The male supporting character was actually myself.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Chen shook his head and smiled, "I have responsibilities to bear and mysteries to solve, so I can't stop. Giving up is easy, but if everyone chooses to give up, not only will this place be eroded, but the whole world will be thrown into chaos."

"So, even if the road ahead is uncertain and unknown, even if the truth is hard to accept, you will not give up?" Nanshan's smile disappeared, replaced by an unprecedentedly solemn expression, her beautiful eyes fixed on him, shining brightly.

He nodded solemnly and replied, "I will never give up. I will protect this world from pollution and will do my best to bring all injustices back on the right track. I will strive to protect every world that passes through."

"As expected of you, you've managed to hold on for so many years..."

Nanshan sighed in a barely audible voice, then handed over the mirror in his hand. "Here, I'll lend you a minute. How much you can comprehend depends on your own comprehension. My energy can only sustain me this much."

A mirror with an antique design, still carrying a trace of her body heat, its handle feeling warm and smooth.

Jiang Chen took it and looked at it eagerly.

The mirror reflects a sea of ​​stars, their light vibrant and sparkling as if each one possessed a robust life force.

The still image suddenly began to move rapidly, as if carrying him on a whirlwind journey through a sea of ​​stars.

Then Jiang Chen saw a beautiful blue planet, quite different from the planets he remembered. The planet in the ancient mirror was covered with starlight, some bright and dazzling, others dim and almost extinguished.

Countless star-like points of light were separated by wisps of gray, like smoke and mist, forming a galaxy of different sizes and shapes.

The image on the ancient mirror was very unstable, as if it were falling out of control from a great height and soon crashing into a vast expanse of white snow.

Jiang Chen only saw towering mountains flash by in the scene, the ancient mirror flickered a few times, and a bronze door suddenly appeared, exuding a strong sense of coldness and oppression.

It's that door again!

He instantly recalled the scene he had seen through the Qiankun Mirror in a certain mission world.

However, this time the door was empty; the figure standing like a statue in the snowstorm was nowhere to be seen. A few specks of snow covered the bronze door, and the scene in the mirror began to blur. Amidst the howling wind, Jiang Chen faintly heard a childish voice chanting a nursery rhyme.

"An old well, an old well; a caged bird; always wanting to fly out; on that night before dawn; the crane and the tortoise fell; who is behind you..."

"The watchman at dawn; a thief who steals fate; a machine that twists and turns; imprisoning all beings in a virtual cage..."

The howling of the wind and snow grew louder and louder, and Jiang Chen could hardly hear any other sounds.

Just as he was struggling to breathe and felt like he was about to faint, he vaguely heard familiar voices whispering, "We can start anytime. How is he?"

"Everything is going smoothly so far! I just don't know if this machine is working properly, this is against the rules! Don't forget how powerful this guy's soul power is, should we increase the dosage?"

"We must strictly follow the standards. If we increase the dosage without authorization and kill him, we're all finished!"

"That guy may not know, but we do. If this dose isn't enough to suppress it, and he remembers it again, we're all doomed!"

"Don't worry, the headquarters map is completely destroyed. No matter how strong his soul power is, it's useless. After the dosage suppression, he can only remember fragments at most. Without the map, he can't go back. Once the time is up and the cage is breached, even if he descends from heaven, it won't be of any use."

"That being said, we still need to be careful. This guy is no ordinary person; if he has a backup plan, we'll be in big trouble!"

"No matter what tricks he has up his sleeve, there's nothing we can do if he can't get back to headquarters."

"Everything's ready, let's begin, and let's aim for a success on the first try..."

After the voices disappeared, Jiang Chen felt a sudden darkness before his eyes and a brand new scene appeared—in a dimly lit, cramped room, he was wearing a white uniform and lying under a glass-covered instrument. On the table below the screen, which was flashing a faint blue light, sat a small, snow-white cat about the size of a fist!

As if sensing something, the white fluffy ball twitched its ears, perked up, opened its mouth, and softly meowed, "Meow~ The map... is on me..."

Chapter Twenty-Five: A Brand New Identity!

"We agreed on one minute, how come you couldn't even last a few seconds?" Nanshan looked at Jiang Chen, who was looking in the mirror, holding his forehead, leaning against the light sphere with his eyes closed, and asked helplessly with a shrug, "Are you alright?"

Jiang Chen felt his mind was a mess. The conversation sounded very familiar, but he just couldn't remember who they were.

Could the scene of falling in the mirror be a reflection of my arrival in the real world?

They really came from outer space? Did their spaceship crash?

Those few lines of dialogue were clearly a setup; who could they be?

Since the voice sounds familiar, it must be someone who came to the real world with me.

And there are folk songs... I feel like I've heard them somewhere before...

The fluffy little ball has a map on its body?!

But... that scene clearly showed me lying in an unknown machine, with a kitten that looked exactly like Xiaobai crouching in a dimly lit room. Could it be the same kitten I am now?

Is the map on it?

Amidst his chaotic thoughts, a flash of lightning struck his mind, and he suddenly remembered that there was a compressed, unknown file inside the fluffy ball's body!

Could that be the map I'm looking for to get back to headquarters?

If it really is a map, and it reminds me through a bug by being displayed in a mirror, it means that the little white cat, her, and the bug are all together!

No wonder the fluffy ball is so special; it can leave its owner's side and move freely; it can secretly use medals to send its soul out of the virtual world; its memories cannot be folded...

Is the fluffy ball really a so-called auxiliary system?

Could it be that it uses some kind of disguise program to be recognized by the main system, but is actually waiting to be bound to itself? Like a bug that has been playing a guiding role all along?

An ancient well? An ancient mirror?

What birds are mentioned in the folk song?

The watchman at dawn twists the machine to steal fate, imprisoning all beings in a virtual cage, which sounds like he himself was betrayed by his confidant and lost his memory...

A barrage of information flooded into my mind, churning violently and bringing even more questions.

Jiang Chen felt a splitting headache, and even his soul weapon was buzzing, indicating that things were not peaceful.

He tried to take deep breaths to calm himself and suppress the many mysteries. Otherwise, trying to force himself to think about and recall things felt like his brain was going to explode.

"Hurry up and finish your mission and go back. There's no one in this world who can help you nourish your soul." She reached for the mirror, put it in her pocket, and chuckled, "Look how weak you are now. Your body can't handle such a short time!"

Jiang Chen: ...

Seeing the other person glare at him listlessly, Nanshan laughed even more heartily, "It's rare to make you suffer, so it was worth sneaking out to help this time."

Friendly reminder: Your soul is incomplete, causing you to forget most of the important secrets.

This kind of forgetting is necessary; it's a desperate measure to save yourself, otherwise you wouldn't survive. Furthermore, because your soul is incomplete, it can't withstand much stimulation. You need to proceed slowly and gradually to allow your soul to grow strong enough to withstand powerful energy impacts.

"Haste makes waste. Take it slow! You have plenty of time. Taking small steps will prevent problems."

Jiang Chen: (ー_ー)!!

"I'm leaving now. You take a break and go find Feng Lingyu to do your thing. I have to hurry back, or I'll be in big trouble if my master catches me sneaking out of the mountain!" Nanshan stood up, dusted himself off, took out a rappelling rope from his backpack, skillfully tied a knot on the boulder, waved to him, and quickly rappelled down the cliff.

Before long, the rustling sounds stopped.

The Horcrux stayed by her side the whole time, escorting her halfway up the mountain. Then she saw Nanshan land on a small path, humming a song as if walking on flat ground, heading out of the mountains.

Jiang Chen sat on the mountaintop for a long time to recover from the hangover-like discomfort, and then controlled the light sphere to head towards the center of Lotus Mountain.

"Woo~woo~"

As dawn broke, a light mist gradually rose over the mountains, and the melodious calls of owls made the courtyard exceptionally quiet.

Completely different from the wild and unrestrained cave dwelling that Jiang Chen had imagined, Feng Lingyu lived in a small house built of logs that blended into the environment and looked warm and peaceful.

The not-so-large courtyard is enclosed by a fence, and medicinal roses climb all over the fence, blooming in profusion;

There was a medicinal herb field in the yard, and the fragrance of herbs could be smelled from afar.

Clearly, Feng Lingyu is a thoughtful person who understands life well, and is not the kind of aloof martial artist who only pursues cultivation and ignores the mundane world.

Behind the spacious backyard, shaded by lush banyan trees, parked a helicopter that seemed out of place with the simple courtyard's atmosphere. It appeared to be the mode of transportation used by this Golden Core Realm expert when traveling in and out of the mountains.

Jiang Chen raised an eyebrow slightly and smiled faintly. Having a helicopter saved him a lot of trouble traveling.

I need to hurry up and get to the eastern mountainous area of ​​Xiangling City to nip Mu Liuli's evil intentions in the bud before she can cause any more trouble!

The ball of light floated into the bedroom, and Jiang Chen used his character card to enter the body of the young man who was lying peacefully asleep in bed in the next second.

Feng Lingyu, male, 28 years old, a master at the sixth level of the Golden Core Realm.

He was born into an ordinary family. When he was three years old, his originally happy family underwent a huge change. His father suffered a sudden mental breakdown and accidentally killed his mother and sister. Feng Lingyu, who witnessed the whole process, became an autistic child.

After her father was diagnosed with mental illness, he was sent to the hospital for treatment. Since no relatives or friends were willing to adopt a child who might inherit mental illness, Feng Lingyu was sent to an orphanage.

When my father was four years old, he could no longer bear the pain of his illness and took his own life while he was still lucid.

Having officially become an orphan, Feng Lingyu was ostracized. She was introverted, sensitive, and had low self-esteem. Even after awakening as a martial artist, she was unwilling to learn any martial arts techniques related to violence, preferring to be just an ordinary student with the title of martial artist.

This is to prevent myself from suffering a mental breakdown like my father, developing great power, and becoming an unpredictable factor that harms others.

Feng Lingyu was quiet and no one wanted to be his friend, so he could only immerse himself in the ocean of knowledge and study hard. At the age of eighteen, he was admitted to a top medical school and left his hometown, which was full of discrimination, determined to become a good doctor who saves lives.

University life was the happiest time for Feng Lingyu. He was infected by the new environment and swept away his previous gloomy mood. He seriously considered his mentor's suggestion to turn his interest to medicine.

While researching traditional Chinese medicine, Feng Lingyu, who had never practiced cultivation before, suddenly realized the Dao through alchemy and became a rare alchemist.

However, he was not good at dealing with people, and due to his childhood experiences, he kept his distance from all emotions. After cultivating to the Golden Core realm, he stayed in seclusion on Lotus Mountain, diligently studying the art of alchemy, and wanted to write down his experiences and insights in "Essentials of Alchemy" to help other alchemists gain a deeper understanding of the Dao of Alchemy.

"No wonder you fell for Mu Liuli's trick; it turns out you needed to research a new prescription." Jiang Chen carefully reviewed the original owner's memories, got up, took out his communication device to apply for a flight route from the relevant department, and then went to wash up, pack his things, and prepare to depart.

Feng Lingyu's childhood experiences led him to have an extreme aversion to violence. Although he has cultivated to the Golden Core Realm, his martial arts skills are almost zero.

Deep down, he was terrified that he would inherit his father's mental illness and violent tendencies. He worried that if he had martial arts skills, he might not be able to control himself and become a violent person. Therefore, he reflected on himself every day and dared not slack off in upholding the right path.

In the original story, he didn't collapse of his Dao heart and fall into demonhood despite Mu Liuli's repeated torment.

Since he didn't develop a mental illness despite such a huge shock, it's clear that his father's illness wasn't hereditary. Jiang Chen felt that after using his body to escape his tragic fate, he had to find a way to solve his mental illness.

Without having to live in fear and keep people at arm's length, this young and promising alchemist will surely have a better life.

"You are the best alchemist in the world. You must live a good and happy life, write your book well, and refine more pills to benefit mankind." Jiang Chen looked at the gentle and promising young alchemist in the mirror and said in a deep voice, "You can definitely do it, and I will find a way to help you do it."

As dawn broke, a helicopter took off from the mountain valley and flew towards the horizon with a "tsk tsk tsk" sound.

Mu Liuli, who had slept all night in the desolate wilderness of the eastern mountainous area of ​​Xiangling City, stretched and woke up.

I'm so hungry!

She got up, brushed off the dry grass clinging to her clothes, tidied her hair casually, and then looked at her system inventory.

The stench system is so useless. I have a backpack, but I can only use it to store rewards. I can't put any other items in it, so I'm completely empty-handed.

Moreover, he deliberately dressed very plainly when he went out to do bad things and cause trouble. He didn't bring any of the original owner's piles of gold and silver jewelry with him. He really lost out!

Those scoundrels even confiscated my phone! Now I'm penniless and even getting a decent meal is a problem.

"Looks like I'll have to steal." Mu Liuli sighed and asked softly, "System, stealing should be considered doing something wrong, right?"

Theft falls under the category of committing a crime. However, the specific level of reward depends on the rarity of the stolen item and the severity of the consequences.