The dark red moon hung low above the densely packed high-rise buildings of the city, nearly filling half the sky.
A dark, rust-covered ring-city train sped through the city under the watchful eye of the red moon. Inside the train, passengers dressed in various clothes were reading newspapers or dozing off under the dim lights.
"Ding, the Moon Platform Station has arrived!"
Lu Xin was jolted awake from his nap, picked up his bag, followed the crowd, and stepped off the train.
With his bag slung over his shoulder, he walked down the dirty and dilapidated stairs, past the station platform littered with newspapers, and onto the city's streets. Looking up, the neon lights surrounding the area gave the streets and the crowds a bizarre, multicolored feeling. Yet, no matter how vibrant the street lights were, the red moon hanging in the sky remained the defining color of this world.
Ever since the Red Moon incident thirty years ago, the world had remained like this.
Of course, Lu Xin didn't know that it was any different; he was born after the Red Moon incident. The world had always been like this for him.
He walked with his bag through a narrow alley where rain had just fallen, climbed up a dilapidated old building, and found that the elevator was broken. So, he had to take the stairs, slowly reaching the fourth floor and stopping in front of room 401. He pulled out his key and opened the heavy door.
The hallway was quiet and cold, but inside the apartment, it was warm and cozy.
In the kitchen, his father was stewing meat, and the pressure cooker was bubbling with steam, releasing a mouthwatering aroma of meat.
His younger sister was lying on the sofa, holding snacks and watching an old animated show, SpongeBob SquarePants.
His mother, graceful and composed, wore a white woolen cardigan and was standing by the window talking on the phone.
"Big Brother, you're home!"
When Lu Xin walked in and put down his bag, his younger sister lifted her head and sweetly greeted him with a smile.
"Xiao Shiqi, were you good at home today? I got you the teddy bear you wanted!"
Lu Xin patted her on the head and handed her a brown teddy bear.
"Ah, thank you, Brother! I love it!"
His younger sister happily jumped up, hugging the teddy bear tightly.
"You're back?"
His mother looked up, nodded with a smile, and said, "Sit down and rest for a bit. Dinner will be ready soon!"
Lu Xin nodded and sat at the dining table.
...
The table was already set with four sets of chopsticks and a few small dishes of vegetables. The rice in the bowls had already cooled.
However, no one seemed ready to sit down and eat.
His mother continued speaking gently on the phone: "Sister Zhang, about what happened today, I admit it was my fault, don't be upset. Of course, this grey woolen cardigan is a bit outdated, but how can I say it's not pretty?... Yes, I called you because of this... You didn't say it, but I know you were thinking of it..."
"No, no, don't misunderstand me... I just wanted to apologize to you... You shouldn't curse, it's so uncivilized..."
The sound of his father chopping bones grew louder, accompanied by his mumbling curses: "Scum, useless, barging into others' homes, they all deserve to die, they all deserve to die... Damn it, how much more do I have to chop, how much more do I have to cook, it's never enough!"
His younger sister was happily sitting cross-legged on the sofa, slowly tearing apart the brown teddy bear. With her small hands, she tore its ears and eyes off, then its arms, watching with excitement as the bear slowly lost its limbs.
"We'll have to wait a bit longer before we eat!"
His mother finally hung up the phone and gently said, "There was a misunderstanding with Sister Zhang, I'll go apologize to her."
Saying this, she casually took a pair of scissors from the drawer and elegantly walked out, closing the door behind her.
...
Lu Xin sat quietly by the dining table, waiting.
He felt lucky. After the Red Moon event, there was a long period of chaos in the world. During that time, many people died, leaving behind many orphans like Lu Xin. A large portion of them disappeared once they reached adulthood. However, Lu Xin had been adopted by his parents, and he had a warm home—something many envied.
Of course, his family, like many others, was a little odd at times.
But in this small, decaying satellite city, his family was still complete.
His mother soon returned with a satisfied smile, saying, "Sister Zhang has forgiven me!"
Lu Xin noticed that a small, fresh bloodstain had appeared just below the collar of her white woolen cardigan.
The family sat down to eat.
His younger sister still clutched her teddy bear, which she had torn apart but now stitched back together. The stitching was crooked and rough, but she loved it even more than before.
His father sat at the table, opened a bottle of white liquor with a damaged label, grabbed a piece of vegetables with his chopsticks, and drank a glass of liquor in one gulp. There was no meat on the table; his father preferred to chop bones and stew meat but never allowed anyone to eat from his iron pot. He was still wearing a plastic apron stained with blood, and a few flies hovered around him.
Outside, the sound of sirens grew closer, accompanied by noisy voices. It was unclear what they were saying.
"Bang!"
His father suddenly slammed the glass down on the table, his bloodshot eyes glaring at the window: "Noise, noise, all they do is make noise, can't even let someone eat a quiet meal. Useless police station, can't investigate anything, useless neighbors, always spying on others!"
"Don't scare the child!"
His mother carefully ate a piece of vegetable, her red lips looking especially striking under the dim light. Lu Xin remembered she wasn't wearing any lipstick.
"To hell with the child, they all deserve to die!"
His father became angrier, his fingers tightly gripping the liquor bottle, veins bulging on his forehead. He cursed, "Bitch, you deserve to die too!"
"Yes, in your eyes, everyone deserves to die, but not you!"
His mother smiled with composure: "Because in the end, you want to collect the bodies, don't you? You like to collect them!"
She spoke, put down her bowl and chopsticks, and with a soft smile, looked at his father. "Because those people lived better than you, they were more capable than you, and you hate seeing them alive. You like seeing them unable to speak anymore!"
"Shut up, shut up, what would you know?"
His father, enraged by his mother's words, suddenly smashed the liquor bottle, rushed over, and grabbed his mother's neck.
"Ha, ha..."
His mother laughed, even though her face was turning purple from being choked. Her smile remained elegant: "Useless..."
"Bang!"
His father finally couldn't hold back anymore, starting to punch and kick. The dining room shook with every blow.
"Ah... Dad, don't hit Mom..."
His younger sister was terrified and cried loudly, clutching her teddy bear tightly. Suddenly, her expression changed, and she burst into maniacal laughter: "So fun, so fun, so fun..."
Laughing wildly, she suddenly flipped over and jumped up, like an agile spider. She climbed up to the ceiling, hooked her feet around the chandelier, and somehow fixed her body in place. Twisting her head, she looked down at the fight, the teddy bear in her mouth, her hands clapping wildly, her voice a mixture of laughter and crying: "This is so fun..."
His father grew more furious, his body expanding as his muscles tore through his shirt. His back was now covered in dark, stiff hair. His facial features became grotesque and oversized. He swung his fists forcefully, hitting his mother again and again, while she was already battered, yet her voice remained elegant: "How nice... this pathetic rage..."
Lu Xin sat at the table, now overturned, quietly eating his rice.
After the Red Moon incident, a warm family was truly a rare thing…
Even though his family sometimes had its quirks, sometimes they argued and fought, it was still family…
...
Outside, in a room directly opposite Lu Xin's apartment, a simple studio had been set up.
A short-haired woman in a casual suit was observing Lu Xin's room through a telescope.
Through the lens, she saw the empty room, where Lu Xin was eating alone at the table. Although he was the only one in the room, it seemed as if the room itself was shaking. The furniture was overturned, and the chandelier swayed. Occasionally, cracks appeared in the window glass, looking as if something had hit it.
"The Psychic Mutation of Subject No. 13 has emerged!" she said.
Two young men in fine work attire were beside her—one was quickly calculating, and the other was taking notes.
"Does he have recruitment potential?"
"How big is the potential threat?"
"What are his abilities?"
The short-haired woman shook her head and replied, "It's still unclear. Unlike other Psychic Mutations, he hasn't shown strong mutations in the early stages, like entering others' dreams or unintentionally releasing mental plagues. He seems normal. He can go to work and handle his tasks just fine, but occasionally, his mind shows signs of instability."
"He sounds like he has potential and can be guided."
Behind them, a man with a stern face spoke up: "Has anyone tried letting a Dream Weaver enter his dream for an evaluation?"
"Yes!"
The short-haired woman nodded softly and said, "But the Dream Weaver who entered his dream never came back."