episode_0037

[Fear Value: 78%]

“You seem to possess extraordinary talent in this regard.”

The voice immediately drew the attention of Xu Nian and Su Qingya.

Standing in the sparsely populated corner were the two officials from earlier.

The cold-faced woman codenamed “Frost Owl” stared intently at Su Qingya.

In her vision, Su Qingya’s tranquility value had been completely shattered, plummeting wildly toward its lowest point.

“You’re merely a One-Star Emoter, yet you managed to break free from my influence. You truly are terrifying.”

Frost Owl’s words were icy, laced with disbelief.

Xu Nian quickly stepped forward, taking Su Qingya’s hand to reassure her.

“Uh, we didn’t know it was your ability—we thought another Emobeast had attacked.”

This time, it was the burly-looking man who interjected, explaining on their behalf while shielding them from Frost Owl.

“Haha, this is Frost Owl’s ability. Her path is [Tranquility], which suppresses emotions. She meant well—after all, young lady, you just had an outburst, didn’t you?”

“Outburst?”

“An emotional value exceeding 90% is called an outburst. Beyond 95%, it’s a loss of control. At 99%, there’s basically no saving you. The aura you emitted during your outburst was truly terrifying.”

Seeing that Xu Nian and Su Qingya seemed genuinely unaware, the man didn’t hesitate to explain.

He smacked his lips—he was telling the truth.

“Not 100%?” Xu Nian asked, puzzled.

“There has to be a process. 90% is the beginning, and 100% is the completion of the transformation. Outbursts are extremely dangerous. What exactly happened just now? Why did you lose control?”

Su Qingya remained silent.

Instead, Xu Nian came to her defense.

“Because we encountered danger. You know, we’re still beginners, so we couldn’t control ourselves in the moment. But luckily, I managed to calm her down, and we even drove off an Emobeast.”

“That much is obvious.”

The icy older woman nodded. “It’s clear your grasp of power is a complete mess. We can’t leave you two alone like this. You’ll need to undergo systematic training. Don’t worry—it’s a crash course. It won’t take much time, and it’ll help you get familiar with the environment.”

“Give that thought back to me.”

Suddenly, Su Qingya murmured.

“What?”

Not only the two officials, but even Xu Nian didn’t understand what she meant.

“Qingya, what’s wrong?”

“I said, give that thought back to me!”

Su Qingya glared at the two, her eyes burning with fury.

“You’re angry.” The man frowned, quickly piecing things together. “Frost Owl, turn off your ability.”

“But—”

“That’s an order.”

Without another word, Frost Owl closed her eyes and flicked the case in her hand, which instantly transformed into a large bell.

A gentle chime rang out, and Xu Nian could feel her joy slowly returning.

Only when Su Qingya realized she could still feel fear at the thought of losing Xu Nian did she finally relax.

“You’re a strange one. You only truly calm down after having your tranquility stripped away.”

Frost Owl sighed helplessly.

Her intentions had been good, of course.

Maintaining high emotional values was never a good thing.

Some even sought her out specifically to stabilize their emotions.

In a way, [Tranquility] was the strongest supportive emotional path.

Su Qingya didn’t blame her. As long as she could still feel this way, as long as her heart remained unchanged, that was enough.

She tightened her grip on Xu Nian’s hand, unwilling to let go.

“Don’t be afraid, Qingya. I’m here.”

“Mmm.”

Hearing Xu Nian’s reassurance, Su Qingya wrapped her arms around her, burying her nose in Xu Nian’s hair.

Sensing the awkward atmosphere, Xu Nian quickly changed the subject.

“What’s that case? It looks really high-tech.”

She was genuinely curious.

“An Emo-tool, a type of auxiliary equipment. Once you enter university, you’ll be assigned one too.”

The man didn’t elaborate further.

These details would be covered in the crash course—no need to waste words now.

“Anyway, we won’t disturb you any longer. We just came to check on the situation after sensing an Emoter’s outburst. As long as you’re fine, that’s what matters. Hmm~ The Emobeasts here are almost all cleared out. Just wait a little longer, and you’ll be able to enjoy a normal amusement park experience—if you still can, haha~”

The man laughed heartily and waved. “We’re off. There’s still one last Dreadbeast left—that one’s a real pain. When the time comes, remember to call us. We’ll handle the follow-up. Seeing two promising newcomers like you has me overjoyed.”

“Got it. Thank you.”

Xu Nian nodded quickly, watching as the two left.

Su Qingya, meanwhile, clung tightly to Xu Nian, inhaling her scent to steady herself.

For now, she would protect Xu Nian properly.

—

“What do you think?” the man asked the young woman beside him as they walked.

“A once-in-a-generation genius.”

“Which one? The human or the fox?”

“Obviously the human. A One-Star Emoter who can break free from my Four-Star ability’s influence—if that’s not genius, what is? With proper guidance, she might even become an S-rank potential Emoter in the future.”

Frost Owl spoke calmly. “Though [Fear] paths tend to be obsessive… Well, let’s hope she’s guided well.”

“You rate her that highly?”

“I’m just stating facts.”

“But… didn’t you notice something?”

“What?”

“The [Joy] Emobeast… fled.”

“What’s the issue with that?” Frost Owl didn’t understand the man’s implication.

Wasn’t fleeing normal? After seeing the two of them effortlessly eliminate the Dreadbeast, running in fear was the logical reaction.

“Emobeasts have fled before, haven’t they? The search team will just have to track it down.”

“Hmm, how should I put this? I actually think that fox girl has even greater potential.”

“Why do you say that? By all appearances, she’s just someone who needs protection.”

“You’re not wrong. Call it an old man’s intuition.”

But when the topic of fleeing Emobeasts came up, both of their expressions darkened slightly.

Not because of the Joybeast.

But because of the Lovebeast that had also escaped.

Those who had studied the subject knew:

Lovebeasts and Hatebeasts called others to their side.

When they activated their abilities, they often attracted Emobeasts of other paths.

Though this wasn’t an ability of their path—just a characteristic.

This was precisely what made these two types the hardest to deal with.

Every Emobeast here could be said to have been drawn by that Lovebeast.

Because, under normal circumstances, Emobeasts didn’t gather together.

A single area usually hosted only one Emobeast—they were highly territorial.

Only Lovebeasts or Hatebeasts could make them coexist.

“Don’t worry. I’ve already reported the situation to the search team outside. They have an S-rank Emo-tool—the Lantern of Imprisoned Dead Souls. That Emobeast won’t escape easily.”

Frost Owl’s expression was calm, placing her full trust in her teammates.

But just then, a call came through:

“Bad news, Captain! Waaah—! The Lantern just vanished! Waaah—! Even the tracking signal is gone!”

“What?!”

Meanwhile…

Xu Nian held a strange case, still unsure how to use it.

The Lantern of Imprisoned Dead Souls… Shouldn’t it be a lantern? Why was it just an ordinary-looking case?

Recalling how Frost Owl had shaken her Emo-tool before using it…

Xu Nian thought she understood how it worked.