episode_0036

“Gentlemen, gentlemen—a word, if you may.”

Just as Xu Nian casually uttered a frustrated remark, a large-headed fly appeared in their line of sight.

Well, perhaps not exactly a fly.

This strange creature had an oversized head, a pair of peculiar white-feathered wings, and its entire body was an unusual shade of pink.

At first glance, it was almost… cute.

Every Emotive Beast seemed to possess the ability to evade perception—unless others were aware of them, they were unlikely to be seen.

Seeing the Emotive Beast appear right before her, Su Qingya didn’t waste time thinking.

She secretly gathered a mass of black substance in her palm, ready to slam it straight into the beast’s forehead.

“Little girl, don’t push your luck. I’ve already shown you great courtesy by coming out to meet you in good faith for a negotiation. Can’t you just stop and talk properly?”

Noticing that Su Qingya had no intention of stopping to converse, the big-headed fly flapped its wings harder, rising higher into the air while keeping a wary eye on her movements, as if terrified she might do something ruthless.

“Besides, as you can see, I can fly. You’re only a One-Star Emoter—what kind of ranged attacks could you possibly have? In other words, you can’t do a damn thing to me.”

True, a One-Star Emoter wouldn’t have many ranged abilities.

But Xu Nian had an underhanded trick.

In her vision, a cloth bag containing a holy sword, disguise tools, a small knife, and other miscellaneous items floated silently into position behind the Emotive Beast.

Then—wham!

An undetectable bag was, indeed, hard to detect.

Even the Emotive Beast couldn’t see where Xu Nian’s bag was.

All it felt was a heavy impact from behind before it was sent crashing down from the sky.

Su Qingya blinked in surprise—but only for a moment.

Without hesitation, she strode toward the fallen beast, conjuring a spear of black fear in her hand.

This was a move she often used—simple, easy to execute.

A staff member in pink stared in horror in their direction. Even as other visitors urged her to hurry and escort them to the ride, she couldn’t tear her eyes away.

“Spare me, great hero! Spare me, my lady! Goddess of peerless beauty, whose loveliness shames the moon and puts flowers to blush, whose grace makes fish sink and birds alight—(omitting a hundred adjectives)—I was wrong! I swear I’ve never taken a single life! I’m nothing like those vile beasts! There’s no need to waste your time on me!”

The Emotive Beast immediately dropped to its knees, begging for mercy.

Perhaps its last shred of confidence had been shattered when Xu Nian effortlessly dismantled its defenses.

Or perhaps it was Su Qingya herself—a [Fear]-path Emoter—whose very presence exuded an aura that instilled deep terror.

And then there was the overwhelming pressure she had radiated during her earlier outburst.

Xu Nian, however, frowned.

“Who gave you permission to praise my Qingya? Only I get to do that.”

The Emotive Beast had not expected that response.

“Fuck!”

It pointed at Xu Nian and cursed.

It had come out intending to negotiate, to see if they could coexist without conflict—it wasn’t about to give up this rich source of emotional energy so easily.

But these two were utterly unreasonable.

One was ready to escalate at the slightest provocation.

The other got angry even when it complimented someone.

Absolute lunatics.

What was the point of negotiating?

“I haven’t been idle these past few days. This place isn’t safe—I’m not sticking around to deal with you.”

With that, a cloud of pink smoke billowed out, and in the blink of an eye, the beast vanished.

Xu Nian and Su Qingya coughed violently as the smoke filled their lungs.

“What a weirdo,” Xu Nian muttered.

It could have just run. Why go out of its way to mess with them?

“Wait—this smoke is poisonous!” Su Qingya suddenly cried out.

“What?!”

Slowly, Xu Nian began to notice it too.

Her vision… something was off.

Her sight was overlaid with strange, cartoonish heart-shaped filters, filling the edges of her vision like an anime effect.

Xu Nian’s gaze toward Su Qingya was now brimming with affection.

Su Qingya’s was the same.

“Nian-Nian, I suddenly think you’re so beautiful. No—you’ve always been beautiful, but today, you’re radiant.”

“I feel the same, Ya-Ya. Your beauty, your aura—everything about you captivates me.”

At this moment, the two seemed entirely consumed by each other, oblivious to everything else.

And the same was true for the surrounding visitors.

The scene descended into chaos, with all manner of lovey-dovey declarations filling the air—utterly nonsensical.

“Nian-Nian, I love you. I’m obsessed with you. Every part of you is irresistible.”

“Me too, Ya-Ya.”

They drew closer, eyes locked.

Things were getting a little… heated.

But in reality, they were just staring at each other, spouting suggestive lines—nothing actually happened.

They remained in a bizarrely chaste state of mutual teasing, maintaining a delicate distance.

Because lewdness wasn’t part of love.

Whether it was affection-driven or desire-fueled, that fell under the domain of [Lust].

“What’s your DPS? What’s your Emotion Value? You—”

Before she could finish, a deep, resonant bell toll echoed across the plaza.

Xu Nian and Su Qingya snapped back to their senses, as if all distracting thoughts had been purged from their minds—leaving no trace behind.

The lingering effects of the smoke were completely wiped away.

The crowd erupted into murmurs. They remembered what had just happened—how their mouths had moved on their own, spouting mindless romantic drivel.

It was impossible to ignore.

The dissonance was too stark.

They began discussing among themselves, trying to make sense of the anomaly.

But then—the bell tolled a second time.

Its reverberations brought an unnatural calm.

Everyone stilled, their eyes glazing over for a brief second before returning to normal—as if nothing had occurred.

They had forgotten everything.

Xu Nian and Su Qingya suddenly realized—with those two tolls, their Emotion Values had uncontrollably plummeted to around 10%.

At this level, their powers would be severely restricted, rendering them unable to use their path abilities.

Xu Nian tried to recall happy memories, attempting to raise her Joy Value.

But it was useless.

Her heart was eerily tranquil—no matter what she thought of, no emotion stirred.

She had been forcibly calmed.

She glanced at Su Qingya.

The other girl seemed to be in the same state.

No—

A sliver of fear unfurled in Su Qingya’s heart.

Her thoughts had turned to the possibility of losing Xu Nian.

Normally, the mere idea would send her Fear Value skyrocketing.

But now—nothing.

Had she become indifferent to it?

If so… if so…

That thought alone should have filled her with dread.

She was afraid.

Afraid that she might one day feel nothing at the prospect of losing Xu Nian.

Nothing at all.