Chapter 36 - 36 28 Checkpoint

36: Chapter 28: Checkpoint 36: Chapter 28: Checkpoint “It seems that I’ve unknowingly completed two epic achievements, ‘Transforming the Cat’ and ‘Getting the Cat to Do Your Homework’. Next, I’ll work hard to complete ‘Getting the Cat to Run Errands for You’.” It might seem far-fetched to have a big cat study and prepare for tests, but upon reflection, Lu Ping’an realized that it’s not impossible. At a global level, the person who most wants Lu Ping’an to pass the Ancient City University entrance exam is Chris herself. And at the practical level, Chris certainly has a part-time job in the Scholar Path and is most likely high-level. “Scholar is popular not because it is inherently strong… Research professions like Gardener, Animal Breeder, and Alchemist require stronger ‘Reading and Writing’ and ‘Thinking’ abilities. Doing a part-time job as a Runner in the early stage is not a loss, but it’s not a wise choice either and would miss more important things. ” Lu Ping’an had heard the big cat say this more than once. At that time, he thought that Chris must have a quite high-level Scholar part-time job and her learning and research abilities must be strong. Since the big cat’s ability and motivation to “move on their own” is not a problem, all that’s left is their willingness. Or rather, a small problem of emotions, giving her a way out… “Come on, let’s make a deal, we don’t have much time and we won’t play any tricks, you can’t say impossible things like letting you go, let’s be realistic, I can improve your life under the existing conditions.” This is the most practical. Chris is currently in a spirit body state, and although she can interact with things in the Secret Realm, she doesn’t really need to eat or drink, and her daily life is quite boring. As long as Lu Ping’an turns off his perception on his side, it’s just one person guarding an island, which is no different from being in prison. “I’m very poor, so it’s not realistic to spend too much. Within my capabilities, I can help you. I can help to buy some ordinary books, although the computer we get can’t access the internet, playing single-player games is not a problem.” “Heh, don’t try to guess a deity’s thoughts using a mortal’s mind, I don’t need the self-comfort of the weak…” Chris was a bit annoyed and even angry. But Lu Ping’an just laughed. If you didn’t really need it, you would have stopped talking and communicating a long time ago. “Are you sure? Think about it, we will be together for a long time; sooner or later, the truth will be revealed. If you keep up this pretense, you’ll only make yourself suffer. I don’t know when the next time I will need your help will be.” Lu Ping’an didn’t engage in the “divine” talk, he just mentally counted numbers silently. “1, 2, 3…” When he reached twenty-five, the silence on the other side was finally broken. “…Buy me some books and download some shows. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not interested in human love stories, it’s just that I watched some of them when I was pretending to be a human, and now I’m a little curious about what happened next and whether the stupid screenwriter can continue to lower the IQ limit…” “Ah, yes, yes, yes.” This was expected, and in a sense, the big cat is really easy to deal with. “…Although you are affirming me with your words, I don’t know why, but it’s making me angry! Mortal, are you looking down on me?! Are you looking down on Kerdalais, the Balancer who is only one step away from the Divine’s Throne?!” “…Did you know? I found a pattern. Whenever you’re feeling guilty or uneasy, Chris, you say those difficult-to-understand phrases like ‘mortal’ and ‘deity’.” As expected, the communication on the other side became furious and impossible to engage in. After a while, Lu Ping’an used just one sentence to calm the other side down again. “Give me the show titles, and I’ll download them now. I can also open websites for you to sneak peeks. Remember, the only one wasting time fussing is you.” “……” In the end, after much back and forth, Lu Ping’an completed the epic achievement of “Getting the Cat to Read Books and Do Homework” by using a bunch of subtle things and the promise of “downloading new shows for you later.” “So now, the written test should be settled, right?” Lu Ping’an flipped through some past records, the specific test questions for the “interview” and “practical tests” are different every year, but there are some general examination ideas. Among the three tests, some important things have been deliberately ignored, but they are very important… “Each person’s talent actually has a huge impact on their career, but it’s not suitable for separate examination, so it can only be included in the interview.” The interview is a group of professional Secret Keepers acting as examiners, evaluating the students and giving scores. It will be necessary to display the talents during that time. Assessments of potential and future must have been made unconsciously. “… Let’s leave the interview aside for now. Given what I can present now, I won’t score low, I’ll just adapt to the situation then.” With just a “Plant Acceleration” ability that seems like a high-level Gardener ability, Lu Ping’an’s score wouldn’t be low. And for him, hiding this ability is neither realistic nor necessary. But the problem goes back to the beginning – the most hardcore actual combat assessment. Despite Lu Ping’an enjoying his killings in the Secret Realm, his awakening was only a week ago, and his lack of battle experience was obvious. The brain says “I can, I’m capable,” but the body says “I can’t keep up, I quit.” This has already happened several times; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been injured at all. “I still have too few cards in hand. I need to let my body get used to actual combat, and also the hardware isn’t enough. 0-tier is still not enough…” Lu Ping’an was confident in himself, but he also knew that there were limits to individual operation. Minus Lu Ping’an’s Life Bank, he was a 0-tier rookie. Not to mention far away, if the Four Wolves hadn’t been scared out of their wits that day and rushed at him, Lu Ping’an would undoubtedly be the one to die. And when it comes to the entrance examination, the opponent will fight for their lives to win. Tricks and such could easily be misused, and in the end, hard power was still needed. As Lu Ping’an pondered and weighed his options, the current key tasks were listed one by one. “First, complete the Runner’s first-tier profession as soon as possible (Gardener is also fine), to get bonus points. Second, get more demonized plant reserves to increase combat means. Third, gain more combat experience to avoid messing up during the exams. Sёarch* The nôᴠel Fire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. But I only have less than a week. So, the question is, is there a way to accomplish all of this at once, Chris?” There was no response, but Lu Ping’an just reached for the mouse and prepared to close the palace drama that was playing on the table… “…Tell me your professional hints, and I’ll help you think.” Lu Ping’an sighed helplessly, why bother? But at this moment, he was relieved. The big cat unintentionally revealed a fact that she couldn’t see Lu Ping’an’s system panel, which was good news. “Only with information asymmetry and unequal status can weakers have room to play tricks.” But he didn’t show it on his face, just honestly recited the system prompt. [Black-iron level spell Shrink Land, usage requirements: Chasing Light Running Skill LV4, Quick Flash Breathing Method LV4, Spatial Perception LV1, Shrink Land Tips 100/100.] After Lu Ping’an finished reciting the system prompt, the answer was given in an instant. “Is your Runner profession stuck due to a lack of Spatial Perception? But you can share Spatial Perception experience with others, right? The Life Bank can’t indicate…it should not be ‘not available’, but ‘insufficient’. Lu Ping’an, you lack the hardware conditions, the system can’t make it complete. Sensing space requires extraordinary spiritual power, which you don’t have.” Lu Ping’an glanced at the panel, and it was still the initial panel of “Physique (ordinary person), Reflex (ordinary person), Spirit (ordinary person)”. Although the advancement of professional skills and the successful completion of two 0-tier professions have enhanced the basic physical abilities, the improvements are mostly in the Physique and Reflex aspects and have not reached the level of qualitative change. “Exercising professional skills to a certain level is currently the only stable way to enhance basic abilities that we know of, continuing to practice as a Runner could improve spiritual power, but I’m afraid it’s too late now…” The improvement after LV4 was significantly slower, and it was uncertain when the next change would happen. Both of Lu Ping’an’s Gardener skills were only at LV2. Even if he forced himself to catch up to LV4 and gained a boost in spiritual power, it would most likely not be enough to reach a qualitative change. Now that he had heard about the hardware problem preventing a breakthrough, Lu Ping’an had some realization. “No wonder why it only requires LV4 professional skills, the bottleneck is there. It still comes down to bitter practice and grinding to reach higher professional skill levels…” At this point, Lu Ping’an was even considering whether to prioritize the Gardener profession first. “The Gardener won’t work either, because its core hardware requirement is spiritual power. The professional abnormal ability ‘Talking to Trees’ in the first tier has the highest demand for spiritual power. You can’t bypass it.” Now, Lu Ping’an was somewhat helpless. Did he have to take on another part-time job just to get bonus points? This would completely disrupt his professional plan. “There are shortcuts to increasing spiritual power, and there are methods to achieve your three goals all at once…” “…I’ll become a VIP member of the video website right now, and when I have the money, I’ll immediately order a home theater for you.” Silence, it is a synonym for the agreement of a deal. “…Charge for a year and get the diamond VIP with ‘super-power on-demand’ privileges.” “And you charge first.” Well, the other side was more straightforward and seemed to have been holding back for a long time.