Apocalypse King: I Recruit S-Tier Beauties with My Ruler System-Chapter 5: The First Day Ends

The apartment filled with a rumbling echo of steel snapping into place, likely attracting many of those freaks downstairs. I locked the barrier door, which had been built in the past when other nations threatened to invade us.

'A true relic of the past.'

"Haa..."

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My lower back ached from the running and constant action of leaving work today as I leaned against the cold steel, and let my breathing recover.

"What are you doing, Wang?"

'Honestly... I am tired physically and mentally, please give me a moment princess Qinglan!'

Without knowledge of the situation, everything felt so strange—like the first day of college in another city, when you don't know anybody on your course and your dorm mates seem to be absent the moment you arrive.

The atmosphere might be perfect without the distant screams.

'But, when did they get so loud, anyway?'

[Tutorial Hint: Your body has been improved, all senses and abilities have surpassed the average human!]

I really wanted to take more time, but the piercing blue gaze beside me stopped any semblance of peace.

'At least she forgot about me feeling her up...'

"Let's head to my apartment and think about what to do from here..."

"Ah... of course." Her voice became oddly soft when she gazed at my neck.

Maybe even the ice queen can feel guilt for her actions.

Though I don't mind, the pleasure and memories I got from the exchange, including system things, making it completely worth it.

"Does it hurt...?"

"Huh?" I turned back to find her walking behind me. Her face was strangely emotionless, yet her fingers rubbed together. "Oh, the bite?"

"Yeah, it looks bad."

"Well..."

Because of the system's mechanisms, I didn't intend to make her feel guilty. Should her affection become zero, she might leave my side and take the benefits.

Thus, my policy became to make her feel comfortable without bowing down to her too much.

'There's no need to become a little bitch and simp for her now that the world is ending.'

"Don't worry about it, I enjoyed the situation."

"Eh?"

Her voice hitched as she stopped following, but I continued walking until I arrived at my familiar red door, with the scratches and slight marks.

"You pervert!"

A cold voice sounded as I placed the key in the door.

'Well... it seems I pushed too far.'

Click!

The sound of my door opening and the jingling of keys helped my mind recover, but a slight throbbing pain remained from the stress that lingered. I turned to face my boss but noticed that Mu Qinglan's face looked a little strange.

'Hmmm... so even an ice beauty can blush.'

"I know it's nothing special, but I keep it clean, and nothing embarrassing is lying around."

"Embarrassing, what do you mean, but you're right, it's surprisingly clean."

Mu Qinglan removed her shoes, before I closed the door, and locked the three bolts shut, one lock built in and two metal shafts that I welded myself.

'When I first moved in it was a dangerous area, Mu Qinglan's company didn't exist here yet.'

I invited her into my modest living room, which had two large sofas that I luckily found in the nearby skip when a resident moved out. I paid $400 to have them both cleaned and refilled, and now the shiny L-shaped black leather seats in each corner look great.

'As if it could match her standards though...'

"These are quite good, the cushioning is firm and the view... well, it might have been beautiful in the past."

Mu Qinglan's reactions made me feel strange.

She didn't seem shocked or terrified.

Instead of reading business documents or arranging meetings, she started looking through my apartment and checking each room.

'Is this because of her being a living dead?'

"It seems you shopped well, there's a lot of fruit, vegetables and milk, not to mention the cupboard of dried noodles and MRE's... why do you have so many things like that?"

'How to explain...'

A year ago, I got hooked on an MRE MeTuber.

He would try the ones from the USA and other countries, so I bought as many of the modern meals as he gave amusing taste reactions to. I didn't realise just how filling one meal could be.

'Not to mention they are bland!'

"It's just a hobby, I guess? The food might be bland, but doesn't it mean we will be okay for a while?"

[System Hint: You can store items that might rot or go out of date in the System Inventory, which costs 1000 ZKP to purchase!]

'What's ZKP?' I asked the system as Mu Qinglan took a can of beer from my fridge, took off her blazer and name badge, before throwing herself onto the sofa, lay looking at the sky with a dazed look.

'She looks like a fallen angel...'

[ZKP — Zombie Killer Points gained through killing zombies!]

[Tutorial Hint: You and your subjects can earn those points to purchase things from the System Shop!]

"Wow..."

"Hmm?"

Pshhh!

Mu Qinglan grunted toward me as she opened the can with one hand. Bubbles and suds spewed from the top as she placed the cold can against her lips.

'Why does she make drinking look so hot...'

Her throat bobbed as she gulped down half of the drink, then put it down on the side table without a coaster.

'I guess that doesn't matter anymore...'

She leaned back again and stared at the sky.

"Thanks for saving my life, John." Mu Qinglan's words shocked me.

As she turned to look at me, she curled her lips into a crescent smile.

The madder red sky shining across her face and blue eyes made her look almost ethereal. It might have been the first time I'd ever seen her smiling like that since we met several years ago.

'I never thought I would see her like this... It's like she's a different person.'

I stood there blankly for a moment, grabbing the entire pack of six beers and stepping into the room with a sigh. I couldn't forget Mu Qinglan's fleeting look of peace, so I threw myself on the other sofa and watched the clouds in the sky.

"Do you think the world is done for, Qinglan?"

Somehow, I didn't want to call her full name, but it was still offensive... and even though she glanced at me, she seemed to accept it.

'Well that's good...'

"If it is, what did I work so hard for?"

A cloud travelled across the window, blocking out the sunlight and sending a ray of red light across my apartment.

"I'm sure there will be survivors, but for now, we should focus on ourselves."

"You're right, maybe I've worked too hard today, it feels like forever since I woke up."

Mu Qinglan looked at me, her eyes narrowing as she lifted her beer and chuckled, before downing the rest with a loud burp after she finished—a different side of the perfect ice beauty I knew.

'Perhaps this is how she is dealing with the situation?'

While my eyes traced across the system's tutorial screens, I noticed her moving and shuffling, before a warmth leaned against my shoulder, and the scent of alcohol and Mu Qinglan's perfume filled my nose.

"..."

"You smell nice... John."

She didn't speak after that and just stroked my arm with her cold fingertips.

Silently, we watched the sun setting over the city and drank the beers as the moon emerged.

Like this, the first day of the apocalypse ended.