Mu Yang opened his right hand, and a Blood Flame ignited in his palm. The flame continuously expanded under the catalysis of Solar Power, then compressed under his control.
When the Blood Flame's refinement reached the limit of his control, Mu Yang flung it out, simultaneously mobilizing the power of the miniature sun to detonate the Blood Flame.
Boom!
An explosion, a sound that could reach the depths of one's soul, reverberated throughout the forest. Flames blazed fiercely, and resentful wails echoed endlessly, as a figure hidden behind the scenes flashed across the sky.
The power of Blood Sun specifically targets souls. Against such elusive things related to spirits and souls, Blood Flame had a miraculous effect.
Scarlet fire blazed to the heavens. The moment Mu Yang saw that dark figure flash by, the flames between him and the dark figure suddenly transformed into a scarlet chain, firmly binding the dark figure.
"Got you."
A cold sneer appeared on his face. Grasping the chain with both hands, an immense force, one that the dark figure could not resist, swept from the Blood Chain, dragging it flying backward towards Mu Yang.
"Listen... up!"
Overlapping voices echoed in the void, indistinguishable by gender, as the source of these voices came from thousands upon thousands of people.
You have been affected by the soul control effect of "Manipulate??". Due to the influence of Blood Sun's Soul and Soul Strength, this control effect is reduced by 99% and only lasts for 0.01 seconds.
Mu Yang's movements paused for a moment. Seeing the power recede, and before the dark figure could even rejoice, the immense force struck again.
It struggled hard, trying to break free from the Blood Chain's bondage, but its body was continuously pulled closer to Mu Yang.
Soon, the despairing dark figure entered Mu Yang's attack range and endured Mu Yang's merciless iron fist with its fragile body.
This punch, imbued with the power of Blood Sun, directly shattered half of its body.
You have killed the Emotional Hybrid · Subordinate.
You have obtained 1% World Origin. Currently, you have obtained a total of 1% World Origin.
You have obtained a Treasure Chest (Green).
...
One punch, instant death!
Having dealt with an emotional aggregate, Mu Yang did not relax his guard, because such a small fry, one that even Little Red Riding Hood could defeat, was clearly not the mastermind behind this fairy tale.
He flew into mid-air, unhesitatingly revealing his terrifying, soul-devouring aura, like a ferocious beast, as if he were the master of this space.
Sensing Mu Yang's provocation, the true mastermind could no longer sit still.
"You... actually... dare!"
As an enraged roar echoed through the space, wisps of black gas emerged from various parts of the forest, continuously gathering not far above Mu Yang's head, gradually accumulating into a human shape.
These black gases were abnormal emotional forces, originating from children, yet seemingly not entirely belonging to children; they were very strange.
This emotional aggregate reacted excessively to Mu Yang's act of challenging its authority, just like a Hakimi hissing.
Tip: You have discovered the source of the anomaly in a fairy tale, activating the hidden quest: Saving Childhood Dreams.
Hidden Quest: Saving Childhood Dreams
Difficulty Level: LV.5~7.
Quest Brief: Abnormal emotional power has invaded childhood fairy tales, making them unrecognizable.
Quest Information: Find the source of the anomaly in any fairy tale and completely eliminate it.
Quest Duration: Within 24 hours.
Quest Reward: 2 Free Attribute Points, soul crystal (small) * 2, Title * 1.
Quest Penalty: None.
...
Mu Yang was somewhat surprised to accidentally trigger a hidden quest. After a quick glance at the quest information, he took out Thief's Caution to investigate the target's information.
Judging Agility attributes of both parties... Judgment successful. Our Agility is 1.333 times that of the enemy, but due to the mutated environment, only 70% of the enemy's data is obtained.
Data as follows:
Name: Puppet Life
Type: Mutated Emotional Aggregate
Health: 89%
Mutated · Emotional Power: 210 / 210 (Increasing, some black gas burned away by Blood Flame, thus permanent upper limit -40 points)
Strength: 5
Agility: 9 (Increasing)
Stamina: 7 (Increasing)
Intelligence: 13 (Increasing)
Charm: 2
Soul Strength: 5 (Increasing)
Skill 1: Mutated · Emotional Aggregate Lv.5 (Passive, original Lv.7): Mutated · Emotional Power +50, Intelligence +3, Soul Strength +2, Charm -5.
Skill 2: Listen Up Lv.4 (Active): Consumes 20 points of Mutated · Emotional Power. Say "Listen up" to perform a large-area Intelligence and Soul attribute judgment.
If the judgment is successful, the target's subsequent actions can be forcibly controlled. Duration varies per person. Cooldown: 10 minutes.
Skill 3: This Is All For Your Own Good Lv.5 (Active): Consumes 10 points of Mutated · Emotional Power. Say "This is all for your own good" to perform a large-area Intelligence and Soul attribute judgment.
Regardless of whether the judgment is successful, 10% of the target's current health and energy will be forcibly deducted.
If the judgment is successful, 20% of the target's maximum health and energy will be deducted, and 20% physical damage reduction will be gained. Cooldown: 20 minutes.
Skill 4: Unreasonable Demands Lv.9 (Passive): Attacks can ignore 9% of most resistances of 2 targets, but the user will also lose 45% of their sanity and be unable to think rationally.
Skill 5: Mutated · Emotional Magic Lv.8 (Active): ???
Skill 6: ???
Skill 7: ???
...
The moment he investigated the abilities of "Puppet Life," Mu Yang found answers to all his previous questions.
He understood why Puppet Life reacted so excessively to Mu Yang's provocation of it, and also why such an anomaly was born in a fairy tale.
Puppet Life is a monster born from the distorted possessiveness of certain fake parents over their children's lives, combined with the suppression and fear of children whose lives are controlled.
They plan everything for their children, believing that all their arrangements are for the children's good, so they do not allow children to refute, overstep, or even offend them.
This makes them feel that their authority is being challenged, thus leading to rage or madness.
To be even more twisted, they might even deliberately give children a glimmer of hope, only to then crush that hope, to display their supreme power.
Just as Mu Yang initially thought that leaving the small stone path would free Little Red Riding Hood and the others from control, in reality, this entire forest was almost under the control of Puppet Life. It could control all creatures except Little Red Riding Hood and Mu Yang at any time.
Looking at "Puppet Life," which was exposed before him yet still slowly gathering black gas, Mu Yang sensed a kind of arrogance in its actions.
An arrogance that believed no creature would dare to overstep its thoughts! It didn't think Mu Yang would dare to harbor rebellious thoughts against it! Even though he already had, it still believed so.
But Mu Yang was not those children oppressed by them.
As he waved his right hand, the Blood Flame burning in the forest seemed to gain intelligence, spreading rapidly and powerfully, burning away the gathering black gas.
Seeing this, Puppet Life immediately became enraged, its eyes wide with fury. Although it had no facial features, Mu Yang and the others could indeed feel this emotion from it.
"You... must... obey!"
Overlapping voices were shouted from Puppet Life, all these voices coming from those twisted parents.
You are affected by the soul control effect of "Listen Up." Due to the influence of Blood Sun's Soul and Soul Strength, this control effect is reduced by 85% and only lasts for 0.15 seconds.
His thoughts slowed for a moment, then Mu Yang casually sidestepped, dodging Puppet Life's angry palm, and backhanded it across its face.
A portion of the mutated emotion on its face was scorched by the Blood Sun. Violent emotional fluctuations emanated from it. It was furious that Mu Yang dared to disobey its arrangements and decided to teach him a lesson he would never forget.
"Mr. Wolf! Let's go help Big Brother!"
Little Red Riding Hood's strong voice echoed through the forest, accompanied by growls of wolves. Three muscular giant wolves, estimated to be 2.5 meters tall, stood out from behind her.
"Boss, we're here to help you!"
The three Contractors, transformed into giant wolves by Little Red Riding Hood, were first stunned, but feeling the powerful strength within them, far exceeding their normal state, they immediately found it truly enjoyable, and then together they pounced towards the black gas.
Contractors in this state possessed the ability to devour mutated emotional power (black gas). This was a method Little Red Riding Hood herself developed to deal with Puppet Life, but previously, she alone was no match for Puppet Life, so she had kept it hidden.