Apocalypse: I Have A Multiplier System - Chapter 480

Chapter 480: Chapter 480: Critical Mistake
Admiral Ru pressed a button on his desk, summoning his assistant with swift efficiency. The assistant arrived almost immediately, bowing slightly.

“Don’t let anyone know I’m not here,” Admiral Ru instructed calmly.

“If Boss Su comes asking, delay her. Make up something—say I’m in meditation or recovering from the attack.”

“Yes, sir,” the assistant nodded without question.

Admiral Ru gave Madam Queen a final look, then gestured for her to follow.

Together, they left through a hidden passage behind his private chamber, quietly slipping out of the Rover Base.

A sleek black car waited a short distance away, parked behind a cluster of collapsed metal beams.

He walked ahead briskly, eyes glinting with calculation.

Without saying a word, he opened the driver’s side and sat in. Then he waited.

Madam Queen paused for a beat, scanning the vehicle.

Admiral Ru’s eyes narrowed slightly.

He was testing her.

The real Madam Queen always liked to ride shotgun—said it made her feel like she was “in control, but still pampered.”

When Madam Queen casually slid into the passenger seat without hesitation, Admiral Ru’s shoulders loosened a bit.

The tension in his chest eased. That’s how she always did it.

Without a word, he started the engine, and the car sped through the dusty path leading away from the base.

Neither spoke.

The silence between them wasn’t uncomfortable—at least not for him. He needed time to think.

At exactly fifteen kilometers away, he pulled the car over beside a rock formation.

He stepped out and pulled a round metallic orb from his coat pocket. With a flick of his wrist, he threw it to the ground.

The orb bounced once, then a flash of blue light exploded out, forming a shimmering portal.

Admiral Ru turned to Madam Queen. “Come.”

She stepped out without questioning and followed him through the portal.

The temperature dropped instantly on the other side.

They were standing in a vast desert-like wasteland. The sky above was a hazy purple-gray.

The ground beneath their feet cracked dryly with each step.

Ahead of them stood seven towering white pillars, cracked but somehow still glowing with eerie light.

At the center of those pillars was a throne—but no one could see who sat on it.

The throne shimmered oddly, as if cloaked by a veil.

Even though the figure was invisible, a suffocating pressure weighed down on Madam Queen’s chest.

Her legs felt weak, and she unconsciously stepped closer to Admiral Ru.

He didn’t take her to the throne or the pillars.

Instead, he veered left, leading her toward a seemingly out-of-place office building nearby.

The structure looked old but intact. Gray walls, steel windows, and flickering lights greeted them as they stepped inside.

Inside the building, the air was unnaturally still.

Humans wandered the hallways and rooms… but they weren’t alive. Not truly.

Their eyes were vacant. Their expressions emotionless.

They moved like puppets, guided only by routine.

Madam Queen said nothing, but her fingers tightened around the edge of her sleeve.

Admiral Ru noticed. He frowned slightly.

The Madam Queen he remembered wouldn’t have been so quiet.

She used to smirk at these humans, treat them like toys. She used to say they were her “guilty pleasures.”

His eyes narrowed.

Without a word, he lifted his hand and gestured to a nearby figure—one of Madam Queen’s former favorites.

The man was young, lean, and shirtless. His skin was marked with old bruises, and a dullness lingered in his gaze.

But he still responded immediately, walking forward like a dog summoned by its master.

Admiral Ru didn’t say anything. He simply watched.

Madam Queen turned slowly… and the moment her eyes met the human’s form, her expression changed.

Her pupils dilated, and her gaze darkened with unmistakable desire.

A faint smirk curled her lips.

Admiral Ru exhaled silently. That’s more like it. He had been overthinking.

Maybe the torture had made her a bit quieter than usual, but her instincts were still intact.

“Let’s get you fully healed,” he said, motioning toward a room down the hall.

Inside, a superhuman with healing powers sat in a chair.

The woman looked about thirty, with faded blonde hair and sunken cheeks. Her eyes were vacant, just like the others.

“Treat her,” Admiral Ru commanded.

The healer slowly raised her hands. A soft, golden light began to pulse from her palms.

As soon as Admiral Ru stepped out of the room, the healer moved toward Madam Queen.

Her hands hovered above the bruises and lash marks.

Warm light washed over Madam Queen’s battered skin, and the pain dulled into a bearable ache.

The moment Admiral Ru left the room, Madam Queen’s expression changed slightly.

She glanced around, studying every corner of the small office room.

The air smelled sterile, mixed with a faint metallic tang, like blood and antiseptic.

The human healer sat quietly on a stool near the corner, staring at the blank wall like he was in a trance.

His eyes were dull, lifeless. No spark. No resistance.

It was eerie.

Madam Queen took a slow step toward him. She waved her hand gently in front of his face.

Nothing.

No reaction at all.

Was he even aware of her presence?

“Hello?” she whispered, her voice echoing faintly in the quiet room.

Still nothing.

Then, as if following some silent command, the healer’s hand moved.

He stood up like a puppet on strings and walked to the cabinet, pulling out a small white jar.

His movements were mechanical, slow, and hollow.

He didn’t even look at her.

He took out a cotton cloth, opened the jar, and dipped it inside. A faint herbal scent filled the room.

Then he turned toward her, motioning for her to sit down.

Madam Queen slowly lowered herself onto a steel chair.

The healer knelt beside her and began tending to the bruises on her arms with practiced hands. H

is touch was gentle, careful, but completely devoid of emotion. It was like he wasn’t really there.

Madam Queen couldn’t help but shiver.

He had seen lifeless humans before, but this was… different.

These people weren’t just broken.

They were emptied out, like all their desires, thoughts, and identities had been scrubbed clean.

As the healer continued working on her, she glanced toward the small window.

Outside, she saw one of the white pillars standing in the distance.

Suddenly, the healer pressed his palm to her shoulder, and a warm light glowed from his hand. Madam Queen’s eyes widened.

The healing power felt different from Admiral Ru’s.

“You… don’t have a choice, do you?” she muttered softly to the healer.

There was no answer. Of course, there wasn’t.

She looked down at her arms. The bruises were already fading. Her cuts sealed shut, and the pain ebbed away. She should have been grateful.

But instead, all she felt was dread.

Just then, the door creaked open and Admiral Ru stepped inside again. His expression was calm, composed, but his sharp eyes immediately landed on her face.

“You’re quiet,” he noted.

Madam Queen blinked and quickly nodded. “I was just… tired.”

He glanced at her arms, now mostly healed. “Good. You look better.”

“Thanks to your arrangements,” she said sweetly, hiding her unease behind a smile.

Admiral Ru tilted his head.

“You used to like talking more. You’d be asking questions about the pillars by now.”

She paused, then gave a small laugh. “I was just waiting for the right moment.”

He gave a short nod and turned toward the healer. “That’ll be enough.”

The human stepped back, returned the jar to the cabinet, and resumed his blank stare at the wall.

Admiral Ru motioned Madam Queen to follow him again.

“There’s someone I want you to meet. Someone who’s been… helping with our cause. You’ll like him.”

Madam Queen stood up, her legs still a bit shaky from the healing. “Sure.”

They stopped at a wide steel door, covered in ancient markings that pulsed with faint blue light.

Admiral Ru placed his hand on the center, and the markings shifted, glowing brighter as the door hissed open.

Inside was a wide chamber, dimly lit by glowing symbols carved into the stone floor. At the very center, a woman sat cross-legged within a glowing circle.

She was slender and petite, wearing a long white cloak embroidered with intricate blue patterns that shimmered faintly.

Her black hair was tied into a low braid, and a blindfold was wrapped tightly around her eyes.

Blood ran down slowly from the corners of her closed eyes, trailing down her pale cheeks.

She was chanting—soft, rhythmic words in a language Madam Queen didn’t understand.

The words made the air hum with power, and the circle beneath her feet pulsed in time with each phrase.

Madam Queen stared, frozen.

“Elisha,” Admiral Ru said softly, his voice respectful.

He looked at her, the chanting woman, and for a moment, a flicker of something passed through his eyes—pity, perhaps, or guilt.

Elisha had once been a brilliant seer—gifted, powerful, too bold for her own good.

But when she made a critical error during an operation that cost them vital resources and lives, she was sentenced.

Her punishment: pluck out her own eyes every full moon and offer them to the pillars.