Chapter 225

Chapter 225

Though also elderly, he differed from the Plant Tribe doctor—or from all underground humans. On his forehead was an eye, like Erlang Shen’s!

It resembled a human eye but larger, taking up half his forehead. Clearly functional, it fixed on Su Bei as he entered.

Su Bei quickly reacted, pointing to the earpiece in his hand, certain the elder knew what it was.

The elder nodded kindly, signaling him to wear it. Sure he could block its monitoring, Su Bei put it on, smiling to ease the mood: “I thought eyes would’ve degenerated from living underground. Didn’t expect to see such a fine eye.”

“You’re a sweet-talker,” the elder’s eye showed a faint smile. “Are you here for them because you know why they came to me?”

“No, I came because I thought whatever they’re doing would be interesting,” Su Bei said. The elder’s words were slightly convoluted, but he understood. He genuinely didn’t know why they were here.

For others, it might be to learn underground history or find a way back. But for Black Flash members, Su Bei sensed another motive.

Cyril feigned innocence, shaking his head: “You seem to misunderstand us? We just wanted to visit the clan leader.”

Perhaps because he knew they were all manga characters, he never showed wariness or hostility toward Black Flash members. Likewise, he didn’t show much respect for upright figures.

Cyril didn’t confirm or deny, nor did he shoo him away, turning back to the clan leader: “What do you think of my earlier proposal?”

“Not great. Change brings destruction,” the clan leader rejected firmly. “Leave, and don’t come back.”

“How harsh? I’m sincerely inviting you,” Cyril faux-grumbled. “You might not know me, but I’m the type who doesn’t stop until I get what I want.”

Such threatening words with an innocent face. Su Bei’s gaze settled on Cyril, wondering what he’d invited the clan leader to do.

He felt a stare and turned to see Li Xiang. His calm red eyes glanced at Su Bei, then back to the clan leader: “Some things might not be up to you.”

Threatened by both, even the clan leader’s patience wore thin, his face darkening: “If I recall, this is my turf. How dare you threaten me here?”

“Because you can’t touch us,” Cyril finally revealed his vile nature. “We already know how to enter here.”

Su Bei had guessed this. If Cyril hadn’t lied, and these people came underground after an earthquake, their fall and the locals’ discovery shared a trigger: a quake.

A massive quake, like the one at the arena, could lead to the underground world.

The clan leader sighed, not hiding it: “More precisely, to bring my tribe to join their organization.”

“Why resist so much?” Su Bei asked curiously. Returning to the surface wasn’t bad. Cyril wouldn’t reveal Black Flash was a vilified group. If it seemed like a research organization recruiting, why the distress?

The clan leader hesitated, eyeing him. Just as Su Bei was about to change topics, he spoke wearily: “No point hiding now. I’ll tell you. Long ago, we received a Prophecy: never let those who fall from above leave, or we’ll face annihilation.”

So that’s it! Su Bei understood why they’d decided to keep them and started acting—it was foretold.

“Why tell me?” Su Bei frowned. Unless they all stayed, such a Prophecy shouldn’t be shared.

The clan leader gave a bitter smile: “Can I stop those two? If one goes up, the Prophecy breaks. Telling you or not makes no difference.”

Fair point. Cyril and Li Xiang couldn’t be trapped here. Though Abilities and items were sealed, Su Bei had a gut feeling they weren’t fazed, even without revival items.

“Since you can’t stop them, why not let us all go?” Su Bei said lazily. “Like you said, more lice don’t itch, more debts don’t worry.”

Purely fishing, the clan leader’s eye rolled dramatically: “I told you the Prophecy to get your help solving it, not to let you exploit loopholes.”

They had no solutions. If they did, they’d have found one over the years, not tensing up at every outsider.

“Why tell me specifically?” Su Bei grew wary. He wasn’t the protagonist; why get such a key clue?

The elder rolled his eye again: “Because you came first.”

Su Bei: “…”

Fine, he’d overthought it. Su Bei pouted, standing: “Tell the others. They’ll be more interested.”

Compared to a side character like him, the protagonists were far likelier to solve this. With the need to leave clear, this arc wouldn’t drag. He just wondered what twists awaited and where he could hide safely.

“By the way,” Su Bei turned at the door, his purple eyes piercing, “Black Flash is a hated cult. Don’t trust them too much.”

Outside, he smirked. Did the elder think he didn’t see? Despite his righteous rejection and stalling, Su Bei was sure his resolve against Black Flash wasn’t as firm as it seemed.

If the clan leader shared the truth with him, he’d likely tell Cyril and Li Xiang too. With the Prophecy’s threat, he had to solve it, or all underground humans would die.

Knowing this, Cyril would promise to help, swaying the clan leader. But he wouldn’t trust Cyril’s promises outright, so he stalled and told Su Bei too, hedging his bets.

This was fine, but banking on Black Flash was dicey.

Su Bei wasn’t sure what the Prophecy’s “annihilation” meant, but he sensed it tied to Black Flash. If a villainous group couldn’t use the underground humans, would they let them join the government and oppose them? Unlikely.

As a Destiny Ability user with a Prophecy friend, Su Bei studied Prophecies extensively and understood them well.

Prophetic crises weren’t random; they followed logic. It wasn’t like a nuke would explode the moment they left. Logically, their annihilation likely tied to those released.

The twelve who fell split into two groups: Black Flash’s duo (villains) and the rest (heroes).

Thus, the underground humans’ annihilation had three possibilities:

1) The heroes’ government couldn’t tolerate them, secretly killing the aliens.

2) Black Flash coveted something from them, experimenting until extinction.

3) The two factions clashed, crushing the underground humans caught in between.

The first was impossible. In King of Abilities, the government was fairly just, unlikely to do this.

The latter two both involved Black Flash.

So, for sharing key info, Su Bei warned him. Whether he listened wasn’t his concern—it wasn’t his clan facing extinction.

With time before lunch, Su Bei planned to wander.

As he walked, he pondered. He hadn’t asked how to leave, knowing the elder wouldn’t answer. But his probing confirmed they knew the way.

Since there was a way, Jiang Tianming’s group would likely find it, so he didn’t worry much. Meeting them would be great; if not, no big deal—they’d get out eventually. His only concern was Cyril and Li Xiang not letting them off, possibly scheming even underground.

Or, when they finally escaped, they might strike a fatal blow.

Though their earlier behavior didn’t suggest targeting Su Bei, harm didn’t always require intent. What if Cyril’s clash with the clan leader caught him in the crossfire?

Checking his Destiny Compass, Su Bei raised an eyebrow, surprised. His large pointer was fine, but his small pointer was far left!

His luck was, for once, exceptionally good!

No wonder he’d stumbled into key plot points. With such luck, he had to explore more. It felt like any step could trigger an event.

As he thought this, he ran into Lan Subing’s group. She, Wu Mingbai, and Zheng Caige were heading to the Spirit Tribe’s hall, meeting in the corridor.

“Su Bei, what are you doing here?” Wu Mingbai asked, surprised.

Looking at them, Su Bei thought and said: “I chatted with the Spirit Tribe clan leader. Interesting old man. You should talk to him too.”

That was generous, shoving clues in their faces. If they couldn’t grasp it, not his fault. Su Bei nodded politely to Caige and left.

Sadly, his luck seemed limited to catching Cyril, Li Xiang, and the clan leader’s talk. He encountered nothing else. But in a way, wasn’t that a good thing?

By noon, they gathered at the dining hall. Surprisingly, Huangfu Mingzhe and Zuzong didn’t return. Both had phones, so missing the time meant something happened.

But honestly, no one was too worried. Huangfu Mingzhe’s strength was undeniable, and Zuzong had hinted that, despite the Ability restrictions, he could barely use his Ability once.

If in danger, he could use [Arena] to pull himself and Huangfu Mingzhe in, nearly 100% safe. Their absence likely meant they were hiding from danger. With no clues, the group didn’t rush to search.

Jiang Tianming had everyone remove their earpieces and place them in the next room, then led the meeting: “Leave Zuzong and Huangfu Mingzhe for now. My findings: the way out is likely known only by the tribe leaders. But we don’t need to get it directly from them. Some young locals also want to reach the surface.”

“We found a living surface human who fell during an earthquake ten years ago,” Si Zhaohua added. “Trying to return, she faced the same issue as Qiao Mu and Li Bowen, ultimately becoming an underground human to stay.”

This news excited everyone. A surface human here for over a decade must know plenty. If she shared, she might lead them to the exit.

Seeing their anticipation, Jiang Tianming crushed it: “But she only said we can’t go up and should live here. She said nothing else. Even with Wu Jin’s help, she just warned that to survive, we should tell them we want to stay, but didn’t say why.”

“We might know why,” Lan Subing raised her hand timidly. Wu Mingbai explained: “The Spirit Tribe clan leader told us they had a Prophecy: if someone who came to the underground world goes up, the whole underground world will face annihilation.”

He looked at Su Bei: “Su Bei probably knows this too.”

Su Bei nodded, adding: “Cyril and Li Xiang likely know too. They invited the Spirit Tribe clan leader to lead his tribe to join Black Flash.”

Si Zhaohua said arrogantly: “Then we invite him too. My family can negotiate with the government to take them in. Even if the government refuses, we can afford to support them.”

“Does ‘tribe’ mean the Spirit Tribe or all underground humans?” Jiang Tianming caught an odd detail.

Su Bei hadn’t noticed this or asked the clan leader. Jiang Tianming’s point made him realize: who exactly was Black Flash inviting?

If it was all underground humans, what was their goal? If just the Spirit Tribe, what about the others?

It felt like a key piece was missing.

Si Zhaohua didn’t care much: “Whoever they’re inviting, we match them.”

“But the Prophecy’s the issue,” Wu Mingbai frowned. “If we leave, they face annihilation. Accepting them doesn’t solve that.”

“Subing, Mingbai, can you repeat the Prophecy?” Jiang Tianming asked suddenly.

“I’ll do it: ‘When those from the surface return to the surface, it is the day of the underground’s demise,’” Wu Mingbai recited verbatim. “The clan leader said it’s the ancestor’s exact words.”

It sounded fine, but something felt off. Before Jiang Tianming could pinpoint it, noisy footsteps approached rapidly.

Soon, the group reached the door, and Zheng Caige’s voice called: “Are you in there?”

Jiang Tianming replied, “Yes,” opened the door, and asked, puzzled: “What’s wrong?”

Before Caige could answer, the crowd of underground humans rushed in. After looking around and exchanging glances, one angrily asked: “Weren’t there twelve of you who fell? Why are only a few here?”

“Two are in the infirmary, two didn’t join us initially, and two went missing today,” Jiang Tianming answered clearly, repeating: “What’s wrong?”

The Ponytail Man who spoke sneered: “We found two people dead at home. They had no grudges with anyone, so it must be you outsiders who killed them!”

“Evidence?” Wu Mingbai asked innocently. “On the surface, accusing someone needs proof. Not here?”

If he’d only asked for evidence, the Ponytail Man could’ve said, “What proof? Only you could’ve killed them,” and taken them. But Wu Mingbai brought up surface vs. underground customs, making it tricky.

In short, they cared about face. Acting now would admit their laws were less refined than the surface’s. Though not substantive, it’d feel bad.

Caige coughed, signaling the Ponytail Man to back off, then said reluctantly: “I don’t want to suspect you, but you’re the most likely. If you find the killer, I’ll make them apologize. If not… sorry, the victims’ families need answers.”

Wu Mingbai didn’t argue about “innocent until proven guilty” or refusing to self-incriminate. This was their turf, and with known hostility, reasoning wouldn’t work.

Their relatively calm talk relied on most locals having some sense of good and evil. Otherwise, per the Prophecy, they could’ve killed them outright.

The clan’s lives outweighed a few strangers’.

“No problem. Take us to the victims,” Jiang Tianming agreed, and they followed to the crime scene.

On the way, Lan Subing whispered to Jiang Tianming, who asked: “Doesn’t the Spirit Tribe communicate with various beings? Can’t you talk to the victims’ souls to ask who killed them?”

Caige shook her head, helpless and wary: “We summoned their souls and asked, but they knew nothing. They died inexplicably.”

The victims were a couple, found dead in the Mud Tribe’s hall, lifeless. Oddly, they had no wounds, and the Plant Tribe found no poisoning. It was like sudden death.

Inspecting bodies was Jiang Tianming’s trio’s forte. In the manga’s first season, they often solved murder cases, so they were familiar with the process.

Su Bei observed everyone’s Destiny Compass. Their large pointers were fine, but all small pointers leaned right, as if bad luck loomed over the hall.

Normally, small pointers leaned left. Such a rightward tilt meant a hidden issue.