Apocalypse King: Recruiting S-Tier Beauties With My Ruler System
Chapter 57: Departing Heat

Chapter 57: Departing Heat

March 17th, 20xx, 05:02 AM

The system screen floated in my vision.

A faint static hummed as it sharpened the visual layout of the nearby area.

[Target Location: Zone 3B-Δ — 4.4 kilometres South-West]

[Estimated Arrival on Foot: 13 minutes (Current Speed)]

[Projection Route Displayed – Please Follow the Trail]

A glowing arrow appeared at my feet.

Faint at first—then brighter, solid. It pulsed once, and the floor lit up beneath it with a soft blip, casting dots in perfect formation across the floorboards, out through the cracked hallway door, and into the broken world beyond.

I turned slowly, gaze dragging back to the bed.

Qinglan hadn’t moved.

Her legs curled beneath the quilt. One hand pressed lightly to the edge of the pillow, her fingers twitching once, like they missed me already.

I moved to her side, boots soft against the worn floor.

The system overlay flickered at the edges of my vision, but I ignored it. I leaned down and pressed my lips gently to Qinglan’s cheek. Her skin was warm, still flushed from earlier in the night.

She didn’t stir—sleeping peacefully with a soft smile on her lips.

"I’ll be back soon," I whispered. "Don’t take the blanket with you."

I straightened, grabbing the jacket from the edge of the chair.

It was old leather—cracked, faded, once black but now closer to charcoal, with stitching I didn’t remember adding. I pulled it over my shoulders, the scent of gunpowder and rust already soaked into the lining.

No shirt.

Didn’t matter.

I was burning from the inside out.

As I fastened the buckle at the collar, I saw it in the mirror. Just beneath the skin, a black mark had spread over my left pectoral, the shape webbed and vein-like, curling out from just over my heart like cracks in glass.

I paused.

It wasn’t a scar.

It pulsed—faintly—once every few seconds.

The sutra?

Or something else?

"System," I muttered. "What is this?"

[Classified]

[This change is irreversible.]

"Not helpful," I growled, and zipped the jacket halfway.

I stepped through the door, following the arrow’s glow through the dim hallway.

Behind me, the door swung shut with a soft click.

The city was waiting.

So was Roulan.

—

Jiang Roulan POV – March 17th, 20xx, 05:04 AM

—

"..."

Blood ran down my side like leaking engine oil.

Every step sent a burning pain through my body, but I kept walking, slowly and steadily. I had to protect Yifei, shield her no matter the cost.

Shen Yifei was injured badly. Her swollen and bruised arm hung without power, and she barely kept her balance with the spear. Her breathing became worse with each passing moment, and her sharp pupils started blurring.

She wouldn’t last another fight.

But neither would I. We fled quickly up the emergency stairs the moment those men appeared with weapons. They were so aggressive, attacking Yifei from behind, and almost knocked her teeth out.

Below us, the horde tore through the buildings, shambling ever closer. That noise faded a few moments ago, replaced by boots.

Multiple pairs, moving fast and armed while closing in.

I clenched my cracked tonfa.

Useless.

I dropped it, my trusted weapons rolling across the ground.

"I’ll stall them," I said without looking. "You move."

"No," Yifei sniffed, her voice more like a whine.

"I’m not asking."

She hesitated for half a second before she caught my tone.

"...Understood, but... don’t do anything stupid. You hear me?"

A cute girl, shy and a little sharp to deal with, like a hedgehog. But her heart was gentle and warm on the inside.

She limped toward the back ledge of the roof, dragging her legs. I couldn’t stand hearing her pained breaths, holding back her tears.

Every step looked and sounded like hell.

I turned to face the others.

Thirteen enemies.

Twelve foot soldiers with gear.

"I could probably delay them... if not for him."

I focused on the last male.

He looked eerie with black veins and darkened skin, not the good-looking tanned or naturally dark skin, but... fake, manufactured and artificial.

A monster in human skin.

Ever since I called out John’s name in my heart, hoping he might find us, there was a strange, bizarre flicker of light in the corner of my eyes and a blinking dot in the distance, at first it was tiny... but it grew larger each second.

The screen, with a bold white font and blue background, read:

[Stage 2 - Human Variant Identified]

[Parasite-Type Awakening Detected]

[Symbiotic Mutation: Right Arm – Metal Growth, Blade-Form]

[Chance of Victory: 0.0001%]

He stood at the front, shirtless. Strange drawings... in ink like wriggling worms crawled up his neck. His right arm seemed to have merged with steel, grown into a huge, jagged blade that twitched with purple veins that pulsed through it.

Scary... terrifying... my legs trembled momentarily when his pale eyes looked up at me.

He was watching me like I was a bug.

I kept my face cold, calm... forcing myself to breathe, sucking whatever oxygen possible into my lungs while pushed back into a corner.

Then, for the first time since the apocalypse began...

I drew my gun.

It was small, worn and old but reliable, something important to me.

"Damn... hurry it up John."

I lifted the Type-3K one-handed, my arm dipping from the ache in my abdomen, and pulled the trigger without a word.

Bang—

The shot bounced off his blade with a loud clang.

No, he cut the bullet down—it’s unbelievable, but I saw him slash through the air and cut down the bullet.

He stepped forward.

Bang—Bang—

Another two shots, double-tapped, one aimed for his chest, the other aimed for his head.

He tilted his head like I was stupid.

Then he smiled. His foot stepped onto the rooftop... and my body froze. Terror overwhelmed me like nothing I had faced before.

I didn’t answer.

"Or are you trying to scare me with noise?"

My lips curled.

"I’m not aiming at you."

His eyes narrowed.

[System Prompt — Raid Leader John Wang — Marker Signal Detected]

[Visual Tracking Engaged.]

In the corner of my vision, a small animation or should I say video played, and I saw John... running along the rooftops, jumping, leaping, his face covered in sweat... wait!?

That’s all I needed.

The awakened rushed at me.

Fast.

He crossed ten meters in the time it took me to reset my grip on the pistol. The blade fused to his arm hummed through the air, the edge sharp enough to leave a trail in the rooftop haze.

[Warning: Incoming Threat — Speed Class: High]

A voice echoed in my head, strange... I should feel confused, but I knew this was thanks to John and trusted it.

Too late to dodge.

But I didn’t move.

I raised the gun one last time—

Bang!

The round ricocheted off the blade again, sparking as he closed the distance. I wasn’t aiming to stop him.

Just to mark the spot.

He knew it too.

His eyes narrowed. "You’re baiting someone."

"I already did."

He snarled.

Then the blade swung low.

Shhk—

The steel ripped through the air and sliced across my chest, just beneath the collarbone and dragged across. I felt my skin tear open, blood bursting from the wound before the pain even registered.

I staggered back. Legs numb. The grip on the pistol slipped.

Before I could brace—

CRACK.

His boot slammed into my stomach.

My body left the ground.

My ears popped from the force.

The world flipped once—sky, edge, steel railing—

BANG.

I hit the stairwell chest-first, bouncing off the metal, which groaned beneath me. One bounce. Then another, rolling until I hit the cold guard rail.

Pain spread through my ribs, shoulder, and spine as my vision blurred.

I landed in a heap at the bottom of the fire escape.

Everything ached.

But I was still awake.

Still conscious.

[Status — Unstable]

[Warning: Heavy Bleeding Detected]

[Combat Efficiency: 12%]

[System Ping Active — Leader Proximity Confirmed]

The system window flickered weakly in the corner of my vision.

Then I saw it.

A pulsing orange arrow drifting across the opposite roof—I wanted to look up, to gaze at him, but my eyes kept closing...

My lips curled, even as blood dripped from my mouth.

"...Took you long enough."

And then, above—gunfire, the screams of men, then something flung from the roof, crashing to the ground below.

Heat filled the air.

He had arrived.