The male supporting character was actually myself.

"Ha, there's a whole street of people who want to kill me, why would I pick someone I know?" Joyce shrugged, clearly used to it.

"Then you shouldn't have come alone."

“It’s my job to bring our little Daniel home.” Joyce’s lips curled into a smile. “This damn war has changed you a lot, hopefully for the better.”

He picked up his suitcase, mounted his horse, and gestured for Jiang Chen to ride the white steed behind him. The two of them disappeared from the platform, one after the other, their hooves clattering.

The train whistled and spewed thick white smoke as it sped off into the distance.

"Host, the script has refreshed a bit."

The little white cat perched on his shoulder, rummaging through the script and reminding him, "Your storyline has come out a bit more."

Tonight, while celebrating at the bar, you drank too much and, in your drunken stupor, went to find your girlfriend from before you went to war. You discovered she'd been spending your money to support a gigolo, and in a fit of rage, you tried to shoot her but were instead killed by her.

Jiang Chen: ...

Chapter Two: Burning Whiskey Flows in My Veins

This character is supposedly from the Owen family, a mafia family whose veins are said to flow with burning whiskey, so how come he has such a tragic side?

After fighting on the battlefield for three years, I finally won and came back to find that the country was gone.

The original owner fought valiantly, and besides the bonds of family, his greatest hope was to return victorious and win the heart of his beloved.

As a result, she used the money she earned through her own hard work to support a gigolo, and when she found out, she was immediately murdered to silence her. She really didn't take the Owen family seriously.

"It's simple to avoid this. Don't get drunk tonight and don't go looking for that woman," the little white cat suggested. "After all, when you're drunk, your reactions are slow. Even ancient generals could be killed by alcohol, let alone a male supporting character without any special aura."

Jiang Chen smiled and shook his head, "How can you explore a script without figuring out the relationships between the characters?"

A woman who knew the Owen family's power dared to keep a gigolo and then turn the tables on them; this ex-girlfriend, Yana, is clearly not as simple as she seems.

The little white kitten tilted its head, looking completely bewildered. "Huh?"

After entering the city, there were more colors, but the overall tone was still dark.

"As I told you in my letter, times have changed. In the past three years, we have shifted our focus to horse racing, which is quite profitable even without legal permits."

Joyce held the cigarette between his thumb and forefinger, took a deep drag as if trying to inhale the smoke into his lungs, and then exhaled a cloud of white smoke that carried him through the bustling streets.

Many people tipped their hats to Mr. Irving along the way, and Joyce responded to each one with a simple gesture.

The two walked along the pebbly path to a beautifully decorated bar.

"This Blue Shell Bar is now a family business, and it's closed today. It's just the family here, so we'll drink until we drop!"

With a faint smile, he reached out to open the bar door, but Jiang Chen blocked his hand.

What did you do before picking me up from the train station?

Joyce didn't reply, but frowned slightly and tilted her head, her meaning clear: What are you saying? I don't understand.

Jiang Chen wiped his fingers on his coat, smelled them, and said in a low voice, "It's pine nut oil from the gun; it has a faint woody smell."

I've only ever smelled this kind of oily odor on new guns that the Y country government shipped to the front lines.

Only they have the money to use such good oil to wipe their guns.

Shengtis doesn't have that.

But the Sentis River…

He didn't finish speaking, but he believed the other person already understood.

Joyce opened her mouth, her deep blue eyes fixed on him, and whispered, "Ah, Daniel, our little Daniel. What has this damned war done to you?"

Don't tell anyone. We'll talk alone later.

He pulled the cigarette out of Jiang Chen's mouth and threw it away, straightened his tie, and opened the bar door. "Say hello to everyone first, we've been waiting for you for a long time!"

"Oh!"

As soon as the two entered the bar, Ed, the older brother with a mustache, jumped onto the bar and frantically shook the bottle to pop the cork, spraying liquor and foam everywhere.

"Welcome home, Daniel!"

Jiang Chen was greeted with enthusiastic hugs and a cacophony of profanities.

After hugging everyone in turn, the little white cat reminded them, "Host, the script characters have been updated."

He went through everyone's memories by comparing them with the original owner's.

Besides the three most important brothers, the Owen family also has a half-sister Lily and a youngest brother Edmund.

Because they do not share the same father, there is a significant age gap between the three brothers and the two sisters.

Lily was only eighteen years old and had been frail and sickly since childhood, not good at speaking. Edmund was only fourteen years old and had never participated in the family business. Only he was still studying at Joyce's insistence.

Also present were their mother's sister, Aunt April, and her two daughters, Susanna and Lucy;

Lily's father's younger brother, Uncle Benson, is a well-mannered, single man with round glasses who is good at math.

Strong liquor, cigarettes, and brawls—the Owen family, regardless of gender, are all adept at these.

Early in the morning, the Blue Shell Bar was soon filled with smoke and the smell of alcohol.

After drinking two glasses of whiskey, Jiang Chen, with a cigarette in his mouth and his glass in hand, pushed open the door to the bar's private room—a room for family gatherings and entertaining guests.

The heavy door closed, and he found a comfortable position to sit on the sofa opposite.

“I didn’t want to tell anyone.” The thin Joyce leaned back on the sofa, spread his hands and exhaled a smoke ring, staring at a certain spot on the ceiling. His voice was low. “The economy is in recession now, and money is hard to earn.”

Besides collecting protection money and running underground horse racing betting operations, we occasionally rob some boats.

Of course, it has to be the kind that's juicy and lucrative.

You know, it's stuff that other gangs smuggle through.

Cigarettes and spirits are both very profitable items.

The only problem would be if I were discovered, but luckily I'm smart enough not to worry about that.

We pulled off another heist last night.

I thought I had stolen some fine rum, but when I pried open the box, I found it was full of weapons!

Machine guns, pistols, and bullets—enough to fill an entire ship!

Moreover, weapons that should have been shipped to the battlefield three months ago are now on a gang's smuggling ship.

We had already cleaned up the traces, but we were now struggling with where to put this dangerous batch of weapons. You know, I had to get rid of them before they could find them.

It probably got on some during the cleaning process..."

As he spoke, he took another drag of his cigarette. "I really suspect you weren't fighting on the battlefield, but rather that you were sent to the US as a spy."

"Let me guess." Jiang Chen toyed with his wine glass, a cigarette dangling from his mouth, and said casually with a touch of roguishness, "A brand new batch of weapons, wrapped in oil paper to keep them dry."

A heavy wooden box;

We need an inconspicuous place to hide.

A warehouse won't work; no matter how well-hidden it is, there's always the risk of a police raid.

It won't work if people live there; with too many people around, the whole of Shengtis will know about it in less than half a day.

Too far away is not feasible, as transporting goods over the road would pose a risk of exposure.

So it's not a place to hide goods, a place that few people go to, a place not far from the branches of the Sentis River, a place where even a lot of soil being turned over wouldn't arouse suspicion—a family cemetery.

Joyce, can you tell me whose grave you dug up?

The other person cursed, "Of course it's Uncle Henry's grave. He was the only one whose body was lost on the battlefield. We just buried a few pieces of clothing."

I haven't seen Daniel for three years, what have you been through?

"That's not important." Jiang Chen put down his wine glass, stared into the other person's eyes, and said slowly and deliberately, "The weapons you've hidden are very unsafe."

I can guess that, and others certainly can too.

"The cemetery can't be guarded all the time; if we're discovered, we'll be in trouble."

What do you mean?

Jiang Chen walked over to him, bent down, patted his second brother's shoulder, and gave him a big squeeze. "Forget about this and enjoy your rare holiday."

I will handle it.

Do you know what's most important?

Most importantly—we are in a chaotic world now, but we are one family, sharing both honor and disgrace.

I promise you, everything will be there for you when you need it most, so you can have everything you need.

Watching Daniel, impeccably dressed in a suit, stroll leisurely out of the reception room, Joyce took a couple of gulps of strong liquor and felt a headache coming on. "Those Americans are fucking damn damn good!"

The sky was overcast and a cold wind was blowing. Jiang Chen and all the members of the Owen family stood in the family cemetery. He placed white daisies in front of a tombstone.

The eldest brother, Ed, glanced at the clean and tidy newly turned graveyard and asked in a low voice, "Who the hell repaired the graveyard?"

Let me make this clear: I am the head of the family!

Why didn't you even inform me about this?

"It must be Joyce's doing again. He's increasingly disregarding me!"

Chapter Three: Sin City

Aunt April looked kindly at her sister's smiling photo on the tombstone, patted Ed on the back and comforted him, "He was reliable and thoughtful. You should broaden your horizons and not always focus on trivial family matters."

Show the same courage you have when you go to war.

It's not difficult at all to acknowledge that Joyce was excellent.

“You watch April, Joyce will get into big trouble one day.” Ed spat out the cigarette butt from his mouth, tapping his thin right hand forcefully to emphasize his point, “Just you wait and see!”

The little white kitten perched on its host's shoulder, looking pitiful. "Host, I don't know the writing system in this world. Which one is Henry's grave?"

The system doesn't even have a built-in translation function?

Jiang Chen sighed inwardly and slowly walked past the rows of tombstones until he reached a cross-shaped tombstone in the far corner. He patted the cold tombstone with his hand.

“Daniel, the family memorial service is over.” Joyce’s gaze fell on Daniel’s hands, which were covered in sheepskin gloves and placed on the tombstone. His calm eyes revealed no emotion.