I picked up attributes in Swallowing Star.

"Wow, I didn't realize your little brother was so ambitious," Xu Qian said, her tone slightly teasing.

"Okay, miss, can you tell me about it? It's very important to me." Luo Yuan said sincerely.

"Alright, since you've called me 'sister,' I'll tell you what's going on, but don't blame me if anything happens to you."

"No, no, it was my choice," Luo Yuan quickly said, trying to appease him.

"Actually, the methods I'm going to talk about are for students with some martial arts skills. However, if you're lucky and there's a shortage of people, you might be selected. One option is to provide a place for wealthy students to raise low-level monster pets. You can become a zookeeper, but there's a high chance you'll lose your life. The other option is to become a boxer in the underground black market. Life and death are unpredictable. Have you thought it through?" Xu Qian explained.

"Well, I think I'll just become a zookeeper then. Being an underground boxer isn't for me." Luo Yuan quickly made his decision.

"Alright, here's a black card. It's a VIP card for a monster petting zoo. It has the address on it. You can use this to apply for a job; it might increase your chances." After Luo Yuan made his decision, Xu Qian rummaged through her bag, found a black card, and tossed it to him.

"This, Sister Xu just gave it to me like that?" Luo Yuan asked, somewhat surprised, holding the black card. He sensed that the woman in front of him was not simple.

"It's okay, this card isn't mine anyway," Xu Qian waved her hand.

"Um, Sister Xu, I've always been curious about what you do for a living?" Luo Yuan asked somewhat awkwardly, feeling a little uneasy about using a VIP card whose background he didn't know.

"Don't pry into my affairs, it's pointless for you. You can use this card without worry, no one will bother you. If anyone does, hehehe~" The cold and beautiful woman actually sneered to herself, which made Luo Yuan, who was standing next to her, shiver.

Holding the black card, Luo Yuan returned to his bedroom, his mind a little fuzzy. He had initially thought that the aloof woman he shared an apartment with might be a special agent, but now it seemed that she was not at all, and was even more mysterious and dangerous. What kind of person had he encountered?

Out of boredom, he opened the martial arts forum and saw that his post was filled with all sorts of bizarre advertisements: male models, "happy rich woman balls," "electronics factory jobs with monthly salaries of tens of thousands," and "seeking a child for a large sum of money." He was so angry that he deleted the post immediately.

Sure enough, no matter which world you go to, those disgusting capitalists and swindlers always use the same tricks.

Holding the black card, Luo Yuan looked at it. It was for a place called Happy Monster Pet Park, and it even had an address and contact information. He checked it on a map and found that it wasn't too far away.

Bored out of his mind, Luo Yuan felt he should take a good look at his cheat ability. His cheat ability should be the ability to pick up various attributes dropped by others to enhance his strength, but not everyone can drop them. It seems to be related to strength. The stronger you are, the greater the chance of dropping them, and the more attributes you have, the stronger you are.

However, these attribute bubbles that can be picked up have a limited time. Based on his test and observation today, the effective time is about five minutes. If you miss it, you miss it. This is a limitation. It seems that he needs to improve his speed in the future. As long as he is fast enough, there will be no attribute bubbles that he cannot pick up.

"Right, does my cheat system have an attribute panel? I think that's a standard feature." Luo Yuan suddenly had a flash of inspiration.

"Open the personal attributes panel," Luo Yuan thought to himself.

Then a transparent light panel really appeared in front of him. He picked up a mirror and looked at himself. There was no reflection of the light panel in the mirror. It seemed that only he could see this thing.

Name: Luo Yuan

Skill level: Apprentice (Beginner)

Strength: 300kg

Speed: 18 m/s

Defense: 300 kg

Technique: None

Skills: None

Looking at the information on the panel, Luo Yuan was excited. He originally wanted to use the Extreme Martial Arts Academy's testing equipment to measure his strength, but now that he had his own information panel, he didn't need to. He didn't expect that he would go from an ordinary person to a beginner student just by running around in the training hall of the Extreme Martial Arts Academy for a while today.

This cheat code is amazing! He clenched his fist, convinced that he would definitely be among the future geniuses of the universe.

P.S.: Dear gods, please give me rewards, monthly tickets, and add this to your favorites. I, Luo Yuan, am completely convinced.

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 4 Monster Pet Park

The next day, Luo Yuan took the black card, boarded a bus, and found the place called Happy Monster Pet Park according to the address on it. The tall silver iron gate with blue fluorescent stripes flashing on it looked high-end and full of technology.

The security guard at the entrance stopped him. He quickly took out the black card. Upon seeing the card, the guard bowed and respectfully opened the door for him, leading him to a magnificent, ancient-style building. A hostess in a cheongsam led him directly to the lobby.

Two elegant and charming women were standing at the front desk in the lobby. One of them politely took the black card from Luo Yuan, swiped it on a machine, and then very courteously returned it to him.

"Distinguished guest, you have a balance of two million in your black card. What kind of low-level monster would you like to purchase as a pet?"

The receptionist's words shocked Luo Yuan. A deposit balance of two million yuan. He couldn't help but wonder whose black card it was. Yesterday, seeing the aloof woman's casual demeanor, he was curious about her identity. Was she a wealthy heiress experiencing the life of the poor? But the woman didn't seem like a rich heiress. Could she have stolen the card?

"Excuse me, don't you need to verify the user's identity for this black card?" Luo Yuan asked cautiously.

"Dear esteemed guest, we only recognize cards, not people. Each card has a unique number. Would you like to purchase a monster pet?"

"No, no, I actually wanted to ask if you're still hiring zookeepers here. I'd like to apply," Luo Yuan said awkwardly. Knowing that they only recognized cards and not people, he felt much more at ease, but the rules here still seemed a bit strange.

"Oh, sir, are you joking? This is not funny at all," the receptionist said politely, though she frowned slightly.

"Can't I? I'm short on money right now," Luo Yuan said honestly.

"Dear esteemed guest, if you are short of cash, we can have our manager confirm that we can refund 20% of your black card balance on the spot. Would you be willing to accept that?" the receptionist said gently.

"You can do that?" Luo Yuan was overjoyed when he heard the receptionist's words.

Without saying a word, he immediately asked the manager to complete the transfer. Actually, he wanted to transfer all the money out, but they said no, since it was unlikely that he would get the money back after it had already been deposited.

"Ding! Your bank card ending in 8527 has received a transfer of 40 Chinese Yuan." Looking at the text message notification on his phone, Luo Yuan was enveloped by a huge sense of happiness, the pleasant feeling brought about by a surge of dopamine.

"Would you like to purchase a monster pet, sir?" the receptionist asked politely, her face always bearing a formulaic smile, which made Luo Yuan wonder if they were robots.

"May I wander around this monster park first?" Luo Yuan thought that since he was already here, he might as well see how this monster pet park differed from the zoo in his previous life. As for looking for a job, he had given up on that idea; he now had a huge sum of hundreds of thousands of Chinese yuan.

"Yes, esteemed sir, we will arrange for a senior student from the Extreme Martial Arts Academy to protect you. We wish you success in finding a satisfactory monster pet."

"And this is a perk too! Senior students serving as bodyguards, amazing!" Luo Yuan couldn't help but exclaim.

Led by the lady in the cheongsam, Luo Yuan wandered around until he arrived at the entrance of the Monster Pet Park, where a beautiful woman in her early twenties was waiting. The woman was wearing a tight-fitting exercise outfit that accentuated her shapely figure, and she had her hair in a single ponytail, looking healthy and full of vitality.

"Distinguished guest, this is your bodyguard, Dong Lanlan, a senior student from the Extreme Martial Arts Academy. We hope you are satisfied with the service," the woman in the cheongsam introduced.

"Hello, distinguished guest, may we go in?" Dong Lanlan said to Luo Yuan, her expression somewhat indifferent.

“Okay.” Luo Yuan followed Dong Lanlan into the pet park.

When Luo Yuan entered the pet park, he couldn't help but widen his eyes and show joy on his face. It wasn't because there were rare animals he had never seen in his previous life, nor because these mutated monsters were so cute, but because he saw attribute bubbles falling from these monsters.

"Um, just wondering, are these monsters dangerous? How strong are they?" Luo Yuan didn't rush over to pick up the attribute bubbles, but cautiously asked Dong Lanlan, the senior student leading the way.

"Don't worry, these are just low-level monsters. They're cute and lovable, but their strength is generally no more than that of a quasi-martial artist. I can handle them perfectly well," Dong Lanlan said confidently.

“Alright, I’d like to walk around these monsters. If any of them attack me, please protect me immediately,” Luo Yuan said earnestly to Dong Lanlan.

"Don't worry, I'm here for a fee. Protecting you is my duty." Dong Lanlan didn't mind. This wasn't the first or second time he had served as a bodyguard for these wealthy people.

Having received Dong Lanlan's promise, Luo Yuan began to wander around the monster pet park, constantly touching the attribute bubbles.

"Strength +1".

"Strength +1".

"speed +1"

"speed +1"

Defense +1

Defense +1

........................

Seeing the prompts flashing in front of him, Luo Yuan wondered if he could store these attributes first and then absorb them. Otherwise, if he suddenly became stronger in front of outsiders, his secret might be exposed. With a thought, he miraculously discovered a space in his mind. This space was invisible and intangible, but he could feel it. Attribute bubbles that he touched floated in this space, which he called the Attribute Space.

Unfazed by the exposure of his secret, Luo Yuan started running, displaying the speed of a beginner student. This caused Dong Lanlan to raise an eyebrow, realizing that the young man in front of her was still a beginner student. However, she didn't take it to heart, as she had seen many young men of similar strength at the Extreme Martial Arts Academy.

Luo Yuan's running sometimes disturbed the monsters' rest, and some of the more temperamental monsters attacked. Dong Lanlan fulfilled her duty well, blocking the monsters' attacks for Luo Yuan. Luo Yuan also observed Dong Lanlan as she made her move, and judging from the power this woman displayed, she was probably close to the strength of a quasi-martial artist.

For ordinary people, having the strength of a near-martial artist in their twenties is outstanding. After all, not everyone is like Luo Feng, whose martial arts talent is monstrous. Luo Yuan was also very envious. Sometimes he wondered how Luo Feng's parents, who were so ordinary, could have given birth to such an abnormal offspring. He could only say that the world's chosen ones are unreasonable and illogical.

P.S.: Dear gods, please give me rewards, monthly tickets, and add this to your favorites. I, Luo Yuan, am completely convinced.

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 5 Advanced Students

Luo Yuan wandered around the Happy Monster Pet Park, happily collecting attributes. He ended up spending the whole day doing so. Dong Lanlan, who had been helping to deal with the monster attacks, went from being interested at first to getting impatient later. She wondered if the man in front of her was crazy. Everyone else came here to choose a pet, but this man was running around and having fun in the pet park.

"Alright, distinguished guest, you've been here all day. Have you decided what kind of pet you want to buy?" Dong Lanlan suddenly stopped Luo Yuan, who was still picking out attributes, and asked in a somewhat stiff tone.

"Um, it's already past six in the afternoon. I'm sorry, I love this monster pet park so much that I haven't chosen a pet yet. I'll come back to choose one another time."

Luo Yuan smiled somewhat awkwardly. He felt that he could come to this monster pet park often in the future. This place would be helpful before he reached the strength of a quasi-martial artist. However, he did not plan to buy any pets. He was not interested in pets in the first place, and the pets here were expensive. If he chose a pet, it would be difficult to find a reason to come here again.

As for whether he would be looked down upon by the people at the monster petting zoo, he said that shame was insignificant in the face of real improvement in strength.

With light steps, Luo Yuan left the monster petting zoo in a good mood. Dong Lanlan, who had accompanied him all day, rolled her eyes behind his back. She had lost her performance bonus this time. She thought she had met a big client, but it turned out to be a lunatic.

Taking the bus, Luo Yuan returned to his rented room in the South Bank residential area. It was already dark by then. He opened the door and looked into the pitch-black room, which was completely silent. Luo Yuan realized that the aloof woman had gone out again that night, acting mysteriously, and he wondered what she was up to.

He quickly made a simple fried rice with eggs, and while eating, he consciously looked into his attribute space, where many attribute bubbles floated. He felt a sense of satisfaction, quickly finished eating, took a shower, and went back to his bedroom, locking the door behind him.

Luo Yuan sat cross-legged on the bed. With a thought, the attribute bubbles in the attribute space began to burst, and a notification to increase attributes flashed before his eyes.

"Strength +1".

"Strength +1".

"speed +1"

"speed +1"

Defense +1

Defense +1

"Spirit +1"

"Spirit +1"

........................

"Ah~"

He didn't know if it was because he had gained too many attributes this time, but a strong pain came over him, making him roll around on the bed. He clenched his teeth, and tears welled up in his eyes, but he still silently endured it. He grabbed a corner of the pillow and bit it, which made him feel a lot better, but the persistent pain still made him faint.

The next morning, at 06:00 AM, the alarm clock rang precisely on time.

Luo Yuan habitually slapped the alarm clock with one hand.

A loud "bang" startled Luo Yuan awake. He rolled off the bed and found that the alarm clock and cabinet by his bedside had been reduced to rubble. He looked at his palms, somewhat bewildered.

"Who the hell is demolishing the house so early in the morning? Can't a person get any sleep?!" The angry shout came from either upstairs or downstairs. Luo Yuan raised an eyebrow and ignored it, but he didn't dare to make any further moves.