Reborn in the Apocalypse :The son In-law's revenge

Chapter 13: The Ex-wife's Desperation

The Apex base was a hive of activity.

Survivors were reinforcing the barricades. Fighters were sparring in the parking lot. Lily was running a triage center that never seemed to empty. But the atmosphere was tense. The global announcement about the World Boss, The Devourer, had shaken everyone.

Leo stood on the mall's second-floor balcony, looking down at his makeshift kingdom. He was reviewing the system map. The Devourer was currently three miles away, consuming the eastern district. It was moving slowly, but it was moving toward them.

"Leo," Mia said, appearing from the shadows beside him. "We have a situation at the front gate."

"What kind of situation?"

"Your past," Mia said, her tone flat.

Leo looked down. A crowd had gathered near the main barricade. Two women were on their knees, begging the guards.

Sophia and Eleanor.

They looked nothing like the arrogant, wealthy women who had thrown him out a week ago. Their designer clothes were torn and covered in grime. Eleanor's hair was a tangled mess, and Sophia had a deep gash on her cheek. They were starving. They were broken.

Leo walked down the stairs and pushed through the crowd. The survivors parted for him instantly.

"Please!" Eleanor was screaming, clutching the leg of a guard. "We have money! We can pay you! Just let us inside!"

The guard looked disgusted. "We don't use money anymore, lady. We use food and weapons."

"Then I'll work! I'll do anything!" Eleanor wailed.

Sophia looked up and saw Leo. Her eyes widened. The man standing before her was not the tired, submissive servant she had divorced. He was clad in dark, chitinous armor that hummed with power. His eyes were cold. Deadly. The Apex Carapace made him look like a warlord.

"Leo," Sophia breathed out, a flicker of hope returning to her eyes. "Leo, thank God. I've been looking everywhere for you. Mark... Mark left us. He took the car and drove away when the monsters attacked. He left us to die."

Leo looked at her. He felt nothing. Not anger. Not satisfaction. Just pure, cold indifference.

"Why are you here?" Leo asked.

Sophia scrambled to her feet, trying to look vulnerable. She knew how much he used to love her. "I made a mistake, Leo. I see that now. Mark was a coward. You... you're strong. You're a leader. I should have never listened to my mother. I should have never signed those papers."

She reached out to touch his chest. "We can fix this. We can get back together. I'll be a good wife to you now, I swear."

Eleanor, catching on, scrambled up. "Yes! Yes, Leo, my boy! We were just testing you! To see if you were strong enough for our Sophia! And you passed! You passed with flying colors!"

The crowd murmured. Even the hardened fighters looked disgusted by the display.

Leo looked at them. Then he looked at the system interface.

[Target: Sophia Sinclair. Class: None (Failed to awaken). Level: 1.]

[Target: Eleanor Sinclair. Class: None (Failed to awaken). Level: 1.]

They had no classes. They were completely useless in this new world.

Leo activated [Golden Tongue] and [Intimidation].

"You think I want a woman who abandoned me when I was weak, only to come crawling back when I became strong?" Leo's voice was quiet, but it carried across the entire gate. "You think I want a wife who spread her legs for a coward because he had money, while I washed your dishes?"

Sophia's face went pale. "Leo, please—"

"I am not the man you divorced," Leo interrupted. "That man is dead. You killed him the moment you signed those papers."

He turned to the guard. "What are the rules for refugees?"

The guard snapped to attention. "They work in the labor corps for two weeks. Digging trenches, cleaning latrines, carrying supplies. If they survive, they get rations and a safe place to sleep."

Leo turned back to his ex-wife and mother-in-law. "You heard the man. If you want to stay, you work. You dig trenches. You clean latrines. Or you can take your chances with the Devourer."

Eleanor's jaw dropped. "You can't be serious! I am your mother-in-law!"

"You are a Level 1 civilian," Leo said coldly. "And I am the leader of this faction. Take the deal, or leave."

Sophia stared at him, tears streaming down her face. "You... you hate me that much?"

"I don't hate you," Leo said. "I just don't care about you anymore."

He turned his back on her and walked toward the armory.

"Take them to the labor corps," Leo ordered over his shoulder. "And if they cause trouble, throw them outside."

[Reputation increased: Faction 'Apex' members are in awe of your ruthlessness. Loyalty increased by 5%.]

---

Inside the armory, Natasha was waiting for him. She was cleaning her warhammer and grinning.

"That was beautiful," Natasha said. "Cruel. But beautiful."

"She made her choice," Leo said. He walked over to the weapons rack. "What's the status on the Devourer?"

"It's stopped moving," Natasha said, her smile fading. "It's resting. Elara thinks it's digesting everything it consumed in the eastern district. But when it wakes up, it's going to be hungry again."

"We have a window," Leo said. "I need to reach Level 30 before it gets here."

"And how are you going to do that?" Natasha asked. "The dungeons around here are empty. We cleared them."

"Not all of them," Leo said. He pulled out the three Meridian keycards. They were glowing brighter than before. "Elara found a hidden sub-level beneath the mall. It's a Tier 5 dungeon. It wasn't on the system map until the Devourer's energy woke it up."

Natasha's eyes widened. "A Tier 5 dungeon? Leo, that's suicide. The recommended level is 35."

"Then I'll improvise," Leo said. He looked at the Hive Reaper. "I'll take Mia with me. The stealth will help."

"What about me?" Natasha demanded.

"You're in charge of the base while I'm gone," Leo said. "If the Devourer reaches the walls before I get back, you use the Harbinger Wings to evacuate the civilians into the Meridian tunnels."

Natasha stared at him. "You're giving me command?"

"Don't let me down."

[Natasha Volkov's Loyalty has increased: 60% → 75%.]

---

Leo and Mia stood at the entrance of the newly awakened dungeon. It was beneath the mall's parking garage—a massive, metallic door that looked like something out of a sci-fi movie.

[System Alert: Tier 5 Dungeon – The Apex Vault. Recommended Level: 35. Boss: Unknown.]

"Are you sure about this?" Mia asked, her pale eyes scanning the darkness.

"No," Leo admitted. He drew the Hive Reaper. "But if we don't clear this, the Devourer will wipe us out before we can even reach the Citadel."

Mia nodded. She pulled her mask up, her daggers glinting in the dim light. "Then let's go hunting."

Leo pushed the doors open. A blast of freezing air hit them.

They stepped inside.

The door slammed shut behind them.

[System Alert: Dungeon Rules: No Exit. Kill the Boss to leave.]

Leo smiled coldly. "Perfect."