How Am I Still Alive?

Meanwhile, Lei Shuiyun was also attempting to acquire "Career Ability" and trying to become a first-tier Runner before the college entrance examination, hoping to get bonus points and preferential treatment.

Lu Ping'an guessed correctly that the young girl below was now regretting her decision so much she could barely stand it. She could already imagine how painful it would be when her price was increased.

Her progress was much better than she had expected, and she felt that she was gaining something with every step, seemingly not far from breaking through the threshold.

But the better she performed, the sadder she became.

"If the price really goes up, then this week, I can only eat the leftover cat food with Little White. The fish-salt flavor shouldn't be bad....," she thought.

Why did she guess that Lu Ping'an would raise the price? Well, if she were in his shoes, how could she not increase the price?

Look, the old silver coin with a smile on it was maliciously laughing at her, mocking her shortsightedness...

"Keep it up!"

As he passed by, he even nodded at her, as if directly mocking her. Was she really that stupid?

But at this point, what could Lei Shuiyun, the little junior, say? She tried to squeeze out a smile...

"Thank you, your ability is amazing, meow. Let's work hard together, get admitted together, and be classmates next year... haha, haha."

She finished speaking, laughed awkwardly, turned her head, covered her mouth, and ran away in tears.

"This kid, she's so happy that she's crying..."

Lu Ping'an was delighted to see his ability help others.

It was a win-win situation—making money and improving abilities at once. I win twice, you win once, and lose once (money).

"Meow..."

This time, he was sure he hadn't misheard. The girl's quirk was indeed strange.

However, watching her running away with her hands over her mouth, he couldn't be bothered to ask.

In this world, Secret Keepers always have secrets, and the title "Secret Keeper" itself implies that investigating another's secrets is a highly hostile act.

Sitting on the platform, watching Lei Shuiyun use her ability, he noticed she couldn't hide her true nature anymore.

Underneath the hairpin that forcefully pushed down her hair, there were hints of white, fluffy things, and behind her back, amidst the two decorative ropes, a similarly-colored fluff was subtly swaying.

"Is it a 'cat'...?"

The Talent Ability "Cat" is one of the most common Beastification abilities in the Transformation System (Self-Transformation Branch).

Its ability is to turn you into a "cat," and its negative curse is also to turn you into a "cat."

The most apparent aspect of Beastification abilities is the enhancement and modification of one's body. A "cat" with both strength and agility is indeed suitable as a starting point for a Runner.

"I heard that with an Iron-tier Beastification ability, one can easily achieve twice the strength and speed of a normal person. It's a powerful early-stage combat ability."

This meant that Miss Lei Shuiyun could tear him apart in a single face-to-face encounter.

However, in daily life, it seemed to be a burden.

The hoodie with the cat pattern and the white rope were probably her daily disguises.

"Tsk, there's a bow on the tail. Is it pretending to be a decorative tail? Cat hair clips and a fake cat tail, disguising herself as a fanatic cat lover when exposed?"

But young lady, are you sure that having an extra hole in your underwear and a "decorative tail" behind your buttocks won't attract stranger glances and people with peculiar hobbies?

Considering her somewhat out-of-control "quirk," she needed to complete her career as soon as possible and use her "Profession" to limit the growth of her Talent Abilities.

Perhaps it was shame and worry that made the girl in the hooded sweatshirt run faster, even easily surpassing the second-tier older brother using the "Shrink Land" ability.

Little sister Shuiyun's disguise was not successful, and Brother Huoren's disguise was even more apparent. The surrounding aspiring runners, however, were not surprised and merely kept their distance from them.

Just this scene alone made Lu Ping'an more convinced that the supernatural forces in this world were perhaps much more than he had initially estimated.

Seeing how the "leeks" were so conscious, Lu Ping'an didn't waste any time either.

Since he was here, he might as well practice more and familiarize himself with his newly acquired professional skills.

"The Iron-tier Spell 'Shrink Land' requires support from running techniques, breathing techniques, and spatial perception abilities, according to the system prompt. The saying 'strong professional skills make strong professional abilities' should also be true. So, I should practice running more, too... "

And then, he practiced for 10 minutes...

"Forget it, let's go home and play video games. I trained by myself all morning and got 0 skill points. Yesterday, Lei Huoren directly gave me 33 points! Professionals are supposed to do professional things. Instead of wasting time, I should focus on cultivating 'leeks.' Yes, today's employment was a success, and I gained a lot. I worked hard."

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The little theater of the cat.

"Little White, I encountered a good thing and a bad thing today, which one do you want to hear first, meow?"

A girl in light clothes, showing her white ears and tail, lay on the beam in her room.

She leisurely dangled half her body in the air, rather naturally, as if on flat ground.

On the small beam, there were comics, bags of snacks, and a cute little white cat.

It was full of anticipation, meowing at its "returned hunter of the same kind."

"The good news is that I've come across an excellent opportunity, and the chance of getting into Ancient City University has significantly increased!"

"Meow!"

At these words, Shuiyun smiled even more happily.

"Hehe, when I get in meow, we'll eat well, drink spicy, and raise fish in our own reservoir, who needs to eat fish-flavored cat biscuits. Uh, um, well."

Looking at Little White eating in front of her, the girl unconsciously swallowed.

"I've finished the good news... the bad news is that, to maintain that 'opportunity,' I'm afraid all our living expenses will go over budget. Ding ding ding, a crisis for the cat's living expenses. So, can you share with me..."

"Meow? (Share what?)"

The innocent and adorable pet inquired curiously about its "kin."

It didn't know about the treacherous human world or what its owner's intense gaze meant.

"Cat biscuits... I don't need much, just let me try it first. If the taste is acceptable, we have two more boxes at home that should last until the exams are over! By then, we'll have money, and I'll buy you three boxes back meow!"

"Meow! (No way!)"

"I'm just saying, I'm not really hungry for it, but I really don't have any money left... Meow meow! Why are you scratching me! Just say no! Scratch me again! You're a dead cat, a bad cat, a stingy meow!"

And so, for a box of cat biscuits, the girl and the cat began fighting on the beam.

No matter how fierce they fought, or how much they rolled, they never fell.

The girl's strange posture maintained its balance during the brawl as if it were a real cat.

"Just one bite, meow. In view of all the things I have bought for you before, don't be stingy meow ..."

Well, even the look of craving is similar.

"Beep."

At this moment, her phone received a text message from her brother, who was always "fast."

"You must be out of money by now. I managed to get some meal vouchers, remember to come over and eat. Although, when you said 'I'll eat cat food if I get hungry enough' at noon, I think you were joking. But I'm genuinely worried that you might actually do it. Sis, casually breaking human limitations is really not good. You should at least be a person..."

It seems that her brother, who was in the habit of being one step ahead, was more reliable than Shuiyun expected and understood how low his sister's bottom line could be.

"Meow! I won meow!"

Her fast brother was still a step slow, and the overjoyed girl had won the cat and cat's roller, happily stuffing cat food into her mouth.

"Huh, it's really delicious! What a steal!"

The girl, with her chubby cheeks, chewed with satisfaction, and her smile was one of heartfelt joy.

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While Ping'an was happily estimating how many newbie leeks he could harvest tomorrow, in a corner of the city, a group of "cat lovers" were gathering at a pet shop.

On their table, there were only a few line drawings.

It was the emblem of the missing "Sacred Beast," the vivid cat... tiger head and snake tail pattern.

"Our god has gone missing here..."