13 Mink Street

"Grand Priest, you are ready, you can go at any time."

"knew."

Facing the request from his own guard Captain Morbitten Benda, the high priest did not give a clear reply.

At this time, a black crow flew from a distance. When passing through the blockades in front of the temple, the black crow changed into different appearances from time to time. Obviously, the crow was just the appearance it used to cover its body.

When approaching, the crow landed, turned into a cloud of black mist, and quickly condensed into the appearance of a girl. She was extremely slender, with the charm of a water snake, especially her eyes, which looked like a pair of purple amber.

Morbitten knew her identity, Dinah Kraft, the adopted daughter of the High Priest, it is said that her father was one of the High Priest's followers, but he has died. If he is still alive, his status may not be worse than now Whiplash Foden.

Dinah knelt down on one knee and reported: "High Priest, preparations are complete."

"Um."

This time, the high priest moved and walked down the steps.

Today, he is not wearing casual clothes, nor is he a traditional divine robe, but a gown that he only wears when offering sacrifices. It is still black as the main color, with gold and silver borders, exuding a sense of grace.

The high priest stepped into the carriage, followed by Morbitten, and Dinah stayed outside.

The high priest looked at her, smiled and said, "Together."

Dinah jumped into the carriage at once.

Soon, a huge turtle phantom appeared under the carriage, the carriage floated up, and even the guards on both sides of the carriage flew up together.

"How are you doing with your Uncle Da'an?" the high priest asked the little girl beside him.

Dinah shook her head, and said: "I didn't catch up with the war against reincarnation, and almost made me bleed."

"You, this is exactly the same as your father. Every time something happens, he will beat his chest and stamp his feet."

"Great priest, I just feel so bored. A few years ago, I begged you to beg those uncles and uncles. They just asked me to study, study and study. I listened carefully, but now I am so old, really It’s a little overwhelming.”

"Want to go outside and see the scenery?"

"Yes."

"Actually, after going outside to see the scenery, you will want to go home even more."

"The Great Priest..."

"If you really can't bear the boredom, go to Foden and accompany him to catch ants."

"But Uncle Foden doesn't catch ants anymore. Last time I caught some rare ants in the crevices of the volcanic rock behind the camp and wanted to give them to him. I found that the secretary who helped him collect the ants was no longer there."

"Oh, yes."

"Yes, I asked Auggie where she had been, and Auggie answered me: it smells like chicken."

"Perhaps your Uncle Foden has changed his hobbies."

"So, High Priest, please..."

"Okay, I promise you, where you want to go, you can report to Morbitten, and you can go if he agrees and arranges people;

But there is one thing you have to remember, as long as you sneak out once, the next time you want to go out again, it will be impossible. "

"Is it impossible? But I will grow up after all, hehehe."

There was an innocent and lovely smile on Dinah's face, but the next words of the high priest made her smile froze for a moment:

"In our opinion, you only need to grow up safely and spend this life, which is the greatest comfort to your father. For this reason, we can even create an inner world for you alone."

Dinah fell silent and said no more.

The inner world is equal to a colorful... cage.

The carriage on which the high priest was riding flew to the gate of order, and below it was the station of the Knights.

At this time, the knights below are all assembled, all arms are ready, the war machines are lined up, and the war monsters have also opened the first layer of chains. This strong killing spirit can be clearly felt even from above.

This is the newly transferred knights to complete the defense change. The leader is Da'an Ray Rope. After the new high priest took office, he arranged Da'an, who had been in charge of his own security work by his side, into the knights as deputy. Head, last month, the original head retired, and Da'an officially became the head of this knight order.

Dinah had come to convey the news earlier, and Uncle Da'an was ready.

The carriage flew through the gate of order and entered the temple.

On a star at the top of the temple, a golden light curtain projected down, leading the carriage up.

When the carriage landed, everyone stepped on the star.

Seen from below, the star is round, but standing on it, it is a plane, which is equivalent to a ball cut in half from the middle.

Morbiteng got off the carriage first, and the guards finished formation under his orders. In fact, most of the time, the guards only played the role of a guard of honor, because as long as the high priest went out, the security around the perimeter would definitely be tight;

What's more, in this place, there are more than a dozen people wearing the robes of the elders of the Phnom Penh Temple standing in front of them. If there is any conflict, Morbitten doesn't think his guard team can play any role at all.

However, he also knew that this was the reason why the Knights outside the Gate of Order took an offensive posture.

In the most extreme situation, the temple can easily deal with the threat of its own guards to the high priest, but at the same time, the leader Da'an outside will not hesitate to order the attack on the temple of order.

Morbitten, who has served as the captain of the high priest's guard for several times, is the first time he has seen such a confrontation between the Holy See and the temple. Although the face has not been torn apart, the knives are already on each other's necks.

In fact, Morbitten knew that the temples of other orthodox gods had much more influence on the church than their own Temple of Order. At the same time, the Holy See's binding force on the temples and the responsibilities that the temples needed to bear were much weaker than those of the Temple of Order. many.

The last time Riliersa rushed out of the gate of reincarnation, if the elders of the reincarnation temple had been more selfless and braver, Riliersa might not have caused such a great damage at all.

In this regard, the Cult of Order has always been much better, no, very much.

For example, when Order declared war on reincarnation last time, each knight order was accompanied by a temple elder. When the temple elders were required to stand up and assume the responsibility of maintaining order, the Temple of Order never shirked;

Another point is that there is a tacit agreement in the Order God Church that the children of the elder family of the Temple of Order cannot enter the round table meeting, and they cannot even enter the auditorium. In other words, they can obtain better resources and cooperation from other systems and departments. Support, but the core area of ​​the Holy See is closed to them.

If you look at it from a better perspective, the Temple of Order can be regarded as a model among many orthodox theological religions.

But his own high priest still seems to be dissatisfied with this. If he was only slightly indifferent to the temple when he first took this position, with his increasing control over the Holy See, his attitude towards the temple has changed from indifference to Aggressive, making Morbitten feel that this is too much?

It's just that these thoughts can only be kept in his heart, and he is not qualified to make any suggestions and opinions.

The high priest stepped forward, and in front of him, the thirteen elders of the temple saluted him together:

"Meet the great priest."

During Rasma's time, it was impolite for both parties in such a private scene, and Rasma's tone had to be softer.

Surrounded by the crowd, the high priest walked into the temple ahead.

When it was time to take the seat, the high priest sat face to face with a white-haired old man, and everyone else avoided.

The secret meeting lasted about five hours.

After the door was opened and the two of them came out, the high priest walked outside the hall, turned around, looked at the building, and smiled.

He raised his hand and twirled it lightly. The next moment, the temple enshrined on a star began to tremble slightly, exuding a sacred radiance. The temple on that star enshrined the original version of "Order Light".

The white-haired old man sighed and didn't say anything, looking a little helpless.

The faces of the elders of the temple standing beside him became a little ugly.

Originally, the temple was high and high, and it was the Supreme Emperor of the Holy See. The position of high priest, to put it bluntly, has gradually evolved into a foreign affairs steward who manages the church for the temple.

Over the years, everyone has gradually gotten used to this way of getting along, but now, the appearance of this great priest has changed this pattern.

He deliberately induced fluctuations in the temple dedicated to the original version of Symmetra, which was actually a warning, which was written by Lord Tiranus himself.

This is a threat, an undisguised intimidation. If he is really the inheritor of Lord Tiranus, then he does have the final judgment on the entire doctrine of Order and even the entire Cult of Order.

He was the one who created the Order of God.

The original version of Symmetra's mythological narration clearly stated that the temple is a kennel for the gods to guard the house.

It's just that the gods did not appear in this era, and after the power of the temple gradually surpassed that of the church, in the "Symme" published later, this description was revised to read: the temple is the highest line of defense to protect the religion.

The high priest got into the carriage, and the white-haired old man saluted again, and the elders of the temple around him also saluted together.

After the carriage left, a temple elder dissatisfied: "He is too arrogant."

The white-haired old man glanced at him, and the temple elder immediately took half a step back and lowered his head.

"Okay, you all go back to your respective temples, and I'll report the results of the meeting." A black starburst appeared under the white-haired old man's feet, and he disappeared.

However, the next moment, he appeared in the depths of the temple where he lived, and did not report upwards as he said before.

Because before this meeting started, he had already received instructions from above, and he was fully responsible.

Including this "Temple Reform Plan", which further restricts the power of the temple in detail, and at the same time expands and details the responsibilities of the temple.

Although this will not directly change the status of the temple in the divine religion, this head has already been opened.

Maybe thousands of years later, the temple will have to become an ordinary system in the religion.

At the beginning of the meeting, the old man also had an argument, and he prepared very detailed arguments for this. In fact, when the temple is willing to sit down and have a serious debate with the high priest, it means that the temple has no other choice.

But the high priest just replied very simply, and the next meeting was directly reduced to a cutscene of him talking about his own records.

He said:

"The kennel, how can it be so luxuriously decorated?"

...

The carriage returned to the steps of the Holy See's office hall, the high priest got off the carriage and walked into the temple, and Dinah took the initiative to pester Morbitten, asking him to specify where he should go out to relax according to the high priest's instructions.

...

"Look, your clone is back."

Above the main office hall, there is a cut out cliff with a waterfall hanging on it. There is a pool under the waterfall, and there are seats and coffee tables beside the pool.

The people below can't see the scene above, but the people above can clearly look down.

Here, space cutting is not a test of technical difficulty, but only imagination.

At this time, a man and a woman were sitting on the two chairs by the pool. The man was Norton, and the woman was wearing the robes of the God of Principle.

The High Priest wearing a gown walked from below, came to his desk in the most central area, opened his arms, and the attendants on both sides stepped forward to help him take off his gown and put on casual clothes.

Immediately afterwards, a new path was added. Now there are a total of 36 channels with light belts leading directly to the central desk position. work report.

There is no need to get close, after entering the red line area of ​​the path, even if there is still some distance from the high priest's desk, you can directly dictate the report, and the voice of the high priest will sound at the right time.

Except for some important matters or matters that require further inquiries, the clerks will come to the front for a conversation, and most of the clerks can actually turn around and leave directly after the tape ends.

Therefore, although the educational affairs are still like a mountain, there will be almost no lag here.

"Should I say that you are becoming more and more confident, or are you becoming more and more daring? You dare to send your avatar to have a formal meeting with your temple, so you really don't worry about being discovered by them?"

"Haiman, why can't it be my true deity who went to the temple to talk, and the one who stayed here to drink tea and chat with you is actually the avatar?"

The woman lifted her hair lightly, looked at Norton, and scolded with a smile: "It's been so many years since I've been with you, why don't you lose face at all?"

"I wrote to express my dissatisfaction with your move when you gave up your competition for the academician seat of the Theological Religion."

"My partner has taken the position of the High Priest of the Order, and I have to keep up. Can I match with the position of Academician or Dean? I don't think this is what you, Norton, should say."

"Everyone speaks different things in different positions. You and I have been partners for nearly 30 years. It is a complementary relationship. One-sided demands are the biggest factor that undermines the stability of the relationship.

I didn't let you directly take the position of the dean of the Principle Theology, which is already very accommodating. "

"Then you should be clear about how difficult it is for me to go up after my partner becomes the high priest of the Cult of Order. There are many lunatics in the Cult of Principle, but there are very few fools. How could they be willing to let me go up? Good to cooperate and assist you?"

"You gave it up on your own initiative." Norton shook his head. "They did put pressure on you, but in fact, it was you who didn't want to give me this chance."

"We all need to face our own reality, don't we?"

"Okay, tell me why you're here."

"I have no intention of coming, I just simply miss you and come to see you. Of course, this may disappoint you. Maybe, I have already disappointed you because I didn't choose to continue to go up. Or, next time I want to come When I see you, do I have to send an application letter first and wait for your approval?"

"My energy is precious, and I don't want to be distracted where it doesn't make sense."

"Is your problem getting worse, Norton?"

"This is not something you need to care about now. We have tried to work together to find solutions and mitigations, but it turns out that it has not worked."

"But I didn't expect it to be so serious." Haiman looked down, and looked at Norton who was sitting at the desk and quickly dealt with the academic affairs, "Your clone is improving too fast, I It's scary that one day you won't be able to control him."

"I don't worry about that now."

"Are you really giving up completely, Norton? If not, we can deal with him in the most extreme way."

"he?"

"Isn't it him?"

Norton pointed to his forehead.

Haiman sighed, and put the palm of his hand on his forehead, a strand of blue silk thread was pulled out, flew towards Norton, and wrapped around his fingertips: "Okay, after this conversation is over, you can erase it. It's my memory."

"It's them."

"them?"

With a wave of Norton's hand, more than a dozen grid pictures appeared in the pool. In the pictures, there were scenes of Norton standing in the dark abyss talking to Basser, scenes of Norton coming to the Whip of Order's office to reprimand Foden, and scenes of The scene where Norton summons the cardinal, and the scene where Norton is talking to Crede in the York City region through the communication circle...

Haiman's expression froze, his body trembled slightly, but he still asked stubbornly: "These are memory pictures?"

Norton shook his head and said, "No, it's happening at the same time."

"Simultaneously...you...why did this happen?"

"If it's a condition, it gets to a point where it gets worse than you can imagine."

"I'm worried, you're going to get lost."

"Worse than being lost is becoming more and more awake.

It was like a faucet, and Tiranus was eager to come out, but I blocked the water outlet of the faucet with my hand, and then, other places started to break one after another. "

"I think you can have a good talk with Lord Tiranus. There are many god sons in the Religion of Principle, and there will be no shortage in your Religion of Order. In my impression, most of the god sons are like theirs. They got along very well.”

Norton shook his head and said: "It's different, Tiranus' status in my Kosmos is unmatched by other branches of gods."

"Then what?"

"He didn't come through a summoning ceremony through the temple, and I'm not the inheritor chosen by the temple, or the son of God.

This is an era when the gods do not appear, but the prophecies of the major god religions and the abnormalities and changes that have occurred in various places in recent years all indicate one thing, that is, the gods are about to return.

So, why did Tiranus 'wake up' with me during this time period? "

A look of astonishment immediately appeared on Haiman's face, and then she quickly looked at the thread of memory. If possible, she really hoped that this memory could be preserved, but reason told her that it was absolutely impossible, because it involved The Cult of Kosmos is even the highest level secret in the entire church circle!

Only Norton, who is the high priest of the Cult of Order and the inheritor of Tiranus, can see a corner.

Haiman took a deep breath and asked, "Master Tiranus, did you come back early to make preparations?"

"Yes." Norton smiled, "He prepared in advance for the return of the gods. When the gods return, the world will face a new reshuffle.

Whoever can really predict the time and prepare in advance will be able to gain an advantage in this new turmoil. "

"Norton, since you know, why are you still fighting against him?"

"The return of the gods naturally includes the return of the God of Order that I teach. Most of the preparations he has made are to welcome the return of the God of Order."

"Isn't it... shouldn't it be?"

"It shouldn't be."

"Why?"

"Because there is no need for gods above order."

...

"How about a drink after get off work, Vernon?"

"No, I'm going to school to do volunteer work after get off work."

"My God, Vernon, have you forgotten how many boxes we moved today, and you still have the strength to do free volunteer work after get off work?"

"This is something that was promised. I'm sorry. Let's make an appointment tomorrow night. How about it?"

"Okay, of course, then see you later."

"goodbye."

Vernon walked out of the pier. According to his usual habits, he didn't rush home or go to school first. Instead, he came to the shanty town next to the pier, where most of the dock workers and their families lived.

People like Vernon who can write, do arithmetic, and do statistics can get the position of recorder. Although they also need to go to the dock to move goods when the dock is busy, their salary is much higher than that of ordinary dock workers.

In addition, once the dock is not busy, ordinary workers will be dismissed by the foreman, but people like Vernon will be retained, because the former is easy to find, and they can be recruited temporarily when needed. Anyway, bankrupts and illegal immigrants are better than those on the street. There are many dogs in the world, and you can attract a group by throwing a bone.

Vernon, who maintains the efficiency of the terminal operation, is not easy to recruit temporarily.

This street is very messy, sewage is everywhere, and it is full of a stench. In York City, there are actually many places like this, and they are all lurking in the corners of this metropolis.

However, it is not they who are actively hiding, but the "urban people" walking in the city, and their eyes will automatically ignore such places.

Walking into the largest grocery store here, the fat and bloated proprietress greeted Vernon with a smile.

"Ma'am, I need to borrow your trolley later."

"Of course it's okay, but, Vernon, don't you really think about saving some money for yourself? After all, you're going to find a girlfriend to get married in the future."

"I don't think it's urgent."

"Aren't you in a hurry? How can you not be in a hurry? If you don't have any savings in your hand, which girl would like to be with you?

Even if they know about your behavior, at most they will sigh: Ah, you are such a kind person; then they will wave their hands and say goodbye to you.

I mean those girls who went to school, if you want to marry an illegal immigrant girl, it must be much easier, but you have to worry about the hair color of your future children. "

"Thank you for your concern, ma'am. This sack of flour, and bread, olive oil...and these."

"Okay, the total is 1890 reals."

"Ma'am, I only have 1,800 reals here, can you keep it in the account, and I will make it up for you when I pay my salary next month."

"Okay, no problem. Although I don't want my daughter to fall in love with you, I am willing to give you credit."

"Thank you, ma'am, and you are very kind."

The purchased food and daily necessities were placed on the cart, and Vernon pushed him to the depths of the slum. There were many dirty children nearby, and when they saw him appear, they immediately leaned over excitedly, but No one went to steal the things on the car, but started to push the cart for him. Obviously, such a scene has not happened once or twice.

Vernon knocked on a door, and a middle-aged man with a cane came out, his trouser legs were both empty.

His name is Arif, and four months ago, he was a porter on Vernon's team when an old rope snapped and the container fell, and unfortunately he was hit.

However, he has always been very optimistic, often saying that God's blessing allowed him to survive, but only lost two legs, and the other three workers were directly smashed into meat.

"Hey, boss, you are here again." Arif greeted Vernon with a smile, "I had a premonition that you would come today, because when I woke up in the morning, I was woken up by the sunlight projected from the cracks in the roof. hey-hey."

"Arif, please organize and distribute these to those who need them, and notify those who need to have their health checked again, come to me immediately, and the rest of them should not come today."

"Why, aren't you having dinner with me, sir?"

"I'm going to school later, and my sister asked me to help repair the roof and windows of the school building. You know, winter is coming, and Helen doesn't want the children to go to school in a leaky classroom."

"Oh, yes, that's a big deal."

Vernon sat down at Arif's house. The yard of his house was huge, but it was full of sundries, making it very crowded. People who used to see a doctor at his place lined up and walked in.

Vernon does not charge medical fees for seeing a doctor here. Even so, for many patients here, going to the pharmacy to buy medicines is an unbearable expense. For this reason, Vernon will try his best to prescribe some traditional herbal medicines. The price is much cheaper.

Everyone here praised Vernon's good medical skills, and many people's conditions were indeed relieved after receiving his treatment, and even attracted many people from outside to look for a miracle doctor here.

But Vernon would not treat outsiders, and ordered the people here to help him hide his identity as a doctor as much as possible. In Vernon's words:

"Oh, don't give me any publicity. I am practicing medicine without a license and I will be arrested!"

After seeing these patients, Vernon stood up. He was about to go to school, but when he walked to the door, he saw a line of men standing outside.

Arif smiled and said: "Boss, they are all voluntary. Anyway, there is no work now, so let them accompany you to repair the school. After all, when these children grow up a bit, they will also go to the school where Miss Helen is. of."

"Then thank you all, please come with me."

Vernon brought a group of people to the school. This is a private school, but it is different from the traditional high-end private school. The conditions here are very simple. There are only three teachers in the school, and Helen is one of them. , The school's expenses need to be supported by fundraising on the streets.

The more people work, the faster the work. Before ten o'clock, the big guys have repaired the roof, doors and windows. It is not very beautiful, but at least there is no need to worry about air leakage in winter.

"Everyone stay for dinner, I'll cook noodles for everyone." Helen greeted everyone warmly. Her and Vernon's home was next door to the school.

"Okay, I'm really hungry."

"Haha, looking forward to it."

Vernon walked into the kitchen and asked, "Is there still enough flour?"

"It shouldn't be enough, but I bought a bag of bread crumbs today, and it's the same for dipping in the soup."

"That's good."

"Go and fetch some briquettes for me."

"As you order, my sister."

Vernon went out, and after a while, he opened the kitchen door and came in again.

Helen looked at him, saw that his hands were empty, and asked doubtfully, "Where's the briquettes?"

"There's no need to prepare so much, they all went back secretly."

"Oh, should have stayed outside and watched them."

"Yes, my oversight."

"Then pay attention next time, tonight we will eat tomato-flavored noodles, and here is a tomato."

"Cook more soup, I like to drink."

"Isn't it because it's not easy to be full if you don't drink soup, haha."

"Helen, you shouldn't have said it so bluntly, otherwise I wouldn't be able to deceive myself, haha."

"By the way, do you still remember the student with eye disease I told you about last time?"

"Remember, it was a little girl who you said was gifted in arithmetic."

"Yes, her eye disease has worsened. If she doesn't receive treatment as soon as possible, she may have to spend the rest of her life in the dark."

"Oh, it's such a sad thing, unfortunately, we don't have enough money to send her to the hospital for surgery."

"But, actually, I have a way to treat her."

Vernon froze for a moment, and asked, "But do you know the consequences of doing this, which means that we failed the test he left us."

"I know, but I feel that failing the test is nothing compared to a girl's eyesight for the rest of her life. If I don't treat her now, she won't be able to see the light for the rest of her life."

"Have you thought it through, Helen?"

"Yes, I've thought about it."

"Think about it, let's do it."

"Huh?" Helen looked at Vernon very puzzled.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm very surprised. Actually, this idea has been brewing in my mind for a long time, but I always thought that if I told you, you would dissuade me."

"Discourage you? Oh, of course not. Besides, I want to tell you a secret."

"secret?"

"That is, I also treat people at Arif's place, but sometimes simple medicine and herbal medicine can't relieve their condition, so I will sneak into their house at night and treat them with light spells.

Like Arif, if I hadn't helped him heal, he would have died of a wound infection. "

"you……"

"What's the matter, are you surprised?"

"You don't care about the test for a long time?"

"Trial? Fuck the test, I can't allow those poor people to die in pain like this, especially if I have the ability to save them!"

"It seems that we have all failed." Helen smiled. "Perhaps, this is the reason why he never came to us again. In his eyes, we are all failures who failed the test."

"It should be, but I have no regrets. This is what the light should do, so that those who live in suffering can see hope."

...

"Why do I feel that Karen has long forgotten the existence of these two bright babies?"

Sitting in the car, Neo couldn't help saying after listening to the conversation between Helen and Vernon in the opposite room played on the radio.

Alfred remained silent, but continued to adjust the car radio with his hands.

Neo continued to say to Alfred: "Right, you think so too, Karen was just trying to get rid of these two bright burdens, and deliberately arranged a test for them, just to send them away, right? ?”

"Are you still listening?" Alfred asked.

"Don't listen, let's go, let's go down."

"Okay." Alfred turned off the radio, opened the car door and walked down with Neo.

"So I think this kid's character is like this, he will always behave decently, no matter who he sees, then turn around and forget about them in a decent manner.

What does it mean not to use the power of faith to live in this city? This kind of test of the bad street is abundant in the myths and stories of every god religion. Only these two idiots really believed it.

Alas, how dare he say such words to lie to children, I definitely don't have the face to fool others like this. "

Neo cursed and pushed open the door of Helen and Vernon's house,

Then open your arms,

With a smile on his face, he shouted enthusiastically:

"Praise the light, you finally understand what is the true meaning of light, congratulations, you have passed the test!"