At the end of the distant sky, the sunset stained the sea red. At the far end, the shadows of several ships could be seen, and these shadows, like lonely travelers, showed hazy silhouettes on the horizon. Nearby, the waves were lapping against the blackened night sky, as if trying to reverse the arrival of the night.

But the night was inevitable.

Until the last ray of light in the sky died out, he turned his head from this position and walked back along the path from which he came.

It was pitch black, except for the building in front of it. It is so striking that it is the only place of light in the endless darkness that surrounds it.

As you get closer, you can clearly hear the slight roar of the engine. This is the sound that modern urbanites often hear: the motor of a generator. Although it is utter noise from a normal person's point of view, in this darkness it is the only voice that represents civilization and hope.

Closer you can see the outline of the building—a common type of building in this era—with a towering enclosure with a spire, and a cross erected at the forefront. That's right, it's a church, a symbol of Christianity, a world-class religion. At this moment, the light and the faint laughter of a child's voice were streaming through the church window.

The church is a little old, and the walls on one side are dappled with light coming out. Even on a night like this, in the dim light, the tall cross above still looked tired. Like all buildings of this type built in the last century: it is large, but not refined.

He walked along the stone path to the entrance of the church, and several playful figures rushed out of it, but immediately stopped their play when they saw him. The child in the lead, about eleven or twelve years old, with honey-colored hair, was the first to stand up straight and nod respectfully to him.

"Father ...... We ......" The kid was a little nervous and subconsciously blocked the other girl (who was his sister) behind him. "......" He opened his mouth to explain, but he didn't know what to say, and his voice was choked directly before he could exit.

"It's fine. He smiled and kindly touched the child's head. "How's dinner?"

"Mother Nun said we can have dinner when you come back......"

At the door, you can clearly smell the fragrance coming from inside. That's the aroma of fat barbecue.

"I'm going to wash my hands, and I'll be ready to go. ”

"The priest is back!" several children rushed inside to announce the good news. In a short time, a whole row of children was already sitting at the table. There were about twenty or thirty of these children, all dressed in old-fashioned, but good-quality and new clothes. At the table in front of them, a very sumptuous dinner was placed. These include chicken, fish, ham, bread, eggs and some seafood, as well as some fresh local beans. Every child was swallowing at the enticing scent of food, but no one touched the utensils in front of them.

At the priest's side, several old nuns were already in place. They are not particularly old, only in their sixties, but the hard life and all kinds of heavy psychology have left deep traces on their bodies, so that their foreheads have a lot of surroundings that have not yet appeared at this age. Of course, at this moment, their faces are also full of heartfelt smiles.

A very small child reached out and seemed to grab the fork, but another older child next to him immediately stopped him. "Wait, the pre-dinner prayer hasn't started yet!"

That being said, his own eyes were also looking at the delicious food from time to time, and his saliva was about to water.

The priest smiled and began the prayers that were required for each meal. After the simple ritual, all the children began to eat, but the attention of several adults was not all on the food.

"Father ...... This...... How's it going in the city?"

"The situation is good. The priest said with a smile. "I pre-ordered a minivan with good off-road performance, so it will be much easier for us to buy the essentials in the future...... The car will be in place in a week. ”

"However, the question of the payment for the car ......," one nun hesitated slightly.

"Don't worry," replied the priest. "God will help us. ”

He glanced again at the children, who were still feasting. These children are very attentive to their meals, which is a delicacy that they have had a hard time encountering in the past.

"Father, you must have received support from the Vatican, right?" said one of the nuns with reverence. Otherwise, this will not explain the changes in the past six months. Not every country on the continent called the Americas is as rich and prosperous as the United States. In fact, with the exception of a few countries, such as the United States and Canada, almost every other country in the Americas is mired in poverty, violence and unrest. It's the same here.

Almost all of the children were adopted by this small church after their parents died in the unrest, gangster shootings, or disease. For these children, there is no social security here except for the church.

In fact, this turmoil is all thanks to the United States.

"We haven't had funding from above for more than three years. Another nun said. For this church by the sea, the clergy inside, especially several nuns, came here decades ago. They tried, but in the end it didn't work well. Social turmoil continues, and there are so many children who have lost their loved ones, and there are only so many things they can do. Not to mention the limited funds provided by the above, life is very difficult. But the priest finally found contact. ”

"I just found God. The priest subconsciously touched the cross on his chest and said.

Soon the dinner was over. The children gathered around a television and watched it for a while, followed by a short but serious evening prayer before being sent to bed. These are the bunk beds that the priest recently purchased from outside, along with the corresponding bedding. While the children were lying on the bed, the priest took the nuns to examine them one by one.

"Good night, Father. "Whenever he walks past them, the kids say that.

The whole church has fallen silent again. Following the last of the things the priest has to do every day, he will turn off the generator at the door. There is an electricity system in this place, but corruption and outdated technology make the power supply here very unstable. Before there were no generators, they had to light candles at night – as if they had been hundreds of years ago, completely devoid of the breath of modern civilization.

There was no one else, not even a few nuns who had gone to sleep. He was the only one in the prayer room kneeling in front of the statue of the Crucifix. The light illuminated his body. In this position, his robe was full of wrinkles, and it looked almost like a distorted darkness. In the statue in front of him, Jesus is crucified with his hands outstretched, his eyes closed, and the expression on his face is three parts pain and seven parts serenity.

This is his god, but ......

The priest stood up again and came to an inconspicuous corner. Here hang some simple, worthless ornaments. It is usually handmade and given as a gift by some devotees. He took out a pendant from among them, and it was a very simple little sculpture, which anyone could see as a symbol of the sun.

The priest untied the cross hanging from his chest and put on the sun crest instead. When he had done this, he said to the void, "Listen to my call......

"Pastor," in the void, a voice immediately replied, a voice that does not travel through the air, does not need to be heard by ear, but it goes directly into your head, and hearing it with your ears is no different. But no one can be mistaken, and they can't mistake this voice for someone talking to you next door. Because this voice is not any language on earth, it can even be said that it is not an earthly voice. "You're mistaken. ”

Because when anyone hears this voice, they will subconsciously understand two points. First, the voice speaks a language that is not his native language, not even any language he knows. Second, this language can be understood and understood by him without any obstacles.

It is impossible for humans to invent such a language, only God can.

"My Lord ......"

"I said, I am not your lord. The voice said coldly. "I am not God, in fact, I have no chance to know your God, and he has never known me all my life. I come from a land you can't imagine, and I don't necessarily fit the concept of 'God' for people on Earth. Or you can follow an interesting way of saying that you earth humans, I am an outer god. ”

"But you are my lord now!" said the priest reverently to the wall in front of him (for he was standing in the corner of the room, facing the wall). "I confess you! I humbly obey you! My soul belongs to you! I have no god but you!"

"Ah, I said it, pastor. I come from a foreign land that you don't know, and I can't describe to you, and I only stay in this world for a while. I came to you just to ask you for a little favor. Of course, I'll pay you for your help. It's just a fair deal. ”

"God, why did you reject me?" asked the pastor in a terrified voice. "Am I here to pray to you? Forgive me! Starting tomorrow, I will tell everyone and let them know your glorious and great ......."

"Okay...... Whatever you want. Pastor," the voice said helplessly, but not angry. "You're doing a good job, though...... Hmm, you've got everything done to get in touch with me?"

"Everything is done according to your instructions, my lord ......"

A roar of machinery could be heard in the distance, especially evident in the silence of the night. The priest took two quick steps, looked out the window, and saw some attention: it was the lights of motorcycles and cars.

"Be careful, priest, it looks like trouble is coming. ”

The roar of vehicles grew louder and louder. In the blink of an eye, a convoy of motorcycles and cars had arrived near the church, with their lights on, and the dazzling lights looked like lightning bolts in the darkness. Then, a crowd of people was heard heckling, shouting, whistling, and, of course, gunshots.

Everyone in the church had been awakened by the noise, and the youngest child was no exception.

"Who are you, what are you doing here, this is God's land!" shouted the pastor in the darkness as he stood at the window on the second floor of the church.

He was answered by a burst of laughter. After a while, a lazy voice replied.

"Father, I'm Bill of the Block, Quickgun Bill. I'm here to collect money. ”

"I don't owe you anything!"

"Take the money I deserve. The voice said. "Take what I deserve for protecting you!"

"Can we protect ourselves?" said the pastor's voice, lonely from above.

"Hah, protect yourself??" the lazy voice sneered suspiciously, "how are you going to protect yourself?, you are all women and children, and you need someone like me to keep you safe." Enough is enough, Father, open the door and let us in, or we will do it at our own risk!"