Sophie Carter's smile disappeared from her face, her figure becoming a bit blurry, as if she might vanish at any moment.

  Brian Carter hurriedly called out, "Wait, wait, wait, let's talk this over..."

  Now that he had found this new job, which looked like it could earn him quite a bit of money, of course he had to do it well.

  And to do this job, the first thing was to handle this Sophie Carter...

  Although Sophie Carter stopped when he called her, she was still angry and didn't speak, just gazing at him quietly.

  Brian Carter felt a bit helpless and tentatively asked, "What kind of toy do you actually want?"

  "You know..."

  Looking at Brian Carter's serious expression, Sophie Carter's face suddenly showed a hint of a mysterious smile. She gave a light jump, landing beside Brian Carter like a nimble spider, crouched gently on the ground, and looked up, saying, "I want the kind of fun toys!"

  Brian Carter's brows furrowed slightly.

  At this moment, Sophie Carter's eyes lit up as she looked ahead.

  Under the dim streetlight, a drunken man was relieving himself against the corner of a wall.

  Sophie Carter's eyes shone, her expression carrying a strange cruelty, as she said, "I like toys that can move and talk. I like complete toys, because only when they're whole can you tear them apart and sew them back together..."

  "Brother, can you give me this toy?"

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

  "......"

  "Don't just go around hurting people..."

  Brian Carter looked at the man who had finished peeing and was now cursing and kicking a trash can, and whispered, "That's illegal."

  Sophie Carter smiled with a hint of cruelty, and softly said, "Then why can others hurt me?"

  Brian Carter didn't know how to answer for a moment.

  He looked at Sophie Carter's delicate little face, which now seemed to show cracks that didn't belong, his eyes filled with pain.

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

  Sophie Carter gazed into his eyes, her smile turning eerie.

  Brian Carter could only remain silent. He didn't answer, nor did he refuse, just watching as Sophie Carter's sharp little fingers reached toward him.

  Those fingertips were delicate yet sharp, as if they held an invisible magic.

  A touch on a person could bring about terrible consequences.

  But as Sophie Carter's fingers slowly reached toward Brian Carter, they suddenly became slower.

  Her fingers didn't pierce into Brian Carter's body, but only gently slid across his back. Through his clothes, she could feel a long, hideous scar there, terrifying and gruesome. One could imagine how severe the injury that caused that scar must have been.

  "Brother has always been a fool..."

  Sophie Carter's voice dropped, and she whispered, "When others hurt me, only you would rush over to protect me."

  The strange expression on her face softened, making her look like a simple little girl, fragile and gentle. She reached out both hands, but instead of hurting Brian Carter, she hugged him, her little face seeming to want to bury itself in Brian Carter's body. Brian Carter saw her small body trembling, as if she were crying hard, but in this empty, deserted alley, not a sound of crying could be heard.

  Brian Carter looked at Sophie Carter crying like that, and after a long time, he let out a gentle sigh.

  Some things, dreams and reality intertwined, fantasy and truth overlapped—he could no longer tell them apart.

  After a while, he gently held Sophie Carter's shoulders and smiled, " Sophie Carter, do you know that I'm not the same as before?"

  There were still tear stains on Sophie Carter's dirty little face, but her curiosity couldn't be hidden: "What?"

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

  Brian Carter said seriously, "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, saying, "Buy as much as you want. Whatever kind you want, you can have it!"

  "Okay?"

  Hearing this, Sophie Carter's eyes also lit up a little, as if she had suddenly forgotten her earlier sadness.

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

  "......"

  The money from handling the level-one psychic monster pollution in the coffee shop had all been left at the Red Moon Orphanage, but in the years Brian Carter had worked, he had managed to save up a bit—over two thousand yuan. Brian Carter found a shabby ATM, withdrew all the money from his card, and then, holding Sophie Carter's hand, went to the street in the old city with the most shops.

  After all, now that he had a new job, he could earn even more.

  Barbie dolls in exquisite dresses, adorable teddy bears, jointed puppets, plush babies that would squeal "hug me, kiss me, lift me up" when squeezed... Brian Carter bought a whole bunch of toys in one go, from one end of the street to the other. Some were leftover stock from before the Red Moon incident, dug out and put up for sale, and some were newly made in factories after the Red Moon incident.

  He ignored everyone's stares and didn't feel bad about the money... he would spend it all anyway...

  As long as Sophie Carter nodded in agreement, or her gaze landed on something, he bought it all.