How Am I Still Alive?

"Meow, open the door."

He hadn't slept for long before the door was knocked.

"Who is it?"

Lu Ping'an was a bit annoyed. He had only just lain down not long ago, and he wasn't allowed to catch up on sleep.

"It's me. Your chives, the chive box has arrived."

Lu Ping'an was suddenly jolted awake, sweat breaking out on his vest.

Chives? Did she know how I was thinking about her? Or is there some more advanced mind-reading technique? The world in 1998 didn't have the saying of chives yet!

Lu Ping'an silently opened the door to be greeted by a certain lady with a pleasing smile, here to add a BUFF.

She was carrying a bag of breakfast, laughing.

"You haven't had breakfast yet, right? I brought some for you."

She was quite pleased with herself, even a bit smug.

After swiping some subsidies from her brother yesterday, she could afford breakfast again! A human breakfast!

Lu Ping'an let out a sigh of relief, having not encountered a second poisonously transmigrant, and opened the door.

"Let's eat together, I've got some milk and bread here."

"No, I don't want to. It doesn't taste as good as biscuits. And I need to save my appetite... cough, no need, I've already eaten. Besides, you know milk doesn't agree with me, right? Meow."

This time, the girl actively waved her little fist in a Maneki Neko gesture.

Some things are hard to hide, and since they might be working together long-term, it's better to be honest.

"Anyway, he should have seen through it yesterday. Meow, he looks pretty honest now, not like some bad guy."

The girl's white cat ears emerged as well, and together with her tail, they twitched, looking cuter and more lively.

"Oh, you even have lactose intolerance like a cat? Interesting, how about catnip?"

With a seemingly careless inquiry, the teenager casually asked.

The girl suddenly stiffened up, her tail shooting up straight, and her ears bristling.

Her eyes were filled with suspicion, as if she were looking at a suspected criminal.

"The last person who tried to put catnip in my food is still in the hospital!"

That's quite merciful; she didn't actually kill them?

At this moment, Lu Ping'an became even more certain that he must hide his "truth."

No wonder people say that "Talent Abilities" are the biggest secret. For a Beastification user like Shuiyun, simply by knowing her ability, naturally reveals her additional weaknesses.

"There's really not much to it, just a few more things she can't eat. She probably has a good sense of smell and won't be easily deceived.... but what if it's made into a spray? Or placed in the bathwater? Interesting, I want to see."

With all kinds of chaotic thoughts in his head, Lu Ping'an smiled kindly.

He ignored the girl's warning and wondered when he would have time to visit a pet store to gather materials.

"...Right, there's also a big cat in my house, should we give it a try? Nevermind, she only looks like a cat. This kind of thing doesn't even count as humiliation. Besides, I should treat her better recently."

He sat at the dining table in the living room, enjoying the breakfast that had been delivered to his door.

Meanwhile, Xia Qin's door remained tightly shut, as she hadn't returned home yet.

"Seems like she's working herself to death."

He was eating chive box, while the girl kept pacing around the table, unable to stop herself. She wanted to speak but hesitated, and though her face still showed calmness, her tail couldn't stop swaying.

"Alright, alright, let's do business first. Did you bring the stuff?"

Lu Ping'an, his mouth full of grease, put down his chopsticks.

"I brought it, but it's so expensive. Can we split the cost?"

The girl tried to pout and renegotiate the previous agreement.

"Never mind then, we don't have to trade at all..."

"Smack!"

A stack of contracts was slammed onto the table, and the girl flipped through them angrily.

"I got this from a familiar Contractor. He gave me a discount, 300. The confidential content is the details of our abilities. Violating the contract will result in a Red Character Warning for one year. If there's no problem, just sign it."

A Contractor, or a contract master, is a branch of the Scholar Path, a very practical 2-tier professional.

Their Career Ability allows them to turn "verbal contracts" into "contracts with a certain binding force."

Lu Ping'an flipped through it, making sure there were no hidden clauses, and swiftly signed it.

Red Character Warning? The use of any supernatural ability comes at a price.

And the price of this "Contract" falls on both the contract maker and the signatory.

He might be able to use a more powerful contract "Breach of Trust = Death," but he would also have to bear the price of cursing one person to death.

A contract of that level is definitely beyond the finances of a poor girl like Shuiyun.

So-called "Red Character Warning" is a time-tested method of making the lowest-cost, highest-consequence warning for breach of contract.

"The contract duration is one year, so is the punishment period for breaking the oath. If you break the contract, a red character 'Traitor' will appear on your face that cannot be hidden. If you don't want social death, you better keep the other party's information confidential."

As the power of the contract also comes from the signatory, it's challenging to wash off the curse on oneself, even just the painless red character.

In the Secret Keeper world where credit and commitment are valued, the cost of becoming a liar is almost synonymous with social death... it would make everyone around you reconsider their attitude towards you.

The seemingly harmless Red Character Warning contract is actually more effective than low-level curse-killing, at least before the collapse of the social order.

It was Lu Ping'an's idea to propose a confidentiality contract because he has too many secrets hidden on himself. The more he uses his abilities, the more information is leaked, so he needs to mitigate the risk in advance.

Of course, he had no experience with this; it was Chris who suggested it.

Chris must have her own selfish motives. After deliberating, Lu Ping'an concluded that it should be harmless before deciding to adopt it... Her attitude had become much friendlier since returning from the case scene.

The contract stipulates "information concerning both parties' abilities," which means that even if Lu Ping'an reveals new abilities later, the other party must keep the secret for a year... It implies the possibility of deeper cooperation beyond just keeping secrets.

Lu Ping'an has a plan, a theoretically win-win long-term plan that requires several tool cats... ahem, trustworthy teammates.

The young girl didn't think that far ahead, and she was just distressed about the extra expense for the contract books.

She felt that this man was so nagging and didn't trust her, her affection level went down! Down! Down!

What's worse, he wants her side to pay the extra money, and he's not willing to share the contract costs! He doesn't let her embezzle a little.

That's right, embezzle a little. This is two contracts, not just one.

Since Lei family's siblings have brought their contract books, naturally, it's Brother Lei Huoren who pays for them. But if Lu Ping'an is willing to share the cost, it's evident who the money will go to.

Watching the little girl pout and sulk, Lu Ping'an had some additional ideas.

"It seems, you're short of money?"

"...Isn't this your fault?"

"You don't have to do it, I'm not short of people here."

Lei Shuiyun looked at him, clenched her teeth in silence, then forced out a smile.

"You're overthinking it, senior brother. I've always been grateful to you, meow. It's just that my finances are tight right now."

"That's fine. I have a shopping list here. Can you help? 300 yuan for running errands."

"300?! That's so great, meow? Just to run errands?"

Lei Shuiyun took the list, flipped through it, and saw several items she had never heard of before.

"Snow Mountain Bitter Flower of both sexes, white Mandala Grass seeds, Ant Paradise Wood rhizomes... Hey? These all seem to be magical plants. Are you trying to concoct magic potions? Or are you going on the Gardener path, which is the logistics path..."

Faced with the young girl's doubts, Lu Ping'an just smiled and didn't reply.

Now it was Lei Shuiyun's turn to be embarrassed, sticking out her tongue and bowing her head, sort of apologizing.

Not to investigate the other's information is the most fundamental rule of Secret Keepers, not to mention prying into their abilities and paths.

Even when they receive shopping lists and other commissioned tasks, old stagers won't ask questions as long as it's not obviously illegal items, clearly, Lei Shuiyun is not yet mature enough.

"It shouldn't be difficult to get it by this morning. These items aren't rare, and your brother should have the channels to find them. I'm restricted from going out, otherwise, I'd do it myself."

Running an errand to make money, there's no reason to refuse.

But when Lei Shuiyun was about to leave with the list, she was stopped by Lu Ping'an, who seemed to have remembered something.

"Wait, I forgot something important... Okay, go quickly and come back."

"Catnip!"

Seeing the last three added words, Lei Shuiyun's adorable little face twisted instantly.

She meowed angrily, gritting her teeth, glaring at Lu Ping'an's delighted face... but she instinctively felt that whatever she said, the other party would happily respond.

Ignoring him might be the best choice for such a jerk. Finally, she forced out a sentence.

"...I'll be back quickly."\

She stomped off to the door, Lu Ping'an casually added a BUFF to her and asked her to hurry up, but suddenly, he remembered something else.

"Don't forget to give me the receipt later; I'm afraid you'll embezzle."

"There's no such thing as a receipt in the Black Market!"

"Oh, well... but there's catnip in the pet store, there should be receipts!"

"Bang!"

Without saying a word, judging by the force with which she closed the door and her footsteps going down the stairs, she was pretty angry.

"Hehe, when I put a spray bottle on the table with a bottle of water, she'll be suspicious... Next time I go to the stadium, I'll bring her a drink, buy some expensive sports drinks, and see if she dares to throw them away."

After completing his daily task (bullying the little kitty), Lu Ping'an focused on his main business.

"As planned, through the little kitty, I've passed on the message that I'm going to take the logistics Gardener path. Now, it's time for the delightful harvest."

It was already past nine o'clock, another 24 hours had passed, and it was now time for the joyful harvest of leeks.

As soon as the system began to settle, he was stunned.

[Gain a small amount of insight into the Black-iron level spell 'Spider Walk,' current progress 11/100.]

"Goodness, no wonder the little kitty endured so much; she broke through as a true professional in one night? Her awakened spell isn't Shrink Land?"