Red Moon Coroner: A Pact with the Dead

February 1, 2000. Los Angeles, United States of America. A sudden chill breaks the warmth of the interior of a mid- to high-end apartment somewhere. Bruce pulls himself up from the woman's arms and sleepily pushes back the curtains. The streets were fresh and clean after a night of heavy rains, and as the day dawned, a cold breeze with earthy scents brushed his cheeks, causing the fog in his head to dissipate. The bed behind him moved gently, waking the sleeping woman. Her blonde hair fell from her shoulders, revealing the pale, flushed face. The woman wrapped the covers tightly around her and opened her large, drowsy eyes, snickering with a bit of flirtation, “Why don't you get some more sleep?” Bruce didn't make a sound, just shook out the cashmere robe he was wearing and walked toward his desk. He pulled a piece of intricately engraved parchment from a drawer and lifted his pen to write carefully in Federal: Vehicle Appraisal: ...... He signed his name “Bruce” and stamped it in gold. A brand new vehicle appraisal report was completed. He placed the report in front of the woman who was still nestled on the bed, his voice cold: “Thank you for your patronage, you can now take your things and leave. If you wish to take a shower, please pay an additional twenty dollars.” “Tch, how unemotional.” The woman bristled, but after seeing the 'Grade A' on the evaluation form, a satisfied smile couldn't help but appear on her face. Last night's 'hard work' didn't seem to be in vain. The dark-haired, brown-eyed man in front of her was a well-known vehicle appraiser in Los Angeles. This appraisal would greatly increase her value. “Thanks a lot, Bruce,” she winked slightly teasingly, ”If you ever need it - it's free, oh.” Bruce nodded without moving, as if he hadn't picked up on the hint, or as if he hadn't bothered to respond at all. In truth, his reasons for continuing in this business were simple: One was the lack of money, and the other was that it would alleviate his growing mental problems. After watching the woman leave, Bruce sat back down on the couch and turned on the TV while rubbing his aching back. He thought bitterly: early twenties, early thirties, spongy early fifties. Still - the medical bills for his adoptive parents this month had finally come through. Just as he was about to take a short nap, a familiar news item came on the TV broadcast: “According to the Observatory's observation, tonight will usher in the once-in-thirty-years Blood Moon Astronomical Anomaly ......” “There it is again.” Bruce frowned slightly and changed the soap opera channel. He knew very well that this was not simply a “reddening of the moon” that he was familiar with from his previous life, but that the entire Earth would be covered by a strange blood color at certain times - even during the day. This scene always reminds him of those “mentors and friends” who accompanied him in the lonely nights of his past life. But now, they were gone. No, they're not. Bruce is a traveler. This world is similar to the past he remembers, but slightly different. Some of the countries' names have changed, and the technological development is quite a bit more advanced than it was in his previous life back in 2005. Bruce, on the other hand, was a tire wearer to be exact. His mother is pure Italian, his father is mixed Italian and Chinese, the family face value online, he is naturally not bad: black hair, brown pupils, three-dimensional features, fair skin - from childhood was called “porcelain doll”. However, fate has never been kind to him. When he was eight years old, his parents mysteriously disappeared on a driving trip, and he was orphaned once again. At that time, his relatives in New York were unable to pass the guardianship examination because of their mafia background; no one was willing to adopt this “complicated” boy, and he was finally sent to a children's home. Unfortunately, it was not a warm place. A pretty face is sometimes the beginning of disaster. Fortunately, Bruce was not really an eight-year-old. He had distant relatives to help him. After some nasty twists and turns, he was finally adopted by a kind couple with the help of his great-uncle and was able to grow up in peace. The craft of vehicle appraisal, on the other hand, is connected to his relatives. During his college years, he was deep in student loan stress and had little real-world experience. Despite his two lifetimes, in his previous life he was just a social terrorist fatass with a moderate IQ and low EQ, living off his parents' inheritance. Except for playing games, spamming people on the Internet, studying “study materials” and polishing his ancestral gun, he had accomplished almost nothing. Perhaps his greatest achievement was a hard drive filled with enough resources to open multiple categorized sites. ...... The saddest part is that he died too late to even format it. A generation of law-abiding geeks, so “died in vain”. But fate does not give the hardworking people in vain. With the accumulation of “study materials” in his previous life, Bruce found a breakthrough. Through his relatives in Los Angeles, he successfully got into the vehicle appraisal business through his eloquence and good looks, and quickly built up a reputation after his internship period. Many “independent women” in Los Angeles are willing to pay for his appraisal reports in exchange for higher bargaining chips. That young girl, for example, was said to have been recommended by her mother - both mother and daughter are “upwardly mobile”. In the past few years, Bruce has relied on these female clients to pay off his school loans and rent this upscale apartment. Can't afford it. In addition to the $1.3 million price tag, more realistically, his beloved adoptive parents were both diagnosed with serious illnesses at the beginning of the year - genetically inherited rare diseases, treatments for which are not available. A genetically inherited rare disease, the cost of treatment was staggering, he not only emptied his savings, but also owed foreign debt. Today, he juggles a job as a forensic assistant by day and an appraiser by night. But in his true capacity, he is an assistant medical examiner for the Los Angeles County Bureau of Forensics. Though it sounds lofty, it's actually just a small staff member who helps with autopsies, moves bodies, and records data. To put it bluntly, it was a half-assed person who had no certificate and relied on connections to blend in. He didn't like the job, but didn't dare to quit. Because he knew that once he quit - he might actually die. ***** Author’s Note: Thank you so much for reading and being part of this journey! If you'd like to keep going, you can download Ringdom (our male-oriented fiction app) or Dreame (our female-oriented fiction app) and continue the story there—along with thousands of other exciting reads!