Apocalypse King: Recruiting S-Tier Beauties With My Ruler System
Chapter 66: Foundations of a Fortress - Meeting the New Recruits (I)

Chapter 66: Foundations of a Fortress - Meeting the New Recruits (I)

March 17th, 2025 — 1:31 PM

Zone 3A-Δ – Ninth Floor, Jiang Roulan’s Building

—

I didn’t say anything as I walked out.

Mu Qinglan’s frosty stare lingered on my back like a thin film of ice, but I ignored it. Not because I was immune, but because I didn’t trust myself to say something I couldn’t take back.

Besides, I had things to do.

The stairwell groaned as I made my way up to the ninth floor—quiet, empty, mine.

Every inch of the ninth and tenth floors already glowed green on my map overlay. Claimed. Cleared. But not built. Not yet.

I opened the interface.

[Construction Mode Activated]

[Current Resources:]

Wood: 220

Metal: 155

Glass: 140

Cloth: 130

Plastic: 135

ZKP: 2,200

The ninth floor lit up in full schematic view. Units 901 to 905 blinked faintly. The other side of the hallway—906 through 910—matched them. Everything was ready for expansion.

I selected them all. Fused the walls. Ripped out the internals. Left the core load-bearing structure intact.

Then I got to work.

Steel frames for support. Reinforced sliding partitions instead of doors. A large central hall between the two wings. One massive bedroom toward the back with adjustable dividers. Space for multiple smaller rooms, lounge areas, and an armoury.

I burned through most of my wood and metal, shaping the walls alone.

[Construction Complete – Ninth Floor Expansion Successful]

[-180 Wood | -130 Metal | -90 Plastic | -90 Glass | -100 Cloth]

[Remaining Resources:]

Wood: 40

Metal: 25

Plastic: 45

Glass: 50

Cloth: 30

It was clean, functional and huge, but... not cosy.

I opened the crafting tab again.

Fridge: 1,000 ZKP.Freezer: 1,000 ZKP.

Too much.

But if I wanted preserved meat, milk, or the fruits we were collecting, it was necessary.

[Forged: Fridge (Capacity: 100)]

[Forged: Freezer (Capacity: 100)]

[-2,000 ZKP][ZKP Remaining: 200]

[Warning: ZKP Balance Low – Host must kill or recruit to replenish]

The fridge and freezer shimmered into being near the rear kitchen. Sleek. Efficient. Time-locked like my inventory.

I placed them with a nod, heart sinking at the zero left in my bank.

These items would be popular; any items placed inside would never rot or reach their expiry date. Time froze inside them just like his inventory, with 100 slots each. Reaching level 4 also granted a series of special Items... called Sperm-eze... a flavoured soda that cost 100 ZKP for a pack of 20 drinks and would avoid pregnancy.

"I wonder if it tastes okay..."

To others, they looked like normal glass bottles of soda, and I could recycle them easily. There was a male version that came in the form of beer.

Maybe I would see how it tasted in the near future....

And then I saw it.

A flickering tab in the corner of the crafting menu.

[New Tab Unlocked: TRAPS]

I tapped it.

Schematics snapped open.

Tripwire shotguns. Nail launchers. Pipe bombs. Gas canisters tied to rigged ignition coils.

I leaned forward slightly.

"Now this is what I’ve been waiting for."

But before I could let the satisfaction settle—

[System Scan Activated][Scanning nearby lifeforms...]

[Stage One Zombies in 20-Minute Radius: 39,370+][Human Survivors in 30-Mile Radius: 13,008][Stage Two Mutants Detected: 537][Stage Three Detected: 1 – Named Enemy: Lao, the Corrupted Butcher]

"...It was only 9,000 yesterday."

[System: Reminding the host about zombies. Every dead human is one more zombie...]

My stomach dropped.

"That fucker didn’t die!?"

The moment I saw Lao’s name, there was a moment of... happiness. I could feel my stomach churning with a powerful earthen Qi. The Titan’s Marrow Sutra also seemed to be happy, but losing to me meant he became a zombie...

[System Message: Once a person’s body reaches a high level of corruption, even the evolved humans will deteriorate into a mutant!]

[It wasn’t your fault, it was inevitable!]

[System Reminder: Each human death creates a new zombie. Population loss feeds the horde.]

I closed the menu and turned toward the stairwell door.

Not enough people. Not enough hands.

I’d need more than pretty faces and a reinforced kitchen to hold back what was coming.

And if the system wouldn’t hand me soldiers—

I’d make them.

The elevator doors pinged upon opening, a soft chime echoing. A second later, Qinglan rushed out with a loud bang, stomping her foot, as if to scare me or something. However, the moment she noticed the changed apartment floor, her eyes widened and her jaw dropped.

She then started checking the reinforced walls, the sleek partitions, and the expansive layout that now spanned the entire ninth floor.

"This is... impressive," Qinglan said when stepping into the central hall, where the hallway between the two sides used to be, now a smaller corridor linking several spare rooms, the armoury, and an enormous lounge with a semi-functional kitchen.

I found a working oven and microwave while I save up points...

Her fingertips brushed along the reinforced walls with a smile on her face, the smooth and clean surface able to withstand a Stage 4 Zombie attack head-on.

"You’ve been busy."

I nodded, watching her as she moved through the space. "Had to make use of the resources we had. This place needed to be more than just a shelter."

She paused by the newly installed fridge and freezer, their sleek designs contrasting with the modest look of the rest of the floor. "These cost a lot, didn’t they?" Qinglan knew that I earned resources from killing zombies or dismantling things, and it was also her idea to form a hunting party.

"Yeah, but they make existing fridges look primitive."

"Hmmm..." she tapped the digital display, then noticed "Huh? Spermeze?"

"I’ll tell you later."

It’s embarrassing, but they’ll be needed... eventually.

"Most of my ZKP," I admitted. "But preserving food is essential. Can’t rely on daily scavenging runs."

Qinglan turned to face me, her expression softening. "You weren’t my best employee for nothing..."

I couldn’t help but smirk, these things were almost hard to remember, and it’d only been a few days, weeks for Roulan and Yifei, but for me it’d been four days... "It needed to be done, right?"

She walked past the rooms, first the smaller ones with simple double beds and relaxing spaces, though there was a generator and some televisions, but I didn’t have a chance to set that up fully yet. Each room was spacious, with adjustable dividers allowing for privacy when needed.

Then she noticed the huge room at the back, which spanned the entire floor across from side to side. "And this place?"

"Well, the smaller rooms are for people who earn our trust... well probably S-Tier women and Yin, that small cat room is Yin’s. This big one? It’s mine and, well for now yours right?"

Her cheeks turned pink as I continued. "Figured it was better than cramming into one room."

Qinglan nodded, trying to hide her face from me. "It’s... practical."

We moved to the elevator, where I showed her the new security features. "I’ve upgraded the system. Only those with clearance can access the upper floors now."

"Smart," she said. "We can’t afford any surprises."

We stood in silence before she settled down and sat on one of the several seats, looking at me. The tension and strange feelings from earlier were nowhere to be seen, replaced by a mutual calm. "John..."

"Lan’er, for now, this place is pretty nice, right?"

Her face snapped towards me, with wide eyes, before she pointed at me. "You!" She then turned away, her teeth sinking into her lower lip. "No one has called me that before... it’s embarrassing!"

I smiled. "Get used to it."

She looked away, but I caught a small smile on her lips.