Chapter 10: 5 Loaves and 2 Fishes

Lu Yuanming didn't trust these white and black people.

Simply put, he didn't trust Americans!

He had only just arrived in this postmortem world when he was immediately backstabbed.

If it were just a black homeless man who had backstabbed him, that could be chalked up to the man's cunning, but the fact that a white police officer had tacitly approved the betrayal really chilled Lu Yuanming to the bone.

Therefore, he didn't trust any Americans, not even the overweight man who seemed to be protecting children or John and others who had led them to the vault. He distrusted all of them, though he did have a mental hierarchy of who to be more wary of. The skinny tall one was someone he had to constantly be on guard against, while he could be slightly less vigilant around the overweight man and John.

But overall, his impression of America and Americans had soured completely, so there was no way he would be as forthcoming with them as he would be with his compatriots or partners. Although he didn't lie, he could rephrase the truth to present it differently.

When Lu Yuanming used a Colorless Light Particle and created several small bottles of mineral water and long loaves of bread, everyone present was astonished. They watched on stupidly, all freezing in place, except for a few children who were swallowing hard.

"One portion each, go ahead and eat," Lu Yuanming said with a smile, handing a loaf of bread and a bottle of mineral water to a little girl who was closest to him.

This little girl was one whom Lu Yuanming had rescued, about ten years old. She swallowed hard, looked at Lu Yuanming's gentle smile, then snatched the bread and water with the fastest speed and started to eat and drink, under the complicated gazes of the other adults.

A cold sneer crossed Lu Yuanming's mind as he observed the adults watching the little girl eat and drink, which was, in reality, a scrutiny of the consequences of her doing so.

It wasn't until the little girl had consumed nearly half a loaf and half a bottle of water that Lu Yuanming motioned to the other two children. These children had lost their parents—either they were not yet dead or had been separated from them. In fact, none of the three children in attendance had any familiar adults with them, and unaware of the others' wariness towards Lu Yuanming, they cautiously approached him when they saw the girl suffer no ill effects and he beckoned to them.

Lu Yuanming handed each of the two children a loaf of bread and a bottle of water.

As the three children ate and drank heartily, all the other adults kept swallowing saliva incessantly.

Some of them had only recently died, going without food or drink for maybe a dozen hours, whereas those in the vault had been fasting for over two days. The most weakened among them might not have eaten or drunk for four or five days. Seeing food and water now, their eyes were green with hunger, and if not for the strangeness of the situation, they might have pounced on them.

Lu Yuanming didn't prolong the tension, acutely aware of what his leverage was, so he said with a smile to the others, "Come and get it, one portion each, no grabbing, orderly. John, you maintain the order. Don't worry, you'll get your share too."

John's mouth opened as if he wanted to say something, but the rest couldn't wait any longer and started to crowd forward. Operating on long-ingrained work instincts, John indeed began to maintain order, having everyone queue up to receive food and water. After the last adult had received their portion, Lu Yuanming handed a bottle of water and a loaf of bread to John and said, "Thanks for the hard work, go ahead and eat first."

John looked at Lu Yuanming, felt the absurdity of the scene, but also an inexplicable trepidation in his heart. Unable to articulate what it was, he just bowed his head respectfully and then sat down to eat the bread greedily while drinking the water.

The adults around were all silent, leaving only the sound of eating and drinking.

Suddenly, a middle-aged man approaching fifty began to choke up, then half-kneeled before Lu Yuanming and said, "…he directed the people to sit down on the grass, taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. He then gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. They all ate and were satisfied."

"Lord, have mercy, Lord, please save us."

The middle-aged man cried out, loudly calling for the miracle of the five loaves and two fish to Lu Yuanming.

Lu Yuanming was bewildered, but naturally couldn't say anything at that moment, he simply smiled.

After all, the cultural differences mattered. He had never read the Bible, but for Westerners, that was part of their everyday life. Even though not everyone was a believer, they at least knew about the Bible and God.

These were the Biblical accounts concerning Jesus.

In the Gospel of Matthew, it is recorded that Jesus fed five thousand with five loaves and two fish, and the leftovers filled twelve baskets. This is the depiction of miracles related to Jesus and God in Christianity, demonstrating the glory and power of God.

But unfortunately, Lu Yuanming didn't know this, and could only guess it was a prayer, similar to those said by believers before meals in Western movies.

His smiling expression, to the others, looked mysterious and profound.

Everyone began to eat quietly, while the middle-aged man kept glancing at Lu Yuanming with a fanatical expression as he ate his bread.

At that moment, Ang suddenly asked, "Lu Yuanming, this... it's not magic, is it? You can't possibly hide so much food on you, right?"

All ears perked up, but Lu Yuanming had already thought of an explanation. He said, "It's hope, or some kind of strong desire with good wishes. I don't know what it is exactly, but I can turn this hope or wish into weapons, into food. Just now, what I had in my hand was this hope or wish, you just couldn't see it, that's all."

While speaking, Lu Yuanming ejected the condensed bullet from the magazine and tossed it to John.

John took the bullet, and everyone around looked over to see that the bullet wasn't made of metal at all, but was a translucent milky white and completely seamless, with no joints whatsoever. It obviously wasn't a real bullet.

"This bullet was also formed from the congregation of hope or wishes, which is why it possesses such immense power and can be fired," Lu Yuanming said.

These were all true words, just not the whole truth. Lu Yuanming spoke confidently; he hadn't lied.

However, his assertive manner was interpreted differently by the onlookers. At this moment, a woman around thirty, looking sharp and capable with a pair of black-rimmed glasses, immediately asked, "Is this a manifestation of faith in a Deity?"

"Hope, beautiful wishes... that's faith indeed!"

The middle-aged man exclaimed in shock and promptly knelt before Lu Yuanming, earnestly proclaiming, "Lord, in these end times, you have once again sent down your progeny... You are the Messiah!"

The crowd was instantly abuzz.

Even Lu Yuanming was aware of what the so-called Messiah represented, having seen numerous references to it in online novels, and comics.

Setting aside the original concept of the Messiah, due to its dissemination, reinterpretation, and the various sects within Christianity, the Messiah, apart from its fundamental characteristic as the Savior, had acquired far too many diverse interpretations.

What Lu Yuanming understood about the Messiah from novels, movies, comics, and animations was that it was associated with the apocalypse.

In Christianity, there is a detailed description of the end times, known as Judgment Day. It foretells the appearance of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, the sounding of the trumpet by Archangel Michael, and God's judgment of all living beings, with everything in the world coming to an end.

During these times, the Messiah would appear. As the reincarnation of Jesus and part of the Holy Trinity, He would save the souls of humanity during the apocalypse, shelter them, and lead them to heaven.

This certainly wasn't the original intent of the religious symbol of the Messiah, but Lu Yuanming believed that's what the Messiah meant to the people at that moment.

However, Lu Yuanming had no intention of acknowledging it.

For one thing, proclaiming himself as the Messiah, while presenting an Asian face, would only invite skepticism or even malice from others. Even though he controlled the food and freshwater, so the people might not voice their doubts, this presented a potential danger.

On the other hand, having been betrayed by the white cop and the black vagrant, Lu Yuanming didn't trust these Americans. He wouldn't blindly trust them just because they sang his praises.

What he needed was cooperation!

The monsters weren't invincible; the man-faced dogs, for instance, could be considered an enhanced version of lions or tigers. But their prey was humans, and even without modern weaponry, once humanity recovered and with enough organization and numbers, they could crush them effortlessly, just like stamping out bugs.

Lu Yuanming wanted to amass sufficient manpower to deal with these monsters. Only by killing them would he be able to absorb enough White Light Particles.

In this situation, he needed to form a team and establish unquestionable authority within it.

Indeed, using religion, mysticism, and faith to build authority was possible, but aside from being able to see and absorb White Light Particles and Colorless Light Particles, he wasn't a superhero or a divine messenger as suggested by religions. Lies were unacceptable; one lie would have to be maintained with countless others.

He could deceive everyone for a certain time, or some people for all time, but if he wanted to live longer and achieve greater things, he needed to forsake all lies.

There is a saying... sincerity is the greatest weapon!

"I am not the Messiah!"

Lu Yuanming promptly denied, sincerely addressing everyone present, "I am only capable of seeing these manifestations of hope and wishes and can convert them into food and weapons. Beyond that, I am no different from you—no divine revelations, no special abilities. Believe me, I'm just an ordinary person like any of you."

The more Lu Yuanming denied it, the more fervently the middle-aged man knelt and worshiped, ceaselessly reciting passages from the Bible.

And it wasn't just him. The others gradually became moved, and especially after eating the bread and drinking the water that filled their hungry stomachs, they began to clench their fists in a half-kneeling posture, joining the middle-aged man in recitation. Lu Yuanming noted that the tall, lean man was even more devout; he recited the Bible with nearly the same earnestness as the middle-aged man.

Apocalypse, Spectres, Death, the afterlife...

In a hopeless situation, at the brink of dying from hunger and thirst, the miracle of the five loaves and two fishes had unfolded before them.

Lu Yuanming said he wasn't the Messiah.

They simply didn't believe it!