Chapter 303: Shattered Calm and Hidden Truths

“Are there fewer people this time?”

Lu Xin’s face went ashen. After a moment, he slowly asked.

After waiting a long while with no response, he noticed that Gao Ting, who had been sitting just beside him, had vanished. The cushion she sat on now had a pit quietly swelling up.

“Boss… Boss is gone too…”

Some of the old drivers, equally frightened, cried out with trembling voices.

The entire large dorm room plunged into chaos. In this convoy, Boss Gao Ting’s importance was undeniable. Even amid such eerie events, the veteran drivers had managed to stay calm while she was around. But now, they suddenly saw that so many people had vanished in an instant – including their pivotal leader, the boss. The panic was palpable.

“Damn it, where’s the monster?”

“Come out! Come out, or I’ll chop you to pieces…”

“I can’t take it—I’m not staying here any longer. I need to run…”

“…”

For a moment, everyone acted erratically; the large dorm room erupted into a frenzy as people leapt up, trying to rush out.

“Everyone, stay calm…”

Lu Xin had no choice but to step forward and urge them to calm down.

“Stay calm? Even if you do, you’ll all end up being dragged off by ghosts…”

“Don’t stop me—I need to get out of here!”

Facing Lu Xin — even though the veteran drivers knew he wasn’t just anyone — they couldn’t keep their composure.

That terror-inducing panic was driving them nearly mad.

With a loud clatter, several people surged toward the door, desperate to flee.

Although Lu Xin was at the door, he did not stop them.

At that moment, he felt an unsettling discomfort, but remained silent.

He wasn’t used to handling situations like this.

As chaos threatened to engulf the remaining members of the convoy, one man suddenly snapped into action. He leaped off the bed like a nimble cat, darted to the door to block those in panic, and grabbed the one at the front, delivering two hard slaps as he shouted, “At a time like this, who still dares to run?”

That ferocity quickly brought a measure of calm to the frantic crowd.

The man charging in was none other than Sun Gouzi. Gritting his teeth, he fixed his glare on the offender and snarled:

“Didn’t Little Brother Lu tell you not to panic?”

“If the boss trusts him that much, why aren’t you listening to his orders?”

“…”

Seeing the security team captain — who had once doubted him — act this way, Lu Xin was somewhat taken aback.

Another burly man jumped off the bed—it was Little Zhou. Clenching his fists and gritting his teeth, he yelled, “Who wants to head out? Come fight with me first! Now that the boss… is gone, if you want to bring them back, you’ll have to rely on Little Brother Lu!”

Both he and his companion — one known for his commanding presence and the other for his imposing stature — managed to momentarily intimidate the veteran drivers.

The room grew somewhat quieter.

Little Zhou turned to Lu Xin, his eyes slightly reddened as he whispered, “Brother Lu, my uncle just disappeared.”

Lu Xin turned his head and looked in the direction where Old Zhou had been moments ago.

In Little Zhou’s voice, mingled with stifled sobs, he said, “It’s all my fault. As soon as I heard noise outside, I instinctively turned my head. With just that glance, my uncle vanished… My uncle vanished while I didn’t—it means he was always watching over me…”

“It’s all my fault—for not keeping myself in check…”

“…”

Lu Xin detected the self-reproach in his voice, sighed deeply, and then asked, “How many people vanished just now?”

Sun Gouzi and Little Zhou exchanged a glance and promptly tallied up the numbers.

“Eight… eight.”

Sun Gouzi’s reply came with a slight tremor in his voice.

Earlier, only one or two had vanished—at most three or four. But now, eight or nine people disappeared in an instant.

The number of missing people is rising!

“I think I’m beginning to understand.”

Lu Xin nodded, slowly got off the bed, grabbed a small stool, and sat by the door.

He recalled that when he had dealt with Qin Ran before, Qin Ran’s method of pollution had also increased progressively.

From one to two, from two to four, from four to eight…

Now, the pattern of disappearances in this convoy, to some extent, aligns with that progression.

However, the vanishings in the convoy aren’t so precise — perhaps because those who go unnoticed are chosen at random?

The monster’s psychic power is increasing, enabling it to capture more people.

But it still needs its targets to be unobserved in order to snatch them away.

“Was that commotion outside a deliberate ploy by your comrades to distract us?”

“…”

He silently pondered, discarding one of his earlier conclusions.

Earlier, he had believed that to confront this monster, one would need enough power to command the world’s attention.

But now, he had changed his mind.

Even if someone possessed that sort of power, the monster could endlessly abduct anyone who kept their gaze on it.

In theory, no matter how great someone’s power may be, it would eventually fall into the monster’s grasp, leaving nothing to stop it.

That very notion made Lu Xin think of himself.

I had waited in the room for so long, yet it never came for me.

Could this mean it finds me harder to deal with than everyone else, and therefore dares not come after me?

But if its power continues to accumulate, might I be the very next target?

……

At that moment, a growing dissatisfaction began to well up within Lu Xin.

He could feel the uneasy, expectant, and questioning gazes of the veteran drivers upon him.

Perhaps among those eyes was also a monster, its gaze both smug and covetous.

Normally, these folks were very self-assured.

Especially Little Zhou, who saw himself as a pro, certain he could handle it all.

But now, before this monster, he was utterly helpless — almost a laughingstock.

This stirred a fierce anger in Lu Xin…

That anger even made his shadow seem erratic under the light.

……

“Alright, I’ve found a way to deal with it.”

Lu Xin perched on the small stool by the door, leaning back against the doorframe.

Little Zhou, Sun Gouzi, and even the drivers were all suddenly startled, their faces lighting up with anticipation.

“Now, you don’t need to keep staring at each other like before; if you do, you won’t make it in the end — you’ll tire out, and sooner or later, that monster will take you all,” Lu Xin said slowly, his eyes scanning the room.

The calm in his eyes had reached an extreme level.

When someone’s gaze is that calm, it manifests as sheer indifference.

“Now, my words are for you.”

His eyes were unfocused, as if he were gazing at a non-existent monster in the room. He whispered, “I know you’re here; you can hear what I say… though if you can’t, it doesn’t matter. I’ve already made up my mind.”

“Someone once taught me that in the face of the bizarre, reason is our only advantage.”

“Now, I’m going to battle you with reason!”

As he spoke, he pulled out his small notebook and began writing down line by line, saying:

“First, based on previous analyses — and the way you exploited the commotion outside to distract us, enabling you to snatch so many people — this confirms my theory. You can only capture those who go unnoticed.”

“This also proves that you have been watching everyone in this room.”

“Second, if you intended to capture people from this convoy, logically you should have taken the boss first. Removing her would have plunged the convoy into chaos, making it easier for you. Besides, when you first began, the boss was alone in the room, resting — capturing her would have been simplest. But you didn’t; you even crawled into the latrine to grab someone…”

“Heh, a monster that even crawls into latrines…”

“I initially suspected that maybe the boss was somewhat mutated, which made you reluctant to seize her. Yet just now, you took the opportunity to abduct her — even though she was sitting right by my side… So it’s not that you didn’t want her; you simply had no chance. Ever since she appeared, as the boss, everyone’s attention in the convoy has been on her.”

“She’s the most noticed person in this convoy, and the hardest for you to catch.”

“If that’s so, then why didn’t you go to her room to take her first?”

At that point, Lu Xin narrowed his eyes and said coldly, “Because you can’t.”

“She had locked her door and closed the windows, so you couldn’t get in.”

While speaking, a smile crept across his face. Raising his pen, he wrote, “Therefore, you have a physical form.”

“You can simply make yourself unseen — even untouchable, right?”

“…That remains debatable.”

“But regardless, that’s different from disappearing completely. Even if no one can see you, when you go out, you still have to avoid people and perform actions like opening and closing doors and windows. After all, I’ve received professional training in mental pollution. Psychic power mainly influences people, but it can’t alter certain laws of the real world.”

“Third, you’ve stalled with me since the afternoon like a timid coward, and I waited in the next room all this time without you coming to me. Doesn’t that prove you’ve always been exceptionally afraid of me?”

“…”

“If so, then it’s simple.”

At that, he exhaled deeply. Pulling a black iron box from his bag, he retrieved a gold-filter cigarette — there were three in total. He tossed one to Little Zhou, another to Sun Gouzi, then slowly lit the last one himself. With an odd, slight smile, he whispered, “Why search for you? Knowing you’re in this room is enough.”

“I’ll keep watch at the door, not giving you any chance to leave.”

“Trust me.”

“Whether you slip out or break a window to escape, I’ll find you.”

He paused, his smile bright yet his voice turned sinister:

“In that instant, I’ll make you regret ever coming into this world…”

March Performance Report and Reflections

My god, I finally finished typing—it’s explosive.

Now, here’s the March performance report: it’s absolutely smashing!!

Ahem!

Seriously, in March we secured third place in monthly ticket rankings and, despite not launching in the first month, we stormed into the season’s top ten. Moreover, our subscription sales were consistently second on the update rankings throughout March, and we’re under a million words!

Tell me, how could this not be a smash hit?

So I’ll say it once more: we’re absolutely killing it!

But honestly, once I started writing this reflection, all I felt was an exhilarating yet exhausting rush!

Maybe this bad cold is due to the pace and pressure this month.

Can’t be helped — this old struggler always feels this way. I’ve never experienced such a highlight before; when it happens, I’m deeply moved and compelled to give everything for you all. Whether in quantity or quality, I’ll strive for perfection, fueled by an adrenaline rush, determined to fight for everyone.

Exactly, I mentioned both quantity and quality.

This month, there was one segment — the part introducing the convoy — that got mixed feedback, drawing some negative reviews. We can’t focus solely on the positives; everything needs analysis. Trust me, I’ve reviewed all the comments. In short, that section was simply a bit too lengthy.

But it’s also a bit frustrating, as I revised that part several times — over three drafts.

Haha, it wasn’t this long at first, but I always had the urge to flesh out every detail, every setup, every character.

After one revision, two edits, three rewrites, and four rounds of additions, it ended up like this — albeit a bit extended.

That’s a lesson learned, and I’ve taken note.

Writing ‘Red Moon’ isn’t the challenge of plot arrangement, but rather depicting eerie events. Pure weirdness, in my view, is pointless; even the strangest elements need some logic to stay engaging. Yet, uncovering logic within the bizarre is excruciating. I always build the logic first, then work backwards to create the uncanny incidents.

It was as if, for such a trivial matter, I ended up making dumplings.

But as I say this, it’s frustrating — why are the chapters with these uncanny events so few?

… As for the sections where beauties appear, they’re all over the place. Who do you think should take the blame for that?

Ahem!

For the upcoming chapters, I won’t be under so much pressure because the plot focuses on unraveling mysteries and establishing the protagonist’s character, making it more enjoyable for everyone. I expect my writing to be lighter and more fun, especially since I won’t be obsessing over trivial details anymore. I’ll aim to provide ample context and character development, fine-tuning only the minor stuff if needed.

No matter what, I still have to thank you all — you’ve been incredibly supportive.

Honestly, making it to the top ten last month got me really excited, but I never expected to jump straight into the top three this month…

This, this, this — it’s just insane, right?

Honestly, when Old Ghost first saw this ranking, he wasn’t excited at all — he was terrified.

He worried that his writing wasn’t good enough, nor was it abundant enough to earn all this support.

But then again, I feel this is not something to be humble about. After all, getting ‘Red Moon’ this high is all thanks to you — all the fans. All I can do is work twice as hard to present ‘Red Moon’ even better.

Phew, saying that has really lifted my spirits.

Old Ghost isn’t one for flowery words; he simply offers his deepest gratitude for all your support.

And he’ll do his best to repay every bit of your support.

March’s achievements were incredibly thrilling, and now, Old Ghost is brimming with confidence for April!

Pa! (the sound of a beer being opened)

This bottle, I dedicate to all of you — clink, clink, clink, clink…