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- "Papal chamberlain," the other person said, "the world does not need a new pope. After midnight, the pope has nothing to rule but a pile of rubble and bricks. Religion is over, and so is your rule on earth. ¡±
There was a moment of dead silence.
The Pope¡¯s chamberlain seemed sad. "You have gone astray. The Church is not just made of mortar and stone. You cannot easily destroy two thousand years of faith It is impossible for any faith. You can destroy the external expression of religious belief, but absolutely Faith itself cannot be destroyed. Religion will continue to exist with or without the City of the Prophet.¡±
"What a grand lie, but a lie is just a lie. You and I both know the truth. Why do you think the city of the Prophet's Land is a fortified fortress?"
"Because God's saints live in a dangerous world." The Pope's chamberlain replied.
"How naive are you? The Prophet's Land became a fortress entirely because religion put half of its assets here - rare paintings and sculptures, precious jewelry, priceless books and the Prophet's Land bank's There are also gold bars and real estate deeds hidden in the vault. According to internal statistics, the City of Prophets has assets of 48.5 billion US dollars. Your reserves are really strong, but by tomorrow they will all be reduced to ashes, just like liquidation. You¡¯re going to go bankrupt and even the pastors won¡¯t have to work.¡±
The battle fatigue-like expressions on Paul and the Pope's chamberlain seemed to indicate that what the other party said was accurate. Zhiqiu wondered which fact was more shocking, that the religious church had such a huge amount of property or that the cheating party knew everything about it.
The Pope¡¯s chamberlain sighed heavily and said: ¡°The pillar of the church is faith. Not money.¡±
¡°You¡¯re lying again,¡± the other person said. ¡°Last year you allocated $183 million to support your dismal dioceses around the world. Fewer people are attending church services than ever before¡ªand in the past ten years It has dropped by 46 percent in the middle of the year. Donations received now are only half of what they were seven years ago, and fewer and fewer people are applying to seminary. Although you don't want to admit it, your church is indeed at the end of its tether. Consider this bang a relief.¡±
Paul took a step forward. At this time, he seemed less arrogant and seemed to have realized the serious reality he was facing. He looked like a man desperate for a way out, any way out. ¡°What if we funded your cause with some gold bars?¡±
¡°Don¡¯t insult both of us.¡±
"We have money."
"We have them too, more than you can imagine."
Zhiqiu suddenly remembered the wealth of the so-called cheating sect, those ancient wealth, including those of many organizations and families. There is also the legendary Star of Illumination.
"Candidate bishops," the Pope's chamberlain changed the subject, and said in a pleading tone, "let them go. They are all old, they"
"They are pure sacrifices," the other party smiled, "Tell me, do you think they are really virgin men? Will the little lamb scream after death? Offer these pure people on the altar of science."
The Pope¡¯s chamberlain was silent for a long time. "They are devout believers," he concluded. "They are not afraid of death."
The other party sneered: "Yang Fujian is a devout believer, but I still saw fear in his eyes last night, but I eliminated this fear."
Momo remained silent. Hearing these words suddenly jumped out, filled with hatred from head to toe. "Asshole! He's my father!"
The other party laughed. "Your father? What do you mean? Yang Fujian had a daughter? You really should know. Your father cried like a child before he died. He was so pitiful. What an unfortunate man."
Momo¡¯s body shook as if she was hit by these words. Zhiqiu reached out to help her, but she stood firm again, staring at the phone with her dark eyes. "I bet my life that I will find you before tomorrow." Her tone was as sharp as a laser. "Wait until I find"
The other party laughed obscenely: "You're such a fierce girl, I'm so excited. I will find you before tomorrow. When I find you"
The words hung in the air like a sharp sword. After saying that, he disappeared.
Cardinal Bryant was wearing a black robe and was sweating. This was not only because the Sistine Chapel was as hot as a sauna, but also because the conclave was to begin in twenty minutes and there was still no information about the four missing cardinals. About their absence the other cardinals, who had at first merely murmured uneasily, were now talking loudly and anxiously.
Kobe can¡¯t imagine where these people who have neglected their duties could go. maybeStill at the Pope's Chamberlain? He knew that the papal chamberlain had summoned the four candidate bishops for a traditional secret tea party earlier in the afternoon, but that had been a few hours ago. Are they sick? What did you eat? Kobe muttered to himself, but they should be here even if they are dying. A cardinal is elected as pope. Such an opportunity only occurs once in a lifetime, and usually never happens. Moreover, according to the laws of the land of the prophets, the cardinal must stay in the Sistine Chapel when voting, otherwise he will not have the opportunity. Eligibility for election.
Although there are only four candidate bishops, few cardinals know who will become pope. There had been a steady stream of faxes and phone calls over the past fifteen days discussing potential candidates. As is customary, four men were chosen as candidate bishops, each fulfilling the unwritten requirements necessary for the papacy:
??Familiar with multiple languages: Italian, Spanish, and English.
A clean reputation.
Age ranges from sixty-five to eighty years old.
As usual, one of the candidate bishops has emerged as the one the College of Cardinals is ready to nominate. Tonight that man is Cardinal Griffin. Griffin's impeccable record as a deacon, his unparalleled language skills and his excellent ability to communicate with spiritual beings make him an undisputed candidate for bishop.
So where is he? Kobe thought.
The news of the cardinal¡¯s disappearance made Bryant particularly panicked because it fell on him to supervise the secret meeting. a week ago. The College of Cardinals unanimously selected Bryant to serve as Elector - the conclave's internal master of ceremonies. Although the papal chamberlain is the senior prelate of the church, he is only a priest and has little knowledge of the complex election process, so a cardinal from the Sistine Chapel is selected to oversee the ceremony.
¡°The cardinal often joked. Being appointed as an electoral officer is the cruelest honor in the religious world, because the person who holds this office is no longer eligible to be a candidate, and the elected person has to spend many days before the conclave to study the electoral law and study the mysteries and obscurities of the conclave. details to ensure that the election can be properly conducted.
However, Kobe has no complaints. He knew his election was a given. Not only was he a prelate, but he was also a confidant of the previous pope. This boosted his prestige. Although Kobe is still within the voting age in principle, as a serious candidate, he is still a bit old. He was seventy-nine years old and had already crossed that unspoken threshold. The Electoral College does not believe that such a person's body can withstand the rigorous schedule of a papal term. A pope often works fourteen hours a day, seven days a week without rest, and eventually dies of fatigue. The average working life is only 6.3 years. There is a joke within circles that accepting the papacy is a cardinal's "shortcut to heaven."
? Many people believe it. If Kobe was not so indifferent and generous, he should have become the Pope when he was younger. When it came time for him to fight for the position of Pope, he came again - conservative, conservative, conservative.
Kobe always finds it funny and angry, the former Pope. May God rest his soul in peace. He showed amazing generosity in his last term. Perhaps they realize that the development of modern society has deviated from the direction of the church. Pope proposes bill to reduce church influence in science. Even selective donations to scientific causes. Sadly, this has become a form of political masochism. Conservative religious believers have declared the pope "demented," while orthodox scientists have accused him of wanting to extend the church's influence to places where it does not belong.
"Then where are they?"
Kobe turned his head and looked.
A cardinal tapped him nervously on the shoulder. "You know where they are, don't you?"
Kobe tried his best not to show too much anxiety. "Maybe with the Pope's chamberlain."
"At this time? That's too inappropriate!" The cardinal frowned suspiciously, "Is it possible that the Pope's chamberlain has lost his sense of time?"
Kobe was indeed suspicious, but he didn¡¯t say anything. He was well aware that most cardinals did not like the papal chamberlain very much, and they felt that he was too young to be the papal valet. However, Kobe speculated that the cardinal's dislike was mostly due to jealousy, but Kobe truly admired the young man and secretly applauded the previous pope for choosing him to be the papal chamberlain. When Bryant looked into the papal chamberlain's eyes, he saw nothing but determination, and, unlike many cardinals, he put church and religion before petty politics. He is a true believer.
The fidelity and piety displayed by the papal chamberlain during his tenure have become legendary. Many people attribute this to a miraculous event that happened to him as a child an event that would leave an indelible mark on anyone's heart. It's amazing, amazing, Kobe thought, he often wished that his childhoodSomething happened in our time that fostered that kind of unwavering faith.
However, Kobe knows that the papal chamberlain will never be the pope even when he is old. This is really a misfortune for the church. Being the pope requires considerable political ambition, which is what the young papal chamberlain Mingxuan lacks; he has repeatedly rejected the higher priesthood offered to him by the pope, saying that he would rather serve as an ordinary person. Church services.
"What to do next?" The cardinal patted Kobe and waited for his answer.
Kobe raised his head and said, "I'm sorry, what did you say?"
"They are late! What should we do!"
"What can we do?" Kobe replied. "Well, I believe they will come."
The cardinal seemed extremely dissatisfied with Kobe's answer, and he retreated into the darkness.
Kobe stood for a while and gently pressed his temples, trying to clear his mind. Yeah, what do we do now? He looked up from the altar, gazing at the famous fresco. Yet the painting did nothing to alleviate his anxiety. This is a terrifying mural that is fifteen meters high. It depicts God dividing human beings into two categories, the righteous and the sinful, and throwing sinners into hell. On the screen, someone was being skinned alive. Some people were burned by the fire, and some even fell into hell, with their ears turned into donkey ears. Someone once wrote that the mural looked like the graffiti of an ignorant coal miner in a gladiatorial arena.
Cardinal Bryant has to agree.
Zhiqiu stood motionless by the bulletproof glass window of the Pope¡¯s office. Staring at the busy and noisy interview vehicles in the square below. Somehow that weird phone call gave him a feeling of swelling swelling, but it wasn't his own.
"The Cheating Sect is like a poisonous snake that swam from the forgotten distant history and wrapped itself around the body of an old enemy. It makes no demands or conditions, it just wants revenge. It's as simple as it gets. Wrap tightly. Four hundred years of grievances are about to be wiped out. Seems like after hundreds of years of religious persecution. Scientific counterattack is a waste.
The Pope¡¯s chamberlain stood at the table, staring blankly at the phone. Paul was the first to break the silence. "Carter," he called him by his first name, without sounding like an officer. More like a tired friend, "For twenty-six years, I have defended the Holy See to the death, and it seems that I have been humiliated tonight."
The Pope¡¯s chamberlain shook his head, ¡°You and I serve God in different capacities. Service always brings glory.¡±
"These things I didn't expect how they could be like this" Paul looked embarrassed and at a loss.
"You know there is only one way we can go. It is my duty to keep the College of Cardinals safe."
"I'm afraid that responsibility falls on me, chamberlain."
"Your people are responsible for evacuating the crowd immediately."
"Servant?"
"Other operations will come later - a search for this thing, a search for the missing cardinals and their captors. But first the cardinals must be safe. The dignity of life is above all else, and these people are the foundation of the Church."
"Are you saying we cancel the secret meeting immediately?"
"Do I have a choice?"
"What about your obligation to elect a new pope?"
The young papal chamberlain sighed. Turning to face the window, his eyes swept out to look at the city of ten thousand cities stretching below. "The Holy See once told me that the Pope is a man who is busy in two worlds one is the world of reality. The other is the world of divinity. He warned that any church that ignores reality will not survive to reach divinity. The world." His words suddenly revealed a wisdom beyond his years. "Tonight we are faced with a real world. It would be foolish to ignore its existence. Pride and precedent cannot obscure the brilliance of reason."
Paul nodded, seeming deeply shaken. "I underestimated you, chamberlain."
The Pope¡¯s chamberlain didn¡¯t seem to hear, and his eyes were staring into the distance through the glass window.
"I'll be blunt, Chamberlain, this world of reality is my world. I'm trapped in the ugliness of reality every day so that others can pursue something purer without hindrance. Allow me to tell you how to deal with it in its current form. , I was trained to do this. Your intuition, although commendable may lead to misfortune."
The papal chamberlain turned around.
Paul sighed and said: "Evacuating the College of Cardinals from the Sistine Chapel is the worst thing you can do immediately."
The Pope¡¯s chamberlain did not seem aggrieved, but had a blank look on his face. "Then what do you think we should do?"
¡°Say nothing to the cardinal and seal off the conference room, which will buy us time to try something else.¡±
The papal chamberlain looked uneasy. "You??I locked the entire College of Cardinals on a time bomb? "
"Yes, chamberlain. But only now. If necessary, we can arrange evacuation later."
The Pope's Chamberlain shook his head and said: "Postponing the ceremony before it starts will only make everyone ask for the reason, but after the door is sealed, nothing can interfere with it. The procedures for the secret meeting require-"
"The real world, chamberlain, is where you are tonight. Listen carefully." Paul was now speaking with the force of a field commander. The thoughtlessness of driving into the City of Cities unprepared and unprotected can cause confusion and panic among some elderly people, and, frankly, there has already been a fatal stroke this month. Enough is enough.¡±
Fatal stroke. The commander's words reminded Zhiqiu of the news he read when he, Xia Xiang, and Chen Xuanlin were eating in the restaurant: The Pope had a stroke and died in his bed.
"Besides," Paul said, "the Sistine Chapel is a fortress. Although we don't advertise it, the church is extremely strong and can withstand any attack except missiles. As preparation, we searched every inch of the church this afternoon place, scanned for bugs and other surveillance devices. The church is now clean and safe, and I'm sure Negative Matter is not in it. There is no safer place for those people. We will return it later if necessary Emergency evacuation can be discussed.¡±
Zhi Qiu suddenly felt admiration. Paul's calmness and quick thinking reminded him of Chen Luoyu.
"Commander," Momo said nervously, "we have other worries. No one has ever produced so much negative matter. I can only estimate the radius of the explosion shock wave. There are some places around the City of Ten Thousand Cities. There may be dangers as well. If the negative matter storage is in your central building or underground, the damage to places outside of the Prophet's Land may be minimal, but if the storage is on the perimeter say in this building " She looked out the window warily and glanced at the bustling crowd in the square.
"I am very aware of my responsibilities to the outside world," Paul replied, "This also makes the situation less serious. I have been protecting this sanctuary for more than twenty years, and I will never allow this weapon to explode." ()
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