Chapter Ten: Five Loaves and Two Fish

Lu Yuanming didn't trust these white people or Black people.

To put it simply, he didn't trust Americans!

He had only just arrived in this world after death when he was immediately stabbed in the back.

If it had only been the Black Homeless Man who betrayed him, he could have put it down to the man's treachery. But the White Police Officer, who was clearly a cop, had condoned the betrayal. That had chilled Lu Yuanming to the bone.

So he didn't trust any Americans. Not even the fat man who seemed to be protecting the children, or John and the others who had led them to the vault. He trusted none of them. Still, he had his own way of weighing people. The Tall Thin Man, for instance, was someone he had to keep on guard against at all times, while he could afford to be a little less wary of people like the fat man and John.

But overall, his impression of America and Americans was downright awful. There was no way he would be as candid with them as he would with his fellow countrymen or his companions. He wasn't going to lie, but he could phrase the truth differently.

When Lu Yuanming used up a Colorless Light Particle to create more than a dozen small bottles of mineral water and more than a dozen long loaves of bread, everyone present was stunned. They stared at the food and water in a daze, frozen in place. Only a few of the children swallowed nervously.

"One for each person. Go ahead and eat." Lu Yuanming smiled as he handed a long loaf of bread and a bottle of mineral water to the little girl closest to him.

She was one of the children Lu Yuanming had rescued, and looked to be around ten years old. She swallowed nervously, gazed at his warm smile, then snatched the bread and water as fast as she could. While the adults watched with complicated expressions, the girl began eating and drinking, alternating between bites of bread and sips of water.

Lu Yuanming sneered inwardly. The adults were watching the girl eat, but they were also waiting to see what would happen to her.

Only after the girl had eaten nearly half a loaf and drunk nearly half a bottle did Lu Yuanming beckon the other two children over. Neither had a parent there. Their parents might still be alive, or they might have been separated from them, but none of the three children had a familiar adult nearby. They didn't understand why everyone was wary of Lu Yuanming. Seeing that the girl was eating without ill effects, and that he was beckoning them over, they cautiously approached him.

Lu Yuanming handed each of them a long loaf of bread and a bottle of mineral water as well.

As the three children ate and drank ravenously, the adults swallowed over and over.

Some of them had died only recently, but had already gone more than ten hours without food or water. Those in the vault had gone at least two days without either. The weakest-looking ones might not have eaten or drunk for four or five days. At the sight of water and food, their eyes began to gleam. If it weren't for how bizarre the whole thing was, they might have rushed forward and fought over it.

Lu Yuanming didn't keep them waiting long. He knew exactly what he had going for him, so he smiled at the others and said, "Come and get your share. One for each person. No pushing. Keep it orderly. John, you're in charge of keeping order. Don't worry, you'll get one too."

John opened his mouth to say something, but the others couldn't wait any longer and surged forward. Instinctively falling back on his years of work experience, John began to restore order, lining everyone up to collect food and fresh water. When the last adult had received their share, Lu Yuanming handed John a bottle of water and a loaf of bread, saying, "Thanks for the effort. Go ahead and eat."

John looked at Lu Yuanming. The scene before him seemed utterly absurd, yet an inexplicable unease stirred in his heart. He couldn't explain it. All he could do was bow his head respectfully, then sit down nearby and wolf down the bread and mineral water.

The adults around them were completely silent. The only sounds were of people eating and drinking.

Suddenly, a middle-aged man nearing fifty began to sob. He dropped to one knee before Lu Yuanming and said, "...Then he ordered the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and two fish, he looked up to heaven and gave thanks. He broke the loaves and handed them to the disciples, who passed them on to the people. They all ate and were satisfied."

"Lord, have mercy on us. Lord, save us!"

The middle-aged man began to weep. He cried out to Lu Yuanming about the miracle of the five loaves and two fish.

Lu Yuanming was baffled, but naturally, he couldn't say anything at a time like this. He simply smiled.

It was a cultural difference, after all. Lu Yuanming had never read the Bible or anything like it, but for people in Europe and America, this was part of everyday life. Not every one of them was a believer, but at least they knew something about the Bible and God.

This was, in fact, a passage from the Bible about Jesus.

The Gospel of Matthew recorded that Jesus had fed five thousand people with five loaves and two fish, and that the leftover scraps filled twelve baskets. This was one of Christianity's accounts of Jesus and God's miracles, meant to proclaim God's glory.

But Lu Yuanming had no idea. He could only guess that this was a prayer, like the prayers believers said before meals in Western movies.

In the eyes of the others, however, his smile made him seem inscrutable.

Everyone began eating quietly, while the middle-aged man watched Lu Yuanming with a fervent expression as he ate his bread.

Just then, Ang suddenly asked, "Lu Yuanming, this... isn't a magic trick, is it? You couldn't have hidden that much food on you, could you?"

Everyone pricked up their ears. Lu Yuanming had already figured out what to say. "It's hope, or some kind of heartfelt wish filled with good intentions. I don't know what it is either, but I can turn that hope or wish into weapons and food. What I had in my hands just now was that hope or wish. You simply couldn't see it."

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

John caught it, and everyone nearby looked over. The bullet wasn't metal at all. It was a translucent, milky white, and formed in one seamless piece, with no joints. It was clearly not a real bullet.

"This bullet was condensed from that hope or wish too. That's why it was so powerful, and why it could be fired," Lu Yuanming said.

Everything he'd said was true. It just wasn't the whole truth. Lu Yuanming spoke with complete conviction. He hadn't lied.

In the eyes of the others, however, his confidence took on a different meaning. This time, another woman—around thirty, seemingly sharp and capable, and wearing black-rimmed glasses—spoke up at once. "Is this faith in God?"

"Hope, a heartfelt wish for good... That's faith!" the middle-aged man cried out. He came before Lu Yuanming, knelt down, and said reverently, "Lord, in these end times, You have sent Your child down to us once more... You are the Messiah!"

The crowd erupted in an uproar.

Even Lu Yuanming knew what the Messiah was. The concept had appeared in countless online novels, animations, and comics.

There was no need to get into the Messiah's original meaning. After being passed down, elaborated upon, and interpreted by the various branches of Christianity, the Messiah had taken on many meanings beyond the basic idea of a savior.

From the novels, movies, comics, and animations he'd encountered, Lu Yuanming knew the Messiah had something to do with the end times.

Christianity described the end in detail, calling it Judgment Day. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse would appear, the angel Michael would blow his trumpet, and God would judge all living things. Everything in the world would come to an end.

The Messiah would appear at that time. As Jesus reborn and part of the triune God, he would save humanity's souls at the end of the world, sheltering them and leading them to Heaven.

That was certainly not the Messiah's original meaning as a religious symbol, but Lu Yuanming believed that this was what the people here meant when they called him the Messiah.

But Lu Yuanming had no intention of admitting it.

For one thing, if he called himself the Messiah while wearing an Asian face, people would only grow suspicious and perhaps even harbor ill intentions. They might keep their doubts to themselves because he controlled the food and fresh water, but that would still be a threat.

For another, after being betrayed by the White Police Officer and the Black Homeless Man, Lu Yuanming didn't trust these Americans. He wasn't about to place his faith in them just because they praised him a few times.

What he needed was cooperation!

Those monsters weren't invincible. The Man-faced Dogs could be thought of as souped-up lions or tigers, but they hunted humans. Even without firearms, once humanity got its bearings, and with enough people and organization, humans could wipe the creatures out as easily as crushing bugs.

Lu Yuanming wanted enough manpower to fight the monsters. Once they were dead, he could absorb all the White Light Particles he needed.

In that situation, he needed a team, and he needed to command enough respect within it.

Of course, religion, mystery, and faith could all be used to gain influence. But aside from being able to see, absorb, and use White Light Particles and Colorless Light Particles, he wasn't truly superhuman or some religious messenger. Lying was out of the question. One lie had to be maintained by countless others.

He could deceive everyone for a while, or a few people forever. But if he wanted to live longer and achieve more, he had to abandon all lies.

There was a saying... sincerity was the greatest weapon of all!

"I'm not the Messiah!"

Lu Yuanming immediately denied it, speaking sincerely to everyone present. "I can only see this thing that represents hope and wishes, and turn it into food and weapons. Other than that, I'm no different from any of you. I haven't received any revelations from God, and I don't have any special abilities. Believe me, I'm just an ordinary person like you."

The more Lu Yuanming said this, the more devoutly the middle-aged man bowed before him, reciting passages from the Bible without pause.

And he wasn't the only one. The others were gradually caught up in the fervor too, especially with bread and water in their stomachs, filling their hungry bellies. Before long, people were dropping to one knee with their hands clasped, reciting along with the middle-aged man. Lu Yuanming even noticed that the Tall Thin Man was more devout than the rest, reciting the Bible almost as fervently as the middle-aged man.

The end times, ghosts, death, the world after death...

As they faced utter desperation and were on the verge of dying from hunger and thirst, the miracle of the five loaves and two fish had happened right before their eyes.

Lu Yuanming said he wasn't the Messiah.

They didn't believe him at all!