The sudden turn of the red-haired boy startled Su Bei, almost making him scream if not for his strong self-control. Wasn't this supposed to be a shounen manga? Why did it suddenly turn into a horror story?
There was no time to hide his expression now; his shock was fully visible to this dangerous guy in front of him.
Considering that the killer chose to kill him just because they saw each other in the same bathroom, Su Bei feared that if the redhead suspected him, he would face another death threat.
And this time, there wouldn't be any "manga awareness" to save him.
What to do? He needed to quickly come up with a way to answer the other's question!
In a flash, Su Bei maintained his stiff look of surprise but forced a bit of joy onto his face: "You seem to be a classmate from Class A?"
It made sense for someone from another class to be surprised upon suddenly realizing they were talking to an A-class esper, as there were only 20 people in Class A in their grade.
The sense of danger instantly dissipated, and the red-haired boy's smile returned to his face, nodding with a bit of youthful pride: "That's right! I'm going to become the strongest esper, so of course, I'm in Class A!"
He guessed right!
Su Bei's tightly clenched heart suddenly relaxed. He hadn't actually seen this redhead before and didn't know which class he was in. But he thought, as an undercover agent planted by an organization in the Infinity Ability Academy, his abilities had to be very strong. The higher he climbed, the more intelligence he could gather. So, it was very likely that the redhead was assigned to Class A.Luckily, he guessed correctly. Not only did he successfully clear himself of suspicion, but it also seemed he might have gained the other's favor.
With the crisis over, Su Bei's mind started to become active again.
Now he had two choices: one, to take advantage of the other's good mood and quickly brush him off, then go back to his room to rest; or two, to take this opportunity to befriend the other.
The first option would be no problem, but if he chose the second, befriending an undercover agent from a dangerous organization, what would that bring him?
First, the downsides: the organization might start targeting him, he would face increased suspicion daily, and if the redhead was exposed, readers might feel suspicious and resentful towards him for befriending the antagonist.
Then, the upsides: he could likely obtain intelligence about the organization, gain a new hidden line of identity that could be utilized, and if the redhead was exposed, readers might become curious and eager to explore his relationship with the antagonist.
It seemed like a tough choice, but if he clarified what he truly wanted, it would be easy.
What he wanted was readers' attention, which would make it easier to change his abilities and identity, not just pure affection. Pure affection could increase popularity, but it wasn't of much use to him.
So clearly, having both black and white identities in readers' eyes would help achieve this goal.
Thinking of this, Su Bei took the initiative to ask, "I'm Su Bei from Class F. Can I know your name?"
In his mind, this character, who seemed similar to Wu Mingbai, might deflect his question, show some disdain, or use this as an opportunity to inquire about what happened in the cafeteria.
But it didn't matter. If he could open a new hidden line with this information, he didn't mind. After all, in this matter, he was almost just playing the role of a bystander, wasn't he?
Unexpectedly, the red-haired boy didn't show even a hint of malice. Instead, his eyes lit up, and he introduced himself cheerfully: "My name is Mo Xiaotian. Nice to meet you! Are we friends now?"
Just from this sentence, Su Bei keenly noticed the difference between him and Wu Mingbai.
Though it sounded strange, this undercover agent seemed genuinely eager to be friends with him.
While Wu Mingbai appeared to be a little sun on the surface, he actually kept a certain distance from people. He only truly accepted Jiang Tianming and Lan Subing, maintaining a certain distance even when talking to him.
But Mo Xiaotian was different. He seemed to have no sense of distance at all. Except for the brief moment when he suspected Su Bei, he seemed like a genuinely innocent person.
Although Su Bei knew that no sane author would give a side character the same personality as the protagonist group, the contrast was still quite shocking.
A protagonist who appears innocent but is secretly ruthless, and an antagonist who seems genuinely innocent—was the author okay?
If the other really was innocent, then Su Bei's attitude had to change. Originally planning to show some normal hesitation, Su Bei decisively nodded: "Of course, we're definitely friends now."
After saying this, he watched the other's reaction closely. The previous answer might seem a bit eager to please, even to a slightly suspicious normal person, as if he was eager to curry favor with an A-class esper. So a normal person should show a bit of sarcasm, which, if caught, would prove that Mo Xiaotian wasn't truly innocent.
However, even Su Bei had to admit that he didn't detect any abnormality. Mo Xiaotian's eyes lit up, and he said happily: "That's great! You're my first friend at the Infinity Ability Academy."
Naturally, Su Bei wasn't socially inept enough to say, "You're my second friend." Instead, he naturally led the other to his dorm door: "This is my dorm. Feel free to drop by anytime."
A single dormitory is a relatively private space, and saying this was a way of showing that he genuinely intended to befriend the other.
As expected, Mo Xiaotian was very happy and carelessly entered Su Bei's room with him.
Closing the door, Su Bei hesitated for a moment but decided to show some sincerity: "Since we are friends, I'll share a bit about what happened in the cafeteria. But you can't tell anyone."
However, Mo Xiaotian's reaction was once again beyond his expectations. He was stunned for a moment, then shook his head vigorously: "No need, no need. Didn't the teacher say not to talk about it? Then you shouldn't say anything, or what if we get found out?"
Su Bei was momentarily at a loss for words. He could see that the other was not playing hard to get but genuinely didn't want to know. Or rather, didn't want to know from him.
All signs finally confirmed for Su Bei that, as long as it didn't involve that organization, Mo Xiaotian was just an innocent and sweet person.
This was undoubtedly a good thing for him because it meant he wouldn't be easily suspected or repeatedly tested.
But from the way he immediately turned his head when Su Bei just glanced at the mark on his neck, it was clear that Mo Xiaotian was very perceptive. In other words, even if the other didn't actively probe, any abnormal behavior from Su Bei might quickly be noticed.
Better to show some goodwill first. Su Bei smiled: "Don't worry, I won't tell you directly. But you should already know the answer, right? If what you said earlier was wrong, I would have denied it immediately."
After saying this, he fell silent, leaving Mo Xiaotian to ponder the meaning.
Mo Xiaotian quickly reacted, his eyes lighting up with surprise and admiration: "You're right, you can distinguish things like that! Su Bei, you're really smart!"
Having gotten the answer he wanted, Mo Xiaotian's face showed some hesitation. He wanted to hurry back and report but also wanted to chat more with his new friend.
Guessing the reason for his hesitation, Su Bei decisively sent him out. Although he was curious about the other's ability, there was no rush. He had already gathered enough information for today and needed time to think it over.
First was the black lightning tattoo. If nothing else, the killer should also have such a tattoo. After all, the four points forming the pattern left little room for doubt.
So, the question was, what was this organization doing?
Initially, Su Bei thought the killer was specifically hunting espers and had some task at the school. This would explain why he killed without hesitation when his identity might be exposed.
But from Mo Xiaotian's behavior, it seemed this organization might not have malice towards espers. Otherwise, they wouldn't have educated a child to be like this.
If their enemy was the school, that didn't quite fit either. If the school were their enemy, the undercover agent would have a sabotage mission, and they wouldn't send someone like Mo Xiaotian, who was so innocent.
There was still too little information.
However, thinking back, Su Bei suddenly remembered something and quickly opened his phone to look at the previous trailer's promotional page. Not far from the main trio was a red-haired boy with a silly grin, the same grin as Mo Xiaotian's.
Could this guy really be Mo Xiaotian?!
The more Su Bei thought about it, the more he felt he was right. It was clear that a character with such a unique personality and special identity wouldn't be obscure in the manga. Befriending him was the right move, even if he was part of a villainous organization.
"'Manga Awareness,' are you there?" When in doubt, use the cheat. Su Bei asked straightforwardly.
The next second, "Manga Awareness" appeared as expected: "What's up?"
"Are the people with black lightning marks part of an organization?"
Knowing that Su Bei was sure about this and had found a crucial clue, "Manga Awareness" didn't hide it: "Yes."
"So, what is the purpose of this organization?" This was the key question Su Bei wanted to ask. Aligning goals was essential for forming friendships; he needed to understand to
plan his future moves.
Unfortunately, "Manga Awareness" didn't give him such an easy way out: "I can't say. Only after you discover it yourself can I mention it."
As expected. Su Bei sighed regretfully and changed the subject: "The manga updates at 8 a.m. tomorrow?"
"Yes, I will synchronize the manga and forum content with the real world. Additionally, your forum account has been activated; please use it appropriately to complete your tasks."
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