I have a long-lived pawn shop.

When Wei Xi arrived at the Vatican, it was still raining.

The white building was enveloped in drizzle, and silver water droplets bounced on the green brick floor. It was a warm late summer day, but it was unexpectedly chilly.

The Vatican's knights were guarding the perimeter of the Vatican, and there were also several mechanical soldiers patrolling back and forth. They were shrouded in thick white steam, and their complete shapes could not be seen clearly, but their huge bodies that were over four meters tall still carried great deterrent power.

Emperor Odin sent the works of the Perpetual Motion Institute to the Vatican, and it is unclear whether it was for protection or supervision.

These things are truly made for the purpose of killing people, and the police models are like children's toys compared to them.

There are various types of military mechanical soldiers, used for defense, communication, transportation, etc., but the ultimate killing weapons only exist in the Black Cross Legion. They have the ability to end a war in an instant like a nuclear bomb.

Eight-meter-tall monsters walked through blood and gunfire, fighting with another group of monsters of the same rank. A cold glow flowed on their metallic faces, and their dark eye sockets looked like the abyss.

Wei Xi had never seen those killing machines in person. She only took a quick glance at the blueprints, but she felt that the Black Cross Legion had a breathtaking effect. Those precision couplings, alloy weapons and fine copper tubes were all exposed to the air, with a beauty between machinery and monsters, like a sketch of God.

No, there is no God in the world now. Rather than saying it is a sketch of God, it is better to say that humans have allowed machines to devour the bones and blood of God, creating a monster.

"What a beautiful thing." Wei Xi exclaimed, and walked up the wide steps and stepped into the white building. She showed the Pope's private seal and the pass given by Emperor Odin, and arrived at the main building of the Vatican without any obstruction.

A mass is probably being held in the main hall. The heavenly hymns echo in the ears, and the solemn religious atmosphere makes people involuntarily stand in awe.

Wei Xi stood there and listened quietly for a while. She had only seen one mass in her memory. The whole ceremony was extremely complicated, but it did not make people feel boring at all. The magnificent and luxurious hall, the exquisite altar, the complicated and rigorous ritual procedures all revealed the historical heritage accumulated by the Holy See over thousands of years.

This was probably the beginning of Abigail's secret study of religion.

Wei Xi had no intention of staying outside the building for long. After listening to the hymns, she planned to go directly to check the information of the Holy See. However, thinking of the previous experience at the gate of the imperial palace, Wei Xi felt that if she rushed there rashly, she would probably waste time, so she decided to find an escort first.

"Miss Abigail?" A gentle question came from behind. "Your Majesty asked me to lead the way for you."

The girl in the blue silk dress turned around and said with a smile, "Archbishop Demoli."

The middle-aged man in the scarlet robe nodded to her in the rain. He was supposed to be the deacon in the mass, with the white shawl still hanging on his shoulders, but the Pope deliberately threw him to Wei Xi. It was very unruly for the deacon to leave halfway through the mass, and judging from this behavior, the Pope did not have much respect for his God.

"Please follow me, young lady."

They passed through door after door, and there were fewer and fewer people around them.

Finally, they walked down the stairs from a bell tower and finally arrived at a circular square. The square was dark and buried deep underground, with black iron gates on all sides, with vines and silver moons entwined on the iron gates.

Like many Italian medieval buildings in the main world, the Silver Moon Church also built many secret rooms to store important property and books, or to hold important confidential meetings. Wei Xi could not enter here without the Pope's private seal.

"There are things you need to know behind the third iron door. You are free to do certain things except taking away or destroying the books." Archbishop Demoli took a step back. "Then I will leave first."

Wei Xi heard the only sound of footsteps in the darkness slowly fading away, a cold breath spread, and a faint blue icy air gushed out from behind a door. Although the heavy rain in late summer was cold, it was far from the point of frost. Wei Xi reached out and touched the door, and his fingertips felt the biting cold, as if there was a huge ice cellar behind it.

The gas lamp was dim, and she could barely make out some buildings behind the door. Holy words and emblems were engraved on the stone houses, as well as some intricate patterns that looked like a group of entangled snakes. They must be some kind of ancient mark.

Archbishop Demoli, as a close confidant of the Pope, was not qualified to know more in-depth things. The private seal in Wei Xi's hand only allowed her to enter one door. She shook off the water droplets on her fingers, without any deeper curiosity about the ice cellar, and knocked on the third iron door with a normal expression.

Boom, boom, boom.

Amid the knocks on the door, a ray of light appeared in the silent iron door, and an old man in a black robe appeared. His thin figure and hooked nose gave people a mean impression. His voice was also hoarse and vague, as if someone had destroyed his throat: "Give me proof."

Wei Xi handed over the jade seal.

The old man seemed to have his own way of testing. He did not look at it, but just wrapped the seal with his palm. After a moment, he opened the door and said, "Come in, don't destroy anything, and don't take any books away, otherwise I will send you to the great gods and let you confess your sins in the dark."

There is no doubt that he is a devout believer, but the sense of oppression he brings to her is much less than that of the people behind other doors - it is worthy of being the Holy See that has never been interrupted and has continued to this day. A lean camel is bigger than a horse.

"I certainly won't do anything excessive, but, forgive me for being blunt, you or the people here in the underworld cannot judge me and make me repent." The countess raised the corner of her mouth gently and followed the old man in black robe into the door.

The old man was slow to realize the implication of this sentence. He frowned suddenly and turned his head to look at Wei Xi again: "You..."

Wei Xi looked at him with a slightly doubtful look in his eyes.

After a few seconds, the old man smacked his lips lightly, frowned and said affirmatively: "...their choice is you."

"You came too early, but it can't be said to be inappropriate." The old man turned on the giant gas lamp in the underground hall. Wei Xi paused, and a vast sea of ​​classics appeared in front of her. A spiral staircase connected everything in the cylindrical space. The stone walls were engraved with ritual patterns to ensure that the cherry wood shelves and special book paper embedded on them would not rot.

Slender white stone columns dropped down into the darkness at the tower's base, framing the miraculous spiral staircase. The walls were painted white as new snow and draped with rose-red draperies embroidered with gold orchid patterns.

This place is like a tower built underground.

"You can read the first and second floors freely. You can only read the following floors after you become a psychic." The old man handed her a small lamp, the flame of which glowed with a faint green light. "You must come up before the lamp oil burns out, otherwise you will become part of the ritual and be imprisoned on the stairs forever."

"Thank you for your reminder." Wei Xi took the mithril lamp, feeling a little pity that these relics from the age of gods could not be used on a large scale. The materials, scope, and preparation time were all shackles.

She went down the stairs and picked up the first book.

The cover was made of kraft paper, and someone had put a small note inside. When Wei Xi flipped through it, he was sure that it was no more than 50 years old. The beautiful cursive handwriting read:

In the Age of Gods, spiritual power was the authority that the Church used to rule the territory.

The gods cast their gaze from the sky, and those who are fortunate enough to be watched by them all have the ability to call the wind and rain. Among them, Saint Elvia of the Silver Moon Church is the first great being to become a demigod. She is also a ritualist who holds secrets that can shake the entire world.

Afterwards, demigods appeared on the continent one after another. They were people blessed by the great existence, who accepted the power given by the other party and acted in accordance with its wishes.

As "the sanctuary of God on earth", the Holy See has continued to develop. However, the closer you get to the central area, the less prosperous it feels. Instead, it is replaced by silent prosperity and deep tranquility.

The sky was clear, and unknown birds were perched on green branches, quietly combing their feathers. The top of the building was inlaid with large crystals, and pure light was flowing, as if it was a burning cloud, guiding the light to shine down from the sky.

--Until the gods fell, and the demigods also disappeared without a trace.

The war has begun.

Then, after the unprecedented war that involved most countries began, the first thing the Holy See learned from the war, whether voluntarily or forcedly, was that powerful psychic power would be a favorable factor in one's victory in battle, but it was definitely not absolute.

After psychic power was reduced to the level of being cast on a person-by-person basis rather than on a city-by-country basis, the Church collapsed before the forces of the secular world.

God has abandoned us and this continent.

--Otto Bolkiah.

Wei Xi didn't pay much attention to the sighs of her predecessors, nor did she think that the strategic position of spiritual power had declined.

Because everyone continues to fight under the same rules of survival, when mechanical equipment, combat experience, physical fitness, pre-war reaction, etc. become everyone's common foundation, the existence of spiritual abilities is highlighted again.

This is also the reason why the Empire did not uproot the Vatican.

She continued reading. As expected, she could not find the real reason for the fall of the gods in any of the books. She only saw some vague speculations. But fortunately, she gained a lot of ritual knowledge, which was enough to make up for her curiosity.

The [Channel of Flow] ritual can channel the madness and confusion of knowledge from the listener's mind.

The [Sound of Silence] ritual can be used to calm a person's emotions.

The ritual of the Silent Bell can be used to prevent eavesdropping and spying.

Wei Xi read too fast and was even reluctant to understand. She only chose the books that interested her and then roughly filled her mind with knowledge.

Most of the rituals were no longer usable or on the verge of being lost, and the lack of materials blocked her way to experiment. But it didn't matter, just because she couldn't find them in this world didn't mean there were no substitutes in the pawnshop or other worlds.

After browsing the interesting knowledge on the first and second floors, Wei Xi glanced at the steadily burning mithril lamp and raised his voice to ask, "What will be the consequences if I go to the third floor now?"

The old man's warning came faintly from some room above: "Knowledge that the mind cannot bear leads to madness!"

Wei Xi understood. It seemed that the notebook that the Pope gave her came from the third floor and below. The danger should come from the knowledge itself, not from the physical sense of opening the door to kill.

After confirming this, Wei Xi crossed the boundary with the lantern in hand.

The moment she entered the third floor, she felt as if her body was submerged in a pool of water. Wei Xi thought that this should be the feeling caused by some kind of search or identification ritual, another layer of insurance besides the verbal warning.

From this level on, books are no longer made of pure paper. Some strange leather and wood record more unknown secrets.

Wei Xi even discovered a book of the Shusheng Sect titled "The Making and Maintenance of Flesh and Blood Vessels".

The struggles of faith between religions have always been full of cruelty and blood. For thousands of years, the Arboretum sect that believes in giant trees has always been regarded as the most insidious enemy by the Holy See. Once these two sects find an opportunity to strike at each other, they will never show mercy and will not hesitate to plunder each other's books and items.

She opened the book with strange material. The moment she read and understood the knowledge, a huge buzzing sound rang in Wei Xi's head, her heart beat continuously and briefly, and her brain also had an inexplicable dizziness.

In the Age of Gods, the phrase "knowledge is power" is a realistic expression. Those secrets that can cause confusion in human rationality can naturally be seen as a powerful force.

[Flow Channel] is probably a product of the Century of Gods to remedy this situation. Fortunately, machinery and science have become the new masters, and attempts under the old rules are not so dangerous.

Wei Xi resolutely endured the buzzing and dizziness and finished the whole book. The only price she paid was temporary inability to move and a saturation of information in her brain. She had no strength or energy to read the next book, but the joy of being filled with knowledge overwhelmed all the discomfort.

"The Production and Maintenance of Flesh and Blood Containers" is a very practical technology. It is used to create bodies that can move freely in the material world without causing too much impact on the material world, and then inject consciousness into them to communicate with other people in this way.

As the literal meaning suggests, the body was created as a container for the gods, and is mostly similar to humans.

In terms of appearance, it is not difficult to make it similar to humans, but the difficulty of making such a body lies in the complete consistency of the core. This consistency ensures that there will never be incompatibility between the soul and the container.

In the Age of Gods, even such things could be produced with ease. It is hard to imagine what ended the monsters that ruled the continent, and what returned the world to humans and then disappeared.

It was as if a huge clock had roared in the sky, and the brass pointer was spinning rapidly. Every time it roared, a god died. In the end, the girl with a bird body and the giant tree made of eyeballs and flesh turned into powder and fell into the black void.

Reason is sinking, and the thirst for knowledge is rising.

The flickering dark green fire finally turned into a long snake, piercing deep into her pupils like a sharp knife. When Wei Xi suddenly woke up from her imagination, she could still clearly feel the pain and confusion in her head.

It should actually end here.

Wei Xi shook her head and put the book back in its place. Her face was half bathed in light and half shrouded in shadow, and was pale and bloodless.

The depth and complexity of the classics are like a canyon, absorbing countless times from the past to the present, until it is too saturated, the quicksand silently drowns people, and the tombs of time in it can kill people.

Wei Xi walked back to the upper level at a much faster speed than when he came. Before returning the mithril lamp to the old woman, he stared into her eyes for three seconds.

The Countess smiled back with her flawless smile.

The old man snorted coldly and said, "Knowledge is expensive and dangerous. If you don't want to lose your mind, just stop reading these things."

He opened the iron gate and signaled Wei Xi to leave quickly. "I thought you were at least a smart young man, or at least a young man who was attached to life."

Wei Xi smiled and said, "I am full of nostalgia for life, and, see you next time, sir."

The seal is a one-time token of trust, but Wei Xi can always get another chance.

The iron gate slammed shut, and the old man disappeared into the darkness silently. There were rustling sounds from behind other doors, and then silence returned quickly. Wei Xi walked out of the square, climbed the stairs of the bell tower with her skirt lifted, and the rain hit her face, as if all the rain in the world had been gathered and poured on the roof of this building.

Archbishop Demoli was still waiting for her. Wei Xi nodded to him and watched the raindrops flow through the bishop's black umbrella. Looking into the distance, the whole city was shrouded in a vast rain curtain.

"Please give my regards to His Holiness the Pope, sir." The countess held an umbrella and walked into the rain with a pale face. The hair by her ears rose and fell in the wind, and her light skirt also rose and fell in the wind. The rain was flowing all over her feet.

Demoli looked at her back, then turned his head to look at the eerie and strange bell tower. He had to agree with the view that has been held since ancient times: people who hold power, no matter what they look like, have one thing in common.

To them, the world is like a huge battlefield, with only smoke and enemies.