Bernard

The next morning, Maxwell woke up early. He keenly sensed that there were many more people in the hotel.

"These are all Evolvers..."

Aside from those from Supreme Hall and Samuel's group, Maxwell hadn't really had the chance to interact with other Evolvers. Of course, Carline used to be one of them.

"You guys are back? A great victory, huh?"

At the stairwell, two people who bumped into each other started chatting.

"A great victory, indeed, but we also suffered significant losses. This time, the zombie surge and the mutant beasts' onslaught coincided, and even that person was injured."

"How is that possible! She is a king-tier big shot!"

"Well, it's hard to say. There's talk of a big creature that broke through several barriers and ambushed her. Although she was injured in the attack, she managed to kill it in retaliation."

"Why do these zombies and mutant beasts always have to be at odds with humans!"

Maxwell stopped and asked, "Excuse me, the person you gentlemen are referring to, is that Lady Aileen?"

The two men quickly looked at Maxwell, sizing him up. After their initial wariness faded, one of them said, "Exactly, but she doesn't like it when people directly call her by her name. Friends just call her 'President.' Ten years ago, someone who didn't believe it had their tongue cut out."

"Their tongue cut out?"

Maxwell was taken aback. This didn't quite match the Aileen he had heard of!

Of course, he didn't know Aileen personally; it was all based on the stories he had heard about her, mostly from Floyd, forming an image of Aileen that Maxwell had assumed on his own.

Indeed, no one had stipulated that Aileen, who a hundred years ago had single-handedly established Red Castle to protect women, had to be a person of mild temperament!

That certainly allowed for her to have a bad temper!

However, it's also possible that the incident at Red Castle significantly altered her disposition.

"Looks like our friend here doesn't quite believe it, haha, but no worries, you can try it out for yourself sometime. Her temperament really is unpredictable!" said the man, who then proceeded upstairs without further conversation.

The other man, who was about to go downstairs with Maxwell, smiled at him and asked, "Are you perhaps from the mainland?"

"The mainland?"

The man pointed westward and asked, "From over there?"

Indeed, the west was precisely where Maxwell had come from.

So, he nodded.

"Then it's quite normal that you wouldn't know. Are you here in Tampa City for the competition as well?" the man continued.

Maxwell affirmed.

"That's good. I'm here for the competition too. My name is Bernard. Are you heading to the fighting arena? I'm about to go there myself. If it's on your way, we could go together."

He was quite forward and friendly.

Maxwell was indeed planning to go to the zombie fighting arena, so he didn't refuse.

"I'm lucky this time; I caught a Tier 1 mutant zombie. I was planning to kill it for its energy crystal, but when I heard the prize was a sacred essence stone, I decided to keep it for the competition. Watching these ugly fellows fight is quite entertaining."

Bernard was very outspoken, saying whatever came to mind.

Maxwell soon learned that Bernard was a Tier 2 Evolver who liked women, particularly attractive housewives, enjoyed heavy drinking, and had the ability to turn his skin to stone.

This man was really talkative.

And from his ability, it was clear he was a tank, albeit a small one.

It must be said, Bernard's social circle was indeed wide; wherever he went, there were people greeting him, and of course, all these people were Evolvers.

It turns out that there are so many Evolvers in this world, and Maxwell just hadn't interacted much with that circle before.

Additionally, unless you're at a certain level, even if you cross paths with an Evolver, you might not know their identity, as they generally won't go out of their way to bother with you.

Now, Maxwell had gotten a preliminary look at the Evolver circle.

Without a doubt, with his current strength, if he were placed in the Evolvers' hierarchy, he certainly wouldn't be at the bottom.

After Maxwell arrived at the fighting arena, the competition had already started.

The rules were straightforward and brutal: the zombies were put into the arena to fight. The winner earned a point, and the loser was directly eliminated.

Mainly, elimination was inevitable since the losing zombie typically died, and thus couldn't continue in the competition.

Only after winning five consecutive matches could the zombies rest. In the end, the ten zombies with the highest accumulated points had to accept challenges; losing meant direct elimination.

After the challenge matches, the ten zombies with the highest scores moved to the final stage.

The finals were a zombie free-for-all, where only the last standing zombie would win the competition.

"Why are today's contestants uglier than the last? These people aren't willing to put in any high-tier zombies; they're all trying to hide them and use subpar ones to rack up points. These little tricks are useless! Even with high points, without strength, they'll just get eliminated. I'm debating whether to put my zombie in later or wait until tomorrow for some points. Just watching people scavenge annoys me! By the way, where did you place your zombie? These arena managers, afraid of trouble, charge a hefty fee just to store a zombie. They're like vampires!"

Bernard started complaining as soon as he came in.

"In Section C," Maxwell said.

Actually, Maxwell just made a casual comment; his Tier 2 zombie was still in his space and hadn't been placed in the fighting arena.

"Come on, let me introduce you to some of my friends. It's good to know more people. You're tough on your own, but sometimes two hands aren't enough against four," Bernard said as he led Maxwell towards another area.

The fighting arena was divided into several sections, and Bernard took him to an area that arguably had the best view, even better than the section Mr. Lu had been in that Maxwell encountered earlier. Clearly, this area was specifically designated for Evolvers.

In this area, about twenty people were scattered around, with Bernard leading Maxwell towards a group that was congregated together.

"You're here too!"

"Who is this?"

"This is a new friend I've just met; he's a pretty good guy! Oh right, friend, why don't you introduce yourself to everyone?"

Bernard had intended to introduce him personally, but he had been talking the whole way and completely forgot to ask for Maxwell's name.

Maxwell didn't correct him but simply said lightly, "Maxwell."

"Maxwell! Great name!" Bernard exclaimed loudly.

Although Bernard lavished praise on Maxwell, the reaction from the other Evolvers was lukewarm; they just nodded at Maxwell without saying much else.

"Don't take it to heart, friend. A rough guy like me tends to be more popular. Just find a place to sit down, don't mind them."

Bernard whispered reassuringly to Maxwell, then went back to talking with the group.

Maxwell didn't mind; after finding a place to sit, he turned his attention to the fighting arena and earnestly watched the competition.