Apocalypse King: Recruiting S-Tier Beauties With My Ruler System
Chapter 61: A Salty, Bitter Yet Worthwhile Kiss.

Chapter 61: A Salty, Bitter Yet Worthwhile Kiss.

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March 17th, 20xx — 05:17 AM

Zone 3A-Δ – Base: Jiang Roulan’s apartment

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The potion hit my tongue like molten stone.

Thick. Metallic. Sweet at the edges—but bitter, too. Not a flavour I could name, just something primal. Like old roots crushed under pressure, or earth that hadn’t tasted sunlight in centuries.

I held it there, let it coat my tongue. It hummed in my mouth like it was alive, and the moment I bent low, bringing my lips to hers, I felt it shift.

Jiang Roulan was still limp—breathing, barely, but when I kissed her, her lips reacted faintly. A twitch. A pulse of warmth, faint as a dying ember.

’Sorry, Qinglan...’

My lips parted hers gently, tilting her head with my palm. Her mouth was soft and dry, the taste of blood faint on her lower lip.

I exhaled into her.

Pushed the liquid between our mouths—slow, steady.

She swallowed once.

Then spit it back.

The potion slipped into my mouth again, hot and buzzing.

I sighed through my nose, more irritated than surprised, and tilted her chin higher.

This time, I guided her tongue with mine, coaxing it open, flicking across the surface until the warmth of her throat opened. She whimpered softly as the potion slipped down.

[System Alert: Human: Jiang Roulan has a high affinity with Earth-type Qi]

[Resonance: High]

Her tongue moved again.

Not spitting this time.

Responding.

It curled against mine, slow and hesitant at first—like her body wasn’t fully awake, but it knew what to do. The potion slid down her throat easier now, sucked between our lips as her mouth parted wider beneath mine.

Her breath caught. A quiet gasp, shallow and wet.

I didn’t pull back.

The resonance was strong. I could feel the faint vibration spreading through me when our mouths touched through my fingertips and chest.

Her Qi was reaching for mine.

’This is bad...’

I tried to ignore the heat building in my stomach. The way her saliva tasted—different from Qinglan’s. Less sweet. Creamy, with a mineral taste, like clean spring water laced with vanilla and milk.

I tilted her head further and exhaled again, letting the last of the potion slip between our mouths. She swallowed reflexively, her lips clinging to mine, the softest moan catching between us like breath too thick to escape.

[System Update: Synchronisation in progress...]

[Affinity Strength: 87% – High Resonance Detected]

I pulled back slowly.

Her lips clung to mine—soft and wet—before parting with a quiet, messy pop.

A string of saliva stretched between us. Thick. Warm. Still glowing faint gold from the marrow. It clung to my lower lip, hung for a moment, then broke, dripping onto Jiang Roulan’s collarbone where the blood had already begun to dry.

Her mouth stayed parted. Glossy. A faint twitch curled the corner of her lip.

I stared.

She shifted—barely. Her thigh dragged against mine. A soft exhale warmed the space between us.

And that damn taste still lingered.

Her saliva was creamy, smooth, laced with something that tasted like her. I could feel it in my own throat now. Sweet heat. Rich earth. Milk and mineral, and something deeper I didn’t want to name.

’Qinglan’s never did this...’

I flinched.

The thought hit harder than I expected.

Roulan’s Qi wasn’t clashing with mine. It wrapped around it. Pulled it in like a second heartbeat syncing to the rhythm. Different from the biting cold of Qinglan’s sweet taste and flavour. No friction. Just... harmony.

The marrow had stopped burning. But the connection hadn’t.

She moaned again—just barely—and her tongue flicked against her lip like she wanted more.

And for a second, I almost gave it.

Roulan’s lips were still wet against mine when her body started to tremble.

Not with breath.

With Qi.

I felt it roll off her skin—thick waves of pressure pushing against my chest, like the air between us had become molten. Her fingers twitched. Her thighs flexed. A pulse ran through her like lightning trapped under skin.

Then the scent hit me.

Metal. Earth. Something sour. Like rot.

Impurities.

Her body was rejecting them.

I pulled back fast, panting hard, hand pressed to my stomach—because the pain had already begun there, deep inside my bones. Like something was carving up my marrow with a hot wire.

’No—’

I clenched my jaw.

Locked it down.

I couldn’t transform now. Not here. Not when they needed me.

Not when her body had just started changing.

I grabbed Roulan under the legs and back, lifting her clean off the blood-slick steps. She felt lighter than I remembered. Hot to the touch, like her skin was burning from the inside out.

My legs almost buckled as I turned.

One more.

I found Shen Yifei slumped by the shattered vent. Her face was pale, lips cracked, one arm limp.

I hooked her up under the knees and flopped her over my shoulder.

Then I ran.

Roulan burned in my arms—fever-hot, trembling. Every step drove a spike of pain deeper into my spine, but I didn’t stop. I couldn’t. Her heartbeat was still there. Barely. And every time it fluttered, my legs moved faster.

Yifei bounced against my shoulder, her dead weight knocking into my ribs with every stride. I didn’t apologise. She wasn’t conscious to hear it.

I darted along the stairwell, took the turns with a tight, almost dangerous speed. My shoulder slammed into the wall more than once. The pain in my abdomen caused my vision to shake and become blurred.

My shirt became soaked with sweat by the time I reached the fifth floor, and I barged into her apartment with a heavy kick.

Dark. Quiet. Home—for now.

I moved straight to the living room and lowered Yifei onto the black sofa. Her body rolled slightly, but I adjusted her head, angled her legs.

Roulan was still in my arms. Breathing harder now. Her skin was sweaty, a sheen of gold rising faintly at her temples. Her body was shaking.

I carried her into the bathroom, set her down gently inside the empty tub.

Turned on the tap.

Water rushed in.

Steam began to rise.

Then I knelt.

Started with her boots.

Loosened the laces. Peeled them off one at a time.

Then the jacket—crusted in dried blood, heavy, damp. I tugged it from Roulan’s arms, folding it once and setting it aside.

Her shirt was next. Thin. Half-translucent now. I hesitated for only a second before I pulled it up, inch by inch, revealing pale skin beneath—flushed, damp, twitching slightly under the heat of her transformation.

I didn’t look too long.

Didn’t let myself.

Her body was changing. I could already smell it—the bitter edge of expelled toxins, rising through the sweat slicking her thighs.

I hooked my fingers into her waistband and pulled down her tights and damp black panties slowly, because the fabric clung to her pink petals.

An arousing sight, but I needed to ignore it and focus.

I slid them past her plump, rounded buttocks and down her legs before tossing them onto the floor, her curly brown pubic hairs also wet with a sticky thread.

Underneath, her skin steamed in the cool air.

Still beautiful, even like this.

Even now.

I dropped the soaked leggings to the tiled floor and turned the tap hotter. Let the water run over Roulan’s ankles. Then watched the filth begin to melt from her skin and swirl into the drain.

Then I sat back against the wall with a deep breath, watching her breasts swaying in the hot water and realised I needed to leave...

"Ah... I have to give Yifei her potion..."

A pathetic excuse, but I crawled out of the bathroom... my body burning up, skin turning a dark red as the heat from the top-grade marrow potion started affecting me again... dangerous to take more than once, I leaned on the sofa near Yifei.

My breath hitched.

Everything inside me felt too tight.

Too hot.

The marrow I’d already taken was boiling again, like it had been reawakened just by touching them. I pressed my palm to my abdomen and felt it pulse under my skin. The Qi hadn’t calmed. It was looking for something.

No... someone.

Yifei stirred.

Just a twitch—her lips parted, her chest rising as if she felt it too. Her skin burned against my arm. Her body arched faintly as a thread of steam drifted from her collar.

’Now or never.’

I pulled the second vial from my inventory and broke the seal with my thumb. My throat was already raw, but I drank it again. Thicker this time. Hotter.

Then I leaned down.

Pressed my lips to hers.

Just for a second.

Just enough to let the potion pass between us.

Her tongue flicked instinctively. Her mouth closed on mine.

She didn’t spit it out.

She sucked.

And in that moment, I felt it. Her Qi wasn’t like Roulan’s. It didn’t harmonise.

It attacked!

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