All Fear Stems from Insufficient Firepower

Chapter 16: All Fear Stems From Insufficient Firepower

Lu Yuanming followed Father Edward and his group to the bank.

The bank still looked dilapidated from the outside, but it was evident that it had been modified.

Many metal plates were embedded in the bank's damaged outer walls, and several people were still working on the walls, trying to insert more metal plates into the gaps.

It had to be said that this bank was indeed a very good base. While not perfect, it had a vault as the final refuge inside, and the external structure was quite sturdy. As long as it was reinforced and there were enough firearms and ammunition, even if giant spiders and giant man-faced dogs attacked, they probably wouldn't be able to break through the bank's outer walls.

At this moment, the personnel monitoring the surroundings outside the bank had discovered Father Edward and his group. They shouted loudly, some running towards the bank, while others ran towards the group's location.

Before long, nearly a hundred people rushed out from inside the bank, excitedly running towards Lu Yuanming and his group. Leading them were naturally Cthulhu, Peter, Ang, and others who considered themselves Lu Yuanming's disciples. Following closely behind were several burly men, especially the grim-faced man, and then the rest of the rescued civilians.

As soon as Peter, Ang, Martha, and the other disciples reached Lu Yuanming, they immediately knelt down and loudly recited "Lord's Mercy," and "The Lord has not abandoned us." Cthulhu, although he didn't kneel, also said with excitement and respect, "Sir, have you returned from the Mortal World?"

Lu Yuanming immediately helped Peter and the others up, and at the same time, smiled and nodded at Cthulhu, saying, "Yes, I'm back."

At this moment, the grim-faced man immediately stepped forward and said, "Mr. Lu, have you obtained Faith Power?"

Lu Yuanming looked at Father Edward. Father Edward said, "This is Charlie Luce, a leader of the New York Mafia. He intends to join our Messiah Salvation Society... Heaven on Earth Afterlife group, but the prerequisite is to first confirm the Lord's identity."

Lu Yuanming ignored Father Edward's pained expression and directly said to Charlie, "I am not a god, nor am I related to any god. I am just an ordinary human who fell into this Afterlife. First, for self-preservation, and second, to save those who can be saved and do what I can. So I stepped forward. Don't pay attention to these fanatical believers. I am definitely not a god!"

Charlie's mouth twitched. In fact, during the eighteen days Lu Yuanming was away, he had learned a lot about Lu Yuanming from Father Edward and others, as well as through discreet inquiries from some female disciples. This included Lu Yuanming's almost heaven-defying speech and his forceful renaming of the Messiah Salvation Society.

All these events were beyond Charlie's comprehension. As a leader of the New York Mafia, he had seen too much of human struggle, the darkness at the bottom of the Mortal World, and the darkness of dealing with high-ranking officials as a leader. It wasn't that there was no light and justice, but compared to the overall darkness of humanity, that light and justice were insignificant.

Because of this, Charlie truly understood how tempting power and desire were to humans. Not to mention others, even himself, once he gained power within the Mafia, he would never give it up. If he had the chance to reach a high position, he would do so without hesitation, even if it meant using lies and murder. Therefore, Lu Yuanming's choice was difficult for him to understand.

Even if he wasn't the true Messiah, possessing the ability to obtain and use Faith Power, and being able to travel between the Mortal World and the Afterlife as a living person, anyone would instinctively think he was the Messiah. Lu Yuanming could truly do whatever he pleased, yet he chose to be honest and abandon religious power to pursue something like joint production. This was truly incomprehensible to Charlie.

Lu Yuanming continued, "This time, upon returning to the world of the living, my soul has become stronger. Relying on this strengthened soul, I tried to move my finger, which made my parents and the doctors and nurses think that I might be waking up from my vegetative state. This action brought in thirty-one Faith Power. It seems that Faith Power is not necessarily obtained by burning Joss Paper Money or sacrificing to the dead. The most important thing is strong emotions and wishes. This truly fits the word 'faith.' Everyone, we now have thirty-one Faith Power. How should we use it? We need to make a plan."

Father Edward immediately began reciting chapters from the Bible glorifying God, and the other disciples also recited praises to the Lord and Jesus. The other civilians, although they didn't know what was happening, naturally knelt down and began to praise as the main leaders of the group began to praise the Lord and Jesus.

Lu Yuanming, both angry and anxious, kept helping these people up, loudly stating that he was just an ordinary person and that so many people kneeling would shorten his lifespan. Charlie and his subordinates watched coldly, each with a bizarre and strange expression.

At this moment, Charlie suddenly said, "Mr. Lu, can you use Faith Power to create things now? I want to confirm some things... Actually, Mr. Lu, you don't need to be so angry. This faith, this religion, is our culture. I have learned about your China. You abandoned religion and faith thousands of years ago. Although you have sacrifices and so-called true gods, you believe more in your patriarchs, oh, you call them Son of Heaven. But this is your culture. As for God and Jesus Christ, these are our culture, already integrated into our flesh and blood and souls. You really don't need to mock us."

After hearing Charlie's words, Lu Yuanming looked at Charlie in surprise for a long time, and then he had to admit that what Charlie said was indeed the truth.

This was a cultural difference. Just as Lu Yuanming had seen people arguing on some online platforms when he was in college, some people believed that all countries except Z Country were terrible. It was the 21st century, and they were still full of religious ideas. When they encountered difficulties, they only knew how to pray to God. Didn't they have the determination and perseverance to solve problems with their own hands and strength?

Another group of people believed that Z Country was terrible because Z Country had no faith, and without faith, there were no bottom lines for being human, and so on. This was an argument that no one could convince the other, a difference in culture.

Lu Yuanming immediately apologized sincerely to everyone, "That's right, this is a cultural difference. I'm sorry, I was too presumptuous."

At this moment, Cthulhu smiled and said beside him, "You don't need to apologize. We all know that your intention is for us to grasp our own destiny and not to turn our energy towards ethereal gods. Such an idea and practice are for our own good and are the best way to continue in this apocalypse. But you may not realize that if there is faith that can be clearly seen and verified, it will make us even more courageous, fearless of sacrifice, and able to put aside all grudges and past grievances, and loyally unite around the existence we believe in. And this... is what you are bringing us now. Whether this organization is called the Messiah Salvation Society or the Heaven on Earth Afterlife group you call it, it's just a different name, but its essence is to save all of us."

Father Edward also said at the same time, "It is precisely because of this miracle of the five loaves and two fish, and precisely because you, Lord, walk between the afterlife and the world of the living, that I firmly believe you are the Son of the Lord, the Son of the Trinity, and the Messiah who will save us in the end times. This does not even depend on your will, because this is the only core that can unite us. Otherwise... no one here respects anyone else. Without using violence to integrate everyone, accompanied by murder and ugliness, we have no other path. And this is our apocalypse."

(...As expected, there's too little labor. They all need to undergo intense labor reform.)

Lu Yuanming sighed and didn't dwell on this matter further. He looked at Charlie and said, "I can use Faith Power now, but I can't use it carelessly. What does the base need now? What are we missing? Food? Fresh water? Or ammunition?"

"Ammunition, of course!" Charlie said immediately before anyone else could speak. "We only have eleven pistol bullets left. In these eighteen days, we found six more weapons, but we were short of bullets. Those who murdered John were from the MXG Gang. They threatened us several times with the power of their rifles. So, what we urgently need is not food and fresh water, but weapons, weapons that can protect all of us."

Lu Yuanming looked at Edward, Cthulhu, Peter, and the others. They all nodded slightly. Lu Yuanming then said to Charlie, "I understand. Please bring the other six firearms over so I can confirm the ammunition types for those firearms. I will immediately use Faith Power to manufacture bullets."

Soon, the six weapons were brought out from the bank. The first five weapons were two pistols, two semi-automatic rifles, and one short-range shotgun. These were actually quite normal, until Lu Yuanming saw the last weapon. He looked back and forth at the others, as if his expression was asking if they were kidding him.

The last weapon was a shoulder-fired rocket launcher. However, Lu Yuanming's meager military knowledge couldn't identify what kind of weapon it was.

A subordinate next to Charlie saw Lu Yuanming staring at the rocket launcher in thought. He immediately said excitedly, "Sir, this is an FGM-148 anti-tank missile, the famous Javelin anti-tank missile. Its power is immense. We are truly fortunate to have found this weapon. Of course, it would be even better if you could manufacture ammunition for this weapon."

Lu Yuanming didn't hesitate. He immediately pinched six Colorless Light Particles and, referencing the ammunition in the magazines of these weapons, began to think in his mind about manufacturing ammunition that matched their original power in the largest quantity.

The two pistols produced fifty-six and forty-one bullets respectively. The two semi-automatic rifles were of the same model, and each produced twenty-nine bullets. The shotgun produced seventeen bullets. The last FGM-148 anti-tank missile only produced one missile.

The people around watched the semi-transparent white bullets appear out of thin air on the ground. They were stunned at first, then cheered in unison. Some shouted for God, others for Jesus Christ. Only Charlie stared deeply at Lu Yuanming, and as the crowd cheered, he also slowly knelt down.

Lu Yuanming didn't notice these things. He looked at the FGM-148 anti-tank missile, then at the small number of missile ammunition. Then he pinched five more Colorless Light Particles and manufactured five more missile ammunition.

After doing all this, Lu Yuanming said seriously to the others, "I've heard that all fear comes from insufficient firepower. Now... our firepower is sufficient. Let's go, let's go settle accounts with those MXG people. Let's go avenge John!"