Apocalypse King: Recruiting S-Tier Beauties With My Ruler System
Chapter 127: Delicate Hands, Quiet Resolve

Chapter 127: Delicate Hands, Quiet Resolve

The table was covered in lists.

Real ones — not floating system windows. Roulan still liked handwriting her plans, neat block letters filling page after page with names, numbers, categories. Red ink for confirmed. Blue for uncertain. Black for dead.

Tang Wei stood on the far side of the room, one hand resting on the butt of her holstered knife, her jacket slung over the back of the chair beside her. She looked like she’d never really relaxed. Not once. Not even now.

"I say we keep the leadership line tight," Tang said, tapping a pen against the map pinned beside the list. "You, me, Roulan. That’s it. Everyone else reports to one of us."

"Agreed," I said. "Qinglan should be included, or at least someone directly beneath me."

Roulan glanced up. "I’ll handle logistics, rationing, food distribution, medbay rotation, and general inventory. Already have an interim schedule drawn for four days."

She passed me the sheet without asking. My eyes skimmed it — tight, clean. Efficient. I trusted her.

Tang nodded once. "Then I’ll handle perimeter patrols, scouting drills, threat level codes. And if we find survivors, I’ll decide if they stay."

"No... survivors will be my call. I won’t budge on that, sorry."

"I see... but I can still bring them and you decide?"

"Yes, you can let them stay with Jiang Roulan’s permission. I trust her judgement."

"Let me teach you how to use the earpiece properly." I changed the subject because Tang Wei looked a little different after I rejected her.

I spread the remaining comm units across the table.

Eighteen total. Sleek black devices, barely the size of a knuckle, each pulsing with a soft blue glow now that they were synced and charged. A tiny glyph shimmered on the corner of each casing — my mark. My system’s anchor. No one else could craft them.

Tang Wei picked one up, tapped it against her temple, and attached it just above her ear. It shimmered for a moment, adjusting to her body heat, then blended to her skin tone like ink bleeding into silk.

"Damn," she muttered. "Feels like nothing."

"They’re keyed to your vitals. Syncs to your body heat and solar exposure. You don’t have to think about charging them," I said, flicking my finger across the interface to open the user link table. "Right now, only this room is on the main channel. Private calls by voice tag."

"Voice tag?" Roulan asked.

"Say the name of the person you want to speak to, then tap twice. If they have one, it connects. If not, you get silence."

Roulan didn’t respond. Just fitted hers behind her ear, then brushed her hair back into place. "We’ll need naming protocols then. No confusion in the field."

"Already considered it," I said. "Unit tags by role — logistics, scout, combat, command. It’ll update via the system terminal."

Tang had wandered back to the map board, drawing patrol arcs with a red pen.

"We rotate four-hour watches at night. Two pairs on patrol, one resting, one prepping. I’ll cycle trainees with Wen Qiming’s people — see who cracks and who manages to advance.

Roulan was flipping through her notes again. "That means we’ll need hot meals ready by 0500, bulk prep by 1600. Anyone injured or showing signs of stress gets dropped from rotation."

I pointed to the final comm unit and slid it aside. "We leave this one unassigned. Emergency fallback or hand-off if someone goes down."

"Smart," Tang said.

"Necessary," Roulan corrected while adjusting her glasses.

A knock sounded on the doorframe.

Wen Qiming stepped in.

Tall. Clean. Calm. His black-rimmed glasses caught the light for a second, like a signal. He nodded once to each of us before stepping forward and saluting me with two fingers — not military, but habit. Structure.

"Reporting as requested."

I passed him his comm. "You’re running the student squad. You report to Tang, or directly to me."

"Understood."

Tang gave him a once-over.

"We’ll start basic training at 0600 and carry out advanced training at 1300. If they can’t hit a target the size of my hand by Friday, they don’t patrol, or eat well."

Wen Qiming’s face looked a little pale at first, but then he nodded, "Yes, ma’am."

He left without another word.

"Not bad."

"Well, he could hide his expression better."

Roulan and Tang Wei spoke to each other, like bickering sisters, for a moment before we started to work on the routines and rota in more detail.

We stood there in silence for a moment, the second-floor logistics room now humming with the low buzz of functioning tech, paper shuffling, and low conversation.

Not chaos.

But a structure that felt more real, like the past.

——

March 19th — 8:04 AM

Zone 3A-Δ – Second Floor – Hallway Outside the Medical Room

———

I left Roulan and Tang Wei behind as they went back to work — patrol plans, roster splits, food supply balancing. The logistics team was shaping itself faster than I expected.

I headed for the stairs.

Not the elevator.

The motion helped me think.

By the time I reached the second floor, the hallway became busy with people living their lives, and Wen Qiming had people jogging around. The buzz of tired survivors chatting behind curtains, a kettle whistling in the shared kitchen.

But here?

Just silence.

The door to the medbay was slightly ajar. Inside, I saw Liu Jiemin working in near-total quiet, her back turned, organising antiseptic packs by type and expiry date. She didn’t look up.

But the girl seated on the side bed did.

Liang Mei.

She’d changed into a light fleece zip-up and leggings, still too loose on her small frame. Her hair was tied back now, not well, just enough to keep it off her face. She looked up as I stepped in, her hands in her lap.

Shy.

But not scared.

She smiled when she saw me.

"Leader..."

"You rested?"

She nodded. "Better than before. My chest... doesn’t hurt this morning."

I stepped closer.

Liang Mei became more focused and sat straight, her hands twitching slightly with both hands holding her knees.

"I wanted to speak with you privately."

"Did I do something wrong?" The cute sheep-like woman asked me with her big, round eyes that looked worried.

"No."

I sat on the edge of the chair near her bed.

"You did everything right, Liang Mei. That’s why I’m here."

She blinked. Once. Twice.

"I want you to stay in medical for now. Learn from Liu Jiemin. Pick up everything you can — first aid, diagnosis, triage. All of it."

She looked down for a second, her voice soft.

"I’ll do my best."

"You already have. You’ve been calm under pressure, and you pay attention. Those are rare skills here."

I opened my system.

"But I know you want to eventually head outside, right?"

"..."

Her mouth opened, and she looked at me with shining eyes. I knew just how much she wanted to answer me, and so I nodded.

"Then give me some time, I promise to help you."

[Liang Mei is available for recruitment.]

[Current Loyalty: 187/500]

[Would you like to recruit Liang Mei into your party?]

[Yes] / [No]

I didn’t hesitate.

[Recruitment Confirmed.]

The moment passed — quiet, invisible. Only I could see the message blink into place.

[Liang Mei has joined your party.]

Her eyes flicked up to mine.

"...I’ll make you proud, John."

The way she said it — her voice shy but sure — made me pause.

I reached over and rubbed her fluffy hair with a smile.

"I know you will."

There was a special job that would be useful for her to take.

And so Liang Mei became a Combat Medic.