"The matter I want to discuss is related to Rica..."

The High Priest clasped his hands together, appearing somewhat helpless, "He has utterly disappointed me. I don’t want to see him anymore. Is there any solution?"

Before he moved, he always lived with Rica, who never believed he came to the Federation empty-handed.

Before the High Priest’s arrival, Rica had already developed the habit of spending extravagantly, disguising his lavish lifestyle and unrestrained spending as "missionary work."

That was his excuse, yet his desire for wealth never diminished in the slightest.

He longed for wealth!

The High Priest’s "non-cooperation" made him very angry. He had beaten this man he always called "father" more than once, never holding back.

He even made him write to the new High Priest, asking his nominal brother to send some money.

After being beaten several times, the High Priest was completely disappointed in this child and left quietly.

After his departure, Rica didn’t even look for him and continued to maintain his pathological missionary lifestyle.

Perhaps his sickness attracted some people; now this small group maintains a size of over twenty people, never dispersing.

Perhaps for the men in this group, staying without spending money to discuss physiological topics with the women attracted them, so they were unwilling to leave.

For those girls who once wandered the streets, being exploited was inevitable, so at least here, they had a place to stay, food to eat, drinks and cigarettes, and television, so they compromised.

The High Priest no longer cares about this child; he is considered a top figure in his lifetime; once a decision is made, it’s hard to regret.

He didn’t want to see Rica again, but the Federation is both large and small; to prevent the child who inherited his bloodline from being harmed by Rica, that madman, the High Priest abandoned the son he had raised for over twenty years without hesitation.

Lynch wasn’t surprised after listening. The Security Committee was also watching Rica, but just in a routine way.

They assigned a newcomer to keep an eye on him, just routine work, nothing special.

"Do you want him to leave Bupen, leave the Federation, and even leave this world?"

The High Priest spread his clasped hands, then clasped them again, "His feet are on his body; as long as he is out of control, he can go anywhere and do anything."

"I am already old. I don’t know if in a few years or decades I can still bear children. I must ensure nothing goes wrong with these two little ones."

After about half a minute of silence, the High Priest shook his head slightly, "God is calling him..."

Lynch nodded, "He will soon respond to God’s call, please accept my condolences..."

Saying this, Lynch stood up, shook hands with the High Priest, and left. Watching Lynch’s departing figure, the High Priest’s expression was unlike before, no longer consistently stern.

There was some... change on his face, a touch of emotion, and a hint of... helplessness, but ultimately all transformed into firmness.

Twenty years, endless time, yet he still ended up disappointing himself.

Given Rica’s current level of madness, if he knew he still had a vast amount of wealth and planned to pass it on to others, he would only become more insane.

The High Priest is not afraid of death; all High Priests make the same ultimate choice.

Like his reflections on the altar, he knows clearly that everything is false.

But as a High Priest, he has to face these, to strangle himself; from the start, he was mentally prepared for this.

So he is not afraid of death.

But he fears his children being hurt; despite twenty years of familial bonds, in the end, all this must come to an end.

The High Priest turned around, closed the door, returned to the room on the second floor, and looked at the two children sleeping by the window, bathed in sunlight, with a gentle smile on his face.

He cares about nothing except his bloodline’s legacy; in these two children, he seems to feel something he was always in pursuit of.

Eternal Life.

A different form of eternal life.

Rica surely doesn’t know that his life is about to end.

He still fantasizes about his Church becoming the largest in the Federation, and himself as the most revered, even the President would have to respect him.

Maybe due to early influences, deep down he has a strong desire for control and a fanaticism for "becoming a Priest."

The "invasion" by Federation people made it impossible for him to inherit everything from his father, but here, he acquired a whole new life!

The room was filled with an unpleasant smell; two girls leaned against the window smoking, seemingly unaffected by everything happening around them.

During the Great Depression, many left the comfort of their family homes early, some because of poverty, some because of poverty.

Though both were due to poverty, the former and latter are completely different.

The former involved young people who only felt despair at home, and could obtain nothing, felt no promise of tomorrow or hope, no call from the future, so they left home.

They naïvely believed that as long as they went out on their own, they would definitely welcome a new life and embrace the future.

Just like people often say, "As long as you’re not disabled, you can always find a job." Sorry, during the Great Depression, not being disabled was no longer the minimum standard.

The competition became more intense and frightening as people voluntarily accepted pay cuts or even paid their bosses to keep their jobs.

These young people, bewildered, didn’t know what to do. They refused to go back and could only wander around.

The boys became unemployed youth on the streets, became homeless, or joined gangs.

The girls often took more complicated paths; in this depressed society, even good-looking girls couldn’t find jobs, let alone those who were average-looking.

Even those wanting to become strippers or escorts had no chance!

For some, poverty meant too many expenditures, so families with multiple children would drive out the older ones.

It’s cruel, but at least it keeps the family going, giving the younger children a chance to grow up.

These young people, driven out of their homes, feel more desperate about their families, and they fall faster, ending up like this.

Looking at the damp floor, Rica’s eyebrows furrowed.

He could no longer afford to rent a house solely for use as a "Church," and now his home was the "Church."

The High Priest bought this for him, and he loved it here, but now...

He was just about to say something when a girl with a bare upper body walked over.

She didn’t like to be bare-chested, the weather wasn’t warm yet, it was still a bit cold.

But putting on and taking off her clothes repeatedly, plus some men’s rough actions, ruined her clothes, so she hardly wore anything in the room—just a short skirt below.

"Someone came to collect the electricity bill, said you didn’t pay the last period..."

The girl’s words made Rica’s head ache; he was already out of money, and the people in front of him couldn’t come up with any either.

He hugged the girl, "Where is that person?"

"At the door, hasn’t left yet," the girl said.

Rica hugged the girl and walked to the door. Through the screen window, he saw a worker outside wearing an orange vest, jotting down notes on a notepad.

He opened the door and went out, "Hi!" he greeted.

The power company employee, looking about thirty to forty years old, treasured this exhausting job.

Seeing the well-dressed young man approaching, he instinctively lowered his clipboard, "Sir?"

"How much do I owe you?" Rica gave a thumbs up, gesturing behind him.

The power company employee raised his brow and looked at the clipboard, "Sir, including this period, you owe... thirty-nine dollars and forty-five cents, sir."

Not much. He went out today to sell some things in the second-hand market to get some money.

Until the end, he didn’t want to sell this house; it was his last wealth.

He stood silent for a moment; he still had over a hundred dollars in his pocket, but he didn’t want to give it to this person.

Suddenly, he seemed to think of something, turned around, and walked into the room, soon pulling out the bare-chested girl.

"See her? Eighteen or nineteen. If you pay the money for me, she’s yours for the day," Rica lifted the girl’s skirt.

Clearly, the power company employee had never encountered such a situation; he looked at the girl’s ashamed, angry face, her attempts to break free from Rica’s arms and cover her body. He swallowed hard, "Sorry, I don’t understand... sir."

He married early, at twenty, and his child was now twenty years old. His gaze lingered on the girl briefly, forcing himself not to look at her.

Rica was a bit upset, "Three days, ten dollars a day; it’s cheaper than finding an escort, anytime, start anytime!"

He said, looking at the girl, "Do your job, don’t cause me trouble!"

His eyes were a bit fierce, and after a brief silence, the girl returned to the room.

The power company employee swallowed again, "I shouldn’t do this..."

After all, thirty-nine dollars and forty-five cents was a considerable extra expense for him.

"Five days!" Rica offered again, "less than ten dollars a day. You see how young she is; maybe you’ll fall in love with her!"

After a moment’s silence, the power company employee licked his lips, "Deal!"

He tentatively asked, "Can I go in now?"

Rica nodded, "Of course, you can do whatever you want in this house!"

Suddenly, Rica felt like he had found a way to make money!