Chapter 197

Chapter 197

As for Mu Tieren, his wounds were physical evidence. But turning him over would expose his robot identity, bringing unimaginable trouble.

Evidence of the boss' past crimes? After years, he’d surely cleaned those up.

The only arguable point was turning humans into butler assistants. But if the transformed didn’t mind, it wasn’t an issue unless it was done on a large scale. The Ability Government didn’t care about consensual ability experiments. Little Pink’s behavior showed souls reshaped by [Life Essence] rarely betrayed the boss.

Without ironclad evidence, they’d easily be swayed. Little Pink, despite her earlier clarity, fell to the boss' sweet talk. Unless the boss admitted in sales contracts that butler assistants were pure robots, buyers couldn’t hold him liable—just stop buying.

“So what if we can’t catch you?” Si Zhaohua laughed in anger. “Does the ability world lack ways to make someone vanish quietly?”

Once this went public, with Endless Ability Academy’s backing, Life Tech Machinery Co., Ltd. couldn’t continue. A disgraced ability user? The Si Family could handle him easily.

They could also pressure the government to act. With major families and the academy’s support, the government couldn’t refuse.

If they took the case, even torture could extract the truth.

Si Zhaohua sneered, his sky-blue eyes full of a superior’s indifference. “Why should I be a young master if I'm unable to exploit my privileges?”

As the Si Family’s carefully groomed heir, Si Zhaohua never hesitated to leverage his status. Per his father: smart people don’t discard advantages. Lowering yourself to the weak’s level for “fairness” is foolish.

Logically, he knew this was right. But emotionally, Si Zhaohua glanced subtly at his teammates—would they find his actions wrong?

Maybe Jiang Tianming’s group wouldn’t mind now, facing a common enemy. But later, recalling this, would they feel uneasy? If he could strong-arm the boss, he could do it to them.

In past years, Si Zhaohua had only two true friends, one mostly for mutual benefit. He valued S-Class' camaraderie, where he wasn’t flattered or courted, just a regular student.

He dreaded ruining this. Using power might create a psychological gap, distancing them. Even if they didn’t judge him, they’d instinctively feel a divide. It was human nature—unavoidable.

The boss, sharp-eyed, saw Si Zhaohua’s concern despite his tough front.

“Don’t talk tough, kid,” he said, glancing pointedly at Jiang Tianming’s group, calm. “If you’d do this for me, it’s my honor.”

He never named Si Zhaohua’s worry, knowing if he did, Jiang Tianming’s group would urge Si Zhaohua not to mind him, saying they didn’t care. If swayed, the boss would have no wiggle room.

“I…” Si Zhaohua hesitated but quickly rallied. “Even without my evidence, the teachers might have some.”

Per Su Bei, the teachers were returning soon, unharmed. If unharmed, they might’ve gathered useful evidence.

The boss scoffed. “You think you could face me in that state without me being drained? Trapping them took most of my energy. They were stuck in a room the whole time, never leaving, let alone collecting evidence.”

That room was filled with high-concentration [Life Essence], plus a prop tailored for Lei Ze’en, blocking his teleportation.

Logically, Lei Ze’en’s ability could’ve broken the prop’s seal, taking Meng Huai out. But that would temporarily lock his ability, forcing use of a preset teleport array—straight back to Endless Ability Academy.

Returning from the academy to the factory took time, and the situation would’ve cooled. So they chose one to return for reinforcements, the other staying to drain the boss' ability, giving Jiang Tianming’s group a better shot.

As the boss said, without maintaining that room’s high-concentration [Life Essence], his mental energy and ability would’ve crushed the encumbered students easily.

Just then, the door was kicked open. Meng Huai strode in, scanning the room. He’d seen the gravely injured Mu Tieren outside, his face now icy with a cold smirk. “I won’t let students have the fun of punishing criminals.”

He’d overheard the talk, understanding Si Zhaohua’s concerns and the boss' vile intent. Si Zhaohua cared about these issues; Meng Huai didn’t. Some burdens weren’t for students. He’d gladly take the “power play” label!

“Hm, forgetting someone?” Su Bei leapt lightly from the platform. “Dragging me into this, I’m a bit annoyed.”

Seeing him pop up now, Jiang Tianming’s eyes lit up. “Got evidence?”

Su Bei grinned, opened his phone gallery, and played the video. At his opening narration, everyone cringed. But the further it went, the brighter their eyes shone.

The video clearly showed the boss fighting the students and urging them to accept his transformation.

Undoubtedly, this video alone was enough to nail the boss' intent and actions to harm students—a grave crime in the ability world.

“How did you—” Seeing the video, the boss' calm facade cracked into panic. He started to question how Su Bei had it but stopped, recalling Su Bei’s earlier disappearance. He could’ve been anywhere, so the question died before being uttered. He now regretted underestimating Su Bei, thinking he’d fled from fear, not expecting his return.

Worse, he’d guarded against ability-based evidence but forgot simple recordings.

The moment Su Bei handed the evidence to the teacher, he raised a brow. He’d just heard the [Manga Consciousness] notification—the next Manga chapter had been updated.

“No surprise there…” On the return bus, Qi Huang sighed. “That evidence was clutch.”

The other conscious students nodded. Sending the boss to prison legally felt more satisfying than a power play, at least to them.

Especially seeing the boss' smug “no evidence” claim get slapped down by Su Bei—pure bliss.

Then she asked, “But when did you get back? Were you tailing us?”

“When you were flying,” Su Bei replied, scrolling his phone. “Nice flying. You two are the new human helicopters.”

Qi Huang: “…”

Si Zhaohua: “…”

Qi Huang took a deep breath. She held back—Su Bei just helped big-time; she couldn’t repay kindness with fists!

To avoid a bus brawl—where it’d be pure physical, and Qi Huang losing would enrage her—Jiang Tianming quickly changed the topic. “With that video, can Life Tech Machinery Co., Ltd.’s boss get life in prison?”

He knew little about ability world laws, a total blank slate.

“Yep. The video shows him going for the kill. If we push, it’s attempted murder—on multiple student ability users. Enough for the death penalty,” Si Zhaohua replied, in good spirits.

In the normal world, attempted murder got three to ten years. In the ability world, students, rare “flowers of the nation,” upped the crime’s severity.

Jiang Tianming exhaled. “Sending the mastermind to prison comforts the souls of his victims. Mu Tieren and the others will be thrilled when they wake.”

His high spirits dipped. The unconscious teammates were teleported away by Lei Ze’en, their fates unknown.

The others seemed fine, green-tinted but not in danger. Mu Tieren was different—he’d torn open half his flesh, returning the green heart of [Life Essence] to the boss.

Could he survive without a heart? They dared not dwell on it, hating themselves for not spotting the boss' plot sooner. Even after suspecting him, they fell for his silver tongue.

Su Bei’s disappearance was a huge hint. They’d doubted too, so why didn’t they stick with it? Unlike Mu Tieren, they weren’t naturally drawn to the boss. Yet, swayed by Mu Tieren’s shift and the boss' slick talk, they let their guard down.

Ling You, silent till now, voiced their shared regret: “We were too quick to trust.”

Back at the academy, they rushed to the infirmary. It was packed—not just the unconscious students but a slew of doctors and Lei Ze’en.

Meng Huai was absent, delivering the boss to the Ability Government’s relevant department, not yet back.

Mu Tieren wasn’t there either. His severe condition needed secrecy, so he was in another infirmary. Ye Lin had fed him high-concentration liquid from [Life Spring], barely keeping him alive.

But he wouldn’t wake, just clinging to life. Normal, really—humans can’t live without hearts. Keeping him alive was already a miracle of ability users.

Endless Ability Academy was seeking an organ-creating ability user. Not a pipe dream—a [Regeneration] ability user worked at the First Ability Hospital.

Jiang Tianming suggested the academy fetch Mu Tieren’s guardian. The scientist who made his original skin could, if not help with the missing heart, at least patch his body.

Plus, a child’s injury warranted notifying guardians. Even if Mu Tieren’s guardian wasn’t his real kin, as long as he saw them as such, that was enough.

Ye Lin straightened up, removing her stethoscope, and discussed with other doctors before concluding, “The food they ate is harmless, even slightly beneficial. But the enhanced bodies are more soluble in [Life Essence], like… marinating before turning them into robots?”

Lei Ze’en had briefed her, so Ye Lin roughly guessed the boss' goal.

“So, as long as they avoid [Life Essence], there’s no issue?” Jiang Tianming asked.

Ye Lin nodded. “Exactly. They’re unconscious because their bodies are processing the energy. No worries—they’ll wake by tonight.”

That was why the boss was so confident. The traces in Wu Mingbai’s group couldn’t be evidence of harm—they were beneficial to ability users.

Even if the government or Ye Lin uncovered the trick, as long as the boss hadn’t dissolved them in [Life Essence], it wasn’t a crime.

“But here’s the interesting part. Per Dr. Li’s observation, the food should’ve fully taken effect long ago,” Ye Lin said, twirling her green pigtail’s end, intrigued. “Normally, Life Tech Machinery Co., Ltd.’s boss should’ve started transforming them before you rescued them.”

Everyone tensed. Ye Lin continued, “But the food’s effects stalled for a long time, letting them hold out till you saved them.”

Hearing Wu Mingbai’s group was fine, though unclear why the food didn’t work, they sighed in relief. Luckily there was no life force loss—that’d be a huge blow, hard to recover from.

“As for Mu Tieren… the academy will do its best,” Ye Lin sighed, addressing the absent student. For such injuries, she had no confidence in full recovery.

But she kept such worries from the students, gently reassuring, “You’ve been through a lot today. You’re probably exhausted. Go rest. It’s the weekend tomorrow—perfect to recover.”

The five didn’t linger, thanking Ye Lin and leaving the infirmary.

Back in his dorm, Su Bei opened the Manga. He’d read part of it on the bus, stopping at their weak teamwork training visit to Life Tech Machinery Co., Ltd.

Continuing, the author used a fairy-tale style for the factory’s interior. Slightly different from reality, but more reader-friendly.

When Lan Subing quipped that the active parts were like Beauty and the Beast’s human-turned-furniture, the author used that style, dressing her in a yellow gown, parts dancing around her. In the distance, Jiang Tianming was a beast, with students as dwarfs.

Talk about a crossover!

Su Bei was floored. Wasn’t the author scared of a lawsuit? He strongly urged Di*ney to sue!

Readers loved the brief style shift, laughing in a sea of “hahaha” as the story returned to normal, the event kicking off.

With red lights flashing, they learned of the butler assistant’s escape and began searching. This part focused on the second floor, where the death occurred, as the first floor had little action.

After the death, Su Bei checked the parts he didn’t witness.

First, Meng Huai and Zhang He went downstairs to report the death to the Ability Government. But Zhang He got a text from the boss, luring Meng Huai and Lei Ze’en to a reception room.

The scene shifted to the first floor, where Jiang Tianming’s group accidentally triggered a mechanism, falling into a warehouse space, battling Little Pink. She’d found it earlier, setting traps for her escape, giving Jiang Tianming’s group a hard time.

As Jiang Tianming said, Mu Tieren’s injuries revealed flaws—black smoke from elbows, wires from his collar…

Seeing this, Su Bei found it amusing. Mu Tieren had been injured before without such glaring flaws, maybe a hint or two.

This time, being exposed so badly, besides the damage from another butler assistant countering him, was likely the author hitting his plot arc.

Plot armor—unavoidable.

Real-world readers noticed Mu Tieren’s oddities. Even before Life Tech Machinery Co., Ltd., he’d acted off, now with so many flaws…

Smart readers had largely guessed his identity.

After Jiang Tianming’s group caught Little Pink, the scene shifted to Wu Mingbai’s side. With the teachers gone and it being noon, Zhang He led them to eat.

The Manga’s green snacks were far more obvious than in reality, practically screaming “problem.”

But the Manga characters lacked this god’s-eye view. Amid barrages of “Don’t eat!” they gorged on the poisoned food.

As readers despaired, wishing they could yell into the Manga, Su Bei stood out.

“I bet 50 cents Su Bei’s not really going to the bathroom.”

“Aaaaah, Su Bei ran! He must’ve seen the issue!”

“Relief, not a total wipeout.”

“Why didn’t Su Bei warn the others if he knew?”

“Your Bei, danger-dodger supreme.”

“Some moral police need to chill.”

The plot moved past Su Bei. Wu Mingbai’s group unsuspectingly followed Zhang He to a rest room. Suddenly, Feng Lan’s face changed, warning of danger while crushing a capsule prop. Blue light flashed over everyone.

Before they could react, they collapsed, unconscious.

Got it! Su Bei realized. Ye Lin said the food didn’t take effect—likely due to Feng Lan’s prop.

As the Feng Family heir, Feng Lan had countless props. Sensing the food’s issue, he used the most likely one.

A self-rescue, and a stellar one. [Prophecy], paired with Feng Lan’s prop arsenal, was a match made in heaven. Even foreseeing danger five seconds prior, he could seize a lifeline.

After everyone collapsed, the boss emerged. Standing before them, he frowned. “A prop? The ability didn’t work.”

Revealing Feng Lan’s prop’s effect, the scene returned to Jiang Tianming’s group. Little Pink, realizing they weren’t with the boss, sought their help. This aligned with the earlier plot, cementing the boss' villainy.

Skeptical of Little Pink’s claims, Mu Tieren revealed his identity. His secret exposed, readers—both those who guessed and those who didn’t—were shocked by his backstory.

They’d thought the story was pure ability users, not expecting a regular scientist crafting Mu Tieren’s near-human look, giving a cross-dimensional tech vibe.

Thought the author was on an ability track, only to sprint toward tech?

Not quite. Mu Tieren explained: his initial look wasn’t very human, but his awakened ability, [Body Enhancement], required a body to enhance, so it naturally humanized his appearance.

In short, much of Mu Tieren’s mental energy and ability maintained his look. His earlier outburst came from retracting that ability, boosting strength—like running unweighted after heavy training.