Apocalypse: Transmigrated with an Overlord System
Chapter 243: The System is Back!!

Chapter 243: Chapter 243: The System is Back!!

Liora hadn’t planned to drag Xu Kai away from the hut, but once the quiet surrounded them and the wind carried only the rustle of trees, she couldn’t help it. It was the first time since arriving here that she truly felt free—not leading, not managing, not bearing the weight of responsibilities. Just her. Just him. Just the forest.

"Let’s go farther," she said, reaching out without thinking, grabbing his wrist with a light tug. "Just for a while... I want to look around."

He raised a brow, not saying anything, but didn’t pull away. Instead, he crouched down and opened his personal space, pulling out a pair of brand-new black slippers. He held them out to her without a word. His eyes softened as he looked at her dirt-covered feet.

"They’re big," she said with a small laugh, taking them.

"They’re mine," he replied plainly, then added with a quiet smirk, "but you can borrow them."

They were definitely too large for her. Her feet sunk in, barely filling half the space, but she smiled as she slipped them on anyway. "Better than walking barefoot."

He nodded, but didn’t ask why she wasn’t using anything from her own inventory. Maybe he noticed the avoidance in her eyes. Maybe he understood. Sometimes it wasn’t about what she had—it was about what she wanted. And right now, she wanted to walk in his shoes, in the simplest way. And he was more than happy to provide for it.

They stepped into the woods, away from the noise and construction sounds of the base. The forest was quiet but alive in a different way—muted rustlings, birds that hadn’t fully mutated, and trees still holding onto their wildness. The canopy overhead shifted with soft green light as they walked, and Liora felt like a child discovering the world again.

"Over there!" she pointed suddenly at a cluster of trees that had something hanging—bright orange fruit, oddly shaped like peaches but speckled with deep violet lines.

Xu Kai followed her line of sight, then walked ahead and grabbed a few, sniffing one. "Low radiation. Should be safe after boiling. Sweet scent too."

"Let’s take them for dinner," she grinned, tossing one into her small satchel. "Maybe you can make something nice."

They continued deeper, and the forest slowly revealed itself in ways she hadn’t expected. Strange vines curled down like ropes, and mutated butterflies with crystalline wings fluttered around wildflowers that glowed faintly. Liora spun under one of the hanging vines and glanced back to see him just watching her.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked, slightly breathless from twirling.

Xu Kai shrugged, walking forward. "You look... lighter today. Less burdened."

She smiled at that. "That’s because you’re carrying it."

He glanced at the bag hanging from his shoulder—full of fruits, herbs, and even a few oddly-shaped mushrooms. "Literally."

They laughed at that. It felt warm, unhurried.

Then came a rustle.

Xu Kai reacted before she did, pulling her behind him instinctively. From the bushes, two mutated rabbits leapt out. Their ears were long and sharp, and their eyes glowed a deep green. They weren’t massive, but their speed could make them dangerous. Xu Kai flicked a knife from his sleeve and caught one mid-air. The other scrambled but he grabbed it with swift precision.

"Dinner just got better," he said calmly, wiping the blade on the grass.

Liora blinked. "You didn’t even break a sweat."

"Habit," he said, eyes still scanning the area.

"Maybe I should come out with you more often," she teased, nudging his arm.

"You’d distract me," he said.

"Good."

They kept walking, finding more—some berries that shimmered like glass beads (which they left alone), a small pond with glimmering fish, and even a squirrel that tried to throw a seed at Xu Kai before realizing its mistake and scampering off. Liora laughed so hard she had to hold onto a tree.

He just looked at her with that slight curve at the edge of his mouth, the kind that rarely surfaced but always lingered in her mind after.

"You know," she said, as she bent to pick up a peculiar round nut that was warm to the touch, "I’ve never had a real day like this. ."

Xu Kai turned slightly toward her. "Why?"

"Because I was always preparing. Always learning, fixing, building something for later. But now..." She looked around at the tangled wilderness. "Now, everything could fall apart tomorrow. So maybe this is the only time I’ll get." She could not tell him that She arrived here after the world has already fallen.

He didn’t say much in response, but he reached out and plucked a leaf from her hair gently. That was enough.

The sun had started to dip, casting gold streaks through the branches, and they knew it was time to return. Her arms were full of gathered herbs and glowing seeds. Xu Kai carried the rest—his space likely filled with more than he let on.

But just as they began to turn back, a familiar chime echoed softly in Liora’s mind.

[System Notification: System Upgrade Completed.]

[Reloading Core Modules... please wait.]

[Core Synchronization 100% — Welcome back, Host.]

Liora froze, breath catching for just a moment. Then came the familiar flicker of pale blue light in the corner of her vision and the voice she hadn’t realized she’d missed so badly.

"Host... how are you feeling?"

Her chest tightened slightly. It had been too long without that presence—without the quiet, constant company in the back of her mind.

"I’m fine now," she said softly, her lips curling into a relieved smile. "You’re back."

There was a flicker of processing, then another gentle question.

"Did Kazren follow you again? Was there danger?"

Liora shook her head slowly. "No. I’m safe. Xu Kai rescued me."

As she said it, she turned her head slightly to glance at him. He didn’t hear the system, didn’t see the interface blooming lightly behind her eyes—but he looked over as if he sensed her attention. She smiled.

The system’s voice softened. "Understood. He has proven reliable."

There was a pause, then Liora narrowed her eyes slightly. "Why did you go dark in the first place? One moment you were trying to trace that signal, and then... nothing."

"When I attempted to breach the encrypted data trails left by Kazren’s programs, they countered with invasive code. A trap. I had to force a system-level lockdown and initiate a full upgrade. It was the only way to prevent them from tracking my core routines or accessing sensitive host-linked data."

Liora exhaled quietly, her shoulders relaxing. She looked out toward the trees, watching the wind shift through their branches. "You did what you had to."

"Yes." The voice pulsed with quiet confidence. "I would not allow them to compromise you."