Apocalypse: Transmigrated with an Overlord System
Chapter 242: Far Away from the World, You and Me (3)

Chapter 242: Chapter 242: Far Away from the World, You and Me (3)

By the time Liora returned from the river, her skin was flushed from the cold water, and her damp hair clung to her cheeks like ribbons of dark silk. She wore the borrowed clothes—a soft shirt and loose trousers that hung slightly over her frame. The fabric smelled faintly of pine and smoke... and something else, his scent.

She walked barefoot through the grass, cheeks still pink from the bath, her presence glowing beneath the golden sunlight. And for a moment, Xu Kai—who had been silently organizing tools near the tent looked up.

His gaze caught on her like a spark to dry wood.

For the briefest second, the man known for his unshakable calm stood frozen. His cold, indifferent eyes flickered—not with anger, but something far deeper. It was possessive and primal.

He stared at her like she was the only thing in existence, like he had spent a lifetime in shadow just to see her lit by the sun.

And then—just as quickly—he looked away.

His gaze was so hot that made Liora glanced over, but by the time she looked up, all she saw was Xu Kai crouched near the firepit, calmly cleaning cooking tools and folding cloths into precise stacks. His face was unreadable, his focus seemingly locked on the task in front of him.

Had she imagined it?

She blinked, her chest warming with a flutter of confusion and something softer. When he didn’t even glance her way, she let out a quiet laugh under her breath, brushing it off. Maybe it was just the sun getting to her head. She skipped toward him, her steps light, her smile playful.

"Xu Kai," she said, flopping down beside him without warning. "When are we going back to the base?" Afterall only he could take her, because she did not know where they are currently and her teleportation ball is sill in the space.

His hands stilled for a moment—too long to be casual. Then they resumed.

"Eventually," he replied.

It was vague and avoidant.

Liora tilted her head, brows slightly raised. "How did you even find me here?"

He didn’t look up. Instead, he began rolling up the cloth-wrapped utensils, tying them with methodical care. "After you disappeared from the base, I searched everywhere. The surrounding forests. Ruins. Caves. I didn’t stop until I found this place."

His voice remained low, steady. But something beneath it was raw.

Liora blinked, visibly surprised. "You searched all that... just for me?"

Xu Kai gave a small nod. "Of course."

There was no exaggeration in his tone. Just quiet, solid truth.

Liora paused, then asked the next question carefully. "And the base? Is everyone alright? There were so many beasts..."

He finally answered with a calm nod. "Zhao Ren is managing things. After you disappeared, the beasts began to thin out. Their numbers dropped, and they became easier to control. I helped clean up the rest, then left to find you."

She frowned slightly, thoughtful. "That’s strange. They were attacking in waves before. Why would they suddenly retreat?"

There was a pause—a careful one.

"Coincidence," Xu Kai said, snapping a twig in half without blinking. "Maybe they were following a single mind. Once it left, they lost purpose."

It made sense to her. Kazren had come for her, hadn’t he? If she was his target, and he led the tide, then maybe his goal was never to destroy the base—just to take her. Once he succeeded, the rest dispersed.

She accepted the answer without suspicion.

After all, Xu Kai had always been strong. Capable. Unshaken in a crisis. If he said the base was fine, it was fine.

But what she didn’t know—what he deliberately left unspoken—was that none of the beasts had retreated. There was no thinning. No calm.

Xu Kai had torn through the horde like a force of nature. The moment he learned she was missing, he descended into a state few had ever witnessed and survived. The forest had echoed with screams of dying creatures. Blood had soaked the earth as he exploded monster after monster in a rage so complete, it nearly consumed him.

He didn’t want Liora to know. Didn’t want to see fear in her eyes. Didn’t want to become a monster in her memory.

And he hadn’t answered her question about returning to the base for a reason.

He didn’t want to.

Not yet.

Because this was the first time they had been alone since he learned the truth.

That she... was his Aeris.

His one.

his heart flutter at her every action...every time she breathed near him. Every movement she made, every smile, every glance—it was unbearable. And yet, he said nothing.

He didn’t know how to ask her the questions burning in his chest. Didn’t know how to speak the ache he’d carried for two years.

Why had she left him?

How had she been taken?

Why hadn’t she come back?

He was afraid to ask. Afraid to hear answers he couldn’t bear.

Right now, he just wanted to hold her. Pull her into his arms and never let her go again. He wanted to kiss her until every wall between them shattered and her lips knew no name but his.

But if he looked at her now, he knew he would lose control.

So he didn’t. He kept his head down, hands busy, attention fixed on the most mundane task.

And Liora, oblivious to the storm he wrestled with, smiled softly and leaned back into the grass beside him.

"It’s nice here," she murmured, eyes closed. "Peaceful. I wouldn’t mind staying a little longer."

Xu Kai’s hands paused again.

Then he nodded. Just once. Barely perceptible.

"We’ll stay for a while."

He didn’t say what he truly felt.

That he didn’t want to leave at all.

That every second with her was borrowed time, and he would steal every moment he could before the world forced them apart again.

Inside, his heart whispered the only truth that mattered:

Just a little longer.

Let me have this moment.