Apocalypse: I Have A Multiplier System - Chapter 242

Chapter 242: Chapter 242: Lying

The air outside Boss Su’s base was thick with tension, the relentless sun blazing overhead.

Xi Ping, her skin blistered and peeling from days under the merciless heat, shuffled forward, her body trembling with exhaustion.

Her cracked lips parted to take in a shallow breath as she surveyed the chaotic scene before her.

A crowd had gathered near the gate of the imposing fortress, shouting and jeering as they surrounded a woman who lay on the ground, bruised and bloody.

“Please! I swear I won’t use Boss Su’s name again!” the woman begged, her voice hoarse from screaming.

A man in the crowd sneered, delivering another sharp kick to her ribs.

“You think begging will help now, Su Yun? You’ve disgraced Boss Su’s name. This is what you get for your lies!”

Xi Ping winced at the brutality, but she turned her attention elsewhere.

Her gaze landed on a long line of migrants, their faces sunken and weary, waiting beneath the scorching sun.

They stood in single file before a makeshift booth, where a camera had been set up.

Each person stepped forward to give their details and submit an application to become a tenant in Boss Su’s base.

“This is my chance,” Xi Ping thought, licking her parched lips.

Her legs wobbled, her blistered feet throbbing with every step. She mustered the strength to approach the line.

“Please,” she rasped, her voice barely audible over the commotion.

The migrants closest to her turned to glare, their expressions a mix of irritation and suspicion.

“I need to get two minutes in front of the camera,” Xi Ping continued, her voice trembling.

“I know Boss Su. I have a deal to propose to her. It’s urgent.”

Her plea caused an immediate stir.

Whispers broke out among the migrants, and the hostile gazes sharpened.

A man near the front of the line, his sun-scorched face twisted in disbelief, barked a laugh.

“You? You know Boss Su?” he said mockingly.

“Look at you—you’re half-dead. What kind of deal could someone like you have with her?”

“Yeah,” another woman sneered, her arms crossed tightly over her chest.

“We’ve been waiting for days, and you think you can just skip the line because of some lie? Get lost!”

Xi Ping’s heart sank.

She had expected skepticism but not outright hostility.

She opened her mouth to protest, but before she could speak, the woman on the ground—Su Yun—lifted her battered face and pointed a trembling finger at her.

“She’s lying too!” Su Yun screeched, her voice cutting through the crowd.

“Just like me. She doesn’t know Boss Su—she’s trying to take advantage of you all!”

The crowd turned on Xi Ping in an instant, their anger redirected.

One of the men who had been beating Su Yun stepped forward, glaring at Xi Ping with barely restrained fury.

“If you’re lying,” he growled, cracking his knuckles, “we’ll deal with you the same way we dealt with her. Do you want to take advantage of migrants? Think again.”

Xi Ping took an involuntary step back, her hands trembling at her sides.

She glanced at the blistered, angry faces closing in around her.

Even the migrants in the line, who moments ago had been strangers, now looked ready to turn on her.

“Wait!” she said quickly, raising her hands. “I’m not lying! I really do know Boss Su!”

Her words only seemed to fan the flames. The mocking laughter of the crowd rang in her ears.

“She’s delusional,” one woman scoffed. “What, you think Boss Su’s just going to come out here and confirm it for you?”

“How stupid do you think we are?” another man spat, taking a threatening step forward.

Su Yun, emboldened by the mob’s energy, sat up slightly despite her injuries. Her lips curled into a cruel smile.

“Beat her!” Su Yun shouted. “She’s just like me! Don’t let her get away with it!”

Xi Ping’s stomach churned. Su Yun didn’t even know her, yet the woman’s malicious intent was unmistakable.

It wasn’t about Xi Ping—it was about dragging someone else down to suffer alongside her.

“You’re not getting past us!” one of the migrants snarled, advancing on Xi Ping.

“You think you can just use Boss Su’s name and get away with it? We’ll teach you a lesson!”

Another joined in,

“You must think you’re so clever, huh? Thinking Boss Su would recognize a nobody like you?”

The crowd began closing in. Xi Ping’s fingers clenched into fists as she braced herself.

Her body was weak, her mind foggy from days of starvation and heat, but she wouldn’t go down without a fight.

If this was how it ended, at least she would defend herself.

Just as the first man lunged toward her, a sharp, mechanical voice rang out from the base’s loudspeakers.

“Stop!”

The voice echoed with authority, silencing the mob instantly. Heads turned toward the base as the voice continued, hurried and unmistakable.

“This is Boss Su. Xi Ping, step forward and enter the base. She is known to me.”

The air grew thick with disbelief.

The crowd froze, their mouths hanging open as they processed the announcement.

Even the man who had been about to strike Xi Ping staggered back, his face pale with shock.

“Boss Su knows her?” someone whispered, incredulous.

“No way,” another muttered. “How could—?”

Xi Ping felt her knees buckle with relief. She staggered but managed to straighten herself, her breath coming in uneven gasps.

The tension in her chest eased as gratitude washed over her like a cool breeze.

Su Yun’s face twisted in fury and disbelief. “No!” she screamed. “She’s lying! Boss Su can’t possibly—!”

“Shut up, Su Yun,” one of the men growled, kicking her back to the ground.

Xi Ping ignored the woman’s protests, her focus solely on the gates of the base.

She limped forward, each step a struggle, but her resolve carried her through.

As she approached the gates, the crowd parted reluctantly, their faces a mix of awe, confusion, and begrudging respect.