A Quiet Dinner

His father was throwing a tantrum again, which was normal.

He was almost always throwing a tantrum, and when he got furious, he would hit people. Not just their mother, but their sister too. He rarely hit himself, though. Whenever he tried to touch himself, their mother would get angry, and her anger could always scare him off. But what Lu Xin didn't understand was that more often than not, their mother wouldn't stop him or scare him.

However, this time was a bit strange. His sister actually dared to talk back.

In the past, whenever she angered their father, she would just slip away or hide.

"You little brat, you're looking for death!"

Because his sister's stubborn retort was met with no fear, his father became even more furious. He paced agitatedly inside the room, his eyes looking as if they wanted to devour someone. He cursed fiercely, "Don't think you can talk back just because you stole some food outside and got a bit stronger. You dare to hide those things from me... If you have the guts, never come back! But if you do, I'll make sure you remember..."

"Fine, I won't come back then!"

His sister dangled from the ceiling, her black hair disheveled, and retorted fiercely, "When I grow up, it'll be your turn..."

"Do you think you'll even get the chance to grow up?"

"When I grow up, I'm going to tear you to shreds and make dolls out of you..."

"Roar..."

"Hiss..."

"Sigh..."

Lu Xin slowly walked over while listening to their argument, arriving in front of the room.

"You finally decided to come back?"

His father's tall figure blocked the light emanating from the room, like a dense and bloody darkness.

Seeing Lu Xin, he clearly became even more enraged, his bulging eyes fixated on him.

Lu Xin lowered his head and said, "I'm back with the groceries!"

His father seemed to freeze for a moment. His palpable anger, as if it couldn't find an outlet, seemed to stall.

Lu Xin lifted his left hand and said, "And I brought a bottle of wine for you!"

A flicker of stillness appeared on his father's ferocious face.

Lu Xin slowly raised his head and looked at his father, asking, "Can we eat dinner peacefully today?"

His father fell silent. The anger radiating from him was still evident.

But the torrent of curses didn't erupt as it usually did.

"Okay, Miss Chen, you've moved here, so we're neighbors now. They say a close neighbor is better than a distant relative, so we'll have to look out for each other... It's no trouble, really. You rest well today, and come visit us later..."

In the living room, their elegantly dressed mother was on the phone. This time, however, she hung up relatively quickly. Smiling, she leaned against the windowsill and said softly, "What are you waiting for? Let the two children in. My goodness, you've bought so many groceries today, it's so plentiful. Hurry and come in, the whole family is waiting for you to eat. For you, I've already embarrassed myself in front of my friends..."

His father, silent and cold, moved aside, creating a gap.

Lu Xin walked in carrying the groceries, but his sister was still in the hallway, warily watching their father.

Their mother helped set the table. Looking at the groceries Lu Xin had bought, she smiled and said, "You seem to be in a good mood today. Did you go to the orphanage?"

Lu Xin nodded and put down the items.

Upon hearing the words "orphanage," his father and sister outside the hallway both looked over.

Their gazes were peculiar.

A moment later, their mother took Lu Xin's groceries to prepare them, while his father and sister also returned to their seats at the table.

The meal was eaten in silence, but it was a rare moment of peace.

Occasionally, the father, mother, and sister would exchange glances and wear a strange expression.

After eating, Lu Xin went downstairs to do some exercises.

Last time, he had dealt with No. 041, a special pollution source, with his sister's help. But afterward, he felt very exhausted, even experiencing backaches the next day. He knew in his heart that it was because he hadn't been exercising enough; he got tired easily whenever he exerted himself. So, from then on, he developed a habit of going downstairs for a stroll after every meal to improve his physical fitness.

A couple of jumps, a couple of hops, and a hundred-meter slow jog back and forth. Lu Xin felt he was working very hard.

Especially after finding this job clearing pollution sources, it made him feel like everything was heading in a good direction.

Even the Crimson Moon in the sky seemed a bit more vibrant.

Just as Lu Xin had been jogging for a while, contemplating whether to do ten more push-ups, the Crimson Moon's light flickered slightly.

From the shadows in the corner, a dagger suddenly flew out.

The dagger made almost no sound, but its speed was astonishingly fast, instantly aiming for Lu Xin's leg.

Lu Xin was greatly alarmed, only managing to turn around.

Even before he could fully turn, the dagger had already flown in front of him.

However, the dagger still didn't manage to hit him.

Sister lightly dropped from the nearby streetlamp, snatching the dagger out of the air in a flash.

"Who is it?"

Only then did Lu Xin manage to call out, warily looking into the shadows.

"Haha, as expected of someone with abilities in the same series as me, your reaction is still pretty fast!"

There was no one where Lu Xin was looking, but a voice sounded from the shadows behind him. Lu Xin quickly turned back again and saw a person slowly walking down the side of a building. He treated the building like flat ground, walking down step by step until he was about a meter from the ground, then he lightly jumped to the ground and stood straight.

It was a young man wearing a trench coat, large sunglasses, and a bright smile.

He first raised both hands and said with a laugh, "I just wanted to test you!"

With that, he walked towards Lu Xin and extended his hand. "To introduce myself, my name is Gecko. Colonel Chen sent me!"

"Gecko?"

Lu Xin quickly recalled the name, especially after hearing Chen Jing's name. He knew this guy's background, but he didn't reach out to shake his hand. He frowned tightly and said, "Do you know that what you did was very dangerous?"

"Dangerous?"

The person called Gecko looked somewhat taken aback. "No way, man. For us in the Spider-type, can this be considered dangerous?"

Lu Xin silently turned and glanced around.

Sister was squatting beside him, holding the dagger that had been stuck in the ground. Her eyes were cold and she looked at him with ill intent, particularly staring at his neck as if she wanted to take a bite.

And upstairs, by the window facing the street, Father and Mother had appeared. Their faces were expressionless as they gazed down at the scene below.

It had been a long time since he had seen his family so united...

"The danger I'm talking about is you are dangerous!"

Lu Xin sighed softly and started walking towards the other end of the street. "Follow me, and be quick."

"..."

"Bro, it's not that serious, is it..."

The man called Gecko scratched his head, following Lu Xin as he ambled along, and awkwardly explained, "I was just saying hello. In our group, people even greet each other with guns drawn. They said it was to train personal alertness..."

"You're saying I went to the trouble of crossing two satellite cities to find you, and not only did you not invite me up for a sit-down, but you're also this angry..."

"..."

"He still wants to come up for a sit-down..."

Lu Xin was truly at a loss for words this time. After thinking for a moment, he said earnestly, "Next time, for sure!"