So Many Toys

"Although I don't know when I'll become a full employee, this income is already very high..."

"I have a fixed salary of five thousand a month, plus the one thousand I can receive from the company. That makes six thousand!"

"And now, if there are investigation or cleanup assignments, there are extra rewards..."

"The reward for clearing a Level 1 Mental Monster is thirty thousand, and a Level 2 is three hundred thousand..."

"Even without counting assignment rewards, the six thousand a month from my two jobs is already a lot. After taking out five hundred for food, I can still save five thousand five hundred. That's sixty-six thousand a year, and six hundred sixty thousand in ten years..."

"As for the elementary school, they need to move as soon as possible. The place where they live has unreliable water and electricity, and it's too close to the high wall. It's very dangerous. I asked around before—if we bought a large house far from the high wall, big enough for a teacher, a security guard, and more than a dozen children, it would cost a little over a million. If I save five thousand five hundred every month, then..."

"I'll have enough in fifteen years at most..."

"..."

As Lu Xin calculated, he suddenly felt full of hope.

He was still young. Fifteen years was doable.

Besides, if he took on a few more assignments each time, he could earn even better rewards, couldn't he?

Of course, there were plenty of problems too. For example, he needed to become a full employee soon. What if they fired him at any time while he was still temporary?

If everything went smoothly, not only could he buy that big house sooner, he could also leave himself more money for food. Maybe he could even take Teacher Lu to Main City, find a doctor at a major hospital, and heal her leg.

Thinking about all this, Lu Xin got out of the car, tucked both hands into his pockets, and strolled slowly down the road in a fine mood.

As he neared his apartment, he stopped. He was not in a hurry to go back just yet.

"Brother, what are you doing? Dad and Mom are waiting for you to go home for dinner!"

A voice sounded from the streetlamp beside him. Lu Xin looked up and saw Sister sitting on the lamp's crossbar, holding that patchwork teddy bear in her arms. Her slender little legs swung in the night breeze, and a mysterious smile rested on her face.

"Sister, I happened to have something I wanted to discuss with you."

Lu Xin thought for a moment, then slowly raised his head to look at Sister on the streetlamp. "I just got a new job. It can make much more money than before, enough to rebuild our old home. I really want to do it, but this job may involve a lot of situations where I'll need to use abilities. I wanted to ask..." He paused slightly. "Can you lend me your ability?"

"Lend you my ability?"

Sister smiled from atop the streetlamp, her smile somewhat eerie. "What will you trade me for it, brother?"

Lu Xin thought about it, then cautiously asked, "A Squeaky Chicken?"

The smile vanished from Sister's face. Her figure became a little blurry, as though she could disappear at any moment.

Lu Xin hurriedly called out, "Wait, wait, wait. Let's talk this over..."

Now that he had found this new job, it looked like he could make quite a lot of money. Naturally, he had to do it properly.

And the first thing he needed to do for this job was settle things with Sister...

Although Sister stopped when he called her, she was still angry. She said nothing, merely gazing at him gloomily.

Lu Xin was somewhat helpless as well. He tentatively asked, "What kind of toy do you want, exactly?"

"You know..."

Seeing Lu Xin's earnest expression, Sister suddenly revealed a mysterious smile. With a light jump, she landed beside Lu Xin like an agile spider. She crouched gently on the ground and looked up at him. "I want the fun kind of toy!"

Lu Xin's brows furrowed slightly.

At that moment, Sister's eyes lit up as she looked ahead.

Under the dim streetlights, a drunken man was relieving himself against a wall.

Sister's eyes gleamed, her expression carrying a strange cruelty. "I like toys that can move and talk. I like complete toys, because only when they're complete can I tear them apart and sew them back together..."

"Brother, can you give me this toy?"

"As long as you give him to me, I'll lend you my ability..."

"..."

"Don't go hurting people at the drop of a hat..."

Lu Xin looked at the man, who had finished relieving himself and was cursing as he kicked a trash can. "It's illegal."

Sister smiled with what seemed to be cruelty and softly said, "Then why were others allowed to hurt me?"

For a moment, Lu Xin did not know how to answer.

He looked at Sister's delicate little face. At that moment, it seemed to develop mismatched cracks, and her eyes held pain.

"If you don't want me to hurt others, then you can let me use you as a toy for a while instead..."

Sister looked into his eyes, her smile becoming eerie.

Lu Xin could only remain silent. He neither answered nor refused, watching as Sister's pointed fingers reached toward him.

Those fingertips were smooth and sharp, as though they carried an invisible magic.

Once they touched someone, terrible consequences would follow.

Yet as Sister's fingers slowly reached toward Lu Xin, they suddenly became slow.

Her fingers did not pierce Lu Xin's body. They only lightly brushed over his back. Through his clothes, she could feel a long scar there, hideous and terrifying. It was easy to imagine just how severe the injury that had caused it had been.

"Brother has always been a fool..."

Sister lowered her voice and whispered, "When others hurt me, you were the only one who would rush in to protect me."

The eerie expression on her face softened. She looked like an ordinary little girl now, frail and gentle. She reached out with both hands, but instead of hurting Lu Xin, she hugged him. Her little face seemed as though it wanted to burrow into his body. Lu Xin saw her small frame trembling softly, as though she were crying hard, yet in that empty, deserted alley, not a single sob could be heard.

Lu Xin watched Sister cry like that. After a long while, he let out a quiet sigh.

Some things were woven together between dreams and reality, fantasy and truth. He could no longer tell them apart.

After a while, he gently held Sister by the shoulders and smiled. "Sister, do you know that I'm different from before?"

There were still tear tracks on Sister's grimy little face, but they could no longer hide her curiosity. "What?"

"I found another job just now. I have money now!"

Lu Xin said earnestly, "So I can't give you that kind of toy, but I can take you to buy toys!"

He raised his hand and pointed toward the bustling street in the distance. "Buy as much as you want. Whatever kind you want, we'll buy it!"

"Okay?"

As Sister listened, her eyes brightened slightly, as though she had suddenly forgotten her earlier sadness.

A smile appeared on her tear-streaked little face, and she nodded vigorously.

"..."

The money from handling the Level 1 Mental Monster contamination at the coffee shop had all been left at Crimson Moon Orphanage. However, Lu Xin had saved some money over the years from his own work—more than two thousand in total. He found a shabby ATM and withdrew everything from his card. Then, holding Sister's hand, he took her to the street with the most shops in the old district.

After all, once he started his new job, he would be able to earn even more.

Barbie dolls in exquisite dresses, cuddly teddy bears, jointed wooden puppets, plush babies that cried "Kiss kiss, hug hug, lift me up high" when squeezed... Lu Xin bought a great many toys in one go, all the way from one end of the street to the other. Some had been stockpiled before the Crimson Moon incident and were dug out to be sold, while others had been newly manufactured in factories after the Crimson Moon incident.

He ignored everyone's stares and did not begrudge the money... He would spend it all, no matter what...

As long as Sister nodded in agreement, or her gaze lingered on something, he bought it all.

He knew that others could not see Sister. Whenever he spoke to her or held her hand while walking, he would draw strange looks. Usually, he would be mindful of it, but today, he did not care in the slightest.

He simply did everything he could to fulfill Sister's wishes.

In the end, he carried four or five bags in his hands, had several large bears strapped to his back, and tucked a pile of toys beneath his arm. Under the peculiar looks of the people around him, he brought Sister to a bridge by the river, where they piled all the toys together.

Sister sat amid the toys, her eyes shining.

She twisted off the Barbie doll's head, pulled off its legs, gouged out the teddy bear's eyes, and tore its body open down the middle. She swapped the puppet's arms and legs around, then removed the batteries from the plush baby that cried "Kiss kiss, hug hug, lift me up high"... She tore apart and destroyed the toys to her heart's content, her face showing an unprecedented expression of satisfaction.

Meanwhile, Lu Xin leaned against the railing nearby, smoking as he quietly watched Sister.

"I'm so happy, brother!"

At last, Sister raised her head. Her smile was unexpectedly beautiful.

Lu Xin finally relaxed and smiled. "Then you'll lend me your power, right?"

Sister stood up from the heap of shattered toys, her eyes shining as she smiled at Lu Xin.

"My foolish brother, don't you know that you can actually forcefully use my ability?"

"..."

"I know."

After a moment of silence, Lu Xin answered, "But I still wanted to ask you first."

A truly happy smile suddenly appeared on Sister's somewhat twisted face. Then she extended her slender hand toward Lu Xin.

"When you need me, I'll appear by your side!"

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

Slap!

Beneath the Crimson Moon, he and Sister lightly high-fived, as though sealing an agreement.