Chapter 54 Security

A week had passed since the temptation, and Jiunian had remained in beast form for a week.

Qing Bai felt that his words that day were calm yet powerful, gentle yet firm. They were more resolute and powerful than the speech he read as a student representative at the college entrance examination oath-taking ceremony, and he put much more effort into it... But he became withdrawn in the past nine years.

Although she still takes care of his food and drink and works tirelessly as his means of transportation, she no longer walks in human form unless necessary. She also always likes to lie on the windowsill like a cat sculpture, gazing into the distance, wondering what great things in the underworld she is thinking about.

Nine years of gazing into the distance, Qing Bai looked at him, his face expressionless but his mind working at high speed, constantly reviewing every word he said that day, eliminating all the impossibilities, and finally came to the conclusion - he seemed to have said the wrong thing.

Tsk, he hadn't expected that Jiu Nian, an antique beast that had lived for who knows how many years, would be so easily teased... Although he hadn't meant to tease him at the time, what he said was sincere. He really wanted to walk the same path with Jiu Nian.

It was not just because of that unspeakable selfish motive, but also because Jiunian had been his guide and his 'teacher', and he had truly seen the so-called 'Tao' in him.

Qing Bai originally had no goals or pursuits in life, and was too inclined to go with the flow and live a life of mediocrity. Otherwise, he wouldn't have worked part-time at a funeral home during college, and after graduation, he wouldn't have worked as a food deliveryman with a diploma from a prestigious university.

But the appearance of Nine Years brought back long-lost memories of the "dream" he and others had discussed together, half jokingly and half seriously, when he was young.

When he was young, he could only look back... But he was so lucky. After being trapped for many years, he found a new way out through unexpected turns.

But this "fellow traveler" needs some effort to coax him.

Qing Bai thought about it and decided to release the 'bait' that he had originally planned to save for later.

He didn't say anything, intending to jump to the windowsill by his own strength. However, just as he landed on the ground from the bed, the black cat, which was as motionless as a sculpture, turned its head sharply. He didn't say anything either, but just stared at Qing Bai with his pair of golden eyes.

Under such gazes, Qing Bai inexplicably felt as if he had done something wrong by being naughty. Before they even clashed, he was already lagging behind in momentum.

Qing Bai raised his head and took the initiative: "Do you know if he is dead or not?"

The black cat blinked its beautiful golden eyes, but didn't rush to answer. Instead, it gracefully leaped onto the ground, closing the gap between the windowsill and the bed. Then, it lowered its head, casting a shadow on the ground that completely enveloped Qing Bai's small body.

Qing Bai sighed silently, secretly lamenting that it was another day of failure in his self-reliance... Sure enough, the next second Qing Bai's body felt lighter, and he was carried by a big tail that was so familiar to him and sent to the cushion placed beside the bed.

Nine years after Qing Bai was settled, he finally spoke sparingly, "I know."

Yes, the first words they said when they met for the first time were the most ordinary yet classic conversation between a customer and a delivery boy.

But Qing Bai's point was: "Do you know who is behind this food delivery app?"

Jiunian was silent for a moment: "What is software..."

...Very good, today's antique properties are still stable.

Qing Bai wasn't surprised at all that Jiu Nian would ask such a counterintuitive question. He was about to start explaining the concept, origin, and development of software, but he didn't realize that Jiu Nian's question wasn't entirely a question. He was confused for a few seconds, and then, as if he had suddenly received an explanation or suddenly remembered something, the confusion in his eyes disappeared completely. He even took the initiative to ask back, "Do you think there's something fishy about this food delivery app?"

This reaction was just like when he was cooking in the kitchen before, and he inexplicably went from unfamiliar to proficient... He must have had the concept of "software" in his long "animal life", but he had forgotten it.

Qing Bai shook his head and nodded, but didn't answer immediately. Instead, he asked, "Did you order the takeaway for that umbrella that day?"

Nine Years: "It was Lord Yin who informed me..."

After saying nine years, he fell into deep thought.

Qing Bai raised his eyelids, looked at the black cat in front of him and said meaningfully: "It seems that Master Jiunian is not very familiar with the business of the underworld."

There is a hint of sarcasm in these words, but words are interpreted differently by different people. If it were said by the calm, aloof, and expressionless Qing Bai, this would be just a statement. Even if the listener noticed something was wrong, they would retreat under Qing Bai's indifferent gaze and reflect on themselves for judging others by their own standards.

But Qing Bai now is no longer the aloof and cool guy. He is just a pitiful and cute little kitten. With such a cute appearance, he says such sarcastic words between the lines. It is really... cute, cute to the point of being unfair.

The Nine-Year Black Cat's body shape was taller than five kittens stacked together, so even when Qing Bai sat on the cushion beside the bed, he was still a head shorter than the black cat. This accidentally restored the height difference between them when they were in human form.

At this moment, Jiu Nian lowered his head and looked at Qing Bai. His long black fur was as shiny and soft as satin, and his golden eyes seemed to glow... Even though he was an ordinary cat, he had a strong sense of divinity and oppression.

...Unfortunately, the sense of oppression vanished as soon as he opened his mouth. Jiu Nian was still the gentle and tolerant Jiu Nian: "I'm not directly affiliated with the underworld. It's normal for me not to know about their new business development."

It's normal for him to not know about the new business he's developing. In other words, he knows about the old business very 'normally'. What on earth is this person doing in the underworld?

Qing Bai thought so in his heart and said so out loud.

"I'm considered a security guard in the underworld..." Jiu Nian thought for a moment, his voice a little uncertain. "A security guard?"

Qing Bai never expected to hear such an outrageous yet down-to-earth profession from Jiu Nian's mouth, and couldn't help but repeat it: "Security guard?"

Perhaps having successfully convinced himself, Jiu Nian nodded. His words became increasingly fluent, even revealing a subtle sense of professional honor and pride. "It's my nature. When I first joined the Underworld, I was assigned to guard the gates of the Eighteen Layers of Hell. Later, with the constant drumbeats of war during the succession of dynasties in the human world, the Samsara Platform would be overwhelmed. Every century, there would always be skilled and daring practitioners or daring demon kings who would come to the Samsara Platform to cause trouble, abduct ghosts, and disrupt the normal reincarnation process. Ordinary ghost officials had limited abilities, and they were powerless to stop them. Over time, the problems became ingrained and difficult to reverse... So, I left Hell to guard the Samsara Platform."

Qing Bai really wanted to correct Jiunian, saying that 'gatekeeping' and 'guarding' were completely different concepts, but the words came to his lips but he changed his mind and let it go... How should I put it, a senior security guard and a delivery boy, they sound like a perfect match.

However, Qing Bai finally understood why the Lord of the Underworld in the capital was willing to "give up the Lingxi statue for nine years". It was not poaching, but digging for the "safe door of the underworld". Although he did not understand the structure of the underworld and the division of responsibilities of various forces, he knew that he could change positions at will in the two well-known underworld attractions, Hell and Samsara Platform, which showed how reliable and awesome he was for nine years.

He also needs to work hard to become the single king of "Hell's Takeaway" as soon as possible.

...However, before striving to become the king of singles, you still have to figure out the forces behind this food delivery software before you can be completely at ease.

Qing Bai tapped his paws alternately, a habit he'd developed unintentionally over the past few days. In human form, it was similar to twisting his wrists or cracking his knuckles. After a brief bout of activity, Qing Bai turned and pulled his phone from the bed. He struggled to unlock the screen and opened the food delivery app. He then said, "Including the time I brought you an umbrella, I've taken three food delivery orders..."

Qing Bai paused mid-sentence, and gently tapped the screen showing his 'historical orders' with his little white claws. "I also healed three wounded souls."

"Don't you think the probability of winning is a bit high?"

Saying it's 'somewhat' high is being modest, it's clearly maxed out.

Jiu Nian imitated Qing Bai and raised his claws to scratch the phone, trying to see the information on the screen clearly. However, although he had lived for a long time and had great control over his beast form, he didn't know much about smartphones, a new era high-tech product. He was inevitably timid when he raised his claws and almost made a spider web on the screen.

Seeing that Jiu Nian showed no intention of returning to human form, Qing Bai, in order to prevent his old phone with a long standby time from being scrapped on the spot, took the initiative to take over the job of helping. He clicked on the detail pages one by one according to the order received and continued: "Every order has a specific location, and every 'delivery item' is 'just' useful, and even plays a key role, just like..."

"It's just like it was planned." Jiu Nian followed Qing Bai's words.

Qing Bai smiled and said in a cold voice, "If it weren't for the bank deposit, I would have thought this wasn't some food delivery app, but an unpopular immersive role-playing single-player game."

——The system issues a task: 'Takeout Order'. He chooses to accept the task and obtains an important item: 'Takeout'. Then he follows the route planned by the system to find the entrance to the 'copy'. He forms a team at the copy door and then enters the copy to encounter NPCs. After following the plot clues, he uses the 'items' and the key skill 'Telepathy' to get through the plot and defeat the boss. After completing the task, he automatically obtains the 'clearance reward': delivery fee... This process is not very similar to some of the mini-games that are flooding the market, but it can only be said to be exactly the same.

An old-fashioned man like Jiu Nian didn't understand role-playing, let alone the game's routines. He frowned and thought for a long time, then spoke directly: "Since you've already noticed something fishy, ​​why did you still follow its instructions?"

"If my guess is correct, your life before this was no different from that of an ordinary person, without any ghosts or supernatural powers."

Qing Bai was speechless and didn't know how to answer for a moment.

Could he say he did it on purpose? He deliberately turned a blind eye to the strangeness of the food delivery app, deliberately wanting to enter the world of ghosts. To do this, he had even eaten everything and made friends with many "shamans"...

It's hard to tell the truth, and lies are unacceptable, as they can only divert the blame...

Qing Bai apologized three times in his heart to Boss Hong, then spoke decisively: "Although there are many strange things, it's not too late to investigate now... I know where this food delivery app's offline 'nest' is!"

If it weren't for his misleading appearance, the moment he said this, he would come across as a lackey eager to make amends.

Jiu Nian looked at Qing Bai. How could he not see that he was eager to change the subject? But he still asked, "Where is it?"

"Back alley, incense and candle shop."