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 never lived in a four-person dormitory since she was a child. Li Wei gave her an affirmative look, lowered his head and took a deep breath, followed the end of the girls' team, and walked towards the dormitory. Li Wei then followed the four people assigned to him 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. (End of this chapter)
