Apocalypse King: Recruiting S-Tier Beauties With My Ruler System
Chapter 84: March Through the Dead

Chapter 84: March Through the Dead

John Wang’s POV

March 17th, 2025 — 9:32 PM

Longwan University — Linbei Campus, West Courtyard

—

The wounded clumped together near the ruined trucks. The half-useful ones hovered near the barricades, trying not to make eye contact with the guards or with me. I didn’t blame them. Fear was smarter than bravery most days.

I crouched low against the rusted truck, keeping my voice low. Only Mu Qinglan, Shen Yifei, and Zhou Xue were close enough to hear me.

The rest of the courtyard didn’t matter yet.

"We’re going after Liang Mei," I said, voice flat. "Where is she?."

Zhou Xue’s eyes brightened as she spoke. "The north-lab block... that’s where the ones who cannot fight are lingering."

"I see..."

Mu Qinglan nodded once, with no hesitation, while Shen Yifei’s fingers twitched against her spear. I noticed that Zhou Xue, still looked pale and bloodied, she sucked in a shallow breath but didn’t argue.

"Just the four of us?" Qinglan asked.

Her tone didn’t doubt me, but rather, she seemed to be thinking more realistically.

I shook my head once.

"Not enough."

Yifei leaned in, brows knitted tight.

"You think there’s time to grab help?"

"Maybe," I said. "If they’re useful."

I scanned the clumped survivors across the courtyard — most of them half-broken, some barely able to stand.

"Dead weight slows us down," I added. "But a few warm bodies on the flanks might buy us enough time if we run into a herd."

Zhou Xue wiped blood off her mouth with the back of her hand.

"I know some of them," she said, voice rough but clear. "There are a few who can still move. Some fought with me earlier... not all of them are useless."

I flicked a glance at her.

"If you had to pick," I said, voice sharp, "how many?"

She hesitated — not long — then said, "Three, maybe four."

I nodded.

"Good. I’ll scan the group."

Mu Qinglan shifted her weight, bat slung casually across her shoulders.

"If they move slow," she said, tone dry, "we leave them."

"Right," I said.

I stood, dusted the grit off my hands, and shifted my weight, arms loose, scanning them coldly. The system flickered at the corner of my vision — a quiet, passive scan, no noise.

[Survivor Scan Active]

C-Tier: 11 Detected

D-Tier: 14 Detected

I ignored the D-Tiers for now, because they wouldn’t help enough. Then tapped my system open again, bringing up the quick-purchase submenu.

▼ Basic Scrap Shield

• Durability: 80/80

• Cost: 150 ZKP

▼ Basic Leather Armour (Vest)

• Durability: 80/80

• Cost: 150 ZKP

I purchased three of each and flicked the system menu closed behind my eyes, mentally checking the numbers.

[ZKP Remaining: 1020]

However, it would be useful to use Zhou Xue to help me form some kind of bond with the others. They didn’t know me or what I wanted.

The courtyard was falling apart.

The guards had stopped pretending to care. Their rifles sagged low, their eyes fixed on the gates where the dead clawed and slammed against the barricades, louder every minute.

No one was coming to save us.

Good.

I crouched down beside Zhou Xue, who leaned against the rusted truck, her fingers white-knuckled around the bandages I’d wrapped across her ribs.

"Zhou Xue," I said, voice low but steady.

Her head lifted, eyes sharp despite the blood on her face.

"You know these people. Call four of them over. Only the ones who can move."

She didn’t argue.

Didn’t waste time asking why.

Her lips pressed tight for half a breath — a hesitation that said more than any words — then she pushed herself upright with a grimace.

"Chen Xun," she called first, voice rough but clear. "Deng Hua. Liang Qiu. Guo Fan."

They came hesitantly — scared, bloody, half-broken — but they came.

That was enough.

They stopped a few paces away, shifting their weight like cornered dogs, not sure if I was offering a hand or a knife.

Good.

Fear sharpened the senses.

Zhou Xue knew them well because these people were recruitable C-Tier level humans, and their wounds didn’t come close to the others. Mu Qinglan moved to my left, silent and steady, her bat slung low across her shoulders.

And Shen Yifei hovered near Zhou Xue, fingers tapping a rhythm against the shaft of her spear. I looked at the four survivors and couldn’t help but frown, telling them what would happen directly.

"We’re moving north," I said. "North Lab Block. There’s someone we need to pull out."

I let the words hang just long enough for them to understand it wasn’t a suggestion.

"You follow me," I continued, voice flat, "you move when I say move. You fight if I say fight. You keep up, or you stay behind."

"Why should we?" Chen Xun’s voice trembled as he asked.

I didn’t get angry. Didn’t even blink.

I just stepped closer, letting the cracked concrete creak under my boots, until there was only half a meter between us. Because fear sharpened the brain, and closeness made fear real development.

"You stay here," I said low, "you die when the next wave hits."

I jerked my chin toward the barricades, where the walls shook under the fists of the dead.

"You move with me, maybe you die anyway.But you’ll have a weapon in your hand.You’ll have a chance."

Simple.

Ugly.

Real.

Chen Xun flinched. Not because the words were cruel, but because they were true.

Behind him, Deng Hua swallowed hard, glancing toward the darkness gathering at the courtyard edges.

Liang Qiu squared her shoulders slightly, her jaw clenching. Good instincts.

Guo Fan looked like he might piss himself — but he nodded, jerky and desperate.

They understood.

No speeches. No promises.

Just survival or death.

Their choice.

I dropped the battered machetes at their feet, one by one.

Old-world steel, scavenged days ago.Not gifts.Tools.

"You want to live," I said, stepping back, "pick one up."

They did so in a quick and rather quiet manner.

None of them seemed proud, and thanks to the sweaty state and messy hair, they didn’t look pretty either, but at least they were fast.

I yanked the basic shield and leather vest from my backpack next — bought earlier, rough as hell but good enough — and tossed them toward Liang Qiu and Guo Fan.

"Shield front," I said, jerking my chin toward Liang. "Guard the centre."

"Vest back," to Guo Fan. "Stay alive."

The courtyard groaned under another slam from the gates.

Not much time left.

I turned to Zhou Xue, who was still leaning against the truck, pale but steady.

"You stay with us," I said. "Close to the centre. Don’t fall."

She nodded once, sharp and certain.

Good girl.

Mu Qinglan shifted beside me, twirling her bat once in her hand like she was testing the weight. Her eyes were cool, scanning the survivors without a hint of kindness.

"Stay tight," she said flatly. "If you panic, don’t expect us to drag your ass."

Shen Yifei nodded quick, stepping closer to Zhou Xue, almost protectively.

The four I’d chosen stiffened — Chen Xun, Deng Hua, Liang Qiu, Guo Fan — but none of them argued.

At least they had that much sense left.

"Anything we need to know?" Liang Qiu asked, voice rough from smoke and fear.

Good.

She wasn’t just meat with legs.

"We move fast," I said. "No shouting. No breaking ranks.If you see an infected ahead, you don’t scream — you stab."

Simple instructions.

Nothing they could fuck up by thinking too hard.

"And if we can’t run?" Deng Hua muttered, clutching the machete like it was the only real thing left in his world.

"Then you fight," I said. "Or you die."

The words dropped like a hammer.

Hard enough that even the dumbest one here could feel it settle over their heads. I glanced once at the shaking barricades, the buckling metal under the fists of the dead. No more time for speeches.

I flicked two fingers toward the far end of the courtyard, where the darkness was deeper, the ruined buildings twisted against the night sky.

"Move out," I said.

"North Labs. Stay close. Eyes open."

Mu Qinglan took point beside me, bat held low.

Shen Yifei hovered half-behind me, spear up but tense.

Zhou Xue limped at the centre of the pack, teeth clenched against the pain, hands white-knuckled around her borrowed gear. The others formed a rough diamond around her, shields up, heads swivelling.

Sloppy, but they moved, and that was enough for now. The courtyard behind us shook harder — a deep, rolling groan of breaking steel and stone.

The infected were coming faster now.

No second chances.

No gods.

No mercy.

Just the black night swallowing us whole as we slipped into the ruins ahead.

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