How Am I Still Alive?
Chapter 53 - 53 41 Shortcomings

53: Chapter 41: Shortcomings 53: Chapter 41: Shortcomings “I’ll take 3 buns, two with fresh meat and one with sauce.

Are they hot?

Are the ingredients fresh?”

“Of course, I use equipment and materials purchased from the Gourmet Association here, guaranteeing both taste and safety.

Three for a dollar, do you need it to go?”

With that, the shop owner pointed to the wall behind him, where the “Gourmet Association B-level gourmet shop (Xing Wang Bun Shop)” certificate hung.

The Gourmet Association?

Lu Ping’an took the buns, sensing something subtly amiss.

But after asking a few questions, his expression grew even more puzzled.

“…

The Church, it even gets involved in things like this?”

The Ancient City Gourmet Association was, in fact, a subsidiary of a church under the “King of Harvest and Gourmet,” one of the four Common Proper Gods.

At least half the individual investors in the city were involved, having their qualifications certified and rated.

It was early in the morning and there weren’t many people, so the bun shop owner had plenty of time to boast about how ingenious he was to get this small shop a rating that usually only big ones did.

But to Lu Ping’an, giving “civilian power” the right to set and assess standards was, in a way, worse than when he saw hospital shares possessed by pharmaceutical companies.

He was reminded of a news story from his past life where a globally top-ranking pharmaceutical company issued an internal notice, mocking a competitor’s drug for “healing patients too well,” implying “a business model that can cure patients is unsustainable.”

“If this is a joke, it’s not exactly funny.”

He sighed helplessly, perhaps, in the eyes of others, the one who found all this abnormal was himself.

For Ping’an, who had grown accustomed to modern society, the mere principle of a “Secret Realm owner having complete sovereignty” was quite exasperating.

Would those accustomed to killing and committing evil in the Secret Realms change once they were out?

The joy of effortlessly gaining everything would probably make them repeat their actions.

In Lu Ping’an’s view, this incident was just another upgraded version of “campus bullying,” a type of news that was quite common.

On a larger scale, it was once again the “absence of the power that should be present.”

Ultimately, it was the “Secret Realm Sovereignty System” that facilitated this undeterred deterioration.

It wasn’t necessary for the Secret Realm owner to commit the evil, their “silent consent” or “neglect to monitor” could lead to unrestricted escalation.

The Lord of the Secret Realm holds the order of the small world, when order is absent, chaos and rampant desire follow.

Disaster Fist and the others didn’t know about the seriousness of the case.

In their eyes, the small-timers causing such havoc were inconsequential, they could have prevented all this.

Although they might have felt there was no need to risk offending the Secret Realm holder to prevent this minor newbie mistreatment.

The applause, perhaps it was approval, but perhaps it was also guilt and unease.

What’s happening right now maybe merely a snapshot of countless Secret Realms.

If these newbie Realms within the city are already like this, those large Realms that are rumored to be like independent kingdoms or otherworldly, are they completely unmanageable?

With independent finance and territory, as well as personnel, what sets them apart from a kingdom?

“…Forget it, thinking too much is pointless.

At least they haven’t had major issues before, maybe I’m overthinking it.”

What Lu Ping’an didn’t realize was that not only were his speculations correct, but reality was even worse than his predictions.

As he took a bite of each bun, Ping’an strolled along the street, enjoying his time.

An ice cream shop, arcade, comic store, CD shop, today was a day to revel!

He wouldn’t go home until he’d spent every last dime!

What?

Captain Xia’s admonishment?

Well, he was overwhelmed with things happening all at once, so he selectively forgot.

What?

The college entrance exam is just around the corner?

“Damn!

Only two days till the college entrance exam?!…

Well, that just means I need to have a blast before that!

From what I hear, it’s hard to get out once you’re in college.

Oh, and Big Cat, you have to study hard!”

When it came to not being human-like, Ping’an was clearly evolving.

And then, he was stopped by someone.

A police car rushed out and blocked his way.

Bruised and battered Xia Qin got out looking furious and Lei Huoren, who had an expression of “You’re on your own” on his face, sat in the passenger seat.

Five minutes later, Ping’an was back at the police station.

He’d only been away for less than an hour…

“Fine, now that you are not going to study, come help me with my overtime.”

“Sure, sure, I’ve never been a cop before.

Let me give it a try.”

While he was playing with the computer, looking over files, and chatting with criminals, he absorbed more “knowledge” like a sponge, deepening his understanding of both worlds.

10 minutes later, thanks to Lu Ping’an’s incessant questions and distractions, her mood had exploded even more.

“…you’re pretty good, you should have a great chance of getting into Ancient City University.

So, we’re basically fellow students, let’s see if you’re really prepared.”

And so, Lu Ping’an was brought to the police station’s training room, fully equipped with combat gear, so Xia Qin could see if he was really “ready.”

One minute later, Xia Qin had knelt…

begging Lu Ping’an not to die!

“….your frontal abilities, they’re really….hard to describe.”

“The captain is very tactful, I’m more blunt.

‘You have no frontal abilities, you fight like crap.’

“…I’m in training, I’m in training.

Give me some time.”

Lu Ping’an, who had just recovered from his rapid self-healing, was sprawled on the ground.

He opened his backpack, poured a bottle of water down his throat, and tore open a package of beef jerky, chewing vigorously.

The scene before them terrified the two professional Secret Keepers.

“Rapid self-healing from the Healer Path?!”

“How is that possible?

That’s too fast, isn’t it?”

Seeing their astonished looks, the laid-out Lu Ping’an raised his right hand slightly, showing them his gloved right hand and the Holy-emblem of the Lady of the Forest on the glove.

“Hehe, lucky me, I just got it.”

Lu Ping’an chewed on proudly.

“…I’m freaking out.

I’ve been a professional Secret Keeper for three years and only have one Taboo item.”

Was this just good luck?

Lei Huoren, who had previously been very calm, was a little broken.

His trinket, which he hardly used once a year, was also incredibly expensive to maintain.

“I have two, one is a merit award, the other is given by a comrade…”

Xia Qin touched the gun and sword at her waist with an incredulous expression.

But Lu Ping’an didn’t have time for small talk at the moment.

He ripped open another pack of compressed crackers.

“No wonder no one wants to use rapid self-healing, not to mention the hunger and thirst that make you want to eat dirt and drink iron, but also this physical exhaustion.

Isn’t that like waiting to die on the battlefield?”

Lu Ping’an was soaked through, as though he had been fished out of the sea, unable to move physically or mentally.

The spell had severely overdrawn his mortal level physique.

Helplessly, he activated “Deferred Payment”, pushing his physical exhaustion to the day after tomorrow.

“…Fortunately, I have two days to pay, I won’t have to drag it until the third day’s college entrance examination.”

This was actually an opportunity.

Using unfamiliar abilities in real combat could result in failure, so he had to test them before the exam.

Seeing Lu Ping’ an recover so quickly, the two professional Secret Keepers who had been in the business for many years were even more puzzled.

They also knew of the drawbacks of “Accelerated Self-healing,” and what Lu Ping’ an had exhibited was becoming more and more difficult to explain.

But from another perspective, Lu Ping’an’s showing of his “outrageousness” in front of them was also a sign of trust.

“…Let’s go again, but slower this time.

Let me set up the battlefield.”

Lu Ping’an wanted to test how far he could go now, and what his level was in the real professional system.

Then, he knelt down.

He suffered three consecutive defeats against Lei Huoren, not lasting more than a minute combined.

His magic plants were too slow to even catch the tail end of a 2-tier Runner.

Force to choose between self-destruction or collapse once they got close.

His match against Xia Qin was even more tragic.

Even with time to set up the battlefield, he collapsed after just one hit, and almost truly fell to his knees on the spot.

“Stop hitting, stop hitting.

If you keep going, my baby will die, and I count on it to help me in the exam the day after tomorrow!

I don’t have the resources to raise another one now!”

At this point, Lu Ping’an knew that he still had a ways to go compared to these old stagers.

What he didn’t know was that while he was surprised at the strength of professionals, the professionals were scared.

“…That was too fast, wasn’t it?

It took me more than a year to reach this level and become a Polluter.”

“Incredible, I can’t understand it.

Is this what ZZZ level pollution is like?”

But at the same time, Lu Ping’an also received the evaluation he wanted.

“You should have no problems passing the practical part, but since there are obvious weaknesses, don’t even think about a scholarship.

…That won’t do.”

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