Apocalypse King: Recruiting S-Tier Beauties With My Ruler System
Chapter 109: Meeting other humans...

Chapter 109: Meeting other humans...

March 18, 20xx — 12:19 PM

Zone 2A-Δ — Red Roof Row

——

I didn’t want to believe these people would be hostile, but let’s face the truth.

A group of three men and five top-tier beauties, even if it was just Mu Qinglan with me, there was no way it wouldn’t cause trouble. That’s why I didn’t dress them in pretty clothes but survival-based ones.

’I’d love seeing them in flowing dresses, or lewd cosplays. But I needed to be realistic.’

"Phew..."

My sigh was louder than I thought.

Mu Qinglan, Yifei and Zhou Xue looked back at me suddenly with concerned eyes.

The rooftops changed here. Rust-coloured shingles. Handmade wiring strung between buildings. A row of tin chimneys cut at an angle, some with black residue streaking down. Recent burns.

Fresh.

Mu Qinglan stopped at a boarded shopfront and narrowed her eyes.

"Look."

She pointed to the metal security gate.

Scratches — horizontal. Not claw marks. Tool marks.

Pried open recently. One side bent in, smooth at the edge. Carefully forced.

"They didn’t kick it," she said. "They opened it."

Human hands.

Zhou Xue ducked into the doorway and checked the back wall.

"Prints in the dust. Two sets. Adult size."

I stepped forward, my eyes scanning the boot prints, and thanks to the system, I could learn more about this. "One pair of military boots, the other is a standard climbing boot."

"Fuck," Chen Xun muttered.

"There’s no bodies, or blood. They weren’t in a rush either." I added.

Yifei scanned the rooftops again.

"Still nothing moving."

That’s what made it worse.

Because I knew they must have seen us, either heading to the university or coming back, and that left us in a dangerous position.

Suppose they were friendly... good. But I still couldn’t trust them.

Thankfully, they cannot follow us to the base, but even so, our group couldn’t go against the military right now.

Even if they evolved or drank the elixirs I have... it would take a month of training at least using the system and zombies as fodder.

’...’

These thoughts of mine made me realise I wasn’t the same John as a few days ago... the apocalypse was twisting my mind... slowly but surely I was becoming someone, something different.

We passed the shop and found more signs. A dead car battery was left beside a bucket of bleach. A wire-mesh cage — animal trap. Not for rats. Too big. Cleaned and reset.

Signs of humans.

No humans.

Every sense I had was screaming, but there was no target. No threat. Just this feeling — like we were being circled from above.

The tension made everyone slower.

Careful.

Worn.

March 18, 20xx 12:38 PM

Zone 2A-Δ — Final Approach, 0.5 Miles from Base

We ducked under a collapsed pedestrian bridge, cutting through an old food delivery plaza.

It stank of mould and petrol. But someone had moved through here, too — someone swept the dust in various patterns. As if we were constantly on their trail, but with mine and Qinglan’s upgraded senses... that wasn’t possible.

’Multiple groups?’

That’s the conclusion I came to.

Not one big group but several smaller groups working in tandem.

"I see..."

We weren’t far from them, as Yifei crouched at a dead fire, still warm, but the can of evaporated milk was still warm.

Half-full... pierced with a knife.

Beside it was a pile of untouched cans, milk, powdered milk, cream, and peaches.

Mu Qinglan picked one up and shook it once. "Still good."

"Take them," I said. "Fast."

Though I could protect Shen Yifei and Mu Qinglan if things became dangerous, I really didn’t want to lose the others either.

Zhou Xue, Deng Hua, Liang Qiu and Chen Xue... they’d started to grow on me. I didn’t have many friends in the past, and the one who stuck with me. Because of my stupid actions and fear, he ended up forced to betray me... Zang Ping... I bet he felt horrible when closing the shutters to survive.

Thanks to the horrible world forcing me.

I could see how stupid my actions and thoughts were now... and his tears, they were probably out of despair, knowing he couldn’t go against the group.

"I hope he’s alive..."

"What’s wrong, John?" Yifei called out to me, her eyes soft and always filled with emotions that I struggled to ignore.

"Sorry, just thinking about a friend..."

"Oh..."

Her hand rubbed my arm, her teeth sinking into her pink lips, as she leaned on me, with a makeshift hug. "Thanks."

These moments helped me remain sane through this hellish and changed world... that’s why I wanted more people around us... to keep everyone sane, happy and able to function.

I could become their man, their everything, but... the girls still needed friends and other people, or they would lose their minds in time.

"Shall we pick up the pace?"

"Boss, I’ve got some sweet stuff, wanna share?"

Deng Hua... I hated you at first, but why do you keep tugging at my heartstrings... He had a pile of books in his bag... thin, books with a beautiful blonde spreading her legs across the pages... she was quite hairy, but it was quite nice to see.

Though I could see Qinglan and the others... something about naughty books and videos excited me and made my blood surge.

’Was it a man thing?’

I leaned close to Deng Hua and whispered: "Ahem... I want the blonde magazine, you can take the others."

"Hehehe, of course boss. I see you like them big!"

"Stop that vulgar laugh!"

"Hehehe!"

Deng Hua’s annoying giggled remained in my head as we reached closer to the base.

The buildings thinned after that.

The skyline opened.

The main road that led toward our base came into view — four lanes wide, littered with abandoned trucks, burnt-out taxis, metal fencing shoved against a mall’s half-collapsed façade. My tower block was somewhere beyond the next intersection.

This road led past my old work and apartment.

But between us and there...

Movement.

Not clear.

Just the sense of it.

A glint of light. A shape ducking behind a bus. Gone too fast to track. It could’ve been a trick of the sun.

Could’ve been them.

Zhou Xue stepped closer. Her voice was low. "We’re not alone."

I nodded once. "Weapons ready, but hidden. We move like we belong here."

She swallowed and passed the message down the line.

Yifei joined me again at the front. Her expression was tight. "Think they saw us?"

"If they did," I said, "they’re waiting."

She glanced at her spear.

"Then we wait, too?"

"No," I said. "We hunt. Like wolves. Eyes up. Teeth bared."

The city didn’t answer.

But I felt it watching.

—

March 18, 20xx — 12:54 PM

Zone 2A-Δ – John Wang’s Aparment area.

—

We crossed the final intersection.

I recognised the curve of the buildings before we even turned the corner.

The old corner store burned out. A rusted bus with the open hatch was still lying across the sidewalk. The road bent gently rightward, sloping up.

And there, tucked between a collapsed noodle house and an old massage clinic...

My apartment.

Two floors. Brick frame. The reinforced door on the second level, with the metal balcony and the steel sheet that we used to escape. An image of the early days of the apocalypse replayed in my mind as we moved closer.

Barricading the stairs, windows and lower door... eating leftover noodles and stew. It was a place that held significance for me and Mu Qinglan.

But now...

I stopped walking.

So did Yifei.

Mu Qinglan’s mouth closed, grinding her teeth. She didn’t speak — just stared.

Because it wasn’t ours anymore.

The barricades were gone. The balcony had a tarp strung like a roof. Ropes tied across the top led to hooks on other buildings — perimeter lines. A tattered poncho was drying over the railing. Someone had installed a crude solar panel on the roof, angled toward the sun.

A fire burned in a metal barrel below.

And beside it?

Humans.

Three of them.

"..."

Qinglan didn’t speak, but I could feel the rage building. Her eyes shone electric blue before turning to me as she gripped her metal bat tightly.

One seated on a bucket, cleaning a rifle with the bolt pulled halfway out. Black vest, buzz cut, heavy arms.

He looked ex-military. Or close.

Another leaned against the wall, smoking. Hood up. One boot off, wrapped in a dirty bandage.

The third was on the roof, lying prone, binoculars in hand, watching the street through slats in the railing.

He saw us first.

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