Chapter 187 The Land of Death
As the sun rose, the chaos in Redwood County subsided.
That night, many people perished in the cold apocalypse, their bodies scattered everywhere, as if abandoned by God.
Cecil's past reputation helped. Many recognized him as Stuart's former top enforcer. With his team's help, he gradually took control.
It wasn't smooth. By night's end, almost everyone had blood on their hands.
When someone with bloodshot eyes and a wooden stick came at you, you had no choice but to kill them.
William then gave a series of orders.
Natalie and David guided a team in searching for Stuart's and the Evolving's usual haunts.
Candice and one of David's assistants set up a food exchange at the city gate. Anyone with Magic Crystals could trade them for more food, water, and medicine than before.
Jack, Michelle, and three of David's other assistants recruited people next to the exchange point to form a hunting team to kill zombies. They offered tempting conditions, with essential supplies based on performance, and the best performers could even get Evolution Elixir.
Cecil and Lucy organized patrols to keep the county from falling into chaos again and gathered information. Anything valuable could be reported to them, and useful info earned survival supplies.
William was also active; he had his people search for transportation, blueprints, and design plans to prepare for the future.
There were many reasons to stay. William's memories from his past life were mostly about two areas: a small part of the city he just left and the destination they were heading to. Outside these areas, he knew as much as anyone else.
He had people gather all kinds of info to analyze for useful intelligence. His foresight extended ten years beyond others, so what seemed useless to them might be valuable to him. He was also trying to recall anything he might have missed after being reborn.
If possible, he aimed to turn these into tangible gains.
Another key point was they were at the start of the Secondary Variation Tide, where the lowest forms of life would evolve to the next level.
This wasn't just William's guess; researchers from his past life had pinpointed this timeframe. From one month after the apocalypse started to a year later, this period was known as the Secondary Variation Tide.
During this period, numerous low-level life forms disappeared, making way for a surge of secondary evolved ones.
Human evolution would lag behind these rapidly mutating life forms, always playing catch-up.
William aimed to use this period to stockpile primary Magic Crystals and get a lot of one-star Evolution Elixir. These would be invaluable when humanity stabilized and needed more evolution opportunities.
Spending some time here was worth it.
If William's small team did this alone, results would be poor due to their limited numbers. But if they led and coordinated more people, efficiency would skyrocket.
Redwood County had fewer mutated life forms than the city William left, and could be quickly cleared with proper planning.
Trading food and water from Stuart for survivors' Magic Crystals was a form of exploitation, but fair. The food William provided matched the value of Magic Crystals at this stage.
When the team was ready to leave three days later, William had over five thousand primary Magic Crystals and more than a hundred secondary Magic Crystals.
By then, he had nearly twenty thousand primary Magic Crystals, almost five hundred secondary Magic Crystals, over a hundred bottles of one-star Evolution Elixir, and more than twenty bottles of immunity potion.
These came from Stuart's stash, hunting over the past few days, and trades with survivors. When they left, they had taken almost all the Magic Crystals from Wooland Town.
William also gathered useful info, like locations of mutated life forms, monsters, and strange objects nearby. This allowed him to get two tertiary Magic Crystals and many materials, including several monster eggs.
As they departed in their vehicles and motorcycles, their supplies had notably expanded from their arrival.
Leaving Redwood County, Jack looked at the map and said excitedly, "At this rate, we'll reach our destination in another day!"
Most people, no matter the era, crave stability, especially during an apocalypse. At Hope Base, some wanted to stay and develop the place, thinking it would thrive, but William shot down the idea.
After taking over Redwood County, these voices popped up again. The tall walls there seemed perfect for a secure base. With some trained guards, they could live without worry.
Additionally, the location was on the outskirts of a densely populated area, where mutated life forms were scarce. After their planned clearing, there were no threats within a five-kilometer radius, allowing for peaceful development.
But William still said no.
Now, everyone was heading to the base William had chosen, curious and excited to see what kind of place he had in mind. It felt like they were finally getting a home.
"Let's check on the red-haired Iron corpse first," William suddenly said.
No one objected, and they drove to the two-story building where they had rested for a few days. They found the red-haired Iron corpse still lying there, unchanged, with no sign of healing in the large wound on its chest.
Lucy sighed and shook her head, knowing the Human puppetry that once saved her was truly gone.
William felt a sense of loss too. Although he could create another to replace it, this was his first Human puppetry, and he was attached to it.
"Let's bury it," William suggested.
William and Jack dug a large pit in the yard, placed the corpse inside, covered it, and left with some regret.
During their evening rest, William drew a line on the map and pointed to a spot, saying, "When we get here, we'll abandon the vehicles and go on foot through this area."
Candice examined the map and objected, "Why abandon the vehicles? There's a highway here, and it's not in the city, so the road should be fine."
"This is a Land of Death!" William's words were shocking.
The Land of Death was almost as infamous as the roulette in the apocalypse.
It had two sides. On one hand, it was extremely dangerous.
In the Land of Death, various monsters roamed. They were powerful, fierce, bloodthirsty, and brutal, devouring anything to evolve. Humans were their favorite food.
On the other hand, the Land of Death was a place every survivor longed for because it offered Magic Crystals, resources, materials, Battle Pets, professions, recipes, and blueprints—everything you could want.
It was an adventurer's paradise and also their graveyard.
The origin of the Land of Death was hotly debated. One confirmed theory was that these areas were hit by Golden Light on the first day of the apocalypse, created by foreign 'invaders.'
This didn't fully explain the situation. Sudden appearances of Lands of Death, distinct from the initial attacks, seemed mysterious.
"If it's so dangerous, can't we just go around it?" Michelle asked.
She knew that following William, who seemed to know a lot about the apocalypse, would make everyone stronger over time. So why risk entering a Land of Death that even William found dangerous?
William shook his head. "This Land of Death is huge. Going around it would take several extra days, and we can't guarantee we won't run into danger on the detour."
He added, "Plus, I need to check something in this Land of Death."
Everyone exchanged glances but said no more.
Early the next morning, the group set off again, heading straight for the mysterious Land of Death.
That night, as William and his team prepared to enter the Land of Death, some uninvited guests arrived at the yard where the red-haired Iron corpse was buried.
A red vine as thick as an arm slithered into the yard like a python, with a white Magic Crystal in its midsection, glowing in the night.
It was a mutated secondary bramble.
Moments after it entered the yard, two fierce secondary monsters appeared on the wall. Seeing the red vine, they roared and charged, engaging in a deadly battle.
Although the secondary bramble was a bizarre mutated plant, it was no match for the two monsters and began to lose. With no hope of escape, it noticed a spot in the yard where the soil had been disturbed, revealing a human corpse. Without hesitation, it burrowed into the ground, its sharp-toothed tip quickly opening the wound on the red-haired Iron corpse and biting into the heart.
The corpse possessed an extraordinary nature, housing immense energy within its heart.
This was natural, as the heart of the red-haired Iron corpse held a tertiary Soul Pearl and a tertiary Magic Crystal.
When William left, he had thought about retrieving these items. But upon opening the Iron corpse's body, he found the Soul Pearl and tertiary Magic Crystal fused and devoid of energy, so he abandoned the idea.
If the secondary bramble could devour this heart, it would quickly recover and regain its fighting strength.
At that moment, something strange happened.
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
