Apocalypse King: Recruiting S-Tier Beauties With My Ruler System
Chapter 105: The Calm Before the Storm

Chapter 105: The Calm Before the Storm

March 18, 20xx — 08:02 AM

Location: Archery Club Room, Longwan University

—

I sat up slowly, bones grinding like rusted gear work.

My arms burned like I’d been doing pull-ups on rebar. Everything from the hips down felt like something steamrolled over it.

The scent of dried blood still clung to the back of my tongue.

I pulled the small olive-drab pouch from my inventory and tossed it onto the floor with a satisfying thud. The logo was faded — something military-adjacent, unofficial. Not government issue. Still durable.

[MRE: RFC-Type — Creator: Steffan1988MRE Info]

That familiar retro font made me smirk.

"This guy again..."

Back in the days before zombies chewed the sun off the sky, I used to watch this nutcase of a content creator review MREs from every corner of the world. He once ate a 120-year-old chocolate bar and said it had "notes of attic."

But this one — this one was the good stuff.

A luxury combat ration.

Tear-proof packaging. Tight seal. No hiss of air. I popped it open and laid the contents out on the floor.

One squeeze pack hot entrée, vacuum-sealed like some military peanut butter tube — this one was chipotle beef with roasted rice.

Two shelf-stable sandwiches — one curry chicken, the other some mystery meat slathered in synthetic truffle mayo.

An instant gourmet coffee, which I’d kill for at this hour.

Protein pudding, banana-toffee flavour.

And half a pound of snacks: freeze-dried fruit mix, beef jerky in smoky hickory glaze, and nut-crusted oat bars that looked like they could stop a bullet.

"Hell yes," I muttered.

Of course, I had like thirty of these in my inventory and prepared one for each member.

The girls shared one because of ’high-calorie,’ but Mu Qinglan and Shen Yifei didn’t ask for anything, but I could tell they were curious.

I tore open the main entrée and squeezed it into a collapsible mess tin. The beef hit with a thwap. Smelled like heaven. Or at least like food that had a soul.

The scent of spices and real calories filled the room. I could feel heads turn.

Let them look. I needed this.

The coffee dissolved instantly.

The scent?

Smoky, rich, nostalgic.

Like a cafe buried inside a bunker.

Mu Qinglan lingered near the wall, arms crossed, eyeing my food. I tossed her one of the sandwiches — the curry one. She caught it without comment.

"Don’t say I never give you anything."

She raised an eyebrow, peeled the wrapper, and took a bite.

"...Huh," she mumbled. "Not bad."

Shen Yifei walked past me, eyes dragging toward the coffee. I handed her the protein pudding instead. She didn’t argue — just sat beside me on the floor and popped the foil lid open.

I ate in silence, letting the calories soak into my blood.

My fingers curled slowly, testing strength, range of motion.

My Qi had recovered more than expected.

[Qi Recovery: 88%]

[Stamina: Replenished]

[Shell Stockpile: 80]

Yeah.

I’d burned through every last one.

Time to get back to work.

——

March 18, 20xx — 08:12 AM

Longwan University — Archery Club Room (2f) — Inner Corner, Inventory Screen Active

—

The last of the protein pudding was still melting on my tongue when I slipped quietly into the back corner of the clubroom. I crouched low, eyes half-lidded, posture relaxed — just a man stretching sore legs.

But the screen flickered to life behind my gaze.

Only I could see it.

[Menu → Shop -> Inventory]

The system’s glow was soft, cold, and demanding.

I’d done the math.

Six of them could become capable enough to survive Stage-2 encounters — if I invested properly. But only two were tied into my system right now: Shen Yifei and Mu Qinglan.

The rest... not yet.

Didn’t mean I’d abandon them. Just meant I had to divide resources the smart way.

First purchase:

[Item: Type-9K Compact SMG] — x2

[Auto-Reload Module] — x2

[SMG Accuracy (Lv1)] — x2

[Combat Gloves — Reinforced Trigger Grip] — x2

Total cost: steep. But worth it.

The weapons materialised into my inventory — sleek, matte, and deadly in close quarters. Quiet enough not to wake the dead. Precise enough in trained hands.

I left them stored.

For now.

Both Yifei and Qinglan would get theirs later, when no one could interrupt.

Next:

[Bows — Standard Combat Archery Set] — x4

[Iron Arrow Bundle (x100)] — x3

[Hunting Bow: Reinforced Limbs + Stabiliser] — x1

I handed the cheap bows to Chen Xun, Deng Hua, Liang Qiu, and quietly laid one next to Liang Mei as she rested. She blinked up at me once. Said nothing.

The hunting bow, I set beside Zhou Xue’s mat.

She hadn’t noticed yet — but she would.

’That’s enough for now.’

I tapped the side of my gauntlet. It hummed with a low glow, whirring as the thick buckshot shells twisted and loaded into the eight slots with a click. I couldn’t notice the weight after evolving so far...

But when I tapped the wooden floor with some force, it cracked, forming thin, spider-like webbed splinters.

Carefully.

Silently.

Strategically.

Soon, we’d be moving out.

—

I stood, stretched, then gave a nod toward the far door.

"Qinglan. Yifei. With me."

The shift in the room was immediate — small glances, stilled breath. Zhou Xue looked up mid-bite. Deng Hua paused, lacing his boots. Liang Mei sat straighter for a second, eyes flicking toward Yifei and then me, her cheeks always looked pink...

"Eh? What about us?"

Deng Hua asked me with a worried face, but I just waved my hand and placed my hands on Yifei and Qinglan’s hips and shrugged. "It’s private. Don’t worry, we are in this for the long haul now, little bro."

[Deng Hua was embarrassed but grateful for your honest: +10 Loyalty]

[Chen Xun is grateful you prepared weapons, food and even medicine for him and the others: + 30 Loyalty]

[Liang Qiu is fond of the bow and your face: +20 Affection]

[Zhou Xue and Liang Mei have a deeper trust for you, and feel safe: +25 Affection]

Their loyalty to me increased further and reached close to the possibility of Loyalty+

Which meant that I could finally trust them completely, at least for now. To me, that was the first step for people who weren’t Qinglan, Jiang Roulan or Yifei.

Though Old Zhou and his daughter are special...

But it would be hard for him to recruit Xue, Mei and Qiu...

’Well these weak people ended up improving my previous skills when I recruited them...’

Because they were all from the archery club, no matter their skill, it helped me reach: Shooting [Level 4], Leadership [Level 5] and Dash [Level 4] while granting a small amount of ZKP for recruiting them.

The girls followed.

Mu Qinglan adjusted her jacket with a faint huff, brushing stray hair behind her ear, her expression unreadable.

Shen Yifei hesitated for a heartbeat — just enough to remind me she still wasn’t used to being pulled aside for special treatment — then walked behind me without a word.

I closed the door with a soft click.

The room smelled faintly of cedar wood and disinfectant, but as well... the faint scent of last night remained—sex, perfume and my sweat.

Mu Qinglan leaned against the wall. "What’s this about?"

Shen Yifei folded her arms. "You gonna lecture us for falling asleep?"

"No," I said. "I’m equipping you both."

That got their attention.

I pulled up the inventory screen, letting the icons hover just long enough for both women to see. Thanks to their affection reaching over 350 each, which amazed me, I could show them the contents of my inventory.

[Type-9K Compact SMG]

[Auto-Reload Module]

[SMG Mastery (Lv1)]

[Shooting (Lv1)]

[Combat Gloves — Reinforced Trigger Grip]

"This is the gun I use..." I took out mine, after taking it back from Liang Mei, who seemed sad to see it go earlier, but I probably would give this one to Jiang Roulan.

I loved my shotgun fists too much!

I handed the weapon to Qinglan first.

The sleek black body of the SMG practically glinted as she took it in both hands — light, compact, ideal for her close-ranged instincts. The combat gloves wrapped smoothly around her fingers — snug, matte-black, gel-reinforced across the palms and trigger line.

She whistled low under her breath. "I’ve wanted one of these since before the world ended."

"Really?"

"Yeah... I used to go shooting with my father in the past. I love this gift...!"

Mu Qinglan skipped up to me and kissed my cheek, a warm, soft sensation spreading from the touch as she nuzzled my neck. "Thanks, I will treasure it."

"Auto-reload enabled," I muttered. "Thirty ZKP per magazine. Fires silent. Controlled recoil. Handles well with your current strength."

"And the skill?"

I tapped her interface manually — a silent grant through my system.

[Mu Qinglan — SMG Mastery Level 1 acquired]

[Mu Qinglan — Shooting Upgraded to Level 2]

She smiled faintly, testing the weight. "I’ll kill twice as many just to make it worth the cost."

"Good," I said.

Then turned.

Shen Yifei stood with her hands on her hips.

"You’re giving me one too?" she asked. Not distrustful — just cautious.

"Of course, you’re important to me..." I brushed the sweaty hair from her cheek and flicked her nose. "Although you are amazing with a spear, we learned that sometimes a gun can help clear them for safety."

She held it gingerly at first, turning it in her hand like a foreign object, but the weight settled. Her fingers curled around the grip. When she slid the gloves on, they moulded instantly to her palms, faint seams flaring once as the auto-link connected.

"Why are you..." she started, then shook her head. "Never mind."

I activated the skill for her as well.

[Shen Yifei — SMG Mastery Level 1 acquired]

[Shen Yifei — Shooting Level 1 acquired]

"Yifei, Lan’er these guns are only for you, if you notice... there should be a small blue box that hovers in your view when you think about storing the gun."

"W-What is that!? Oh my god..." Yifei made a lot of noise as she suddenly lifted her hand, and the SMG vanished. "It works!"

Mu Qinglan soon copied her.

"Don’t keep them on your bodies, and this is something related to my secret... so try to keep it hidden if possible."

The two girls looked at me with sparkling eyes—even Mu Qinglan...