Chapter 425: Chapter 425

"So, if we’re lucky, we just watch the first battle?"

"Yes. If we’re not lucky... the armed forces over there are very strong, so I hope everyone is prepared. The focus is on the second objective. Not far from there is the wealthy merchant’s private garden, and that won’t be easy."

Regarding the plan to seize the cauldron at Zhuangyan Temple, the first objective, Yang Yang had made detailed assignments and arranged both a Plan A and a Plan B. Jing Shu always liked having teammates when she went out—the kind that didn’t require any thinking on her part; she just did whatever she was told. However, judging by Yang Yang’s assignments, the situation didn’t look optimistic; he was already prepared to use force.

Looking at it this way, does he not have faith in Monk? Jing Shu shifted her gaze to Monk, who appeared perfectly calm, her own mind filled with a jumble of thoughts. Her enthusiasm for going to Zhuangyan Temple wasn’t particularly high, but if there were gains to be made, she would still be quite willing. Thıs content belongs to 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝✦𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖✦𝕟𝕖𝕥

When it was finally time to assign a task to the priest, everyone’s eyes simultaneously turned to him. What role would he be given? What could he even do?

The priest gestured, slowly saying, "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and forever. Amen."

A wave of confusion passed through the group.

Lingling said, "He’ll probably just pray for us from the back."

Well, alright, Jing Shu thought. So, that means our group will be the ones fighting, while the priest is in charge of cheering us on from behind? Is that it?

Two days passed quickly. Jing Shu, wearing a heavy padded jacket, went out alone to scout the area. However, she didn’t have much luck and instead ended up attracting a number of people tailing her. In the United States, the disparity between the rich and the poor was vast. The rich lived in opulence, while the poor, unable to make ends meet, often turned to crime.

The area where Jing Shu was located clearly lacked wealthy people. The United States was now extremely unsafe; the rich mostly employed various bodyguards and had their own private territories.

The crime rate here was terrifyingly high, with a large Black population. Jing Shu hadn’t slept well for the past two days either. She often heard gunshots, followed by screams and cries. Many people would run to the church seeking sanctuary.

At such times, the nuns were like incarnations of justice, stepping in to save these people. The priest seemed to be awake twenty-four-seven, always using the Bible to minister to each sufferer, either taking them into the church or, after praying for them, sending them on their way.

The priest’s church seemed like a Heaven in New York, the only place that neither discriminated against Black people nor treated White people with prejudice. As long as the visitors were sufferers, he would mercifully save them.

Moreover, he provided them with food. Jing Shu didn’t know how many people this manor-like church had taken in. In the United States, where food was also scarce, how did the priest solve the food problem? Yet, it seemed that people came every day specifically to deliver food. So, what was the underlying benefit or motive?

Jing Shu didn’t know why the priest, her teammate, did what he did, but she always felt there was something slightly off...

In New York, the most common crimes now were robbery, murder, and human trafficking. To sum it up, people did whatever was profitable. The United States government had killed many, but this couldn’t solve the problem because those at the bottom of society, with no food sources left, could only resort to robbery.

Therefore, even when walking in the city center, one had to carry weapons. Otherwise, the surrounding Black people would be eyeing you covetously, wondering where to sell you off next.

The experience wasn’t very pleasant, and crucially, she hadn’t found anything of value. Not only that, but Fat Chicken had also caused her additional trouble these past two days!

Two black chicken eggs from the Black Market in the United States had actually hatched into two chicks under Fat Chicken’s care.

The moment the chicks chirped, Jing Shu was completely baffled. What’s going on? Fat Chicken hatched chicks? But in the cold temperatures of the United States, how did they hatch? These American chicks indeed looked different from those from Huaxia. Firstly, their feathers were black. Secondly, Jing Shu had seen somewhere that their tails were fan-shaped like a peacock’s, their bodies were much larger, and their combs were like a large, tumorous lump.

Does this mean there might be a new breed of chicken to eat in the future?

Pah! This wasn’t about whether they were chickens or not; she was abroad on a perilous mission. She could handle having a fighting chicken, but now was she supposed to take care of two burdensome little chicks as well?

This whole scene felt completely off.

Should she roast a chick? Or make chicken and Mushroom stew? Jing Shu gazed dangerously at the two little black chicks. Fat Chicken fluttered her wings, sheltering the black chicks beneath them, overflowing with maternal love despite the eggs not being her own.

"Fine," Jing Shu said to Fat Chicken. "Since you’ve adopted them, you take care of them. I’m not responsible."

Early on the morning of the third day, the priest, accompanied by twenty-eight nuns and Jing Shu’s team, arrived at Zhuangyan Temple in the New York River Valley. Among the entire group, Jing Shu had the most luggage and, to top it off, was followed by three chickens...

Fortunately, no one seemed to be paying attention to her, not even the nuns, who stared straight ahead. The entire group’s atmosphere was quite subdued, even scaring the normally chirpy chickens into silence.

Zhuangyan Temple was built by Chinese before the apocalypse, serving as a tourist attraction and a place for scholars to study Buddhism and comparative religions. It was North America’s largest temple and housed a rich collection of Buddhist texts.

Now, after the apocalypse, it had become one of the refuges. However, not many people from the United States were there, and even fewer sought refuge in such a remote place. In addition, strong, secret armed forces were rumored to be conducting clandestine activities there, alongside the original monks, local religious groups, and so on.

The monk their team was betting against was a rather portly, middle-aged man. He bore the traditional burn scars from monastic vows on his head, unlike their own Monk.

Jing Shu had originally thought it would be a bloody and violent contest, perhaps involving chanting, competing in Buddhist disciplines, or something else typically related to monks.

But the outcome was far from what Jing Shu expected.

The priest sat neatly with the twenty-eight nuns in the large courtyard, while the abbot and his monks took their place on the opposite side. Meanwhile, the courtyard was also filled with many Black people who had come for the spectacle. They were constantly shouting, making the scene nothing like the portrayals Jing Shu had seen on TV of Shaolin Temple monks defending themselves with staffs.

It felt a bit undignified...

However, the content of the bet was not undignified at all; in fact, it far exceeded Jing Shu’s expectations.

After bowing to each other, their Monk and the middle-aged monk opposite him both removed their upper garments, leaving only their thin trousers.

Hmm? What’s the meaning of stripping off their clothes right at the start? It doesn’t look like they’re preparing for a fistfight.

Just then, a young monk from the temple finally came forward with a tray, presenting the important treasure for this bet.