The male supporting character was actually myself.

He said in a low voice with a serious expression, "I can't quite put my finger on it, but something just doesn't feel right."

The scene reflected in the large bronze mirror kept replaying in Jiang Chen's mind, making him feel heavy-hearted and somewhat uneasy.

The world is so big, who knows where that barrier that's about to have a vulnerability is? And how exactly can we patch that barrier so that the main system and the newbie aren't destroyed together?

I must protect the world, the main system, and Xiaobai no matter what, even if I may never be able to get in again...

"I was able to come back this time thanks to my auxiliary system, Xiaobai. She... used all her energy to probably create a channel connecting to the real world and forcibly sent me back."

"Wow! The auxiliary system has such great authority?" Li Chengze grinned and asked curiously, "I remember you mentioned in a casual chat a couple of days ago that auxiliary systems are all useless, aren't they?"

Yes, but Xiaobai is a special case.

Other auxiliary systems are even more useless; they can't help at all and will even force you to follow a specific script.

She's different. She lets me choose and even spoils the plot, or does some not-so-smart little things behind the main system's back. When she gets angry, she'll jump up and down and yell at the main system...

Memories flashed through my mind. In the short span of less than ten minutes in the real world, I had spent more than a dozen mission worlds with Xiaobai and stayed by her side for thousands of years. Suddenly not having her by my side really made me feel very uncomfortable.

Little Bai, you must wait for me!

We need you to successfully complete the job change as agreed, and then come find me...

"My auxiliary system is amazing." Jiang Chen leaned back in his chair, looked up at the sky, and smiled. "Although I've never figured out if she's really that silly and cute, after all, having so many hidden skills makes her seem like a chosen one."

This trip into the virtual world has been very rewarding. Not only have my Soul Weapons become more powerful, but I've also uncovered some rather vague clues.

For example, I was suddenly teleported away because the main system had a problem and was about to crash, but the root cause was that the protective barrier of our realized world had a problem.

Clearly, the two are strongly related.

Like an unknown entity, everything we can access may exist to serve as a protective barrier for the world.

"Huh?" Li Chengze looked completely bewildered.

Why are we bringing up the world barrier again? Wasn't the research previously suggesting that the main system was designed to modify the temperament of certain special groups of humans?

He secretly glanced at the person in the passenger seat, silently thinking to himself, "Even a monster like you, who isn't even human, has been subtly transformed!"

"First of all, the world protection barrier, or world wall, must exist to protect our world. There are Soul Eaters outside, eyeing us covetously. If there were no barrier to protect us, they would have rushed in and hunted us down long ago."

Even if some manage to force their way in, the world's barriers will still impose certain restrictions on them, so this layer absolutely protects us, right?

Li Chengze nodded. "That's right, there's no doubt about that. But even if the main system exists with the protective barrier, what exactly is its function? It inexplicably drags people into the virtual world like playing a game. If you play well, you can continue to live; if you play poorly or disobey, you'll be killed directly. It doesn't seem like a proper system at all."

“The world barrier corresponds to a physical object, that is, the physical level, to prevent our world from being destroyed by external invaders; then the main system might correspond to the soul aspect?” Jiang Chen carefully chose his words. “Before I came back, I experienced a very interesting mission world, which was about the Yin and Yang realms. As soon as I entered, I became a ghost.”

The way that world works gave me a lot of inspiration. I think... perhaps the main system exists to prevent souls from accidentally 'escaping'!

"Soul escape?" Li Chengze slammed on the brakes in front of the zebra crossing, watching the group of young people wandering by drunkenly and unsteadily. He asked in surprise, "Where are they escaping to?"

Chapter One Awaits Me

"Host, be careful! Don't take the script again!"

As soon as they returned to the script selection space, the little white cat, who had been prepared and made up her mind, screamed at the top of her lungs, "Stand there and don't move!"

The entire space distorted slightly, as if undergoing some inexplicable change in response to its sound.

The air became "thick," and Jiang Chen, whose reaction and response were both a beat slower than it, found that he really couldn't move! Apart from blinking, he couldn't even ask questions.

He was extremely anxious. He had spent over a hundred years in the mission world thinking about how to get rid of this virtual world and return his soul to reality, but as soon as he returned, the little white cat forcibly restricted his mobility!

When did this little guy acquire this skill?

Could it control the choice of script space?!

At the same time, Jiang Chen instantly sensed that his soul weapon was growing wildly, so fast that even the soul connected to the soul weapon felt a bit suffocated.

He closed his eyes and focused his gaze on the Horcrux. He saw that the upper part of the space was almost the same as the mission world he had entered last time. It was clear that time had been almost frozen here since he entered the script.

At this moment, the broken fragments were still slowly falling. The Horcrux was autonomously occupying the huge, eye-like spot exposed by the spatial rift. It couldn't break through that invisible barrier, but it seemed to be frantically absorbing some kind of energy!

What exactly is the spatial barrier or the "eye" that supplies the Horcrux with enormous energy and drives its rapid growth?

Jiang Chen didn't have time to think; everything happened in the blink of an eye.

The fluffy ball scooped out the medals stored in the system space with one paw, swept its fluffy tail over itself and transformed into a catgirl. Clutching a medal marked with the number 89 in her small hand, she revealed a faint smile, "Host, it seems I'm quite lucky. I managed to snatch a pretty good number of medals."

During the time spent with the host day and night, Xiao Bai always slacked off and didn't help much.

I can feel that the main system is about to collapse. Xiaobai is just an auxiliary system that depends on the main system for its existence. When its energy is exhausted, I will die completely.

Although I'm very reluctant to leave my host, this is my fate.

I'm sorry I can no longer accompany you, host. I can't keep my promise that I'll find you after you change jobs and let you enjoy the treatment of a protagonist.

Little White must perish along with the main system, but the host shouldn't be trapped here waiting to die!

so……"

The kitten girl twitched her fluffy ears, her skirt fluttering even without wind. A contented smile spread across her face as she jumped up and exclaimed, "Little White is so happy to meet you, my host! I'm so glad to have accompanied you through so many joyful and happy mission worlds. My host is the best! I love you forever, mwah!"

As she finished speaking, she clasped her hands together, merging the energy contained in the medal with herself.

Unstoppable beams of colorful light burst forth from the catgirl's hands, enveloping her.

"Little White!" Jiang Chen had a bad feeling, but he couldn't move his whole body and could only watch as a small black ball of light condensed in front of the catgirl. He shouted out with all his might.

"I'm sorry, host, I didn't discuss this with you beforehand." The cat girl smiled brightly and spoke gently. "Little White has already locked this space, and I know you won't abandon me."

But besides the novice's kernel system helping to open the connection channel, what other good methods does the host have?

I've always been living a life of leisure, waiting to win without lifting a finger, but now I can finally do what I can for my host.

Go back to your world; you'll forget all the memories here and start a wonderful new life.

The black orb grew larger and larger, while the catgirl visibly shrank, her smile becoming increasingly childlike, and even her fluffy ears reverted to their youthful state.

"Live well and never die easily again! Once the main system crashes, there's no chance to start over... Go on, Little White will send his best wishes to the host!"

As the sphere of light expanded to nearly two meters in diameter, the catgirl pushed it hard, causing Jiang Chen, who was unable to resist, to be instantly sucked in.

The Horcrux seemed to sense its master was about to leave, and with a "whoosh," it flew into the sphere of light and returned to Jiang Chen's side. Without hesitation, he immediately ordered the Horcrux to entangle the catgirl, trying to pull her in as well.

However, the Horcrux ultimately yielded nothing. The black orb emitted a dazzling light, and then everything went black before his eyes, and he completely lost consciousness.

After the ball of light teleported the person away, it collapsed and disappeared. The catgirl form could no longer be maintained and fell from the sky, turning into a white fluffy ball no bigger than a fist.

It stared at the spot where the ball of light had disappeared, twitched its ears, opened its pink little mouth, and let out a soft, childlike meow.

"noob!"

Jiang Chen suddenly sat up in bed and roared, panting heavily for a couple of seconds before blankly looking around at the familiar surroundings.

This is my bedroom. Apart from the high-definition camera running in the corner opposite, there is a professional testing instrument placed next to the bed, its light shining in the darkness.

Li Chengze, who was nervously watching the monitor in the guest room, jumped up almost simultaneously and rushed to the master bedroom. "Great! You're finally back safely! Who's Xiaobai? You suddenly called out that name just now, and it sounded like you were very sad..."

Jiang Chen felt like a fish thrown ashore, her chest heavy with suppressed emotions that made her feel suffocated.

He covered his face, his shoulders trembling slightly. After a long while, he whispered, "Xiaobai...it's my auxiliary system in the virtual world, it..."

Recalling the brief few seconds of returning to the script space and then being forcibly sent out, Jiang Chen felt a heartache so intense she could hardly breathe.

That adorable little white cat, who always loved to slack off, act cute and charming, loved to eat dried fish and was jokingly called a good-for-nothing by itself, yet would always stand up for itself; that fluffy little ball of fur that was always stingy with its transformation into a catgirl... will never be seen again!

If it weren't for the Horcrux helping to store a large number of memories, I probably would have forgotten the days and nights I spent with it and the many mission worlds I experienced.

A barrage of chaotic memories forcibly entered his mind and churned wildly, giving Jiang Chen a terrible headache. He could only rub his temples and furrow his brows as he tried to sort out those fragments.

"An auxiliary system?" Li Chengze didn't know what had happened to him in the virtual world, but he had never seen him so distraught since they met. It must have been something very upsetting.

I glanced down at the time; less than ten minutes had passed since the other person entered the scenario until they suddenly woke up. I wondered how long they had spent in the virtual world…

"Phew!" Jiang Chen finally managed to suppress the turmoil in his mind and quickly looked up to ask, "How long have I been inside? Has anything unusual happened here?"

"To be precise, it's nine minutes and thirty-two seconds, less than ten minutes. As for our side... I haven't noticed anything unusual, and no alarms have sounded. How are you doing inside?"

Li Chengze looked intently at Jiang Chen, instinctively sensing that something about him seemed different from before.

It seems to have become more "human"?

The micro-expressions on his face are more varied, and his tone of voice is no longer as mechanical and cold as before. Could it be that the virtual world has really modified the human body in some special way?

Jiang Chen frowned, suddenly remembering a crucial point—the barrier between the main system and the real world!

The reason it gradually collapsed was because a bug warned that the protective barrier in the real world was about to be broken, and it had to come back to save the day. If it could find a way to protect the barrier from breaking, could the main system still survive?

In other words... Xiaobai might not necessarily be destroyed along with the main system!

There's also the bug where I somehow accidentally enter the virtual world and I don't know if I can escape in time, and that girl...

Thinking of this, Jiang Chen, who was feeling dejected, had hope rekindled!

Saving himself, saving the world... He looked at the obediently perched soul weapon beside him. In the short time that Xiaobai had used all its strength to teleport him out, it had already become shockingly powerful.

With such a powerful soul weapon by his side, Jiang Chen believed that even if a group of Soul Eaters invaded, he could fight them to the death.

Hopefully, this broken soul can hold on...

He untied the tangled wires from his body, jumped off the bed, and asked, "I need to go to headquarters to check the surveillance footage before I can feel at ease. Do you want to sleep? If not, I'll tell you about what I gained from this virtual world trip on the way; if you want to sleep, I'll tell you tomorrow."

"I must keep you company! Wait a moment and tell me what happened. Did you find a way to freely enter and exit the virtual world? Otherwise, how did you get back? Could it be some kind of competition reward again?" Without thinking, Li Chengze rushed into the guest room, grabbed his coat, put it on, and followed him downstairs while asking the question.

Seeing this, Jiang Chen couldn't help but tease, "So, a suit is definitely your true form, isn't it?"

"Yeah, yeah, the suit is my true form! Actually, I'm a disguised monster hiding inside the security team. If you find out, shouldn't you kill me?" Li Chengze rolled his eyes, pushed up his black-rimmed glasses, and strode downstairs with his long legs. "I'll drive, you talk."

Sitting in the passenger seat, watching the car speed through the empty streets in the middle of the night, Jiang Chen looked up through the sunroof.

The weather seemed rather bad, with some dark clouds drifting by. Only a few faint stars hung in the night sky, and the absence of a moon made it look rather desolate.

He didn't speak, and Li Chengze didn't urge him either, he just focused on driving.

"Don't you think the sky seems a little strange?" Jiang Chen asked suddenly after a long while.

While waiting at the traffic light, Li Chengze glanced up and shook his head. "I didn't find anything. What's wrong? There shouldn't be any problems, right? An alarm will go off if there's any issue. Our system is a little less sensitive to intrusions, but it's very stable and won't make mistakes."

He said in a low voice with a serious expression, "I can't quite put my finger on it, but something just doesn't feel right."

The scene reflected in the large bronze mirror kept replaying in Jiang Chen's mind, making him feel heavy-hearted and somewhat uneasy.

The world is so big, who knows where that barrier that's about to have a vulnerability is? And how exactly can we patch that barrier so that the main system and the newbie aren't destroyed together?

I must protect the world, the main system, and Xiaobai no matter what, even if I may never be able to get in again...