Ten Chapters: Five Pancakes, Two Fish

Chapter 10: Five Loaves, Two Fish

Lu Yuanming didn't trust these white and black people.

Simply put, he didn't trust Americans!

He had just arrived in this afterlife and was immediately betrayed.

If it were just a betrayal by a black homeless man, he could have attributed it to the other's cunning. But the fact that a white person, who was clearly a police officer, tacitly allowed this betrayal made Lu Yuanming's heart grow cold.

Therefore, he didn't trust any Americans, not even the plump man who seemed to be protecting the children, nor John and the others who led them to the vault. He didn't trust any of them. However, he did have a way of gauging them. For instance, the tall, thin man was someone he needed to be constantly wary of, while the plump man and John were people he could be slightly less vigilant around.

But overall, his impression of America and Americans was terrible. Thus, he couldn't be as open with them as he would be with his own countrymen or companions. While not outright lying, he would rephrase the truth.

When Lu Yuanming consumed a colorless light particle and produced over a dozen small bottles of mineral water and over a dozen long loaves of bread, everyone present was stunned. They stared blankly, frozen in place, with only a few children swallowing hard.

"One portion for each person, eat up," Lu Yuanming said with a smile, handing a loaf of bread and a bottle of mineral water to a little girl closest to him.

This little girl was one of those Lu Yuanming had rescued. She was about ten years old. She swallowed hard, looked at Lu Yuanming's gentle smile, and then, at lightning speed, snatched the bread and mineral water. Amidst the complex gazes of the other adults, she began to eat and drink, alternating between the bread and water.

Lu Yuanming sneered inwardly. These adults were watching the little girl eat and drink, perhaps also observing the consequences of her doing so.

Only after the little girl had consumed nearly half a loaf of bread and half a bottle of mineral water did Lu Yuanming beckon to two other children. The parents of these two children were not present. Whether their parents were still alive or separated from them, these three children here had no familiar elders. They didn't understand the wariness the adults had towards Lu Yuanming. Seeing that the little girl was fine after eating and drinking, and seeing Lu Yuanming beckoning to them, the two children cautiously approached him.

Lu Yuanming also handed each of them a loaf of bread and a bottle of mineral water.

Watching the three children eat and drink heartily, the other men and women couldn't stop swallowing.

Some of them had died recently, while others hadn't eaten or drunk for at least twelve hours. Those inside the vault hadn't eaten or drunk for at least two days. The weakest-looking individuals might not have eaten or drunk for four or five days. Seeing the water and food, their eyes began to gleam. If it hadn't been so bizarre, they might have rushed forward to grab it.

Lu Yuanming didn't prolong the standoff. He knew precisely what his leverage was, so he smiled and said to the others, "Come and get your portions. One per person. No grabbing, maintain order. John, you maintain order. Don't worry, you'll get a portion too."

John opened his mouth as if to say something, but the others couldn't wait any longer and surged forward. Acting on his long-held instincts from his job, John began to maintain order, making everyone line up to receive their food and water. After the last adult had received their portion, Lu Yuanming handed him a bottle of water and a loaf of bread, saying, "Thank you for your hard work. Eat first."

John looked at Lu Yuanming. The scene before him felt absurd, yet a strange tremor ran through his heart. He couldn't explain it, but he could only bow his head slightly in respect before sitting down and eating the bread and drinking the mineral water heartily.

The adults around them were completely silent, with only the sounds of eating and drinking filling the air.

Suddenly, a middle-aged man, nearly fifty years old, began to sob. He then knelt before Lu Yuanming and said, "...and he took the five loaves and the two fish, looked up to heaven, and gave thanks. He broke the loaves and gave them to his disciples, and the disciples to the people. They all ate and were satisfied."

"Lord, have mercy. Lord, please save us."

The middle-aged man wept, shouting at Lu Yuanming about the miracle of the five loaves and two fish.

Lu Yuanming was bewildered, but at that moment, he couldn't say anything. He simply smiled.

After all, cultures were different. Lu Yuanming had never read the Bible or anything similar. But for the people of Europe and America, this was part of their daily lives. While not everyone was a believer, they at least had some understanding of the Bible, God, and so on.

This is a biblical description of Jesus.

It is recorded in the Gospel of Matthew that Jesus fed five thousand people with five loaves and two fish, and the leftover food scraps collected filled twelve baskets. This is a description of the miracles of Jesus and God within Christianity, meant to showcase the divine might.

But unfortunately, Lu Yuanming didn't know this. He could only vaguely guess it was a prayer, similar to the prayers Christians made before meals in Western movies.

To everyone else, this smiling expression seemed unfathomable.

Everyone began to eat in silence, while the middle-aged man ate his bread, looking at Lu Yuanming with a fanatical expression.

At this moment, Ang suddenly asked, "Lu Yuanming, this... isn't magic, is it? You can't possibly hide so much food on your person, right?"

Everyone's ears perked up. Lu Yuanming had already prepared his response. He said, "This is hope, or a kind of strong wish filled with good intentions. I don't know what it is, but I can turn this hope or wish into a weapon, into food. What was in my hand just now was this hope or wish, you just couldn't see it."

As he spoke, Lu Yuanming flicked a bullet condensed from the magazine and tossed it to John.

John caught the bullet. Everyone around looked over and saw that the bullet was not made of metal at all, but was milky white and translucent. It was a solid piece, with no visible seams, clearly not a real bullet.

"This bullet was also condensed from this hope or wish, which is why its power is so immense, and why it can be fired," Lu Yuanming said.

All of this was true, but not the whole truth. Lu Yuanming spoke with conviction; he was not lying.

This conviction, however, was interpreted differently by the onlookers. This time, another woman, around thirty years old, who looked sharp and capable, wearing black-rimmed glasses, immediately said, "Is this faith in the divine?"

"Hope, good wishes... this is faith!"

The middle-aged man exclaimed immediately. He knelt before Lu Yuanming and said devoutly, "Lord, you have once again sent down your son in this apocalypse... You are the Messiah!"

The crowd immediately erupted in murmurs.

Even Lu Yuanming knew what the so-called Messiah was. It had been mentioned in many online novels, anime, and manga.

Setting aside the original Messiah, due to its transmission, embellishment, and interpretations by various Christian denominations, the Messiah, besides its basic characteristic of being a savior, has accumulated many different meanings.

From what Lu Yuanming knew through channels like novels, movies, manga, and anime, the Messiah was related to the end times.

Christianity has detailed descriptions of the end times, referred to as the Day of Judgment, where the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse will appear, the angel Michael will blow his horn, and God will judge all living beings, bringing an end to everything in the world.

At this time, the Messiah will appear. As the rebirth of Jesus, and as part of the Triune God, He will save the souls of humanity at the end of times, protect them, and lead them to heaven.

This was certainly not the original meaning of the religious symbol of the Messiah, but Lu Yuanming believed that this was precisely what the Messiah meant in the minds of the people at this moment.

However, Lu Yuanming had no intention of admitting it.

On one hand, if he claimed to be the Messiah himself, especially with an East Asian face saying it, people would only become suspicious, or even harbor ill intentions. Perhaps because he controlled food and fresh water, these people wouldn't voice their suspicions, but it was still a hidden danger.

On the other hand, after being betrayed by the white police officer and the Black homeless man, Lu Yuanming did not trust these Americans. He could not wholeheartedly trust them just because they praised him a few times.

What he needed was cooperation!

Those monsters were not unbeatable. The Man-faced Dogs known so far could be considered enhanced versions of lions and tigers. However, their prey was humans. Even without firearms, as long as humans came to their senses, with sufficient organization and numbers, humanity could easily obliterate them like crushing insects.

Lu Yuanming wanted to acquire enough manpower to deal with these monsters. Only by killing them could he absorb enough white light particles.

Under these circumstances, he had to have a team and possess enough prestige within it.

Indeed, using religion, mystery, and faith as a basis for prestige was possible. However, apart from the ability to see, absorb, and use white and colorless light particles, which others didn't have, he wasn't a true superhuman or a divine messenger from a religion. Lies were not advisable; one lie required countless others to maintain it.

He could deceive everyone for a period of time, or deceive a few people all the time. But if he wanted to live longer and achieve greater things, he had to abandon all lies.

There was a saying... sincerity is the greatest weapon!

"I am not the Messiah!"

Lu Yuanming immediately denied it. He sincerely said to everyone present, "I can only see this thing that represents hope and wishes, and I can transform it into food and weapons. Other than that, I am no different from you. I have no divine revelations, nor any special abilities. Believe me, I am just an ordinary person like you."

The more Lu Yuanming said this, the more devoutly the middle-aged man knelt and prayed, continuously reciting excerpts from the Bible.

And it wasn't just him; the others were gradually influenced, especially after the bread and water they had just eaten filled their hungry stomachs. At that moment, one by one, they actually cupped their fists and knelt down, reciting along with the middle-aged man. Lu Yuanming even noticed that the tall, thin man was even more devout than the others; he recited the Bible with almost the same fervor as the middle-aged man.

Apocalypse, monsters, death, the afterlife...

In their desperation, on the verge of dying of hunger and thirst, the miracle of five loaves and two fish had appeared before them.

Lu Yuanming said he was not the Messiah.

They simply didn't believe him!