"Although I don't know when I'll become a full-time employee, this income is already quite high..."
"A fixed salary of five thousand per month, plus another thousand from company benefits, means I can make six thousand!"
"And now, with tasks that require investigation or cleanup, there are additional bonuses..."
"The reward for eliminating a Level 1 psychic monster is thirty thousand, and for a Level 2, it's three hundred thousand..."
"Even without the mission rewards, my two jobs combined already bring in six thousand per month, which is a lot. After deducting five hundred for food, I still have fifty-five hundred left. That's sixty-six thousand a year, and in ten years, six hundred sixty thousand..."
"The elementary school… I need to move them as soon as possible. The place they live in has unstable water and electricity, and it's too close to the high wall—extremely dangerous. I looked into it before. To buy a house far from the high wall, one big enough for a teacher, a security guard, and a dozen children, I'd need about a million. If I save fifty-five hundred per month, then..."
"In at most fifteen years, I'll have enough..."
"..."
As Lu Xin did the calculations in his head, he suddenly felt a surge of hope.
He was still young—fifteen years was doable.
Besides, if he took on more tasks, he could earn even more money, right?
Of course, there were many problems to consider. For example, he needed to secure a permanent position as soon as possible. If he didn't, what if he got fired?
If everything went smoothly, not only could he buy a house faster, but he'd also have more money left for food. He might even be able to take Teacher Xiaolu to the main city and find a top doctor to treat her leg.
...
...
Thinking about all this, Lu Xin got off the bus, hands in his pockets, and strolled down the street in a good mood.
As he was nearing his apartment, he suddenly stopped. Right now, he wasn't in a hurry to go back.
"Big Brother, what are you doing? Mom and Dad are waiting for you to come home for dinner!"
A voice echoed from a nearby streetlamp. Lu Xin looked up and saw his little sister sitting on the horizontal bar of the lamp, hugging a patchwork teddy bear. Her thin legs swung back and forth in the night breeze, and a mysterious smile played on her lips.
"Little Sister, I was just about to discuss something with you!"
Lu Xin pondered for a moment, then slowly looked up at his sister on the streetlamp and said, "I just got a new job. It pays much better than before, and I can rebuild our old home. I really want to do it. But this job... might require me to use my abilities quite a lot. So, I wanted to ask..."
He paused slightly before continuing, "Can you lend me your power?"
"Lend you my power?"
His sister grinned, her smile a little eerie. "Big Brother, what will you trade for it?"
Lu Xin thought for a moment and tentatively asked, "A screaming rubber chicken?"
His sister's smile vanished. Her figure blurred, as if she might disappear at any moment.
Lu Xin quickly called out, "Wait, wait, let's negotiate..."
Now that he had found this new job and it looked like he could earn quite a lot, he had to do it well.
And the first step to succeeding at this job was to deal with his little sister...
His sister remained still, though she was clearly upset. She didn't say a word and just stared at him with an eerie gaze.
Lu Xin felt a bit helpless. He tried again, "What kind of toy do you actually want?"
"You know..."
His sister gave him a mysterious smile. She jumped down gracefully, landing like a nimble spider beside Lu Xin. Squatting down, she looked up at him and said, "I want the kind of toys that are fun to play with!"
Lu Xin frowned slightly.
His sister's eyes suddenly gleamed as she looked ahead.
Under the dim glow of the streetlight, a drunken man was leaning against a wall, relieving himself.
Her eyes shone with an unsettling glint, and a cruel smirk tugged at her lips. "I like toys that move and talk. I like complete toys, because only when they're whole can you tear them apart and stitch them back together..."
"Big Brother, can you give me this toy?"
"If you give it to me, I'll lend you my power..."
"..."
"Stop thinking about hurting people all the time..."
Lu Xin glanced at the man, who had just finished relieving himself and was now drunkenly kicking over a trash can. He lowered his voice and said, "That's illegal."
His sister grinned cruelly and murmured, "Then why was it okay for others to hurt me?"
Lu Xin had no answer for that.
He looked at his sister's delicate face. At this moment, it seemed to crack apart with an unnatural distortion, her gaze filled with pain.
"If you don't want me to hurt others, you could always be my toy and let me play with you instead..."
His sister's smile grew even more twisted as she gazed into his eyes.
Lu Xin remained silent. He didn't respond or reject her. He simply watched as her sharp little fingers reached toward him.
Her fingertips were delicate and pointed, seemingly carrying an invisible force.
If they touched someone, terrible things would happen.
But as her fingers drew closer to him, they slowed down.
Instead of piercing into his body, they merely slid down his back. Even through his shirt, one could feel the long scar running down his spine—jagged and terrifying. It was easy to imagine how severe the injury must have been when he first got it.
"Big Brother is such a fool..."
His sister's voice softened. "You were the only one who ever rushed in to protect me when others hurt me."
The eerie expression on her face faded, replaced by the fragile look of a little girl. She wrapped her arms around him, pressing her tiny face against his chest.
Lu Xin could feel her trembling violently, as if she were crying, but in the empty alley, there wasn't a single sound.
He watched her silently for a long time before finally sighing.
Some things blurred the line between dreams and reality, between imagination and truth—he could no longer distinguish them.
After a while, he gently held his sister's shoulders and smiled. "Sister, did you know that I'm not the same as before?"
His sister's tear-streaked face showed a hint of curiosity. "What?"
"I just got another job. I have money now!"
Lu Xin said seriously, "So I can't give you that kind of toy, but I can take you to buy toys!"
He pointed toward the bustling streets in the distance. "As many as you want—whatever you like!"
"How about that?"
His sister's eyes brightened, as if she had suddenly forgotten her sadness.
Tears still clung to her dirty little face, but a smile broke through as she nodded vigorously.
"..."
The money from handling the psychic contamination at the café had already been donated to the Red Moon Orphanage, but Lu Xin had saved up over the years. He found an old ATM, withdrew all two thousand yuan from his account, and took his sister to the busiest shopping street in the old district.
Now that he had a new job, he could earn even more.
Dressed-up Barbie dolls, cuddly stuffed bears, poseable wooden puppets, plush toys that shouted "Hug me, lift me up!" when squeezed... Lu Xin bought them all. From one end of the street to the other, he bought everything she pointed at or showed interest in.
People cast him strange glances, but he didn't care.
Tonight, he just wanted to make his little sister happy.
By the time they reached the bridge, Lu Xin was carrying several bags, his back weighed down by giant teddy bears, his arms stuffed with toys.
His sister sat among the pile of toys, her eyes sparkling.
She twisted the Barbie dolls apart, yanked off stuffed animals' eyes, swapped puppet limbs, and ripped plushies open. She tore them apart gleefully, utterly satisfied.
Lu Xin leaned against the railing, smoking a cigarette as he watched her.
"I'm so happy, Big Brother!"
At last, she looked up, beaming.
Lu Xin smiled. "So, will you lend me your power now?"
His sister grinned, eyes gleaming.
"Silly Brother, don't you know? You could have used my power anytime you wanted."
"..."
"I know," Lu Xin said after a pause. "But I still wanted to ask you first."
Her twisted expression softened into a genuine smile.
She stretched out her small, delicate hand.
"When you need me, I'll always be by your side!"
Under the Red Moon, Lu Xin reached out and high-fived her—like sealing a promise.