Chapter 31: Puppeteering Threads

【Puppeteering Threads (Introductory Level 10%): A special higher-order skill that can release invisible puppeteering threads. By piercing into the bodies of living creatures, puppeteering curse threads are released, injecting different curses or transforming the target into a puppet under one’s control.

The stronger the target, the more puppeteering threads are needed. One can also craft special puppet figurines; expending a large amount of puppeteering threads can create Mist Crow puppets to share one’s vision. The effective range of puppeteering threads is eighty meters which increases with strength and proficiency.】

This is the special higher-order skill that Lu Yu was willing to empty his family’s fortune to acquire, integrating abilities of AOE control, scouting, curses, and more, already comparable to super-order skills.

After consumption, Little Spider obtained abilities comparable to the Ghost Face Curse Frog, allowing it to manipulate the puppeteering threads and control living creatures as its puppets.

The prerequisite for the Ghost Face Curse Frog to create cursed puppets is to eat the target’s internal organs and then use the freshly made cursed blood to inscribe puppeteer curse texts inside the skin cavity, thus exercising control.

Usually, it can only be used against creatures weaker than oneself.

However, 【Puppeteering Threads】 can condense invisible threads, forcefully transforming the target into a puppet, even those with great strength, allowing the skill to temporarily control and thus intervene in their actions, or cause rigidity to create the perfect killing opportunity.

It’s even possible to create a dedicated puppet for control, be it a substitute resembling Little Spider or a sword specter covered in blades, or even…

A Gundam loaded with heavy weaponry!

Report!

The enemy Spider Lady pilots a Gundam!

Lu Yu couldn’t contain his amusement at the sight of an opponent frightened by the Gundam.

But now, he was so poor he was nearly forced to sell himself. Forget about mecha Gundams; he couldn’t even afford a few bullets.

However, as Little Spider’s strength increases and with the boost from the proficiency template, perhaps one day he could spread the puppeteering threads over a giant city, turning a million people into caged birds, puppets at his mercy.

Like a god of destiny manipulating the fate of all things.

Although he didn’t know how long it would take to reach that stage, it was at least a good starting point.

Thinking of this, Lu Yu became curious about the actual effect of the skill and said to Little Spider:

“Condense a Mist Crow puppet.”

“Ying!”

Little Spider nodded, stretched out its hand, and the puppeteering threads condensed and intertwined, quickly taking the form of a Mist Crow with shiny black feathers perched on Lu Yu’s shoulder.

To the naked eye, it appeared no different from a normal crow. The only distinction was its pair of deep purple pupils—indifferent and aloof.

“Caw-caw!”

The Mist Crow let out a sharp caw, flapped its wings, and flew out of the window. At the same time, a light screen condensed by formations emerged before Lu Yu’s eyes, and the viewpoint swiftly ascended.

This was also his first attempt at high-angle viewing. Looking down at the ground, he noticed the people had become the size of ants.

Initially, due to the strong sense of involvement, he felt vertigo, but he quickly adjusted, like a child with a new toy continuously experimenting with flight. Yet, trying to fly higher made him feel the pulling of threads from behind, reminding him that this wasn’t a real Mist Crow but a controlled puppet.

He promptly stopped and turned back, lowering the flight angle of the Mist Crow and observing the ground.

Though it was only nine o’clock, numerous pedestrians were already bustling around. In the residential area, old men in sweat-soaked shirts played chess, and cat-type pet beasts assisted the enthusiastic vendors in attracting business. A shoemaker, nearly forty years old, carefully took out his child’s award certificate while waiting for new customers, gently touching it with his calloused fingertips, revealing a smile of happiness on his wrinkly face…

It was still the familiar streets, the familiar people; only the perspective was different this time, offering a unique experience. The Mist Crow sat quietly on a tree branch, observing these earthly scenes.

However, when it had seen enough and was ready to return, it suddenly saw three towering boys kicking and beating a frail figure in a small alley.

Lu Yu furrowed his brows and controlled the Mist Crow to approach, stopping on a grey-white stone wall. The crow’s purple eyes clearly saw the frail figure.

A slight boy in washed-out old clothes, now stained with footprints and dust, was curled up on the ground, fervently protecting a three-legged yellow kitten.

A disabled Wind Spirit Cat with a potential elite middle-rank and the species skill Swift Movement suitable for assassin-type pet beasts. However, missing a leg, its potential had massively decreased.

After beating the boy for a while, the three were getting tired. One of the lackeys, a boy with a buzz cut, spat and harshly said:

“Hand over that crippled cat already. We don’t want to kill it; being our boss’s Sand Dune Snake’s sparring partner is an honor for it, and it’ll even get to improve its wilderness survival skills.”

The other small-eyed lackey chimed in, “Our boss bought an elite peak Sand Dune Snake hatchling for him to train early. Though it’s only a minion stage now, by the time it matures and awakens its talent as a contracted pet beast, it might be comparable to a Golden Pet Beast Master. Winning right from the starting line isn’t something an orphan from an ordinary family like yours can compare to.

Listen to my advice, it’s not even your pet beast, just a stray cat. Why protect it so fiercely?”

The little boy did not reply, only tightened his body, which made the three even more irritated. At their age, losing face was a serious matter.

Their initial intent had been to find a target for sparring. Now, they were thinking about how to torment the Wind Spirit Cat to death to prove their power.

Sometimes the pure malice of children can be terrifying!

The leading shaggy-haired boy also became impatient and said coldly:

“You’re seriously stupid. I’ll give you one more chance; hand it over and crawl out, and I’ll let you off the hook.”

“I’ll crawl… Can you also let it go?” the little boy weakly asked, yet his words carried an unwavering determination, calming the trembling Wind Spirit Cat by his side.

Lu Yu’s controlled Mist Crow narrowed its eyes, watching the scene, contemplating.

“Damn, what right do you have to bargain with me?”

Enraged by the lack of faith from his lackeys and spurred by flattery, the shaggy-haired boy ordered coldly:

“Sand Dune Snake, use Tail Whip!”

“Sss-sss!”

The Sand Dune Snake, not understanding the complexities of human society, simply obeyed its young master’s command, its tail lashing out like a whip.

The blow that could leave an adult bedridden for days was now aimed at a frail little boy.

The little boy bowed his head in fear, trembling as he clutched the Wind Spirit Cat, his eyes dim, heart filled with unwillingness.

If only…

If only he possessed enough power to, like the heroes in stories he admired, protect the weak.

As he awaited the blow that would send him soaring, the Wind Spirit Cat’s fate of being tortured remained unaltered.

At that moment, as despair crept over the boy, a voice echoed in his heart:

“Do you want to understand the meaning of life?”