Shadow of the Beautiful World

Merlin, come live with us.

In the afternoon, Merlin walked out of the restaurant with her cousin and brother-in-law. Meilin with red eyes held Merlin's hand. She said to her lost brother:

Don't live outside, you can live with us.

Ben, who was standing beside Mei, also kept nodding his head.

Although the scene when they first met was not friendly, Mr. Ben is a really kind person, a person who can make people feel at ease. Merlin noticed this when he was eating.

It's no wonder that the beautiful cousin will eventually marry Mr. Ben who is neither handsome nor rich.

J.

Merlin held his cousin's hand and said to May:

I own an apartment over there in Hell's Kitchen, and I've adopted a kid. On top of that, maybe tomorrow, I'm going on a business trip to Europe, and I don't know when I'll be back.

He said apologetically to May:

I'll visit you when I get back.

Oh well.

Mei and her husband looked at each other, and she nodded regretfully.

When Merlin was about to leave, Mei suddenly stepped forward and hugged Merlin, just like she did when she was a child, she gently patted Merlin on the back and said to him:

Then you must take care of yourself, my brother.

Um.

Merlin felt the sudden concern and surging emotion, prompting him to nod seriously.

A few minutes later, he waved goodbye to his cousin-in-law, and with the satisfaction of having his empty heart filled, Merlin started the car. He hummed a song, turned the steering wheel, and drove in the direction of Hell's Kitchen.

Now that the happy things are over, it's time to do the less happy things.

squeak

With a soft bang, Fury's well-maintained classic Ford stopped at the gate of the St. Agnes Orphanage.

Merlin lowered the car window and looked at the orphanage in front of him. There was a quaint angel sculpture at the door, and the crosses dotted around it, all of which represented that this place was a religious place.

This orphanage is completely different from the orphanage Merlin imagined.

It occupies a large area, next to the famous St. Matthew's Church in Hell's Kitchen, and St. Agnes Abbey, these three buildings occupy almost one-third of the block.

Moreover, when Merlin lived in Hell's Kitchen before, he heard about the history of this church and monastery. It is said that it was built during the Civil War, and it has been more than a hundred years since now.

It is said that these three church buildings belong to a religious organization called the Sisters of Divine Grace, which is headquartered in Europe but has church properties all over the world. It is a very pious and huge organization. I heard that this organization was established in the Middle Ages.

Now, St. Matthew's Church and Abbey is managed by a priest named Paul, who is a well-known master of theology and often holds mass for believers in the church. Even in the chaotic neighborhood of Hell's Kitchen, Father Paul is a respected elder. He is happy to help those in need, whether they have done evil or not.

Merlin had met that priest a few times before. Although he hadn't chatted with him, just from his appearance, the priest was indeed a kind person worthy of respect.

Hello, who are you looking for?

Merlin was stopped by the security guard of the orphanage, and the security guard wearing a baton asked in a polite but vigilant tone. Merlin took out a document from his pocket, handed it to him, and said:

I'm Eric Stevenson's guardian, and I'm here to take him home now.

Oh, it's the parent of that bad boy.

After checking Merlin's documents, the security guard was relieved. He smiled and said to Merlin:

Wait here, please, I'll call Eric out right away. You may not know it, but the bad boy was injured a few days ago, but it's not serious.

oh?

Merlin frowned, and he asked:

How did Eric get hurt?

The security guard replied with a trace of rejoicing:

When the kid was out, he was involved in a shootout. A group of gangsters robbed the store. It is said that four people died on the spot. He was really lucky to survive.

A shootout?

Hearing this, Merlin shook his head helplessly:

It's really a feature of Hell's Kitchen.

Merlin waited outside the door for a few minutes before seeing Eric, who was accompanied by security guards and a nun, with bandages on his arms and a hemostatic bandage on his face, being sent out.

With a baseball cap on his head, a coat with a hood, and a small suitcase, the kid looked decent. However, it can be seen from his stronger body that this guy probably hasn't suffered in the past few months.

When he saw Merlin, Eric, who was talking to the nun, immediately put down the box and waved at Merlin vigorously. This action may have involved the wound, which made the little guy grin his teeth again.

After saying goodbye to the nun, Merlin put Eric's suitcase in the trunk of the car and sat in the driver's seat. Eric was sitting in the back seat. After the car started, Merlin closed the window, his mild expression turned serious.

He looked at Eric in the rearview mirror, and he asked:

I wanted to reprimand you because you changed 3 host families in 6 months, and it looked like you were making trouble on purpose. But seeing you now, I guess there should be something hidden in it, right?

You're still smart! Merlin.

Eric smiled and stood up, lying behind Merlin's driver's seat. He lowered his voice and said to Merlin:

Someone discovered our secret, and they're still after me.

Um?

Merlin narrowed his eyes and said:

But you didn't have anything with you, did you?

Well, I obeyed your instructions and hid it.

That's good! Now sit down and let's go back and talk.

hum

Fury's car let out a low roar, and the speed of the car suddenly accelerated, rolling up the fallen leaves on the ground. Under Merlin's control, the car quickly drove to the front of the house Fury had prepared for him.

The house is a bit old, but it's not bad. It has its own garage and lawn, and there should be a yard behind it.

Merlin parked Fury's car in the garage, took Eric's salute, and the two of them opened the door, stood at the door, and looked at their new home.

Er, don't you even have furniture?

Merlin looked at the rudimentary living room in front of him, where there were only three chairs and a dining table, which made him a little disappointed.

He originally thought that Fury would prepare everything for him.

Now it seems that Fury probably just sent someone to pay the rent.

not bad.

Boy Eric standing next to Merlin didn't care about the emptiness. He walked into the room and turned to Merlin and said:

It's so much nicer than my home in Auckland.

You are easily satisfied.

Merlin snorted, reached out and scratched Eric's head, messing up the kid's combed hair. He put the luggage away, then closed the door, took off his coat, and hung it on the hanger.

Merlin opened the refrigerator. There were several bottles of water in it. He picked up a bottle, twisted it open, and leaned against the wall at the edge of the living room. He looked at Eric, and asked softly:

Tell me, what's going on?

Is there anything to eat?

Eric sat on the chair, looked at Merlin helplessly, and said:

I'm very hungry, talk while eating, okay?

I ordered pizza just now, and it will be delivered in a while.

Merlin pulled out the chair and sat beside Eric. He looked at the black kid in front of him and said seriously:

And rather than eating, I think you should be more worried about your small gunshot wounds being done by those who hunted you down?

Well, they came after me.

A nervousness flashed across Eric's face, and he said to Merlin:

Yesterday afternoon, Sister Pell and I went shopping for the orphanage. As soon as we entered the store, three people rushed in with weapons. If Sister Pell didn't let me escape through the back door, I'm afraid I would be caught by them. I ran back to the convent, but Sister Pell was shot and is still in the hospital.

They didn't mean to rob at all, they didn't take the money from the counter, they took my backpack.

Eric looked at Merlin, he shrank back in fear, and said:

Those people are here for our Zhenjin.

Hush!

Merlin put his finger to his mouth and silenced Eric, and he whispered:

Keep your voice down, and tell me what happened to your first few boardings? Why did you escape on purpose?

Because they've been chasing me!

Eric explained to Merlin:

After you left, I was sent to the home of an old couple. They were nice people, and I liked them very much. But on the 7th day I lived in, I found that at night, there were always people outside the yard. Loitering. At first I thought it was a thief, but it wasn't until my room was 'visited' twice that I knew it was definitely not a thief.

The black child raised his head and said:

Is there any thief who doesn't go to the bedroom to steal things, but has been rummaging in my house? Fortunately, I hid the things after I arrived in New York, otherwise it would have been stolen that time.

I quarreled with the old couple on purpose and was sent back to St. Agnes Orphanage, where I'm going back.

Eric shrugged at Merlin:

I just hid things there.

Don't tell me that, Eric, it's your thing, it's your secret.

Merlin shook his head, looked at the time, and asked again:

Is this also the reason for the second and third boarding houses?

Well, the second time.

Eric whispered:

I told Sister Pell that I didn't want to leave the orphanage, but Father Paul said every child needs affection. So he put me in touch with the second family, which was the same as the first family. But the third A homestay family took the initiative to come to the door!

The shrewd black kid looked around, and said to Merlin mysteriously:

They were well disguised, they wanted to adopt me, but I still found out their identities. They are the subordinates of that crazy Crow! My father has their photos, and I saw them once.

Crazy Crowe?

When Merlin heard the name, he suddenly felt very familiar. He tried hard to remember, and finally, he remembered.

You're talking about Ulysses Crow? The guy who stormed into Wakanda and grabbed vibranium?

Yes! That's the name!

Eric stood up from his chair, and he described the man to Merlin:

When I was in Auckland, I came home from school one time and I saw Crowe in my house, talking to my dad. He smelled like alcohol, he had bruises on his neck and the guy tried to give me candy. But it was stopped by my father.

My father secretly told me that Crowe was a real madman and told me not to approach him easily.

Well, if that's the case, it makes sense.

Merlin nodded, and he said to Eric:

Crow cooperated with your father to steal a batch of vibranium from Wakanda, most of which were taken by Crow, but that guy never forgot the batch of vibranium in your father's hands. After your father disappeared, He has his eyes on you.

Hmm, that should be it.

Eric nodded vigorously, and he looked at Merlin with hope:

Merlin, can you think of a way to catch Crowe?

It may not be too difficult to catch.

Merlin thought, and he said to Eric:

But I'm going to Europe tomorrow, and I'll talk about it when I get back. You'll be staying in the St. Agnes Orphanage for a few days, right?

No problem at all.

Eric is a very precocious child, he can understand Merlin's difficulty, he said to Merlin:

The orphanage is very good. The people inside are very kind. The nuns and nuns are also very kind to us. There are many children who go to school with me. Father Paul also tells us stories. I like it very much. And Next to the church is the police station, and Crowe's henchmen dare not enter the church.

Okay then, I'll send you back tonight.

Merlin said to Eric:

You just stay there and wait for me to come back. Speaking of which, I haven't seen you for 5 months, but your mood is much better. Have you made new friends?

of course.

Eric shrugged and said:

The children in the orphanage are not as big as I am. They all like to play with me. The nuns let me take care of the little ones. I also help Father Paul clean the church, help him arrange the mass, oh yes! Take care of little Ida while the nuns eat.

Little Ida?

Merlin looked back at Eric, and he asked:

Who is that?

A 2-year-old baby.

The doorbell rang, and Eric stood up and took the pizza delivered at the door. While smelling the aroma, he said to Merlin:

I heard from Sister Pell that she was placed at the gate of the orphanage one night two years ago. No one knew who the parents of little Ada were. Even the name Ada was given to her by Father Paul. There are many people who say that little Ida has bad luck, because any family that adopts her will suffer bad luck, but little Ada is very cute, she is very good, she doesn't cry or make trouble, she is much better than other children .”

You said she was plagued by bad luck?

Merlin moved his fingers, and he said to himself:

Why does this sound like deja vu?

ps: (In the previous chapter on the numerical value of dna testing, the genetic dna similarity between cousins ​​is actually around 15%, which is really not as high as everyone imagined.)