Chapter 97 The Prayer (2)

For such a group of half-aged children and injured disabled humans, those middle-aged people who were holding bricks and sharp weapons and had hostile faces completely lost their arrogance, and lowered their heads in embarrassment.

Jiang Jianming was helped by Kevin into the nave of the Brilliant Church, and saw hundreds of civilians sitting around under the lights.

And a mixture of... barefooted, white robes, and indifferent Crystal Cult clergy, both men and women.

These people are looking at him. Some looked at his wrist that symbolized the disabled, some looked at the wound on his forehead, and some looked at the golden sun wheel emblem on his military uniform... There were various emotions.

Being stared at by so many eyes, Jiang Jianming was not nervous at all, and spoke first:

"Calm down. I know what you are guarding against, but I am not your enemy, and the reason for coming in has nothing to do with the current conflict."

He said, and found a place to sit at random. Kevin took off his coat and pressed the material on his wound to try to stop the bleeding.

"Maybe some of you have seen me."

Jiang Jianming glanced around and said, "I am Jiang Jianming, the temporary supervisor of Jin Ilun's branch in Aslan Star City, and I am under the order of the military to investigate a serious rebellion within the empire."

"Yes, I have seen this inspector!"

A woman in a cloth skirt spoke up, and she looked at Jiang Jianming in surprise, "That day... that day, he blocked a mech cannon for little Lily next door. It was him, and I saw it."

Jiang Jianming smiled at her, calmed down at random, and continued: "Now, I suspect that the remnant of the party of the former Jin Ilun staff officer Duke, who was found out a few days ago, is hiding inside the Brilliant Cathedral. A batch of high-risk bombs."

The crowd suddenly exclaimed in an uproar. Many people who were sitting peacefully, or even lying on their backs, bounced up, their faces turning blue.

For ordinary people who are accustomed to the peaceful age, the word "bomb" is enough to tighten their nerves, and it is a hundred times more effective than the ethereal "real crystal mine".

"Although I am very sorry to disturb your gathering, but after all... we must give top priority to the stability of this star city and the personal safety of tens of thousands of imperial citizens in this area."

Jiang Jianming put his hand on his chest and bowed his head slightly: "Therefore, I hereby request everyone to temporarily evacuate this place and give the Jin Ilun army space to search."

"We will complete the search as soon as possible. As for the reason why you gathered here, this has nothing to do with me, and the security of Star City is not under my control. After checking the danger, you can come in again, and I will never stop it."

Before he finished speaking, it was not these ordinary civilians who stood up first, but the clergy in the church.

A woman wearing a white robe of the Crystal Church came out coldly, her thin eyebrows raised: "Your Excellency, your soldiers have come and gone in the church many times, disturbing the peace of the Holy Land."

Jiang Jianming: "Now we have other internal evidence. The stolen goods were not found before, which does not mean that there will be no tonight. After all, the stolen goods can be transferred at any time. Are you right?"

With one word thrown into the lake, the devout Crystal Cultists in the crowd were furious: "Do you suspect that the Crystal Cultists are collaborating with the enemy and treason?"

"Can I understand these words as desecrating the church!?"

"The brilliance, benevolence and equality of the crystal particles is proof that the church is now open to everyone for free!!"

Seeing the strong smell of gunpowder, Kevin panicked and wanted to stretch out his hand to protect Jiang Jianming, but was dragged by the latter and pressed into his arms.

Jiang Jianming glanced at him: "What are you doing? Don't rush forward when children are in trouble."

Then he raised his eyes and said lightly: "No offense, but it is about the safety of thousands of people, so I have to be cautious."

A figure came out, a young man with gray temples. He held a candlestick for sacrifice in his hand, and he was also wrapped in a white robe, and his eyes were a little cold.

The clergy and the crystal congregation bowed their heads one after another, calling him, "Bishop Su."

Su put the candlestick next to the sculpture, "—The Jin Ilun army has long since become a weapon of oppression for the nobles and the crystal race. We have reason to believe that you want to trick the people here to go out with good words first. , and then impose a military blockade."

He gave Jiang Jianming a deep look like a poisonous snake, and continued, "For this reason, I don't hesitate to slander the devout believers in my church."

Jiang Jianming was neither humble nor arrogant, and looked down at the wrist phone: "His Majesty's imperial chariot departs at dawn, and it will take about two hours for the imperial chariot to pass by here... We only need one hour to search."

"If the search results are no different, I am willing to solemnly apologize and return stability to the people and beliefs."

In the dimly lit main hall of the church, the eyes of hundreds of people were hesitantly going back and forth between Jiang Jianming and the crystal disciples.

"This……"

The two exchanged words, and the officer Canjing was neither humble nor arrogant, and guarded a group of scared teenagers and girls between his arms.

The dazzling blood stains on his forehead made him more like an earthly deity who sacrificed his life to transform all beings than a so-called bishop.

Finally someone whispered, "I want to trust the Ombudsman."

Someone nodded one after another, and soon a second and third person responded, and finally it became a gossip.

"What if there is a bomb, my parents are still waiting for me to go back for the Chinese New Year."

"We're here to petition, not to fight. It's not worth the risk, is it?"

"Let's not go far, just stand at the door of the church and stare at them to search."

"Yes, come in after you finish your search."

Bishop Su's face was a little ugly, and several clergymen were even more angry, but they were stopped by Su Yi's eyes.

Some people went out one after another, and some people even patted Jiang Jianming on the shoulder, with a guilty tone: "Young man, let's go, you should go out and bandage the wound. Oh, you are bleeding, I feel flustered and short of breath. ."

"Thank you." Jiang Jianming smiled lightly.

He let Kevin stand up greedily, his eyes swayed intentionally or unintentionally, and leisurely passed the His Excellency the Bishop named Su, as if with a three-point mockery.

... The so-called backlash to play with people's hearts is nothing more than that. If there were only crystal congregations in the church, he would definitely not be allowed to send troops in to search, and he might have to use force in the end, causing a big conflict.

But now... because of the self-inflicted self-inflicted efforts of the behind-the-scenes, there are more common people in the church.

As soon as the group of people walked out, the Crystal Cultists didn't say they had no position to stop them, even if they wanted to stop them, they couldn't stop them.

"Your Excellency," Jiang Jianming lowered his head, but his eyes under his black hair were sharp and threatening, "Excuse me, can we start sending people to the church?"

"You!" The white-robed priestly woman was so angry that the veins on her forehead jumped.

The rest of the crystal disciples stared at Jiang Jianming with eyes that could not wait to eat people, and stubbornly did not move a step.

"Let them search."

Finally, Bishop Su waved his hand indifferently, "Those who are clear will clear themselves."

...

"You... how did you do it?"

After a while, looking at the orderly evacuation of the crowd, a group of generals from the Golden Sun Wheel led by Lieutenant General Luther were all stunned.

"Take your brain." Jiang Jianming leaned on the soft seat inside the aircraft and asked Zheng Yue to bandage his wound.

"If you don't have a brain, then compare your heart to your heart. They are all people, all compatriots in a star city, and there is nothing that can't communicate."

He waved his hand: "According to the church area division map I sent, there are ten people in a team, each team is responsible for an area, and if you find it, report it immediately, and don't miss any details."

"Be aware of any changes in the environment, especially if the floors, walls and ceilings are mezzanine. Be aware of the mood changes of the clergy around you."

"Go in and search."

With an order, the officers and soldiers of Jin Ilun carried their weapons on their waists, rushed into the church in separate rows, and began to search with all their concentration.

Lieutenant General Luther sighed: "I am useless, old..."

But then, another difficulty lay in front of everyone.

After half an hour, the search found nothing.

Jin Ilun's well-trained soldiers have groped every room in the temple and every wall in the room, but they have not found the mezzanine.

Someone climbed up the ceiling, pounded and tried from the outside and inside, and even removed a few bricks, but nothing.

Someone brought the most advanced underground detector. This thing comes from the Black Shark base, and it can even lock the underground command post that cannot be detected by radar. At this moment, it shows that the underground of the church is really just an ordinary surface.

Time passed minute by minute. Inside the aircraft, Jiang Jianming and Lieutenant General Luther sat side by side, using a virtual blue screen to check the information from each group one by one.

After a while, Lieutenant General Luther turned off the screen, sighed first, and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Although he didn't say anything, his nervousness was palpable.

"I'm going to see a few places." Jiang Jianming stood up and draped his military coat over his shoulders again.

"Lieutenant General Luther, please ensure that the people stay in a safe area behind the Jin Ilun army, and Lao Zheng will follow me."

"Yes!" Zheng Yue responded immediately, and at the same time offered the holster with Venus Wings to both hands.

Now he has discovered that sometimes it is more important to listen to the words of Your Excellency Jiang Xiao than to listen to the words of Lieutenant General Luther.

Walking through the night and stepping on the snow, the two walked into the church.

It was as bright as day inside, and the Golden Sun Wheels were still searching in an orderly manner, and the sound of footsteps echoed everywhere.

Jiang Jianming first went to see the prayer room with Zheng Yue.

Today's prayer room is no longer peaceful, and soldiers are rummaging around here to investigate. Under the stained glass, standing pretty is the beautiful girl bishop who is quite famous in Aslan, Margaret. Behind her is the rather large sculpture, or god statue. Its surface is translucent, with crystals clumping chaotically on the base, giving the impression of grandeur, disorder and frenzy.

Now several clergymen are bowing down to him, murmuring and clasping their palms together in prayer, asking Crystal Particles to forgive the rudeness of the intruders.

Jiang Jianming stepped on the steps and walked under the two-person statue, and the shadow silently enveloped him.

Upon closer inspection, I saw three lines of words engraved under the "Crystal Nest Statue":

death is forever

Destruction is eternity

chaos is truth

He turned back: "Is this sculpture made of real crystal mines?"

Margaret nodded lightly. A few seconds later, she retorted softly and softly: "Purity is within the specification."

Zheng Yue handed over the crystal particle concentration monitor in his hand, Jiang Jianming glanced down at the numbers, it really only showed the data of low-purity real crystal ore.

"..." Jiang Jianming raised his hand and stroked the statue, his eyes darkened when his skin touched the cold temperature.

Crystal Nest.

He really didn't feel good about this thing.

There are only fifteen minutes left.

Jiang Jianming was not in a hurry. He turned around and asked the young bishop, "Can I ask, what do these three sentences mean?"

Unexpectedly, there was a dazed look in Margaret's eyes.

She tilted her head, her long white hair swayed, and she looked like a student who had passed the exam, aggrieved and pitiful.

After a while, Margaret put one hand on her heart and said in a preaching tone: "Don't be afraid of worldly suffering, when the end comes, our souls will return to the brilliance of crystal particles and gain eternal peace. …”

Jiang Jianming and Zheng Yue looked at each other in amazement.

What is she saying?

Jiang Jianming couldn't help laughing: "Your Excellency Bishop? Are you answering a wrong question?"

He said and looked at the information on the wrist phone, walked outside the prayer room, and checked the next location.

Margaret followed Jiang Jianming step by step, and said even more blankly: "Generally, the congregation will not walk in front of the statue, so they can't see these words... Your Excellency Archbishop has not taught it."

Zheng Yue exclaimed: "Bishop Margaret? You won't tell me that you usually memorize those teaching words!?"

Margaret said earnestly, "Yes, try hard to memorize it."

In the chatter, they walked between the corridors of the church, shadows cast on the church columns, and the sound of footsteps echoed in the open space.

"Your Excellency the Archbishop," Jiang Jianming asked casually, "What is the name taboo?"

"...Gaius," Margaret whispered, "His Excellency Archbishop Gaius."

"Where is he now?"

"Has left. But under the brilliance of crystal particles, all believers can meet again in the ultimate land."

The three of them looked at the buildings in turn, which was equivalent to visiting the entire church.

Still no gain.

There are only five minutes left.

Zheng Yue was a little anxious, and whispered to Jiang Jianming: "Little Your Excellency, this..."

Jiang Jianming looked at him and said calmly: "Now the surrounding of the church, including the empty road above the head, is blocked by the golden sun wheel. It is impossible for the enemy to transport the real crystal ore. The things must be in the church."

"Why are you so sure, little one?"

Zheng Yue looked around, lowered his voice and said, "What if this commotion has nothing to do with the theft of the real crystal mine?"

If so, it would be a shame.

Moreover, how to explain to the public?

Is it to let people come in for nothing, or to block the church in perfidy?

No matter what you do, you won't end well, at least your reputation will be ruined...

"Why are you sure..."

Jiang Jianming pondered thoughtfully, and finally smiled, "Intuition."

He stopped and looked up in front of him.

The door is open, the very familiar stained glass and statues.

They went round and round and circled back to the prayer room.

Jiang Jianming looked down at the wrist phone, only the last minute was left until the one hour timer was set.

The sky is about to dawn, the wind is no longer so cold to the bone, and the dark night in the distance also vaguely reveals the white fish maw of the stars.

Dawn is coming, the last moment before the light arrives.

In the prayer room, waiting for them were no longer the sporadic clergymen and the soldiers of the Golden Sun Wheel.

Bishop Su was standing there. It should have been his order. The doors from the prayer room to the main hall to the gate were all wide open, and even the windows were opened.

This means that sharp-eyed people can see what's going on inside directly from the outside.

Many people are pointing and pointing, looking inside curiously.

"Have they finished their search?"

"It doesn't seem like there's anything, hi, I'll just say it."

The worried faces of Kevin and a few of his friends were also mixed in. In the distance is the gray-faced old lieutenant general Luther, as if crying out that everything is over.

The soldiers of Kim Il-lun looked at their inspector in embarrassment.

Obviously, the church is trying to put pressure on the people of Aslan Star City. If the military reneges on its promise, this basin of sewage will never be washed down on Jin Ilun's military emblem.

Su beckoned Margaret to come behind him, and then said coldly, "Please abide by the agreement and take the army out of here."

Jiang Jianming stepped forward without fear.

The atmosphere was so dignified that all the Jin Ilun soldiers present held their breath.

"I'm sorry," the young inspector said, "Actually, there's one place that hasn't been investigated. It's because I think it's the biggest suspect, so I'll leave it to the end to see for myself."

After that, Jiang Jianming raised his eyes and settled in front of him——

In the prayer room, the crystal nest statue made of low-purity real crystal ore is exuding a sinister beauty, glowing faintly under the stained glass.

"Major Zheng." Jiang Jianming raised his hand at it with a firm tone.

"This thing is not solid, break it open for me."