"So, if we're lucky, we can just watch the first round?"
"Yeah. But if luck isn't on our side, the armed forces over there are no joke." He tapped a blunt fingernail against the paper. "Everyone, get ready. The main point is the second stop. Not far from there's a rich man's private garden, and that place won't be easy to handle."
For the first phase of the Zhuangyan Temple cauldron-seizing plan, Yang Yang had gone over everything in detail. He even split it into Plan A and Plan B, marking each with sharp, precise strokes of a pen.
Jing Shu liked teammates like this. They were people who didn't overthink things. She would just do whatever they told her. But judging from Yang Yang's arrangement, things didn't look optimistic. He was clearly prepared for a forceful approach, his posture tense as he leaned over the table.
"So that meant he didn't have much faith in Monk?" Her head turned as she glanced over at the calm-looking monk. Her mind was wandering. She wasn't particularly eager about this Zhuangyan Temple trip, but if there was a good harvest at the end of it, she wouldn't complain.
When the assignment finally reached the priest, everyone turned their eyes toward him. The small room became very still, save for the hum of the heater. What were they supposed to assign him? What could he even do?
Priest made a few gestures, his fingers tracing a cross in the air. He said slowly, "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Lead us not into danger, but deliver us from evil, for the kingdom and the glory are yours, forever and ever. Amen." His voice was steady, echoing slightly against the bare walls.
"…Huh???"
Ling Ling muttered, "I guess he is just going to stay behind and pray for us." She shifted her feet, the old floorboards groaning under her weight.
Right. So, basically, they would go in and fight while Priest stayed behind to cheer them on, shouting hallelujah or whatever.
Two days flew by in a blur of gray skies. Wrapped in a thick, heavy coat that smelled of damp wool, Jing Shu went out alone to scout the area. The cold air bit at her cheeks and her boots crunched on the frozen pavement. Unfortunately, she didn't find much of value, though she did take care of a few stalkers who tried to follow her into the darker alleys. The gap between rich and poor in America was enormous. The rich were drowning in luxury behind iron gates, while the poor had nothing left but crime.
This area she was in clearly wasn't a rich one. Burnt-out cars and boarded-up windows lined the streets, and trash piled up in the frozen gutters. Nowadays, America was dangerously unsafe. The wealthy had their own estates and private guards.
Crime here was insane, especially among the Black population in the nearby tenements. Jing Shu hadn't slept well for two nights. There were constant gunshots followed by screams that pierced the night, and plenty of people had fled to churches seeking shelter.
That's when the nuns became the face of righteousness, saving those people one after another. They stood at the entrances, beckoning the desperate inside. The priest seemed like he never slept. He would baptize each suffering soul with verses from the Bible, either taking them in or praying for them before sending them away into the darkness.
His church was like heaven in New York. It was the only place that didn't discriminate against anyone, whether Black or White. As long as someone was in distress, he would take them in with compassion.
Not only that, he even gave them food. The church itself was like a manor, with heavy stone walls and flickering candlelight. Jing Shu had no idea how many people were living there. With food being so scarce in America now, she couldn't figure out how Priest managed to feed everyone. But every day, someone came to deliver supplies in unmarked crates. So what was his profit angle in all this?
She couldn't tell why Priest, as their teammate, was doing all this. But something about it felt off.
In New York, the most common things now were robberies, murders, and human trafficking. Basically, wherever there was profit, people did it. The government had killed off plenty of criminals, but the chaos never stopped. The poor had no way to live except by stealing from those who had even a little.
That's why everyone had to carry weapons, even in busy city centers. You had to keep your hand near your belt or your holster. Otherwise, those hungry, predatory eyes, mostly from desperate men lurking in the shadows, would size you up. They would be wondering which market to sell you to later.
It wasn't exactly a pleasant experience. Worst of all, she didn't find anything worthwhile during her reconnaissance. On top of that, Xiao Dou had caused her even more trouble these past two days!
The two black American eggs she had bought from the black market actually hatched under Xiao Dou's care.
When the chicks first chirped, a sharp sound in the quiet of her room, Jing Shu was completely dumbfounded. What the hell? Xiao Dou actually hatched chicks? And in this freezing cold weather?
The two American chicks were clearly different from Chinese breeds. Their feathers were pitch black, and their tails were shaped like fans, almost like peacocks. They were also much bigger, with huge, bumpy combs that looked like lumps of flesh.
So… could this mean they would get to eat a new kind of chicken later?
No, wait! What was she thinking? This wasn't about eating chickens! She was here on a deadly mission abroad! Bringing along one battle chicken was already weird enough, and now she had to drag along two little chick freeloaders too?
This whole setup looked completely wrong.
Should she just roast one? Or stew one with mushrooms? Jing Shu's eyes narrowed as she eyed the two black chicks dangerously.
Xiao Dou flapped her wings and hid them protectively under her feathers. She was acting all motherly, even though the eggs hadn't been hers to begin with.
"Fine. You raised them, you take care of them. I'm not getting involved," Jing Shu said to Xiao Dou.
On the third morning, the priest led twenty-eight nuns to the Hudson Valley area of New York, heading for Zhuangyan Temple. Jing Shu's squad went along too. Of everyone in the group, she had the most luggage. She had three chickens in tow, the basket swinging at her side.
Thankfully, no one seemed to care. Even the nuns kept their eyes straight ahead, their expressions silent and serious. The atmosphere was so tense that even Xiao Dou, usually so noisy, didn't dare cluck.
Before the apocalypse, Zhuangyan Temple had been built by Chinese immigrants. It was both a tourist site and a research center for scholars studying Buddhism and comparative religion. It was also the largest temple in North America, home to an extensive Buddhist library.
Now, after the apocalypse, it had become one of the many refuges. But few Americans had chosen such a remote spot in the Hudson Valley woods. Rumor had it there was a secret armed force operating here, along with local monks and other religious groups.
The monk they were here to bet against was a chubby middle-aged man with burn scars on his bald head. The monk from Jing Shu's team didn't have any scars on his scalp.
Jing Shu had expected a bloody contest, or maybe something like a recitation duel, or a battle of Buddhist domains. It would be something fitting for monks, at least.
But the reality turned out completely different.
Priest and his twenty-eight nuns sat neatly in the courtyard, where dust motes danced in the pale sunlight. The head monk and his followers took their seats opposite them. A crowd of onlookers, mostly Black locals from the surrounding neighborhoods, gathered around. They were shouting and cheering. The whole scene looked nothing like the Shaolin monks Jing Shu had seen on TV swinging staffs in fierce combat.
Honestly, it felt kind of cheap.
But the content of the bet wasn't cheap at all. In fact, it went far beyond her expectations.
After bowing to each other, both monks stripped off their upper robes. They left only thin pants.
"Huh??? What is with taking their clothes off right away? Are they going to fight hand-to-hand? Doesn't look like it…"
Just then, a young monk came out carrying a wooden tray. He held the item that was the key to this gamble.