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But he didn't go in immediately. Instead, he quickly walked to the window. There were cameras in the cafeteria, and although he didn't know how the culprit had avoided the cameras to commit the crime, he couldn't just go in openly.
Looking inside from the window, the entire cafeteria was empty, except for a boy in a school uniform lying face down on the dining table, looking as if he were asleep.
But Su Bei knew he wasn't asleep; he was already dead. From this angle, he could clearly see a small pool of blood gathered under his feet, with droplets of blood still dripping down.
This should be the person who had replaced him as the victim. And if he wasn't mistaken, this student was also from Class F.
Poor Class F...
Closing his eyes for a moment, Su Bei took out his phone and snapped a picture of the scene. Without lingering, he quickly retraced his steps back to the restroom.
Once inside a stall, he looked at the photo he had just taken, zooming in to search for details.
To help the main trio find the culprit, the new victim would also have left some clues, just as he had originally. And there was a good chance the clues would be left in the same way. After all, it takes a lot of mental effort for the manga author to come up with the plot.
Sure enough, the photo showed blank cards scattered around the victim.
This was the work of an ability user who could conjure cards.
After confirming that the cards were in the same position as in the original manga, Su Bei deleted the photo, switched his phone to the manga app, and left the restroom. He then found an inconspicuous spot along the route from the dormitory to the cafeteria, leaned against the wall, and started playing on his phone.
It was around 5 PM, and students were gradually coming out of the dormitory to have dinner.
Before long, out of the corner of his eye, Su Bei saw Jiang Tianming and the other two come out. He turned off his phone and decisively followed them.
He had learned professional tracking techniques, but he didn't use them now. He didn't need to hide the fact that he was following them. In fact, Su Bei hoped the three of them would notice.
In this rare manga, the main trio were all smart people, without any purely idiotic characters.
Smart people tend to overthink. After his initial comments, they would naturally have some doubts about him.
When they saw the dead body later and recalled his current stalking, it wouldn't be hard for them to misunderstand.
And that's exactly what Su Bei wanted.
"That blonde boy from this morning is following us," Jiang Tianming said softly, glancing back subtly.
Upon hearing this, Wu Mingbai became interested. "The guy who called you unlucky?"
Jiang Tianming had told him about it when they gathered earlier.
Jiang Tianming nodded. "Yes, him. His name is Su Bei. Bing, did you find anything?"
Lan Subing, whose lower face was covered by a scarf, shook her head and whispered, "Tomorrow."
Familiar with her taciturn nature, Jiang Tianming and Wu Mingbai quickly understood her meaning: the results would come tomorrow. It wasn't surprising, given that it hadn't even been a day yet.
Wu Mingbai raised an eyebrow and suddenly flashed a bright, sunny smile.
Seeing this smile, Jiang Tianming and Lan Subing both felt a twitch of their eyelids. This was Wu Mingbai's signature expression when he was up to something, and they had a bad feeling.
But before they could stop him, Wu Mingbai had already turned around and walked up to Su Bei with big strides, his brown eyes looking innocent. "Are you following us?"
Even Su Bei was slightly taken aback by such a direct question. He then gained a deeper understanding of Wu Mingbai's character.
A wolf in sheep's clothing, indeed.
He gave an interested smile. "Yes."
Hearing this, Wu Mingbai continued to ask like a curious child, "Why, why?"
"Because interesting things always happen around unlucky people," Su Bei replied with a mischievous smile, looking every bit like someone enjoying the show.
At this point, Jiang Tianming walked over. Instead of getting angry at Su Bei's ominous hint, he pushed up his non-existent glasses. "If you're watching a show, you should pay for the ticket, right?"
"Huh? We have to pay?" Su Bei was genuinely surprised.
He was indeed surprised, but not because of the ticket comment. It was because of Jiang Tianming's current behavior.
In the first part of the manga, Jiang Tianming was indeed a shrewd person, but his cunning was usually kept to himself. He rarely expressed it openly, let alone in such a lively manner.
Why does he seem so out of character now?
Su Bei quickly realized the reason. In the first part of the story, Jiang Tianming was burdened with deep vengeance and faced life-threatening situations, which naturally made him more cautious and steady.
But now, he was in a school environment, where he didn't need to be so careful. The orphanage he originally stayed at was relatively harmonious, and there was a one-month break between the end of the first part and the start of this one, allowing his personality to revert to its natural state.
In other words, compared to the first part, this was the lively version of Jiang Tianming.
For Su Bei, this change made it easier for him to approach the main trio. A relaxed protagonist was much more approachable than a cautious one.
However, the downside was that much of the experience he gained from the first part was no longer applicable. Many of the plot points he had studied would no longer be effective.
Sighing silently, he put on a compromising expression. "Alright, alright. Even though this was supposed to be a free show for everyone, I guess I did sneak backstage ahead of time."
Hearing this, the three exchanged glances. Lan Subing, hiding at the back, tugged on her companions' sleeves. Due to her severe social anxiety, she couldn't speak with an outsider present, so she could only type on her phone.
Displayed on the phone screen were three large words: "I have money."
Before Su Bei could react, Wu Mingbai, with an innocent look, tugged on Jiang Tianming's other sleeve. "Miss Lan has money, so why don't we just not charge him?"
A flicker of amusement flashed in Jiang Tianming's eyes as he feigned consideration. "How about we don't charge?"
Anyone who believed him would be a fool. Su Bei understood that the three of them were hinting that the price for admission wasn't money.
If not money, then what? Naturally, it would be clues.
This coincided with Su Bei's intentions.
However, having the same goal didn't mean he would completely indulge the trio. Smirking, Su Bei exposed their little scheme. "Stop acting; it's a bit too fake."
Ignoring their feigned innocent expressions, he continued, "For the sake of fun, I'll give you the clues you'll need in the future as the ticket."
Hearing this, both Wu Mingbai and Lan Subing showed expressions of surprise.
"Clues we'll need in the future?" Did that mean what they thought it meant?
Only Jiang Tianming remained relatively calm. He had already vaguely guessed Su Bei's ability from his previous words.
"Thank you very much. How will you give us these clues?" Jiang Tianming asked.
"Just stand still."
As Su Bei spoke, he produced a gear and held it over each of their heads for a moment. Each time the gear hovered above someone, his face turned a shade paler.
After finishing with all three, he clasped his hands together, then slowly pulled them apart. A bronze-colored gear, covered in intricate patterns, appeared suspended between his hands. It looked ancient, grand, and very mysterious.
Before the three could take a closer look, the gear suddenly emitted a large amount of purple-red smoke and disappeared without a trace.
"What just happened?" Jiang Tianming asked in surprise.
Next to him, Lan Subing showed her phone screen, where she had typed, "Did it fail?"
Coming from a wealthy family, she had more knowledge than her two companions. She knew that prophecy abilities were not easy to perform and that the likelihood of failure was high for novices.
"Quite the opposite." Su Bei shook his head. "I've already given you the clue."
The three were stunned. Jiang Tianming recalled and hesitantly said, "So the purple-red smoke was the clue your ability provided?"
"Uh-huh," Su Bei nodded.
Seeing his affirmation, Jiang Tianming immediately asked, "Does this prophecy mean that we will encounter or need this purple-red smoke in the future?"
Of course not, Su Bei thought.
The purple-red smoke actually contained two clues: one was the color purple-red, and the other was the smoke. These represented the killer's eye color and ability, respectively.
The ability to provide this clue was all thanks to his relatively useless ability.
Su Bei's [Gears] ability allowed him to choose the metal from which to create gears. However, the rarer and more valuable the metal, the fewer gears he could produce from it.
Cesium (a special element in the manga world) was a very reactive metal. When exposed to air, it would undergo a chemical reaction within two or three seconds, turning into purple smoke.
He had spent a long time carefully selecting this particular item to complete his plan before heading out.
As for his increasingly pale face, it was because each time he made a gear, he secretly created a golden gear in his pocket. The extensive use of his ability drained him, naturally making him look pale.
Now that his task was successfully completed, Su Bei could hardly contain his laughter, trying to maintain a composed demeanor.
However, he couldn't just reveal the answer directly. So he shrugged, "Who knows? A word of advice, fate rarely gives concrete hints. It might be a suggestion, an object, or even a mix of multiple clues."
"I have a question!" Wu Mingbai, who had been quiet for a while, suddenly raised his hand enthusiastically, his eyes sparkling. If someone hadn't read the first part of the manga, they might be fooled by his sunny exterior.
"Go ahead."
"What were you doing over our heads just now?" He tilted his head curiously, looking quite cute.
Su Bei didn't answer directly but raised a finger, showing a business-like smile. "That has nothing to do with the ticket. If you want to know the answer to that question, you'll have to pay a price."
Upon hearing the word "price," a flash of caution and understanding crossed Wu Mingbai's eyes. He knew this mysterious guy wasn't following them out of pure goodwill.
But outwardly, he didn't show it and instead looked eager. "What price?"
Su Bei looked straight at Jiang Tianming. "I want to be in your team for the next group activity at school."
"Huh?" The three of them showed confused expressions simultaneously.
Jiang Tianming pointed to himself. "You mean you want to join my team for the next group activity?"
"No, to be precise, I want to join your team." Su Bei corrected. "If it's a two-person team, then it's just you and me. If it's a larger team, you can choose the rest of the members as long as you include me."
As long as he could consistently team up with the protagonist, he wouldn't have to worry about being in the spotlight.
"But why would you want to..." Jiang Tianming suddenly realized halfway through his sentence. "Is it because I'm the unluckiest person?"
Seeing him catch on so quickly, Su Bei showed a "teachable" expression and even "kindly" comforted the other two. "Don't be disheartened. If either of you becomes unluckier than him someday, I'll join your team as well."
"Who needs that!" Even Lan Subing, with her severe social anxiety, couldn't help but mutter softly.
Given her severe social anxiety, she usually only voiced her thoughts internally. Su Bei had managed to get her to break that habit.
Faced with his request, Wu Mingbai frowned and shook his head at his companion. "No need..."
He was indeed curious about the question but didn't want his friends to bear any risk for the answer.
However, before he could finish his sentence, Jiang Tianming decisively spoke up, "I agree."
He then gave an appeasing look to the orange-haired boy. "It's okay. I'm curious about the answer too. He wants to watch the show, so he won't easily trick me. Otherwise, he won't have such a good show to watch later, right?"
As he said this last part, he looked directly at Su Bei, making everything clear without needing further explanation.
Satisfied with the answer, Su Bei nodded with a smile and said meaningfully, "Don't worry. I just touched a point on the fate compass above your heads. Everyone has a fate compass above their head, and gears made with your fate aura have prophetic power."
Of course, this explanation was made up. Who could see any fate compass? He said this to make his prophecy ability seem less effortless and to hint at his ability's potential for offensive use.
Since it was a prophetic ability, if making gears required no effort or cost, it would be too unrealistic and easily raise suspicion.
If the readers believed his words, he could later claim to see the fate compass, which would greatly aid his future tasks.
After explaining, Su Bei didn't intend to waste more time. Although the plot would wait for the protagonist, it would be troublesome if someone discovered the body early.
Knowing what kind of character manga readers liked, he maintained his composure and made an elegant gesture towards the cafeteria. "The stage is set. It's your turn to perform."
Jiang Tianming and his friends walked towards the cafeteria while Su Bei followed at a leisurely distance of ten meters, playing the role of a bystander. Staying too close to the protagonist would attract unnecessary trouble.
Since he was far enough away, Wu Mingbai didn't worry about Su Bei overhearing and whispered to Jiang Tianming, "Why did you agree so readily? What if the next activity requires pairs? We won't be able to help you."
Lan Subing nodded in agreement. "It was too hasty a decision."
"Quite the opposite. This was a well-thought-out decision," Jiang Tianming replied, glancing at Su Bei in the distance. "You can tell from his timing that he didn't care much about this request. If he really wanted to achieve it, he would have chosen a more compelling moment to ask."
No one argued, and he continued clearly, "He doesn't care about this request for two reasons: either he doesn't have a strong desire to team up with me, or he can ensure he'll team up with me regardless of whether I agree."
After hearing this, both of them understood his meaning. If Su Bei wasn't fixated on teaming up with Jiang Tianming, he likely wouldn't do anything harmful to him.
But if it was the second possibility, it wouldn't matter whether they refused or not; they might as well take this opportunity to gather some clues.
"Alright, in that case, we should agree," they accepted his reasoning and didn't ask further questions. Lan Subing brought up another issue, "Did you notice anything odd about what he said regarding the fate compass?"
"What's odd? Are you saying he lied?"
"Not in that sense," she shook her head and began typing on her phone. After finishing, she sent a message to their small group chat.
——"When he explained that behavior, he said, 'Don't worry, I just touched your fate compass.' If there was nothing wrong with that action, why would he specifically say 'don't worry'? It feels like that action could harm us, but he chose not to."
With her ability of "Word Spirit," she successfully picked up on the subtle hint Su Bei left.
This made Jiang Tianming think deeply. After a moment, he murmured, "If touching it is harmless, what if he takes it away?"
Upon hearing this, the three of them simultaneously thought of a certain possibility, showing shocked expressions.
If he could touch it, he could probably take it away. What would happen if someone’s fate compass was taken?
Even though this was just wild speculation, they didn't think it was meaningless. However, discussing it further would be pointless; they should focus on the "big show" Su Bei mentioned.
"Whatever this 'big show' is, it should happen in the cafeteria, right?" Wu Mingbai looked towards the distant cafeteria with a cautious expression.
Jiang Tianming thought the same but seeing his two companions' slightly tense expressions, he comforted them, "Don't worry. We'll handle whatever comes our way. Are we really afraid of this?"
This made sense. Before school started, they had just defeated a powerful ability user and brought down an international underground organization. What could possibly scare them in the safety of their school?
They all felt more at ease. Lan Subing muttered softly, "We were definitely fooled by Su Bei's attitude."
Chatting and laughing, they walked into the cafeteria. Although they had relaxed a bit, their expressions became serious as they entered, cautiously looking around.
However, the cafeteria was bustling. Students were chatting and getting their meals, and everything seemed normal.
Exchanging glances, the three of them got their food from the same window and found a relatively quiet spot to sit. Only one other student was there, sleeping, making it seem like the safest place.
Meanwhile, Su Bei, sitting in a corner, snickered at the trio's carefully chosen "good spot."
True to the story's plot, they ended up sitting next to the deceased.
Knowing the situation of the deceased, he could easily spot the small, already darkening bloodstain on the floor. But other students, unaware of the person's death, would have a hard time noticing it.
It was likely due to the plot's protection that no one in the large cafeteria noticed the dead person, not even those sitting right beside them.
This scene, despite the lively atmosphere, made Su Bei question if this was a real world. Were these people mere puppets to be manipulated?
Pressing his temples, Su Bei quickly adjusted his mindset. Even if they were just puppets, he wanted to live well. With a death trial still looming over him, he had no time to ponder the meaning of life.
He couldn't help but laugh again, but this time it was self-mockery.
"Ah! What’s going on?" Suddenly, a girl’s scream echoed.
Without hesitation, Su Bei looked in the predetermined direction and saw the deceased collapse. Besides the protagonist trio, a girl was covering her mouth in shock.
Jiang Tianming finally noticed the blood on the floor and the wound on the deceased's chest, leading to an ominous realization.
As if realizing something, he quickly looked up, seemingly searching for Su Bei. Given the situation, even an idiot would connect it to Su Bei's earlier comment about "watching the show."
However, not finding him, Jiang Tianming decisively knelt by the deceased to check.
He placed his fingers under the deceased's nose, then, with a serious expression, announced, "No breath. This person is dead."
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