How Am I Still Alive?

"Sophist? Who is he?"

Just arrived home, before even having entered the door, Lu Ping'an encountered an exhausted Xia Qin.

She threw a document bag towards him, leading Lu Ping'an away.

Yes, she led him away, not leaving him behind....

"During this time, stay at a hotel, I will contact you directly. Don't open the door for anyone except those you are familiar with."

The reason was found in the bag.

Sophist, real name Yuan Dunxing, suspected fourth-tier professional, previously a member of Zion District's special service team, now an A-level fugitive.

He committed a bloody crime two years ago, causing the death of 167 people and forced over twenty special service team members to retire.

"It seems like being a police officer is a high-risk job these days... According to the information, he was bewitched by an evil god and joined a cult? Do you remember, Chris?"

There was no response from the other end, apparently still angry, but Lu Ping'an knew how to make her talk.

"He is looking for us, I need his detailed information."

There was rare sincerity in his words, in this respect, Lu Ping'an and Big Cat had a common interest.

"...I don't know."

"Wasn't he under your command?"

"As the boss of a group, would you care about another unknown newbie today....I only remember that he didn't start following me, he probably jumped from another organization."

Okay, so in your eyes, an A-level fugitive is just another unknown newbie.

Lu Ping'an flicked through the documents, he had heard about the notorious "Dongxiang Mall Bombing" two years ago. It was said to be a serious safety accident that caused the explosion.

"...Caused over a hundred victims to commit mass suicide, the dozens of survivors only mutilated themselves but were unable to recover from their separated limbs...."

There were some horrifying photos at the crime scene in the document bag.

He was a Taboo Scholar at the first tier, a Contractor at the second tier, a Negotiation Expert at the third tier, and there were only witness reports at the fourth tier, a special profession advancement from the side of the evil gods.

According to the information, he was a guy who fought with words. Xia Qin's advice in a note was....

"Do not engage, do not fight, if encountered, turn and run. Most importantly, never speak to him."

It sounds like a final big boss, but Lu Ping'an felt something subtly different.

"This Sophist, it looks like he is just bait."

Not only did he commit a bloody crime as soon as he arrived, but he also alarmed the local law enforcement.

Not worrying that the situation is not big enough, he made a mini-statue of the Mother Goddess and his own mark, making the crime scene resembled a ritual for the Blood God.

In Lu Ping'an's perspective, he himself was not important, but the person behind him was.

"A person that even Chris doesn't have an impression of, probably doesn't pose a threat to her. But if this bait is taken, the ones fishing would naturally appear."

Follow the bait to find the person behind? It's too risky. If the bait is of the fourth-tier, then what if a sixth or seventh-tier big shot popped out, who is going to deal with that?

Right now, the big shot is most likely in this city, simply concerned about Chris's situation. He has used this "small fish" to test the waters.....

"....Let's lay low for now, the storm is about to come, prepare to be found, I need more power to protect myself."

If he was powerful enough, Lu Ping'an would have killed him already.

Just like today in the Secret Realm, if the individual's abilities were overwhelming enough to crush the opponents, he wouldn't need any tricks and could simply bulldoze his way.

"Sigh, feeling a bit gloomy, I need to accrue more for a while. Hopefully, the grass-roots workers will work a bit harder….by the way, Chris, are you free? Can we talk?"

With nothing else to do, Lu Ping'an and Chris began to chat. They were in the same boat on all fronts right now, it was necessary to improve their relationship.

Time flies by. The nearly exhausted high school seniors flips over his textbooks, ignoring the countdown of only a few days left till the college entrance examination, and pleasantly drifts off to sleep.

The next day, Meow, the first dividend-generating contractee, gives Lu Ping'an a surprise.

[Animal Raising Skill lv1, 3/100]

[Animal Taming Command Skill lv1, 7/100.]

The experience Meow feedbacks not only further improves Runner's professional skills and abilities but also provides some additional goodies.

".... It's a Beast Tamer, you stimulated that little guy, he's probably taken a part-time job back home....."

"Now that you mention it, she just broke through first-tier Runner, and if she doesn't plan on striving higher, it's indeed a good time to take on part-time work. But it seems like, taming animals? This profession sounds a bit weak."

"Weak? Ha, that was my first occupation, don't you remember? The strength of that bitch yesterday fell on your gardener's shovel, what if it fell on the pet you had? It's not only humans that can be polluted..."

Lu Ping'an is silently taking notes, he has already mastered the skill to communicate with Big Cat.

As long as he comes off shallow and offensive enough, Chris would naturally jump out to correct him.

And only when it involves the Lady of the Forest, Big Cat's aggressiveness would double directly.

Lu Ping'an suspects that there might be some past events involved, but he can't be bothered to inquire.

But all in all, with a few words, Lu Ping'an also perceives the dreadfulness of this pathway.

Beast taming, as the name suggests, is taming beasts, but the range of this "beast" is the same as the gardener's "plants", it can be the local Demonized Animals or the Magical Beasts in the Foreign Domain.

But unlike gardeners who constantly pursue "stronger Magic Plants", most Beast Tamers are obsessed with nurturing their own pets.

"...She has the 'cat' Abnormal Ability, she should be able to communicate with her own kind, as long as she finds an obedient good cat, she can let the other side endure the pollution, achieving almost double combat power increase and growth rate...."

The biggest drawback of Demonized Animals is their extremely easy to lose control, but in front of Meow that's not an issue.

"So that means, she has potential?"

"There are many with potential, Xia Qin and Lei Huoren are not bad, but eventually those who can realize their potential, those who can safely live until they become third-tier, one in ten don't make."

Lu Ping'an has also heard that those with generic real-world abilities are not necessarily weak.

On the contrary, that often means that there are a lot of developers and the gameplay is rich, the Beastification system is notoriously high bottomed and has high limits, even though growth is slow, but for him...

"With me, growth shouldn't be difficult."

At this time, Lu Ping'an is seriously considering whether to give Meow a new long-term cooperation contract.

This diligent and exceptionally adorable chump is seemingly hard to come by.

"Eh? Is the increase in my Runner skills a bit too much?"

[Chasing Light Running Skill LV2, 55/100]

[Quick Flash Breathing Method LV2, 41/100.]

Yesterday, Meow only gave a total of 30 points, today it directly doubled to nearly 60 points, this kind of increase rate should have surpassed the so-called limit of effort.

"....Was it dividends from the Secret Realm? After she received a gift from the Secret Realm, could she give me a share of dividends again? It seems that, other than long-term cultivation targets, the extra quota can be used to find investors at the entrance of the Secret Realm."

A satisfied capitalist of the new era nods his head, casting his eyes on the next chump.

After the diligent Meow gives Lu Ping'an a surprise, the dividends given by the two gardeners are extraordinarily modest but practical.

"... This, is indeed what I need the most, gardener's professional skills and abilities. I can buy some seeds and do some farming."

But when Lu Ping'an focuses his eyes on his Gardener's Path, he realizes what he had been missing all this while.

"Essence Fragment of the explosion module? What is this?"