On Dulles’s face was an expression of madness and cruelty he hadn't even realized he'd been suppressing for so long.

  As long as he could survive, as long as he could successfully advance to a second-rank demon-hunting apprentice, he had ways to maneuver through the connections he had cultivated for so long, to reduce the final sentence to as little as one year!

  A one-year sentence. In exchange for the qualification to advance to the second rank.

  As long as it wasn't the most terrible punishment of the apprentice stage, the one that would completely erase a person, the “Punishment of the Void,” it would all be worth it!

  So…

  “For my advancement…”

  Dulles murmured, his voice a hoarse, twisted whisper. The words sounded like a lover’s sigh, but were filled with cold malice.

  “please go and die, my dear… ‘Fruit’.”

  A drop of salty liquid slid from the corner of his eye. A crocodile tear, shed for the crime he was about to commit, and for the filthy future that awaited him.

  Immediately after, he grinned, revealing an extremely vile smile.

  He reached out a hand and lightly pressed a button among the many on the console.

  【Cultivation Tank No. … has been unlocked.】

  【WARNING: Warden Dulles, all of your actions will be recorded and submitted to the Discipline Hall after the fact.】

  Dulles ignored these warnings completely.

  He raised the potion glowing with a scarlet light in his hand, tilted his head back, and, as if drinking the finest aged wine, poured the entire bottle of potion down his throat!

  Gulp.

  A scorching torrent, as if it could ignite the soul, rushed down his esophagus, flooded his stomach, and then exploded!

  “Gyaaaaaaah—!”

  An indescribable, agonizing pain instantly swept through his entire body!

  His veins bulged one by one, twisting and writhing like bck worms under his skin!

  His body began to twitch and spasm uncontrolbly, his bones making creaking sounds as if they were about to be crushed!

  The advancement had begun.

  ………………

  Switch. Trigger. Activator.

  The words popped up in Pandora’s mind, one after another.

  They all pointed to the same meaning, to the terrifying core of a vague hypothesis she’d had before.

  And now, the soul-shattering scene before her not only confirmed her hypothesis, it revealed something deeper, something far more true.

  “So that’s how it is…”

  Pandora murmured, her voice so soft it was almost inaudible, but in this deathly silent cultivation room, made of countless “people,” it was exceptionally clear.

  All the adults… they weren't infected humans at all.

  They… they were a special kind of creature. One that looked human.

  Just like Elsa could freely switch between a “greatsword” and a “humanoid” form, these creatures in the tanks, who looked like ordinary people, also possessed two forms.

  One was the daily, intentional “human” form.

  The other was the ferocious, bloodthirsty “zombie” form.

  And the transformation on that night… it was a program they were born with. A collective activation!

  That was why the disaster that swept the entire manor, and even the entire Viscount’s fiefdom, was so strange, so swift. There was no process of infection, no transmission. It was abrupt. Unreasonable.

  Everything stemmed from this!

  A bone-chilling coldness shot up Pandora’s spine.

  Her previous guess about some kind of “filter” mechanism seemed to be correct, but the truth was far crueler than she had imagined.

  This “filter” didn’t simply eliminate adults and leave minors.

  Instead… these so-called adult “people,” their very existence was the filter!

  The sole purpose of their existence was to… screen out a portion of the minors. To screen for those small handful of “elites” who could, in the midst of a crisis, struggle to survive, overcome their fear, and ultimately live on.

  But, the person, or the “organization,” behind all this… what kind of entity were they?

  How could they accept such an outrageous price, sacrificing so many children just to screen for a small handful?

  Or perhaps, in their view, this sacrifice was necessary. And “normal”?

  Pandora imagined the face of the one behind this and felt a chill run down her spine.

  Regarding their values, their philosophies… they clearly could not be called “normal.” This had surpassed cruelty and entered a realm of… inhuman, cold, purely utilitarian thinking.

  Just then—

  Click.

  A faint, mechanical click suddenly came from nearby.

  Pandora whipped her head around.

  She saw that on the cultivation tank in front of her, the one holding Betty’s father, the indicator light on its exterior changed from green to red.

  Immediately after, the needles connected to the “groom’s” body detached one by one, retracting into the top of the cultivation tank.

  Buzz—

  The gss cover of the cultivation tank slowly, silently, began to rise.

  “Hrnn…”

  A familiar, suppressed growl came from within the gradually opening tank.

  The “groom” shakily stood up. His originally peaceful face began to contort, his skin turning ashen, his eyes gradually being covered by a milky white.

  He… was “transforming.”

  But that wasn't all.

  Click.

  Click.

  Click.

  The sounds of mechanical locks disengaging rang out one after another in the vast hall.

  Pandora looked around.

  She saw that the cultivation tanks surrounding her, arranged in a somewhat irregur circle, were activated one after another!

  The gss covers rose one after another, those “people” soaking in the yellow culture fluid, with their peaceful expressions, opened their murky, reasonless… white eyes, one after another!

  “Hss… hsss…”

  “ROAR—!”

  The rising and falling, scalp-tingling growls converged into a massive wave of sound, echoing in the enclosed space.

  Pandora watched the ferocious zombie monsters shamble out of their tanks, surrounding her, her expression graver than ever before.

  Had she… done something just now?

  No, she hadn't. To prevent any accidents, she had even been careful not to touch anything.

  But… why had they suddenly woken up?

  And the distribution of these activated tanks seemed to follow some kind of pattern… They were all centered around her!

  If the problem wasn't with her, then…

  Pandora’s head snapped up, looking around, especially in the direction of the research facility's second floor, a pce she hadn't been to yet.

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