Chapter 233 Church

At 8:53 p.m., the Swiss Guards lined up wearing red, yellow and blue knight costumes and medieval knight metal plate armor, holding ax guns but with Steyr TMP submachine guns hanging on their waists. They were led by secretary Patsy. , took Caesar, Lu Mingfei and Fingel into the quiet St. Peter's Basilica.

"Why do we need to meet in St. Peter's Basilica? Is the Gattuso family's status and power so high? Or is it that the Gattuso family has bought out all the indulgences in the church?"

As Caesar walked, he looked up the relevant etiquette when meeting the Pope on Google on his mobile phone. Gattuso's family was nominally Catholic, but apart from shouting "Hallelujah", he had only read the Bible and Mathematics a few times. It's too gospel, and I don't know anything about the relevant etiquette.

"This is the decision of the Pope himself, and it is the honor of the Gattuso family to meet in such a place. In addition, Catholicism no longer sells indulgences." Secretary Passi answered his young master's questions in a low voice.

"By the way, does Gattuso's family charge the Vatican's very expensive electricity bill? Why doesn't the Pope turn on more lights? I finally got such an opportunity for cultural exchange!" Fingel complained in a low voice, walking on In the dim corridor, the exquisite patterns on the white marble pillars on both sides of the corridor seemed to become the gaze of the devil against the backdrop of shadows.

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

"Captain, are you really sure there is nothing abnormal?"

"...Not yet."

Lu Mingfei was wearing a pair of sunglasses - the sunglasses were obtained by Fingel, otherwise with the brightness of his golden eyes, he would turn into a striking high-beam knight at night; his eyes quickly passed over the footsteps Everywhere he walked, he checked whether there was any desecration and pollution, and at the same time, he engraved in his mind the layout and route of the interior of the largest church in the world. If a battle broke out, where should his bolter aim at the first time.

Passing through a door covered with three-dimensional paintings and patterns, Lu Mingfei and his party entered the brightly lit hall, which was completely different from the dim corridor. It can be said that the carved beams and painted buildings were magnificent and magnificent. Even Caesar couldn't help it. Nod and marvel.

As far as the eye can see, there are brightly colored patterns and exquisite reliefs. Everywhere you walk from the entrance to this church, there are paintings and sculptures by famous artists with the theme of the Bible. Little angels with wings on their backs can be seen everywhere.

Among them, Michelangelo's sculpture "La Pietà" is the most conspicuous. The Virgin Mary's grief while holding her dead son is vividly reflected, and the different brilliance reflected by the colored marble floor gives the Virgin Mary's sorrowful sculpture face. Added a bit of weirdness.

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

The interior of this church can accommodate 60,000 people at the same time. It is shaped like a huge cross. At the intersection point, four spiral bronze columns support the bronze baldachin carved by Bernini. It is as high as five stories. ;

Under the canopy is the papal altar. Pope Benedict XVI, the ruler of the Vatican and the leader of the Catholic sect, is sitting on the altar. The old man is still wearing the luxurious and gorgeous papal robes used during mass during the day. , holding a cross scepter, seems to be concentrating with his eyes closed.

There are eleven statues erected on the domed eaves of the magnificent palace overhead. The statue of Jesus Christ is in the middle. He is gazing at the ninety-nine ever-burning lamps on the semicircular railing in front of the bronze canopy. The bright rose windows are scattered and changeable. The Roman clock on the left side of the eaves is still a few minutes away from "IX".

"Although it may be a bit tacky and blasphemous for me to say this, but how much money does it cost to build a church of this size? And these works of art... it's just a waste of euros to maintain!"

It was rare for Fingel to show some attitude towards appreciating art. Before this, he had always had the attitude of "Art? Can it be eaten?", as if the throne of St. Peter was not worth as much as the black truffle roast duck in the Kassel cafeteria.

"Not only do you need money, but you also need a solid foundation in mechanics to build such a large building. In the early days, religion and science were tied together, and many scientists belonged to the church," Caesar said.

"Ah? I remember that Galileo was burned to death by the Catholic Church?"

"Did you return 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 to death. The reason why he was burned to death was not because of science, but because he challenged The authority of the Catholic Church and the dominance of the Holy See... Although it is perfect to hold a history class in a place like this, but now I don't really want to be a history teacher and give you a make-up lesson on theology, philosophy and science..."

He looked around and lowered his voice and said, "I... always feel like something is wrong. I don't know if it's my imagination."

"Something's wrong?" Fingel was startled, then retreated to Lu Mingfei's side: "Do you need to be ready for battle, Captain?"

"...It won't be used for the time being. No traces of heresy have been found yet."

Lu Mingfei's eyes kept scanning every place he saw through his sunglasses, but to his surprise, this place was quite "clean", without any trace of chaotic power, and it was completely a slightly gorgeous church. That's all - compared with the churches of the Human Empire that were built on battleships, in space orbit, or that occupied the entire planet's continent, St. Peter's Cathedral was indeed only average.

The same was true for the Pope. Lu Mingfei only saw an aging body riddled with disease and posed no threat.

"...Okay, let's say a few words to the Pope and then we'll go back." Caesar felt relieved. With Lu Mingfei's personal confirmation, it would be fine. Next, he should think of a concluding sentence to end this meeting that has not yet begun. .

The huge St. Peter's Church was eerily quiet. The gendarmerie that was supposed to protect the Pope or the Archbishop's acolytes who followed the Pope were not seen. There were not even six people inside the hall that could accommodate 60,000 people. .

His Majesty the Pope, who "closed his eyes and meditated" seemed to be having a heart-to-heart talk with Jesus Christ. He was not aware of the fact that Patsy and his entourage walked to the altar. To avoid embarrassment, Patsy spoke softly and politely:

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

"With this kind of security measure, if someone suddenly shoots this old man, we'll be like 'jumping into the Yellow River and we won't be able to escape.' It's a standard movie-style opening." Fingel approached Lu Mingfei and joked in a low voice. Said, and then he realized 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. He sighed in his heart that it would be great 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 to me your arrival... Our destiny will eventually be in We meet now.”

His eyes swept over Patsy, Caesar, and Fingel, and finally... rested on Lu Mingfei.

His expression changed from easy-going and sleepy at first to one of utter disgust and hatred.

"Heavenly Father has revealed to us...that you are Satan who does not belong to this world."

"clang--"

As soon as the Pope finished speaking, the bells rang, and the hour hands of the clocks on the left and right sides of the corridor, representing Roman time and Greenwich time respectively, stopped at the number "IX".

…

Thirty minutes ago.

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

Narberal put down the vegetable salad and macaroni with meat sauce that she had made by herself, and saw her mother, Ms. Romanel, walking out of her room with a grim look on her face.

"Did the blasphemous words I said about the 'holy wafer' make my mother angry? This is terrible..." Narberal felt something was wrong and quickly stepped forward to stop her mother from coquettishly apologizing. ...She then discovered that Ms. Romanel was wearing a solemn robe.

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

"Go and welcome the wisdom given by our Lord." Ms. Romanel turned her head and showed a "gentle" smile little by little.

But her expression was still cold.

Narberal became frightened and backed away repeatedly, unable to believe that this was her gentle and loving mother.

"My child, you have to come with me..." Ms. Romanel smiled and approached her daughter who was in a state of collapse and panic. "Your destiny has also changed."