Damn it! Let’s smash the darkness together!
Chapter 551 - 147 Cao Gang Men in Snake Team, Qiansui Buried in Heroic Society - Part 2 (Requesting Monthly Tickets)

Chapter 551: Chapter 147 Cao Gang Men in Snake Team, Qiansui Buried in Heroic Society - Part 2 (Requesting Monthly Tickets)

D8B3区, Supervision Bureau just south, Dawn Church.

A middle-aged man in a dark red church robe knelt in the exclusive confessional, trembling and crying incessantly, seemingly repentant for the wrongs he had committed.

The Dawn Church worshiped the sun, devoid of the tradition of midnight confession.

But there was also no rule against confessing in the middle of the night.

Especially since this confessional was rather special.

It belonged to a unique institution within the Dawn Church, "Holy Hall".

The Holy Hall fell under the jurisdiction of the Dawn Church, yet in reality, they had their own deity, hailed as the original lord, the great being who created everything living and inanimate.

The person kneeling inside this internal confessional was even more special, he was the highest-ranking clergy in the local Dawn Church.

He was the Archbishop.

Rustle rustle rustle, rustle rustle rustle, rustle rustle rustle!

The bishop was earnestly repenting.

No one knew what he had done wrong; they could only hear the sound of fingernails scratching wood, gnawing at everyone’s nerves.

This was not how an Archbishop typically behaved!

Fortunately, there was no one else here besides him.

After a very long time, the confessional door creaked open, and the bishop was soaking with sweat.

He passed through the dim, unoccupied corridors, dragging his heavy steps, passed through round arched doors, and entered the last door.

Above the door was a special symbol, shaped like an "X", with a hook on every line.

This symbol bore a special meaning, signifying that behind the door lay the penance place for "fallen sinners".

Once inside the door, he walked through the rugged stone circular passageway and came down to the underground, walked a great length, and arrived at an underground circular hall.

He migrated from a small confessional to a larger one, or rather, a dungeon.

The center of the dungeon was uniquely structured, resembling a small assembly hall, filled with books, round tables, and long benches, fully equipped.

There was also a group of priests in white robes and trousers resting here with their eyes closed.

Around them were individual cells enclosed by iron bars, each cell adorned with the Church’s emblem above it, arranged by cardinal direction: stars to the north, a moon to the south, and the holy emblems of the sun on both the east and west sides.

This was a shared dungeon confessional of the three major religious organizations—the Sun, Moon, and Star Churches—and to the outside world, it had a unified name: Holy Court.

The Holy Court was a place for trial and imprisonment, collectively formed by the three churches, led by the Dawn Church.

Upon the bishop’s arrival, several priests who had been dozing off at the entrance, heads nodding as they nearly fell completely asleep, suddenly stood at attention and made the sign over their chest: "Praise be to the Lord’s grace," their attitude extremely reverent.

According to the rules, the bishop should have responded with "May the Lord watch over you," or "Your dedication will surely receive the Lord’s grace," words that would fill this group of clerics residing in the dungeon with enthusiasm.

But this time, the bishop did not speak and just quietly looked to the left. After a long moment, his dry lips moved, and he asked, "I was summoned here for what matter?"

That priest was momentarily dumbfounded, his gaze lingering on the bishop before he hurriedly explained, "There’s a penitent who has shown good behavior during the guarding period and should be released."

The bishop nodded.

There was indeed such a rule.

But it was highly illogical.

Confession in the dungeon was the outcome for making certain mistakes, followed by an "imprisonment punishment" after an internal trial of the Holy Court.

When the punishment term expired, the person was naturally to be released. The corresponding documents would be submitted to the Dawn Church, Moon Church, and Starry Church, and only after each bishop had reviewed and approved them, could the release proceed.

There was no issue with that.

However.

"Why did you notify me so late?" the bishop asked.

"Ah? This, this..."

"Lord Bishop, the message had already been submitted yesterday during the day, and the other two churches had already completed their reviews. We would never dare to delay deliberately! Nor would we dare to disturb you so late..."

Sweat poured down the priest’s forehead, wondering if it wasn’t the bishop himself who had come?

Wasn’t he here to catch us slacking off during our duty?

Could it be that he had committed some wrongdoing and was about to be purged?

He couldn’t understand what he did wrong.

But luckily for him, he found the bishop didn’t seem to pursue his responsibility.

"Oh, submitted during the day yesterday."

The bishop nodded, extended his hand to open the document bag on the table, and found the signature page.

The seals of the Starry Church and Moon Church had already been stamped.

The seal, not a signature, indicated that the heads themselves didn’t stamp it but had it processed by subordinates.

It seemed the matter was trivial, unworthy of concern.

The bishop’s gaze swiftly scanned the case.

"Starry Church nun Lan Xin, while venturing on an expedition, due to weak will, succumbed to fear of death, betrayed teammates, severely undermining the interests of other team members, with relevant video records as evidence, co-travellers have no objection to the Holy Court’s judgment. Plaintiffs: Bi Chaoyang, Udirus, Hong Yan, Chen Nian, Gu Pan (presumed deceased)"

"(11/27) Case reversal: Relevant individual Gu Pan not deceased, the case reviewed anew, punishment reduced to confinement. Information source: Dawn Church."

——

The bishop suddenly paused, reading intently.

His heart began to race, pounding and pounding, like thunder.

His breath grew heavier, and droplets of sweat began to form at the tip of his nose.

His pupils could not focus, moving erratically, one to the left, one to the right, leaving a large empty space in the middle, within which images emerged.