'Huohuo' looked at the perpetually unrefined Qingque, a smirk tugging at the corner of her mouth.
"If you don't get up right now, I'm leaving."
Qingque's hands, which had been firmly clamped around 'Huohuo's' leg, let go in a flash.
She scratched her head as she scrambled up from the ground, offering a strained, awkward laugh by way of explanation.
"Oh, come on now, Boss! That was just a bit of dramatic flair. I might not actually be on the verge of Mara-struck madness, but your number one top-tier employee hasn't touched a tile in days. Save me, Boss!"
Hearing this, 'Huohuo' scrutinized Qingque's expression.
Finding that the girl didn't actually seem to be lying, she felt a wave of genuine confusion.
"...Don't you have three clones? Counting your original self, that makes four Qingques. Isn't that enough for you?"
"Boss, a clone is just a clone! They don't have an autopilot; I'm the one pulling all the strings! On top of that, Master Diviner Fu Xuan has basically kidnapped me to work right by her side, and General Jing Yuan made off with one of my clones too. I'm working three jobs all by myself! I'm about to pass out from exhaustion."
"Be that as it may... I really don't see any sign of you being on the verge of fainting."
Qingque was wailing her grievances to 'Huohuo' with plenty of vigor.
There wasn't a hint of fatigue to be found on her; she didn't even have dark circles under her eyes.
"That's exactly the most terrifying part!! Boss, I suspect the Master Diviner and the General have some mastermind advising them behind the scenes."
"I feel like I'm rapidly adapting to this new life of working three jobs... and the exact amount of energy I have left to squeeze in a game of cards is being micro-managed within a precise range!"
Qingque shuddered as she spoke. Even she couldn't figure out how she was managing to hold on.
It was as if, without her even noticing, she had simply adapted—despite her constant complaining.
And just as 'Huohuo' pointed out, the scariest thing was that even though Qingque was working three jobs, she didn't feel tired.
Her days were packed to the brim with work, yet she never quite hit the breaking point. Even more chilling was the fact that her free time for Celestial Jade seemed to be framed within a set boundary.
It felt as if an invisible, giant hand was moving pieces behind her back, setting a trap. It made little Qingque's skin crawl.
'Huohuo' blinked, her expression turning subtle.
She tried to trace the source of the situation, and then—
"Pfft—"
She couldn't hold it in and burst out laughing. It turned out there really was a mastermind.
Fu Xuan's senior sister—the current General of the Yuque, Yao Guang—and Fu Xuan's teacher, the current Master Diviner of the Yuque, Jingtian, were both plotting behind the scenes.
While Qingque did indeed have the potential to be a General, she wasn't the only person in the vast Xianzhou Alliance with such talent.
The fact that Fu Xuan's senior and teacher were involved was likely because Qingque was one of Fu Xuan's people.
With the Diviners and Generals of two different ships collaborating to 'nurture' this little sprout, no matter how high Qingque's talent was, she really couldn't escape the palms of their hands.
But 'Huohuo's' laughter was the final straw for Qingque.
"Aaagh—Boss, you're still laughing? You're heartless!! Your poor little employee is being tortured into Mara-struck insanity by villains, and you're actually laughing at me!"
"You seem to be adapting quite well. You still manage a few rounds of Celestial Jade every day. Doesn't look like Mara to me; it looks more like you're actually becoming General Qingque."
"Oh, please don't scare me like that! 'General Qingque'? You might as well just stab me and get it over with."
Hearing the word 'General' paired with her own name made Qingque's world go dark.
She pressed a hand to her forehead, nearly fainting on the spot. It was bad enough now; if she actually became a General, it would be the end of the world.
"Wait, are you actually fainting?!"
Watching Qingque stagger, 'Huohuo' reached out to steady her by the arm and back. She hadn't expected the girl to be so terrified that she'd literally lose her vision.
Taking the opportunity to lean into 'Huohuo's' arms, Qingque grabbed her sleeve with teary eyes.
"Boss, take me away. Just say I've been chosen by you and that I'm your Emanator now, okay?"
'Huohuo' gave an awkward yet polite smile.
Technically speaking, Qingque was already an Emanator she had chosen. Did the girl really think that 'Salted Fish' tile she'd given her was weak?
It was just that Qingque was so lazy that, aside from developing the cloning function, she hadn't even considered using that power for anything else.
'Huohuo' figured the girl probably hadn't even bothered to check how much power was packed inside that tile.
"Tell me, is there a possibility that you... are already an Emanator I've chosen?"
"...?"
Qingque looked up with a confused expression, pointing a finger at herself. "Who? Me? For real?"
"So give up on that dream. Do you think Fu Xuan and Jing Yuan don't know about this?"
"..."
Qingque's face instantly slumped. She puffed out her cheeks and looked at 'Huohuo'. Even though she knew being whisked away was a pipe dream, her Boss's words still stung.
"Boss... do you think in this lifetime, I'll ever make it to the other shore?"
"You will. Why wouldn't you? I never said I wouldn't help you."
That was exactly what Qingque had been waiting for.
Upon hearing that promise, she sprang up from 'Huohuo's' arms. She rubbed her hands together with a beaming smile, looking nothing like the 'half-dead' person she was a second ago.
"Stop with the creepy look."
'Huohuo' pinched Qingque's cheek, forcing her to drop the shifty expression.
Simply put, Qingque's problem was that under the calculations of Yao Guang and the others, her workload was always perfectly calibrated to be reasonable yet fulfilling, never exceeding her stress threshold.
They even thoughtfully left her just enough energy for her card games.
An ambitious person would probably be thrilled, but Qingque was clearly not that type.
If it weren't for her parents' nagging and the fact that she needed money to live, she would spend her entire life inside a parlor. Expecting her to be proactive was wishful thinking.
The solution was simple: just raise Qingque's ceiling.
The previously upgraded 'Personality Supplement System' was perfect for this.
By improving Qingque's base performance, her work would naturally become effortless.
She'd have more energy to control her clones or her main body to play cards whenever she wanted, giving her the mental surplus to play mind games with those big shots.
Besides, Fu Xuan and Jing Yuan likely wouldn't be cruel enough to push a version of Qingque—equipped with a Personality Supplement System—to her absolute limit.
If they did, they'd probably have to pile every single task from the Divination Commissions and General's Residences of two entire ships onto her head just to keep her busy.
Of course, looking at it from another angle... if Qingque showed them that even the work of two ships couldn't exhaust her, whether she'd ever get to live a low-profile, peaceful life of slacking off again was another story.
Thinking of this, 'Huohuo' asked out of curiosity:
"Come to think of it, you could always just mess up a few tasks, or just quit the job at the Divination Commission. It's not like they can kidnap you back."
"Uh, how should I put this... it's like this..."
Qingque scratched her face awkwardly, struggling to find the words.
First off, her traditionalist parents had been over the moon when they heard their daughter had been hand-picked by General Jing Yuan.
Now, all her relatives knew she was rising through the ranks, having broken into the Luofu's upper echelons at such a young age.
More importantly, her parents were genuinely good to her, so making them lose face by quitting... Qingque just couldn't bring herself to do it.
On the other hand, setting the work aside, Fu Xuan and Jing Yuan actually took very good care of her in every way. And while she had pushed off a lot of work, if she didn't do what was left, it just meant Fu Xuan or her colleagues would have to work more overtime.
They were all coworkers, after all, and since Qingque's rapid rise, there weren't many 'bad guys' in her workplace—and if there were, they didn't dare show their faces.
It made it hard for her to turn down the work.
As for 'Celestial Sparrow Entertainment,' Qingque was even less willing to run away from that.
She knew very well that her cloning ability only existed because she held that position. It was tiring, but the ability was just too useful.
As long as she had the energy, an extra clone—or her main body—could spend the day lazily playing cards. Going back to a life without clones would be a hard fall from grace.
"...So that's basically it, Boss. I'm just a mundane person; I can't find the heart to throw those burdens away."
Qingque gave a wry, pained laugh. She knew her own choices had led her here, but she simply couldn't let go.
After hearing Qingque's journey, 'Huohuo' didn't have much else to say. She shook her head with a sigh.
"In that case, there's only one solution..."
"What solution?"
Qingque blinked, looking at 'Huohuo' with pathetic, expectant eyes.
Unable to stand the girl's forced cuteness, 'Huohuo' raised her hand.
Imaginary energy surged in her palm. The power of Permanence constructed matter while the power of Elation wrote the rules.
Soon, a green halo—the exact color of Qingque's eyes—manifested out of thin air.
"What's this?"
Qingque took the strangely shaped halo and looked it over; it felt like a peculiar, glowing toy.
"You'll know once you put it on. Remember to study it properly. Don't be like last time with the Salted Fish tile where you only cared about the clones, or I really won't help you next time."
'Huohuo' poked Qingque's forehead irritably.
"Muu..."
Qingque squinted as she let 'Huohuo' poke her.
Sensing that her Boss wasn't planning on staying long, she didn't rush to test the item. Instead, she looked at her with curiosity.
"Speaking of which, I haven't asked you yet, Boss. You look so cute this time! You look like a Foxian from the Xianzhou. Who is this?"
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL