episode_0027

Fear is humanity’s most instinctive emotion, as well as its most fundamental.

Though at times, fear can influence a person’s actions.

Yet for those who walk the Path of Emotions, fear can unleash even more unimaginable power in those aligned with its corresponding path.

Xu Nian could sense that the space-time around Su Qingya seemed to slow, forming a bizarre field that shielded her surroundings.

This, however, made approaching Su Qingya incredibly difficult for Xu Nian—merely getting close brought a suffocating sensation, as if someone were gripping her throat.

Su Qingya didn’t seem to notice this. She blinked, surveying the scenery around her through a peculiar filter. In her eyes, everything here seemed steeped in strangeness.

“Nian Nian, what should we do now?”

Su Qingya had completely left the decision to Xu Nian.

This was supposed to be a rare, carefully planned date—who could have expected something like this to happen?

She couldn’t help but feel a little dejected and regretful.

“Can you turn off your… field? I feel awful.”

“Field?”

Su Qingya shook her head, indicating she had no idea what was happening. After all, she was a novice—lacking control over her powers was only natural.

Whatever. Xu Nian gave up. Maybe keeping the field active wasn’t so bad.

But what about herself?

Could she also manifest a field?

Unfortunately, different paths meant different abilities. The nature of emotional power varied fundamentally between them.

“Hmm, my thought is… we should just go with the flow. This isn’t something we can solve anyway. Might as well follow the rules and try to enjoy this bizarre amusement park as much as possible. I suspect that as long as we obey the rules, we won’t be in any real danger.”

After all, if the intention was to harm the visitors, there’d be no need to write out these precautions. Misleading or deceiving the more cautious guests would be the obvious move.

Yet even with rules in place, the truly cautious were few. Who would believe in something so incomprehensible? Most people here would probably be swept up in disaster.

“You’re really easygoing, huh?” Su Qingya remarked.

Xu Nian’s face flushed slightly.

“What else can we do? Spend the whole time on edge? Either way, we’re stuck here—might as well make the best of it. Don’t you think a date in this kind of atmosphere is kind of interesting?”

It wasn’t like this was some horror game where clearing it would grant rewards. In reality, as long as she followed the rules, she’d get out safely.

Waiting for the authorities to resolve the situation was the real priority.

Better to relax, take things in stride, and try to enjoy herself.

“Spend the whole time on edge…?”

Su Qingya murmured the words.

Come to think of it… that might actually be a way for her to grow stronger.

Not that she thought Xu Nian’s approach was wrong.

If you can’t fight it, you might as well enjoy it—just like life itself.

“Then let’s go play bumper cars.”

Xu Nian noticed that the staff member overseeing the bumper cars wore yellow, and unlike the red-uniformed workers, they didn’t seem particularly enthusiastic.

“No, we have to stick to rides supervised by staff in blue. Otherwise, we might run into danger.”

She took out the ticket again, scrutinizing it carefully.

“Plus, the rules say never to use facilities not overseen by blue-uniformed staff. My guess is only they’re the normal ones.”

Su Qingya nodded, not disputing Xu Nian’s reasoning.

Blue-uniformed workers were fairly common in the park, so finding one wasn’t hard. Staff in other colors were the minority.

The real issue was choosing what to do.

Between staying cautious and weighing their options, Xu Nian and Su Qingya still hadn’t settled on an attraction.

High-risk rides like the merry-go-round or roller coasters were an immediate no.

“Hey, you two—want to try the Giant Pendulum? It’s one of our park’s few truly popular attractions!”

Xu Nian glanced at the sparse crowd around them.

She and Su Qingya had been stopped on their way.

“You’re sure it’s popular?”

“Ah… you could say that.”

The blue-uniformed staff member operating the pendulum was a young woman with a high ponytail, full of energy.

She scratched her cheek awkwardly.

Truthfully, the ride wasn’t exactly in high demand.

“Well, it’s free with your ticket. No reason not to try, right?”

“Oh? Do we get tokens for it?”

“Of course! It’s park policy, after all.”

“Um, I wanted to ask—are the rules on this ticket real?”

“Ah… I’m not really sure. This amusement park is new, and I just started working here. There might be some… unusual regulations, I guess? Even I think they’re a bit weird. I actually have a different set of rules myself. But—how about giving the pendulum a try? We just need two more people to start!”

So that’s why they’d been stopped—they were short on riders.

Even though the park was supposedly packed.

Just as Xu Nian was about to show her ticket and step forward—

An older woman suddenly grabbed her arm.

“Don’t go.”

Xu Nian’s heart lurched.

She turned to see an ordinary-looking middle-aged woman, nothing particularly remarkable about her.

“That ride is dangerous.”

Xu Nian immediately tensed.

Was something wrong?

Frowning, Su Qingya’s expression also shifted.

But the pendulum’s staff member was clearly in blue.

Were there other precautions they didn’t know about?

And this woman—had she noticed something?

“Excuse me—”

Before Xu Nian could ask, the staff member rushed over to argue.

“Auntie, how could you say that? What nonsense are you spouting here?”

“Your ride is a death trap! What if someone gets flung off and dies? I can’t stand seeing you people using shoddy equipment to hurt others!”

“???”

Xu Nian and Su Qingya were baffled.

Wait, what?

This wasn’t what they’d expected.

As Xu Nian stood confused, another couple approached. Without hesitation, the staff member intercepted them, blocking the older woman in the process.

“Just show your ticket, and you can ride! Only two more needed to start!”

“Hey! Don’t go! It’s dangerous!”

“Sure.”

The couple ignored the woman’s warning.

“The scarier, the better!” the girl laughed, completely unfazed.

Xu Nian decided to stay and observe, curious about what would happen.

“AAAAAHHH—!!!”

Soon, screams erupted from the pendulum—nothing unusual, given that the high-speed, counterclockwise spinning would make anyone shriek.

But gradually, Xu Nian noticed something wrong.

A faint yellow mist began rising into the air.

The riders’ screams grew louder, yet the pendulum’s rotation slowed.

“Um… is the speed supposed to be like this?” Xu Nian asked.

“Is it?”

The staff member turned back.

“Probably? Maybe the system’s programmed to slow down a bit, give people a breather before suddenly speeding up again.”

“Hmph! I knew it—your equipment’s just here to kill people! I don’t get why youngsters these days love this garbage. If it snaps, you won’t even have time to cry! How many accident reports does it take?!”

The older woman snorted in disgust.

She absolutely despised these death-trap rides.