Burning, killing, looting, they call me a saint

People come and go outside the Twilight Church. In addition to their religious attributes, every priest of the Twilight Church is also a free doctor. The bishop of the Sun Diocese is famous for his consideration for workers and is a pro-lower-class person who strives to fight for more legal interests for workers.

Judging from the information Levi had obtained, this bishop was not a hypocrite who was just pretending to be one.

He was indeed an ascetic monk. Not only among the laborers in Yuguang District, but also among the wealthy people in Yaoguang District, the bishop had a great reputation. He was even once recommended to join the upper seats of the parliament.

But he insisted on keeping the main body of the church in the Yiguang area and lived an extremely simple life.

Some big factory owners and congressmen who believed in Twilight could not stand the dilapidated church and donated money together to ask the bishop to rebuild a luxurious new church. However, the current bishop took it upon himself to use the money to help orphans among the workers and repaired a cemetery to provide a place for the elderly who had no money to bury themselves after death.

This left the big factory owners and council members helpless, but they were unwilling to lower their status to pray in the dilapidated church in Yuguang District, so they raised funds again and built a bright and beautiful new church in Yaoguang District.

The bishop gave face to those people and assigned some priests to live in the church, but he himself remained in the dilapidated church in Yuguang District, treating the poor, adopting orphans, and taking care of the funeral affairs of the elderly. He enjoyed a high reputation among the workers.

Therefore, every year before the Festival of Glory, when he organized the choir, the workers would actively send their children in the hope of being selected. Even if there were no benefits, they would regard it as a support and reward for the bishop and the Twilight Church.

Levi and Fengzi looked at the long registration line. They looked at each other and understood in their hearts that just taking the first step of being selected was not an easy thing.

Chapter 24 Selected

Compared to how difficult it was to be selected by the choir, Levi was now looking at Feng Zi with a look of amazement.

At this moment, she had black hair and was wearing simple linen clothes. Her originally fair and delicate face was dotted with some freckles last night, and her blue eyes were covered with black contact lenses.

Although she still has outstanding looks and unique temperament, she can't be seen from her original appearance at all.

What really surprised Levi was her legs. Since she woke up early in the morning, Fengzi suddenly no longer had a limp!

Even before Levi put makeup on her, her face was still pale, even paler than before, but now she has become a person with all her limbs intact.

"You weren't pretending to be lame all this time, were you?"

Levi looked at her suspiciously.

When Fengzi heard this, she couldn't help but clench her teeth, and she grabbed Levi's arm even harder, with a vicious look, as if she was chewing his flesh.

"You are the one pretending to be lame! Your whole family is pretending to be lame!"

Seeing that she didn't want to say more, Levi just shook his head indifferently and didn't ask any more questions.

Everyone has some little secrets of their own, just like Levi himself. He is not completely unreserved about his style. It can even be said that he retains a lot.

"Let me make it clear first. Even if you are no longer lame, I will not change my words."

As he spoke, he looked around and soon found a middle-aged woman in an alley not far away who was also looking for someone.

Levi walked towards the woman with his arm in hand. The woman also saw them, but she didn't say anything first, just looked them up and down.

Until Levi asked.

"Introduced by Zhou Laosan?"

Hearing this title, a smile appeared on the woman's face and she became enthusiastic.

"Yes, yes, it was Uncle Zhou from next door who contacted us. Zhao Huan and Zhao Ling, right? These are your ID cards. The information is entered in advance. They are the old authentication ones, and they don't require a photo check."

Li Wei took the ID cards she handed over and gave the one with "Zhao Ling" on it to Feng Zi.

"Uncle Zhou should have told you that I have additional requests. You still need to cooperate with us today."

The woman's smile grew a little warmer.

"I know, I know, but he also said that this part of the reward is yours."

As she spoke, Levi had already pulled out ten hundred-dollar bills from his pocket. Under the woman's shining gaze, he counted out seven of them.

"I'll give you 700 first, and then I'll give you the remaining 300 after this is over."

It was impossible for Levi to carry so much cash with him, so he rented a house near the church and temporarily put some things that were inconvenient to carry in the house, and only carried a small amount of money with him.

After receiving the agreed compensation, the woman, who seemed to have done this kind of work many times, naturally became the "mother" of Levi and Fengzi, and took them both to the line to sign up for the church choir.

The line was indeed very long, and most of the people who came to sign up were mothers who brought their children. The church choir has a fixed age limit and only recruits teenagers aged 8-18, with a - ratio of male to female.

But after all, it is a choir that is in the spotlight.

It is said that the bishop uses the White Tower Singing event every year to help the workers in Yuguan District obtain a lot of subsidies and funds, so the selection criteria for registration every year are particularly strict.

Children living in Yuguang District are more or less malnourished. Their parents, who are laborers, have no time to pay attention to their personal hygiene. Few of them can even read and learn any knowledge.

This means that even though there are many people signing up, the vast majority of them will be rejected on the spot.

According to his real age, Levi's original body in this world had just turned 18 three months old, and Fengzi is almost 20 years old this year.

However, the ages on their ID cards have now been changed to seventeen and sixteen.

Judging from their appearance, it is indeed difficult to tell their real age.

After waiting in line for a whole morning, it was finally Fengzi and Li Wei's turn at around 11 o'clock in the morning.

The pastor who was in charge of registration and on-site screening was a little numb at this time. He lowered his head and first registered Levi and Fengzi's ID cards. When he raised his head and saw their faces, he was obviously dazed.

"Pastor, I'm not bragging! When I was young, I was the most beautiful girl in the area. My son and daughter look like me! They are obedient and sensible. When they were young, my damn husband even taught them how to read. They definitely meet the requirements of the church!"

The woman was very dedicated. While praising herself, she also did not forget to bring along Levi and her grace.

The pastor nodded after hearing her words, but after looking at Levi and Fengzi for a while, he did not say anything first. Instead, he took out two photos from the side, compared the two people carefully, and then shook his head silently.

The woman hired by Levi thought that the pastor was dissatisfied, which made her nervous. She was afraid that Levi and his man would not be selected and she would not be able to get the final payment.

"What do you think is wrong? Is their hair too long? Or their nails uncut? Don't just shake your head!"

The pastor put down the two wanted photos in his hand, and without answering the woman's question first, he lowered his head and put a big check mark behind the two people's information on the registration form.

"Both of your children are fine and meet the selection criteria. But this is only a temporary selection. The church will arrange training for them. If any problems that do not meet the requirements arise during this period, we will still eliminate them."

Hearing this, the woman finally breathed a sigh of relief, and a smile of satisfaction appeared on her face.

"Take a look at this employment contract. If there is no problem, let your son and daughter go in directly. They cannot go home during this period, but you can visit them at any time. The church will arrange food and accommodation for them and ensure that they are well taken care of."

The woman signed the contract without any hesitation. At the same time, she looked reluctant and earnestly reminded Li Wei and Fengzi to be obedient in the church, just like a real mother.

Of course, taking advantage of this opportunity, Levi quietly stuffed the remaining three hundred yuan into the woman's hand. The two of them looked at each other tacitly for the last time, announcing the success and end of the transaction.

Finally, a nun dressed as a nun led them both into the church, where dozens of selected children were already staying.

Chapter 25: The Murderer

The decoration inside the church is as simple as its exterior.

The old wooden floor was covered with scratches and cracks, and the white paint on the walls had turned a brownish yellow due to the passage of time.

There is no statue at the front of the church hall, only a star-shaped cross about two meters high standing on a high platform.

On the surrounding walls hang twenty-four portraits, representing the twenty-four popes of the Twilight Church.

Apart from this, the entire hall was empty with only the benches that had been sat on until they were patinated against by people.

After Li Wei and Fengzi were selected, the morning registration ended. The nanny who led them in gathered the more than 30 selected people and led these children to the church cafeteria for lunch.

Although the decoration is simple, the food here is quite good.

At least compared to the porridge in the coal mine, Levi could tell that he was eating brown rice and could even pick up two pieces of vegetables with his chopsticks.

His and Fengzi's plan was simple: after being selected into the choir, they would spend the remaining month in peace.

Try to perform well in the upcoming training and avoid any unexpected problems until entering the White Tower.

By the evening, the last few children were brought in, and a total of 40 teenagers were led by the maids and lined up in four rows.

All the priests and nuns in the church gathered here. The church seemed to take this matter very seriously. Soon, Bishop Twilight of the Sun Division was pushed into the hall in a wheelchair.

Because Levi was the tallest, he was placed in the middle of the last row.

He first glanced at the clergy, but did not see the priest he met in the border town yesterday among them. Then his eyes turned to Bishop Twilight who came in in a wheelchair.

This ordinary-looking, unremarkable bishop looked exceptionally old.

He was leaning against a wheelchair, wearing a black archbishop's hat on his head, a clean and tidy black robe with gold edges on his upper body, and an old, torn felt covering his lower body.

The old man had a kind smile on his face when he looked at the children in the choir.

In front of all the clergy, he first gave some encouragement and preached to Twilight, inviting the children who had not joined Twilight to take this opportunity to learn about the church's teachings and join the Twilight Project that had lasted for nearly a thousand years.

But in the end he emphasized that this was not mandatory, and whether or not one was willing to join Twilight in the end would not affect the subsequent choir selection.

After saying this, he left. It was obvious that a big shot like him didn't need to be responsible for the subsequent teaching of Levi and others.

The last person to stay and supervise the choir was the nanny who brought in Levi and Fengzi.

She looked like a rather stern person, with her brows always furrowed and her eyes as sharp as a hunting vulture.

"You can call me Aunt Cheng. For the next month, I will be the head of all of you. Regardless of whether you can truly become a member of the choir, the church must abide by the church's disciplinary regulations. Those who violate the regulations will be punished, and those who perform well will be rewarded."

As soon as she opened her mouth, it was like putting a silencer on every child, making them shudder.

Most of the children in Yuguang District matured precociously. They knew how to please different adults, but this Aunt Cheng was obviously not an easy person to get along with.

Afterwards, Nanny Cheng brought people to arrange rooms for Li Wei and the others. Of course, the conditions here were not so good that everyone had a single room. Instead, four people lived in one room according to age and gender.

Levi and Fengzi were about to separate. When they parted in the corridor, Fengzi seemed a little nervous.

She pulled Levi's sleeve without saying anything, just looked at him. Levi knew that she was suffering from social phobia.

This little cripple probably has never lived in a four-person dormitory since she was a child. Levi gave her an affirmative look, lowered his head, took a deep breath, followed at the end of the girls' team, and walked towards the dormitory.

Levi then followed the four assigned people into the dormitory.

The room was not big, but it was large enough to accommodate four one-meter-wide beds. Bedding and daily necessities including the choir's uniforms had already been arranged.

After the adults left, the children who stayed behind also started to talk.

Levi is not a socially anxious person like Fengzi. He does not isolate himself from the group in a cold and aloof manner, nor does he actively show a desire to become the center of the group. He just opens his mouth to chat from time to time, hoping to gain a deeper understanding of the world from these children.

Similarly, he also heard some interesting topics.

"My mother sent me here because the murderer in Yuguang District has become more and more rampant recently."

The youngest boy among the four, who was about 15 years old, whispered.

His words brought silence to the originally cheerful and relaxed scene, and the other two older boys' eyes showed obvious nervousness.

This aroused Levi's interest, but he did not ask any questions. Instead, he waited for them to expand the topic.

"The police officers in Yaoguang District don't want to deal with such troublesome things. I heard that the Yuguang Union has reported it to the parliament many times, but more than a year has passed and the murderer has not been caught. Instead, more and more people have been killed after their limbs have been chopped off, and most of them are young people."

A big boy on Levi's right also said this. He looked the most scared one.

"My cousin died in this way a month ago. Her right arm was chopped off and disappeared. Her body was thrown on the side of the road. My family was also worried about this, so they signed me up for a choir, hoping that I could take shelter in the church."

At this time, Levi finally asked.

"Didn't Yu Guanghui ask someone to take care of this matter?"

The entire Sun City is under the jurisdiction of the parliament, but due to the special nature of the Yu Guang District, there are no main government agencies or police stations here. Instead, the Yu Guang Labor Union is responsible for unified management, executing the orders of the parliament and maintaining basic public security.

Generally, when such serious cases occur, and the police department cannot be relied upon, the union will try to find a solution.

The boy sitting across from Levi shook his head.

"The union members don't have guns, so they can't catch the murderer. I heard that he is a monster crawling on the ground, and ordinary people are completely powerless to fight back when facing him!"

What they said became more and more bizarre, and it was obvious that they were beginning to talk about ghosts.

Although even science in this world has become so strange that it is not surprising for any monster to appear, Levi still feels that what they said later can only be regarded as rumors that have been spread by word of mouth.

Just as the night was gradually deepening and the casual conversation was completely over, when the four people in the dormitory were preparing to rest, a boy knocked on the door and walked in.

He was wearing a black church robe, was not a member of the choir, and conveyed the nun's instructions in a thin and awkward manner.

"We need to meet in the lobby at 6: tomorrow morning."

After delivering the message, he bowed, carefully closed the door and left, but Levi recognized him.

A mature person.

Levi still remembers the name of the 10-year-old boy who went to the coal mine to ask for compensation from his mother two days ago. He was the youngest.

Wang Xiaole.