Chapter 196

Chapter 196

By now, the boss had regained his composure. His expression darkened slightly, but he maintained a warm smile. “No matter, I understand. A destiny-type ability user, so mysterious. Quite an interesting kid.”

Giving both sides an out, he asked, as if reasonable, “But when does he usually show up? It’d be a shame if he missed your departure. Also, to thank you for bringing Little Black to me, I’ve prepared a life-force-enhancing meal set. I hope he doesn’t miss it.”

Listen to that—how generous. Despite Su Bei’s little stunt, he showed no grudge.

Qi Huang mentally cursed Su Bei again before answering, “Usually, he shows up once everything’s settled. Su Bei hates trouble. Not that talking with you is trouble—maybe these long-standing grudges are just too much for him.”

Though she was mad at Su Bei, Qi Huang diligently tried to keep him from offending a big shot. The classic sharp tongue, soft heart.

But anger aside, Qi Huang, Jiang Tianming, and the others felt a faint doubt. Knowing Su Bei, he wouldn’t vanish unless something was wrong.

His parting words, “Keeping vigilance is good,” combined with his actions—did they mean the boss was trouble and staying was dangerous?

“Hates trouble, huh…” For some reason, the boss' expression softened, and he said meaningfully, “Alright then, I won’t look for him. I trust he’ll appear at the right time.”

A clear threat, but Su Bei didn’t care. If the boss could truly harm Jiang Tianming’s group, then he could talk about sparing Su Bei.

Next, the boss led everyone to find the unconscious students. After confirming the location in the factory’s secret room, Su Bei didn’t follow but went straight to the first workshop. This arc wasn’t mainline; he could catch up via the Manga later, no need to tag along.

If he recalled correctly, the first workshop still had some [Life Essence]. Su Bei found it quite useful—infusing objects created temporary life, handy for gathering intel. On humans, it drained life force, perfect for subtle moves or attacks.

Sure enough, in the first workshop’s pool, Su Bei saw it refilled with green liquid. He pulled out a water bottle to fill. No need for much—since it was the boss' ability, taking a bit was fine, but too much would be noticed.

Like his summoned gears, Su Bei wouldn’t sense one being taken unless he checked. But if many were taken at once, he’d feel the ability’s absence even without checking.

Looking at the water bottle, Su Bei paused. Should he keep fancier containers in his storage space, like test tubes or gift boxes?

If he used collected items but they were in water bottles or plastic bags, it’d ruin his image.

Not that he was vain. To Su Bei, water bottles were practical—large capacity, easy to get. But his persona demanded “classy” gear. A mysterious destiny-type using water bottles and plastic bags? Total persona collapse.

As he bent to fill the bottle, another issue hit him—was a water bottle an “object”?

If he filled it with [Life Essence] and the bottle gained life, what then? And if a living bottle held [Life Essence], the essence would sustain the bottle’s life, depleting quickly.

Sighing, Su Bei examined the pool. Whatever its material, it clearly couldn’t be given life by [Life Essence], or it’d be alive, and the boss wouldn’t use it.

It looked like marble but not quite. Su Bei, no earth or stone ability user, couldn’t tell. He couldn’t chip off a piece to hold [Life Essence], could he? Frowning, was this [Life Essence] out of reach?

Wait, there was another way.

Su Bei summoned a gear and dipped it into the green liquid. As expected, it didn’t gain life. Ability creations weren’t fully objects—more like energy forms, immune to [Life Essence].

Material secured, Su Bei stacked gears into a sealed container and filled it with some [Life Essence].

Storing it, he headed to the main gate. The boss had sealed the factory due to Little Pink’s escape. Now, with her found and the “misunderstanding” cleared, unless he wanted an immediate confrontation, the factory should be unsealed.

Sure enough, the gate was open. Su Bei, still invisible, strolled out, found a fast-food joint, and grabbed lunch.

Though out, he didn’t plan to alert the academy. The boss, bold enough to open the gate, wasn’t scared of snitches. No one was truly harmed yet, and Su Bei had no other evidence. Reporting to the academy would be pointless, especially since Life Tech Machinery Co., Ltd. had a solid reputation.

Eating a burger, Su Bei pondered the event. One thing bugged him—where were Meng Huai and Lei Ze’en? As Endless Ability Academy teachers, their strength was undeniable. They couldn’t be in danger now.

If they were free, they’d be searching for the students. How could they vanish so long?

Was it really as the boss said—a sudden task forced them to leave, trusting the boss due to past collaborations?

Plausible, but something felt off. Was the academy or Ability Government so short-staffed that they’d task teachers out with students?

Su Bei leaned toward believing the boss had trapped them. [Life Essence] was a formidable ability. A water sphere of it would be inescapable, right?

Thinking back, the boss didn’t directly attack Jiang Tianming’s group but tried to deceive and stall them, not because he didn’t want to, but because he couldn’t. Most of his ability was tied up against Meng Huai’s group, leaving little to handle S-Class students.

After eating, Su Bei lingered at the fast-food place. Feeling the timing was right, he headed back to the factory to catch the plot’s tail end.

The main stage had shifted back to the fourth workshop. Mu Tieren lay unconscious on a high platform, half his body decayed, exposing the black metal shell—his true form.

Beside him stood the boss, still wearing a refined smile, gently urging everyone to stop resisting. He wasn’t harming them but evolving their lives to the next level.

Ironically, his ability was life, yet he aimed to turn people into lifeless machines.

The floor was covered in green [Life Essence]. The conscious students were airborne. Qi Huang and Si Zhaohua, besides carrying non-flying teammates, had to carry the unconscious ones. Two carrying twelve, both looked grim.

But Qi Huang had it worst. Little Pink, carried at the group’s bottom, had clearly defected, constantly squirming to drag everyone down.

Being at the bottom and refusing to let go, Qi Huang couldn’t shake her off, sweating and gritting her teeth to hold on.

Ling You’s ability was useless here. Qi Huang and Si Zhaohua, maxed out carrying non-fliers, couldn’t use theirs. Mu Tieren was out. So only Jiang Tianming could attack the boss.

But the boss had studied their abilities. Knowing Jiang Tianming’s [Object Control], he ensured the workshop had few movable objects, neutering his ability.

His intel was outdated, though. Jiang Tianming’s abilities weren’t just [Object Control]. [Immortal-Binding Rope] and [Frost Mage] were potent in this setting.

Yet Jiang Tianming held back, clearly waiting for a one-shot chance. Acting rashly would tip his hand, and with his current strength, if the boss saw his full deck, he’d lose everything.

Si Zhaohua knew this, not rushing him but whispering a threat, “If you fail, I’ll mock you for a decade.”

Su Bei could help—tweak their luck to give Jiang Tianming the perfect moment.

But this wasn’t Alpha Ability Academy, where he helped due to teacher pressure and big rewards. Here, helping only earned thanks, nothing else.

Per his Manga persona, he couldn’t always help. As the saying goes, give an inch, they expect a mile. If he always saved the day, readers would take it for granted. Miss one rescue, and some would criticize.

Criticism didn’t scare him—every popular character had haters. As long as most didn’t hate him, keeping his plot relevance was fine.

His real worry was people thinking he wasn’t strong, impacting his actual power.

Instead, he pulled out his phone and started recording, gleefully playing war correspondent: “This is Su Bei, documenting Life Tech Machinery Co., Ltd.’s boss attempting to harm Endless Ability Academy’s S-Class students. Is this a twist of humanity or a fall of morals? Stay tuned, the action continues.”

If he couldn’t help directly due to his persona, he’d offer indirect aid. This video, whether they defeated the boss or not, was enough to ruin him and his company in the ability world.

Black Flash was a juggernaut, a main villain he couldn’t touch. But Life Tech Machinery Co., Ltd., doing evil while posing as good? Too easy to crush.

Su Bei was a “bully the weak, fear the strong” type. If you lacked the skill to take him down yet tried, you’d pay a price.

Logically, the boss shouldn’t rush. Waiting for Qi Huang and Si Zhaohua to tire out would secure victory. But he wasn’t calm, verbally disrupting their resolve while manipulating the green liquid on the floor, trying to create a stormy wave effect.

In the heat, Jiang Tianming’s group might not notice, but Su Bei, observing, saw the flaw. The exposed floor showed the [Life Essence] was thin, barely covering the ground.

As Su Bei suspected, the boss couldn’t use his full strength. Much of it was likely tied up with Meng Huai’s group. Otherwise, a seasoned ability user wouldn’t struggle against burdened students.

Honestly, Su Bei was curious—how did the boss plan to explain this to Meng Huai’s group afterward?

He couldn’t handle teachers like students. Though Su Bei hadn’t seen it, he knew Meng Huai and Lei Ze’en were formidable, not easily defeated, especially by a non-mainline figure. The boss could only trap them.

But he couldn’t trap them long. When Meng Huai’s group emerged, even if he covered up harming the students, he couldn’t make them forget, could he?

Attacking academy teachers was a massive crime. Endless Ability Academy could sanction Life Tech Machinery Co., Ltd. for it, ensuring no future chances, regardless of covering up the student attacks.

As he mused, Jiang Tianming’s long-awaited boss' flaw appeared. Perhaps impatient or thinking Jiang Tianming’s group posed no threat, the boss left the platform, walking downward.

This meant he was away from Mu Tieren. Whatever happened next wouldn’t involve him or let the boss use him as a hostage.

Jiang Tianming’s eyes gleamed. As the boss reached the center, he activated his ability: “[Immortal-Binding Rope]!”

Instantly, a faintly glowing golden rope descended, binding the boss' legs. The unknown ability shocked him, thinking it a prop. Reacting fast, he drew a dagger from somewhere, trying to cut the rope.

But an ability-made rope wasn’t easily cut. After two failed tries, he realized his predicament, struggling with mental energy to break free while moving toward safety.

Jiang Tianming gave no chance, casting an ice skill at his feet, followed by countless fist-sized hailstones. For a normal person, they’d be deadly. Jiang Tianming’s advanced ability user skills included lethal moves, but maintaining [Immortal-Binding Rope] drained most of his mental energy.

Using [Life Essence] well required high mental energy. Su Bei knew the boss had advanced mental energy. Without most of it tied up with the teachers, and Jiang Tianming’s recent mental energy boosts, he wouldn’t have held up.

Seeing the boss wince in pain, the floor’s [Life Essence] shrinking as his control weakened, Qi Huang flapped her flaming phoenix wings, flying to Mu Tieren.

She set everyone down, kicked Little Pink aside, and told Ling You to take the others and leave. Ling You princess-carried Mu Tieren, hoisted the rest, and swiftly exited without delay.

At the door, she glanced back at Si Zhaohua, saying tersely, “Be right back.”

Free of her “burdens,” Qi Huang felt light, cracking her wrists, eyes blazing with excitement. “Finally, room to shine!”

Her wings retracted, a fire phoenix appeared beside her, and they charged the half-buried boss.

It was over. Su Bei raised a brow, scanned the area, and found a good spot to watch.

Soon, Si Zhaohua freed his hands, joining Qi Huang in a double beatdown. Jiang Tianming focused all mental energy on [Immortal-Binding Rope].

For attack, no S-Class student topped Si Zhaohua and Qi Huang. With the boss mobility-limited, unable to use physical skills, he lasted six minutes before they defeated him.

Clap clap clap clap! After the boss was tied up with physical rope from Jiang Tianming’s storage, applause echoed.

The four conscious students looked warily, seeing Su Bei lounging on the platform’s edge, clapping with interest.

“Su Bei, you jerk!” They were used to his vanishing and reappearing, but his detached demeanor sparked Qi Huang’s fury. “You remembered to come back?”

Her words dripped with resentment. Su Bei shook his head, advising earnestly, “Girls shouldn’t be so hot-tempered.”

“Hot-tempered my foot! I’ll tear you apart!” Qi Huang lunged, fists ready to show him why flowers were red. The equally annoyed Jiang Tianming trio didn’t stop her.

Su Bei sprang up, chuckling nervously, retreating while changing the topic. “Alright, no joking. If I’m right, the teachers should be here soon. Clean up, prep for the academy.”

With the boss caught, he likely couldn’t keep fighting Meng Huai’s group remotely.

Hearing the teachers were coming, Qi Huang’s attention shifted. “Really? Where’d they go?”

“Ask him.” Su Bei nodded at the boss.

“You did this!” Qi Huang knew the teachers wouldn’t abandon them for some task.

The others glared at the boss. Si Zhaohua said coldly, “Enjoy your last moments of freedom. You’ll be a permanent guest in ability prison.”

The boss' crimes, plus the Si Family’s pressure, would secure a life sentence.

“Heh…” Suddenly, the bound boss chuckled lowly. Despite his disheveled state, he was unfazed, exuding confidence.

“What’s so funny?” Si Zhaohua frowned.

“I’m laughing at your naivety,” the boss said, grinning. “Without evidence, how will the Ability Government arrest me?”

The Ability Government was strict about evidence, only acting with solid proof. It was responsible to suspects and saved hassle.

This rule deterred most complaints—gathering solid evidence was tedious, so many settled privately.

“What, no evidence? We…” Si Zhaohua stopped mid-sentence, realizing he had no concrete proof of the boss' crimes.

First, using specific abilities to rewind memories was unlikely to work. It was a basic investigation method in the ability world; any smart criminal would dodge it.

The boss, operating for years, had countless props. He wouldn’t leave such an obvious gap. Anti-spying props were common, so this wouldn’t work.

Second, witnesses were useless—the government only took physical evidence. Even a high-ranking figure like Endless Ability Academy’s principal wouldn’t do.

The others weren’t truly harmed. Even the unconscious ones—the boss likely had ways to erase his traces.