The three basic attributes complement each other and are all indispensable; there is no possibility of becoming a god by only increasing one. Take the strength attribute, for example—recklessly adding points won’t turn you into the Hulk. Without physique as support and intelligence as coordination, you’ll only end up as a deformed, fragile product, someone who might fall apart from a simple punch.

Russell distributed the six points he had gained evenly among the three base attributes, maintaining a balanced state. In his current condition, with a bit of training, he’d be at the level of a national athlete… in track and field, that is.

As for where the points come from, there’s no need to explain—it’s just like playing a game: you get three points every time you level up. Because Russell’s previous profession was a police officer, before obtaining the system, both his strength and physique were above the average base value of 5 due to training.

As for the three points of intelligence above the average, that’s not something you can get from simple training; it’s related to his peculiar sixth sense. He seems to have an innate talent for discerning which people are vulnerable to attack, which are more naive, which lack social experience, or which are more self-abased.

The police academy instructor’s evaluation of him was: either become a cop, or become a criminal—and not just any criminal, but a serial, psychopathic one!

After briefly scanning his own basic attributes, Russell lingered on his level for a moment, puzzled by one question: since he’s an intern host, why is he still leveling up?

Could it be that this is a game open beta, and levels will be reset at launch?

Burying his doubts, Russell opened the skills and equipment list, which was quite interesting.

【Skills:】

【English Mastery (You should know, English isn’t just “come on,” “oh yes,” or “oh my god”)】

【Long-distance Running Expert (You can literally run your opponents to death)】

【Grappling and Combat Techniques (Not bad)】

【Sharp Tongue (Conversations always end because of you)】

【Equipment:】

【Character Card: Bolt (He may be a speedster, but his top speed is only 37.6 km/h—just a tap on the gas pedal)】

【Character Card: Temple Guard (A monster guarding the idol)】

【Character Card: Subway Cop (A middle-aged uncle you can’t shake off even with a jetpack—rumored to be ex-Delta Force)】

【Item Card: Trauma Medicine x3 (Treats limb arthritis, relieves muscular rheumatism and muscle pain. Put a little in hot water and inhale the steam—it can also treat colds and nasal congestion)】

【Item Card: Bloodsucking Bandage x3 (Contains a hundred absorbent mini-pillows, can accelerate blood loss from wounds)】

The names in front are the skills and equipment; the comments afterward come from the system. In every mission world, or after a mission world ends, a lottery is triggered. Except for the grappling and combat techniques and sharp tongue that Russell brought with him, the rest all came from the lottery.

Russell hasn’t drawn many rewards, and the system only gives a brief explanation or two, so he can only rely on his own exploration to summarize some experience with the lottery items.

Skills come in two types: one-time use and permanent. The English Mastery and Long-distance Running Expert that Russell drew are permanent skills. He once drew a one-time skill called “Flame Jet,” which he used in the Temple Run world—it worked pretty well, instantly turning the monster guard into a fireball.

And then he was chased by that fireball the whole way!

Character cards are a real pain. According to the system, using a character card lets you gain that person’s abilities, but all character cards are time-limited. The exact duration depends on luck—it could be 10 seconds, or it could be 10 minutes.

That’s right, the maximum is 10 minutes; there’s no such thing as permanent.

Of course, you can also use wealth points to extend the time, charged by the second. The stronger the character, the more wealth points it costs.

This once made Russell suspect that this was a pay-to-win system—too bad he couldn’t find a recharge portal.

Finally, there are item cards. The system keeps its mouth shut about these and says nothing. Russell hasn’t tried them either. Judging by the system’s notes on the trauma medicine and bloodsucking bandages, they’re even more of a trap than the skills and character cards, so it doesn’t really matter whether he tries them or not.

Exiting the interface, the cigarette had already burned down to the butt. Russell, not caring that he’d only taken a few puffs, stubbed it out in the ashtray, stood up, and started stretching in the room.

Before entering the mission world, the system won’t reveal what kind of world it is. If it’s like the previous two, it’ll be a long-distance run, so warming up is definitely necessary.

【Host, please note: the third mission world is about to begin. The final one-minute countdown starts now. Please get ready!】

With only one minute left, Russell stopped warming up, picked up the cup on the table and took a couple of sips, then finally sat back down in his chair. When he opened his eyes again, the scene before him had completely changed.

There were no huge monsters with white bone masks all over their bodies, nor any pot-bellied middle-aged cops. This time, no one was chasing him from behind. He was standing on the rooftop of a tall building.

Beside him were four blond, blue-eyed foreigners. Including himself, they were all dressed like construction workers… If you ignored the live firearms taken from their backpacks and their sinister expressions, they really would look like construction workers.

Russell glanced at the Mk.11 sniper rifle in his hand, then at the black-and-white photo with a red X next to him, and said helplessly, “I told you, I hate being an assassin!”