Chapter 7: My Family and I

Chapter 7: My Family and I

“Spiritual Contamination? Spiritual Mutation?”

Lu Xin sat obediently in his seat, a look of both surprise and bewilderment crossing his face.

Having grown up in this city, he naturally knew the world under the red moon was vastly different from before. He often heard colleagues or others talk about various mysterious events: encounters with ghosts, news of the deranged maniacs Outside the City, or the fiercely rampaging Wilderness Knights Order. Yet, to him, those seemed mostly rumors. Life was oppressive, but still relatively stable.

Though the constant presence of his “family” by his side seemed a bit… unusual.

Though Little Sister often crawled around ghost-like, frequently burdening him with odd incidents, he still hadn’t imagined the world had become abnormal to this extent. Could even one’s mind be contaminated and spread like a disease?

Observing Lu Xin’s expression, Chen Jing gave him time to absorb the information.

Of all the individuals she had encountered, this young man was undoubtedly among the calmest and most normal.

Although she had already witnessed the madness beneath that calm exterior.

But she had seen plenty like him.

As long as he could maintain composure during normal interactions and when facing Psychic Entities, that was excellent enough.

“In the previous test, although we had already evaluated you beforehand, confident that with your Psychic Energy, a Level 1 Source of Contamination would struggle to harm you, we still prepared emergency measures. Should you be unable to hold out, someone would step in to assist you. However, you didn’t wait for our intervention – you resolved the Street Corner Cafe Contamination Incident on your own!”

“Your performance exceeded our expectations!”

“We currently need individuals like you to help address the Contamination Incidents between Qing Harbor Main City and its five Satellite Cities…”

Having finished her explanation, Chen Jing leaned back slightly, expanding her chest as she looked at Lu Xin with a calm, appreciative gaze.

“And that is precisely why I am sitting here, preparing to recruit you.”

“…”

Her movement caused Lu Xin to instinctively flick a glance downward, thinking inwardly: “Quite large.”

Chen Jing noticed the shift in Lu Xin’s eyes, internally making an assessment: “Lustful intentions, danger index drops by ten percent.”

“So you’re recruiting me just because I dealt with the Monster in the cafe?” Lu Xin thought carefully. “Do they have other criteria? Moreover… is the Contamination she mentioned the root cause of the issues I’m facing now? If so… could they potentially help me?”

After pondering this in detail, Lu Xin asked cautiously, “What is the criteria for passing your assessment?”

…

Chen Jing hadn’t anticipated Lu Xin having so many questions; she was here to recruit, not necessarily to divulge everything to him.

But since he asked, she decided to answer. “It’s based on whether or not you are at Risk of Loss of Control.”

“It has been confirmed that there is a connection between Mental Aberrants, Psychic Entities, and even the deranged maniacs wandering Outside the City. Furthermore, the source of this connection is undeniably the red moon hanging in the sky. Since there is such a connection, extreme caution must be exercised regarding its implications. Therefore, our assessment evaluates your control over your abilities. Only those who demonstrate sufficient control are recruited!”

Lu Xin pondered briefly, then hurriedly asked, “And what if someone loses control?”

Chen Jing paused, looking directly at Lu Xin. “Then you become a new Source of Contamination.”

Lu Xin felt a sudden jolt of fear.

Chen Jing quietly observed the young man before her, inadvertently capturing the nuances of his every expression.

He should be a suitable candidate for recruitment…

His initial potential wasn’t the strongest, yet the outcome of the cafe incident showed he utilized his abilities the most effectively. As a Spider-Type, he managed to deal with a Psychic Entity entirely alone, without any external assistance. True, luring the Psychic Entity out when it was almost free seemed bizarre, but wasn’t that common among others?

Most importantly, he seemed genuinely interested in these matters, suggesting he could be relatively easy to persuade.

“To be honest, I am quite curious about what you’ve described…”

“And, well, I’ve actually been wanting to find a part-time job…”

Just then, after a long period of thought, Lu Xin slowly shook his head. “But there’s one thing… I feel I should tell you…”

“The truth is, I don’t possess any abilities myself…”

“…”

Chen Jing couldn’t help but furrow her brow.

Being at this stage and still denying it suggested this man wasn’t as straightforward as he appeared; he might be troublesome…

Then she heard Lu Xin continue: “Actually… my abilities… they’re lent to me by my Little Sister.”

Chen Jing’s gaze sharpened almost imperceptibly. After a brief pause, she gently tapped the table. “Your Little Sister is?”

Lu Xin looked back at Chen Jing, answering gradually. “The one who helped me escape just now was Little Sister. She’s always been with me.”

Chen Jing reacted as if slightly choked, a trace of gravity surfacing on her face.

“And it’s not just Little Sister…”

Lu Xin added earnestly, “There’s also Father… and Mother. We live together.”

Goosebumps prickled faintly across Chen Jing’s skin.

Simultaneously, inside a tiny metal disc nestled within her left ear, an urgent voice hissed: “Colonel Chen, you must make a final assessment of him! If he truly suffers from severe dissociative identity disorder, it indicates he could be perpetually on the verge of Loss of Control! Not only should we refrain from recruiting and guiding him, we must eliminate him with all speed to prevent potential catastrophe!”

…

Chen Jing’s face remained expressionless for a long moment.

Unseen by anyone, she was tensed to her core. Even her hand had instinctively drifted toward her sidearm.

She had long known Lu Xin held many secrets.

Inside her satchel lay an old Digital Camera that had captured footage inside the Subway Station.

Thus, she understood more profoundly than most the kind of madness this seemingly harmless young man concealed…

Moreover, even the back-end assessments on him were far from optimistic.

During the cafe incident, he had only displayed the power of precise mental control over his body – the Psychic Energy – against the contaminated individuals. The previously observed “Telekinetic Power” had been absent. This could be intentional concealment, or perhaps he hadn’t fully mastered it yet.

Crucially, preceding this, there was a perplexing incident during Lu Xin’s observation period.

A Dreamweaver had once entered the Dream Realm associated with Lu Xin, attempting to construct a reasonable psychological profile.

That Dreamweaver never woke up.

He had become a corpse directly in his sleep. No trace of Mental Power residue could be detected. Based on past experience, even if he had been killed while traversing Lu Xin’s dream, some residual psychic energy should remain detectable. His disappearance was unnervingly complete, leaving even Professor Bai unable to confirm whether the Dreamweaver’s death was linked to the seemingly harmless young man before them.

After all, research into the abilities of Mental Aberrants remained profound depths, making such accidents alarmingly common.

But regardless, these issues placed Lu Xin in the “high Risk of Loss of Control” assessment category.

And now… this apparent manifestation of Dissociative Identity Disorder?

Yet…

Discovering such a potentially powerful Mental Aberrant was rare. The thought of eliminating him immediately was genuinely hard for Chen Jing. Yet, she equally understood: greater potential meant exponentially greater disaster should loss of control occur.

After a prolonged silence, she merely adjusted her posture slightly.

Her gaze sharpened during this movement.

Taking a deep breath, she suddenly looked directly at Lu Xin, speaking candidly: “Then you must know… I’ve seen your file. I’ve observed you. From the destruction of the Moon Orphanage… you have lived completely alone. Your Father, your Mother, your Little Sister… they do not exist. They are figments of your imagination. Not only them, but the Old Building you live in… only you occupy it.”

As she uttered these words, a subtle tension tightened within her. Her pupils faintly reddened, as though turning into miniature Red Moons.

Piercing the veil of such delusions could easily trigger a severe reaction.

She was acutely aware: individuals at such high Risk of Loss of Control were most dangerous when the illusion of their reality was ripped away; eighty percent would succumb to loss of control immediately.

She braced herself.

However, contrary to her expectations, Lu Xin sat perfectly still, showing not the slightest trace of tension or surprise.

“I’m aware.”

Lu Xin answered calmly. “I realized long ago, others cannot see them.”

Chen Jing’s expression became peculiar.

Lu Xin, however, suddenly offered a slight smile. “But even though you cannot see them, I can. Not only can I see them, but I can talk to them, communicate with them, touch them. When I’m alone, we have meals together, we watch TV. When I’m in danger, they appear to protect me. So… tell me, can such family really be said not to exist?”

Chen Jing’s lips parted briefly. Despite her vast experience, she found herself utterly lost for words.