"The parish's own police?" Qi Ji recognized this person at a glance. In the information about the Last Kingdom that Hill had submitted to him in the past, there was a mention of the attire of different public officials. "Hey, hey, hey, I'm talking to you. What do you mean by not saying anything?!" The middle-aged man saw that Qi Ji was clearly looking at him, but he was still standing there like a shoebill. He was obviously very dissatisfied and walked up to him quickly with a gloomy face: "Are you deaf!?" "Um... Uncle, I've been working at a camp on the border for a while now. I just came back to the headquarters, so I don't really know what happened." When the other party was about to walk up to him, Qi Ji suddenly spoke, his tone was a little shy, and he really sounded like a foreigner who had just arrived: "Can you explain it briefly? I see there aren't many people on the street..." "……Well." Hearing Qi Ji's soft and pleasant voice, the middle-aged man was stunned at first, and then he looked up and down at the petite figure wrapped in a long black cloak in front of him with a little surprise:
"Transferred back from the border?" Qi Ji didn't say anything, just nodded slightly. "I see... no wonder." After hearing the other party's "background", the middle-aged man's expression eased a lot, and the tone of his voice was not as sharp as at the beginning. "Well, since you don't know the specific situation of this department, I have to talk to you in detail." He suddenly changed his previous harsh and ruthless behavior, and showed a bitter expression on his face: "Little girl, listen carefully. It's best to stay at home during this period of time. Don't go out unless necessary. Things are not peaceful recently." "What do you mean?" Qi Ji asked back at the right time, his tone full of curiosity. "Alas..." The middle-aged man sighed again, lowered his head and remained silent for a long time, then said half helplessly and half distressedly: "Don't tell anyone that I told you this. Some time ago... it should be more than ten days ago, when the new 'Pure White Pope' was born, several great elders of the Holy See suddenly issued a new decree, saying..." He was halfway through his words when he suddenly stopped talking for unknown reasons. He raised his head and looked around nervously for a while. After confirming the surrounding situation, he pulled Qi Ji to a corner and continued in a very low voice: "The Great Elder said that a new round of 'filth tide' may be coming soon. We must intensify internal mobilization and self-discipline, mobilize all the power of the Last Kingdom, stimulate all the potential of the Last Kingdom, and fight against the filth tide together with the new 'Pure White Pope'..." "A new wave of filth?" The so-called "filthy tide", as the name suggests, means that the number of filthy ghosts in a certain direction in the gray forest suddenly increases in a very short period of time, and attacks the last country in an extremely fast and terrifying situation. The most intuitive feeling given to people is a "wave" composed of a huge number of filthy demons. Since the history of the Last Kingdom began to record, the "filthy tide" has occurred eight times, and each time it occurs, it basically causes serious losses to the entire Last Kingdom. "Yes, this is news that has been personally confirmed by the 'Pure White Pope'. It can't be false." The middle-aged man nodded and said: "After that, the requirements of the Church of Redemption for ordinary people became much higher. Some petty thefts that were not a big deal had to be arrested by ordinary security officers like us and sent to the Central Diocese for questioning. "Some people who behave a little bit worse will even alert the 'dark guards'... those who ride in the dragon carriages and receive orders directly from the Final Church. “Once we are captured by them, we will be in big trouble… So far, all the people captured by those people have completely disappeared… Don’t you think it’s scary?
"The most terrible thing is that the 'Dark Guards' not only arrest people in the Central Parish, they patrol the entire city! If they see anyone who has done something wrong, they will take the person away without showing any mercy! Isn't that scary? "Ah... Anyway, that's what happened. I don't know what the bigwigs in the Vatican are thinking. They arrest people every day, and now everyone is in a panic..." After listening to his story, Qi Ji understood something. The population of the Last Kingdom is only a few hundred thousand people, which is equivalent to the population of a small county on modern Earth. It is divided into more than ten or twenty parishes, and the population of each parish is even smaller. In this case, interpersonal relationships in the parish are closer to a society based on human relationships, because basically everyone knows each other. Minor conflicts between neighbors usually do not require the local parish church to send security personnel to deal with them. The people will solve the problems themselves. But now, not only are the grassroots law enforcement officers of the local parish churches required to arrest those "criminals" of a relatively minor nature, but the "KGB" directly under the Holy See is also mobile law enforcement throughout the city and arresting people on the streets. How can this not make the residents of the Last Kingdom panic? No wonder everyone is hiding in the house and not coming out - if you run into those "dark guards" while wandering outside, they will tie you up and take you away without saying a word, and then disappear from the face of the earth. Who can you complain to? "interesting……" After thinking through all the key points, Qi Ji narrowed his eyes and nodded slightly, as if he understood something. =================== It's a new week again, please give me a thumbs up before you go out~! Chapter 500 Cathedral and Dungeon After parting with the local parish security officer, Qi Ji followed the dragon cart of the group of black-clad men known as the "Dark Guards" and headed towards the city center, which was the direction of the Central Parish. Although it took a lot of time to chat with the middle-aged man, the dragon car that the man in black was riding was moving quite fast. After a few minutes, it had traveled a considerable distance. Qi Ji did not deliberately place marks or reconnaissance puppets on the car. But with her perception, it was easy for her to search for the group's presence and track them throughout the entire Last Kingdom. "They deliberately reduced the internal security efforts and sent special personnel to arrest the criminals... In the end, the Vatican probably suddenly had an urgent need for 'living people'... What's going on..." Qi Ji's gait was not urgent. He walked slowly along the tracks and scent left by the dragon cart towards the central parish. The road was winding, not because he was bored and wanted to take a detour, but to avoid the security personnel in black. She was too lazy to deal with these alien KGBs. There was no point in doing that... By the standards of large cities in the Orderly World of human civilization, the total area of the headquarters of the Last Kingdom was not too large. It was only slightly larger than the border town of Loen in the Glorious Plantagenet Empire. Relying solely on human strength, it usually takes no more than two hours to walk from one end to the other. So after about forty minutes, she entered the territory of the "Central Diocese". It has to be said that after all, this is an area directly governed by the Holy See, and the personnel review is much stricter than other places. Not only will the sentries on the outermost city walls stop and question every pedestrian who attempts to cross the territory, strictly clarifying their identity, origin and purpose, but there are also many patrolling Vatican soldiers in the diocese, and anyone they see acting suspiciously will be approached and questioned. The frequency of the "Dark Guard" dragon vehicles that roam the streets has also increased exponentially. Almost every few streets, you can see a man in black with the "Pure White Gate" logo embroidered on his chest patrolling. Those pairs of sinister eyes can send chills down one's spine. Therefore, the residents of the Central Parish were even more afraid to go out casually. Except for necessary work and training, almost all ordinary residents tried to hide in their own homes with doors and windows closed, for fear that the gazes of the men in black on the street would invade their homes.
"It feels like the period of military control..." Qi Ji couldn't help but sigh as he looked at the solemn atmosphere of desolation and solemnity on the street. The defense was so tight that she could no longer rely on her original "Nina" disguise to get through. Instead, she activated the "invisibility" state and swaggered in from the sentry tower on the edge of the city wall. Now, walking on the cold and lonely streets, she had to continue to maintain her "invisible" state, otherwise she would be stopped by the passing dark guards and patrolling Vatican soldiers after walking a few steps. The environment in the Last Kingdom is generally harsh, so there is no clear class division within it. Apart from the monks of the Church of Redemption who serve as both administrative and religious officers, there are only ordinary people. Therefore, even in the core central parish, the style and scale of the buildings have not changed much. It is not like the cities in the human world, where the closer to the center the more prosperous and luxurious the area is. Therefore, the "Final Vatican Cathedral" in the center of the diocese is particularly eye-catching. "This is the heart of the Last Kingdom, the core of the Church of Redemption, the office of the Final Church... It's equivalent to the White House, Zhongnanhai, the Kremlin, and Buckingham Palace on Earth..." Qi Ji looked up and saw a group of sharp and dense gray-white towers like a forest. In the end, the Vatican Cathedral was built entirely of stone and was grayish white in color. It was very eye-catching among the ordinary buildings that were mostly made of wood. Its height was much higher than that of ordinary houses, and basically the first thing you noticed when you looked up was its existence. The church is tall and spacious, like a giant's palace, but it does not appear luxurious, nor does it have the intimidating look commonly seen in religious buildings. The exterior walls are very simple and clear, without any unnecessary decorations or carvings. Instead, it is full of the majesty, solemnity and oppression of a fortress, which can be seen from the narrow window openings and thick facade. At first glance, it looks more like a fortress than a religious building, which can be converted into a military base at any time in times of crisis. This is also the common style of all churches of the Church of the Redemption. After all, here, the role of the church is not just to serve as a religious place for believers to pray and worship. The original intention of the construction also took into account how the residents who did not have time to move would take refuge if the walls of the local parish collapsed and a large number of evil spirits invaded, rather than just staying where they were and waiting to die. A solid structure, thick exterior walls, and spacious interior space are all necessary elements for a "shelter". The church plays exactly this role. As for the final Vatican Cathedral, it took this military style to the extreme. "It's more spectacular when you get closer than when you look at it from afar~!" A few minutes later, she arrived in front of the tall, sturdy fortress-like church. She almost had to look up to see the top of the sharp and tall tower. And this is also the final destination of the Dark Guard's dragon car that was escorting the beggar boy Toby Ender. Since Qi Ji walked over slowly, of course he was not as fast as the Earth Dragon. The group of men in black had arrived first, and the Earth Dragon cart was also taken away by the monks and pulled to the stable... the Earth Dragon stable. This certainly wouldn't be a problem for her. Her delicate little nose twitched slightly, and she quickly locked onto the boy's scent, and followed the direction of the scent as she quickly walked around the outer wall of the cathedral. She followed the towering gray-white stone walls that were carved into straight lines, all the way from the main entrance of the cathedral to the back, and soon found a small door at the back of the church. "There's a spiritual aura on it... It seems to be an early warning mechanism to prevent intrusion." Standing in front of the door and casually scanning it with her senses, she ultimately did not open the door directly and entered. Instead, she activated the "barrier crossing" to make the quaint stone door that looked like it was carved from onyx open on the small wooden door. Qi Ji walked through. "Wow, it's so dark!" As soon as you enter the church, what greets you is not the expected openness, brightness, solemnity and holiness, but a narrow and dark corridor. There are sparsely charred kerosene lamps hanging on the wall, emitting dim lighting.
On both sides, greasy and damp wooden doors were evenly spaced, with disturbing blackened marks on their surfaces and a rotten smell lingering in the air. The atmosphere was eerie and depressing, not at all like a holy church, but more like... a dark dungeon. Qi Ji's indifferent but smiling expression did not change as he walked deeper into the corridor step by step until he reached a door and stopped. The onyx illusory door, symbolizing "barrier crossing", opened again. Behind the blackened and damp wooden door was a narrow stone staircase leading downwards, with oppressive stone walls on both sides. Due to the lack of light, human eyes cannot see how far it extends underground. Qi Ji walked slowly down the stone steps, and it took him at least thirty steps to reach the bottom. It is obvious that the space on both sides has become much wider, but the overwhelming stench makes people feel uncomfortable. It was a stench that was a combination of excrement, vomit, rotting protein, blood, sweat, and rotten water. It came up in an instant and could almost make a person lose their sense of smell temporarily. Along with the stench came a heavy, painful, hoarse, low... breathing sound that did not sound like a living thing. When Qi Ji is in the "invisible" state, he makes no sound when walking. Therefore, naturally, it would not disturb... Those who are imprisoned here, "people". ====================== Please like it on Monday! Chapter 501 Opportunity (Part ) Beneath the majestic and magnificent Final Vatican Cathedral, in the basement where the atmosphere is completely opposite to the solemn buildings above, the damp darkness obscures everything from view. With human eyesight alone, nothing can be seen in this space. There is only the unknown darkness like the deep universe. The space around was obviously spacious, but the intermittent breathing sounds sounded like a broken bellows struggling to pump, which made people feel creepy and found it difficult to imagine the scene around them. Qi Ji stood in the darkness. With her perception, the simple lightless darkness certainly could not block her sight, but she did not directly use her superhuman vision. Instead, he raised one hand and snapped his fingers gently: "Snapped!" The slight crisp sound seemed particularly harsh in the silent dark space. The next second, pure candlelight ignited on her slender and white fingertips. The bright and soft light then splashed in all directions, outlining a series of outlines that struck fear into the hearts of those who witnessed it. "Sure enough, it's a dungeon." With the help of the candlelight, Qi Ji saw the situation clearly and nodded slightly as expected, with an expression as if he had guessed it long ago. In the light of the fire, a spacious corridor appeared. The corridor is straight and wabi-sabi, and can accommodate three people walking side by side.
The top and bottom are made of hard gray-black stones. The rough surface is covered with damp condensation, emitting a chill that can penetrate into the bone marrow even when the temperature is not low. On the left and right sides are cells. Those were cell doors facing each other. The door on the left was made of steel, extremely thick and solid, without even an observation hole or ventilation window, it was a whole piece of iron plate that fit together perfectly. The Last Kingdom is short of resources. Not to mention metal mines, even high-quality stones are relatively rare. Ordinary buildings such as residential buildings and houses are mostly wooden structures, while solid stone bricks are basically used to build military facilities such as churches, city walls, fortresses, and fortresses.