Chapter 42: Careerist

Hearing Danika's words, Ma Kusi regarded Li Ang with interest; if his trusted subordinate had said so, this conscript just pulled from prison must indeed have something special.

He grinned and said, "Kid, work hard—when the mission's over, I'll treat everyone to some fun at Prices."

The first sentence was addressed to Li Ang; the second to everyone present.

Upon hearing him, Danika replied weakly, "Skip it, Bureau Chief—spend that money on bonuses instead, and haven't you forgotten there are plenty of women in the bureau?"

"But that place lets you expense it—those stingy bastards at the Caizheng Bureau won't approve bonuses."

Ma Kusi scratched his cheek, sounding slightly disgruntled.

Li Ang listened, baffled, and quietly tugged at the uniform of the nearby Public Security Bureau officer, whispering, "What's Prices?"

Given his earlier performance, the Public Security Bureau officer had no objection to answering such a small question: "Prices Desire Group, a major corporation under the Universal Corporate Alliance."

"Its main business is"

The Public Security Bureau officer didn't finish, instead wearing a knowing smirk common among men.

"??"

Seeing him grin so lewdly, Li Ang froze for a moment, then immediately understood what Prices Desire Group's main business was.

Brothel!

Seeing Li Ang had grasped his implication, the Public Security Bureau officer continued, "But our Prices in Outpost City 66 has its own specialty."

Saying this, he leaned close to Li Ang's ear and whispered, "Our Prices' boss is the Bureau Chief's hometown friend—a succubus."

".?"

Life's hard—demons are doing gigs now!?

Li Ang now understood what Hol had meant by human-demon hybrid.

But wasn't he supposed to have crossed over into a spacefaring era?

Human race, insect race, demon race.

Li Ang felt he wouldn't be surprised if any other race appeared next.

As for the Universal Corporate Alliance—

Things like this, obvious as common knowledge, could wait—search them online later.

At that moment, Ma Kusi finished speaking with Danika and vanished in a flash.

"Let's go—finish the mission and get off duty."

Danika walked downstairs in her high heels, muttering under her breath about low wages, excessive work, and how working was worse than attending a funeral.

Li Ang had only seen such heavy resentment before on the vengeful ghosts in horror films from before his crossing.

But he soon understood why Danika's resentment ran so deep.

Because all Public Security Bureau officers didn't get a break until they finished clearing the entire Technical Talent Settlement Zone 2—working nonstop for two full days and nights.

Sitting inside the blue-and-white-painted Public Security Bureau vehicle, Li Ang radiated the same aura of resentment as Danika.

Fortunately, besides the big carrot of gaining legal status, his skill proficiency offered some comfort to his wounded spirit.

【Reverse Birth: Three Layers (proficiency 134/500)】、【Qimen Dunjia (proficiency 89/500)】.

Looking at the skill proficiencies on the panel, Li Ang felt the corpses were warm.

'Still, I must raise my career level quickly—chasing only skill proficiency is putting the cart before the horse.'

'And I need to find a way to uncover new career paths.'

Thinking this, Li Ang made a plan.

The top priority was definitely pushing Reverse Birth: Three Layers to mastery—the second layer.

Then, raise his career level and search for clues to new careers.

As for making Qimen Dunjia more practical—

Compared to the first two, it was less important, since it was barely usable now.

As Li Ang silently planned his future, a sudden brake jerked him back to reality.

"Get out—I've arranged your accommodation."

Danika dropped the words and opened the car door, stepping out.

Seeing this, Li Ang got out and followed her obediently.

Soon, the two arrived at a dormitory door.

Danika tossed Li Ang a key: "You'll stay here for now—if you have problems, just go next door and find me."

With that, she walked to another dormitory door nearby, pulled out her key, opened it, and stepped inside.

With a crisp click of the door closing, the corridor was left with only Li Ang alone.

He looked at the key in his hand, then at the tightly shut door beside him, momentarily speechless.

Li Ang understood why Danika had placed his room next to hers—it was simply that she hadn't fully trusted him yet and wanted to monitor him.

But could this kind of arrangement really serve as effective surveillance?

"."

Li Ang pulled at his lips, used the key to unlock the door in front of him, and found a tidy dormitory inside.

He closed the door behind him and began walking around inspecting it.

Though called a dormitory, the space wasn't small—by pre-crossing standards, it was at least a hundred square meters, and everything necessary was present.

After a quick tour, Li Ang slumped onto the living room sofa and exhaled deeply.

At the very least, his life in this world was gradually settling into order.

After zoning out for a while, Li Ang sat up and fiddled with the communication device issued to him—the wristband Danika had used to interrogate him when he first arrived.

As before, the wristband still hadn't connected to the network, but Li Ang noticed it contained some basic career information—he immediately began browsing it.

"Careerists are divided into nine levels, with every three levels forming a tier."

"Every time one breaks through a major tier, it produces a qualitative change comparable to a leap in the level of life itself, so professionals basically have no way to fight across major tiers."

Li Ang slightly furrowed his brow.

He had originally thought he could keep becoming a stat monster by taking up new professions, but based on the description in this document, it seemed that probably wouldn't work.

Of course, if there was a new profession he could take, Li Ang wouldn't pass it up either—after all, even a fly's leg is still meat, no matter how small.

He continued reading.

"However, precisely because of this, the transfer conditions for professionals crossing a major tier are far harsher than a normal transfer, and one cannot rely on external help."

"It is worth noting that a profession's advancement is not strictly step-by-step. Some rare professions might only be at the first energy level when first taken, but after the first transfer they could possibly reach the third energy level."

"Even the fourth energy level."

Seeing this, Li Ang couldn't help but be stunned.

Looking at it now, raising one's strength in this world didn't have to be done step by step—there was the possibility of ascending to the heavens in a single bound, though the difficulty would surely be absurdly great.

Just like the transfer from 【Qi Refiner (Three-One)】 to 【Immortal】.

'So is 【Immortal】 a mid-third-tier profession?'

'Or—'

'An upper-third-tier profession?'

'If it's upper-third-tier, then wouldn't 【Qi Refiner (Three-One)】 be a golden legend?'

Regarding this, Li Ang had no way of knowing.

If it were someone else who had taken 【Qi Refiner (Three-One)】, they would probably think this profession's upper limit was only the first energy level.

Even if they knew the transfer conditions for 【Immortal】, they would absolutely think it was a joke.

But Li Ang was different—his number of profession slots was unlimited, so there was the possibility of stepping on his left foot with his right foot to ascend to the heavens.

Of course, this had little to do with Li Ang, whose current profession levels were only 【Entry-level Qi Refiner lv5 (122/500) / Qi Refiner (Three-One) lv3 (157/300)】.

"No use thinking about all this now—better just honestly level up first."

Li Ang calmed his emotions, then after a simple wash-up, began today's training.

【Circulate qi, profession experience +3】

【Control the qi within the body, skill experience +1】