Mental Manipulation (A-Class): You can influence the minds of other creatures to a certain extent, including memory erasure, brainwashing suggestions, and changing cognition… The specific effect depends on the difference in class between the user and the manipulated, with better results the higher the user's class is above the manipulated's. (May be ineffective against Mental Resistance type talents.)
Upon seeing the detailed description of the talent, Xiao Teng was utterly shocked, exclaiming in surprise.
“Holy crap! Changing the minds of other creatures, this ability is too powerful!”
“So, I can also give suggestions to other creatures? This is too Heaven-Defying.”
“Perhaps… I can even manipulate humans!”
“I wonder what I can achieve at my current class? If I could directly brainwash humans into subordinates, that would be awesome! Making humans fight for me, haha!”
In Xiao Teng’s previous life, it was a world where powerful Family monopolized everything, and ordinary people had no opportunities whatsoever.
These powerful Family not only controlled the economy but also had complete control over the military and politics.
Behind the Elders who held the highest power stood various Family.
The Family were like Heaven, at least for now.
If he could directly control a Family member and have him continuously provide resources, Xiao Teng’s growth would be even smoother.
But Xiao Teng also knew this was a pipe dream.
Because he couldn't even get close to these important figures now; no Family member would be willing to come to the deep mountains and old forests.
Bang!
Just as Xiao Teng was lying on the ground, recovering his strength and daydreaming, he suddenly heard a piercing gunshot, breaking the tranquility of the mountain forest.
That's right, it was a gunshot!
Xiao Teng was startled, his entire python body stood upright, his eyes filled with vigilance.
“It’s a gunshot! Someone’s coming!”
“Wait, isn’t Dragon Country gun-controlled? Why would there be gunshots? Is it the military, or poachers?”
Xiao Teng was very nervous; people who came up the mountain with guns were on a different level of danger than those who came empty-handed.
Human hot weapons were simply a dimensionality reduction strike for wild beasts.
Although he had just acquired the Reinforced Scales talent, greatly increasing his defense, he hadn't tested it yet and didn't know if it could withstand bullets.
As for the Mental Manipulation talent, Xiao Teng was also very unsure, as he hadn't actually used it.
“It seems to be coming this way, I should hide first!”
Waving his python body, Xiao Teng quickly climbed a large tree; if one didn’t look up, they wouldn't see him at all.
Just as Xiao Teng had climbed the big tree, four big men emerged from the forest.
One person walked in front, and three walked behind.
Xiao Teng keenly noticed that the three people behind him were all carrying hunting rifles.
The person in front seemed to be a guide, leading the way for them.
“Zheng Ge, why are we killing so many animals? Didn’t the country always advocate for wildlife protection before?”
The guide in front asked in confusion.
They had already killed quite a few animals along the way, basically killing one upon sight, and among them were many animals that could land them in jail for a long time.
If it weren't for the fact that they were military personnel and the pay was quite high, Zhao Tie Zhui wouldn't have dared to take them hunting in the mountains even with ten thousand guts.
There were quite a few fierce beasts in these mountains.
“Don’t ask so many questions, this was decided by the higher-ups, we don’t know the specific situation! Just do your job and lead the way!”
The man called Zheng Ge replied impatiently.
They were soldiers; they just had to follow orders, they wouldn't know the intentions of the higher-ups.
“I heard that a strange thing happened a few days ago; all the satellites in the sky exploded and lost contact overnight. Is it related to this?”
Not only Dragon Country's satellites, but satellites from other countries also all exploded. The satellite explosion incident a few days ago had already caused a huge stir online.
And many major actions by the higher-ups also started from this incident.
Zheng Ge was silent for a moment; he felt that the guide's words made a lot of sense.
The orders given to them by the higher-ups also started from this incident.
Combined with the nationwide mountain-clearing operation, could it be that something big was really about to happen recently?
However, even though Zheng Ge had this thought in his mind, he still refuted the guide's words.
The higher-ups wanted to keep it secret, and he didn't want any rumors to spread from him.
“Don’t talk nonsense! It’s all just speculation!”
“Less chatting, more observing your surroundings, be careful of sneak attacks!”
“Tch, aren’t they just wild beasts? Can they be tougher than my gun?”
“That’s true, but you still need to be careful. This is a primeval forest; the animals here have never seen humans, so they might actually dare to ambush us.”
All their conversations were heard by Xiao Teng.
After advancing a few classes, Xiao Teng’s five senses had also become stronger; he could see further and hear more clearly, so he heard every word of their conversation.
Killing wild beasts? Satellite explosions? Higher-ups’ decisions?
“This… that’s a lot of information!”
First, the satellite explosion was something Xiao Teng had heard about in his previous life; it happened before his Rebirth.
Xiao Teng didn’t know if the satellite explosion was related to the Inspiration Recovery, but it was clear that the higher-ups had realized something.
They even sent out the military to clear the mountains.
“Did the higher-ups already predict the Inspiration Recovery? Why didn’t they inform the civilians? I had no news at all in my previous life, and even the soldiers on the mission didn’t know about this.”
After thinking deeply for a while, Xiao Teng felt it was quite normal.
Because the higher-ups were all from the Family class, they had to consider themselves. Perhaps they wanted to seize the initiative during the Inspiration Recovery and maintain their status.
Upon learning that they were there to clear the mountains, Xiao Teng became even more vigilant.
“If they see me, they’ll definitely kill me without hesitation. According to their conversation, they’ve already killed quite a few animals.”
“I wonder how many of them there are? How long will it last? What equipment did they bring?”
After listening to their conversation, Xiao Teng wanted to know more; this concerned whether he could survive the seven days before the Inspiration Recovery.
With his life at stake, Xiao Teng’s eyes were firm.
“I must find someone to ask!”
He looked with ill intent at the four people who had already walked under the tree.
Just as Xiao Teng was about to randomly select a lucky person to use Mental Manipulation on, he noticed that the man called Zheng Ge made a move to look up.
Excellent, no need to choose.
“You’re the one!”
Zheng Ge had only intended to look up casually, but he didn't expect to find trouble when he did.
Holy crap! A big Dragon!
Zheng Ge’s lips parted slightly, just about to shout.
But the moment Xiao Teng’s talent activated, Zheng Ge’s eyes instantly became clear.
“What was I just about to say?”
Zheng Ge scratched his head, then suddenly slapped his hand, enlightened, and said to the other three people.
“I suddenly need to take a shit. You guys go ahead, I’ll go relieve myself nearby! I’ll catch up soon!”