3: evolution!

After dinner, Chen Lin cleared the dishes and washed up; he usually took care of these chores.

Once he was done, Chen Lin suddenly saw Li Huiru walk over, looking a little confused, “What’s wrong?”

Li Huiru pulled a card from her pocket and said gently, “This afternoon, I heard from the neighbors that the passing score for this year’s college entrance exam has increased, making it much harder than before.”

“I just saw Aunt Zhang taking her son to buy equipment and skill books.”

“I figured your classmates would all be doing the same. Mom can’t let you fall behind just because our family isn’t wealthy.”

“There’s over 35,000 in this card. That should be enough to buy equipment, right?”

“If not, Mom will go borrow some from colleagues.”

Chen Lin was deeply moved; this was basically all of their family’s savings.

Yet, she gave it all to him without reservation, just to help him a little so he wouldn’t fall behind in the college entrance exam.

Even though he really didn’t want to take it, Chen Lin’s rationality ultimately won out.

He did indeed need a sum of money now to fund Hei Ming’s development and significantly boost its strength.

“It’s enough, Mom, thank you…”

Sensing Chen Lin’s thoughts, Li Huiru gently comforted him, “This money was saved for you and your sister anyway. Don’t feel bad about using it.”

“It’s almost time, Mom has to go to work.”

“Once word gets out that you’ve become a combat professional, many of my colleagues will envy me for having such a good son.”

Li Huiru smiled, and after leaving the bank card password, she turned and opened the door to leave.

The cool breeze from outside blew in, and Chen Lin took a deep breath.

His father had already passed away by the time he started remembering things.

To raise the two siblings, Li Huiru worked two jobs every day, so she almost never had any extra time to rest.

Silently clenching his fists, Chen Lin’s gaze gradually firmed.

He remembered that in previous college entrance exams, the top ten in the city received a substantial monetary reward.

If he could achieve that, Li Huiru wouldn’t have to work two jobs so hard anymore.

Perhaps if people knew Chen Lin had this as his goal, they might ridicule him for being overly ambitious.

Because compared to previous college entrance exams, this year’s competition was much more intense!

Although there were other ways to acquire wealth.

However, those all required time and would cause too much delay, which wasn't suitable for Chen Lin, who was just starting out.

Competing with his peers and winning a large sum of money from the city government by showcasing his potential was undoubtedly the fastest shortcut!

...

The streets were brightly lit. Chen Lin walked out of a restaurant for life professionals, carrying a box containing a full hundred catties of Mutated Beasts meat.

Because there was a lot of leftover ingredients, the boss readily agreed to sell it to him, and it only cost a little over six thousand.

According to the description of the Greedy Gluttony talent, Hei Ming’s potential was unimaginable, and more importantly, it could become powerful in a short period!

If Chen Lin wanted to pass the college entrance exam smoothly, cultivating it was the best method.

And there was another reason: the energy Hei Ming converted could be partially shared with him, directly boosting his strength simultaneously.

Compared to selling everything to buy a skill book, having an extra method like this was simply too profitable.

Skill books ranged from low to high, one to ten tiers.

Even a Tier 1 skill book cost thousands, or even tens of thousands, and its effectiveness was not guaranteed.

In any case, it certainly couldn't reverse the situation.

If one believed that an extra Tier 1 skill book could change the outcome, then one could only say they were dreaming too beautifully.

However, many ordinary families would still choose to buy it.

Because everyone held the belief that even a slight increase in combat power would give their child a greater chance of passing the college entrance exam.

As is well known, almost all dungeon resources are concentrated in the hands of academies.

If one couldn't get in, to level up, one could only go outside the city to fight Mutated Beasts, thereby obtaining life crystals to convert into experience points.

But for Level 1 professionals, who were not yet strong, this was basically a ninety percent chance of death.

And apart from some desperate hunters, many people, even if they possessed combat power, might not have enough courage to dare to kill Mutated Beasts outside the city.

Finding a small alley, Chen Lin’s thoughts stirred, and he summoned Hei Ming.

Compared to a short while ago, it had already grown by half.

Although still very small, its shape finally began to slightly resemble a wolf.

Howl!

Seeing the fresh red Mutated Beasts meat before it, Hei Ming immediately felt a strong craving to devour from deep within its body.

But without its master’s permission, it still held back and made no move.

Only after Chen Lin gave his consent did Hei Ming immediately open its mouth and begin to ferociously tear and bite.

Before long, the Mutated Beasts meat that entered its stomach far exceeded its own volume.

But Hei Ming showed no signs of stopping.

Its stomach was like a bottomless pit, frantically converting all the Mutated Beasts meat that entered it.

As it continuously devoured, countless energies filled Hei Ming’s entire body, rapidly catalyzing its growth, strengthening its flesh and cells.

At the same time, its body size was rapidly increasing at a visible rate, its bones cracking loudly, like a monster!

At this moment, Chen Lin also felt a surge of energy flowing through his body. Wherever it swept, his entire body was improving, and a comfortable sensation washed over his mind.

Both man and beast were continuously growing stronger!

[Evolution Value: 7.5 / 100]

This was a new entry that appeared with the Greedy Gluttony talent.

As long as it reached 100 Evolution Value, Hei Ming could evolve and undergo an unexpected transformation!

A full hundred catties of Mutated Beasts meat should be enough, Chen Lin thought silently.

...

About half an hour passed.

By now, Hei Ming was completely unrecognizable from its previous appearance. Its body size had reached over two meters, its height nearing Chen Lin’s waist, multiplying several times over!

As for the Mutated Beasts meat that had originally filled the box, it was completely gone.

Chen Lin’s thoughts stirred, and he brought up his panel to check.

Summon: Hei Ming

Species: Mutated Wolf

Level: 1

Attributes: Strength 34, Constitution 36, Agility 36, Magic 33

Health: 100%

Skills: None

Talent: [Greedy Gluttony (SSS)]

Evolution Value: [100.9 / 100 (Evolve?)]

The attributes had increased by almost ten times!

These panel stats were even superior to some who had specialized in rare professions!

However, compared to the last time it ate a single steak and all attributes increased by 1 point, this was actually much less.

It seems that the further it progresses, the more energy it needs to grow.

The benefit is that the higher the attributes, the stronger the effect of subsequent improvements will be.

Simply put, it’s like the big difference between adding a bit of strength during infancy and during adulthood.

Chen Lin swiped his hand in the air, switching to his personal panel, and glanced at the attribute bar.

After his profession change, his initial Strength was 11, Constitution 10, Agility 12, and Spirit 20.

Now, all of them had increased by 10 points!

Because Hei Ming had previously eaten ordinary meat, which contained very low energy, the amount that could be shared with him was minimal.

But this time, it directly ate a full hundred catties of Mutated Beasts meat, which contained several times more energy, so the strengthening effect was naturally significant.

Now, his attributes should be outstanding in all classes.

However, this alone did not mean Chen Lin was stronger than everyone else.

Strength requires a comprehensive evaluation of various aspects; attributes can only serve as a basic reference.

But Chen Lin now also had an advantage: Hei Ming’s almost cheatingly easy way of getting stronger could completely allow him to quickly close the gap with others!