Apocalypse: I Have A Multiplier System - Chapter 136

Chapter 136: Chapter 136: Betrayal

“Damn you!” Su Jiyai shouted in anger in her heart.

“Um… are you okay? Angel?” Huo Ning asked softly as used her little finger to poke Su Jiyai’s thigh.

Su Jiyai’s anger was reduced by more than half. She took a deep breath and muttered in her heart,

“I will deal with you later, system. Also just let you know. Each time you electrocute me and wash away my memory, I will figure out everything soon.

Don’t f*cking think, your ‘it was a malfunction’ excuse could fool me. Now hand me over the S Rank pill.”

Within seconds, a shimmering, blue pill materialized in her hand.

It pulsed with a soft, warm glow, its essence carrying immense restorative power.

Su Jiyai knelt beside Huo Ning, holding the pill up to her lips.

“This will help, Huo Ning. It’s a healing pill. It’ll fix the damage inside and out.”

Huo Ning’s eyes widened as she looked at the glowing pill.

She had never seen anything like it before.

“But… it’s too much for me,” she whispered, shaking her head. “I’m… not worth it.”

Just because Su Jiyai didn’t mention the price of food and the cloak as well as the healing pill she had fed her earlier doesn’t mean Huo Ning doesn’t know the price of all those things.

A rough estimation was 10 million federal coins.

It was an amount she could never accumulate in her entire life.

Even though she had lived her entire life in the institute, the institute never failed to tell them about the real-life situation outside.

The Zombies…

The high prices of food.

The declining humanity.

And how lucky they were to be in the institute.

Before entering the institute, she had an uncle and aunt who had first let her wander on the streets for 2 days, then brought her back and made her do all the house chores, and just when she felt things couldn’t get any worse…her uncle and aunt sold her to the institute.

Whether it was outside the institute or inside the institute, Huo Ning knew about many things.

And from her experience, she could tell that Su Jiyai was very kind. She(Su Jiyai) was so kind to her(Huo Ning) that she feared…feared that Su Jiyai had some ulterior motives.

Su Jiyai noticed the uncertainty in Huo Ning’s eyes and gently placed the pill closer to her lips.

“You are worth it, Huo Ning,” Su Jiyai said softly, her voice full of sincerity.

“Why are you so kind to me?” Huo Ning finally asked. She couldn’t bear the fear of uncertainty.

Su Jiyai smiled,

“Because I see my past self in you. Just take this pill and I will consider that you have repaid me the money for the food and the cloak. It’s just a healing pill.”

Huo Ning stared at the shimmering pill in Su Jiyai’s hand, her heart pounding in her chest.

The pill pulsed with a soft blue light, its glow enticing and soothing, but something in her gut twisted with unease.

She had seen too many promises of “healing” from the institute, only for them to turn into nightmares.

Pills and injections that made her skin crawl, and her body scream in agony.

She couldn’t shake the suspicion that this pill, despite its comforting glow, might just be another tool to hurt her.

Yet, Su Jiyai’s kindness, her warmth—it felt different.

But Huo Ning had learned long ago not to trust appearances.

People could smile while stabbing you in the back. Her uncle and aunt had taught her that.

She bit her lip, hesitating again. Su Jiyai’s words played in her mind,

“I see my past self in you.” They sounded sincere, but the scars from her past told her not to believe in such things.

There’s always a price, she thought.

“I see my past self in you.” The words echoed in her head, triggering an avalanche of doubt.

‘She sees herself in me because I’m weak because I’m vulnerable. Maybe she’s from the institute too…

Maybe this is just another experiment. Maybe she’s here to see if I’ll trust her if I’ll willingly take the pill.’

The fear that had nestled in her heart since the day she was sold into the institute bloomed into full suspicion.

‘What if this pill is like the others? What if it’s worse?’

Huo Ning’s hands trembled. Her fingers curled tightly into the fabric of the cloak Su Jiyai had given her.

‘The cloak, the food… everything. It’s too much.’

And now this pill—it had to be something else.

Maybe something even more dangerous.

A lump formed in her throat as the memories of the institute flooded her mind.

The institute had made her promises, too.

They said the pills would make her stronger, and would help her survive, but they only brought pain.

Hours, sometimes days, of agonizing pain as her body twisted and turned in ways it shouldn’t.

They had laughed at her suffering. “You’re just weak,” they’d say.

Her vision blurred with tears as her thoughts spiraled. Su Jiyai, the one who had been so kind, might be no different than the others.

She could feel it—the dread of betrayal settling in her bones.

“Why…why don’t you eat this pill?” Huo Ning offered.

Su Jiyai shook her head.

“No, I can’t.”

How can she afford to buy another S-Rank pill worth 50 million federal coins?

‘As expected.’ Huo Ning’s heart sank.

‘There it is. The catch.’

She thought Su Jiyai was different, but now it seemed that even she had some hidden agenda.

The pill wasn’t a gift; it was the cost of everything Su Jiyai had done for her.

‘This must be some kind of trick.’

With a shaking hand, Huo Ning took the pill from Su Jiyai’s grasp.

‘This is it. The pain will come soon… I just have to be ready for it.’

She stared at the blue pill, her mind flashing back to the dark, sterile rooms of the institute, the needles, the drugs, the endless cycles of tests and suffering.

‘It’s going to hurt. I know it.’