Chapter 42 Chapter Forty-One

The voice from the pope's servant's microphone was harsh and cold, with a touch of arrogance.Everyone in the room pricked up their ears and listened carefully. Langdon struggled to make out the accent.Maybe it's from the Middle East? "I'm a messenger from an ancient Brotherhood," he said in a strange tone, "a Brotherhood you've insulted and slandered for centuries. I'm a messenger from the Illuminati." Langdon felt every muscle in his body tense, and the last trace of doubt vanished.For a moment it seemed to him that the thrill he had experienced when he first saw the symmetrical word this morning, the special honor, and the very real fear were all mixed together.

"What do you want?" asked the pope's chamberlain. "I represent those of the scientific community who, like you, are seeking answers about the fate of humanity, the meaning of life, and the Creator of humanity." "Whoever you are," said the Pope's chamberlain, "I..." "Shut up, you'd better listen. For two thousand years, your Church has sought truth with authority. You overwhelm those who disagree with you with lies and prophecies of the Last Judgment. You manipulate truth to suit your needs , and kill those who fail to serve your rule. Are you surprised that you are now the target of vengeance for enlightened men all over the globe?"

"Enlightened men do not resort to blackmail to achieve their ends." "Extortion?" The other party laughed loudly. "This is not extortion. We have not made any demands on you. There is no condition for destroying the Holy See. We have been waiting for this day for four hundred years. Tonight at midnight At that time, your city will be wiped out, so you just wait to die." Olivetti roared into the microphone: "It's absolutely impossible to get into this city! You can't have dynamite here!" "By saying that, it just shows that you're an ignorant Swiss guard, maybe even an officer. You know, for centuries, that the Illuminati have infiltrated elite organizations around the globe. You really believe the Holy See Is it indestructible?"

Gosh, Langdon thought, they have moles here too.Everyone knows that the Illuminati are powerful and can infiltrate every corner.They have infiltrated Freemasonry, major banking systems, and government agencies.In fact, Churchill once told reporters that if British agents had infiltrated the Nazis to the extent that the Illuminati had infiltrated the British Parliament, the war would be over within a month. "Obviously it's alarmist talk." Olivetti burst out suddenly. "It is impossible for your influence to expand so widely." "How is that impossible? Just because your Swiss guards are on high alert? Just because they watch every corner of your secret world? What about the Swiss guards themselves? Are they not human? Do you really believe that Would they bet their lives on a myth? Ask yourself, how did this storage get to your city, and how did those four of your most important treasures disappear this afternoon? "

"Our treasure?" said Olivetti sullenly. "What do you mean?" "One, two, three, four. Haven't you found them yet?" "What the hell are you talking about..." Olivetti stopped suddenly, his eyes widened suddenly, as if he had been punched hard in the stomach. "A hint," said the caller, "shall I say their name?" "What's the matter?" asked the pope's servant, looking confused. The caller laughed. "Hasn't your officer informed you yet? What a sin. Nothing to be surprised about, what a pride, I'm imagining how humiliated he must be to tell you the truth... those four cardinals he swore to protect seemed disappeared……"

Olivetti interrupted him. "Where did you hear that!" "The Pope's chamberlain," said the other gloatingly, "ask your Commander if all your cardinals are in the Sistine Chapel." The Pope's chamberlain turned to Olivetti, staring at him with blue eyes, demanding an explanation of the matter. "Sir," Olivetti whispered in the pope's valet's ear, "he is telling the truth. The four cardinals have not yet reported to the Sistine Chapel, but there is no need to raise the alarm. This morning, Everyone has checked in, so we know they must still be in Vatican City. You had tea with them yourself a few hours ago. They just don’t have a sense of time and they’re still out there.”

"Strolling outside?" cried the pope's chamberlain, losing his composure. "They should have entered the church more than an hour ago!" Langdon gave Victoria a surprised look.The missing cardinal?Is this what they were looking for downstairs? "We still have a list," said the other, "you will be convinced. They are Cardinal Lamas of Paris, Cardinal Guidole of Barcelona, ​​Cardinal Ebner of Frankfurt..." Olivetti nearly shrank into a ball when he heard the names read out one by one. The caller paused, as if relishing the special pleasure of announcing the last name. "And the Italian . . . Cardinal Bagger."

The Pope's servant was like a giant ship suddenly sailing into calm waters, he suddenly became limp and weak.He slumped in a chair, his clothes rumpled. "Candidate bishop," he murmured, "the four most promising...including Bagger...the most likely to become Pope of Rome...how is this possible?" Langdon had read a lot of materials about the election of the Pope in modern times, and he could completely understand the look of despair on the face of the Pope's chamberlain.Although, in principle, any cardinal under the age of eighty can become pope, only a very small number of people can win the respect of two-thirds of the people in the extremely partisan voting process. They are the bishop candidates. , and now they are all gone.

Beads of sweat dripped from the brow of the pope's chamberlain. "What do you want to do with them?" "What do you think? I am a descendant of the Black Fiend." Langdon shivered.He was too familiar with the name.Over the years, the church has made some sworn enemies—the Black Star, the Knights Templar, groups that were hunted down or betrayed by the Vatican. "Release the cardinal," said the Pope's chamberlain. "Isn't it enough to threaten to destroy the City of God?" "Forget about your four cardinals. They don't belong to you anymore. I'm sure their deaths will be remembered...by millions. That's the wish of every martyr. I Let them become news figures, one by one. By twelve o'clock in the middle of the night, the Illuminati will attract everyone's attention. If the world is not paying attention, then why change the world? Execute them in full view, very miserable Exciting, isn't it? You've proven this a long time ago... You interrogated and tortured the Knights Templar, the Crusaders." He paused. "And, of course, the Purges."

The pope's chamberlain fell silent. "Don't you remember the purge?" asked the other. "Of course you don't, you're a little kid. Priests are bad historians anyway, maybe because they history embarrassing them, right?" "The Purges," Langdon heard himself say, "occurred in 1668. That year, the Church branded four Illuminati scientists with the image of a cross to cleanse them of their sins." "Who is talking?" the other party asked, more curious than concerned. "Who else is there?" Hearing this, Langdon trembled with fear. "I'm just a nobody," he said, trying not to shake his voice, completely overwhelmed talking to a living Illuminati . . . like talking to George Washington. "I'm a college teacher and have done a little research on your fraternities."

"Excellent," replied the other. "I'm glad there are still people in the world who remember the crimes the Church has committed against us." "Most of us thought you were dead." "That's just a falsehood created by the Brotherhood with good intentions. What else do you know about the Purge Movement?" Langdon hesitated.What else do I know?The whole thing is ridiculous, that's all I know! "The scientists were branded and killed, and their bodies were thrown in public places in Rome as a warning to other scientists not to join the Illuminati." "That's right. So we're going to do what we've been doing. Eye for an eye. We're taking this as symbolic vengeance for a brother who died. Your four cardinals are going to hell, never Starting at eight o'clock, one of them has to go to see God every hour, and by midnight the whole world will be shaken." Langdon walked over to the phone and said, "Are you serious about branding and killing these four men?" "History always repeats itself, doesn't it? Of course, we will do it better and bolder than the church. They just kill people secretly and throw their bodies when no one is looking. It seems like a coward." "What did you say?" Langdon said. "Are you going to brand them in public and kill them?" "You're so right, but depending on your understanding of the public, I don't think many people go to church anymore." Langdon had a hard time understanding what he was saying. "You're going to kill them in church?" "It's a good deed. It's for God to take their souls to heaven more quickly. It just seems right. Of course the press will be interested, I think." "You're alarmist," said Olivetti, calm again. "You don't want to kill someone in a church and run away with the body." "Scaremongering? We come and go free like ghosts in your Swiss guard, take those four of the cardinals from within you, plant a deadly bomb in the heart of your holiest shrine, do you think that Is it all alarmism? When the murders happen and the dead are discovered, the media will flock to them. By midnight, the world will know about the Illuminati's great deeds." "What if we put guards in every church?" Olivetti said. The caller laughed. "Your churches are dotted all over the place. I'm afraid it's a daunting task. Have you counted them lately? There are more than four hundred Catholic churches in Rome, including cathedrals, chapels, chapels, temples, monasteries, and convents." , church school..." Olivetti still had a grim look on his face. "After ninety minutes, you can start collecting the corpses," the other party said in a decisive tone. "One an hour, the mathematical progression of death. Now I have to go." "Wait!" Langdon demanded, "tell me what brand you plan to brand on these people." The killer seemed amused. "Guess you already know what kind of brand it will be. Do you still have doubts? You will soon see these brands. The ancient legends are absolutely true." Langdon felt dizzy.He knew exactly what the man was talking about.He mentally sketched the branding on Leonardo Witterer's chest.Illuminati folklore mentions a total of five seals.Four prints left, Langdon thought, four cardinals missing. "I swear," said the pope's chamberlain, "that a new pope will be elected tonight, God witnesses." "The Pope's Chamberlain," said the other, "there is no need for a new Pope. After midnight, the Pope will rule over nothing but rubble and bricks. Catholicism is over, and so is your reign on Earth." .” There was a dead silence. The pope's chamberlain seemed to be feeling sad. "You have gone astray. The church is not made of only mortar and stone, and you cannot easily destroy two thousand years of faith...not any faith. You can destroy the outward manifestations of religious belief, but absolutely Faith itself cannot be destroyed. Catholicism will continue to exist with or without the Vatican." "It's a grand lie, but a lie is just a lie. You and I both know the truth. Why, you say, is the Vatican City a fortified fortress?" "Because the saints of God live in a perilous world," answered the pope's chamberlain. "How naive are you? The Vatican is a fortress only because the Catholic Church has half of its assets here - rare paintings and sculptures, precious jewels, priceless scrolls... and the Vatican Bank's vaults contain With gold bars and real estate deeds. According to internal statistics, Vatican City has assets of 48.5 billion US dollars. Your reserves are really strong, but tomorrow they will all be reduced to ashes, like a liquidation. You are going bankrupt, Even pastors don't have to work anymore." The battle-fatigued looks of Olivetti and the pope's chamberlain seemed to indicate that the other side was saying exactly what they were saying.Langdon wondered which was more astonishing, the fact that the Catholic Church had such a huge fortune or that the Illuminati knew it all. The Pope's servant sighed heavily and said, "The pillar of the church is faith, not money." "Again," said the other, "last year you set aside $183 million to fund your dilapidated parishes all over the world. Church attendance is now at an all-time low—over the past ten years. Forty-six percent down in the middle of the year. Donations are now half what they were seven years ago, and fewer and fewer people are applying to seminary. As much as you hate to admit it, your church is doomed. Just Take the bang as a relief." Olivetti took a step forward, and now he seemed less arrogant, as if he had realized the harsh reality he was facing.He was like a man desperate to find a way out, any way out would do. "What if we funded some gold bullion for your cause?" "Don't insult us both." "We have money." "We have too, more than you can imagine." Langdon suddenly remembered the wealth of the so-called Illuminati, those ancient wealth, including those of the Bavarian Masonry Freemasonry, the Rothschild family, the Beardbergers family, and the legendary Illuminati. "Candidate bishop," the Pope's servant changed the subject, he said in a pleading tone, "let them go, they are old, they..." "They are pure sacrifices," the other laughed. "Tell me, do you think they are really virgins? Do lambs scream when they die? Put these pure people on the altar of science." The pope's chamberlain was silent for a while. "They were devout believers," he concluded, "and they feared no death." The other party sneered: "Leonardo Witterer is a devout believer, but I still saw fear in his eyes last night, but I eliminated this fear." Victoria didn't say a word, but suddenly jumped up when she heard this, and she was full of hatred from head to toe. "Bastard! He's my father!" The other party laughed. "Your father? What do you mean? Wittler has a daughter? You should know that your father cried like a child before he died. What a poor, unfortunate man." Victoria shook her body as if hit by these words.Langdon reached for her, but she regained her footing, her dark eyes fixed on the phone. "I bet my life that I will find you before tomorrow." Her tone was as sharp as a laser. "Wait until I find..." The other party laughed obscenely: "What a fierce girl, I am so excited. I will find you out before tomorrow. When I find it..." The words hung in the air like a sharp sword.After speaking, he disappeared.

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