Chapter 263 Accraville City Power Rankings

"Daz, how have you been these days? You have no idea how worried your dad and I were after the apocalypse hit. We thought you... Your dad's hair has turned half white."

Nicholas was talking non-stop to Darryl as they descended the stairs. Darryl, however, listened with a smile, showing no signs of impatience.

The apocalypse had lasted long enough to change anyone's personality. Darryl was no longer the spoiled brat he once was but had become an excellent warrior, tempered by the zombie horde.

Darryl knew that Nicholas' constant chatter stemmed from a place of relief, a way to fill the silence and ease the tension of their scavenging trip.

In Accraville City, even a fool knew how dangerous it was to go out looking for food.

But Darryl didn't mind. With William by his side, they could handle everything.

As the three of them reached the building's entrance, William suddenly stopped them, signaling them to pause.

Nicholas opened his mouth to say something but was stopped by Darryl. Two seconds later, footsteps could be heard outside.

Through the first-floor window, they saw a person stumbling and running across the street. Although his steps were unsteady, he was clearly faster than an ordinary person. With his experience, William immediately recognized him as a one-star Evolving person.

However, the person was being followed by a horde of zombies, numbering in the hundreds. Fortunately, there were no evolved zombies among them; they were all of the ordinary kind.

Darryl and Nicholas were shocked to see the road blocked by a collapsed high-rise, making it impassable.

Clearly, the person didn't know the area and had run into the dead end in his panic.

Seeing the massive 60-foot-high pile of rubble ahead, the person let out a cry of despair.

Although ordinary zombies were not fast, he didn't have enough time to climb over the rubble before they reached him.

But he didn't want to give up. He started climbing the rubble, but it was full of sharp steel bars and jagged stones. Every step required careful calculation. The horde of zombies gradually closed in, climbing up nose to tail, ignoring the difficulty, even as their bodies were pierced and torn. Under immense psychological pressure, the man lost his grip and fell a short distance.

Immediately, a zombie grabbed his ankle and dragged him back to the ground. He struggled to break free, smashing the head of a zombie with a punch, but other zombies tore chunks of flesh from his body.

In just half a minute, his back and legs were stripped to the bone, and he was soon overwhelmed by the remaining zombies.

The three of them watched silently as the horde devoured the man. One of the zombies even evolved into a second-level zombie before staggering away.

As it reached the street corner, a red shadow suddenly darted out. A fiery red Mutated bird swooped down, grabbed the newly evolved second-level zombie, and lifted it into the sky. Before the zombie could react, the Mutated bird slammed it against a building wall, turning it into a pancake with the force of the impact. The bird then quickly devoured the most nutritious parts of the zombie.

This was the apocalypse. No matter how powerful an Evolving person or a zombie was, other mutated creatures were also growing stronger. Killing each other mercilessly formed a new food chain and a stable but mysterious ecosystem. This situation would persist indefinitely unless one side gained overwhelming dominance.

In his previous life, William had never considered those things. He only knew to hunt mutated creatures, obtain Magic Crystals, and evolve himself.

He never pondered why the apocalypse was like this, why mutated creatures were endless, why zombie and beast tides erupted sporadically, or why survivors continued to live tenaciously.

However, since his rebirth, he never stopped pondering those questions. He chose a path he believed would most likely lead to answers and would continue down it. He hoped that one day, he could personally unveil the mysteries of the apocalypse.

The goal was far off, and the path was full of obstacles and thorns, but William would walk it resolutely until he found the answers.

The three of them cautiously stepped out. According to Nicholas, there were two supermarkets not far ahead. Although they had been scavenged by survivors, there were still some supplies left. If they were lucky, they might find some food. However, the area was filled with zombies and mutated creatures, so they had to be extremely careful.

After observing the surroundings of the supermarket, William immediately abandoned the idea of a frontal assault. Within a few hundred feet of the supermarket, there were at least a thousand zombies, and a Mutated orchid was blooming on the second-floor windowsill. Even as a three-star Evolving person, he wasn't willing to risk his life for some food.

So he pretended to rummage through Darryl's backpack for a while, then pulled out five packs of compressed biscuits and a few cans of food, telling Nicholas not to take any risks and to take the food back first.

Nicholas's fondness for William skyrocketed. He knew that in the camp of his faction, these items could be exchanged for a good gun, or more than eight Magic Crystals, or even a week with the camp's most beautiful woman.

When they returned, the group was also discussing the one-star Evolving person who had been eaten by zombies downstairs. When the group saw the food, they couldn't take their eyes off it. In the city, zombies were everywhere, but mutated animals were rare, so they rarely got the chance to hunt mutated animal meat. Seeing the canned meat, they were thrilled.

"Nicholas, you guys did well," Avery said, patting Nicholas' shoulder. He then arrogantly took half of the food for himself and started eating. The others divided the remaining food among themselves, leaving nothing but scraps for the three who had found it.

Darryl couldn't help but get angry. Those people only had two Evolving persons. Darryl felt that he could take them down without William's help. Just as his killing intent rose, William stopped him and pulled him to the corner.

"Captain Wright, they are too..." Darryl grumbled. 

"This is how the apocalypse is," William said. He mainly ate meat from second-level mutated creatures, so he wasn't very interested in ordinary food. "We'll follow them to the camp to find your father, and then you decide whether to go to Cloud Peak Manor or stay temporarily with the Hungry Tiger Knights warband. Don't conflict with them for now."

Darryl felt a warmth in his heart, knowing that William was considering his feelings. Otherwise, those people were no different from ants in William's eyes.

"I see," Darryl replied. 

He calmed down, leaning against the wall and talking to William. After a while, Nicholas returned, looking disappointed as he realized he wouldn't get any food, and apologized to William and Darryl.

William took the opportunity to ask Nicholas about the situation in Accraville City, aiming to have a clear understanding before attending the trade fair.

Such trade fairs were great opportunities for mutual exchange, but also for cunning and ruthless people to get rich. Although William didn't think any survivor could pose a fatal threat to him, it was always good to be prepared.

"There are four top factions in Accraville City," Nicholas said excitedly and held up four fingers. "Mercy Vanguard warband, Fierce Roar warband, Olive Green Task Force, and Star Beauty Company."

William nodded. He had heard these names from Yves, which suggested that the invitation card was likely genuine.

Nicholas continued, "The strongest, without a doubt, is the Mercy Vanguard warband. All its members are Evolving persons. At the beginning of the month, they conducted a collective operation at a subway station in the southern part of the city, killing a group of mutated rats. It's said they obtained dozens of third-level Magic Crystals, hundreds of second-level Magic Crystals, and countless first-level Magic Crystals."

Darryl smiled, knowing that Nicholas tended to exaggerate. "Countless" was an overstatement. Even Cloud Peak Manor's zombie eradication had a countable number of Magic Crystals. How could this nest of rats really have over twenty thousand?

"Now, its leader, Chester White, is a three-star Evolving person and a professional. He's very powerful. He has other three-star subordinates, four or five two-star Evolving persons, and the rest are one-star Evolving persons," Nicholas introduced. 

Darryl glanced at William, mischievously smiling but saying nothing.

"The other three factions are slightly weaker compared to them but are still very strong, each having three-star Evolving persons," Nicholas went on. 

Darryl couldn't help but ask, "So many three-star Evolving persons?" William had just reached three stars; how did these factions already have so many three-star Evolving persons?

Nicholas confirmed, "Yes, Daz, you don't know. For the three-star Evolution Elixir, the entire Accraville City was in chaos for two weeks. These major factions went crazy. Anyone who could provide the location of a third-level mutated creature was given a first-level Magic Crystal. Every time a third-level creature was discovered, it was a massive battle. So many people died. The Olive Green Task Force, which suffered the most, reportedly lost more than half their people to get the three-star elixir! The other factions didn't fare much better."

There was still a lingering sense of fear in Nicholas's tone, clearly indicating that the situation had left a deep impression on him.

"Isn't this just trading the lives of subordinates for a three-star Evolving person?" Darryl asked with a frown.

Nicholas looked at him like he was naive. "What else do you think happens? That's the only way to get someone to three stars. The roulette system is brutal. You want to evolve? You gotta kill things stronger than you. And if you're not trading lives, what else is there? The smaller factions, they don't even get the chance to make that trade."

William remained calm. It was the norm in the apocalypse. The entire team's resources would be concentrated on one or a few individuals, who would then become stronger and give their subordinates some meager benefits. Many eventually understood this but were powerless to change it. If they left the team, they wouldn't even have the chance to gain those meager benefits, so they had no choice but to accept the exploitation.

Nicholas stated, "There are about ten second-tier factions, such as the Wings of Justice warband, Bloodstained Lamp warband, The Young Mercenary Corps, Peaceful warband, and so on. Some of them also have three-star Evolving persons, but their overall strength is weaker. For example, Wings of Justice used to be a major faction, but they lost too many people while hunting a third-level mutated creature. So even though they have a three-star Evolving person, their core strength is weak, relegating them to second-tier status. There are too many other ordinary and weak factions to mention. Oh, by the way, someone made a ranking of the factions in Accraville City. Do you want to hear it?"

Without waiting for William and Darryl to respond, he continued, "First is the Mercy Vanguard warband, second is the Star Beauty Company, third is the Fierce Roar warband, fourth is the Olive Green Task Force, fifth is the Wings of Justice, sixth is the Peaceful warband, seventh is The Young Mercenary Corps, eighth is the Accraville City Prison, ninth is the Bloodstained Lamp warband, and tenth is the Burning Fury Squad, where your dad and I are. Eleventh... thirty-first is Sasha's warband, thirty-second..."

Nicholas rattled off the top forty names in one breath.

After listening, Darryl asked, "Accraville City Prison? Isn't that outside Accraville City?"

Nicholas nodded. "It's not in the city, but it's considered within the city area. It's said that they are quite strong, so they made the list. Several surrounding factions are also ranked, like Cloud Peak Manor, which is a well-known resort. We used to go there. I heard there's a strong group there, ranked forty-first."

Darryl glanced at William, unable to hold back a laugh. "Cloud Peak Manor is forty-first? Sasha's warband is thirty-first?"

Nicholas was taken aback, then thought for a moment and said, "Yes, that's the ranking. It updates every half month, and the next update is in two days."

William felt a sense of familiarity with this ranking system because such rankings had appeared in various fields in his previous life. Especially as survivors established more connections, everyone discussed and cared about them.

In his previous life, William's team was among the top ten factions in Accraville City. William himself ranked around one hundred on the long-range combat power list, making him notable in Accraville City.

However, on a state or national level, he was insignificant.

Now, his former faction had not yet appeared.

He had heard about a global ranking for famous individuals, where only nine-star powerhouses and super factions could be listed. However, it was only known among high-level elites, and William didn't know the specific rankings.

After eating, Avery and the others called out to Nicholas to take the night watch and then went to sleep.

Darryl could see that Nicholas had no status in his small team.

Nicholas was physically weak and didn't have good weapons. If he didn't do the dirty and tiring work, he might be kicked out of the team.

Nicholas reluctantly stood up, walked to the edge of the building, and sat there on watch, not daring to catch up with Darryl any longer. If Avery saw him, he would undoubtedly get a good beating.

In the middle of the night, William came over to let Nicholas get some sleep. Nicholas, who was a weak middle-aged ordinary person, often had to take on the heavy labor in the team. Seeing William voluntarily replace him, he felt grateful and thanked him repeatedly.

William discreetly slipped a piece of jerky into Nicholas's hand. It was from a second-level mutated wild boar. Nicholas didn't recognize it, but eating it would significantly improve his physical condition.

He felt even more grateful to William, thinking that Daz had made a really good friend.

Darryl, lying nearby, woke up when William got up. Seeing this, he felt warmth in his heart.

The night passed peacefully. In the morning, Avery once again sent Nicholas, Darryl, and William to find food. This time, William took out two packs of long-lasting bread, making the team happy again.

Nicholas's team was part of the Burning Fury Squad. Their mission this time was to locate high-level mutated creatures, not to fight. They only needed to record the exact locations, and hunting was the job of the elite team. The elite team's secondary task was to collect first-level Magic Crystals.

The team wandered around the area all morning, noting the locations of several second-level mutated creatures before heading back to the base. By 2 PM, they had returned to the camp.

As the tenth-ranked team in Accraville City, the Burning Fury Squad had established their camp in a leisure square of an old residential area. They blocked the gaps between buildings with bricks, cement, wrecked cars, and debris. Every window was sealed, transforming the buildings into small walls to create a relatively sturdy settlement.

They climbed over a short section of the wall using a fire escape and entered the settlement. A scene of post-apocalyptic human survival unfolded before their eyes.

Many people greeted Avery, asking about their harvest.

The Burning Fury Squad had nearly twenty such ordinary team and three elite teams. There was competition among the teams, so the seemingly friendly greetings also had an element of probing.

William followed the team. As a new face, he attracted a lot of attention. Avery simply said that William and Darryl were looking for someone, and people didn't ask further. Such things happened in every base; after securing basic survival, many started looking for relatives and friends.

However, William sensed some unease and anger in the eyes of the people around him.

At that moment, a group suddenly emerged from the central factory building of the camp. There were only five or six of them, but their presence was imposing. The previously lively camp fell silent.

"Who are they?" Avery asked a companion, looking at the outsiders who had come from the high-level resting area. 

"The twenty-third-ranked Kiel Knights," the companion replied. 

"What are those lunatics doing here?" Avery asked, shrinking back in fear.

"What else? They're here for the trade fair invitation card. Ever since Mr. Jenkins had that incident, our Burning Fury warband's situation has worsened dramatically. Our ranking will definitely drop below thirty in the next update. Meanwhile, the Kiel Knights got lucky and obtained a three-star Evolution Elixir with just one spin. Their ranking will rise significantly, and now they think they have the right to attend the trade fair. They don't dare to provoke the top twenty factions, so they're here to bully us," the person spoke with anger but also helplessness. 

After all, the Kiel Knights were indeed stronger than the Burning Fury Squad now.

Nicholas watched, but as an ordinary survivor, he had no right to participate in these high-level matters. He told Avery he was taking Darryl to find his father. Avery waved William away dismissively, as if he were a nuisance.

William glanced at the arrogant Kiel Knights and then followed Darryl and Nicholas.

"Daz, your dad and I live in the warehouse up ahead. The environment isn't great, but at least it's a place to stay. We take turns going out to hunt. If we're lucky and get a Magic Crystal, we can trade it for several days' worth of food. In these times, that's not bad," Nicholas introduced. 

After walking for a while, they reached the warehouse he had mentioned. From a distance, they saw a crowd gathered at the entrance, with some cursing coming from inside.

"Fuck, you still think you're some big shot with power and influence? You're just good-for-nothing now! How dare you spit at me for taking your bottle of water? Do you have a death wish? Beg me, quickly!"

"No!" a man roared. Hearing the voice, Darryl froze, then his face turned red with anger. He charged towards the source of the voice.

William narrowed his eyes and followed at a steady pace.