His name was Dulles.

  Come to think of it, he was really just a completely unremarkable first-rank demon-hunting apprentice of the “Demon Hunter Academy.”

  In the cruel and efficient power system of the demon hunters, his talent was cking.

  His body could no longer endure the Price of the next “Pgue” transformation. If he forcefully advanced to the second rank, there would only be one result—his body would colpse, turning into an indescribable, twisted mass of flesh and blood.

  But he couldn’t be bmed for that. He should have been able to get better talent.

  The “Red Mist,” it was the most, most precious resource, bar none, that every “Fruit” who grew to the final stage in an “Orchard World” could equally obtain before truly joining the Demon Hunter Academy.

  If, during that critical seven-day period after the transformation, he could have absorbed enough of the Corpse-Red Mist, his physical fitness could have undergone a world-shattering transformation. That would have been enough to y the most solid foundation for him, allowing his body to endure a more powerful “Pgue”!

  Those brilliant, outstanding seniors in the academy, without exception, were all in this stage, thanks to various strokes of fate, able to obtain enough Corpse-Red Mist, giving them considerable power even before they entered the academy.

  One step ahead, stays ahead. This was the fundamental reason they could successfully break through to the second rank before the two-year deadline arrived!

  However… when the transformation happened in his world, he was just an ordinary student, worried about his studies all day. How could he have known that killing those zombies chasing him had such a benefit, a benefit that defied all logic?

  Back then, he was only concerned with his own survival. He even remembered, to snatch a can of expired food hidden by another survivor, he had used a rock to smash open that survivor’s head.

  That person was his sister.

  Although he had always told himself it was an accident, his sister’s corpse had indeed helped him survive.

  But ter events proved that the global zombie transformation was not the apocalypse. Or rather, for the “fragment world” he was in, it was just one of countless “apocalypses,” a completely ordinary one.

  For any “Orchard World,” the apocalypse had already happened many times, and it would continue to be repeated in the future.

  And for the “Fruits” thrown into this world, the apocalypse was not an “end,” but merely a test, the true beginning of their lives… the “Start.”

  This was the cruel screening meticulously set up by the “Demon Hunter Academy” to cultivate mature “Fruits.” The “Fruits” that survived would be “recimed.” Only then would they be allowed to join the academy, becoming “demon-hunting apprentices.”

  And those who died? They would be left to rot in the fragment world, their flesh and blood used to fertilize the soil, to cultivate the next batch of stronger “Fruits.”

  This was the way the Demon Hunter Academy cultivated demon hunters. Countless “Orchards” belonging to the academy, in this cold, efficient, inhuman manner, cultivated generation after generation… of excellent demon hunters.

  The fragmented world he was currently in, with an overall civilization roughly at a medieval level, was just one of the academy’s countless “Orchards.”

  And the reason he was stationed here was that he had accepted a long-term commission from the academy to oversee the operation of this “Orchard.”

  On the monitor console before him y the letter of appointment issued by the academy:

  ——————

  Letter of Appointment

  By the authority of the Corpse-Pgue Furnace, and with the permission of the Flesh-Shaping Foundry (Permit No. AF0076037619), it is hereby appointed that:

  Bradley Dulles is the Warden of “MS06871, ‘The Viscount of Dougs’s Fiefdom.’”

  His duties include, but are not limited to: Supervising the Fruit cultivation pn, Live Iron Golem Project, and Great Demon Containment Measures within the designated territory, ensuring compliance with the standards and ethics of the Academy and the Foundry; Submitting regur reports to the Academy and the Foundry; Exercising special disposal authority in the event of an emergency as stiputed in Regution No. 895.

  This appointment is effective from the date of signing. Term of Validity: One Year

  Office of the Apprentice, Corpse-Pgue Furnace: (Seal of the Apprentice Office)

  Representative of the Flesh-Shaping Foundry at the Pgue Academy: (Seal of the Representative)

  ——————

  In every round of Orchard harvest season, countless “Fruits” would be produced. These mature “Fruits” were the fresh blood of the Demon Hunter Academy, and also the future “new students.”

  He, Dulles, was one of the “Fruits” that matured in the previous round.

  Now, he was very, very lucky… to have obtained a method. As long as he drank the potion in his hand, and combined it with a ritual he found in an ancient text, he could circumvent the limits of his talent, forcefully break through the shackles of the first rank, and become a true, second-rank demon-hunting apprentice!

  Thus, achieving the promotion conditions before the upcoming, biennial “deadline” arrived!

  And the Price for all of this was merely… one insignificant, unripe, not-yet-fully-mature “Fruit”…

  Thinking this, Dulles’s gaze had already penetrated the one-way surveilnce gss, looking down to the first floor not far below, especially to the cultivation room where the lights had just come on.

  The room he was in was completely dark, while the cultivation room was as bright as day. So, only he could see her, while she had no idea he even existed.

  He could see very clearly now.

  This “Fruit”… was very plump, almost fully mature.

  She was a young girl, slender, yet possessed a calmness beyond her years. Somehow, immaturity and maturity coexisted within her.

  Even after witnessing the incredible scene that should have shattered her entire worldview, she still forcibly maintained her calm and rationality.

  Dulles thought to himself, if she could successfully join the academy, she should be able to adapt well to that cruel, competitive atmosphere where one would do anything to become stronger, right?

  There, it was perfectly normal for demon-hunting apprentices to kill and scheme against each other for resources.

  She should be able to survive well in that kind of environment.

  But she wouldn’t get the chance.

  Because under normal circumstances, he couldn’t touch any of the “Fruits” in the Orchard. These were the academy’s precious assets. Every mature “Fruit” was the academy’s future hope, a “new student” with great potential.

  Screening was one thing, but no matter how cruel the screening, it was a normal process designed by the academy. The academy would absolutely never permit him, the Warden of this Orchard, to steal from the very pce he was meant to guard, to damage the academy’s property.

  This was a capital offense.

  Unless… an emergency as stiputed in Regution No. 895 occurred.

  For example… “A ‘Fruit’ forcibly enters the ‘Warden’s Base’ without permission.”

  This, of course, wouldn’t completely absolve him of the academy’s subsequent accountability. He would definitely be held responsible for “dereliction of duty.”

  But at least, the crime wouldn't be punishable by death.

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