Mr. Carter’s chopping of bones grew louder and louder, with his muttering curses faintly drifting over: “Scum, useless trash, barging into other people’s homes, damn it, they all deserve to die… Damn it, eating so much, no matter how much I chop, I can’t finish, no matter how much I cook, I can’t get it clean!”

　　At this moment, Sophie Carter was happily sitting cross-legged on the sofa, slowly tearing apart the brown teddy bear, pulling with both hands, biting with her neat, snow-white teeth. She bit off the teddy bear’s ear, then its eyes, and then, bit by bit, tore off both arms, watching intently as the arms separated from the bear’s body, her face showing an excited and satisfied expression.

　　“We’ll have to wait a bit before eating!”

　　Mother Carter had already put down the phone and said gently, “I had a little misunderstanding with our neighbor, Sister Zhang. I’m going to apologize to her.”

　　As she spoke, she casually took a pair of scissors from the drawer, walked out gracefully, and closed the door behind her.

　　……

　　……

　　Brian Carter sat quietly by the dining table, waiting.

　　He felt he was lucky. Ever since the Red Moon Incident began, the world had been in chaos for a long time. During that time, many people died, and many orphans like Brian Carter appeared. A large number of them disappeared after reaching adulthood, but Brian Carter was fortunate enough to be adopted by Mr. Carter and Mother Carter, to have a warm home—something countless people envied.

　　Of course, this family, these family members, could be a little strange at times.

　　But in this dilapidated and filthy little satellite city, this family was still quite complete.

　　Mother Carter soon returned, a gratified smile on her face, and said, “Sister Zhang has made up with me!”

　　Brian Carter noticed that under the collar of her white wool sweater, there was a fresh, inconspicuous bloodstain.

　　The family began to eat.

　　Sophie Carter was still holding her teddy bear, which had been torn apart and then sewn back together.

　　Its body was now crooked and patched with rough stitches, but Sophie Carter liked it even more than before.

　　Mr. Carter sat at the table, opened a bottle of liquor with a label so worn it was unreadable, picked up some greens with his chopsticks, and downed a glass in one gulp. There was no meat on the table. Mr. Carter liked chopping bones and stewing meat, but never let anyone eat it, nor let anyone near his iron pot. He was still wearing a plastic apron, splattered with bloodstains, and a few flies buzzed around him.

　　Outside, police sirens drew near, and noisy voices kept drifting in, though it was unclear what they were saying.

　　“Bang!”

　　Mr. Carter suddenly slammed his glass down, his bloodshot eyes glaring out the window: “Noisy, noisy, all they fucking do is make noise, can’t even let a man eat a peaceful meal, useless Security Bureau, can’t find out anything, useless neighbors, all they do is spy on others!”

　　“Don’t scare the child.”

　　Mother Carter picked up a piece of vegetable, eating carefully, her bright red lips looking especially striking under the dim light.

　　Brian Carter remembered she hadn’t put on lipstick.

　　“To hell with the child, damn it, they all deserve to die!”

　　Mr. Carter grew even angrier, gripping the bottle so tightly his veins bulged, cursing, “Bitch, you deserve to die too!”

　　“Yes, in your eyes, everyone deserves to die—except you.”

　　Mother Carter smiled with elegance and composure: “Because you want to be the one left to clean up the corpses, right? You like cleaning up after the dead!”

　　As she spoke, she put down her bowl and chopsticks, smiling gently as she looked at Mr. Carter: “Because when those people were alive, they all lived better than you, were more capable than you, so you especially hate seeing them alive. You like seeing them when they can never speak again!”

　　“Shut up, shut up, do you hear me?”

　　Mr. Carter was indeed enraged by her, and suddenly smashed the bottle, lunging forward to grab Mother Carter by the throat.

　　“Gurgle…”

　　Mother Carter laughed with delight, even as her face turned purple from being choked, her smile still graceful: “Usel… useless…”

　　“Bang!”

　　Mr. Carter finally lost control, raining blows and kicks, making the dining room shake violently.

　　“Waa… Mr. Carter, don’t hit Mother Carter…”

　　Sophie Carter burst into tears in fright, clutching her teddy bear tightly, but then her expression suddenly changed, and she cackled wildly: “Fun, fun, this is so much fun…”

　　Laughing, she suddenly flipped up, agile as a spider, climbing onto the ceiling, hooking her feet onto the chandelier—no one knew how she fixed herself there—twisting her head around to watch the fight below, the teddy bear clamped in her mouth, both hands slapping hard, whimpering as if both laughing and crying: “This is so much fun…”

　　Mr. Carter grew more and more furious, his body seeming to swell, muscles bursting through his shirt, revealing a bluish, hairy back, his features twisting and enlarging, fists swinging as he struck Mother Carter again and again. Mother Carter was already battered and bleeding, but her voice remained as graceful as ever: “How wonderful, this impotent rage…”

　　Brian Carter held his bowl of rice, sitting beside the overturned table, slowly eating the grains from his bowl.

　　After the Red Moon Incident, having a warm family was truly rare…