Chapter 5: Runner

His exhausted body was drenched in sweat, and with each step, Lu Ping'an felt like his feet were filled with lead.

"Haha, is this the physical endurance of an otaku who has stayed in the hospital for half a year? It's so funny..."

He still had the energy to mock himself, so it seemed the situation wasn't too bad.

[Gained a tiny amount of running experience. Experience +0.1.]

Lu Ping'an stopped. He had been struggling for nearly an hour, nearly dying, just to accumulate enough for his "system" to announce its first progress update. The efficiency was extremely low.

From Lei Huoren's dividends, he had received a "small amount", not a "tiny amount", which felt much more significant.

But it made sense. The gains of a professional PhD studying for two or even three days, even after a discount, far exceeded the efforts a beginner would make in a day.

There was a difference in levels, a distinction between professional experts and laymen.

Before becoming a professional, a person would put in countless years of hard work and accumulate talent, but it made the "one day" of experts and noobs incomparable.

This also vaguely revealed the domineering aspect of Lu Ping'an's Abnormal Ability ─ everyone had talents and expertise, as well as knowledge accumulated over time.

But he could bypass this "foundation" and directly obtain a share of the "results", a growth comparable to cheating, if only…

"…At this rate, even if I have two Runners sharing their experience with me, I'm afraid I still couldn't complete two mutations within half a month, become a real Runner, and a first-tier Superman."

The "Running Level 1" and "Breathing Technique Level 1" on the panel seemed like a mockery.

If Lu Ping'an understood correctly, attaining Level 10 in each professional skill was a prerequisite for induction.

As Xia Qin's information stated, the supernatural powers in this world were considered a type of "pollution" that, if left unchecked, would drag one deeper and deeper, eventually degrading them into magic monsters or aliens.

Therefore, by using the growth paths of powerful beings, establishing specific growth coordinates and stages, the pollution could be made slightly controllable, which became the current Night Watchman's progression system.

"Pollution is chaos, and to purify it with order, the power of gods must be used as a harmless lens (filter), with their growth trajectory as coordinates. And so, what better than 'professions' in human society can represent order and the position of individuals in society and history?"

Ignoring the overly complex and intricate theories, the current professional system of Night Watchmen was based on the templates of various gods.

According to the materials Lu Ping'an had seen so far, at least 53 pathways were commonly used.

So, at least 53 divine forces were used by humans.

Or, from another perspective, the gods interfered with the normal lives of modern society.

Glancing at the statue in the center of the track, Lu Ping'an's feelings were increasingly complicated, as a former materialist was unaccustomed to this kind of world.

"The Church of the Proper God Chaser, with its 16 large enterprises involved in sports equipment, healthcare, transportation, and sports sponsorship industries. What is this, capitalist divine right?"

The statue in front of him was of a humanoid figure running with open arms, its face indistinct and with lightning flickering around it.

The stadium's full name was "Ancient City Chaser's No.1 Sports Center".

It was called "No.1" because the Ancient City also had "No.2" to "No.6", five large sports centers.

It was said that the hospital where Lu Ping'an stayed before was also an asset of a certain church.

Lu Ping'an never had a good impression of gods, but now he needed to borrow the power of these "deities".

He needed to establish connections with the gods to guide his polluted abilities into a controllable track, commonly known as induction.

"Hah, they say a Runner's induction ceremony is simple, but it's still a bit lethal for someone like me who's been bedridden for half a year."

This was not Lu Ping'an's first attempt to become a 0-tier Runner, but the previous attempts had all naturally ended in failure.

The ceremony was actually quite simple - all he needed to do was recite the name of the Chaser and then run the specified distance within a certain time.

"Running 5 kilometers within 15 minutes is not difficult at all ... it's a nightmare! The world record for 5 kilometers is 12 minutes, so this is at least of an athlete's standard, right?"

Each deity seemed to have their own preferences and quirks, and this "Chaser" particularly liked speed.

Lu Ping'an asked Xia Qin what significance these bizarre ceremonies held for the gods, but the answer he received was quite subtle.

"…It has no meaning for the gods, only for you. From the perspective of great beings in the cloud, the actions of humans are meaningless, but the actions themselves serve as a form of expression, a way to say 'I am watching you'..."

"Don't understand? Well, humans don't care about what ants think. But if ants gathered together, formed your name with leaves and their bodies, and mimicked your movements, you'd probably look twice out of curiosity."

"That attentive gaze creates a connection between ants and humans, humans and deities. And our induction only needs a little bit of connection."

The Runner's induction ceremony simply required the "Polluter" to recite the name of the deity, then run a certain distance around a circle, making it the easiest induction.

But Lu Ping'an had already failed twice. Even after consuming runners' experience for several days, he still hadn't met the induction standard and was about to face his third failure...