Apocalypse King: I Recruit S-Tier Beauties with My Ruler System-Chapter 8: Survivors?

Mu Qinglan jumped off the roof in search of supplies. As rain started to fall, I watched her fade into the darkness.

With a pitter-patter, the dark sky swallowed the moonlight.

'Should I have gone with her?'

Those thoughts echoed in my mind. Just because Mu Qinglan wasn't human didn't mean she wouldn't suffer or be in danger.

The world wasn't friendly before zombies existed.

'Has that changed?'

'Would people still be the same?'

Co-workers... friends, family.

I didn't have the confidence to state they wouldn't change.

"No..."

Questioning myself was a fool's errand.

So I started looking through the drawers for items that might help me. I found bandages, bottles of whiskey and vodka, though I wanted to drink.

Their usage when suffering wounds and injuries might come in handy.

Maybe I could barter in the future.

However, to do that, I would need to survive and meet more people, which would bring my feelings full circle.

"What's in here... oh? A knife!"

I went through an embarrassing phase of collecting knives and swords from anime and other media, though it seemed useless... thankfully the actual craftsmanship of this hunting dagger was good.

'Hm?'

A sound suddenly played in my mind.

[Mu Qinglan has killed a Stage 1 Zombie!]

• You Have Gained: 5 ZBK

• You Have Gained: 10 Ruler EXP

Then, the sound repeated once, twice, and three times. By the time it reached ten, I became irritated and tapped the mute button.

"I should have a whetstone somewhere... ah, here!"

While using the portable whetstone to sharpen the blade, I started sorting the items and placing important items that might go bad or rot in my inventory.

However, when I checked, a Rank 2 ruler could only store up to 20 items.

'Food can be stacked up to five times... bottles of water twice.'

Two hours passed while I prepared, but Mu Qinglan showed no sign of returning, which made me nervous.

The clock showed a glowing blue 04:34 a.m.

"Well, since I've collected anything useful, and made space what else can I do... maybe check the internet?"

Shiing!

A spark of silver flew from the whetstone, the blade of my knife now sharp enough to be classified as an illegal weapon if bought online. The weight of this large hunting blade felt comfortable, maybe because the system improved my body.

In the past, it was a little too heavy for normal use.

Click!

I placed the hunting knife in its sheath and fastened it to my belt.

'This knife was probably the best $450 I ever spent!'

Tap!

Tap!

Tap!

Dah!

"Haa... Haa... Haa..."

My right fist smashed into my punching bag.

It swayed with the chains jingling, with a deep indentation from the blow's explosive force.

I flicked off my gloves and grabbed a towel to wipe the sweat from my brow.

'I'm stronger, faster and my stamina is much better.'

Thanks to Mu Qinglan's [Self-Defence & Agility] detailed knowledge of basic boxing stances and form, even the shape and snap of my jabs and hooks became refined.

"HELP~~~!"

A scream echoed from the open window, causing me to frown.

The voice didn't sound familiar—rather, my hearing picked it up from the distance.

'Who the fuck is causing so much noise?'

Filled with curiosity, I stepped to the window, and gazed outside.

"Oh god, they're so dead."

I saw a group of five people rushing across the road, escaping from a small group of zombies. It seemed to be manageable with two men holding iron bars, and a woman in a police outfit using those cool martial arts weapons for self defence.

'Was it a tonfa?'

However, because one of the other women screamed after she fell, the horde started to grow with zombies from other directions.

'Do I have a reason to save them... Otherwise, let's leave them to die.'

"Hurry! Towards that building!"

The short female officer's wavy brown hair swayed in the rain as she gazed around and noticed a place to escape.

But the building she pointed to was mine!

'Don't come here, you'll fucking die! I sealed the second floor...'

I didn't recognise her face, not that I met a lot of police in the past, but watching them struggle made me grit my teeth.

With Mu Qinglan's constant stream of murder, my ZKP increased quite fast and soon it was over 200 giving me the chance to check the shop for the first time.

[System Tutorial: Would you like help with the Ruler's Shop?]

'Yes, but keep it brief!'

I watched the group struggle. The two men didn't seem bad, but they fought horribly. One wore an office suit, while the other was someone close to my age wearing a cheetah jumper and loose jogging pants.

However, even though I could add anyone to my system, when I could only recruit two people, I was unlikely to consider them.

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"Ain't wasting my precious slot on anyone but that hot police officer."

[Opening Rank 2 Shop!]

'Tsk...'

While my eyes left the system, the policewoman's brown eyes locked with mine and her mouth opened agape.

"Please help."

She mouthed to me while hitting another zombie, breaking its skull but not enough to kill it. Honestly, because she didn't shout, I felt a sense of appreciation, and so when I flicked my gaze to the shop, I nodded to her and headed to the other window.

'The things I do to get laid...'

I hastily ripped off my dirty clothes, the suit pants that smelled like alcohol and ash, then found a pair of blue jeans, and a black tank top, before throwing a brown leather jacket over my shoulders and took the knife from my desk.

The moment I unlocked the window, the system shop flicked to the tab I needed.

"ARGH!"

Another scream echoed through the early morning, as the other female screamed in terror, the third male, a slightly obese man who didn't fight and just accepted the other's protecting him, rolled on the floor, as two zombies bit at his neck.

'I should be feeling disgusted, but I just feel that it's a shame, nothing more.'

The moment my feet touched the wet ledge, my shoes lost grip, and I almost fell to the ground.

Even with my improved body, I would have died...

I gazed at the two skills in the system basket, and nodded before I jumped off the window, down to the metal roof blow.

Bang!

"Over here!"

The noisy woman shouted, and rushed towards me, while the officer beside her staggered, and the zombies now focused on her, because of the annoying blonde woman.

"Thank you..."

Yet the officer just thanked me for saving the other woman?

"Huh...?"

'I ain't here to save the useless woman.'

Well, whatever...

I tapped the purchase tab, and suddenly, a warmth flowed through my body, and my mind became clearer.