Apocalypse King: Recruiting S-Tier Beauties With My Ruler System
Chapter 169: A New Direction

Chapter 169: A New Direction

March 21st, 3:18 PM — Outskirts of Longwan Mall, South Sector Streets

John Wang POV

——

We moved quietly.

Boots against concrete. No chatter. Just the shuffle of packs and the occasional creak of gear straps.

South of the mall, the air felt fresh. Cleaner. Sharper. Like the wind could move again, now that the Ghouls were dead. But I didn’t trust it. Calm wasn’t safety. Silence wasn’t peace.

Ahead, the high-class district rose like another world—gated roads, elegant signage, private driveways with stone lions still standing guard.

This was where the rich lived.

Or died.

Most homes were sealed shut. A few had signs of looting—broken glass, scorched walls, rotten drapes fluttering through shattered windows. But others looked untouched. Too untouched. Like something had kept scavengers away.

"There," Zhou Xue pointed toward a low-rise apartment block behind a vine-covered gate. "That looks sturdy."

I nodded. "Worth checking."

It wasn’t ideal. Too exposed. But we needed something. Somewhere with space, no open vents, and strong enough walls to hold for a night. Ten of us couldn’t cram into a single flat or bunkhouse without stepping on each other’s throats.

Mu Qinglan moved beside me, her eyes scanning the rooftops. "No movement. No scent either."

Good.

That meant no immediate threats.

Roulan and Tang Wei took the left. Chen and Deng covered the rear, keeping an arrow nocked and an SMG raised. Yifei remained silent at the edge, watching from the shadows with her spear lowered.

We moved house to house, street by street—searching, sweeping, choosing our direction by terrain and instinct.

One mansion had too many windows. Another had a broken fence. A third had blood on the walls.

The fourth looked promising. Gated, with solar lights still hanging intact, two floors, a garage, and only one side entrance.

"Here?" Liang Mei asked, panting slightly under her load.

I nodded. "Let’s check it."

I moved first, over the gate, through the hedge. Zhou Xue followed behind, then Roulan.

The property was big. Private. Thick trees fenced in the sides like an overgrown curtain. The yard had collapsed in patches—grass overrun by weeds, paving stones cracked and crooked. But the air was clean. No blood. No bodies.

That was rare.

"Clear front," I said.

Tang Wei led the group behind me, her eyes struggling to meet mine after the kiss.

Zhou Xue crouched beside a rusted garden lamp. Her bow flicked left, right—smooth, quick. Liang Mei and Deng Hua slipped through next, then Chen Xun and Liang Qiu. Qinglan and Yifei came last, silent shadows behind us.

We’d hit three properties before this—one burnt out, one filled with rot, one torn apart by something that had chewed its way through the walls.

But this one was intact.

Not untouched. Just unbothered.

The building was tall—two floors, balcony, windows reinforced with roll-down shutters. Solar panels lined the roof, and a small satellite dish still blinked red. Maybe old security systems. Maybe working. Hard to tell.

Roulan tried the door. Locked.

"Window?" I asked.

"Basement entry might be easier."

Qinglan pointed around the west side, past the empty pool and into a patio stairwell.

We moved quickly.

No words. Just signals.

Roulan covered the hallway while I forced the basement hatch open. Hinges screamed. Inside, nothing moved—just dust and the dry smell of old storage. We filed in and swept the rooms. Bunkered pantry. Cold wine rack. Furnace dead.

We checked the upper floors room by room. Six total.

No infection.

No signs of a fight.

Just silence.

"This’ll do," I muttered.

What surprised me was how the group started to evolve, improve and learn... with Zhou Xue’s ranger class, she helped scout zombies along the way, and now she could help protect us from danger much easier.

I planned to purchase the Eagle Eye and her tracking skills for all my women.

Yifei and the others started covering vents, boarding up the windows and doors, leaving an escape route for us and nobody else.

Mu Qinglan and Jiang Roulan vanished, but from the noise it seemed they were preparing our rooms and where everyone would sleep.

We couldn’t keep sharing one room...

Yifei nodded once. "Doors and vents are all sealable."

Tang Wei tapped the generator tucked behind a cabinet wall. "Low fuel."

"Enough for a night?"

"Maybe."

"I see, good work."

"Ah..."

Embarrassed, she left the room, while I examined the generator and what fuel it used..

[Purchase Request]

Generator Fuel - 1L

MREs x 10

Water x 10

[Cost]

1500 ZKP

"This should do?"

The moment I paid the price, a red canister like one you might find in any garden or survival game, filled with the smelly petrol or gas, honestly I wasn’t that knowledgeable but still I poured it all into the generator and the needle increased to just past halfway.

"Good!"

Tang Wei was the one who advised me that the electric grid might not last much longer, because we weren’t at the base it never even crossed my mind.

Water

Electricity

Food

These were things more important than guns or gold right now.

The others started unpacking. Sleeping gear. Rations. Zhou Xue stripped her boots and sat with her legs crossed by the window, watching the dark street. Deng Hua found a water tank in the laundry room. Still flowing, slow and cloudy, but usable.

It wouldn’t last forever.

But for now?

It was safe.

We’d made it through the week.

And this time, the roof wasn’t falling.

The sky turned copper, the kind of glow that made even ruined cities look golden.

We were still in the main room—living area, wide windows, sectional couch half-split down the middle but soft enough to sit on. Everyone was spread out. Resting. Talking in small groups. Bandaging light scrapes. Sorting gear.

Zhou Xue dozed with her back to the wall and her bow across her lap.

Liang Mei sat nearby, arms wrapped around her knees. Every few minutes, she’d glance at me, then pretend she wasn’t. She was always easy to read. That was part of her charm.

Roulan swept through the kitchen, inventorying canned goods and condiments. Her sleeves were rolled up. She didn’t ask me for help—just moved like the house was already hers.

Yifei leaned against the wall near the front door, wiping her spear with slow, deliberate strokes. Her expression hadn’t changed since we left the mall. Calm. Neutral. Watching.

I’d brought out more fuel earlier—twelve litres just to be safe.

We’d be able to power everything from the fridge, the lights, and the purifier if anything went wrong.

Well, I bought a special canister that could hold up to twelve litres of fuel, roughly two and a half gallons.

So if it needed filling, it wouldn’t matter.

That alone made this place feel like a miracle.

"Hey," Mu Qinglan’s voice called from the hallway.

She stepped out barefoot, her coat off, wearing just a snug black top and loose pants cut at the thigh. Her hair was damp—someone had found a working tap.

"I set up sleeping arrangements," she said, eyes flicking between me and Yifei. "One room for the male students, another for the females and one for the rest of us."

I raised a brow. "You mean the adults?"

She smirked faintly. "I mean the ones who might enjoy some nightly activities."

Roulan snorted from the kitchen.

"Power might be cut soon," Tang Wei said, stepping down from the upstairs hall. "Lights are starting to flicker, and the grid’s been failing across the city for days."

That meant the blackout was coming.

And with it, darkness.

Real darkness.

Not flickering hallway bulbs or shaded stairwells—but black, pressing silence. No hums. No buzz. Just breath, heartbeat, the creak of settling foundations.

I stood and stepped over to the main breaker box.

[System Store Opened]

I bought a portable lantern, two long-life candles per person, and boxes of matches. I passed the lantern to Zhou Xue and gave the rest to Roulan and Yifei.

The last candles and a lighter I kept for myself.

"Everyone I know, it feels scary to be sleeping in the wild... but we have to survive this, please understand."

"No problem, boss."

"It’s fine, but... the meals suck!"

Deng Hua and Chen Xun headed to their room, while amusingly, Liang Qui joined them... it made me wonder if she planned to seduce one of them.

In the other room, Jiang Roulan, Zhou Xue, Liang Mei and... well... that’s who would be sleeping there and in the final, largest room.

It was mine! Hahaha, a comfortable bed to myself....

At least I thought.

Until in the dead of night, Mu Qinglan entered my room, without knocking, followed by a blonde maid.