Apocalypse King: Recruiting S-Tier Beauties With My Ruler System
Chapter 166: Gathering Supplies

Chapter 166: Gathering Supplies

March 21st, 1:18 PM — Longwan Mall - Main Hall

John Wang POV

——

Not long after we killed the last Ghoul, Mu Qinglan and Shen Yifei left with the students and leaving me Jiang Roulan, Zhou Xue and Liang Mei behind.

The plan was to search for any lingering zombies so that we could gather supplies and head back to base without issue.

"Don’t you want to join them?"

Jiang Roulan always asked me the right questions... but finally, she stopped avoiding me due to what happened in the shower.

We sat on some benches in the main hall. I spent almost an hour dismantling and gathering items from the basement.

"Yeah..."

Honestly, I was tired after spending the past two days fighting, stressed and on guard.

My eyes scanned the holographic map and saw that Qinglan and the others were killing the last of the few zombies, granting me some nice rewards.

[Mu Qinglan Killed a Crawler]

[10 EXP | 20 ZKP]

"I’m so tired."

Though it was a little pathetic of me to complain, the only people who wouldn’t mind and pamper me were in the room with me.

It was quite delightful, on one side a mature beauty like Roulan, on the other a young and fluffy sheep like Liang Mei.

[Deng Hua Killed a Crawler]

[10 EXP | 20 ZKP]

The numbers kept growing, adding to my current growth and wealth.

There was a need to empower the people who fought beside me, because the zombies were evolving and growing stronger each day.

"Are you alright, J-John?" Liang Mei’s cute voice came from my side, her little hands pulling on my bloody and torn shirt, her eyes filled with concern.

In fact, everyone was worried...

I rely on my Titan’s Marrow too much.

However, there was something more important right now.

Zhou Xue approached from a small shop to the west, brushing plaster dust from her sleeves. Her boots were scuffed, and the left strap of her quiver had nearly torn free. She stopped a meter away and folded her arms.

"Xue! Did you find anything?"

Liang Mei hummed to her best friend while Zhou Xue huffed and gave a thumbs up, showing a packet of premium candy shaped like ice cream cones and chocolate mushrooms.

"Ah!?"

She tossed them to Liang Mei while placing her hands on her hips.

"You look like hell," she said.

I gave her a tired smile. "You should see the other guy."

She didn’t smile back. Just tilted her head. "You called me back here for a reason?"

I stood slowly, stretching my back. My shoulder cracked.

"Yeah," I said, flicking open the system menu. The interface responded instantly—Xue’s name now glowed pale blue under the recruitment panel. Eligible.

"You look good in that outfit."

Zhou Xue pulled away and covered the ice cream candies.

"I’m not giving you any..."

"Damn!"

I chuckled, though I didn’t mind...

Deng Hua, Chen Xun and Liang Qiu all worked hard—despite being C-Tier, they always tried their best. I planned to upgrade them to at least A-Tier.

"Will you keep fighting with me, Liang Mei, Zhou Xue?"

The pair seemed shocked at my question, both mid-popping the packets of their sweets, while shifting their gaze to me.

"Do you really want me, or just Xue?" Liang Mei’s voice lowered.

"Honestly, I made you a promise..." I reached out and tapped Liang Mei’s cheek before whispering in her ear. "I have two more injections for you."

"Ack!?" Liang Mei bounced and turned bright red, almost losing her chocolate mushrooms as she did.

"Stop teasing her, John..."

Jiang Roulan’s voice sounded soft, but her eyes were scary!

"I’m not, both of you are experienced and skilled archers, I am sure you can do well with even better equipment and help... I am sure you’ve noticed the difference between me, Roulan, Qinglan and yourself... right?"

"Y-Yeah..."

I noticed the change in Zhou Xue instantly, but Liang Mei continued smiling at me, even though she saw it seemed the two were different in their reactions.

"Can... Can we become that strong?"

It might have been the first time that I noticed Zhou Xue looking at me with such a powerful and determined gaze.

"You can."

Her gaze lowered briefly, thoughtful. "You sure?"

"Yes."

"...Then I’m in."

Jiang Roulan’s gaze on Zhou Xue seemed to transform.

Her lips parted, but she didn’t speak, though I wondered if she might have an issue.

Tension seemed to build when multiple women gathered...

"Well then, welcome to the team."

"What about—"

She paused and looked at Liang Mei.

"Don’t worry, I plan to help you all grow stronger, so we don’t lose anyone else."

I cut in before she could finish, knowing that Zhou Xue cared about her club members.

There was no need to hold back anymore, and so I accepted her recruitment and purchased enough of the Elixirs for her to take for each attribute.

[Zhou Xue Recruited (S-Tier)]

+ Zhou Xue’s attributes are now visible.

+ 100 Experience.

+ Archery [Level 1]

+ Random Skill Charisma [Level 1]

She exhaled through her nose. "Guess I’ll stop wondering if I was just temporary."

"You were always useful," I said. "Now you’re just official."

Roulan leaned closer to me, one arm draped across the back of the bench like she belonged there. "You sure you didn’t just want another cute girl to follow you around?"

I gave her a look.

Then took the bottles out and handed them to her.

"These are something that will make you stronger, faster and better."

"Hmm... do I just drink them?"

Zhou Xue turned the bottles in her hands, the light catching the coloured glass—red, gold, silver, and indigo. Each shimmered faintly, like something alive stirred inside.

She eyed me. "You’re giving me all four?"

"You earned them," I said. "I want you strong enough not to need saving."

Her expression didn’t change, but the faint crease between her brows softened. She uncorked the red one first. The Strength Elixir. Fiery red. It caught the light like liquid glass.

She sniffed. "Cinnamon and... pepper?"

"Smoked ghost pepper. It’ll hit hard."

She drank without hesitation.

The reaction was immediate. Her jaw clenched. Shoulders locked.

"Shit. That’s—hot."

I smirked. "That means it’s working."

"Feels like someone set my chest on fire."

"Now try moving your fingers."

She did. The surprise hit her second. "They feel... lighter. Stronger."

"You’ll notice the rest later."

One by one, she drank the others—silver first, then gold, and finally indigo.

Each one was ridiculous in its own way.

The silver vial made her blink twice and flex her legs. "That’s like drinking cold lightning."

The gold made her lean back slightly, her lips parting. "It’s sweet... but heavy. Feels like it’s soaking into my bones."

And the indigo...

She went still.

Quiet.

"...This one’s strange."

"Chocolate and anise," I said.

"No. Not the taste." She opened her eyes slowly. "Everything’s slower now. Clearer."

She exhaled. "So that’s what it’s like."

"You good?" I asked.

"I’m better."

Both Liang Mei and Jiang Roulan knew what those elixirs were, and they’d both drank them a while ago.

"Well, we should start looking for anything useful for the base, right?"

Jiang Roulan and Liang Mei nodded, but seemed a little upset. The others were still fighting and increasing my ZKP like useful worker ants.

In the corner of my eye, I noticed something strange... Zhou Xue’s role was already chosen, and the elixirs made her quite strong for a stage one.

[STATUS]

Name: Zhou Xue

Role: Ranger

Affection: 172/500

Stage: 1

Health: [●●●●●] 100%(calm)

Morale: [●●●●●] 100%

Strength | 1.4

Physique | 1.5

Agility | 1.9

Spirit | 2.3

[SKILLS]

Archery [Level 6]

Shooting [Level 2]

Leadership [Level 3]

Charisma [Level 2]

Business Management [Level 2]

Self Defence [Level 4]

Painting [Level 2]

Driving [Level 1]

Edging [Level 6]

Tracking [Level 1]

Eagle Eye [Level 1]

——

Tracking [Level 1]Allows the user to identify and follow faint trails left by enemies.→ +15% success rate when locating recent tracks or signs of movement.→ Reduces the time required to detect hidden or fleeing enemies.

Eagle Eye [Level 1]Improves vision and detail perception at long range.→ +10% accuracy for attacks beyond 20 meters.→ Slight zoom enhancement during aim reduces environmental visual blur.

——

As for her skills, I wish I could have taken them, but these seem to have come after I chose. I learned something new.

I could only copy their initial skills before choosing a role.

But Zhou Xue would grow faster now and help me in the future.

That was enough.