I created the Anomaly Control Bureau

Chapter 987, Part 982: Almost There (4k views, please vote!)

Southern Federation.

The shadow of All Saints' Cathedral flickered like a candle on the desert horizon, as if it might be extinguished at any moment, destroying his last glimmer of hope and illusion.

"We're almost there." Liu Zhenxing forced a smile. "Can you see it?"

The lifeless body on his back seemed to move slightly, as if it were nodding.

Liu Zhenxing pulled his legs out of the yellow sand and looked around with some suspicion.

In the distance, amidst the sandstorm, scattered black dots were moving towards the church, which made him somewhat believe that what he was seeing was not a hallucination caused by hunger and thirst.

That's right.

"Mom." He gritted his teeth and started his trek again. "Do you think the rumors are true? They all say that a church appeared out of nowhere in the desert, and that as long as pilgrims can walk across the desert to reach it, they can meet an angel who can cure terminal illnesses. I've seen the church now, but do angels really exist?"

The mother did not answer, but only uttered indistinct mumbles in her hoarse throat.

Liu Zhenxing knew that her mother was just as thirsty and hungry as she was, so she didn't press the matter further.

“Those angels are really something, why didn’t they build the church in the city?” Liu Zhenxing murmured with a hint of self-deprecation. “That way I could just scrape together some money for transportation and wouldn’t have to suffer like this.”

Despite saying this, his steps did not falter at all. In fact, Liu Zhenxing could no longer feel the existence of his legs, but since he had already come this far, it seemed inappropriate to fall down now.

The only thing driving him to the brink of madness was talking to himself.

"I already regret it. If I had known it would be this hard, I wouldn't have brought you to find any angels. You're practically half dead anyway. I should have just left you at home and run away."

Despite saying this, his mother remained silent, only breathing heavily.

"Old man, you've always given me a lot of trouble. Why did you have to get this disease? If only you had just died back then, our family wouldn't be in this mess, and my sister and brother wouldn't have run away with the money."

"It would be so much better if you were dead."

As he repeated his own words to himself, the distant church seemed to grow ever closer.

Are you also going to the All Saints' Cathedral?

The sudden greeting startled him, and Liu Zhenxing abruptly turned his head to look behind him.

Suddenly, a man in a black robe appeared two meters behind him.

Seeing his appearance, the man quickly apologized:

"Excuse me, it seems like your attention is all focused on what's in front of you."

Although that's what he said, there was no trace of apology in his tone.

Liu Zhenxing glanced at him with displeasure:

"Look at everyone else, they're keeping their distance. This isn't a picnic."

The man smiled:
"I'm sorry, I saw you here and was wondering if we could travel together."

Liu Zhenxing shook his head:
"Follow me if you want, but I won't stop and wait for you."

After saying this, he took a deep breath and was finally able to lift his legs, which felt like stone blocks.

The man followed.

Perhaps because he was with someone, the air around him seemed to have cooled down a bit, and the scorching sun seemed to have taken pity on his plight, no longer burning him with its intense heat.

Feeling much more relaxed, Liu Zhenxing was no longer so irritable, and then suddenly spoke:

"What illness do you have?"

The man shook his head:

"I am not sick."

Liu Zhenxing turned her head and looked at the man with the eyes of someone looking at a madman:
"Not sick? Then why are you suffering like this?"

The man smiled:
“I want to see the angels. Don’t you think that’s amazing? They all say that only devout pilgrims can see that church, and that you can only get there on foot.”

"I want to see if there really is such a magical place."

Upon hearing this, Liu Zhenxing immediately felt a strange displeasure, and the man in front of him became even more repulsive, though he couldn't explain why he felt this way.

"Is that so?" Liu Zhenxing coldly curled her lip. "Then you can leave."

The man smiled but said nothing.

Then came another long silence, but this silent companionship did make the journey much easier, and Liu Zhenxing even felt that the ethereal church was getting closer and closer to him.

When he broke the silence again, it wasn't to the man beside him.

"Mom, it seems we can actually walk to this church. Maybe you can survive. If there really are angels inside, your illness shouldn't be a big deal. I wonder what they'll think when they see me taking you back."

He paused for a moment, then continued.

"No matter what, you can't be soft-hearted this time. Don't let those two bastards come back to our house. They've abandoned us, and that will never change. Wait for me..."

"After I've recovered, I'll go find them myself, and you don't need to stop me then."

Dead silence.

The man asked:

Do you really believe in the existence of angels?

Liu Zhenxing raised her head, revealing a gloomy look in her eyes:

"Are you kidding me?"

He didn't believe it deep down.

The man replied:
"Perhaps there are no angels inside, but there are some divine healers. And it's very likely that this didn't just appear out of thin air; it's just that no one had ever heard of this remote church, and the transportation was so bad that such a legend arose."

Liu Zhenxing gave a cold laugh:
"I believe there are angels inside more than any kind-hearted miracle doctor. Besides, we've come this far, so we'll find out soon enough whether there are angels or not. What's the point of saying all this now?"

The man nodded and replied gently:
"you're right."

Upon hearing this, Liu Zhenxing's prepared rebuttal choked in her throat.

He reached for the kettle, but its light weight made him pull his hand back. He then continued walking in silence, and the air around them gradually solidified once again.

After a long while, Liu Zhenxing suddenly asked out of the blue:
Do you believe in the existence of angels?

The man answered without hesitation:

"I believe."

Liu Zhenxing looked at him with some surprise:
"Do you really believe it?"

The man nodded firmly:
"Of course, angels definitely exist. I just doubt whether they are that kind-hearted, and they may not be able to truly solve your problem."

Hearing these words, which sounded like a curse, Liu Zhenxing said unhappily:

"You'd better pray they don't exist, or you'll go to hell after you die." The man smiled.
"That's good too."

Having heard this, Liu Zhenxing had gradually figured out this guy's personality. He stopped trying to mock him and instead asked somewhat listlessly:
"So if you really met an angel, what would you want to do?"

The man answered without hesitation:

"I want to try and see if I can kill an angel."

Hearing these crazy words, Liu Zhenxing couldn't help but frown. He should have realized it sooner; someone who embarked on this path alone without any illness must be crazy.

He didn't want to bring up that topic, so Liu Zhenxing shut up again.

A long journey.

As they moved forward, the church's illusory form solidified faster and faster, and several times Liu Zhenxing felt that they would reach their destination in just a few more minutes.

Countless times like this, he still couldn't help but speak up.

"Mom, are you okay?"

The mother only moved slightly.

He didn't say anything more, lest he get entangled with the madman behind him.

Again, he had the feeling that the church was very close.

But just when he thought it was an illusion, the church really began to approach them at an extremely fast speed, almost like traveling through a dream. Before he realized what was happening, the huge building appeared before him.

He raised his hand and wiped his eyes:

"Are we there yet?"

The man replied:
"Yes."

He suddenly took a deep breath, rushed to the church door in two strides, and then shoved it open.

It was as if he had crossed the boundary of the world. The desolate desert was left behind, and what appeared before him was the interior of a beautiful church, so ornately decorated that it was hard to believe it was in the desert.

Unlike ordinary churches, the floor behind the door was covered with all sorts of figures. They all seemed unusually weak from their long journey, and it was even a little hard to tell which of them were seriously ill.

But what truly captivated him and kept him glued to the screen were the figures moving back and forth among the patients.

They looked like ordinary pastors, each holding a bowl of water and occasionally sprinkling it on the patients slumped on the ground around them; there was really nothing special about them.

If we exclude the pure white wings on their backs...

"An angel," he cried out in a hoarse voice, "Mom, did you see it?"

As he was speaking, an angel noticed him, spread its wings and floated up slightly, then flew right up to him.

"What help do you need?" The angel's smile was like sweet dew, instantly quenching his thirst.

Liu Zhenxing knelt down very slowly, and then carefully laid his mother down behind him. This was the first time in a long time that he had seen his mother's face with his own eyes.

The old woman looked as withered as a dehydrated red date, her whole body almost shrunken into her coat, as if she would crack into several pieces if touched even lightly.

"Please save my mother." He knelt down before the angel.

The angel gently pulled him up, and despite Liu Zhenxing's attempts to resist, he still stood up uncontrollably.

Then the angel casually sprinkled a few drops of water on the old woman.

The old woman's body quickly became fuller and rosier, and even her appearance seemed to have become much younger.

Seeing this miraculous sight, tears welled up in Liu Zhenxing's eyes. He looked at the angel with a face contorted with excitement, opened his mouth to say thank you, but choked up and could not say anything.

Seeing this, the angel simply smiled at him, then turned and flew off to help the others.

"Not bad." The man walked behind him, looked down at the old woman, and said, "She truly is an angel."

Although he had always disliked this madman, upon hearing his voice, Liu Xingzhen felt an overwhelming sense of warmth and familiarity. He looked at the man, laughing and crying at the same time:
"Did you see that? It's a miracle! A great angel has performed a miracle!"

The man shook his head:
"Just a petty trick."

Liu Zhenxing's face froze instantly, and her eyes filled with anger and doubt as she looked at the other person:

"What did you say? You dare to blaspheme an angel? Get out of my sight right now, or I'll go tell them what you said to me on the way here."

The man did not obey, but sat down next to the old woman and then gently stroked her face with his hand.

His face, which had just turned rosy, instantly turned ashen and cold again. Upon seeing this, Liu Xingzhen lunged forward with bloodshot eyes, grabbed the man's collar, and tried to tear him apart with her hands and teeth.

"What have you done!" he roared, scratching at the man.

The man remained unmoved as the other woman scratched and clawed at him like a wild beast.

"Take a good look, she's been dead for a long time."

Upon hearing this, Liu Zhenxing paused abruptly. Although these were the ravings of a madman, a terrifying thought inexplicably surfaced within him.

He slowly turned his head to look at the still withered old woman, his eyes gradually becoming lifeless.

But soon Liu Zhenxing suddenly raised his head, looked at the angel in the distance, and cried out to it as if grasping at the last straw:
"My lord angel, please save my mother!"

The commotion they made had already attracted the attention of many people around them, but no angels looked over, as if the two of them were not even in this church.

The man said with a hint of regret:
“These angels are not frauds; they can indeed cure terminal illnesses, but resurrecting the dead is still difficult. When I met you on the road, your mother had already died.”

Liu Zhenxing made no attempt to listen to him, nor did she look down at her mother on the ground. Instead, she charged suddenly towards the angels, and it was at that moment...

"Devil." A deep, powerful voice rang out.

Everyone raised their heads, and then a fervent and noisy chorus erupted—praying, giving thanks, kneeling in worship, and many people even burst into tears.

He was an elderly man with a resolute appearance.

But he has six wings on his back.

Throne Angels.

The man looked at him calmly:
“The truth can be cruel sometimes, but you have to tell them.”

The angel slowly floated down in front of the man, its eyes deep and serene:

"You destroyed his last hope, and may even have caused him to die."

The man smiled arrogantly:

“My world cannot tolerate false hope, let alone the fact that you are the ones who let his mother dry up under the scorching sun. Didn’t you think about how stupid you were to do such a thing?”
“That’s my sun, how dare you touch it?”

As soon as those words left his mouth, the man's head instantly transformed into a blazing star, and a terrifying yet non-lethal blast of scorching heat swept through the entire church, instantly silencing all the noise.

The angel's expression instantly turned extremely serious, and even his wings trembled slightly.

Asking for a monthly ticket~