A Guide for Background Characters to Survive in a Manga

Chapter 28

The notification sound left Su Bei bewildered. He rubbed his messy blond hair and asked, "Why is it so fast this time?"

But then he quickly realized the reason himself. Right, the "Manga Awareness" had mentioned that manga in the real world is updated weekly. As for when updates happen in the manga world, it depends on when the content accumulates enough for a week's worth.

However, thinking back, it's only been two days since the last update. Could there really be as much content as last time?

With this in mind, he asked the question.

The "Manga Awareness" is always online and responded promptly: "The content of these two updates definitely can't compare. In fact, the reason there was so much content last time is that the author was participating in an event, which required a burst of updates. Last time's chapter was the equivalent of three regular chapters."

So that’s how it is. Su Bei suddenly understood, though he also felt a sense of absurdity.

Participating in an event required a burst of updates? Once again, Su Bei gained a deeper understanding of being in the manga world.

What should he do? He really wanted to rush out the screen and give the author a good beating.

After letting out a long sigh, Su Bei washed up and then took out his phone to start reading the manga.

From the very beginning, it was clear that the author intended to pad the content a bit—there wasn’t a single bit of the plot wasted, directly picking up from where Meng Huai left off.

[Meng Huai put away the cage, along with the person inside, and then gave everyone their points as rewards. Jiang Tianming and the others argued on behalf of Su Bei, ensuring he received the same reward.

After learning that the cage and teleportation were both abilities provided by the school, Mo Xiaotian pestered Meng Huai with questions about his abilities, annoying him so much that Meng Huai left. Wu Mingbai asked Su Bei if he had known all of this beforehand, and Su Bei admitted that he did.]

This brief segment of the plot contained a lot of information, and the comments were nonstop.

"Everyone is so kind, they didn’t forget to give Su Bei credit."

"This is why I like Jiang Tianming—such a principled kid!"

"??? The cage belongs to the school? Teleportation too?"

"As expected of an ability academy, they really do have some hidden cards."

"Given this, besides his basic physical abilities, Meng Huai didn’t use his own power at all when capturing the murderer."

"Just how strong is Meng Huai?"

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"Hahaha, Mo Xiaotian is really annoying!"

"Su Bei knew about this all along???"

"Su Bei sure has a lot of secrets."

[The plot continued, with everyone inviting Su Bei to join a celebration banquet, and Su Bei eventually agreed.]

The depiction of the bond between the characters was quite good, making it seem like they were about to become close friends. Unfortunately, it was all an act. If Su Bei weren't personally involved, he might have believed it.

Sighing, he continued reading. Su Bei knew that, if nothing unexpected happened, the next part of the plot should involve him experimenting with his abilities with Jiang Tianming.

[Sure enough, the scene shifted to Jiang Tianming, who was washing up in his dorm room. After finishing, he heard a knock on the door, and upon opening it, he saw Su Bei standing outside.

Su Bei asked if he could help with testing his abilities, and Jiang Tianming agreed. After a series of operations, a gear capable of predicting Jiang Tianming’s future appeared. Su Bei refused to use it in front of Jiang Tianming, requested secrecy, and then left.]

Su Bei guessed that there were probably discussions about this part of the plot on the forum because he had always appeared very mysterious before. This was the first time he had shown a bit of vulnerability.

But in reality, he was just being cautious. Always appearing strong is certainly good, but reality isn’t a manga that can be manipulated at will. He couldn’t guarantee that he would always handle things with ease. The higher you climb, the harder you fall. If he were to fail even once after consistently showing such strength, his image would easily crumble.

By showing in advance that he is actually a novice and not yet fully familiar with his abilities, if something goes wrong in the future, his fans will find excuses for him. Moreover, this move could be interpreted as deliberately using this opportunity to predict Jiang Tianming’s fate. Whether he succeeds or fails, he would have an explanation ready.

[The next day came quickly, and everyone went to Meng Huai's office to hand over the culprit. The hypocritical words of Sun’s parents disgusted not only the main characters but also the manga readers.]

“What the heck, what kind of couple are these two!”

“Anyone who believes what they say is a fool.”

“Although losing a child is pitiful, I can’t bring myself to feel sorry for them at all.”

“Thank goodness Wu Mingbai and the others followed Su Bei’s suggestion and went after the Sun family business, or else I would’ve been disgusted for nothing!”

“Hahaha, I can’t wait to see their reaction when they leave the campus and see their company has collapsed.”

[Meng Huai said that they couldn’t hand over the culprit because there was an organization behind him.

Jiang Tianming noticed Su Bei’s gaze, followed it, and saw a tattoo on the back of the culprit’s neck. Without making a sound, he asked Su Bei about it and received a meaningful reply.]

Seeing this, Su Bei pondered. Could he use this part of the plot to mislead readers into thinking he had some connection with the Black Lightning organization?

[After handing over the culprit, they went to eat. There was a flashback scene showing Lan Subing’s memories. It was clear that she was very nervous about the mission to search the restaurant, as she was alone in the dorm, mumbling to herself for a long time. She even secretly went to a small restaurant to investigate in person.

The scene shifted back to the present, where everyone noticed Lan Subing’s nervousness and comforted her. Then Su Bei and Mu Tieren sent her some money transfers.

Lan Subing once again fell into her memories, where faceless figures repeatedly asked her to treat them, which was compressed into two panels. The scene then returned to the present.

“So this is what normal classmate relationships are like?”]

This part of the plot seemed designed to attract fans to Lan Subing. Not only did it include many small, poignant moments, but it also depicted the wild imagination of a girl with a strong, optimistic, and slightly silly personality, which always makes her endearing. Especially since Lan Subing is the only girl in the main group, she’s sure to gain even more fans.

As expected, the comments were filled with expressions of sympathy.

Seeing a few comments praising him mixed in, Su Bei felt completely satisfied. He hadn’t expected such a pleasant surprise—what luck!

[Outside the private room, there was a commotion. When they opened the door, they saw the fat supporting character who had appeared in the first chapter. The fat man tried to take over the room, but everyone teamed up to push him back. In the end, Su Bei delivered the final blow, making the fat man leave on his own.

When Wu Mingbai asked him about it, Su Bei explained that he knew the reason why the fat man wanted to take over the room. After finishing their meal, everyone left, and the class president revealed information about the monthly exams.

Back in the dorm, Jiang Tianming told Lan Subing and Wu Mingbai about the Black Lightning issue, and Lan Subing said she would ask her parents to investigate.]

“Hahaha, this fat guy really gives off a vibe of an incompetence angry man.”

“Good job pushing him back! It would be great if he got so mad that he used his abilities and got expelled!”

“Su Bei is so cool!!!”

“He’s amazing, casually sending that guy away. I mean, why did the fat man even bother Su Bei?”

“Monthly exams, huh... I wonder which class Jiang Jiang will end up in after the exams.”

“I’m predicting everyone will end up in Class A!”

After briefly skimming through the comments, Su Bei was about to close the Manga and check out the forum. However, he accidentally swiped forward and was surprised to find that there was still a bit of content left.

It turned out that, knowing this update was somewhat lackluster, the author had added a bonus scene as an extra.

[Su Bei is sitting on his bed and tosses the gear into the air. The gear instantly turns into two lipsticks fighting each other.

The next full panel shows Su Bei surrounded by question marks, looking confused and adorable.

Finally, Su Bei concludes, "Does this mean Jiang Tianming is going to argue with someone tomorrow?"]

The comments were filled with laughter.

“Hahaha, lipsticks fighting, really?”

“I thought prophecies were supposed to be all grand and mysterious, but this is so silly!”

“I'm dying of laughter, Su Bei looks so confused.”

“Su Bei: ?”

“How did he even come to that conclusion???”

“Lol, you sure know how to interpret things.”

“Hahahaha, Su Bei: Are you kidding me?”

Even Su Bei hadn’t expected that this manga short would feature him as the main character, so he couldn’t help but ask, “Did you bribe the author?”

The “Manga Awareness” refused to be slandered and immediately denied it, “No way! Even the author wouldn’t know that the world they created has gained sentience.”

Hearing this, Su Bei was stunned for a moment, his eyes widening, “How is that possible? When there’s someone in the Manga that’s beyond their control, wouldn’t the author notice? Like when I appeared.”

He was a character that the author hadn’t originally designed carefully, yet now he appeared repeatedly. How could the author not notice something unusual?

This question was a bit hard to explain. After a long pause, the “Manga Awareness” finally answered, “I’ve been helping to cover for you… To be precise, my existence is what prevents the author from noticing your anomaly.”

As expected, Su Bei didn’t understand, “What do you mean? I can barely understand if you say you’re helping me hide, although I don’t get how you’re keeping it from the author. But that ‘to be precise’ part, I really don’t get.”

Usually, if he didn’t understand something, Su Bei wouldn’t ask further. After all, not understanding the explanation was his problem, and asking more questions would not only make him seem less smart but also socially awkward.

But this was different. This matter was too important to him. Su Bei originally thought that since this world was a Manga world, all the characters' actions were controlled by the Manga author. Even though he was a character who had stepped out of the storyline, he might still be somewhat influenced by the author’s will.

But if the “Manga Awareness” could cover for them, making the author completely unaware of his anomaly, then he could be sure that everyone had—or at least could have—their own will.

“The Manga is an independent world created by the author, but I am not. I am a product of the author’s will fused with the Manga world.” The “Manga Awareness” explained vaguely, “Simply put, I can control a part of the author’s consciousness related to *King of Superpowers*.”

Seeing Su Bei’s expression gradually change from confusion to understanding, it summed up, “So as long as I don’t see your existence as a problem, the author won’t notice it either.”

This time, Su Bei understood. The “Manga Awareness” was essentially in the author’s mind, so of course, it could prevent the author from noticing him.

However, the question he most wanted an answer to still remained unresolved—since the “Manga Awareness” was part of the author, helping him meant that the author was still helping him. It seemed like he was still a manifestation of the author’s will.

Oh well, I won’t think about it for now. Su Bei knew that there was no need to rush; once the Manga ended, everything would naturally become clear. If the world continued to exist after that, then no matter whether they had been controlled by the author before, they would act on their own will afterward.

Perhaps only then would he be able to truly relax.