Chapter 84

He was more concerned about something else than that.

"Can you do me a favor? I think Mostima is quite kind. Could you help me prevent her from falling from the heavens?"

[Insufficient permissions, unable to execute...]

The cold, impersonal notification sounded again.

"Is it that strict?" Han Fei scratched his head.

However, he wasn't surprised, since he wasn't from the previous civilization and it was normal for him to lack the necessary permissions.

If it were a cybernetic woman, she might have been able to handle it.

The old pope, who stood quietly to the side, witnessed the entire extraordinary "conversation" between Han Fei and the Law Mainframe. His heart was filled with indescribable shock and subtle bitterness.

For thousands of years, devout Liberi believers have prayed daily and served year after year, protecting His holy land with their blood, sweat, and even lives, yet they have never received a single glance or a word of recognition from Him.

They were isolated from that invisible divine favor; the halo and wings were the chasm that stretched between them like an insurmountable distance.

But what about this young man? He calls himself "human," yet he is invited into the holy land by the Law, and even makes seemingly disrespectful requests... But the Law, for the first time ever, operates accordingly, responding with such clarity and precision every time.

This communication, as natural as breathing, this attention that Liberi could never hope for in countless generations... what a storm would rage if they knew!

However, at that very moment, the last trace of wariness and doubt in the Pope's heart vanished completely, as if brushed away by an invisible hand.

If even God is willing to pay attention and respond to Han Fei's confusion and petitions, how could the Pope possibly regard him as an enemy?

The Pope took a deep breath, the wariness in his eyes gone, and said gently, "If there's nothing else, let's leave now."

"That works too." Han Fei nodded slightly.

He really didn't have anything to ask.

"You should know that this is Laterano's most important secret," the Pope reminded her at the opportune moment.

"Of course, I assure you," Han Fei immediately patted his chest and said, "Absolutely no third person will know what happened here today."

"You had better be able to do that, young man," the Pope said earnestly.

"Rest assured."

Han Fei nodded, instinctively preparing to leave.

But then I thought, wait a minute, can I touch this PCS system?

Thinking of this, he suddenly felt a little eager to try it out. He looked up at the PCS system and said, "Can I touch you?"

"You..."

The Pope sighed, remarking that Han Fei, this young man, had truly embodied the phrase "taking an inch and wanting a mile" to the fullest extent.

In the past, the Pope would have definitely shot him, but now, the Pope is not so harsh.

After all, the secret has been exposed, so touching it isn't really anything too outrageous.

In later generations, the Exusiai even painted graffiti on Him!

[Under evaluation...]

[Conclusion generated: Han Fei is allowed to touch it]

"You are not allowed to do anything else, understand?" the Pope earnestly reminded him from the side.

"Hey, trust me, old man, I'm actually a pretty reliable person."

Han Fei patted his chest, jogged over to the PCS system, reached out and touched it, muttering, "PCS, no, the Supreme Law, can I touch the big red? I want a big red!"

[Input condition: Wish "to touch the big red"]

[Target: Han Fei]

[This can be satisfied]

A familiar search interface appeared in Han Fei's line of sight, followed by a black twelve-segment object.

"Eh?!"

Han Fei was immediately shocked.

P. S.: I suggest everyone turn on the air conditioning in this weather. The high temperature this afternoon damaged my SSD. I'm speechless. At 3:30, I was trying to do some data download and some writing when I got a blue screen. After restarting, it immediately froze. I restarted it again, and then a diagnostic screen popped up, followed by a message about repairing the disk. This process took more than an hour.

I waited until 6 o'clock, but it still didn't work, so I simply removed the SSD and started trying to install the system on the old mechanical hard drive. That old mechanical hard drive, a ten-year veteran, tormented me all night, and it wasn't finished until midnight. And that wasn't the end of it; the memory tormented me for another hour or so. It was pure torture.

Everyone else is busy attacking Prison in the game, while I'm stuck in my study being imprisoned.

Now it's a 10-year-old mechanical hard drive system with 4GB of RAM. All I can say is that it takes about five minutes to boot up before it can be used. Anyone understand?

Volume 1: Chapter 120 Lemon Tea

At that moment, Han Fei displayed astonishing hand speed.

The moment the twelve-slot item appeared, Han Fei immediately swapped it.

Forget about this and that, just get into my backpack first!

In that instant, he stuffed all the messy things, including military-grade canned lemon tea, back into the PCS system, replacing it with a heavy, substantial red item.

--Blade server.

There was only one blade server in the PCS system. Han Fei didn't linger; he immediately withdrew his hand and looked up.

The technologically advanced circular matrix still appeared to be functioning normally. He then turned to look at the Pope, whose halo was still shining brightly.

Clearly, everything is functioning normally.

This made Han Fei secretly breathe a sigh of relief.

Then he chuckled to himself—why am I so afraid?

My searches always generate objects out of thin air; I don't actually disassemble parts from a machine and pull out a blade server. How could PCS possibly break down?

As for what was put back...

How could a supercomputer from a pre-existing civilization be so fragile?

Thinking of this, Han Fei immediately felt at ease.

He turned around, touched the Law itself once more, and then took out the two cans of lemon tea that had been stuffed inside, holding them in his hand.

During this process, he had his back to the Pope, and his movements were fluid and natural, without any flaws, so he was not worried about the Pope noticing that something was wrong with him.

The next second, he came running back to the Pope with two cans of lemon tea, handed him one, and said, "Here, Your Holiness, have a drink, let's go out."

The Pope's gaze lingered on the PCS for a moment before he finally accepted the can of beverage with the unfamiliar logo.

"Let's go," his voice regained its calm, "Remember, this matter ends with you and me."

"Don't worry!" Han Fei patted his chest to assure him, and walked side by side with the Pope toward the exit.

The heavy metal door closed silently behind him. Han Fei pulled the ring with a "click," carefully took a sip, and the sweet and sour taste melted on his tongue.

"Tsk, the taste is not bad." He commented subconsciously.

The Pope, who was opening a can nearby, turned his head and glanced at him upon hearing this. "You haven't had any?"

"Really not," Han Fei said honestly, with the shrewdness typical of a street vendor, "This stuff is really expensive, how could I afford to drink it?"

Han Fei is a slacker, and he really couldn't bear to spend money on this expensive lemon tea. He honestly exchanged it for Warm Haf Coins.

The Pope also took a sip, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly. "Indeed frugal."

Finally, he pursed his lips and asked, "It tastes pretty good. Where did you buy it?"

Han Fei had no idea about this. He subconsciously tried to recall where he had gotten the lemon tea from in his bag, and then the image of the manhole cover in Laterano immediately came to mind.

He still remembers that on the day he first arrived in Laterano, he pulled a can of lemon tea out of a Laterano cover.

Thinking of this, Han Fei's expression became somewhat subtle.

So much time had passed that the contents of his backpack had long since been moved several times, to the point that he couldn't even remember whether the can of lemon tea he pulled out of the manhole was the one in his hand or the one in the Pope's hand.

"What's wrong?" The Pope noticed that Han Fei's expression was off.

"What's wrong?" The Pope keenly noticed his unusual behavior.

"Uh, it's nothing, it's nothing!" Han Fei quickly waved his hand, speaking vaguely, "This lemon tea was a gift from a friend, I don't know where it's from."

"Oh." The Pope remained noncommittal and took another sip.

Seeing that the old man seemed quite satisfied, Han Fei wisely kept his mouth shut, not wanting him to know that this thing might have come from a manhole cover.

Before long, the two returned to the bright hall on the upper floor.

Upon seeing the two return, Lemuen immediately greeted them, her pink eyes filled with concern. "How did it go? Did you get things done?"

"It's done."

Han Fei nodded and said, "Everything went smoothly, Texas and I are ready to leave."

"That's great!" Lemuen with a sigh of relief, her bright smile returning like sunshine dispelling the gloom. "Now we don't have to rush so much, right?"

Seeing this, the Pope coughed deliberately, and said with a playful old man's tone, "Sigh, it seems no one cares whether this old man is tired or not."

Lemuen immediately turned to the Pope, bowed slightly, and said in a respectful yet friendly tone, "Thank you for your hard work, Your Holiness."

In front of the young girls, the Pope reverted to his usual smiling and amiable elder persona, a stark contrast to the ruthless guardian in the basement.

Facing Lemuen's bright smile, Han Fei hesitated for a moment, then sighed and said, "It seems more urgent now. I only have about two minutes left to evacuate. If I can't evacuate immediately, I'll need to pull the switch again."

Lemuen's smile froze instantly. She turned her head sharply, staring blankly at Han Fei, her eyes filled with confusion and unexpected disappointment. "This... so soon? Isn't this a bit too sudden?"

Not only her, but Mostima, Fiammetta, and others also showed expressions of surprise.

Lemuen spoke up even more bluntly, saying, "What? Time is so tight, we don't even have a chance to say goodbye properly."

"Actually, it wasn't too sudden..."

Han Fei scratched his head. He could clearly feel the intense reluctance emanating from Lemuen, but all farewells must come eventually.

Texas had already silently walked to Han Fei's side, her statement concise and clear. "I'm ready."

Her voice was calm, yet carried an undeniable support.

The atmosphere in the hall was threatening to sink into a deep abyss of sorrow and parting. The Pope gently shook his head, his warm voice flowing in like a gentle current. "Alright, children, why be like this?"

He looked at Han Fei, his gaze calm and tolerant. "How much longer can you stay here?"

"Less than twenty-four hours, theoretically I can stay until tomorrow morning," Han Fei replied.

"Then, come again tomorrow."

The Pope smiled kindly, his gaze sweeping over the young people present. "I will arrange everything, you don't need to worry. Come back tomorrow to pull the plug, and then, with the blessings of your friends, bid farewell to Laterano without regrets."

This was a truly unexpected delight. Lemuen's eyes instantly lit up again, and she looked at the Pope with gratitude. "Thank you so much, Your Holiness!"

"It's just a small matter."

The Pope waved his hand, his smile warm, "Alright, children, if there's nothing else, you can leave now. Han Fei, you stay."

Although the girls were somewhat puzzled, they still took their leave as instructed.

Before turning away, Texas gave Han Fei a deep look, her gaze sharp as a knife, yet also filled with concern—call me if you need anything.

Han Fei a reassuring smile, indicating that she could rest assured.

The matter has been resolved. Pope Evangelista XI is a kind man, so there's no need to worry about him suddenly changing his tune. He simply summoned the Gun Knights to capture Han Fei.

Once the crisp footsteps faded into the distance, only the two of them remained in the hall.

The Pope paced slowly, his aged voice carrying the weight of a lifetime's experience. "As people grow old, they inevitably become more talkative. But I hope you will take my words to heart."

"How could that be?" Han Fei smiled and flattered, "An elder like you naturally imparts valuable experience and teachings; how could it be considered verbose?"

The Pope waved his hand with a smile, but his expression gradually became extremely solemn. He said, "Since you are under His protection, you are not an enemy of Laterano, but a friend of Laterano. It is precisely because of this that I will say a few more words to you."

"I can tell that the children have a good impression of you; they genuinely care about you and trust you."

Han Fei nodded and said, "Indeed."

"Then I hope you won't tell anyone else, including them, understand?"

"OK."

Han Fei nodded repeatedly and immediately agreed.

The Pope's voice lowered, carrying an undeniable authority and profound love. "They are all the best of their generation. I remember each and every one of their names. I can say that I have witnessed their growth; they are like my own children."

He paused for a moment, his gaze sharp and fixed on Han Fei, each word heavy with weight. "If, and I mean if, you let them down, or even hurt them, I will let you know that even an old man can be terrifying when he's angry."