Chapter 10: So Many Toys

“I might not know when I’ll become a full employee, but this income is already very high…”

“With a fixed monthly salary of five thousand, plus the one thousand I can get from the company, I’d be earning six thousand!”

“And now, there are additional rewards for investigation or cleanup missions…”

“Eliminating a Level One Spiritual Monster pays thirty thousand, a Level Two brings three hundred thousand…”

“Even without the mission rewards, just from my two jobs, the six thousand I’d earn each month is already plenty. After setting aside five hundred yuan for food, I could save five thousand five hundred yuan. That’s sixty-six thousand yuan a year, and in ten years, six hundred sixty thousand yuan…”

“As for the elementary school, they need to move out quickly. Where they live now, water and power supply are unreliable, and it’s dangerously close to the High Wall. I inquired before; buying a big house far from the High Wall, big enough for one Teacher, one Security Guard, and more than a dozen children, would cost over a million yuan. If I save five thousand five hundred yuan each month, then…”

“It would take at most fifteen years to save up…”

“…”

Lu Xin ran these numbers in his head and suddenly felt filled with hope.

He was still young; fifteen years was manageable.

Besides, if he took on several missions, wouldn’t he earn even more generous rewards?

Of course, there were many problems too. For instance, he needed to become a full employee quickly. What if he got fired at any moment otherwise?

If everything went smoothly, not only could he buy the big house sooner, but he could also set aside more money for food, and maybe even take Teacher Xiaolu to the Main City. Perhaps they could find doctors in big hospitals there to cure her leg.

……

Thinking about all this, Lu Xin, after getting out of the car, felt in good spirits. He stuffed his hands into his pockets and walked slowly along the road.

As he neared the apartment, he stopped. He wasn’t in a hurry to go back just yet.

“Big Brother, what are you doing? Father and Mother are waiting for you to come home for dinner!”

A voice sounded from the nearby streetlight. Lu Xin looked up and saw Little Sister sitting on the horizontal bar of the streetlight. She hugged the patched-together small bear with her slender legs casually swinging back and forth in the night breeze. A mysterious smile played on her face.

“Little Sister, there’s something I wanted to discuss with you.”

Lu Xin pondered as he slowly raised his head to look at Little Sister on the streetlight. “I just got a new job. It pays much more money than before, enough to rebuild our old home. I really want to do it. But, this job… it might involve using abilities a lot. I wanted to ask…” He paused slightly. “Could you lend me your ability?”

“Lend you my ability?”

Little Sister on the streetlight smiled, her expression taking on an Aberration quality. “Big Brother, what are you going to give me in exchange?”

Lu Xin thought for a moment, tentatively asking, “A Screaming Chicken?”

The smile vanished from Little Sister’s face. Her form grew indistinct, as if she might disappear at any moment.

Lu Xin hastily called out, “Wait, wait, wait… let’s negotiate…”

He had found this new job now, and it seemed he could earn a lot of money. Of course, he had to do it well.

And the very first step in doing this job was to figure out how to handle Little Sister…

Though he had stopped her from leaving, Little Sister was still sulking. She didn’t speak, only watched him with an eerily quiet gaze.

Lu Xin felt somewhat helpless too. He ventured, “What kind of toy do you actually want?”

“You know the kind…”

Little Sister, looking at Lu Xin’s serious expression, suddenly revealed a mysterious smile. She gave a light hop and landed beside Lu Xin as nimbly as a spider, crouching lightly on the ground and looking up. “I want those fun toys!”

Lu Xin’s brows furrowed slightly.

Little Sister’s eyes suddenly lit up, turning towards the front.

Under the dim streetlight glow, a man who had drunk himself silly was leaning against a wall corner and relieving himself.

Little Sister’s eyes sparkled, an eerily cruel expression appearing. “I like toys that can move and talk. I like whole toys. Because only when they are whole… can I tear them apart, and then sew them back together…”

“Big Brother, can you give this toy to me?”

“If you give it to me, I’ll lend you my ability…”

“……”

“Don’t casually harm people…”

Lu Xin glanced at the man who had finished relieving himself and was now kicking a trash can while cursing under his breath. He whispered, “It’s illegal.”

Little Sister’s smile seemed tinged with cruelty as she murmured softly, “Then why can others harm me?”

Lu Xin didn’t know how to answer that immediately.

He looked at Little Sister’s delicate little face. At this moment, asymmetrical cracks seemed to appear upon it. A look of pain flickered in his eyes.

“If you don’t want me to hurt others,” Little Sister, staring into his eyes, her smile twisting into something Aberrant, said, “Then you can lend yourself to me as a toy to play with for a while instead…”

Lu Xin remained silent. He didn’t answer, nor did he refuse. He watched as Little Sister’s sharp fingers stretched towards him.

The fingertips were delicate yet sharp, seeming to possess an invisible, dangerous power.

The slightest touch could bring terrifying consequences.

But the fingers of Little Sister, as they slowly extended toward Lu Xin’s body, suddenly slowed down.

The fingers did not pierce into Lu Xin’s body; they merely slid lightly over his back. Through the clothes, one could feel a long scar there, hideous and terrifying, and it was easy to imagine how severe the injury must have been that caused this scar.

“Big Brother has always been a fool…”

Little Sister lowered her voice and whispered: “When others hurt me, only you would rush over to protect me.”

The twisted expression on her face softened, becoming gentle like that of a simple little girl, fragile and delicate. She extended both hands but did not harm Lu Xin; instead, she hugged him, her small face pressing into his body as if wanting to bury itself inside. Lu Xin saw her tiny frame trembling softly, as if she was crying intensely, yet in this deserted, empty alley, not a single sound of tears could be heard.

Lu Xin watched Little Sister weep like that for a long while, then eventually let out a gentle sigh.

Some things were intertwined between the Dream Realm and Reality, overlapping Fantasy and Truth, to the point he could no longer distinguish them clearly.

After a moment, he softly grasped Little Sister’s shoulders and smiled, “Little Sister, do you know I am different from before?”

Little Sister’s dirty little face still bore tear stains, but she couldn’t hide the curiosity, “What?”

“I just found a job; I have money now!”

Lu Xin said seriously, “So I can’t give you those kinds of toys, but I can take you to buy toys!”

He pointed towards the lively street far away and said, “Buy as many as you like—whatever kind you want—buy them all!”

“Okay?”

Little Sister listened, her eyes brightening slightly as if she had instantly forgotten her earlier sadness.

Her small face, still streaked with tears, broke into a smile, and she nodded vigorously.

The money from dealing with the Level One Spiritual Monster contamination in the café had been left at the Red Moon Orphanage, but from his own work over the years, Lu Xin had savings that totaled over two thousand yuan.

Lu Xin found a worn-out ATM machine, withdrew all the money from his card, and then, holding Little Sister’s hand, walked to the street in the old district with the most stores.

After all, once he started his new job, he could earn even more.

Barbie dolls in elegant dresses, cuddly Teddy Bears, Puppets with movable joints, and fluffy Toys that cried “kiss, hug, lift me high” when squeezed… Lu Xin bought many toys in one go, rushing from one end of the street to the other. Some were old stock from before the Crimson Moon Incident, unearthed and sold by people; others were newly made in factories after the Crimson Moon Incident.

He ignored all the stares; he didn’t mind the money—spending it until it was gone.

Whatever Little Sister nodded to agree on, or just cast a glance at, he bought all of it.

He knew others couldn’t see Little Sister; when he spoke to her or held her hand while walking, it drew strange looks, and though he usually took care, today he didn’t care at all.

He simply tried his very best to fulfill Little Sister’s wishes.

In the end, he carried four or five bags in his hands, several large bears on his back, and clutched a stack of toys under his arm. Amid unusual glances from those around, he took Little Sister to the bridge by the river, piling all the toys together.

Little Sister sat encircled by toys, her eyes shining.

She twisted off the Barbie doll’s head, pulled off its legs, gouged out the Teddy Bear’s eyes, tore its body down the middle, swapped the Puppet’s arms and legs for each other, and removed the battery from the fluffy Toy that shouted “kiss, hug, lift me high”… She freely tore apart and destroyed the toys, her face showing unprecedented satisfaction.

Meanwhile, Lu Xin leaned against the railing nearby, smoking a cigarette, silently watching Little Sister.

“I’m very happy, Big Brother!”

Finally, Little Sister lifted her head, and her smile was unexpectedly lovely.

Lu Xin finally felt relieved and said with a smile, “Then, will you lend me your power?”

Little Sister stood up from a pile of shattered toys, eyes bright as she grinned at Lu Xin:

“My silly Big Brother, don’t you know you could actually force me to use my ability?”

“…”

“I know.”

Lu Xin paused for a moment before answering: “But I still wanted to ask.”

Little Sister’s somewhat twisted face suddenly wore a genuinely happy grin, and she extended a slender hand toward Lu Xin.

“When you need me, I’ll be by your side!”

Looking into Little Sister’s eyes, Lu Xin earnestly extended his hand.

“Clap!”

Under the Crimson Moon, he and Little Sister gently tapped their small hands as if sealing a promise.