MTLNOVEL Chapter 50
Chapter 50
Su Bei nodded, glancing around, but noticed the Destiny Compass pointers above his head were nearly identical in every direction.
Clearly, the pointers weren’t infallible; without concrete events unfolding, they were often unreliable.
Seeing this, Su Bei decided promptly: “Let’s head back to Jiang Tianming and the others. We split earlier to assess the task and avoid wasting time. Now that the task’s accepted, regrouping makes sense.”
This was a valid reason, but not the primary one. Su Bei wanted to join Jiang Tianming because he knew trouble always followed the protagonist.
Mo Xiaotian had a great trait: obedience. He nodded eagerly: “Sure thing! More people, more power!”
They checked the map to confirm Jiang Tianming’s direction and set off together.
Perhaps Jiang Tianming’s protagonist aura was a curse. Su Bei and Yan Mo had walked far without encountering a single Nightmare Monkey, but after deciding to find Jiang Tianming, they soon ran into one.
The ink-black, monkey-like Nightmare Beast came to them, possibly because they’d entered its territory. Suddenly, a barrage of stones pelted them, leaving them dizzy.
Spotting the monkey-shaped Nightmare Beast, Mo Xiaotian said gleefully: “So soon? Our luck’s awesome!”
No, Su Bei thought the truly “lucky” one was Jiang Tianming. Keeping quiet, he eyed the Nightmare Monkey and flicked a Gear for a probing attack.
As expected, the Monkey dodged effortlessly. Speed was its forte, and it thrived in the forest.
Su Bei’s expression darkened, realizing this Nightmare Monkey might be tougher than the Nightmare Lizard Qi Huang’s group faced. Both were fast, but the Lizard had predictable teleportation spots, while this Monkey darted chaotically through the trees.
Mo Xiaotian, with a wild combat instinct, admitted: “It’s too fast. I can’t hit it… or trap it.”
Su Bei’s initial plan—Mo Xiaotian trapping it in air blocks for him to attack—fell apart.
But Su Bei, seasoned in battle, quickly devised a new strategy. If Mo Xiaotian trapping and Su Bei attacking wouldn’t work, they’d swap: he’d trap, and Mo Xiaotian would attack.
With a plan, dodging head-sized rocks from the Nightmare Monkey, he asked: “How many explosion blocks can you make at once?”
“Three,” Mo Xiaotian said, a bit embarrassed. “More, and I can’t control their timing.”
“Enough,” Su Bei nodded, appreciating his candor. If Mo Xiaotian had bluffed, it’d backfire.
Scanning the terrain, he said quickly: “The treetop at 12 o’clock, the tip of the middle branch on the sixth tree to the right, and the Monkey’s current spot—place an explosion block at each. Can you?”
Mo Xiaotian nodded, narrowly dodging falling stones, unfazed and excited: “So, North Bro, you’re using my bombs to take it down?”
He wasn’t worried about damage now. Mo Xiaotian was sharp: a speed-focused Monkey was likely weak elsewhere, or the Academy wouldn’t leave it here.
Explosion blocks couldn’t kill humans, but a fragile monkey?
“Yep, I’ll herd it to those spots. You decide when to detonate,” Su Bei said, adding without waiting: “One shot.”
Not to pressure, but truth. The Nightmare Monkey was cunning, avoiding close contact, taunting with screeches to lure them.
Against such a smart foe, once it learned Mo Xiaotian’s attack, it’d be wary. Mo Xiaotian’s rigid bombs were easy to dodge in open terrain if anticipated.
As Su Bei said, Mo Xiaotian had one chance. Three blocks gave options, but only one would explode.
Mo Xiaotian nodded, his expression unusually serious.
As they spoke, the Nightmare Monkey’s stone barrage intensified. Su Bei sensed it conjuring more. Did its power grow stronger, unlike humans’ depletion?
He had to speed up. Su Bei unleashed a stream of Gears, slanting in formation toward the Monkey, forcing it to swing through branches toward the block spots to dodge.
Passing the first block, no explosion. Su Bei said nothing, driving it toward the second.
“Screech!” The Monkey howled, swinging through trees to evade hits, hurling stones at Su Bei.
“Hiss!” A stone hit his arm, making Su Bei wince, but he rolled to dodge the next without pausing.
Unlike before, when he only dodged and shared attacks with Mo Xiaotian, now the Monkey’s assault intensified, targeting Su Bei for attacking it. Splitting focus to aim Gears left him vulnerable.
This imbalance meant Su Bei couldn’t dodge perfectly, getting hit if he wasn’t careful.
If anyone else were in his place, they’d be battered by now.
Guiding the Monkey past the other two blocks, no explosions. Su Bei’s lips paled, but he stayed silent, continuing.
After prolonged Mental Energy use, he was low. Hit four or five times, he ached everywhere, desperate to end this near-one-sided beating.
But he didn’t speak or glance at Mo Xiaotian. Trusting his teammate, he wouldn’t pressure him until he couldn’t hold on.
He believed Mo Xiaotian would find the perfect kill shot.
Finally, as Su Bei started a second round, luring the Monkey to the third block—
“Boom!”
“Screech—”
A sharp explosion rang out. Black blood sprayed as the Monkey, shrieking, plummeted from the treetop.
Su Bei rallied, grabbing Gears and firing at its landing spot. No follow-up meant wasted effort.
He checked his watch’s task progress. Seeing (3/5), he exhaled: others had succeeded too.
“North Bro, you okay?” Mo Xiaotian, wiping sweat, approached worriedly. Su Bei noticed he was sweating despite the cold.
Mo Xiaotian’s role seemed minor—just one explosion—but landing a weak bomb on a fast Monkey was no small feat.
He had to focus entirely, judging instantly if the Monkey’s position allowed a lethal blast.
Each time Su Bei was hit, Mo Xiaotian’s pupils shrank, sweat mounting, but he stayed disciplined, fulfilling Su Bei’s task. Only by killing the Monkey would he honor Su Bei’s efforts.
And he did.
“I’m a bit roughed up,” Su Bei said, glancing at himself.
Mo Xiaotian tensed, guiltily eyeing Su Bei’s bleeding arm: “Sorry, I was too slow. What’s wrong? How can I help?”
Su Bei snorted, tearing a shirt strip to bandage himself. After a quick wrap, he ruffled Mo Xiaotian’s hair: “I’m hungry. Let’s find food.”
He wasn’t lying. Though only past ten, far from mealtime, he’d been walking and fighting since entering the Different Space, burning energy.
Hearing it was hunger, not a wound issue, Mo Xiaotian perked up, lifting his guilty head: “Okay!”
Then, as if remembering, he asked eagerly: “Can we eat Nightmare Monkey meat?”
Su Bei chuckled: “Never been to the Point System Cafeteria? It’s edible.”
He stepped forward, inspecting the Monkey’s corpse. Despite black blood, its edible parts should be like normal animals.
Using Gears, Su Bei cut several bloody chunks, handing them to Mo Xiaotian: “Let’s find a spot to make a fire.”
He sighed. Though trained in survival, meeting Qi Huang now would’ve been easier.
But with Mo Xiaotian, fire wasn’t hard. Su Bei gathered twigs into a nest, added wood shavings, and prepped drilling wood. Then he told Mo Xiaotian: “Make an oxygen-filled air block over this.”
With ample air, the kindling ignited quickly.
Su Bei poured some mineral water to rinse blood from the meat, skewered it on sharpened sticks, and handed it to Mo Xiaotian: “Can you grill?”
“Yep!” Mo Xiaotian said cheerfully. “I worked at a barbecue shop!”
Confident, Su Bei passed his share: “Please, grill mine too!”
He knew his limits. His cooking wouldn’t poison, but it’d taste bad.
Why was his food always awful? Did he offend the God of Cooking in a past life?
Mo Xiaotian happily took both skewers, propping them over the fire, flipping them expertly.
Su Bei sat cross-legged, hands on cheeks, watching. After a moment, he asked: “You said you worked at a barbecue shop? But we’re minors.”
Mo Xiaotian replied: “It was my uncle’s shop. I helped out during summer.”
“Got it,” Su Bei nodded thoughtfully, joking: “An uncle with a barbecue shop’s great—free food and drinks. If your parents ran a convenience store, even better!”
This hit Mo Xiaotian’s heart. His eyes lit up, like meeting a kindred spirit: “Exactly! My childhood dream was to run a school-gate convenience store!”
Su Bei teased: “Why give it up? Parents said no? I wanted to be a pirate, but my dad crushed that dream with brute force.”
“Hahahaha!” Mo Xiaotian burst out laughing, then answered: “My grandma raised me. She wants me to benefit society. A convenience store’s too small-time. I’m gonna be a great Ability user and destroy Nightmare Beasts!”
“Too small-time” didn’t sound like Mo Xiaotian. Su Bei frowned: “If you made it a chain, you’d benefit tons of students. Kids are the nation’s future. Helping them isn’t benefiting society?”
Mo Xiaotian’s eyes brightened, practically sparkling: “That’s so true! Why didn’t I think of that?”
“So who called it small-time?” Su Bei asked casually.
“Teachers, classmates, Grandma… everyone, I guess?” Mo Xiaotian thought. “You’re the first to say it’s a good dream!”
“Ask Jiang Tianming and them. They’d agree,” Su Bei said with a smile, but his eyes were cold. Realizing his acting was off, he closed them, feigning rest.
Thinking Su Bei was resting, Mo Xiaotian quieted. But Su Bei was pondering.
Mo Xiaotian’s words showed something off about his circle. Teachers and family dismissing a childish dream was plausible, but classmates too? That was odd.
School-gate stores were kid paradise. Even if not a dream, no kid would mock it. Su Bei firmly believed no child could resist a convenience store!
Thus, Mo Xiaotian’s schoolmates were strange.
Given his Black Lightning ties, Su Bei had to wonder. He opened his eyes: “Which school did you attend for elementary and middle?”
“A small county’s private school, direct track. You wouldn’t know it,” Mo Xiaotian said, handing him grilled meat. “Done!”
Su Bei glanced at him, took the meat, and said no more. Whether Mo Xiaotian’s timing was deliberate, he shouldn’t press further.
He hadn’t forgotten Mo Xiaotian’s terrifying reaction when he first noticed Su Bei observing him.
Until ready, he’d avoid digging.
The Nightmare Monkey meat was tasty, like chicken. Though unsalted, Mo Xiaotian’s grilling made it tender and juicy, a delightful meal.
Eating Nightmare Beast meat, Su Bei felt his stamina recover slightly. Unlike regular meat, it boosted physique long-term, some enhancing Mental Energy. No wonder the Academy had a Point System Cafeteria.
After the exam, he’d feast there.
“The smell’s coming from here.”
As they ate, a male voice sounded nearby.
Zhou Renjie!
Su Bei and Mo Xiaotian locked eyes, stuffed the last meat in their mouths, stomped out the fire, and dove into the bushes.
Just as they hid, Zhou Renjie pushed through the foliage, followed by Baozhu and Si Zhaohua. Zhao Xiaoyu and Wu Jin were likely ditched.
“They heard you and bolted,” Baozhu said, eyeing the smoldering fire, whining: “I’m starving. Now what?”
Zhou Renjie gave an awkward laugh, sniffing: “They ate grilled meat, Nightmare Beast meat. We can catch one.”
A tough task for most, it was trivial to them. Baozhu looked at Si Zhaohua: “Zhaohua, it’s on you.”
She giggled, amused yet worried: “Didn’t know your Ability had this use. Be careful.”
“No worries,” Si Zhaohua said, tying his silver hair into a ponytail, exuding an artistic vibe. “It’ll be fine.”
Overhearing, Su Bei nudged Mo Xiaotian: “How’s his Ability luring Nightmare Beasts?”
Mo Xiaotian shook his head, clueless: “No idea. We leaving?”
“No way!” Su Bei said righteously. “Perfect chance to complete the task.”
They needed one more Nightmare Beast to finish. If Si Zhaohua could lure one, staying let them sneak a kill.
In the clearing, Si Zhaohua activated [Angel], soaring with flapping white wings. Without sunlight, they lacked radiance.
Forests suited elves more; an angel here felt out of place.
After about five minutes airborne, a Nightmare Beast appeared—a Nightmare Monkey, charging at Si Zhaohua, drawn by [Angel].
“It’s the aura…” Mo Xiaotian murmured.
Indeed, likely [Angel]’s aura attracted it.
This Ability was dangerous for its user. Ability users already drew Nightmare Beasts; this amplified it. In a Different Space or uncleared wilds, Si Zhaohua was at risk. Without his Ability, he couldn’t fight them; with it, he’d draw more.
But Su Bei noticed something odd: Mo Xiaotian looked envious. Envious of luring Nightmare Beasts?
Why?
If Mo Xiaotian could easily kill them, envy might make sense. But their earlier Monkey fight showed he couldn’t.
Why envy a death-trap Ability?
More clues about Mo Xiaotian emerged, but Su Bei couldn’t connect them.
Back on the field, as the Nightmare Monkey lunged, Baozhu activated [Gorgeous Domain], effortlessly repelling its attack.
“Screech!”
The Monkey snarled, charging again, slamming the Domain’s barrier.
Baozhu paled. Her Domain relied on Mental Energy; such attacks drained it fast. Strong enough, they could overwhelm her.
“My turn!” Si Zhaohua, not wasting time, launched feathers to finish it.
Unlike Su Bei’s Monkey fight, Si Zhaohua’s allure kept this Monkey focused on breaking through, not dodging.
This made targeting easy. After heavy attacks, the Monkey’s frenzied mind cleared slightly, realizing continued assault was unwise. It tried to retreat.
But before it could, a Gear, unnoticed, sliced its neck, vanishing instantly.
The next second, white feathers hit the same spot. The timing was so close, it seemed the feathers killed it.
This kill-steal went unnoticed. Su Bei and Mo Xiaotian exchanged grins, slipping away.