From the God of Lies to the Lord of All Worlds

Chapter 464 The New Era Brought by Extraordinary Abilities
"Looks like nobody's here!"

Just as Yang Si sighed with some regret and was about to turn around and close the door, a peculiar voice suddenly came to his ear!

"What a pleasant surprise, Mr. Yang!"

A group of children suddenly rushed over from a distance. They were still wearing strange clothes and holding some candy in their hands. They surrounded Yang Si, which surprised him for a moment.

These children are not as poor and hungry as they were last year. Although they still look thin or unhealthy and obese, there is a glimmer of light in their eyes!

They handed the gifts to Yang Si one by one, leaving the chubby restaurant owner somewhat at a loss for words.

He watched as the gifts piled up around him, and looked at the children's smiling faces, and said softly, "I've also prepared candy and hamburgers this year, would you like some more?"

The children smiled and nodded, walked past him, and took the candy and hamburgers.

Before leaving, they happily said to Yang Si, "Thank you!"

They came to get hamburgers again, but this time, they were no longer in the same miserable and hungry state as before. Instead, they clearly had more hope and expectation for life.

The inexplicable hope and anticipation made the smiles of the people in this area much more genuine—not the forced smiles, but real, heartfelt joy.

This smile finally put aside the man's initial astonishment, and he smiled gently in return.

It was great; this year's Halloween felt much better than last year's...

"It seems the children have prepared a very nice surprise, Mr. Yang!" Just then, a very familiar voice came out, making Yang Si pause slightly.

He saw that after the children left, an old man dressed in a black robe walked up to him with a smile.

The old man helped him move the gift boxes around him one by one so that he could walk out, and then said, "These children came to ask me yesterday how they should thank you, so I gave them this idea!"

“Father Tom, this is too much…” Yang Si was both amused and exasperated.

The old man is the priest of this community church, an unassuming priest who has been rooted here for forty years and has watched them grow up.

Hearing his words, Father Tom smiled and shook his head. "Not at all. Last year, someone came to me and said that you brought them hamburgers on Christmas Eve, which made it a difficult night for them!"

"You may not know this, but that was the only night last year that many families' children were able to have a full meal..."

"They deserve to thank you now! This is the Lord's protection and your charity; you should accept these gifts!"

Hearing this, Yang Si seemed somewhat helpless, "These gifts... sigh, they're all neighbors, they can't even afford to eat, and they still think of giving me gifts..."

"Hahaha! That was the case last year, but not this year!" The old priest waved his hand, and to Yang Si's astonishment, he enveloped him in a layer of white light. "It's getting cold, so I'm giving you a blessing first, lest you catch a cold!"

Upon seeing the light, Yang Sicai realized, "Father...you've become extraordinary too?"

“How novel! Cardinal Angus is in Los Angeles, not far from Seattle. I passed the priesthood a few months ago!” the old priest said proudly.

He was of course proud. Out of more than 2000 clergy in the entire city of Seattle, only ten people passed the ordination for the first time, and he was one of them!

Yang Si, on the contrary, thought it made sense. "It's only right that you were allowed to pass. There's no more responsible priest in this area than you!"

The method of passing Catholic precepts has already been posted on the internet, and many people have seen it. However, not many people can meet those strict precepts.

Father Tom is an elderly man in the community, a gentle and kind person. He leads the residents in worship at the church and also takes the initiative to look after those who are lonely.

Yang Si also received care from the other party here. The priest would teach people not to bully others or have opinions about others. Everyone should be friendly, which made Yang Si's move into the community much easier.

His church is always open, and people from all walks of life, including children and the elderly, can come in to rest. Even homeless people can seek shelter at the church at night.

He would also save some money from the Vatican's funds to distribute to the homeless, helping them get through some tough winters and barely survive.

But this was also a torment for the old priest.

Especially in previous years, when there were many homeless people, people often died of illness in churches or froze to death outside churches. He was unable to provide funeral services for them and could only regretfully send them away.

Yang Si had donated money to the church so that the old priest could hold a small funeral for these people. Although they couldn't get a dedicated burial plot, they could still be buried in the ground, which was a decent ending for the homeless. Because of this, the two had a very good relationship, and the old priest and he were somewhat like close friends despite their age difference.

After finishing discussing the supernatural, Yang Sicai realized what the old priest meant earlier, "You mean, they're all rich now?"

"No, they still don't have much money... but at least they can eat their fill!" the priest said with a smile. "The fact that the children can eat their fill is a great improvement!"

"That's quite a lot of progress!" Yang Si nodded. "Is it related to you?"

“It has nothing to do with me, it has to do with Cardinal Bennett!” Father Tom explained. “Some time ago, he came to Seattle with members of the Inquisition and interrogated all the priests and bishops in the entire Vatican!”

"More than a thousand of them were unqualified clergy, and the number of government officials and wealthy individuals they colluded with exceeded three thousand!"

"The disciplinary officers of the Inquisition sent them in, which gave the city a much-needed reprieve!"

"Those wealthy people and officials dare not do anything anymore, so their pressure is much less!"

Upon hearing this, Yang Si realized what was going on. "So that's why the restaurant business has been so much better lately! How ironic. They didn't even do anything, just kept them from moving, and they were able to feed ordinary people?"

It's so ironic to think about.

It wasn't even because of the Vatican's warnings and intervention, but just the intimidation, that made life a little better for ordinary people in the city. You can imagine what kind of life they lead on a normal day!
"Don't worry, things will get better, everything will be alright!" Father Tom's eyes shone brightly. "In the past, we could only help some lonely and destitute people!"

"And now, every believer in the Lord, as long as they are willing to work hard, should be saved. This is the Vatican's directive!"

“Every believer should live well, healthily, and happily, and they should live in the glory of the Lord!”

“The church today has the power to protect them!”

The old man's voice was more urgent and cheerful. It was hard to tell if he was thinking about something, perhaps about the people who had sought refuge with the Vatican over the years but were forcibly dragged away.

“Times have changed, Mr. Yang!” Father Tom said with great emotion. “This country will only get better and better, because believers in the Lord should be better!”

"No one can exploit or oppress them. They can work for their own livelihood, but they must earn their own reward!"

"They can pay taxes for the strength of the country, but everyone should only pay their own share!"

Upon hearing this, Yang Si was taken aback. "You got this information from the Vatican?"

“No, the Vatican has never taught us any of this!” The old priest’s eyes gleamed slyly. “But as the priest of this community, I can go and have a good talk with the tax collectors, the tax office, the city government, the state government, and even the White House!”

With the blessing of the Holy See's power, even a priest in a small community has the ability to protect the local area—this is extraordinary influence!

Hearing this, Yang Si nodded with emotion, "That's wonderful... This world, this country, is indeed quite different now..."

The old priest left, while the middle-aged shop owner, carrying the gifts, went into the room.

He noticed that a painting had been added to the table where hamburgers had originally been placed.

He stepped forward and found it was a portrait of himself and the children around him, along with their signatures. They had written:

"Mr. Yang, living in this community is not your good fortune, but ours!"

Children of all ages signed their names on it, and their smiling faces deeply moved Yang Si.

"That's wonderful..." he exclaimed, closing the door.

Halloween is over.

But Seattle is different now...

PS: T1 actually won, it's a bit hard to believe... Sigh, playing their finals on our turf, and this is the second time, I can't say for sure.

(End of this chapter)