Apocalypse: Transmigrated with an Overlord System
Chapter 196 : Secrets That Should Not Be Known (04)

Chapter 196: Chapter 196 : Secrets That Should Not Be Known (04)

She had dragged herself into a storm without meaning to. She has no one to blame for her bad luck. Or maybe the crop was just an excuse for their earlier meeting... Liora had a hunch that even if she had not taken the crops, she would have still met him under different circumstances.

After all, she did not plan to lay low, and one day her base would definitely catch his attention. She could fool people from her planet, but not the people from the Spire.

She looked up again, but before she could say anything, Atlas suddenly stopped walking. Liora bumped into his arm slightly and looked up at him.

"Why did you stop?" she asked.

Atlas looked at her for a long second, his face unreadable.

Then he smiled softly, reached out, and flicked her forehead with his finger.

Liora blinked, stunned for a second.

"Don’t worry," he said quietly. "As long as I’m here... he won’t be able to touch even a strand of your hair."

That warmth... that gentleness...

Liora looked down at the floor, biting her lip to stop herself from tearing up. She wasn’t weak. She didn’t want to cry. But something about his words—his calmness, his quiet promise—it made her feel safe.

And it had been a long, long time since she had felt safe. He felt like an older brother ready to protect his little sister at any cost, and he reminded her of her brother in her past life. Even though he behaved like an unreliable person, Liora’s heart was willing to trust him.

Liora stood still even after Atlas flicked her forehead. His words echoed in her heart like a soft promise. It was strange—just moments ago she had felt like the entire galaxy was crashing down on her, but now, after hearing him say that, some part of her truly believed she would be okay.

The spaceship hummed quietly around them. A soft blue light glowed along the walls as they walked back toward the main room. Liora could still see the planet from the window. It looked peaceful from here, but she knew better. Down there, people were fighting every day for food, safety, and survival. And she had unknowingly painted a target on herself by provoking Kazren.

Atlas opened a panel on the wall, and a series of holographic maps flickered to life. He pointed to one section marked in red. "This is the area Kazren’s people have been scanning frequently. It’s close to your base."

Liora leaned closer, her brows furrowing. "So... he’s looking for something?"

"Maybe. Or maybe he’s looking for someone," Atlas said, his voice dropping slightly. "That’s why you must stay hidden. If he suspects you’re working with someone from Spire... things could get worse."

Liora nodded. Her throat felt tight. "Atlas... what if he already knows?"

Atlas didn’t answer right away. He stared at the map, then finally looked at her. "Then we stay ahead of him. That’s all we can do."

She wanted to ask more—how long they had, whether Eli would be safe, whether this spaceship could really protect them if it came to that—but she didn’t. She knew Atlas would tell her what she needed to know when the time came.

He handed her a small silver disc. "Keep this with you. It’s linked to my ship. If something goes wrong, press the center. I’ll find you, no matter where you are."

Liora clutched it tightly. "Okay."

For a while, neither of them spoke. The silence wasn’t heavy, just quiet, like the calm before a storm. Then Atlas turned and walked toward the control seat, adjusting a few settings. "Get some rest. You’ll be leaving tomorrow morning. You’ll have to act like nothing has changed."

"But everything has changed," she said softly.

Atlas smiled faintly. "I know. But Kazren can’t know that you know."

Liora understood and stood silently after Atlas walked away.

She looked down at the small silver disc in her palm. It was warm from her grip, radiating a comforting energy. For a moment, she simply stared at it, then carefully placed it in her space.

After that, she reached into her space once again and pulled out a round, smooth object. It was her teleportation ball.

She hesitated for only a second before pulling out the highest-level crystal core she had.

It shimmered with a deep purple hue—unstable, powerful, and precious. Atlas had said this would be enough to cover the distance from his capsule to the base. It would be a little uncomfortable, but it would work.

Liora took a breath and pressed the core into the groove at the center of the ball. It clicked in with a sharp sound.

A soft vibration rippled through her arm.

And then—

Everything around her twisted.

Her vision blurred. Her body stretched and pulled, like threads being reeled through space. There was no sound, no air, only the strange feeling of falling sideways and rising at the same time.

Then, in the blink of an eye, it stopped.

Liora stumbled forward slightly, her boots hitting solid ground again.

She looked up. The sharp chill of the planet’s real air rushed into her lungs.

She had returned.

The edges of the base stood just behind her. No one was around. The spot where she and Atlas had vanished earlier was quiet and empty. Trees rustled gently, casting long shadows on the grass.

No one had seen her return.

She exhaled a quiet breath of relief and turned. Her steps were steady now. She started walking slowly toward the center of the base.

But what she didn’t know was that she wasn’t alone.

A short distance away, hidden high in the branches of a large tree, a tall figure crouched silently, watching her every move.

Xu Kai.

He had been there for a while. Maybe minutes. Maybe hours.

His black uniform blended perfectly into the shadows of the leaves. His presence was like the wind—unseen and unnoticed.

When Liora appeared out of thin air, there was no shock on his face. He just stared at her back.

Expressionless.

Almost like he had expected her.

And then, without a sound, he dropped silently from the tree. His boots barely made a noise as he landed. He didn’t follow her.

He simply turned, hands in his pockets, and walked away—heading in the opposite direction of the base, vanishing into the quiet woods beyond.

As if he had seen all he needed to see.

And just like that, both of them disappeared into their own paths.

One unaware.

And one watching from the shadows.