Speaking of which, Nightmare Beasts came from the falling Meteorite. Removing it to make them vanish seems logical. Why hasn’t anyone figured this out?” Wu Mingbai mused. Because it’s fake, I thought silently. But I could use this. My eyes gleamed: “How do you know the higher-ups don’t know? They just can’t do it.” It’s possible, Wu Mingbai conceded. The method was too hard. The Nightmare Beast world was vast, at least continental. Even the strongest ability users couldn’t clear its fragments. As an Earth Element user, he felt this keenly—it seemed hopeless. “If the higher-ups already know… do we need to report it?” Jiang Tianming fell into my trap, dropping the idea. Lan Subing and Wu Mingbai agreed. If some higher-ups knew, there was no need to report. They’d likely shared it among themselves, and lower ranks were out of the loop. Their reasons for secrecy were like not revealing Nightmare Beasts were born from resentment. “Should we tell Baozhu and the others?” Lan Subing asked, meaning Class S. After thinking, Jiang Tianming shook his head: “Let’s tell the teacher first. When we’re back, we’ll tell Meng Huai. He can decide if others should know.” It was the safest approach. If Meng Huai didn’t know, he could ask Principal Wu Di. As Endless Ability Academy’s head and a top ability world leader, they trusted he knew. “After the campaign,” Wu Mingbai added. Whether they saw Meng Huai in Suqi City or not, it was better to wait. This campaign was less dangerous for regular ability users, but for those facing High-Level Beasts, it was risky. With so many High-Level Beasts to pin down strong ability users, distracting a teacher would be their fault. Zhao Xiaoyu had messaged them about this. Despite her weaker ability and Mental Energy, she was assigned to face High-Level Beasts covertly, not on the front lines. Oddly, Ling You hadn’t appeared. Her Plague ability was perfect for this battlefield, especially against the Beasts’ low-level swarm tactics. One use could kill thousands. Even if they were researching a way to wipe out all Beasts, it shouldn’t stop her from helping control the situation. But Zhao Xiaoyu didn’t know where Ling You was, and they hadn’t seen Meng Huai. So, despite their doubts, they were stuck. Hearing their plan, my anxiety finally eased. By the campaign’s end, the next manga update would be out. By then, it’d be set in stone—they could tell anyone. With this resolved, I had no reason to stay. Sorry, I’m just that kind of bridge-burning guy. As the fortress vanished, Jiang Tianming was about to lead us to the next planned spot when he noticed someone missing: “Where’s Su Bei?” I’d used an Invisibility Charm to slip away, returning to the cinema. No Beasts here—I could slack until it was over. As expected, the cinema’s lack of Beasts was likely the spider and cockroach’s agreement not to cross me yet. Not because they didn’t want to kill me—they just hadn’t dealt with Jiang Tianming’s group yet, so they couldn’t spare effort for another enemy. Taking the chance, I added the intel on wiping out Nightmare Beasts to the Destiny organization’s database, marked as top secret. It was a safeguard. If the plan leaked before the next update, someone might check Destiny for intel, buying me time. After this, I rested easy in the cinema. When two hours passed, I leisurely left. I trusted Wu Jin and Li Shu wouldn’t wait exactly two hours—they’d notice something earlier and get help. This was the perfect time to leave. I might fight a bit and meet reinforcements. As they say, don’t hit the diligent or the lazy—only the clueless. No matter how much I’d worked, being seen working when help arrived was smart. Outside, the group had killed the Black Nightmare Spider. The Cockroach Nightmare Beast survived—its regeneration was too strong. Though killed once, it revived and fled. Since the High-Level cockroach lived, its minions were fine, and we had to keep clearing them. It wasn’t hard, even with low Mental Energy—low-level cockroaches were easy. I, who’d slacked most of the time, finally contributed. Several gears shot from my hand, mowing down cockroach Nightmare Beasts like a lawnmower. But not everyone found it easy. For Ai Baozhu and Si Zhaohua, it was torture. Ai Baozhu gave up fighting, using Gorgeous Domain in a shop to create a safe room for tired fighters. Si Zhaohua attacked remotely from the air. Land? Never. Seeing this, the group couldn’t resist mischief. Ai Baozhu was fine—forcing her out felt mean, and her safe room was useful, so we left her alone. He watched Jiang Tianming control objects, ostensibly to hit cockroaches from above, but really to mess with him, trying to pull him down. Qi Huang, also flying, subtly harassed him, nudging him downward. Lan Subing was ruthless, using Word Spirit for a wide attack, claiming to group cockroaches for easier kills. But Si Zhaohua felt its force. If she’d gone all out, he’d have been dragged down. “Enough, you guys!” Si Zhaohua snapped. We stopped, looking innocent. Ai Baozhu, laughing hysterically in her shop, defended us: “What’s wrong? Everyone’s working hard.” Anyone else saying this would’ve been fine, but Ai Baozhu? Si Zhaohua was furious. If he hadn’t drawn all the heat, could she be chilling? “Keep this up, and I’ll bring cockroaches to storm your domain,” he threatened. He disliked cockroaches but wasn’t as bad as Ai Baozhu. He could fight on the ground—others teased him because he was just being dramatic. “I’m sorry, my bad,” Ai Baozhu apologized, zipping her lips to signal silence. Dealing with her, Si Zhaohua turned to us, grumbling: “Can we work properly? Keep this up, and I’ll slack like Su Bei!” I looked at the pile of cockroach corpses at my feet, then at Si Zhaohua, lying through his teeth: “Don’t drag me into this! I’ve been working hard!” I was rarely this diligent. Everyone burst out laughing, stopping the antics: “Hahahahaha, we’re done. Let’s work.” As we cleared, the door was kicked open. Li Shu and Wu Jin arrived with reinforcements. Seeing the students unharmed, the reinforcements relaxed. These were the nation’s future—they couldn’t afford losses. Having students on a campaign’s main battlefield was already unfair; injuries would tank the Ability Government’s reputation. With their help, Jiang Tianming’s group didn’t need to rush clearing cockroaches. They briefly recounted events, focusing on the two High-Level Beasts’ plot, omitting the eavesdropped info and their presence. “Sounds like they were waiting for you specifically…” the lead staff said suspiciously. “Targeting you on purpose?” His guess was spot-on—the Black Nightmare Spider was targeting Jiang Tianming’s group, with my intel luring them here. But I wasn’t fazed. Class S was a thorn in the Beasts’ side—being targeted was expected. Sure enough, the staff dropped his suspicions: “Makes sense. They should target you. Stay near the safe zone and clear nearby Beasts.” Realizing they were targeted, we agreed to the plan: “Got it, but Teacher, didn’t the government notice these High-Level Beasts?” Jiang Tianming asked, just thinking of it. Normally, Suqi City would have Beast-detecting tools to prevent ambushes. But two High-Level Beasts were here, undetected, with few ability users nearby. It was odd. The staff’s expression grew serious. Like Jiang Tianming, they’d deployed detection tools, but they missed these Beasts. Did the Beasts have countermeasures? As the saying goes, one cockroach means a nest. The staff felt a bad premonition and needed to report this anomaly.