-
Add Bookmark | Recommend this book | Back to the book page | My bookshelf | Mobile Reading
Free Web Novel,Novel online - All in oicq.net -> Romance -> The best urban detective Text Chapter 120 Secret Meeting
Previous page Return to Catalog Next page
- However, what is incredible is that compared with this magnificent palace, the square in front is not inferior. The granite-paved square stretches out in all directions. Its openness and grandeur are breathtaking. The square is located in a densely populated area of ??the City of Ten Thousand Cities, like a classical Central Park. In front of the cathedral, around the huge oval square, 284 columns are arranged outwards, surrounding a central wall with four gradually shrinking arcs This is a small trick in architecture that can create optical illusions. It is usually used to enhance the grandeur of the square.
Zhiqiu stared at the magnificent temple in front of him, wondering what he would feel if St. Peter was alive. This saint suffered a gruesome martyrdom, being crucified upside down on the cross. He now rests in the world's holiest tomb, five stories underground and directly beneath the cathedral's central dome.
"The prophet is here," the pilot said, but he didn't sound welcoming at all.
Zhiqiu looked out, and saw towering stone fortresses approaching - they were impregnable fortifications surrounding the prophet's land What was quite strange was that this was a test of a world full of secrets, rights and mysteries. The secular defense of the spiritual world.
"Look!" Momo suddenly grabbed Zhiqiu's arm and shouted, and she gestured frantically in the direction of the square below. Zhiqiu put his face to the window to look.
¡°There it is,¡± she said, pointing it out to him.
Zhiqiu looked in the direction she pointed and saw that the back of the square was like a parking lot, crowded with almost a dozen trailers. There is a huge satellite dish on the roof of every car, with familiar names on it: several well-known international media.
Zhiqiu suddenly felt confused. He wondered, had the news about negative matter been leaked?
Momo seemed to tighten her psychological strings all of a sudden. "Why are the media here? What happened?"
The pilot turned around and glanced at her, surprised. "What's going on? Don't you guys know?"
"I don't know." She said gruffly back at him angrily.
¡°The secret meeting,¡± he said, ¡°will be closed in an hour. The whole world is watching.¡±
??Secret meeting.
This word lingered in Zhiqiu¡¯s ears for a long time, and then hit his heart like a brick. Secret meeting. Papal Conclave. How could he forget this? This has been in the news lately.
Half a month ago, the Pope ended his twelve-year popular reign and passed away suddenly. Newspapers around the world published the news of his sudden death in his sleep - his death was so sudden and unexpected that everyone thought it was strange. Now, according to religious tradition. Fifteen days after the death of the Pope, the Holy See was holding a secret meeting - at this religious ceremony, one hundred and sixty-five cardinals from around the world - the most powerful people in the religious world - gathered in the Land of the Prophet to elect The new pope.
¡°All the cardinals on earth are here today,¡± Zhiqiu thought as the helicopter passed over St. Peter¡¯s Basilica. The vast world of the Prophet's Land spread out beneath him. at this time. The entire ecclesiastical authority rests on a ticking time bomb.
Cardinal Bryant looked at the luxurious ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in trance, trying to think quietly for a while. The frescoed walls echo with the voices of cardinals from around the world. They crowded into the candlelit church, speaking various languages ??and chatting excitedly in lowered voices. English, Italian and Spanish are the common languages ??here.
When the sun shines in. The church always looked sublime and solemn¡ªthe long seven-colored light shone in like a celestial light, penetrating the darkness¡ªbut not today. According to custom, all the windows of the church must be covered with jet black velvet in order to maintain confidentiality. This ensures that no one inside can send a signal in any way. Communicate with people outside. As a result, the church was completely dark. All illuminated by candles The flickering candlelight seems to purify everyone it shines on, making them otherworldly like saints.
It¡¯s such a great honor. Kobe thought, I want to oversee this sacrament. Cardinals over the age of 80 are over the age and have no right to participate in elections and cannot attend election meetings. However, the 79-year-old Bryant is the oldest cardinal here and is authorized to supervise the entire meeting.
According to tradition, two hours before the conclave begins, the cardinals gather here to communicate with friends and have final discussions. At 7 p.m., the honorary page of the previous pope will arrive to offer opening prayers and then leave. Next, the garden guards would seal all the doors and lock the cardinals inside. Then, the world's oldest and most secret political ceremony will begin.??. The cardinals will remain locked in until the next pope is chosen from among them.
??Secret meeting. Even the name connotes secrecy; the English word literally means "locked." Any contact between the cardinals and the outside world is strictly prohibited. They can't make phone calls, send messages or whisper at the door. The secret meeting room is in a vacuum and is not subject to any interference from the outside world. This will ensure that the cardinals remain in absolute isolationwith only God in front of them.
There is no doubt that there is a media waiting outside the church walls, watching the developments, speculating which cardinal will become the ruler of a billion believers around the world. The conclave created a tense, partisan atmosphere that became horrific over the centuries; poisonings, physical fights, and even murders erupted from within these sacred walls. That was old news, Bryant thought. Tonight's secret meeting would be unitive, enjoyable, and most importantly brief.
¡°Anyway, that¡¯s his assumption.
However, now an accident happened. Four cardinals mysteriously disappear from the church. Bryant knew that all exits to the Land of the Prophets were guarded by guards and that the absent cardinal could not go far, but now, less than an hour after leaving the field for prayer, he suddenly felt flustered. After all, these four missing people are not ordinary cardinals;
The four selected.
As the supervisor of the meeting, Kobe Bryant has properly conveyed the message to the Garden Guard. The cardinals who had warned them were missing, but he had yet to receive a reply. Other cardinals have taken note of the mysterious disappearance. People murmured anxiously. Of all the cardinals, these four should be there on time! Cardinal Bryant began to worry that this was going to be a long night.
His mind went blank.
For safety reasons and to control noise, the helicopter parked at the northwest corner of the City of the Prophet, as far away from St. Peter's Basilica as possible.
¡°Landing,¡± the pilot said as the plane landed. He came out of the plane and opened the sliding door for Zhiqiu and Momo.
Zhiqiu got off the plane. She turned around and prepared to help Momo, but she jumped down effortlessly. Every nerve in her body is tied to one goal - to find negative matter before it explodes and leaves a horrific pile of rubble.
The pilot spread a reflective sunshade cloth over the cabin window and led them to an extra-large golf car waiting next to the plane. The motor vehicle drove them silently along the western border of the Prophet's Land - a fifty-meter-high concrete barrier that was thick enough to withstand tank attacks. Every fifty meters inside the wall, a garden guard stood at attention. Watch your surroundings warily. The car sped to the right onto the road. Signs on the street pointed in all directions.
They sped up on the well-maintained road and passed a low building with the words "Prophet's Land Radio Station" written on it. Zhiqiu was surprised to realize that this was the production center of the most listened to radio program in the world - Prophet¡¯s Land Radio ¨C which brings the gospel to millions of listeners around the world.
¡°Sit tight,¡± the pilot said, suddenly making a sharp turn. Driving onto the roundabout.
When the car drove along the roundabout, Zhiqiu could hardly believe the sight oncoming. Garden of the Prophets, he thought. That was the center of the prophet's land. Directly ahead was the back of St. Peter's Basilica, Zhiqiu realized. Most people have never experienced this phenomenon. To the right, the court officials were approaching. This luxurious papal residence is rivaled only by the Palace of Versailles, which has a rich Baroque style. Behind them now lay the stately Municipal Palace, which housed the government offices of the Prophet's Land. Directly ahead on the left. It is a huge rectangular Museum of the Land of the Prophets. Zhiqiu had no time to visit the museum until this time.
"Where have all the people gone?" Momo asked, looking at the empty lawns and sidewalks.
The guard checked his black military stopwatch - the watch was placed under his bloated sleeves, looking strange and outdated. "The cardinals have all been summoned to the Sistine Chapel. The conclave begins in an hour."
Zhiqiu nodded and vaguely recalled that before the secret meeting began, the cardinal would stay in the Sistine Chapel for two hours, thinking carefully and talking with companions from all over the world. During this time, they can rekindle their friendship and make the election less tense. ¡°Where are the other residents and officials?¡±
¡°In order to ensure the confidentiality and security of the meeting, they are prohibited from entering the city until the results of the meeting are known.¡±
"When will the results be available?"
The guard shrugged"Only God knows." Oddly enough, this statement doesn't sound exaggerated at all.
The guard parked the car on the spacious lawn directly behind St. Peter's Cathedral, and then escorted Zhiqiu and Momo up a steep stone slope to a marble square behind the cathedral. They crossed the square and reached the back wall of the cathedral. They walked along the wall through a triangular courtyard, walked through the streets, and found themselves among compactly arranged buildings. They crossed another small square and reached their destination.
The Garden Guard Camp is adjacent to the Security Office and located northeast of St. Peter's Basilica. The guard camp is a low stone building. There is a guard standing on both sides of each entrance. They are as motionless as stone statues.
Zhiqiu had to admit that these guards did not look so funny. Although they also wore blue and gold uniforms and carried traditional halberds - twenty-centimeter spears with a sharp samarium sickle hanging from the spearhead - legend has it that in the fifteenth century, religious armies defended During the battle, these sharp halberds were used to kill countless Muslims.
Zhiqiu and Momo walked up, and two guards immediately stood up and blocked the entrance with crossed halberds. One of the guards looked at the pilot in confusion. "Why don't you wear pants?" He pointed at Momo's shorts and said.
The pilot waved his hand and told them to step aside. "The commander asked them to come right away."
The two guards frowned and stood aside reluctantly.
The air in the guard camp is cool. The guard camp looked nothing like what Zhiqiu imagined the administrative security office would look like. The decor is gorgeous. The furnishings are impeccable, and Zhiqiu can conclude that the murals in the corridor here would be treasured in the main gallery of any museum in the world.
The pilot pointed to a steep flight of stairs and said, "Please go down."
Zhiqiu and Momo walked down the white marble steps, with statues of naked men on both sides. Each statue hides a fig leaf. The leaves are slightly lighter in color than the rest of the body.
Great castration. Zhiqiu thought.
It was one of the most horrific tragedies in the history of Renaissance art. In 1857, the Pope thought it was unmistakable that the male body was arousing sexual desire in the church, so he used chisels and mallets to chop off the genitals of every male statue in the city of the Prophet. The damaged areas were covered with fig leaves made of lime. Hundreds of statues were castrated. Zhiqiu was still wondering if there was a big basket filled with stone meat somewhere?
"This is it," the guard said.
They reached the bottom of the steps and were blocked in front of a heavy steel door. The guard pressed the code to open the door, and the door opened automatically. Zhiqiu and Momo walked in.
It was complete chaos inside.
Garden Guard Camp.
Zhiqiu stood at the door, examining the scene before them. Things from different eras were gathered here. Mixed art effects. This is a lavishly decorated library in Renaissance style. There are bookshelves built into the walls, oriental carpets, colorful tapestries However, this room is also equipped with high-tech devices - rows of computers, fax machines, electronic maps of the prophet's land, all televisions All tuned to cable news networks. The man in colorful breeches typed rapidly on his computer keyboard. Wearing an extremely advanced receiver, he listened intently.
"Wait here," the guard said.
Zhiqiu and Momo were waiting aside, while the guard walked to the opposite side of the room and walked to a tall, thin man wearing a dark blue military uniform. The man was talking on his mobile phone and he was standing straight. It was so straight that I almost leaned back. The guard said something to him. He glanced quickly at Zhiqiu and Momo, nodded, and then turned back to continue listening to the phone.
The guard came back. Tell them: "Commander Paul will be here soon."
"Thanks."
The guard took his leave and walked up the stairs along the same path.
Zhiqiu¡¯s eyes crossed the entire room and carefully observed Commander Paul. He realized that this man was actually the commander-in-chief of the entire country's armed forces. Momo and Zhiqiu waited and watched everything in front of them. The guards in brightly-colored uniforms were busy on their own. Yelling instructions in Italian.
¡°Keep looking!¡± a soldier shouted into the phone.
¡°Will it be in a museum?¡± another person asked.
It doesn¡¯t take a good knowledge of Italian to understand that the security center is urgently searching for something. That's good news, but the bad thing is that apparently they haven't found negative matter yet.
"Are you okay?" Zhiqiu asked Momo.
She shrugged and smiled tiredly.
The commander finally hung up.As he walked across the room, he seemed to grow a little taller with every step he took. Zhiqiu himself was very tall and was not used to looking up at people, but it seemed necessary to face Commander Paul. Commander Paul walked up to them, and Zhiqiu immediately realized that this commander was a man who had gone through many storms. He had a stern expression, his black hair was cut short according to the military style, his eyes were bright, and he was resolute and courageous. Such perseverance can only be found in It only comes after years of rigorous training. His steps were strong and vigorous, and the earplug carefully hidden behind one ear made him look less like a garden guard and more like an agent.
The commander greeted them in English with a heavy accent. For such a big man, his voice was incredibly soft, almost like whispering, but sincere. "Good afternoon," he said, "I'm Commander Paul, the commander-in-chief of the Garden Guard. That's what I called our director."
Momo looked up and stared at him. "Thank you for hosting us."
The commander remained silent. He motioned for them to follow and led them through a large pile of electronic equipment to a door at the edge of the room. "Come in," he said, holding the door for them.
Zhiqiu and Momo walked in and found that it was a dark control room. One wall was covered with monitors, and black and white images of the entire city were slowly switching on the screen. A young guard sat looking intently at the image above.
¡°Get out,¡± Paul said.
The guard stood up and left.
Paul walked up to one of the screens and pointed at the image. He turned to his guest and said, "This image was captured by a remote camera installed somewhere in the city of the Prophet's Land. I want to know what is going on."
Zhiqiu and Momo took a breath in unison. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this image. Absolutely true. This is the institute's negative matter storage device. The picture of the storage device showed a shiny liquid droplet hanging in the air, which seemed a bit ominous. The numbers on the electronic display screen flashed rhythmically, illuminating the small droplet. ()
{Piaotia Literature www.piaotia.net thanks all book friends for their support, your support is our greatest motivation} - Didn't finish reading? Add this book to your favoritesI'm a member and bookmarked this chapterCopy the address of this book and recommend it to your friends for pointsChapter error? Click here to report
- Previous pageCatalogNext page