Apocalypse King: Recruiting S-Tier Beauties With My Ruler System-Chapter 4: Living Dead, but Still a Beauty!

A smashed window.

The sound of breaking glass cut through the hallway like a gunshot.

My breath hitched.

'Why did I have to jinx myself?'

I didn't have time to panic, but my body betrayed me—my hands trembled as I drove the last dregs of the imperfect cure into Mu Qinglan's neck.

The warmth of her breath tickled the back of my neck, and it felt pleasant and hot. However, the reality that if she bit any harder, I might have died weighed on my mind.

I swallowed my saliva to try and wet my dry throat.

The hammering beat of my heart mercilessly slammed against my ribcage.

Visit freewebnoveℓ.com for the best novel reading exp𝒆rience.

Then—

Crk!

A brittle crunch echoed behind me.

Something shifted across the shattered glass, the tiny shards scraping like fractured ice beneath its weight.

Cold sweat beaded at my temple.

The sound caused my body to freeze, ignoring my mind completely.

I pushed against Mu Qinglan, trying to break free from her grip. My hands sank into her curves, her soft, feminine warmth pressing against me. In any other situation, this would've been heaven.

Right now?

A nightmare.

She grabbed me tight with hands like iron shackles. I couldn't move.

"Hnnng..."

A soft, needy moan escaped her lips.

Then—warmth brushed my neck.

First, just a breath. Then... her tongue flicked across my skin.

My eyes widened at the pleasurable sensation.

'Huh? What the—?'

At first, it was just a weird, ticklish sensation.

Then a tingling warmth spread across my neck, almost pleasant in a way.

But then her teeth sank into my flesh.

The dull pressure grew sharper, a cold shiver running down my spine.

Then she bit down harder.

Pain lanced through my neck.

A sharp, burning sting—like needles digging into flesh.

"M-Mu Qinglan?! Stop!"

She groaned with a deeper and more violent tone as her hot breath licked my skin.

Qinglan's grip tightened, her breathing excited.

"Hungry..." she whispered.

Her voice—that sultry, breathless tone which made my brain short-circuit.

I felt it again—her tongue sliding across my skin, as if tasting me, letting out a warm snort from her nose as she did.

'Damn it—why does it feel so good?!'

'Focus, you idiot!'

She was going to eat me alive, and her I was getting hard!

I thrashed against her hold, my fingers digging into her waist as I tried to pry her off.

She didn't budge.

The soft, supple flesh beneath my fingers didn't match the terrifying strength holding me in place.

Her body trembled.

Then—she bit down again.

Harder.

"QINGLAN, STOP IT!" I bellowed, voice raw with pain.

My vision flashed white.

The sharp, tearing agony lit my nerves on fire.

Was this how I died?

[Vaccination Complete.]

[Mu Qinglan gained the Role: Living Dead.]

My breath came in rough, shallow gasps.

Did I fail?

Did I just... create a zombie boss instead of saving her?!

My hands tightened around her hips as a bitter frustration swelled in my chest.

'What chance did I have alone?'

'Could I survive this hellish world without someone like Mu Qinglan?'

'What if the entire world was already gone...?'

Then—the pain vanished.

The pressure against my neck eased.

Mu Qinglan's fingers, once digging into my back like claws, slowly went limp, stroking my neck... a gentle caress that made me shudder.

A heavy silence stretched between us.

I swallowed hard before mustering up the courage and flicking my eyes toward her half-lidded gaze.

Her swollen lips glistened, parted slightly. A thin string of drool mixed with blood trailed from her mouth.

'Shit, she really did bite me...'

'...But why does she look so erotic right now?'

Mu Qingland seemed to be waking from a long dream.

"Nn..."

A low hum escaped her soft lips as she lifted her gaze to face mine, fluttering her long lashes with a curious look.

"J-John...?"

She slurred her words as if drunk.

Then her gaze appeared as if lost in a dream, but why did she call my given name?

Mu Qinglan's eyes then snapped open, and she shook her head, seeming to have realised what she did and said with a deep red colour on her cheeks.

My stomach clenched, hoping this was all over.

Her voice sounded normal.

Not guttural. Not monstrous.

Just... Mu Qinglan.

Relief hit me like a tidal wave, but before I could react—

—Crack.

The sound of crushed glass echoed, and of course, the guttural moan that I was thinking of slithered through the air from behind us.

I turned.

A rotting corpse dragged across the floor and focused its empty gaze on me.

The crawling zombie ignored Mu Qinglan entirely.

'What's going on?!'

[Tutorial Help: Mu Qinglan is Living Dead. Zombies don't eat corpses!]

'Wait, WHAT?!'

I risked my life to save her, and she gets a god-tier immunity buff?!

Meanwhile, I was still one bite away from game over.

[Tutorial Help: A Ruler grows stronger through the actions of his followers!]

'So I don't get stronger by myself?'

[Tutorial Help: You do, but this is faster. So do your best!]

The zombie dragged itself closer, its yellowed teeth clacking together as it swiped at my ankle.

I stepped back, almost falling as I balanced Qinglan in my arms.

Mu Qinglan tilted her head and watched the zombie with her strange gaze.

"Hm. It's quite slow, isn't it?"

"Mu Qinglan, HELP ME!"

Her cold gaze flickered with amusement.

"Why should I?"

Somehow, she started flirting with me—her giggle and laugh might have been something I wanted to see before the world ended. But, now I wanted her to help me!

"BECAUSE LOOK WHAT YOU DID TO MY NECK!"

Her eyes traced the visible bite mark on my skin. She let out a small huff before shifting her weight, letting her lips brush against the inflamed wound as she whispered something that I didn't quite hear and dropped to the ground.

The zombie lunged.

I tensed, lifting my leg to kick it away—

Bang!

Mu Qinglan's foot smashed its head in mid-motion, sending it rolling across the floor with a sickening crack.

I barely had time to react before—

—Thud.

A brick.

A huge, twenty-kilogram building block came crashing down onto the zombie's skull.

Squelch!

Bones crunched.

And blood sprayed.

The sickening wet pop of a skull imploding filled my ears.

I barely held in my nausea.

▼ Mu Qinglan has killed a Stage 1 Zombie!

+ 5 ZBK

+ 10 EXP

"We... won?"

Mu Qinglan exhaled with a long breath, looking at me with a slight smirk while brushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

"Mm. It seems so."

Her voice seemed to return to the usual cold, detached tone, but there was a slight playfulness and warmth to it now.

I could feel that she didn't look at me the same.

She studied me, her blue eyes slightly narrowed.

"...Can you explain now?"

"Huh?"

"I want answers."

I stared at her disbelievingly.

Did she really just crush a zombie's skull with her bare hands and then demand answers like a CEO at a meeting?!

[Mu Qinglan is struggling to accept what happened. Comfort her at your apartment!]

'This system... it's really starting to feel like a dating sim mixed with a death game.'

I sighed, dragging a hand through my dirty hair.

"Let's get somewhere safe first. I think we can block off the second floor."

"...Fine."

Mu Qinglan huffed and walked ahead of me.

The moment she turned, my gaze instinctively dropped lower.

My former boss—now a living dead—strode ahead, her movements elegant despite what she just did.

Even in a zombie apocalypse...

She was still a goddamn S-tier beauty.