Chess Player

Based solely on Little Apple's emotions, Xiang Kun couldn't accurately guess what she was doing or what had happened to her.

Judging from the type of emotion, it can be reasonably assumed that she was not in danger and that her excitement and agitation were likely due to the development and use of this new ability.

Although the specifics of how Little Apple used her abilities on the spot are uncertain, Little Apple was fully aware of how she invoked Xiang Kun's abilities, including the specific abilities invoked when "Gold Glitter" came into play.

Therefore, he could roughly guess the effects of Little Apple's abilities—it would simply cause people to see illusions, and these illusions would be based on the fear emanating from the invoked "Eight-Armed Eight-Eyed Wooden Carving." However, previously, these illusions were generated in a one-to-one manner, only visible to one person, but now, through the influence of "Gold Glitter," the illusions seemed to have become a group-wide, widespread effect.

Xiang Kun had actually used this ability after Little Apple "developed" it.

The last time he went to Tongshi Town, he had a conflict with Liu Feibao and "General Qi" on the way, and he had used it on "General Qi".

Basically, it involves packaging the fear generated by the "Eight-Armed Eight-Eyed Wooden Carving" into a whole, then directly projecting it into "General Qi's" consciousness through visual contact.

So "Boss Qi" saw the illusion created by the Eight-Armed Eight-Eyed Wooden Carving and felt the fear it brought, but the others around him could not see the illusion or feel the emotion.

Now, it's as if Little Apple, after "summoning" the emotional projection of the "Eight-Armed Eight-Eyed Wooden Carving," has relinquished its restraint and control, allowing it to directly influence its surroundings. Under normal circumstances, the effect of such influence wouldn't be significant. However, "Gold Glitter" has amplified this influence.

The most amazing thing is that "Gold Glitter," which was just incorporated into Xiang Kun's "super-sensory system," did not use any emotion-related abilities. Instead, through the Coin that Little Apple used for Super-Sensory Link, it invoked related magnetic field control and other abilities, which in turn acted on itself, giving it a special ability in a short period of time.

This special ability allows multiple organs of its body to work together to emit a special sound wave, which can then influence creatures within range, making them more susceptible to the emotions of the "Eight-Armed Eight-Eyed Wooden Carving" summoned by Little Apple.

To give an analogy, it's like Little Apple throwing out a small bag of lime powder. Originally, she could only throw it at one person's face, but now "Gold Glitter" has turned itself into a powerful electric fan. After Little Apple throws out the powder bag, it blows the lime powder everywhere, and everyone who sees it gets a share, getting sprayed in the face.

Xiang Kun can directly use the abilities that Little Apple "developed" in the past, and can even further improve them, because he himself is the source of these abilities.

This time, however, Gold Glitter used the "Super-Linked Object" to access his abilities and then created a special effect through his own body structure.

If "Gold Glitter" wanted to use that ability to create that special sound wave, it naturally needed Xiang Kun's permission to use the ability.

Xiang Kun was also very clear about the process of it activating its abilities.

Conversely, Xiang Kun cannot replicate this ability for the time being—because he is not a bird!

The fact that Little Apple and "Gold Glitter" could collaborate like this was truly unexpected and delightful for him.

However, those affected by the fear of the "Eight-Armed Eight-Eyed Wooden Carving" probably won't feel too good, right? Little Apple should know the general effect, so she didn't choose to invoke and spread the Minions' happy emotions to influence them. Could it be that the target of the influence offended her?

Xiang Kun picked up his phone, wanting to dial Little Apple's number, but after thinking about it, he decided not to call at this time and instead enter "Hyper-Sensory State" to observe the "scene" situation.

He glanced around the roadside, then leaned against a tree and said to Xia Libing, "I'm going into 'Hyper-Sensory State' now to check on 'Little Apple's' situation. Can you... help me keep an eye on her?"

Xiang Kun almost said "help me protect the Dharma" because it came out too easily. Actually, when he entered "Hyper-Sensory State," which just looked like he was dozing with his eyes closed, he didn't usually need anyone to watch over him. He wasn't standing in the middle of the road, so there was no danger. But since Lao Xia was there, he had to tell her.

Xia Libing nodded, indicating that she understood.

She was also quite interested in Xiang Kun's state when he entered the "Hyper-Sensory State," as it would be a good opportunity to observe him from the sidelines.

This is perfectly normal for both of them.

However, the scene looked rather strange to other passersby.

A bald, burly man wearing glasses leaned against a tree with his eyes closed, seemingly deep in thought, while a tall, beautiful girl with a ponytail stood not far in front of him, watching him intently.

If the two were in different positions, one could say the girl was closing her eyes to ask for a kiss, but now it's the bald, burly man with his eyes closed, making the scene truly bizarre.

So passersby would often cast strange glances at them, and even after they passed by, they couldn't help but look back repeatedly, wondering what would happen next.

But the two people seemed to be petrified; one leaned against a tree with his eyes closed, motionless, while the other stared at the other's face without moving.

Xia Libing naturally didn't care about other people's opinions. If she had the relevant equipment, she would even like to monitor Xiang Kun's brainwaves and electrocardiogram in real time.

As for Xiang Kun, in his "Hyper-Sensory State," traditional sensory information about his surroundings has been temporarily blocked.

Relying on his connection to the Minion Wooden Carving on Little Apple's body, he extended his senses to the side in a "Hyper-Sensory State".

Judging from the surrounding information, Xiang Kun knew that Little Apple was not indoors. There was water nearby, a lot of water, and many trees. Recalling the park he had visited with Little Apple before, he guessed it must be in that area.

Seven or eight meters away from Little Apple, there was a bird and four people. Xiang Kun the bird's characteristics; it was "Gold Glitter".

Those four people were those affected by the fear of the "Eight-Armed Eight-Eyed Wooden Carving."

No, only three people should have been affected. The third person was probably asleep or unconscious, with their senses blocked, and was therefore unaffected.

Based on the information available to these four individuals, none of them are people Xiang Kun knows.

Based on the information he had gathered from the surroundings, Xiang Kun roughly pieced together the situation at the scene. Little Apple must have had a conflict with the three affected people for some reason, or perhaps she knew the person who was unaffected, possibly unconscious or asleep.

However, it was somewhat strange that Professor Li Yang or Aunt Yang were not with Little Apple.

However, judging from the current situation, Little Apple is indeed not in any danger. This wide-ranging influence of emotions and hallucinations is almost as powerful as his previous "Projection Manifestation." Of course, under Little Apple's control, it is limited to the single emotion and hallucination represented by the specific "Emotion-Infused Object" she invokes.

After a while, two more people came over. Although they were still not Li Yang or Aunt Yang, judging from their actions, they posed no threat to Little Apple —because after their arrival, Little Apple ended her contact with and use of the "Eight-Armed Eight-Eyed Wooden Carving."

After Xiang Kun emerged from the "Hyper-Sensory State" and regained his normal senses, the first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was Lao Xia staring wide-eyed at his face.

"What did you figure out?" Xiang Kun asked with a smile.

Xia Libing asked thoughtfully, "After you enter 'Hyper-Sensory State,' does your perception of your surroundings become weaker?"

"How did you know?" Xiang Kun asked with a smile. He wasn't surprised that Lao Xia could figure it out.

"I'm guessing," Xia Libing said. "Normally, given your hearing, smell, and other sensory abilities, your ability to control your surroundings is definitely stronger than others. According to your personality, if you could normally control your surroundings, you wouldn't mention asking someone else to 'watch over' you. Besides, someone was shouting on the side of the road just now, and from what I observed, you didn't react to the sound at all. Your body was also constantly in a semi-tense state, as if you were prepared to be attacked at any moment. Normally, if you were confident in your surroundings, you would be much more relaxed... like now."

"That's how it is." Xiang Kun said, and continued walking forward with Xia Libing, then quietly explained what his "Hyper-Sensory State" was like.

This afternoon, when introducing his "evolutionary journey," it was mentioned that after defeating the mutated spider, he only mentioned that through practice and guidance, he mastered the ability to sense atmospheric electric fields and successfully flew during thunderstorms using this ability. The magnetic field influence of various items in "Super-Sensory Link" is a further derivative of this ability. However, the situation of "Hyper-Sensory State" was not explained in detail.

To be honest, the other abilities are relatively easy to explain, but the "Hyper-Sensory State" is indeed quite difficult to explain, since normal human cognition is based on normal sensory perception.

Xiang Kun's "Hyper-Sensory State," that sixth sense, is something that normal people simply cannot and do not experience.

But before he could finish explaining, Xia Libing suddenly said, "That painting you gave me last time, the one with all sorts of circles and arcs, is it related to the 'Hyper-Sensory State'?"

This time, Xiang Kun was genuinely surprised. "What can you glean from that painting?"

Xia Libing shook her head. "I can't tell yet, but as soon as I saw it, I intuitively knew that it wasn't just random scribbles, but was conveying some kind of information, though I can't understand it yet."

Xiang Kun then explained to Xia Libing how he had summarized a special encoding and inductive method based on various information from the "Hyper-Sensory State" to express it. Of course, this encoding method was too complex and difficult to understand, and he couldn't teach Xia Libing to understand it for the time being.

"When you enter the dream again later, try to see if you can bring in that Black Circle Graffiti in the dream, just like you did with the Coin projection. If you can bring it in, I might be able to use it to enter a 'Hyper-Sensory State' in your dream and observe the 'Hyper-Sensory State process' of you creating objects using 'Super-Linked Object' projection."

"I'll give it a try."

When the two returned to Xia Libing's rented apartment after their stroll, just as Lao Xia was about to lie down on the bed to sleep again, Little Apple sent a video call request.

After the call connected, Xiang Kun saw that Little Apple was already in the room.

Her slightly flushed cheeks and expression still revealed Little Apple's excitement.

"Uncle Xiang, I think I have superpowers!" Little Apple said excitedly, but she deliberately lowered her voice when she said "superpowers".

At this moment, "Gold Glitter" jumped onto Little Apple's shoulder, tilting its head slightly, looking quite smug.

"Oh? What kind of superpower?" Xiang Kun asked in surprise.

Little Apple then told Xiang Kun about how, after having dinner at home that evening, she took "Gold Glitter" out for a walk by herself and tried to hear more sounds through her sensory connection with "Gold Glitter".

When Xiang Kun heard that Little Apple had discovered the bad guys in the car committing their crimes, and after reporting it to the police, she couldn't help but throw a stone at them to stop the crime, even though he knew that Little Apple hadn't been hurt or in danger, Xiang Kun still frowned and was somewhat worried. "Next time you encounter something like this, never do it again."

Little Apple readily agreed, "Yes, yes, I just got a good scolding from my uncle and the other police officers."

Then, she explained how she "summoned" the "Many-Armed Monster" that seemed to come from another dimension, and how she used her connection with "Gold Glitter" to get "Gold Glitter" to cooperate with her in releasing the "monster" and intimidating the bad guys.

"Uncle Xiang, when those people were frightened by that 'Many-Armed Monster,' I could clearly sense their location and their state! I feel like I can decide more specifically how to scare them, but... I haven't figured out how to do it yet."

"Uncle Xiang, back then, I felt so powerful, like a superhero... no, it should be... I should be someone playing chess, and those people who were scared by the 'Many-Armed Monster' were like my chess pieces."

"Uncle Xiang, I was very excited and thrilled at that time. I really liked that feeling."

"Is this feeling you're talking about because that 'Many-Armed Monster' is deliberately seducing me, corrupting me, and using me?"

Am I... too depraved, too easily manipulated?

Little Apple, who had been excited, gradually became downcast as she spoke, her voice filled with worry and even a hint of self-blame.

Xiang Kun said decisively, "Of course not! Little Apple, you are a chess player, you are a superhero, that monster is nothing!"