episode_0057

【Ding! Today’s mission has been issued: Beautiful love should be as free as the wind. Please have your girlfriend sit in the front passenger seat for 30 minutes.】

【Ding~ Daily mission completed. Simulation count +1. Current remaining simulation attempts: 1】

Today’s mission was simple.

At least, for Xu Nian, it was utterly effortless—no challenge at all.

Still, she didn’t quite understand why the daily missions always revolved around Su Qingya.

Well, it made sense if she thought about it. After all, this was a Romance Simulation System, so of course it would involve her girlfriend.

“You’re here?”

“Yeah.”

At the moment, Xiao Ge was sitting at the entrance of the Public Safety Bureau like some leisurely old man, holding a newspaper.

A cigarette dangled from his lips, giving off an indescribable vibe.

Su Qingya wasn’t much of a talker, so Xu Nian rolled down the car window and hastily put on an ingratiating smile.

“Captain, you’re looking pretty relaxed today.”

“More or less. Reading the news is nice. Park the car over there.”

Xiao Ge casually pointed in a direction, and Xu Nian rolled the window back up before finding a spot to park.

Xu Nian’s sports car stuck out conspicuously among the rows of police vehicles.

She beckoned Su Qingya to help unload a pile of gifts from the trunk.

Personally handing a pack of Huazi cigarettes to Xiao Ge, Xu Nian grinned.

“Captain, try this one. It’s got a stronger kick.”

“We don’t encourage stuff like this here. Normally, you’d be facing disciplinary action.”

Still, he pocketed the Huazi cigarette pack.

“Well, it’s my first time here, so I just wanted to get along with everyone. Just some small daily necessities—nothing extravagant, just little gifts between coworkers.”

Xiao Ge could only laugh wryly. “You kids… Hard work and diligence matter more than this. Come on in.”

Xiao Ge didn’t lead Xu Nian and Su Qingya through the main entrance.

That area was reserved for regular Public Safety officers handling cases. For special departments like theirs, a bit of covert maneuvering was necessary.

They didn’t have to walk far—the headquarters for official Emoters was also a large building, just not as conspicuous.

“Captain, did you manage to get anything out of that Emoter from yesterday?”

“No. She’s dead. Died cleanly. Even Leng Xiao’s control couldn’t suppress it. My guess? Someone of a higher star rank tampered with her—probably to keep secrets buried. You really aren’t simple, kid.”

Xu Nian scratched her head sheepishly.

That made sense.

With something as bizarre as emotional energy, being captured could mean total exposure of one’s secrets. Of course, precautions would be taken.

But despite that, Captain Xiao was still willing to let Xu Nian join the Public Safety Bureau. In a way, that meant he was offering her protection.

“Why are you letting me join, though?”

Clearly, the forces targeting Xu Nian were dangerous. She didn’t know exactly who they were, but they were definitely no joke.

Xiao Ge took a drag from his cigarette.

“Before you’re an Emoter, you’re still a citizen. Protecting citizens is the duty and responsibility of the Public Safety Bureau.”

Xu Nian fell silent, saying nothing more.

Once inside the building, they arrived at what seemed to be a conference room.

Eight members were already seated inside.

As the deputy captain, Leng Xiao was naturally among them.

“Captain, with a city as big as A-City, just the nine of us might be stretching ourselves a bit thin, don’t you think?”

“You think Emo-Beast incidents are just lying around everywhere? Happening every single day? Besides, we’ve got branch offices too. A-City doesn’t depend solely on our squad.”

Before entering the conference room, he stubbed out his cigarette and tossed it into a trash bin.

“Alright, let me introduce everyone to our two new members—Xu Nian of the Joy Path and Su Qingya of the Fear Path. They’re currently provisional recruits, still high school seniors. They’ll be attending the academy soon, and later they’ll likely be assigned permanently to our team. Let’s give them a warm welcome.”

“Hello, I’m Xu Nian!” Xu Nian waved cheerfully.

“Su Qingya.” Su Qingya gave a slight nod.

The seated Emoters broke into applause to greet them.

“Here, here—these are gifts for everyone.”

Xu Nian quickly guided Su Qingya to distribute the presents they’d bought, setting them on each person’s desk as another round of thanks followed.

Still, Xu Nian noticed their expressions varied—likely due to their different emotional paths.

As the saying goes, you don’t hit someone who comes bearing gifts and smiles. So, needless to say, Xu Nian made a solid first impression.

Except for one girl of the Compassion Path. Her gaze at Xu Nian was full of resentment, as if she were on the verge of tears.

But that was understandable—Xu Nian had taken her position as curator of the Emo-Artifact Soul Lantern.

Xiao Ge proceeded to introduce each member one by one, along with their respective paths.

Only then did Xu Nian learn that the burly man had actually taken the Rage Path.

He seemed so mild-mannered and steady. Hard to believe he belonged to a path that sounded explosive just by name.

There was also an Emoter who shared Xu Nian’s exact path—Joy—a tall, slender woman.

Everyone here was several years older than Xu Nian, so addressing them as senior, older sister, or older brother felt appropriate.

“Chen Qiu, you take these two under your wing. They don’t know anything yet, so give them a crash course—just the essentials. I’ll go apply for two Emo-Artifact embryos.”

“‘Don’t know anything’?” A buck-toothed man in his thirties—with small antlers peeking from his temples—shot up in shock. “Captain, isn’t this irresponsible? Letting them join the team just like that? They’re so young!”

“Emoters don’t discriminate by age. Once you become one, danger inevitably follows. Better they get exposed early—under our guidance.”

Xiao Ge’s tone was measured, his expression unmoved.

“But letting them wield Emo-Artifact embryos already… Isn’t that too soon?”

“Sooner the better. The earlier they start, the earlier they train, the earlier they become combat-ready. I think it’s fine. They can’t just sit around empty-handed for a year, waiting. Practical experience trumps rigid textbook learning any day. Experience is the best teacher.”

Xiao Ge’s stance was firm. “Alright, it’s settled. The rest of you, carry on with your duties. Meeting adjourned.”

With a clap, the others gathered their things and trickled out of the conference room.

Only the buck-toothed man—the one who’d voiced objections—remained.

He was Chen Qiu, a three-star Emoter of the Perseverance Path.

“Sorry about that, you two. I just couldn’t help but feel protective. You both look so young—hardly older than my own daughter.”

“No need to apologize. We understand.” Xu Nian replied quickly.

Chen Qiu chuckled. “The Captain always sees further than the rest of us… And yet, he’s the least restrained of all.”

“He seems pretty approachable to me.”

“Maybe you just haven’t seen him in combat. He is of the Rage Path, after all.”

Chen Qiu smiled. Xiao Ge had already left with the others—he had business to attend to.

“Alright, enough about that. Take a seat. I’ll give you a rundown on what being an Emoter entails. Consider this your crash course.”

With that, Chen Qiu plugged a USB into the computer, pulled up a PowerPoint, and began explaining.

The material was pretty dry, but both Xu Nian and Su Qingya listened intently.