Apocalypse: I Have A Multiplier System - Chapter 187

Chapter 187: Chapter 187: Obsession

Xi Ping’s heart clenched at her foster mother’s response.

Hunt for them for another year?

The sheer audacity of the demand made her blood boil.

She stared at her foster family, their faces twisted with greed and selfishness.

They didn’t care about her well-being, only about what they could squeeze out of her.

“You said I could leave if I brought you enough food!” Xi Ping shot back, her voice rising.

“I did my part. You’re just trying to trap me here for your own gain.”

Her foster mother glared at her, lips curling in disdain.

“You think it’s that simple? You think you can just walk out and leave us behind with a few bags of food?”

She stepped closer, her voice turning venomous.

“We raised you. We fed you, and clothed you. You owe us more than this. You still need to pay us back.”

Xi Ping clenched her fists, struggling to keep her anger in check.

“You didn’t raise me out of kindness. You treated me like a servant. I earned every scrap of food, and every piece of clothing with my own blood and sweat.

And now that I’ve given you more than enough to survive, you’re still trying to keep me here?”

Her foster father, who had been silent until now, crossed his arms and grunted.

“You live under our roof, girl. You don’t get to leave until we say so.”

Xi Ping’s foster brother chimed in, his sneer returning.

“Just one more year, Xi Ping. It’s not like you have anywhere else to go. Besides, you’re good at getting food. What’s the big deal?”

Her patience snapped.

“One more year? You’ll just keep extending it! You’ll never let me go!” Her voice was trembling now, but not with fear— with fury.

She had been manipulated, used, and discarded her entire life. But this time, she wasn’t going to let them win.

Her foster mother sneered.

“Maybe we will. What are you going to do about it?”

Taking a deep breath, Xi Ping straightened her spine and met her foster mother’s gaze. “Fine,” she said coldly.

“If that’s how it’s going to be, I’ll stay one more year. But you’ll regret it.”

Her foster family exchanged glances, surprised by her sudden shift in tone. Her foster mother raised an eyebrow.

“Regret it? How?”

Xi Ping forced a bitter smile.

“Because once the time is up, I’ll make sure I find a way to disappear. And when you’re starving, you’ll remember this day. You’ll regret every time you tried to manipulate me.”

Her foster brother snorted.

“Disappear? Where? You’ve got no one, Xi Ping. You’ll always come crawling back to us.”

Xi Ping didn’t respond to him.

She knew better than to waste her breath on someone like him. Instead, she turned her gaze back to her foster mother.

“Write down an agreement. I don’t trust you anymore.”

……….

“Nothing. By the way, Boss Su can you hand over the blue cat to me?” Lin Hao’s voice fell in Su Jiyai’s ears.

For a moment Su Jiyai didn’t know how to react.

Blue cat?

Oh! Right!

Qin Feng asked her to be with Lin Hao. Considering that Qin Feng had just contacted Lin Hao, Lin Hao’s question was valid.

However, the problem was…she wasn’t in her cat form!

Looks like she has to lie.

With a calm smile, she replied,

“The blue cat is currently on a mission. Something urgent came up, and I assigned it to assist with scouting. It will return soon.”

Lin Hao’s expression darkened instantly.

His relaxed mood evaporated, and the tension in the room skyrocketed.

“You assigned a mission to a cat?” His voice was icy, carrying a sharp edge of disbelief and rising fury.

“You seriously let a cat—my cat—go on a mission? Do you have any idea how dangerous that is?”

Su Jiyai’s heart skipped a beat.

She hadn’t anticipated such a fierce reaction.

She had assumed Lin Hao would brush it off or, at worst, express mild disappointment.

But his face was now twisted in anger, his eyes flashing dangerously.

Before she could offer any further explanation, Lin Hao stood up, his aura chilling the room.

“Boss Su, do you think I’m a fool? How could you send a cat on a mission?” His voice was cold, but there was an underlying rage simmering beneath it.

“You better have a good explanation for this, or I swear, I’ll tear this entire building down brick by brick if that cat isn’t returned to me unharmed.”

Su Jiyai felt a surge of helplessness and irritation wash over her.

Why was he reacting like this? The overprotectiveness he displayed for the cat seemed disproportionate, almost obsessive.

His behavior raised red flags, but she couldn’t afford to dwell on those doubts right now.

She had to defuse the situation before it escalated further.

“Lin Hao,” she said, keeping her tone steady, “calm down. I understand your concern, but there’s no need for such drastic threats.

The cat is perfectly fine, I assure you. It’s just… handling something important. I can guarantee that it will return in two days—safe and sound. I promise you.”

“Two days?” Lin Hao’s voice was low, but the menace in it was unmistakable.

“If that cat isn’t back in my hands in perfect condition, Boss Su, I will make things difficult for you. Very difficult.”

The threat hung heavily in the air.

“I understand,” Su Jiyai said, forcing herself to remain calm.

“The cat will be here in two days, just as I promised. I give you my word that it won’t be harmed in any way.”

“Good,” he said at last. “I’ll hold you to that promise, Boss Su. If anything happens to the cat… you’ll regret it.”

With that final warning, he turned and left the conference room, his footsteps echoing in the now eerily silent space.

Su Jiyai let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding.

What in the world was Lin Hao’s deal with this cat?

His obsession was far beyond what she had expected.

There was something about the cat—her, in her transformed state—that seemed to trigger such protectiveness in him.

But why? And what was his true relationship with Qin Feng?