Apocalypse King: Recruiting S-Tier Beauties With My Ruler System
Chapter 90: Liang Mei: A-Tier Sheep Goddess

Chapter 90: Liang Mei: A-Tier Sheep Goddess

She stepped over a corpse — eyes flicking to it, then away. I then remembered that Zhou Xue mentioned her being sick and having to take medicine.

Her face looked pale and oozed with a thick sweat.

"Do you need medication?"

She tapped her sweater pocket — a soft jingle from a small bottle inside.

"Enough for today. Maybe tomorrow."

Her voice didn’t waver.

Didn’t complain.

I nodded once.

She moved to my side without waiting for permission. Still breathing slowly. Still holding her chest like a sheep cradling its silence.

I started toward the hallway again.

We had minutes at best. Maybe less.

Liang Mei followed.

She didn’t ask where we were going.

Didn’t ask if it was safe.

Just said, softly:

"Don’t leave without warning. Some of us scare more easily than you do."

I glanced sideways.

She didn’t smile when she said it.

But somehow, it still felt like a pillow to the back of the head.

I didn’t answer her.

Just turned and started walking — slow, deliberate steps through the broken corridor ahead.

Yifei caught up first.

She stayed close.

Too close.

Boots brushing mine, shoulder nearly touching. Her breathing had levelled out, but I could still feel the edge in her movements. Her grip on the spear was tight again, white-knuckled. Eyes locked ahead — not scanning, not watching corners — just fixed on me.

I didn’t correct her.

The hallway was half-collapsed in places, the floor scattered with chunks of tile and broken ceiling plates. The lights above us flickered red and low, casting long, stretched shadows across the debris.

Behind us, Liang Mei moved quietly. No complaints. No questions.Just the soft shuffle of her shoes through the dust — never rushing to catch up, never falling behind.

To reach Mu Qinglan and the others, I would have to do something annoying... crossing the place where the scavengers were shooting earlier.

We were standing at a crossroads, with two sealed paths slowly filling with zombies, and then the left and southern passage, which could be dangerous.

’From the system... it seems that Mu Qinglan and the others are to the left...’

"Left’s clear," I said. "Stick close."

Yifei was already on my heels. Spear forward. Jaw locked.

"I am."

Her voice was weighted, too clipped, too fast. Not from fear. From something else.

The corridor narrowed. Cracked walls pressing in from both sides, lights dimming the deeper we went. Broken lockers lined the right wall, sharp-edged and gutted. I stepped over a half-melted backpack, kept my gun forward.

Liang Mei followed silently behind us. I could hear the soft clinking of pills in her pocket every few steps.

Yifei shifted closer. Too close.

"Watch spacing," I muttered.

"I’m not slow," she said.

"Didn’t say you were."

She didn’t respond. But she didn’t back off either.

We turned the corner. The stairwell came into view — or what was left of it. The wall was half-gone. Railings twisted. A black hole where the stairs used to be.

"Shit," Yifei said. "That’s not gonna work."

"Side access," I said. "Crawl tunnel."

"You sure it connects?"

"No. Just sure we don’t have another option."

Behind us, Liang Mei’s voice was soft, calm.

"How far?"

"Thirty meters. Down. Then stairs again."

She nodded.

Yifei glanced at her. "You gonna be okay?"

Liang Mei looked at her, not defensively. Just honest.

"Are you?"

Yifei blinked once. Said nothing.

I moved to the rusted maintenance door and wrenched it open. Metal screamed across stone. Inside, the tunnel waited — narrow, choked with dust, barely room to crouch.

"Single file," I said. "I lead. Yifei follows. Liang Mei takes rear."

"What if—"

"We don’t leave her behind."

Yifei didn’t argue.

She just looked away.

I dropped into the shaft. One knee, one boot. The floor was slick with old grease and ash. My shoulders scraped the wall as I ducked lower and started forward.

Behind me, I heard Yifei curse quietly, then follow. Her boots hit the tunnel with a dull thud.

Then soft steps behind her.

Liang Mei didn’t say a word.

The tunnel narrowed after fifteen meters.

Too narrow to crouch upright anymore — now a half-crawl, shoulders scraping the old cement walls. Dust drifted with every movement, thick as chalk, clinging to my throat.

I kept my gun low, angled across my chest.

Behind me, Yifei kept pace. She didn’t complain. But her breathing had gone shallow — a little too fast. Her boots dragged slightly as she moved.

"Keep low," I said. "Shoulders turned."

"I know," she muttered.

Sharp. Defensive.

Liang Mei’s steps came slower. Softer.

She didn’t say anything, but I could hear the change — each step a little more deliberate, a little less sure.

"Still with us?" I asked.

"Yes."

Just that. No breath wasted.

We reached a junction. The left was collapsed. The right was blocked by rubble. Forward — still open, though the space narrowed even further. The heat in the tunnel pressed against my skin like a wet cloth.

Yifei stumbled slightly. Her hand hit the wall. She caught herself and kept going.

"I’m fine," she said.

"I didn’t say you weren’t."

She didn’t respond.

I kept moving.

A section of the pipework burst above — blackened steel, scorch marks smeared along the wall. Chemical lab, probably. The air changed there. Sour. Burnt. Breathing through it made my teeth ache.

Liang Mei slowed further. I heard the light tap of her palm on the wall, steadying herself.

"John," Yifei whispered behind me.

"Yeah."

"She’s—"

"I know."

We reached a choke point — a point so narrow I had to angle my shoulders sideways and push through with one arm ahead. My jacket scraped rough stone. I ducked lower, then slipped into a slight drop.

The floor levelled out again.

I turned and held a hand up.

Yifei dropped in after me, boots hitting the floor with a soft skid.

She turned back, eyes scanning the crawlspace behind us.

A moment passed.

Then Liang Mei emerged — slow, one hand against her ribs, the other braced against the ledge. Her face was pale. Not panicked. Just... drained.

She looked tired, and it made me worried. The narrow space ended, but the toll on her was clear. Zhou Xue didn’t mention her illness in detail, but the system told me... an issue with her heart muscles.

[Heal Scan]

[Liang Mei: Dilated Cardiomyopathy (DCM)]

[Current State: Exhausted, Winded... in pain]

I stepped forward, offered my arms, and caught her in my embrace. Her body was soft... and comfortable like a pile of wool. She took it without a word. Slid down onto her feet, carefully.

"Sit," I said.

She shook her head.

"I’m not that bad."

I watched her for another second. She pressed a hand to her chest, fingers spread gently over her heart, breathing with control. Not faking it. Not hiding it. Just managing.

The system explained and detailed the pain she endured... and compared it to something I could understand.

Yifei stood off to the side, quiet.

Watching.

She fidgeted with her spear — adjusting the grip, then re-adjusting, then stopping. Her mouth opened slightly. No words came out.

Liang Mei glanced her way.

"You’re doing well," she said.

Yifei blinked. "Huh?"

"The way you handled that spear earlier. It wasn’t clumsy. It was precise."

"I missed once."

"You managed to adapt. That’s harder."

Yifei stared at her for a second too long. Then looked down with a smile on her lips.

"...Thanks."

I turned to the sealed door at the far end of the shaft — thick, metal, with a faded hazard sticker half-burned off.

The sealed door gave us a moment of quiet.

No infected sounds. No echo of footsteps. Just the tick of dripping pipes and the steady hum of power through old, buzzing conduit.

I lowered myself into a crouch near the far wall.

Yifei stood near the corner, back against the concrete, arms crossed tight across her chest. The spear was balanced against her leg. Her eyes never stayed still, checking the dark, the corners, then flicking back to Liang Mei.

Liang Mei knelt carefully, one knee first. Her movements were slow, practised, like someone used to rationing effort. She sat back on her heels, shoulders hunched slightly forward, hand still resting flat over her chest.

Yifei shifted awkwardly. Reached into her satchel. Fished out a plastic bottle and unscrewed the cap.

Then she held it out, not looking directly at Liang Mei, arm just extended, stiff.

"...Here."

Liang Mei opened her eyes and glanced up.

Her lips curled. Not quite a smile. Just... warm.

"Thank you."

She took the bottle with both hands, drank slow. No rush. Not greedy.

Yifei fidgeted with the strap on her bag, looking away like she’d done something embarrassing.

Liang Mei handed the bottle back gently.

"I appreciate it," she said. "You’re steadier than I expected."

"I’m not," Yifei said, voice tight. "I just... do things."

"That counts."

Yifei’s brow furrowed — like she didn’t know what to do with that kind of compliment.

She turned to me.

"How much longer?"

"Not long," I said. "Two more chambers. Then Qinglan’s sector."

I leaned against the door, listening.

Muffled shots again — closer this time. Not wild. Controlled bursts.

"I am sure they are fine."

Liang Mei shifted forward slightly, resting her elbows on her knees.

"Is she like you?"

"Smarter," I said. "More careful and much better at planning."

"Better shot?" she asked.

I glanced over.

"No one’s a better shot."

That made Yifei smirk a little.

I stood up and huffed at Yifei mocking me.

"Rest’s over."

Liang Mei rose slower but steadily. She brushed the dust from her skirt, reset the strap of her satchel, and didn’t look winded when she was upright.

Yifei didn’t wait for my order this time. She took her place at the door, checking the lock and hinges like I would’ve done.

I pressed my palm against the metal.

But when I prepared to push the door open, finally able to leave these horrible tunnels.

I noticed that the gunfire stopped.

That was worse

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