I'm Such a Clever Little Genius

"----"

In the silent night, a group of suspicious people suddenly appeared in the outskirts. Their disorderly footsteps brought a faint air of killing intent to the place.

Hidden in the grass, Su Ming stared intently at the scene and watched the suspicious uninvited guests one by one.

All of them wore masks. Some covered their entire faces, while others covered half their faces. Without exception, their appearances could not be seen clearly.

Yet they all wore matching combat uniforms and carried weapons. One look was enough to tell that they were not people to be trifled with.

Su Ming was certain that these people were either Hunters or Warlocks.

A group of twenty or thirty people, all daring to run out into the outskirts together in the middle of the night—Su Ming would not believe they were not confident in their strength.

And what happened next confirmed Su Ming's thoughts.

A masked person who appeared to be the leader gave some instructions to two people in the crowd, causing them to step out of the formation.

The two of them raised their hands together, and ring-shaped arrays continuously appeared on their palms.

There was no doubt about it. These two were Warlocks.

They began casting Spiritual Arts, and streams of light formed from particles swept outward like sound waves.

Su Ming's heart tightened at the sight.

"They're using Ascension Restraint Flow for detection?"

Ascension Restraint Flow was an intermediate Spiritual Art, ranked forty-fifth in the sequence. It was a detection-type technique.

Its purpose was to detect living beings within a certain range.

Recognizing the Spiritual Art, Su Ming did not hesitate. He opened the inventory in his mental interface and took out a bottle of potion.

It was a Stealth Elixir. After drinking it, it could reduce one's life signs, causing the user to cease nearly all life activities for one hour without any physical discomfort or side effects.

Such an Alchemy Potion was usually only used when entering extremely harsh environments.

For example, in swamps filled with poisonous gas or at the bottom of very deep waters, drinking such a potion meant one would not need to breathe or metabolize, allowing people to explore dangerous environments with terrible conditions.

Sometimes, people also used this potion to play dead and deceive their enemies.

The value of this Alchemy Potion was not low. Ordinary students generally could not afford to keep one on hand at all times; only professional Hunters and Warlocks would carry it.

Su Ming had obtained this Stealth Elixir during a loot-box event. It had remained in his inventory until he finally took it out today.

After taking it out, Su Ming silently drank the Stealth Elixir.

That was right. He intended to use the Stealth Elixir to evade those suspicious people's detection.

Ascension Restraint Flow was a Spiritual Art specifically used to detect living beings.

In other words, as long as something was not a living being, it would not trigger a reaction from Ascension Restraint Flow.

Although Su Ming still did not know the background of this suspicious group and could not determine how they would react if they discovered someone nearby, he would not gamble with his own safety on uncertainty.

Therefore, Su Ming had no intention of exposing himself. Almost by reflex, he chose to remain hidden.

The particle streams continuously swept over his body, but they did not trigger any life-sign response.

However, the two Warlocks did not stop their detection. Instead, they began moving around the area, continuing their search.

The leading masked person also waved a hand, causing the remaining suspicious people, who seemed to be Hunters, to spread out in all directions as though searching for something.

"Could they be here specifically for me?"

In the grass, Su Ming's heart gradually sank.

But he quickly dismissed the thought.

"Over the past year, I've never exposed my true strength, nor have I accepted any overly conspicuous missions. There's no reason for them to be targeting me."

Not to mention that Su Ming had only decided on a whim to leave the academy tonight. No one knew he would be here. This suspicious group had rushed over in such a hurry without fearing that they might alert him, so the possibility that they were here for him was very low.

Besides, using a group of twenty or thirty Hunters and Warlocks to deal with him would be like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut, wouldn't it?

Based on those considerations, Su Ming believed these people were unlikely to be specifically targeting him.

Besides, there was no reason for them to be, right?

"But if that's the case, what are they looking for?"

The thought only flashed through Su Ming's mind before he gave up thinking about it.

The reason was simple: it had nothing to do with him.

"I should get out of here first."

That was Su Ming's only thought.

Such a suspicious group had appeared in the outskirts late at night and was searching for something. No matter how he looked at it, this was no small matter.

Whatever their objective was, one thing was certain: once he got involved, it would inevitably bring tremendous trouble.

And Su Ming had absolutely no interest in inviting trouble upon himself.

Do not forget that his dream was to lie low until he became invincible beneath the heavens.

He was still far from being invincible beneath the heavens, so Su Ming naturally would not take the initiative to approach such an obviously suspicious incident.

"Time to slip away."

Su Ming prepared to quietly sneak off.

But in the next second, Su Ming stopped moving.

He suddenly had an idea.

"They wouldn't pull some melodramatic cliché on me at a time like this, would they?"

Countless plots from television dramas and novels flashed through Su Ming's mind in that instant, making it easy for him to recall similar melodramatic scenes.

For example, just as someone was about to quietly leave, a Forced Plot would often descend.

They might kick a can, knock over a bottle, or somehow "accidentally" make a noise that caused the enemy to discover them.

It was a melodramatic plot point that had appeared in countless stories, also known as a Forced Plot.

What he was experiencing at this moment gave Su Ming a strong sense of déjà vu.

"Please, no."

Su Ming felt like crying without tears.

He knew he might be overthinking it.

But as someone whose goal was to be a Side Character, Su Ming knew all too well that in such a cruel world, if he did not think more carefully and act more cautiously, he might very well end up as cannon fodder.

Did Su Ming want to become cannon fodder?

Don't joke around.

He did not want to be the kind of Side Character who could leave the stage after becoming cannon fodder. He wanted to be the kind of Side Character who could keep lying low, remain unnoticed by everyone, and seize the chance to grow stronger in secret.

For that, Su Ming would rather overthink things, consider more possibilities, and be even more cautious.

Only then could he live longer and become stronger.

In other words, Su Ming did not want to encounter any accidents.

"Should I just use Celestial Revolution to instantly kill them all?"

Su Ming could not help thinking that.

But that was unrealistic.

It was not that Celestial Revolution lacked such power. Rather, Su Ming knew he could not use Celestial Revolution.

Just now, Su Ming had seemingly comprehended the technique of Celestial Revolution, but he knew his own situation best. He was certain—absolutely certain—that even if he continued comprehending it, he still would not be able to use Celestial Revolution.

The reason was simple: he did not have enough Spiritual Power.

As a powerful technique that stood near the pinnacle of advanced Spiritual Arts, the amount of Spiritual Power required to use Celestial Revolution was easy to imagine.

Although Su Ming had obtained quite a few items that could increase Spiritual Power from loot boxes over the past year, and his Spiritual Power had long surpassed that of an ordinary student, it was still not enough to support an advanced Spiritual Art close to the ceiling.

As for relying on his own strength to fight them head-on...

Su Ming looked at the large group facing him, then at himself standing alone, and decisively abandoned that idea.

He was no longer at the age where he could act like Long Aotian. Did he really think that after transmigrating for one year, he could fight the heavens, the earth, and the universe?

Su Ming was not that kind of person.

Before determining the other side's strength, fighting them head-on was impossible, exposing himself was impossible, and he could only find a way to keep lying low.

"Since I can't beat them..."

Why not... join them?

An idea occurred to Su Ming.

He opened his inventory and took out a set of black combat clothes. As he put them on, he also placed a mask over his face.

Do not ask why he had such things in his inventory. The answer was caution.

These days, if a transmigrator did not have a Stealth Suit or tools that could hide their true face and let them do shady things others could not know about, they would be too embarrassed to call themselves a transmigrator who pretended to be weak before revealing their strength.

Su Ming had long considered whether he might one day encounter an emergency where he needed to go all out. Therefore, to avoid exposing his identity then, he had always prepared all kinds of tools to conceal his true appearance.

Now was the time to make use of the preparations he had made by planning ahead!

Thus, Su Ming quickly disguised himself and quietly rose from the grass.

"Crack."

Almost at the same time, the sound of a branch snapping came from beneath Su Ming's foot.

That was right.

He had stepped on a branch.

"----!"

In an instant, every suspicious person nearby suddenly turned their heads toward Su Ming.

Facing the gazes of so many people, Su Ming's heart was as still as an ancient well, though he also felt like cursing!

I knew it! I knew it!

While swearing inwardly, Su Ming very naturally began imitating the people around him, slowly parting the grass as though he too were searching for something.

At that moment, Su Ming looked exactly like an insignificant Side Character in a suspicious group.

The others looked at this clumsy companion, dressed much like them but somewhat awkward in his movements. They clicked their tongues in dissatisfaction, then continued working.

Nice!

Su Ming praised his own cleverness inwardly.

Sure enough, this group had quite a few people. As long as they did not deliberately count their numbers, logically speaking, they would not notice that a spy had slipped into their midst.

As long as he quietly blended in, he could become an inconspicuous Side Character.

Being a Side Character really was the safest option!

Su Ming accepted no arguments!

Next, as long as he quietly slipped away from the group, he could leave without anyone noticing!

"I really am such a clever little genius!"

Just as Su Ming was laughing inwardly, a voice suddenly rang out.

"Found it!"

Those words shattered the rather oppressive silence at the scene.

Many thanks to the enthusiastic reader "多年粉只粉倾" for providing the cover!

Thank you, thank you! (＾Ｕ＾)ノ~ＹＯ