If it had only been a backstab by a Black homeless man, William Clark could have chalked it up to the other’s cunning. But the fact that the obviously white police officer also tacitly allowed this backstab chilled William Clark to the core.

That’s why he couldn’t trust any Americans—not even the chubby man who seemed to be protecting the children, nor John, who had led them to the vault. He didn’t trust any of them. Still, he had his own internal scale: for example, the tall, thin man was someone he had to be constantly on guard against, while the chubby man and John were people he could be a little less wary of.

But overall, his impression of America and Americans was utterly terrible. There was no way he could be as open with them as he would be with his compatriots or partners. He wasn’t lying, but he could always present the truth in a different way.

When William Clark used up a colorless light particle to produce over a dozen small bottles of mineral water and more than a dozen long loaves of bread, everyone present was stunned. They stared blankly at the scene.

For a moment, everyone was frozen in place, except for a few children who were swallowing hard.

“One for each person. Go ahead and eat.” William Clark smiled as he handed a long loaf of bread and a bottle of mineral water to the little girl closest to him.

This little girl was one of those William Clark had saved, about ten years old. She swallowed, looked at William Clark’s gentle smile, and then snatched the bread and water as fast as she could.

Under the complicated gazes of the other adults, they watched as the little girl alternated bites of bread and sips of water.

William Clark sneered inwardly. These adults were just watching the little girl eat and drink, but in reality, they were also watching to see what would happen to her after eating and drinking.

Only after the little girl had eaten nearly half a loaf of bread and drunk half a bottle of water did William Clark beckon to the other two children. Neither of these children’s parents were present—whether their parents were still alive or they had been separated, none of the three children here had any familiar adults with them. They didn’t understand the adults’ wariness toward William Clark. Seeing the little girl eat and drink without incident, and with William Clark waving them over, the two children cautiously approached him.

William Clark handed each of them a long loaf of bread and a bottle of mineral water.

Watching the three children eat and drink heartily, the other adults kept swallowing hard.

Some of them had only recently lost someone, and most hadn’t eaten or drunk anything for over a dozen hours. Those in the vault hadn’t had food or water for at least two days, and the weakest-looking among them might have gone four or five days without. At this point, seeing food and water, their eyes were practically glowing green. If it weren’t so strange, they might have rushed forward to snatch it.

William Clark didn’t drag things out. He knew exactly what his advantage was, so he smiled and said to the others, “Come get your share, everyone. One per person, no grabbing, keep order. John, you maintain order. Don’t worry, you’ll get your share too.”

John opened his mouth to say something, but the others couldn’t wait any longer and surged forward. Out of long habit, John began maintaining order, lining everyone up to receive food and water. When the last adult had received their share, William Clark handed him a bottle of water and a loaf of bread, saying, “Thank you for your hard work. Eat something first.”

John looked at William Clark. He felt the whole scene was absurd, but a strange sense of dread welled up in his heart. He couldn’t explain it, so he simply bowed his head respectfully, then sat down and began eating bread and drinking water in big gulps.

All the adults around were silent; only the sounds of eating and drinking remained.

Suddenly, a middle-aged man in his late forties or so began to choke up. He half-knelt before William Clark and said, “…and 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. Then he 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 began to weep, loudly proclaiming the miracle of the five loaves and two fish to William Clark.

William Clark was baffled, but of course, he couldn’t say anything at this moment. He just smiled.

After all, it was a cultural difference. William Clark had never read the Bible, but for people in Europe and America, this was part of daily life. Not everyone was a believer, but at least they knew something about the Bible, about God, and so on.

This was a description of Jesus from the Bible.

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

But William Clark didn’t know that. He could only guess that this was some kind of prayer, like the ones believers say before meals in Western movies.

And that smile, in the eyes of the others, became something profound and unfathomable.