Shares

Gained a small amount of Combat Fighting experience, a small amount of firearms experience, a trace amount of Forbidden Knowledge, a small amount of driving experience, and a trace amount of criminal investigation experience.

The first to complete the investment calculation was Xia Qin, who had worked through the entire night.

Gained 9 points of Combat Fighting experience. Combat Fighting (Keeper Style) LV2, 15/100

Gained 14 points of firearm experience. Firearms Skill LV UP! Current Firearms Skill (Pistol) LV2, 1/100

Other than firearms increasing by one level, the other improvements were negligible. Which meant...

"Didn't draw her sword? Then she still hasn't found that cultist?"

As he sorted through the fragments of memory in his head, Lu PingAn felt like he had become a little more familiar with pistols, despite having been a law-abiding citizen who had never even taken off a safety.

Using the "Investment" ability had prerequisites. The other party could not bear hostility toward him or openly refuse him; ideally, they had to be a "credit target."

At the same time, their strength could not surpass his by too much.

Among the Professional Keepers Lu PingAn could reach, investing in the Tier 3 one had directly failed. The strongest among the Tier 2 ones seemed to be Xia Qin.

That was why, even though her abilities did not seem particularly compatible with his, and she had not used any supernatural abilities these past few days, Lu PingAn had still used a precious investment slot on her.

"Improving combat power is never a loss. Looking at it from another angle, the fact that she hasn't used a single curse technique in so many days doesn't that prove how strong she is? Even if it's just to build a good relationship and dispel suspicion, this investment slot is worth it."

Unlike Xia Qin, who had not shared any curse techniques, the Lei Family Siblings were far more generous.

From the settlement of yesterday's gains of invested target Lei Huo Ren, gained a small amount of Running Technique experience, a small amount of Breathing Technique experience, and a small amount of Space Perception instinct.

Light Chasing Running Method gained 39 shared experience points. Swift Flash Breathing Method gained 22 shared experience points. Combat Fighting gained 1 shared experience point.

Compared to Xia Qin's total of barely over twenty points, the Lei Family's Older Brother was far too diligent, directly giving him over sixty points.

Gained a small amount of insights into the Black Iron Grade curse technique 'Ground Shrinking.' Current progress: 65/100.

At the same time, he had given Lu PingAn what he wanted most: a share of supernatural curse techniques.

Light Chasing Running Method LV UP! Current LV2, 13/100

Swift Flash Breathing Method LV UP! Current LV2, 3/100.

Both of a Runner's foundational skills had leveled up, meaning he was one step closer to using Spell: Ground Shrinking and becoming a true Professional.

The only regret was that the other necessary condition, "Space Perception LV1," had still only gained a small amount of experience. It was still some distance from being marked out by the system of rules.

Then his younger sister gave Lu PingAn a surprise.

Gained a small amount of insights into the Black Iron Grade curse technique 'Spider Walk.' Current progress: 11/100.

The combined increase of over thirty points in Running Technique and Breathing Technique could not bring about a qualitative change, but this new Black Iron Curse Technique was an unexpected surprise.

Lu PingAn had looked into it. Every "profession" had more than one "Profession Skill," and Tier 1 Runners did not only have "Ground Shrinking." However, the chances of awakening other curse techniques were even lower.

".With requirements this high, the awakening chance is naturally low."

Lu PingAn tapped the screen floating in the air, and more information came back.

Usage requirements: Swift Flash Breathing Method LV7, Space Perception LV4, Reflexes (Black Iron Low Rank), Spider Walk Insights 100/100.

Those requirements were simply excessive for a Tier 0 Runner.

Physique (Mortal), Reflexes (Mortal), and Spirit (Mortal) were the basic attributes on Lu PingAn's status panel. He had not found any way to improve them, and the shares he received had never even mentioned them.

They had only been briefly mentioned when he took on the profession—Runner profession adjustments: Physique slightly increased, Reflexes moderately increased, Spirit slightly decreased—but the panel had never changed. They were still all "Mortal."

"It requires supernatural-level reflexes? And such high Space Perception and Breathing Method levels too. That cat's base attributes are kind of terrifying."

The requirements were so high, yet the effect was rather subtle.

Black Iron Grade Spell Spider Walk: Within a single breath, touch a wall with all four limbs and treat it as level ground. Chaser: No road to run on? Since when has that made chasing inconvenient!

When Lu PingAn focused on it, a memory surfaced in his mind. That cat was excitedly stepping across the ceiling, leaping back and forth between walls and rooftops.

Put simply, it was a bargain-bin Spider-Man. For as long as she held her breath, she could walk on walls and ceilings as though they were level ground.

If given the choice, Lu PingAn—no, most ordinary Runners—would choose the more practical Ground Shrinking without hesitation.

But for that cat, a "Cat Woman" whose base strength and reaction speed were both twice those of an ordinary person, the mobility brought by Ground Shrinking would not help her much.

On the other hand, if she secretly climbed in over the wall, moved silently with a cat's footsteps, walked upside down along the ceiling, and reached her claws toward your head...

"No wonder people say that even at the same rank and profession tier, combat power can differ like heaven and earth. This randomness is pretty unfair, but... children make choices. As an adult, I want it all!"

Awakening supernatural abilities had never been easy. It required persistent training and professional techniques as support, a flash of inspiration and understanding, and finally, the consumption of accumulated "pollution."

Hard training, inspiration, and accumulation—none could be lacking.

If one awakened an unsuitable Profession Skill, that would be truly miserable.

The chance of a second awakening was far lower than the first, while the cost would increase drastically.

Generally speaking, a Tier 1 profession only had two or three Profession Skills. Getting one useful one was enough.

But for Lu PingAn, who had Life Bank, he only needed to gather the basic requirements for using them.

For him, "having them all" had been the path decided from the very beginning.

After sorting through what he had gained, Lu PingAn finally let out a breath. Perhaps because his foundation was low, his Runner Profession Skills improved quickly.

But what "sharing" brought him was not merely positive improvement.

".Are Cat Biscuits really that delicious? I kind of want to try them."

The target of sharing was "the harvest of life." There was arduous training and battle, naturally, but there was also everyday life.

Perhaps the Cat Biscuits had left too strong an impression on the Little Girl. She had shared a great deal of the delicious enjoyment she felt while sampling Cat Biscuits. The sensation of that flavor nearly made Lu PingAn drool.

Fortunately, the impact came quickly and went quickly. After repeatedly chanting, "I'm a human, not a cat," Lu PingAn suppressed the impulse and merely focused more intently on savoring his Leek Box.

"This seems... a little invasive of personal privacy. Mm, it can be used as a way to gather intelligence."

But it also reminded him that if he used "Investment" without restraint, he might be twisted by the things shared with him.

"For now, I'll stick with the Lei Family Siblings and Xia-jie."

With two hardworking professional Runners sharing their gains with him, reaching double LV4 within half a month should not be a problem.

Ground Shrinking was the easiest Runner Profession Skill to obtain. If he could get it before the exam, his survival rate would improve considerably.

Once he solved the problem of survival, combat would naturally come next.

"Big Cat said relying on Gardener would be enough, but that sounds a little ridiculous. Isn't that famously a logistics path?"

One day afterward, Lu PingAn passed by a pet store.

When he got home and looked at that box of Cat Biscuits, he hesitated. Just seeing the packaging made saliva pour into his mouth, while the lingering memory of their deliciousness stirred an impulse in him.

He looked around. There was no one nearby.

"I'll just try one. Just one."

Then he spat it out!

"Pah! It's fishy and dry, completely different from the memory!"

Had he bought the wrong kind? He checked it over and over. The packaging was the same, the brand was the same.

Only then did he finally realize that a cat's sense of taste differed from a human's. What the other party found delicious might feel like eating X to him.

"Come to think of it, could there really be a beast-type Fly Man? I need to be careful when choosing investment targets in the future."

Having confirmed one hidden cost of his ability, Lu PingAn looked gloomily at the Cat Biscuits on the table. He did not even own a cat.

"Wait, don't I have a Big Cat at home? How about..."

"Get lost!"

An angry rebuke came from the other side. It seemed Big Cat really was not a cat.

So he generously gave them to a certain junior schoolmate.

"Eh? How did you know my... Xiao Bai at home likes this brand of cat food? Thank you, Senior!"

"Mm, mm. I hope your cat enjoys it."