Long-term salvation

"Of course, other angels are fine, but it would be best if there was one who could stay in contact with us all year round, serving as an extension of the Son's eyes and hands, as our Sword of Damocles, and as the actual controller of the Holy See."

"…I'm not sure he'll consider your proposal, tempting as it is."

"No, no, no, just go and ask directly. It doesn't matter whether you succeed or not. If he doesn't refuse on the spot, it means that we are still useful to him. The information will indeed make him feel that it is worth a specialist to handle. As for the possibility of other forces intervening... just tell us what you feel, after all."

The Pope looked into the priest's eyes and could sense his determination and devotion:

"Matters within Christianity should be resolved by Christians and Christ, right?"

"..." Father Merlin's lips trembled slightly. He had already figured out the person in front of him's thoughts - the Holy See needed to exist, and the believers needed to be guided - it seemed that the savior did not want the hundreds of millions of Christian believers in the world to fall into chaos and collapse. This was obviously inconsistent with his goal.

Judging from the realistic approach of that person, he will most likely agree to it, but he probably won't send an angel immediately.

But if that "angel" really comes, what is the next step?

Spread the news of the Son of God's return within the Vatican and among believers? Slowly expand the influence and power, using the Son of God as the guide, the light that points the way forward, loudly calling on others to follow, so that more and more people will know the truth.

Then, at an opportune moment...

"I will write a letter and put all my thoughts in it," the Pope said calmly. "These things can be said openly. There is nothing to hide. This is my ambition as Pope, as a Christian. If the Son of God thinks this is wrong, then please convince me, or excommunicate me in front of everyone, declare me a high traitor, and excommunicate me."

This was an overt conspiracy. Of course, one could simply kill the Pope, using public or covert assassination to completely obliterate him from the face of the earth, but wouldn't that be tantamount to admitting defeat? It would be truly embarrassing to become a Lorgar-style clown.

Father Merlin was sure that Rhodes would never do such a stupid and despicable thing.

"That man is not one to follow the crowd, nor will he be sent to the Holy See half-heartedly," Father Merlin said slowly, shaking his head. "Rhodes will not be manipulated so easily by you... Oh my God, even the mere mention of this word is blasphemy!"

"It's not manipulation. I don't have those dark and sinful thoughts. It's just that some things always need a push from someone. This isn't about a specific person, but the universal expectation, the request of hundreds of millions of people... After all, we all know that the savior will save the world in the end."

The Pope smiled, stood up, and walked out amidst the still-continuing chaos:

"Ten years, twenty years, a hundred years, a thousand years—one day, he will stand atop the tower, announcing his existence with golden flames, demonstrating his holiness with the blood of his great enemies, and adorning his glory with victory. Then, the Holy See will be able to stand tall for thousands and thousands of years, ten thousand years and ten thousand years."

My Lord, how can the weakness of the human heart be eliminated so easily?

Chapter 239: Twilight in Berlin (3K)

German Democratic Republic, Berlin, East Berlin.

The wall that separated the two cities has collapsed, most of it has been cleared away, and only some fragments remain as a memorial.

East Germany is currently in a precarious situation. The divided Germany is slowly merging, but even so, it only leaves a vague scar that has not been completely healed even after decades.

The entire Warsaw Pact country was in economic recession and collapse, making East Berlin, which originally served as a "showcase", appear quite depressed. Pedestrians on the street looked listless and had no confidence in the future of themselves, their families, or their country - but obviously there were also many people who were the opposite.

"the weather is nice today."

Rhodes whispered, he looked up and saw street lights starting to light up one by one from deep within the city, illuminating the darkness brought by the beautiful sunset around them, but not illuminating those very different hearts.

Walking in the evening, Rod tugged at his collar, watching the dusk gradually fall, watching the pedestrians passing by on the sidewalk, and the gray light changing at dusk. He wore a thin brown coat suitable for the season and a round hat of the same color. He walked steadily through the crowd and walked straight into a restaurant with a rather exquisite sign.

Pushing open the door, Rod was greeted by the warm atmosphere inside. He looked around and saw few customers. Only the owner, a small man with a mustache, sat behind the bar, wiping glasses with boredom. He listened to the news on the radio while wiping glasses, occasionally sighing.

"I'm going to wait for someone here, but please give me a cup of coffee and two servings of preserved fruit first, thank you."

Rod found a seat by the window and sat down, slowly savoring the German-style hot pot water - of course, the taste of the coffee was just average, not to the point of "Hans, your coffee is terrible!"

The waiting time is always long, especially when it is full of anticipation.

Less than ten minutes later, the door of the coffee shop was pushed open again, and a beautiful woman in a long dress walked in. Upon seeing the man sitting by the window, her wine-red eyes flashed with joy. Then, with a charming smile, she walked over, sat down, and said, "I'm going to be with you, Mr.

"I thought you would be later."

"You can't be late for a date with a lady."

Rod responded with a smile. He wanted to laugh a little - the killer Nikki in front of him disguised herself as a cute little woman, wearing a plain long skirt and a small waistcoat, and carrying a small handbag with not very delicate workmanship. She looked like a beautiful Berlin girl who came to have dinner with her sweetheart.

Facing that flawless, fake smile... maybe it was real? Rhode couldn't tell. He picked up the menu beside him and opened it to hide his embarrassment. After a few casual glances, he said:

"Dear, what would you like to eat?"

"It's hard for me to give an objective evaluation of the taste of German food, so I'll put the question back to you: what would you like to eat?"

"It's still a normal dinner, let's order some smoked ham and wine," Rhodes shook his head. "I don't know if you can get these drinks in Berlin now... Oh, it seems you can, but it's a bit expensive."

After Rhodes asked the restaurant owner to prepare, he sighed, reached out to smooth his silver hair, and asked awkwardly:

"Where are Marianne and Little Red Riding Hood?"

"...They are staying in different hotels to avoid unnecessary trouble, and they will go directly to the designated location to meet us tomorrow. Although Berlin is a mess right now, this is the least of your worries."

D said with a smile. Her expression was lively and agile, completely different from her previous cold look - acting, complete acting - but Rhodes could see that she was enjoying it, or was about to make a move.

"Feel sorry."

"That's not something you need to worry about. I won't take it to heart... After all, I've gotten enough today."

Nikki said with a smile, but she leaned forward as if to kiss him, but just before the contact, she pulled back and giggled, just like the teasing and playful behavior between young lovers. But the beautiful Nikki immediately lowered her voice and said in her usual cold tone:

"The intelligence network in Eastern Europe is being established and consolidated. You can meet with representatives of the East German People's Army and the Stasi tomorrow, but the latter's meeting will be very brief. The KGB, MI6, and CIA are all eyeing the Stasi and want to bring the intelligence network under their control, not to mention the West German Federal Intelligence Service, which is now preparing to swallow up the Stasi."

"The KGB... the KGB is already struggling with its own affairs, so how can it possibly care about East Germany?"

Hearing Rhode's words, Nikki's smile grew even wider. She reached out and took Rhode's coffee cup in front of her. She casually stirred the remaining half of the cold coffee with the teaspoon and said softly:

"Your 'friends' have already infiltrated and replaced the KGB here. They will help you."

Friends? Perseus... They acted faster than he imagined. But then again, the current opportunity was rare. The other Eastern European countries could take their time. After all, there was still some time before the Soviet Union collapsed and the KGB was completely disabled.

Rhodes nodded slightly and reached out to take the coffee cup back, but saw that Nikki had already picked it up and took a sip, with a blush flashing across her face.

Rhodes: “…”

I'll kiss you tonight, can you please stop occupying my cup now?

In this slightly awkward atmosphere, Rhode rubbed his brows and asked softly:

"How's the Black Crow recruitment going? I only heard Noah talk about it before I left, and he said it was going smoothly."

Rhodes originally didn't plan to give the secret assassination agency of the Army Without Borders a name, but D insisted that it should have a code name, so he had no choice but to name it "Black Crow", and the internal code name of the agency was "Bureau 19".

"With the help of Ms. Diana of the ICA, there are many candidates who can become Black Crows. When selecting, I tend to recruit those with strong wills and a kind heart towards the weak. Even though they are killers and assassins with a long history of murder, I can assure you that every attack from these people in the future will kill those who deserve death."

"We also need peripheral personnel to cover up the situation. We can even have more of them, using a seemingly bloated structure to conceal the most elite executive members and the most core organizational departments."

Rhodes reminded him, and his eyes swept over the other customers in the restaurant. After making sure no one noticed this, he continued:

"I will communicate with the technicians from Aperture Technology and Atlas and ask them to provide Black Crow with more suitable equipment. You will also need to set up a team for contact between the two sides, which can be affiliated with other secret organizations. Remember to communicate with Noah."

"clear."

"Okay, now..."

Rod was about to say something when he heard the restaurant owner's footsteps, so he turned to talk to D about some daily trivial matters.

The restaurant owner came over with two plates, and the aroma of food wafted out. He put down the two large round plates and brought two glass glasses and a small bottle of wine.

Looking at the two people who were picking up their knives and forks to eat, the restaurant owner frowned and asked with a strange look:

"Are you two British or American?"

"He's a businessman looking to invest. I heard there's a huge demand for a wide variety of daily necessities here, so I'm planning to investigate agricultural products to see if I can find some suitable food processing factories to buy from."

Rhode smiled in response, curiously poking the stewed beef steak in front of him with his fork. The brown sauce had a hint of apple vinegar and wine, but the flavor was very light, basically overshadowed by the aroma of the meat. After putting the fork down, he looked at the restaurant owner and smiled.

"What, boss? Are you going to report us to the Stasi? Well, I can cooperate with you. I'll turn myself in and tell them it was you who persuaded me, but the condition is that you give me half of the bonus."

Hearing Rod's words, the restaurant owner laughed and wanted to say something else - but as a pure German, he really couldn't squeeze out any humorous jokes - in the end he could only shake his head and said unhappily:

"Those omnipresent surveillance cameras are terrified right now, so how can they have time to care about you? Forget it, forget it. I'm not going to bother you two young lovers..."

"They are a couple."

The black-haired beauty spoke calmly. Facing those wine-red eyes that shone brightly under the light, all of Rhodes' words were blocked in his throat by the love.

"We're already married."

"Oh! I'm so sorry, ma'am. Enjoy your meal then!"

"..."

After the restaurant owner left, Rhode raised his eyebrows at Nikki and asked with a low laugh:

"Shall we go straight back to the hotel, my dear wife?"

"It would be nice to walk around a bit more," Nikki said, elegantly wiping the sauce from the corner of her mouth with a handkerchief, wiping away her smile along the way. Her expression showed no trace of her inner pride. "We could go see the Brandenburg Gate or some other sights—this opportunity is rare."

"What opportunity?" Rhodes asked knowingly.

Hearing this, Nikki pursed her lips, and her face could no longer maintain the cute and charming look of a little woman. Instead, she froze her face and said angrily:

"You should be more serious!"

"My bad, my bad," Rod apologized hastily. He made a face at Nikki. "As an apology, I will walk with you through the streets of Berlin with the utmost respect... Maybe we can go see the Reichstag."

"If you insist."

When the night completely enveloped Berlin, Rod lost interest in touring the city, which was now becoming monotonous. Instead, he put his arm around the slender waist of the person next to him and returned to the hotel.

Isn’t it nice to appreciate beauty?

With this thought in mind, Rhode held Nikki in his arms and kissed her cherry lips, then her fair neck and delicate collarbone...

Chapter 240 Representatives of the East German People's Army (3K)

The next morning.

Berlin gradually turned from the night's slumber to a slightly confused clarity. Although the reunification of East and West Germany was imminent, for the vast majority of ordinary people, they still needed to go to work, to work, and to face the rolling wheel of history.

The sunlight filtered through the curtains and shone onto Rhodes as he stood up and was getting dressed. Just as he buttoned the first button of his shirt, he felt something soft pressing against his back, and a faint cherry-colored breath slowly hit his cheek.

"We can't waste time today," Rhodes paused as he buttoned his buttons, but then quickly continued. "Also, we have to stop playing couples. Otherwise, I'm worried you'll all be fighting in the streets of Berlin."

"Then you underestimate our friendship. Besides, we won't cause you any trouble," D Xiaoshuo said, shrinking her head. "And no one will compete with Marianne... She's lucky to be the first one."

Rod pondered for a few seconds and realized that Asuka Iki had long since hidden himself behind the crowd, spending most of his time in his dream world to himself. Wisely not discussing the topic further, he dressed and left the hotel with D, who had also quickly dressed.

The scheduled meeting place was a stage play theater in the suburbs of Berlin. In fact, not all members of the East German People's Army who wanted to join the Army Without Borders would come here. Only a dozen representatives with impeccable morals, experience and wisdom who could convince the public would be sent.

After all, more than 400 strong men with military experience secretly entered the national capital and gathered together. Not to mention the Stasi and the KGB, even the FBI would have to send people to keep an eye on them... If it happened inside the United States, they would probably call in the National Guard and special police to encircle and suppress them.

The representatives were divided into groups, each responsible for contacting different people, such as retired veterans and soldiers still in the army but in different units. Generally, one person was responsible for about 20 people, and the most was the company commander of a mechanized battalion of the People's Army. Most of the people in his company did not want to stay in the future Federal German army.

Rod thought about the current situation and suddenly felt that it was quite Soviet (Soviet/совет, representative meeting) style.

It took an hour to get to my destination by bus, which took me a long, bumpy ride across the city.

As soon as Rhodes got off the car, he saw Nikki, whose face was as red as flames, standing at the theater door. She was holding a rolled-up newspaper in her hand, but her mind was obviously not on the news in the newspaper - she was slapping the newspaper against her palm from time to time, making a crisp sound.

After noticing Rhode's arrival, Little Red Riding Hood waved and ran over quickly. After looking at D beside the man in front of her, she teased:

"I thought you would call us both over~~~~"

"How dare you act so arrogant in front of me? Just don't run away in shame when the time comes," Rhodes said unhappily, flicking red-haired Nikki's forehead with his hand. "Where's Marian? Is she in there organizing the people who have already arrived?"

"It's obvious that they came quite early."

"Then let's not waste any more time and go in."

Rod said this as he walked quickly towards the theater. After entering the main door, the performance inside had already begun. He followed Little Red Riding Hood's instructions and went up the side stairs to the abandoned actor rehearsal room on the second floor of the theater. The rehearsal room was quite large, with only wooden doors on both sides for entry and exit.

As soon as he walked in, Rhodes saw a dozen men in plain clothes crowded on a row of folding chairs. Marian was explaining to them the treatment and policies of the Army Without Borders on a whiteboard.

"Ah, Commander!"

"Well... I hope I haven't kept you waiting too long, representatives of the East German People's Army."

Rhodes raised his hand to signal Marian, and his eyes swept over everyone in the room, but when he fell on the representative sitting in the last row, he raised his eyebrows slightly... It was really interesting that this person would appear here.

Of course, he didn't say anything. Instead, he asked Little Red Riding Hood to stay outside, closed the door, and said to the representatives:

"I believe you already know my identity and the treatment of the Army Without Borders, so I won't elaborate further. What I want to know more is—are you clear about your future responsibilities?"

"Those people said it, but it was vague and evasive... The idea was that it was just like being in the military: using weapons, killing people, or standing guard in a place, earning money to support your family, and not being persecuted or arrested."

One representative shook his head, his arms folded across his chest, a look of obvious distrust on his face:

"Honestly, I'm very grateful that you're willing to take us homeless people in and even allow us to move to East Africa with our families when the time is right. That's great. I'll work for the right salary, and I think most people would be willing to do the same."

Rod didn't say much, just asked Marian and D to draw the curtains.

When the sunlight outside the window was drawn up and darkness enveloped the place, the representatives' faces showed more confusion and uneasiness, and they began to talk in low voices.