The male supporting character was actually myself.

“You should think this through carefully. Once you enter the virtual world again, no one will be able to help you.” Li Chengze was more serious than ever before. “Since the appearance of the Soul Eater, all unknown entities have disappeared without a trace.”

Even if you do manage to leave your body and enter a virtual world, how can you guarantee you'll be able to return safely?

Besides, how do you plan to get back in?

Even assuming we can successfully enter and exit, are we sure we'll get more clues?

If the virtual world is merely a protective measure, and you cannot escape on your own without further information, the consequences of a failed plan would be unimaginable.

Jiang Chen shrugged and smiled nonchalantly: "If we fail, at most we'll die from exhaustion of our soul energy like Li Zixuan, or be 'destroyed' like Qin Rufeng."

It's no big deal to me.

"But without you, our world would be even worse! Think back to when the Soul Eaters invaded; if it weren't for your Horcrux, a third of the security team would have been killed!"

“If there really is a savior in the world,” Jiang Chen took a deep breath and looked at the other person seriously, saying each word slowly and deliberately, “then if I die, there will definitely be another person with a mission who will step forward.”

Moreover, I subconsciously feel that the virtual world is not dangerous.

Can't we have some scientific research spirit?

How could we let such a great research opportunity slip by?

I think the current situation where all unknown entities have disappeared is actually a warning sign. We don't have much time left, and if we don't figure it out soon, we may soon face an even more difficult situation.

If everything goes well, I only 'slept' for one night, but I might save the world. Weighing it up, it's not a bad deal.

Li Chengze felt a little breathless.

The feeling of being lost and helpless about the future is very painful.

He got up, opened the window, and breathed in the damp air with a faint floral scent. Looking into the distance, the streets filled with colorful flowers were shrouded in a light drizzle, creating a rather poetic scene.

For the average person, this scene should be filled with a romantic atmosphere.

In a room just a wall away, decorated in a low-key and simple style, two young people whose combined age is no more than fifty are discussing absurd topics about protecting the world.

"Suddenly, I feel like we're the miserable supporting characters in some movies." Li Chengze took off his glasses and laughed at himself, "On the surface, we have a respectable and well-paying job."

In reality, they are completely isolated from ordinary people due to various confidentiality regulations.

We only deal with shadows that others can't see. Without the protagonist's halo, we might be sent to our deaths at any time, and who cares about the people making the decisions?

They only care about their own future!

Jiang Chen walked to the window and silently gazed at the street outside.

A young couple, tourists, chatted and laughed while taking photos under an umbrella amidst the flowering trees. The girl remarked with envy how beautiful the villas and mansions were, while the boy confidently promised to work hard to earn money and buy a bigger house with a small yard so she could plant all her favorite flowers.

The sounds of laughter and playfulness faded into the distance. Busy pedestrians with umbrellas passed by downstairs, their faces filled with anxiety and helplessness as they made phone calls. Children who didn't want to go to tutoring classes cried and sobbed, while their parents patiently explained the ruthless, power-driven theories of the adult world, arguing that without ambition and effort, they wouldn't even have the right to choose in the future...

This is a real world full of everyday life.

An elderly scavenger worries about whether he'll have a meal today; students with backpacks discuss cartoons and games; workers on the assembly line repeat the same actions, striving to be faster just to earn a few more dollars; construction workers toil in the drizzle, sweating profusely; office workers type away at their computers; a CEO sits in his office, frowning slightly as he looks at documents; a movie star sips red wine, smiling and talking to the camera…

Everyone is striving to live their lives, their hearts filled with memories and hopes for the future.

"The more ignorant you are, the easier it is to live a simple and happy life." Jiang Chen took out his phone, opened the bank transfer app, entered an astonishing amount, clicked transfer, and then smiled, "But someone always has to bear the burden."

Otherwise, everyone will be blindly happy, and when the world is about to end, they won't even know how they died.

Since we possess innate abilities, it means we need to shoulder some responsibilities.

Perhaps, as some religious theories say, "No one comes here unless there's a reason."

We come into this world to do something, so we must do something.

Li Chengze couldn't help but twitch his lips as he looked at the transfer records on his phone. "You transferred so much money to Lu Xinnan? And in the name of the Ministry of State Security?"

"Money is something external to me."

"Then why don't you give me something material?" Li Chengze grumbled, dissatisfied. "I never think I have too much money in my bank account! If you don't care, I can spend it for you!"

Jiang Chen took out an envelope he had prepared beforehand from the bedside table drawer and handed it over, saying, "If I die, all the remaining property will be yours."

“You…” Li Chengze was stunned as if struck by lightning, and stood there without making a move.

"Who told you to be my only friend?" He maintained his nonchalant expression as he stuffed the envelope into the other man's suit pocket. "If there's anything to do with the body, I'd like to have the 'Magma' unknown entity cremate me, then scatter my ashes on a scenic mountaintop, and just visit me every spring when you're out for a stroll."

Li Chengze's mood grew heavier and heavier, and he felt that this guy was getting further and further away from him!

Jiang Chen then explained to himself, "As for re-entering the virtual world, I currently have a few ideas."

Perhaps my current state of mind is not stable.

This cannot be confirmed; it can only be speculation.

Second, try to separate the soul from the body through meditation courses taught by female trainers in the Naturist Project;

Thirdly, there are the videos copied from Lu Xinnan; watching them might be effective.

Li Chengze opened his mouth, unsure of what to say, then pushed up his glasses and asked, "Is there anything I need to do? You're going to challenge the unknown to protect the world, I should at least do something in return, right?"

"I will turn on these machines before I go to bed at night. If my heart stops beating and you receive an alarm, remember to just observe and do not make any rash moves."

Jiang Chen handed him a set of spare house keys, "You can choose a guest room to stay in. The reason why the unknown entities have disappeared is still unclear, and we don't know if they will ever reappear."

If you happen to attract an unknown 'Spider-Man' or 'keeper', just be flexible and handle it accordingly.

"You trust me that much?" Li Chengze hesitated for a moment before taking the keys, forcing a smile as he jokingly asked, "Aren't you worried I'll rob you and kill you?"

For the first time since his return, Jiang Chen smiled happily. "Don't worry. If you can have thoughts of murder for money, it means you no longer care whether there are any threats in the world."

"When I die, I'll close my eyes and not care about what happens after I'm gone. We won't have to worry about such vague things anymore. Perhaps that's not a bad thing."

As the two of them finished organizing all the materials and were casually discussing what to have for lunch, Jiang Chen's computer email beeped.

The security team is quite practical when it comes to assignments that don't threaten their own interests.

Information on people who have recently fallen into a coma for various reasons was mostly retrieved from major hospitals, which also have a relatively complete collection of surveillance videos.

After intensive screening by the data team, a list of nearly 300 eligible patients was finally selected.

These people were awakened after being touched by the unknown "Spider-Man" entity. After tracking and investigating, it was found that the personalities of these people, ranging from teenagers to men and women of all ages, changed significantly after they woke up.

Without exception, they all became more grounded and cautious.

Even several rebellious middle school students who had committed various acts of recklessness and suicide became well-behaved and sensible, removed their heavy makeup, changed to clean and neat new hairstyles, and worked hard to study and reform themselves.

"Looks like they've all been through a lot of beatings in the virtual world." Li Chengze stood behind Jiang Chen, his right hand resting on the table as he carefully examined the documents through his glasses. He asked curiously, "Why are most of them admitted on May 7th and discharged on May 8th?"

Jiang Chen used software to extract and compare the data. 95% of the people on the filtered list suddenly fell ill and went into a coma on May 7th and were sent to the hospital. After simple treatment, they woke up on May 8th and were discharged after confirming there were no other problems.

Something special must have happened on May 7th.

"I'll check the surveillance footage from the National Security Group that day to see if there are any clues." Li Chengzhe opened the software on his computer, entered his employee ID and password, and logged in.

The page shows his level as four stars, which allows him to access most internal information.

The security team has a dedicated video database containing recordings from cameras across the country monitoring unknown targets. In case of an emergency, the software will automatically issue an alarm.

Unless there is an unexpected need to review the surveillance footage, no one will be constantly monitoring so many cameras unless there is an alarm. At most, a specialist will randomly check a few as a precaution.

The time was set to May 7th.

“It looks normal, nothing unusual.” Li Chengze checked the midnight video. The unknown entity under the lens in the constantly dragging timeline was as usual. “Perhaps there are other changes that the unknown entity cannot sense.”

Jiang Chen took the mouse and dragged the timeline forward, all the way to the morning of May 7th, then fast-forwarded a little further.

What could have caused so many people to suddenly have their souls leave their bodies?

"Why can we see unknown entities but not souls? Aren't they the same kind of energy?"

"But we could clearly detect it after the unknown entity No. 7 devoured the soul..."

…………

Li Chengze muttered to himself, while Jiang Chen stared at the numerous split screens on the screen, scrolling forward in time.

"Look!" The surveillance video was frozen at exactly 12:00 noon on May 7th.

On the split screen, the actions of various unknown entities in different environments suddenly stopped for two seconds, as if they had all been paused at the same time.

Just two seconds later, they returned to normal as if the previous "pause" had never happened.

Switching the split screen to another batch of numbered surveillance videos and setting the timeline to noon, all the unknown objects on the screen simultaneously stopped.

"Something really did happen!" After the initial shock, Li Chengze was filled with even more questions. "What exactly happened? Why didn't we notice anything unusual?"

Jiang Chen stroked his chin thoughtfully and speculated, "Perhaps it's not that we didn't notice, but that we didn't realize it. But some people, including myself, sensed it, so starting from noon, people began to fall into a coma for no apparent reason, until it peaked in the evening."

We only found a very small portion of it.

There are probably many more people like me who went from 'death' to 'rebirth' as ​​if they had taken a nap, and had no idea what they went through.

"Could this be related to the subsequent invasion of the Soul Eaters and the complete disappearance of the unknown entities?"

"I think there's a connection." Jiang Chen looked up at the sky and said quietly, "Perhaps the energy shield has malfunctioned. It might be undergoing some kind of repair; or it might have suffered a more severe attack."

For us, trying to figure out what happened is much better than sitting and waiting to die.

I split the Horcrux in two.

If I could enter the virtual world, half of it would stay by my side and command it to obey my orders.

In case something unexpected happens while I'm unconscious, you can try to use the Horcrux to hold out for a while.

Li Chengze imagined the scene of the Soul Eater invading and him pushing the Soul Eater into battle in a wheelchair, which seemed rather bizarre.

As evening approached, the light rain stopped.

The setting sun suddenly pierced through the dark clouds, casting its light upon the earth, and the tops of buildings and trees were edged with a shimmering gold.

"A rainbow!"

"Paradise Street truly lives up to its name; the scenery with the rainbow is absolutely stunning!"

"Quick, take a picture of me! I haven't seen such a big rainbow in years..."

……

Tourists outside the window were screaming and taking pictures. Jiang Chen pushed open the window and looked out. A huge (no way) brightly colored rainbow stretched across half the sky. A bright silver airplane slowly streaked across the sky, leaving a trail that was quickly blown away by the wind.

"I hope everything goes well for us!" Li Chengze leaned out from the balcony, snapped a photo, and posted it on his WeChat Moments. Then he patted him on the shoulder and laughed, "After all, we've suddenly gone from supporting male characters in a movie to partners in a desperate counterattack. Maybe we'll have the protagonist's halo now."

Jiang Chen squinted at the newly green scenery outside the window after the rain and murmured softly, "It will definitely succeed."

........................