Apocalypse: I Have A Multiplier System - Chapter 481

Chapter 481: Chapter 481: Cruel Past
Admiral Ru waited in respectful silence as Elisha continued her soft, rhythmic chanting.

The pulsing light beneath her slowly dimmed with each passing word, until it finally faded into a gentle glow. Her lips stilled, and the room grew eerily silent.

He bowed slightly, then said in a firm voice, “Kneel down and greet Elisha.”

Madam Queen hesitated.

Though her pride screamed in protest, the oppressive energy radiating from Elisha’s circle weighed down on her body like an invisible mountain.

Her knees buckled slightly. It wasn’t just pressure—it was judgment. A divine reckoning.

With a reluctant movement, Madam Queen dropped to one knee.

Elisha, still blindfolded and bleeding from the corners of her eyes, turned her head slightly, as if she could see despite the cloth covering her sightless gaze.

“Why,” she said, voice soft as a whisper but cutting as a blade, “have you not replied to my messages, Madam Queen?”

The words sliced through the air. Madam Queen’s breath caught in her throat.

Her heart pounded like war drums in her chest. Sweat beaded along her spine.

She was going to kneel fully—completely collapse—until Admiral Ru stepped forward and opened his mouth.

“She was kidnapped. We—”

“I didn’t ask you the question,” Elisha interrupted without raising her voice, without even turning toward him.

The room went colder.

Admiral Ru shut his mouth instantly.

Madam Queen swallowed. “I was kidnapped… by my enemies,” she said hoarsely. “I only recently escaped.”

There was a long silence. Then Elisha tilted her head slightly. “Which enemy?”

“…Boss Su,” Madam Queen answered, her voice low.

Elisha gave a small nod. “And how is the progress on the P280 solution?”

Madam Queen’s brow furrowed. “I… don’t remember anything like a P280 solution in the lab.”

There was a pause.

Then, Elisha smiled.

“Ah. I see. I said the wrong name by mistake.”

A wave of tension lifted from Admiral Ru’s shoulders. He gave a small sigh of relief and added,

“She’s lost her identity card, too. We haven’t had time to retrieve the backup.”

A small ball of blue light formed in her palm. It floated gently toward Madam Queen and hovered before her eyes, scanning her silently.

Then, it pulsed once and dropped to the ground with a metallic thud.

The light faded, revealing a square metal chip.

Madam Queen reached out and picked it up. It was warm to the touch, vibrating faintly as if holding a fragment of her identity within.

But just as she was slipping it into her pocket, Elisha’s voice cut through again—calm, almost curious.

“Do you remember how Admiral Ru and you first met me?”

Madam Queen looked up sharply. “Yes,” she said quietly.

The air shimmered. A faint hum echoed in the chamber.

Then, the vision came.

…

Years ago…

“Jin, are you okay?” a small boy whispered, peeking through a broken wooden door.

Inside the dark room, a little girl sat curled up on the floor, her arms wrapped around her knees.

Her body was covered in bruises, and one of her eyes was swollen shut.

“I’m fine,” she whispered back.

“You’re lying,” the boy said, stepping inside. “Mom hit you again, didn’t she?”

“She said I spilled the rice,” Jin murmured. “But I didn’t. I swear I didn’t.”

The boy clenched his fists.

“Dad hit me too. Because I couldn’t carry the buckets fast enough.”

Their real names were Jiang Jin and Jiang Qin back then. Just two broken kids in a dirty, crumbling house.

Their parents were cruel. Every day was filled with yelling, beatings, and chores that seemed endless.

“You wanna run away?” Qin asked one night, while they hid under the kitchen table to escape the shouting.

Jin shook her head. “And go where? No one wants us.”

Qin bit his lip. “Then let’s make them pay one day.”

Jin looked up. “You mean… hurt them?”

“No,” he said. “Make the whole world hurt like we do.”

Time passed, and the two grew up.

At 22, they got jobs in the city.

Jin worked at a data company, while Qin did night shifts at a tech warehouse. It was boring, soul-killing work. But they needed the money.

Every month, their parents took all of their salary.

“All of it,” Jin said bitterly one night, dropping her empty wallet on the floor. “I didn’t even get to buy new shoes.”

“They said they need it for rent and food,” Qin replied, sitting down beside her.

“But we pay for everything. They don’t even work.”

Qin’s face darkened. “I tried hiding some cash last month.”

“What happened?”

He rolled up his sleeve.

Jin gasped. “They did that?”

“Not just that,” Qin said. “They said if we try to keep money from them again… they’ll hurt her.”

Jin’s whole body went cold.

Their little sister. She was only ten.

The parents always used her as a threat. If Jin or Qin didn’t obey, their sister paid the price.

“They’re monsters,” Jin whispered, tears burning her eyes.

Qin nodded. “I know.”

The next day, at work, Jin’s manager yelled at her for making a mistake in an Excel sheet.

“You’re useless,” he barked. “Can’t believe I hired a dumb girl like you.”

She clenched her fists.

She was tired.

Tired of being stepped on.

….

A year later… Jin was twenty-three. Qin was the same.

One rainy morning, Jin came home from a night shift at work. His shirt was soaked, and he was shivering.

He stepped inside the broken-down house and was about to head to the kitchen when he heard loud voices.

“Don’t cry! You’re lucky we even found someone who’ll marry you!” their mother screamed.

“You should be thankful! One hundred thousand yuan! That money will save this family!” their father yelled.

Jin froze.

“What’s going on?” he whispered.

Then he saw her, Qin. She was on the floor, her hair messy, cheeks red from crying. Her hands were trembling.

“Jin!” she cried out. “They’re selling me! They want me to marry an old man!”

Jin dropped his umbrella and rushed over. “What?! What are you talking about?!”

Qin clung to his arm.

“He’s eighty! He smells weird and his teeth are fake. I saw him! They said he gave them a bride price… a lot of money…”

Their father stepped forward and smacked Jin in the face.

“Stay out of it! She’s not your property!”

“She’s my sister!” Jin shouted back. “You can’t do this!”

Their mother grabbed a broomstick. “One more word from you and I’ll break your legs!”

Qin was sobbing now. “Please, Jin… don’t let them do this…”

“I won’t,” he said, wrapping an arm around her. “I swear I won’t.”

But then… they dragged Qin away.

“JIN!!!” she screamed.

He chased them, but his father pulled out a knife.

“You want your sister to die too?! You want your ten-year-old sister’s blood on your hands?!”

That made Jin stop.

Their mother smirked.

“Yeah. We locked her in the closet. You try anything… we throw her into the river.”

“No… please…” Jin begged.

He turned and ran to the closet.

It was locked. “Mei Mei!” he shouted. “Are you okay?!”

No answer.

He pounded on the door. “Talk to me!”

Still nothing.

He ripped the closet open.

His heart shattered.

There, lying limp on the closet floor, was their little sister.

Face pale. Lips blue.

She wasn’t breathing.

Jin screamed. “NOOOOO!!!”

He picked her up.

“Wake up! Please wake up! Mei Mei! I’m sorry! I should’ve been faster! I’m sorry…”

Tears fell from his eyes like rain.

But she didn’t move.

His little sister was dead.

And Qin… was gone.

Two days later, Jin walked into a police station, eyes red and face swollen.

“I want to file a complaint,” he said to the officer. “My parents murdered my sister. They sold my other sister to an old man. Please help me.”

The officer looked at him.

Then laughed.

“Get in line,” he said, tossing a paper at Jin. “Lots of people have complaints. What proof do you have?”

“I—! I have her body! I can show you!”

But it was too late.

That night, his parents showed up with lawyers.

Expensive suits. Shiny shoes.

They had used all the money Jin and his sisters had worked for.

They bribed the cops.

“Your son is mentally unstable,” the lawyer told the judge. “He made everything up.”

The judge nodded slowly.

Bang!

“Case dismissed. Arrest Jiang Jin for making a false report.”

Jin stared in horror.

“No. NO!!”

But it was no use.

He was dragged away.

A week later…

Qin stood outside the jail, waiting. Her face was tired. Her eyes were dull. She had bruises on her arms.

When Jin came out, he looked at her and felt pain all over again.

“Qin…” he whispered.

She tried to smile. It came out broken

. “I… ran away from the old man. He couldn’t… catch me. I had help.”

Jin hugged her tight.

“We lost Mei Mei,” he said. “And they got away with it.”

Qin nodded. “I know.”

They sat on a bench that night, under a flickering streetlight.

The city didn’t care.

The world didn’t care.

“I hate it all,” Jin whispered.

“I hate it too,” Qin said.

“I want them to pay. All of them.”

“Let’s burn it all down,” she said.

Jin didn’t laugh.