Chapter 101 Chapter 100

Robert Langdon opened his eyes and found himself gazing up at a frescoed baroque dome.Where he was, how long he had been in a coma, he had no idea.There was smoke hanging over his head, and something was covering his mouth.It turned out to be an oxygen mask.He tore the mask off, and there was an unpleasant smell in the room—like the smell of burnt meat. The head hurt so much that Langdon couldn't help frowning.He tried to sit up, only to see a man in white kneeling beside him. "You need to rest!" said the man, carefully helping Langdon to lie back. "I'm a nurse in a hospital."

Langdon followed the man's advice, feeling dizzy, like smoke wafting overhead.What's the matter?He still felt a little apprehensive. "Rats are your lifesaver," said the paramedic. Langdon felt even more in a fog.What mouse cut star?The man pointed to the Mickey Mouse watch on Langdon's wrist.Langdon gradually regained consciousness.He remembered that he had set a time.Just as he was staring blankly at the watch case, he paid attention to the time again: at night, 10:28. Langdon sat up abruptly. Afterwards, everything came back to mind. Langdon stood next to the main altar with the fire chief and several firefighters.They babbled Langdon a long list of questions.Langdon wasn't even listening to what they were asking; he had his own questions.Although he was sore all over, he knew he had to act now.

A firefighter walked across the church to Langdon and said, "I checked again, sir. We only found the bodies of Bishop Guidole and the Commander of the Swiss Guard, not the lady you mentioned." "Thank you," Langdon said, not knowing whether to be relieved or horrified.He knew he had seen Victoria lying unconscious on the floor, but now she was gone.The only explanation he could think of was not comforting.On the phone, the killer wasn't thinking carefully. What a strong girl, I'm so excited.Maybe I won't be able to find you until tomorrow.When I find it... Langdon looked around and asked, "Where's the Swiss Guard?"

"Not yet. The Holy See's phone is too busy." Langdon felt overwhelmed and alone.Olivetti was dead, the cardinal was dead, Victoria was gone.Half an hour of his life passed in the blink of an eye. Hearing the noise of the media swarming outside, Langdon guessed that if the video of the tragic death of the third cardinal had not been played, it would be soon.He hoped that the Pope's servant had already prepared for the worst, and then took corresponding countermeasures.Evacuate the damned Vatican!Enough with games!we lose! Suddenly, it occurred to him that everything that had been driving him—helping save the Vatican, rescuing the four cardinals, coming face-to-face with the fraternity he had studied for years—all disappeared without a trace. .The war was lost.Another irresistible thought aroused in his mind.The thought was simple, strong, and urgent.

Find Victoria. An unexpected void took over Langdon.He often heard people say that a crisis can tie two people together, and that kind of relationship cannot be broken after living together for ten years.Now he believed it to be true.During the time when Victoria was not around, he felt a feeling he had never experienced before——loneliness.This pain gave him strength. Langdon expelled all distracting thoughts from his mind and concentrated on thinking.He hoped that Black Fiend would do something serious before having fun.Besides, he was well aware that it was too late now.No, he said to himself, you still have time.The killer who kidnapped Victoria has not completed his task.He had to show his face again before disappearing.

One last altar of science, Langdon thought.The killer has one last task.Earth, Air, Fire, Water. Langdon checked his watch. Thirty minutes remained.He walked from the firefighters to Bernini's statue "The Addiction of Saint Teresa".Staring at the sign given by Bernini, he knew exactly what to look for this time. Just above the reclining saint hovers Bernini's angel against a background of flames on the gilded wall.The angel gripped a flaming spear tightly.Langdon followed the direction the spear pointed, and the spear pointed to the right side of the church.A wall blocked his view.He glanced at where the spearhead was pointing, but there was nothing there.It was clear to him that the spear was pointing beyond the walls, in the distance, in the night, somewhere in Rome.

"What direction is that?" Langdon turned to the fire chief with his new discovery. "Which direction?" the captain asked, glancing at the direction Langdon's finger was pointing.He sounded a little bewildered. "I don't know... I think it's the West." "What churches are there in that direction?" The captain seemed even more perplexed, and said, "There are a lot. What's the matter?" Langdon frowned.No doubt there are many churches there. "I need a map of the downtown area. Coming soon." The team leader hurriedly sent someone out to get the map from the fire truck.Langdon turned to look at the statue again.Earth...Air...Fire...Victoria.

The last symbol is water, he said to himself, Bernini's works related to water.In a church somewhere out there.This is really a needle in a haystack.He turned his head and searched for all Bernini's works that he could remember.I'm looking for a work made for eternity. Bernini's statue of Triton, the Greek god of the sea, immediately flashed to Langdon's mind.Then he realized that the statue was in the square outside this church, which was the exact opposite direction. He bit the bullet and continued thinking.What statue did Bernini carve in praise of water?It's "Apollo."And Daphne?Sadly that statue is in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

"Sir?" A firefighter ran in with a map. After Langdon thanked him, he spread the map on the altar.He knew right away that he had found the right man. The fire department's map of Rome was as detailed as any he'd seen before. "Where are we now?" The man pointed and said, "Near Piazza Barberini." Langdon took another look at the angel's spear to see where he was.The captain's estimate was correct. According to the hint on the map, the spear was pointing to the west.Langdon drew a line westward from his current position on the map, and almost simultaneously his hope faded.It seemed that for every inch his finger moved, he could see a tiny black cross.Those are churches.The city is full of churches.Finally, his fingers moved beyond the church area and slowly entered the outskirts of Rome.He sighed, and took a step back from the front of the map.Damn it.

Langdon looked at the entire map of Rome, and his eyes fell on the church where the first three cardinals were killed. Ziggy Chapel... St. Peter's Church... here... Looking at the churches that were all unfolding in front of him at this moment, Langdon noticed the strange locations of those churches. For some reason, he had expected the churches to be scattered randomly across Rome, but that was not the case at all.Oddly, the three churches seem to be deliberately separated to form a triangle the size of a city. "Bring a pen," he said suddenly, without even looking up. Someone handed him a ballpoint pen.

Langdon circled the three churches on the map, and his heart began to beat faster.He inspected the churches for the third time.The churches formed an isosceles triangle, and Langdon immediately thought of the Great Seal on the dollar bill—the triangle containing a wise eye.But that doesn't make sense, he only marked three dots, there should be four in total. So what exactly does "water" refer to?Langdon knew that wherever he marked the fourth point, the shape of the triangle would be destroyed.To maintain this symmetry, only the fourth marker can be placed on the triangle's inner heart.He looked at the location on the map and found that there were no buildings there.Either way, the idea puzzled him.The four elements in science are considered to be of equal importance. "Water" is not special, it cannot be in the center of the other three elements. Still, his intuition told him that this symmetrical position could never be accidental.I haven't seen the full graphic yet.There is another possibility: what these four points form is not a triangle, but other figures. Langdon looked at the map.Will it be a square?Although the square does not have any symbolic meaning, it is at least a symmetrical figure.He put his finger on one corner of the map so that the triangle became a square.He saw at once that it was impossible to form a square.The original figure is an oblique triangle, which becomes a deformed quadrilateral. He was contemplating where the fourth point might fall around the triangle when something unexpected happened.He noticed that the line he had drawn earlier to find where the angel's spear was pointing happened to pass through one of these places.He circled the dot with a look of astonishment.Now he was looking at four markers on the map circled by ballpoint pens, connected to form a rough rhombus somewhat like a kite. He frowned.The rhombus is not a hallmark of the Illuminati.He paused.and…… Langdon's mind immediately flashed to the prestigious one.No doubt the idea was ridiculously absurd, and he gave it no further thought.Moreover, the rhombus is oval - like a kite - and hardly captures the perfect symmetry of the awe-inspiring star of light. When Langdon bent down to see where the last marker fell, he was surprised to find that the fourth spot was in the very center of Rome's famous Piazza Navona.He knew there was an important church there, but he had already run his fingers across the square and considered the church there.As far as he knew, there were no Bernini works there.That's St. Agnes' Church, named after the maiden St. Agnes.She is a ravishingly beautiful teenage girl who is banished for life as a sex slave for refusing to renounce her beliefs. There must be something in that church!Langdon racked his brains to imagine what it would be like inside the church.He couldn't think of anything in it that was Bernini's work, let alone anything related to water.The graphics on this map puzzled him again.a rhombus.It's not nearly as accurate as a coincidence, but not precise enough to be plausible.a kite?Langdon wondered if he had looked in the wrong place.Half a minute later, Langdon suddenly thought of the answer.At that moment, he felt a kind of elation that he had never experienced in his academic career. His talent with the Illuminati never seemed to fade away. The shape Langdon was looking at at the moment represented no rhombus at all.The four points formed a rhombus only because he connected two adjacent points.The Illuminati believe in opposites!With trembling hands, he picked up a pen and connected the two opposite points.A huge cross appeared in front of him on the map.This is the cross!The four elements of science are unfolding in front of you... A cross the size of a city unfolds in the city of Rome. Just as he was staring at the cross in amazement, the ancient poem sounded in his ears... like an old friend with a new look. '' The clouds of doubt gradually dissipated, and Langdon realized that the answer had been in front of him all night!The ancient poems of the Illuminati told him from beginning to end how the altar was placed in the shape of a cross! 'Cross Rome the mystic elemenfsunfod! ’ That was a clever pun.Langdon originally thought of the word cross as an abbreviation of Across.He thought it was the poet's unconventional way of rhyming. But it's much more than that!Here lies another clue. Langdon realized that the cross on the map was the most fundamental expression of the duality of the Illuminati.This is a religious symbol made of scientific elements.Galileo's path of light celebrates both science and God. The remaining doubts were immediately solved. Located in Piazza Navona. In the very center of Piazza Navona, Bernini created one of his most famous sculptures outside the Church of San Agnes.Every visitor to Rome will appreciate it. That is "Four Rivers Fountain"!An excellent tribute to water, Bernini's Fountain of the Four Rivers celebrates the four rivers of the ancient world - the Nile, Ganges, Danube and La Plata. Water, Langdon thought, this is the final sign.Exactly. More accurately, Langdon even knew that Bernini's fountain towered over an obelisk. Langdon ignored the bewildered group of firefighters behind him and ran across the church in the direction of Olivetti's body. It's 10:31 p.m., Langdon thought, plenty of time.For the first time all day, Langdon felt like he was getting ahead of himself. Langdon knelt beside Olivetti and carefully removed the Commander's semi-automatic pistol and walkie-talkie from behind a few benches.He knew he had to call for help, but not from this place.For now, the address of the last science altar is kept secret.It didn't help that the interview car and the fire truck roared to Piazza Navona with their sirens on. Langdon slipped out the gate without a word, dodging the media that were now thronging into the church.He walked across Piazza Barberini and switched on the intercom in a hidden place.He tried to reach the Vatican, but heard only static.That's either because he's out of service area, or the walkie-talkie needs some kind of authorization code to make outgoing calls.He fiddled with the complicated keyboard and buttons in vain, and suddenly realized that the plan to call for help was not going to work.He turned to look for a payphone, but couldn't find it.In any case, the Vatican's phone line was still busy. He is alone now. The initial confidence faded, and Langdon stood for a moment, recalling his pityful situation—first buried under bone meal, then cut, then deliriously exhausted, now hungry. Langdon glanced back at the church.Clouds of smoke hovered over the dome, illuminated by spotlights and fire truck headlights.He wondered if he should go back for help, but his intuition reminded him that unnecessary help, especially from untrained people would only add to the burden.If Black Fiend sees us coming...he thinks of Victoria, knowing that this will be the last time he faces that killer. Piazza Navona, Langdon thought, knowing he had plenty of time to get there to monitor the situation.He looked around for a taxi, but the streets were deserted.Even taxi drivers seem desperate to watch TV.Even though Piazza Navona was about a mile away, he didn't want to waste his precious energy on foot.He glanced at the church behind him, wondering if he could borrow a car. Borrow a fire truck?Borrow an interview car?This was no joke. Realizing that opportunities and time were slipping away, Langdon made up his mind.He took the pistol out of his pocket, and did something so unexpected that he really suspected he was bewitched.He rushed to a Citroen sedan waiting for a green light and pointed a gun at the driver through the open window. "Come out!" he screamed. The man got out of the car tremblingly. Langdon jumped into the car, took hold of the steering wheel, slammed on the accelerator, and was gone.

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