Year 2075
City Outskirts
A lawless zone now referred to as the Badlands by its citizens.
A May morning
Warm air currents from the ocean carried large amounts of water vapor into this barren land. Looking up, the sand-swept wilderness displayed sparse vegetation, with scattered cacti, Joshua trees, and some unknown low-lying shrubs.
These resilient green plants extracted water vapor from the air with their needles and thorns, condensing it into droplets, and storing it in their branches and roots through bark grooves or stomata. Only these drought-tolerant plants could endure in this severely desertified land.
**Branch Airport**
The logistics airport, forgotten in a corner of the Badlands since the end of the Fourth Corporate War, welcomed visitors again after half a century.
Alex Knight peeked his head out from a gap in a wall, cautiously surveying the environment inside. The scene before him was dilapidated and desolate, resembling a post-apocalyptic wasteland.
"What kind of post-apocalyptic style is this?" he mused.
Several wall sections enclosed a park area of several thousand square meters. In the soft morning light, yellow dust danced in the breeze, and weeds and shrubs cracked the concrete ground, growing tenaciously under the alternating baptism of sunlight and acid rain. Several car wrecks lay abandoned in a distant open space, moss covering half their bodies.
A large house nearby, styled like a Syrian war-damaged structure, occupied a vast area. Through gaps in the walls, Alex glimpsed inside—broken pipes, stopped machines, and various debris, indicating long abandonment. Outside the house, several red and green shipping containers were scattered, spray-painted with strange graffiti of unclear meaning. Whether anything remained inside was uncertain, but given their abandonment, they were likely empty.
"This godforsaken place should be uninhabited, right?" he thought.
Drawing his Hunting Knife from his backpack, Alex cautiously entered the long-silent abandoned factory building. Instead of exploring, he headed straight to a half-open container door. Under the faint morning light, Alex peered inside. Besides sand blown through corner gaps, it was empty. He entered the container, pulling the door shut behind him. Darkness enveloped the interior.
In the darkness, Alex rubbed his hands, excitedly opening the system light screen.
---
**Name:** Alex Knight
**Age:** 20
**Identity:** Player
**Dimensional Backpack:** 1 cubic meter [hunter's notes...]
**Equipment Slots:** 0 / 3
**General Talents**
- **Civilization:** Truth Eye, Learning
**Body Attributes**
- **Strength:** 6
- **Agility:** 7
- **Constitution:** 6
- **Spirit:** 7
**[Profession generated. Player, please confirm whether to take up the profession.]**
In this world, Alex's attribute panel did not list the Hunter profession from the Monster Hunter World. However, he could take on a new profession, distinct from Hunter. The Alexs of both worlds shared one attribute panel, and changes reflected in both simultaneously. However, a profession belonged solely to the individual in the current world, making it unique.
Rubbing his hands, Alex confirmed taking up the profession. The system had generated the profession over an hour ago, but at the time, it was still dark, and he was in the wilderness with little cover. He feared the commotion during profession loading might draw attention from dangerous creatures.
**[Player confirmed. Chef profession loading.]**
"Can't the profession have a more dignified name? Even 'demon chef' would be fine," Alex muttered, though he no longer wanted to complain.
Light shone in the darkness, illuminating the container's interior in exquisite detail, but it wasn't sunlight. Instead, silver flames ignited on Alex's body. His consciousness floated in the air. The translucent body, though seen before, still felt eerie.
After re-experiencing profession loading, Alex's consciousness returned to his body. Immediately, he felt changes. His strength had increased again, making his clothes tight, outlining his muscles on his short-sleeved cotton shirt and pants, exposing a large section of his calf between the pant legs and ankles.
Previously 1.7 meters tall, Alex now estimated he'd grown at least 10 centimeters, reaching a towering 1.8 meters. Moreover, his skin was smooth; touching his face, he found no pimples or blemishes, just clear skin. He'd grown taller, stronger, and likely more handsome. If he had a mirror, he'd admire his new appearance.
Inside the container, Alex curiously opened his attribute panel.
---
**Name:** Alex Knight
**Age:** 20
**Identity:** Player
**Dimensional Backpack:** 1 cubic meter [hunter's notes...]
**Equipment Slots:** 0 / 3
**General Talents**
- **Civilization:** Truth Eye, Learning
**Body Attributes**
- **Strength:** 8
- **Agility:** 7
- **Constitution:** 8
- **Spirit:** 7
**[Peak of human physical fitness]**
---
Adding 4 attribute points directly raised the two lowest attributes to the highest, more than doubling his physical fitness in strength and constitution compared to before—three times that of an ordinary person.
Amazing!
With this fitness, if he returned to his original world, he could earn 1000 a day carrying bricks and lifting buildings, easily dealing with thugs.
---
**Profession:** Chef
**Level:** 1
**Experience:** [0 / 100]
**Professional Talents**
- **Super Supplement (Unique):** Cooking food grants special buff effects. Ingredient quality determines effect strength. Professional experience gained upon cooking completion.
**Professional Skills**
- **Current:** None
**Tasks Generated**
- **[The Chef's First Meal]**
- **Description:** Perform a cooking session to start your chef career.
- **Task Reward:** 10 experience points, Chef profession skill crystal.
---
The Chef and Hunter professions perfectly complemented each other. Hunters could obtain bloodstone soul crystals through hunting, becoming stronger while acquiring ingredients. Chefs could upgrade their profession by cooking these ingredients.
The system was intentional with this design, Alex thought, even if he didn't dwell on it.
Stepping into the sunlight, Alex knew his Hunter counterpart was still suffering from the cold. Now was the time to search the abandoned factory for cold-weather supplies.
"Start with the closest ones," he decided.
Walking into the nearby large house, Alex surveyed its layout. Despite its vast area, only the four outer walls remained, with no internal partitions, allowing a complete view inside—a single hall of several thousand square meters.
On the concrete floor, besides accumulated water, lay scattered household garbage—soda cans and plastic bags.
Just then, a drop of water fell from above. Alex looked up. The roof, seven or eight meters high, had large holes in the steel beams, big enough for an elephant to fit through.
"This couldn't have been caused by hail, could it?"
"War?"
"An abandoned factory from a war, and the surrounding land contaminated with chemicals. This world isn't so safe."
Alex searched thoroughly but found nothing useful—only trash. The machinery inside were empty shells, previous visitors having taken everything dismantlable.
Finding nothing useful, Alex searched the surrounding containers. Most were empty; one even had half a container filled with household garbage.
Carbon dioxide, methane, nitrogen, sulfuric gases—visible gases permeated out, the nauseating smell almost overpowering him.
It was truly toxic!
The cars, too, were mere iron shells. Wheel hubs, tires, car glass, engine steel parts—everything had been removed. Nothing useful remained.