Cthulhu America, I can see the kill line.

Kong Jiu stared blankly at the refugees lying haphazardly on the floor inside the church.

He wanted to say something, but after a moment's thought, he couldn't utter a single word.

The church was quiet; despite the large number of refugees, there was hardly any noise.

Perhaps they were too hungry to move, or perhaps any activity would be a waste of their energy.

In front of the dimly lit church, a tall stone statue of a prophet gazes down upon the wanderers with eyes devoid of joy or sorrow.

Kong Jiu stood silently, watching the refugees.

Some of the still-awake refugees also looked at Kong Jiu.

"How about we send out some free relief soup? When you buy lamb, pick the fatty cuts, add plenty of water to make soup, and a hot drink on a cold day can help you last a little longer."

Kong Jiu remained silent for a full minute or two before speaking in a low voice.

"You know about the gangsters..." Reverend Sof shook his head and didn't continue.

"Kong, you know you can't save everyone."

"Just pretend I wasn't doing this to save someone."

Kong Jiu gritted his teeth, his voice extremely low.

"Just pretend I can't handle so many bodies at once... just pretend I want these people to die slower, to stay fresh, okay?"

He almost cobbled out those words with sobs.

"The gang won't believe your story," Su Fu said, his face full of worry.

"Help me this once, Sufah."

Kong Jiu lowered his head, not letting Su Fu see his face.

He didn't want others to see his face, with tears welling up in his eyes.

He placed his hand on the old pastor, who allowed the heretic's hand to touch his robe.

Su Fu could only nod.

Kong Jiu shook his head vigorously, as if trying to shake something out of his mind and get rid of the few tears that were about to fall.

He nodded in acknowledgment, and Sophie led the way. The two walked to the backyard of the church.

twelve.

Twelve corpses lay in the thin layer of snow.

Kong Jiu often came here to collect corpses, but in the past there was only one each time, only the intervals were different.

Today, a small mountain of corpses lay before him.

Most of them were young people in their twenties, both men and women, and there was even a child who looked about the same age as his friend.

"Hills hasn't seen this much snow in many years. Many young people weren't prepared... no, they simply weren't prepared..."

Kong Jiu waved his hand, indicating that Su Fu didn't need to say anything.

He didn't want to hear the cause of death because he could tell.

Hypothermia, pneumonia, hypothermic heart failure...

The manner of their deaths was practically written on their faces.

He bent down and gave it a quick look.

None of the twelve bodies were contaminated with any enhancement agents, and they did not show many signs of disease on their exteriors, so they would not be too difficult to handle.

But there were a few faces that Kong Jiu still vaguely remembered.

Especially that child.

Next to the child lay the bodies of a man and a woman, who were not only of similar age but also bore a resemblance to him.

These are his older brother and sister.

The family of five arrived in Amerigo illegally about two years ago.

My father worked as a dockworker and died in a crane accident.

The logistics company manager had his lawyer charge him with "negligence," and in the end, he only had to pay $2000 in compensation.

After the family's breadwinner collapsed, the mother, in order to make a living, soon died of syphilis and abuse of stimulants, leaving the three children homeless.

Kong Jiu remembered that the child hated him very much.

The boy's eyes were blazing with anger as he glared at him twice when he handed money to his brother and twice when he moved their parents' bodies away.

His eyes were filled with hatred, nothing but hatred, as if Kong Jiu were the one who had taken away his loved ones.

Kong Jiu really wanted to explain to the child what had happened.

But he didn't know how to bring it up with the child.

He was always afraid of those angry eyes.

But now, he no longer needs to explain.

At this moment, the pupils of those eyes dilated, staring blankly at the gray-white sky.

"Su Fu, no more people can die."

Kong Jiu’s tone was unusually calm, so calm that even he himself doubted whether he was speaking.

Su Fu stood quietly without replying.

"Go buy some cardboard and plastic film; these are cheap and keep you warm."

I'll also deliver the soup scraps regularly. Oh, and you can go to the secondhand shops in Chinatown and buy some used clothes; that should help you tide you over a bit more.

"Twelve corpses. I'll talk to the school and get you a high price; that should cover the expenses."

He calmly explained the plan point by point, as if he had anticipated all of this.

"hole,"

Suf spoke.

"How much longer can these methods you mentioned extend the lives of so many people? Three days? A week? Or a month?"

Kong Jiu stopped making verbal plans.

"Spring in Hills doesn't arrive until the end of March."

Su Fu's words pierced Kong Jiu's heart, word by word.

"Kong, you know you can't save everyone."

Su Fu did not say those words aloud, but Kong Jiu could almost hear them echoing in his ears.

He seemed to have all his strength drained away in an instant, his hands hanging limply in front of him, unable to utter another word.

You can't save everyone.

He knew it all along, he knew it all along.

Su Fu looked at Kong, his eyes filled with helplessness, and could only offer words of comfort:

"Don't worry too much, Kong. I tried to contact a philanthropist in the Upper Town. That kind gentleman also noticed that this winter is unusually cold and has agreed to hold a relief event in our Lower Town soon."

Relief Society?

A philanthropist in Shangcheng District?

Kong Jiu recalled some unpleasant memories.

He used to do charity work for a church charity in the Upper City District.

He knew very well that very few of the rich people genuinely wanted to help the poor.

Two years ago, on Thanksgiving, he attended a relief event hosted by an uptown church.

When the wealthy gentleman appeared in the lower city, he was surrounded by a large group of bodyguards.

The bodyguards would screen the homeless one by one, making sure they didn't carry any dangerous items or have any illnesses. They would even give them a bath on the spot before allowing them to approach the rich lords and take a staged photo of "delivering supplies".

They even took cold showers.

On Thanksgiving in the cold wind, homeless people endured body searches, physical examinations, and the humiliation of being forced to take cold showers in makeshift tents set up on the street, all in order to receive some supplies to sustain their lives.

Many of them, after taking that bath, were shivering from the cold as they received the supplies; Kong Jiu knew then that the person was doomed.

Occasionally, the items they received even included bran sausages, a type of "weight-loss health food."

The "relief" provided by the white gentlemen was nothing more than a show to satisfy their perverse desires.

In the end, the real help the gentlemen gave to the poor was less than the leftover soup scraps at the mutton soup stall.

When Kong Jiu heard that Su Fu had colluded with these people, his face showed confusion and worry.

"Su Fu, you know better than I what kind of people those rich are. Do you really have to beg them..."

Su Fu gave him a look that said "there's no other choice," which made Kong Jiu swallow his words.

Looking at the twelve lifeless faces, Kong Jiu's lips twitched, but he didn't say anything more.

"Starting tomorrow, I'll be serving mutton soup and flatbread, and I'll also be moving these corpses away."

He turned around, said nothing more, and walked out of the church under Sofia's gaze.

Kong Jiu instructed his two assistants that the church had paid for the mutton soup, to move it inside and distribute it, to pack up the stall, and to set up the stall outside the church for the next two days. Then he left in a hurry.

That night, on his way back to the apartment, he went to a fresh food supermarket and bought a piece of lamb with bones. He made a pot of clear lamb soup and shared it with his roommate Impa, Chad and his grandson, as well as the apartment's neighbors.

This is his own way of relieving stress. Making delicious food and watching his family and friends enjoy it can effectively restore a lot of his sanity.

After the meal, he opened the control panel.

【今日理智值变化：69→61→55→49→60】

[Rationality: 60. Still able to think, but needs to be monitored for recovery.]

He couldn't tell whether it was the sight of his homeland glimpsed during his journey through subspace that overwhelmed him with homesickness and left his mind blank, or the sight of twelve corpses laid out in the snow—which had a greater impact on his reason.

But he could not forget either of these things for a long time.

"Amerigo the Devil..."

Kong Jiu pulled the covers over his head, hoping to escape into sleep and flee this absurd, nightmarish reality.