At 8:53 p.m., led by the secretary Parcy, Caesar, Lu Mingfei and Fingal entered the quiet St. Peter's Basilica under the ranks of Swiss Guards dressed in red, yellow and blue knights, with medieval knights' metal plate armor and axe guns but with Steyr TMP submachine guns on their waists.

"Why meet at St. Peter's Basilica? How high is the status and power of the Gattuso family? Or did the Gattuso family buy all the indulgences in the church? ”

Caesar looked up the etiquette of meeting the Pope on Google on his mobile phone as he walked, and the Gattuso family was nominally Catholic, and he had not read the Bible and the Gospel of Matthew a few times except for shouting "Hallelujah", and he knew nothing about the etiquette.

"It was the Pope's own decision, and it was an honour for the Gattuso family to meet in such a place. In addition, the Catholic Church no longer sells indulgences. Secretary Patsy whispered to answer his young master's questions one after another.

"Anyway, does Gattuso's family charge the Vatican's very expensive electricity bill? Why didn't the Pope turn on a few more lights? I finally got such an opportunity for cultural exchange! Fingal whispered as he walked down the dimly lit corridor, the delicate patterns of the white marble pillars on either side of the corridor as if they had become the gaze of the devil against the shadows.

"The Vatican's power system is not under the jurisdiction of the Gattuso family." Patsy explained kindly.

"Commander, are you really sure there are no anomalies?"

“…… Not at the moment. ”

Lu Mingfei wore a pair of sunglasses—the sunglasses were brought by Fingal, otherwise with the brightness of his golden eyes, he would have turned into a striking high-beam knight at night; His gaze raced over every step he stood, inspecting for desecration and instilling in the layout and route of the world's largest cathedral, where his blaster should be aimed first in the event of a fight.

Passing through a gate full of three-dimensional carved and patterned paintings, Lu Mingfei and his party entered the brightly lit hall that was completely different from the dim corridor.

Filled with colorful patterns and intricate reliefs, the church is filled with Bible-themed paintings and carvings from the entrance, and winged cherubs can be seen everywhere.

Among them, Michelangelo's sculpture "The Sorrows of the Virgin" is the most conspicuous, the grief of the Virgin holding her dead son in her arms is vividly reflected, and the different brilliance reflected on the colored marble floor adds a bit of strangeness to the sculpture face of the Virgin of Sorrow.

It is a Renaissance monument that represents the highest achievement of Italian Renaissance architectural art.

The interior of the church, which can accommodate 60,000 people at once, is shaped in the shape of a huge cross, at the intersection of which is supported by four spiral bronze columns, a bronze canopy carved by Bernini, which is as high as a five-story building;

Under the canopy is the papal altar, on which Pope Benedict XVI, the head of the Vatican and leader of the Catholic denomination, sits upright, still wearing the same sumptuous papal robe that he wore during the daytime Mass, holding a cross scepter, and seems to be closing his eyes.

Eleven statues stand on the eaves of the dome of the temple overhead, with a statue of Jesus Christ in the center, gazing at the ninety-nine everlasting lamps of the semicircular balustrade in front of the bronze canopy, the bright rose windows scattering the changing light, and the Roman clock on the left side of the eaves is a few minutes away from "IX."

"While it may be a bit cheesy and blasphemous for me to say that, how much does it cost to build a church of this size? And these works of art...... It's all white euros to maintain! ”

Fingal rarely showed some appreciation for art, and until then he had always been a "work of art? Can it be eaten? As if St. Peter's Throne was not as valuable as the black truffle roast duck in the Cassel canteen.

"Not only do you have to have money, but you also need a solid foundation in mechanics to build such a megastructure, and early religion and science were tied together, and many scientists were affiliated with the church." Caesar said.

"Huh? Didn't I remember that Galileo was burned to death by Catholicism? ”

"Have you returned all the contents of your history class to Principal Angers......" Caesar's mouth twitched, "Galileo was only under house arrest, and it was Bruno who was burned, and the reason why he was burned was not because of science, but because he challenged the authority of Catholicism and the dominance of the Holy See...... While it's perfect to have a history class in a place like this, right now I don't really want to be a history teacher and teach you theology, philosophy, and science......"

He looked around and said in a low voice, "I...... It always felt like something was wrong. I don't know if it's my delusion. ”

"Something is wrong?" Fingal was stunned for a moment, and then retreated to Lu Mingfei's side: "Do you need to be ready for battle, commander?" ”

“…… Not for the time being, no traces of heresy have been found. ”

Lu Mingfei's gaze continued to sweep through his sunglasses to every place he saw, but to his surprise, it was quite "clean", there was no trace of chaotic power, and it was just a slightly ornate church - compared to the churches of the Human Empire that were built on warships, in space orbit, or that occupied entire planetary continents, St. Peter's Basilica could indeed only be considered average.

Even the same is true of the Pope, Lu Mingfei only sees an aging body riddled with diseases, and does not pose any threat.

“…… Okay, then let's go back with a few words of greeting to the Pope. Caesar was relieved, it would be fine if Lu Mingfei personally certified it, and then he should think about what to use to conclude the meeting that had not yet begun.

The huge St. Peter's Church was eerily quiet, and the gendarmerie that was supposed to protect the Pope himself or the archbishop who followed the Pope...... None of these people could see it, and there were not even six people inside the hall that could accommodate 60,000 people.

His Majesty the Pope, who "closed his eyes and recuperated his mind," seemed to be talking freely with Jesus Christ, and he was unaware that Patsy and his party had come to the altar, and in order to avoid embarrassment, Patsy spoke very politely and softly:

"Your Majesty, on behalf of the Gattuso family, I thank you for this meeting, and may the Lord's mercy and gospel be shared with every one of His people."

"This kind of security measure, if someone suddenly shoots this old man, then we will 'jump into the Yellow River and can't wash it away', the standard movie-style beginning." Fingal leaned over to Lu Mingfei and joked in a low voice, and then he found that Captain Lu's attention was all on the Pope and he was obviously not the kind of person who liked to listen to jokes, so he sighed in his heart that it would be good if the old Tang brothers were here, and they could talk to each other to relieve their boredom.

"I know, children......" The old man slowly opened his eyes, as if he had just woken up from sleep, his voice was a little low, "Heavenly Father has already revealed your coming to me...... Our destinies will meet at this time. ”

His gaze swept over Patsy, Caesar, Fingal, and finally ...... stayed on Lu Mingfei.

His expression changed from easy-going and sleepy at the beginning to extreme disgust and hatred.

"Heavenly Father has revealed us to wait...... You are the Satan who does not belong to this world. ”

"Bell—"

As soon as the Pope's words fell, the bell struck, and the clock hands on the left and right sides of the porch, representing Roman time and Greenwich Mean Time, stopped at the number "IX."

……

Thirty minutes ago.

"Mom, where are you going? Aren't you going to have dinner? ”

Nabelal put down the vegetable salad and macaroni with the pâté she had made, and saw her mother, Madame Roman, walk out of her room with a somewhat gloomy face.

"Surely my blasphemous remarks about the 'holy bread' I said earlier made my mother angry? This is terrible...... "Nabelal felt a little bad, and hurriedly stepped forward to grab her mother and apologize...... Only then did she realize that Ms. Roman was wearing a solemn school robe.

"Mom...... Where are you going at this time? She realized something was wrong.

"Go and meet the wisdom of my Lord." Ms. Roman turned her head, a "gentle" smile on her lips.

It's just that her expression is still gloomy.

Nabelar began to be frightened, and retreated, unable to believe that this was her gentle and loving mother.

"My child, you're going with me too......" Ms. Roman smiled as she approached her daughter, who was a little broken and panicked, "Your fate has changed, too." ”

(End of chapter)