Chapter 7: I and my family

"Psychic pollution, psychic mutation?"

Lu Xin sat in his seat obediently, his face showing a mix of surprise and confusion.

Growing up in this city, he naturally knew that the world under the Red Moon was vastly different from before. He often heard colleagues and others talk about various mysterious and inexplicable events—ghost sightings, madmen who lost their minds outside the city, and the ruthless, rampant wilderness biker gangs. But to him, these were mostly rumors. Life was oppressive, yet stable.

Even though he had his "family" by his side, which didn't seem entirely normal.

Even though his sister often crawled around like a ghost and constantly brought strange occurrences into his life, he had never thought that the world had already become so abnormal. To the point where even the mind could be polluted and spread like a disease?

Seeing Lu Xin's expression, Chen Jing gave him some time to process.

Among all the people she had encountered, this young man in front of her was undoubtedly one of the calmest and most normal.

Although she had already witnessed the madness hidden beneath his calm exterior!

But she had seen many people like that before.

As long as he could remain rational during normal conversations and when facing psychic monsters, that was good enough.

"In the previous test, we had already evaluated you in advance and confirmed that with your level of psychic power, a Level One pollution source would have a hard time harming you. However, we still prepared emergency response measures. If you couldn't hold out, someone would have stepped in to resolve the issue for you.

But you didn't wait for us to intervene. You resolved the pollution incident at the street corner café by yourself!"

"Your performance was beyond our expectations!"

"We now need people like you to help handle the contamination incidents between Qinggang's main city and the five satellite cities…"

After explaining, Chen Jing leaned back slightly, her chest expanding as she looked at Lu Xin with a calm and appreciative gaze.

"And that is why I am sitting here, preparing to recruit you!"

"..."

Her movement made Lu Xin glance at her subconsciously, a thought flashing through his mind: Big chest!

Chen Jing noticed the subtle shift in his gaze and quickly evaluated in her mind: Has lustful thoughts. Danger index reduced by 10%.

"Just because I took care of the café incident, they decided to recruit me? Do they have other standards? Moreover, the contamination she mentioned… is it related to the problem I'm facing now? If so, can they help me?"

Thinking carefully, Lu Xin cautiously asked, "What are your evaluation criteria?"

…

Chen Jing hadn't expected Lu Xin to ask so many questions. She was just here to recruit him, not to explain everything.

But since he asked, she answered anyway, "It's about whether or not you lose control."

"We've already confirmed that psychic mutants, psychic monsters, and even those madmen wandering outside the city are all connected. And the source of this connection is the red moon in the sky. Because there is a link, we have to be careful of it. So our assessment is based on how well you control your ability. If you can control it, we recruit you."

Lu Xin thought for a moment and then asked, "And what happens if someone loses control?"

Chen Jing fell silent for a moment before looking at Lu Xin and saying, "Then you become a new pollution source."

Lu Xin was momentarily stunned.

Chen Jing quietly observed the young man in front of her, catching even the most subtle changes in his expression.

He seemed like an ideal recruit…

His initial potential wasn't the highest, but judging from the café incident, he used his abilities exceptionally well.

As a Spider-type, he had managed to take down a psychic monster on his own, without any external assistance. Although his act of deliberately luring the psychic monster when he was about to escape seemed odd, other people had their own peculiarities too.

More importantly, he seemed genuinely interested in all of this, which meant he could be easily persuaded.

"You seem to be saying some pretty interesting things…"

"And I really have been looking for a part-time job…"

After thinking for a long time, Lu Xin slowly shook his head and said, "But there's one thing I need to tell you…"

"Actually, I don't have any abilities."

"..."

Chen Jing frowned.

Even at this point, he was still denying it. That meant he wasn't as simple and honest as he appeared—he was tricky.

Then, she heard Lu Xin continue, "Actually, my abilities were borrowed from my sister."

Chen Jing's gaze darkened slightly. After a brief silence, she tapped the table lightly and asked, "Your sister is?"

Lu Xin also looked at Chen Jing and slowly replied, "The one who helped me escape earlier—that was my sister. She's always with me."

Chen Jing looked like she had just swallowed something bitter, her face turning a bit serious.

"Not just my sister…"

Lu Xin continued, speaking seriously. "There's also my dad and mom. We've always lived together."

Chen Jing felt a chill run down her spine.

At that moment, a tiny silver earpiece in her left ear emitted an urgent voice:

"Colonel Chen, you must make a final assessment immediately! If he truly has severe schizophrenia, it means he is constantly on the verge of losing control. Not only can we not recruit him or guide him, but we must eliminate him as soon as possible to prevent a major catastrophe!"

…

Chen Jing's expression remained unreadable for a long time.

But no one knew that her entire body had tensed up. Even her hand instinctively rested on her gun.

She had long known that Lu Xin had many secrets.

Inside her satchel was an old digital camera filled with images from the subway station.

That's why she understood more deeply than anyone how much madness lurked beneath this seemingly harmless young man…

Even in the background evaluations, the conclusions on him weren't optimistic.

During the café incident, he had only demonstrated his ability to precisely control his body using psychic power. However, previous observations had recorded something akin to "telekinesis"—which he hadn't displayed. That meant he was either hiding it or hadn't fully mastered it yet.

But the most important thing was a particularly bizarre incident involving him.

A Dream Weaver had once entered Lu Xin's dream, attempting to conduct a psychological assessment.

That Dream Weaver never woke up.

He died in his sleep, with no psychic remnants detected. Based on past experiences, even if someone were killed inside a dream, there would still be some lingering psychic traces. But he had disappeared so thoroughly that even Professor Bai couldn't determine if his death was connected to Lu Xin.

After all, research on psychic mutants was still in its infancy, and unexpected incidents were common.

But regardless, Lu Xin's danger level was high.

And now, he was displaying signs of schizophrenia?

Even so…

It was rare to find such a promising psychic mutant. Eliminating him immediately felt like a waste. But at the same time, she knew—high potential meant that if he ever lost control, the disaster would be immense.

After a long silence, she subtly adjusted her posture.

Her gaze turned sharp.

Taking a deep breath, she looked Lu Xin in the eye and said, "I've read your file and observed you. Ever since the destruction of the Moon Orphanage, you've lived alone. Your father, mother, and sister don't exist—they are figments of your imagination.

Not just them—even the old apartment building where you live, only you reside there."

After speaking, she tensed up slightly, her pupils faintly tinged with red, resembling the Red Moon.

Exposing a delusion could be highly dangerous.

She knew that people with a high risk of losing control were most volatile when their delusions were shattered.

She was fully prepared.

But to her surprise, Lu Xin sat there quietly, showing no signs of distress or shock.

"I know."

Lu Xin replied calmly, "I realized a long time ago that no one else can see them."

Chen Jing's expression turned strange.

Lu Xin smiled slightly. "But even if others can't see them, I can. Not only can I see them, but I can also talk to them and touch them.

When I'm alone, we eat together and watch TV together.

When I'm in danger, they appear to protect me.

So tell me, can such a family really be considered nonexistent?"

Chen Jing opened her mouth slightly. For the first time in her experience, she had no idea how to respond.