The male supporting character was actually myself.

In this way, your exemplary power as a hero can play a positive and uplifting role in the entire human society.

The bizarre crisis remains unresolved; the church is corrupt; and the people are burdened with an excessively heavy burden.

From any perspective, people need heroes—heroes who stand proudly before them, not those who dedicate themselves silently in obscurity; that kind of hero doesn't inspire or boost morale.

Chapter Eight: Complementary and Harmonious, Like the Sun and Moon in Perfect Harmony

"You mean...standing on stage?" Li Moran was taken aback. "Like Wen Ruyu and Qiao Yi?"

Both of them were once super executors, but after retiring due to injuries, they took advantage of the nationwide wave of hero worship and went straight to the forefront, relying on their extraordinary superpowers and age-defying methods to become superstars who are still in high demand to this day.

Although there's nothing wrong with becoming a star, Li Moran doesn't think he can sing, dance, and act like them, and also wield his signature weapon in a fake, bizarre, and flashy fight.

Just thinking about that scene makes me feel inexplicably ashamed.

Jiang Chen: ...

No wonder the protagonist isn't very popular; your comprehension seems to be a little off track.

However, this idea seems pretty good. Anyway, you can wander around in the unfinished mission world, so you can always bring the protagonist along for a live stream, right?

Thinking of this, he clenched his right fist, put it to his mouth, coughed twice, and prepared to change his words.

"Did I guess wrong?" Li Moran paused for a moment, then asked hesitantly, "Do you want me to wipe out all those criminal gangs affiliated with the church?"

Before Jiang Chen could speak, he sighed with a wry smile and said, "You should know how the executors are selected, right?"

"Regardless of gender, anyone who is sixteen years old or older goes to the church to participate in the selection. Those who have a connection with the magic pillar take a magic potion and have a chance to awaken as a superhuman." Jiang Chen shrugged and replied, "As far as I know, this is how the executors are selected."

"But I am a self-awakened superhuman, not through a potion, and I successfully awakened before the age of sixteen."

Even though he knew the protagonist would definitely have an extraordinary background, he still had to pretend to be shocked and cooperate with the other party's performance.

Li Moran patiently explained: "When the abyss suddenly appears, and countless strange creatures crawl out and wreak havoc, bringing disaster, it also impacts humanity's original cognition, energy, and world system."

Eroded by the energy erupting from the abyss, the air and soil of the human world changed rapidly. As a result, many strange plants grew, and after extensive research, a magical potion that could unleash human potential was discovered among them.

Back then, potions were scarce, and not everyone was qualified to take them.

The surviving humans in this post-apocalyptic world are exceptionally united, and the potions are prioritized for strong adult soldiers, greatly enhancing their combat abilities. I was only twelve years old at the time; the orphanage where I had lived since childhood was destroyed during the bizarre invasion, and I was the only one who managed to escape…”

When talking about those days for the first time with others, Li Moran's gaze seemed to travel through time and space, and his voice involuntarily became slightly choked.

“I understand that feeling.” Jiang Chen patted his shoulder and said softly, “It’s like my family. That morning they went out on a mission as usual, and I was waiting for them at home, but they never came back…”

The original owner remembered the impact of his parents' death as a great blow, so much so that he could empathize with it after taking over this body.

The atmosphere was somewhat heavy. He took a deep breath to suppress the bitterness in his heart and changed the subject, saying, "I didn't realize that you were from before the disaster, Li Moran. If you calculate carefully, you must be over a hundred years old!"

"Well, that's true." Li Moran was slightly embarrassed by his sudden remark. "I've seen too much in my life, so naturally I'm less temperamental. Continuing our previous topic, as the sole survivor, I'm eager to go to the front lines to kill the monsters, but the potions are just too precious for me to try."

Under the pressure of various difficulties and extreme emotions, I suddenly gained a strange power.

Or rather, it's power obtained through exchange, the price being the protection of humanity. If I harm humanity, a terrible backlash will occur. Not only will I myself fall into demonic ways, but this uncontrolled power will also cause irreversible damage to the human world.

These are the conditions of the exchange, and I must abide by them.

Jiang Chen tapped his chin with his slender, fair fingers and guessed, "I understand a bit. It's similar to a hierarchy-based rule. As a god among mortals, you should deal with the powerful and bizarre beings in the abyss, and not get involved in worldly affairs and become tainted by vulgarity."

Since that's the case, then I'll do what you can't do.

You deal with the supernatural, I deal with evil; together we complement each other perfectly, like the sun and moon in perfect harmony!

"You?" An incredulous expression appeared on Li Moran's face, then he felt it was impolite to question such a weak and pitiful child.

He abruptly suppressed the surprise in his eyes, coughed twice, and said, "Well... since these criminal gangs are all trained by the church, they must have high-level enforcers in charge. Even though you're a superhuman, you're probably just a beginner, right..."

Jiang Chen didn't care about the unintentional sarcasm from the other party. He smiled slightly and said confidently, "If the acting is not good enough, we can make up for it with special effects. If the technology is not up to par, we can use high technology."

Li Moran: ? ? ?

Seeing that he didn't understand what he meant, Jiang Chen patted his chest proudly and said, "I have money."

"Rich?" Li Moran was stunned for a moment before he reacted, his lips twitching as he said, "You're not planning to just smash us with magic scrolls the whole time, are you?"

"It's not just scrolls, but also all sorts of sacred artifacts and the like. As long as we can win, that's all that matters. I only care about the result, not the process."

The sight of gleaming gold bars flashed before Li Moran's eyes, and his eye twitched.

A true tycoon!

Fighting is done by smashing scrolls?

Indeed, money can buy anything!

"If you have money, you rely on technology; if you don't, you rely on mutation. That's pretty normal."

Jiang Chen, fearing he might change his mind, added, "Don't worry about our partnership. I'll take care of the evil forces that fight bad guys; you can handle any evil gods or strange occurrences. If there's any danger, don't worry about me. I can't guarantee anything else, but I can still protect myself."

Li Moran was still immersed in the other party's arrogant remarks and nodded subconsciously before she could react.

Then he felt uneasy and frowned slightly, saying, "The church has been exposed to too many inside stories this time, and it's probably going to be in chaos for quite a while. Are you sure you want to wade into these muddy waters to kill criminal gangs?"

"Don't worry, it'll only be chaotic for a few days at most, then everything will be fine."

Jiang Chen waved his hand dismissively and said, "Just wait and see. Soon the bishop will make a statement. He'll push those puppets of the inquisition out as scapegoats, saying their words were untrue or were just individual actions. Then he'll bow in apology, announce the punishment, and kill some insignificant scapegoats."

As for the criminal gangs cultivated by the church, they will certainly pretend to distance themselves and vow to bring them to justice.

They secretly took the time to protect the useful ones. These days, with the situation in the spotlight, they need to be wary of popular uprisings and won't act rashly. Once the storm passes, they'll just arrest some small fry and kill them.

If they eat in a more refined manner, they will likely behave themselves for a while;

If they behave badly, they'll soon be back to doing whatever they were doing after they've changed their titles.

As for ordinary people, they're fine with chanting slogans and making a fuss. But expecting them to overthrow the church, which holds absolute power and influence and has a well-equipped army to carry it out? That's impossible.

So, we just need to see a result and a clear attitude: taxes won't be increased easily in the next two years. Ordinary people should focus on living their own lives. No matter how loud the slogans are, if they don't work, they won't even have food to eat. Poverty often leads to a lack of ambition.

Chapter Nine: I Have Money!

Li Moran opened her mouth, but ultimately couldn't think of anything to refute it.

He looked out the window and saw the crowd shouting excitedly to overthrow the church's rule. The early summer sun shone in and stung his eyes slightly.

“Actually, I’m more worried about your condition.” Li Moran paused for a moment, then turned to look at Jiang Chen and said seriously, “The task of fighting crime and maintaining order should not be borne by an individual alone.”

I've seen too many self-proclaimed righteous people who initially genuinely fight for peace and against evil forces. But gradually, their hearts are corrupted. They crave applause, flowers, and adoration. Once the evil is dispelled, they can't balance the shift in their identity and feel empty.

In the end, the dragon slayer becomes the dragon himself.

Power, money, and desire are all terrible things. Once a pure heart is tainted, it will gradually degenerate. At that time, the boundaries between good and evil will disappear, and whether to do good or evil, to release or kill, will be closely related to your own interests.

An out-of-control hero can have a more devastating impact on the human world than a criminal organization.

Jiang Chen raised an eyebrow and smiled, "I understand what you mean, but you don't need to worry."

First of all, I have money, so I don't have to worry about being corrupted by it;

Secondly, I am very rich. When you are rich enough, you will realize that most things in the world can be bought, except for a very few, so power is not so tempting.

Finally, I'm just too rich. I no longer need to play the hero to satisfy my desires.

And more importantly, we're a team.

You can supervise the whole process. Even if you think I've become evil, you don't need to do it yourself. Just hand me over to someone you think is reliable to be judged.

Anyway, I fight using scrolls. If they think I'm out of control, they can take my spatial bag and cut off my scroll supply, making me easy to deal with.

Li Moran: ...

That's incredibly extravagant!

That's a bit of a fallacy, but I was speechless for a moment. And I even felt a tiny, tiny urge to hit someone…

As it turns out, the protagonist has a very gentle and easy-going personality, which is probably why he is easily manipulated and ultimately becomes a tragic hero.

Anyway, Jiang Chen set the pace and pestered Li Moran a bit, eventually binding him to the "pirate ship" and inexplicably creating a righteous hero duo.

Then, adhering to the idea of ​​letting the protagonist, who had the world in his heart but no interest in pleasure, experience the joys of life, Jiang Chen took Li Moran out to have fun after breakfast.

Throughout the day, he demonstrated to the protagonist what it meant to spend money like water and what it meant to be rich!

“The church used to pay me a high salary, but I didn’t have many expenses, so I donated it all.”

Li Moran spent a day exploring the city with his weak new friend. When he returned to the hotel and saw the table full of delicacies, he suddenly realized, "Being rich really is quite wonderful."

"Hmm, I'll find you a few bunny girls tonight so you can enjoy a deeper level of pleasure."

Li Moran's face twitched and he waved his hand to refuse, saying, "No, no, no, I don't need it! I just... to be honest, ever since I awakened my superpowers and joined the Executors, until ten years ago when I completely drove the eerie back to the abyss, I haven't cared about food, clothing, shelter, or transportation. As long as I can fill my stomach and have a safe place to rest, that's enough for me."

For the next ten years, although I lived in the city, I never…

“I understand.” Seeing that he was hesitant to choose his words and didn’t know how to describe it, Jiang Chen summarized: “From the age of twelve until now, you have been living the life of an ascetic.”

His mind was solely focused on eliminating the supernatural entities, leaving him with little energy or attention to the dramatic changes happening around him.

Li Moran smiled wryly and nodded, "Yes, today you took me so many roads and showed me so many places, and I realized that I have been living too detached from the human world."

To be honest, cities are developing rapidly now, but they are completely different from those a hundred years ago. The emergence of the abyss brings crises, but it also brings new opportunities to the world.

You're absolutely right. Everything has two sides. By choosing to develop the good side and offsetting or suppressing the bad side, we can benefit more people.

and so……

I've made up my mind to form a team with you. Together, our combined strengths will definitely make the world a better place!

"It's not just about joining forces," Jiang Chen emphasized again. "We also need to let everyone see our efforts. Only in this way will the new generation have role models to follow, and they will understand the meaning of justice instead of being led by the nose by the church."

Li Moran was skeptical but did not object.

As evening fell, the little white cat bounced back and truthfully reported the accurate information it had gathered.

"The church is so greedy! They're secretly cultivating so many criminal gangs!" Jiang Chen exclaimed in astonishment as he marked the hideouts of those notorious criminals on the map.

The fluffy little thing licked its fur and muttered softly, "How about I go kill it for you, Master Host?"

No one can escape the black claws of my Assassin Cat!

Otherwise, according to your plan, it would take you several months just to kill these bad guys on your own. And if the church notifies them to evacuate and they escape, they'll be hard to find.”

"This mission world is set up not only by the church as a ruling force, but also by other so-called gods ruling countries. I guess besides burning, killing, robbing and making money everywhere, they also train these bandits to do some shady things."

He marked the numbers one through five on the map with a pen, then smiled confidently and said, "Don't worry, none of these people will escape! And I have to kill them myself and then film it with a recording device."