Apocalypse: I Raised the Ultimate Antagonist from Scratch

The quiet hours past midnight brought no peace to the primary residential suite of the Research Center.

While the rest of the facility slept under the dim emergency night-lights, Yang Jun was drowning in a sea of pure, unadulterated terror.

Inside his small room, it was a complete disaster.

Yang Jun stood in the dark, his breath coming in ragged, shallow gasps as his bloodshot eyes swept across the floor. He had pulled every blanket off his narrow cot, flipped his thin foam mattress, and dragged out every single crate beneath his bed. He had checked every hollow metal frame, every loose seam in his coat, every gap in the wall paneling.

It was gone.

His leather-bound diary was completely, undeniably gone.

Han Zheng has it, Yang Jun thought, his skin crawling with a cold sweat that made his clothes cling to his trembling frame. He knew about the sister. He read every single line. He knows... he knows I’m waiting for the right moment to destroy them.

Sleep was an impossible luxury. Every time Yang Jun closed his eyes, he saw Han Zheng’s towering silhouette blocking the lower mechanical bay door. Every creak of the thermal expansion pipes along the ceiling sounded like the heavy, measured click of Han Zheng’s boots coming down the corridor to execute him.

He couldn’t sit still. He couldn’t lie down. The suffocating walls of his room felt like a coffin closing in around him.

Unable to endure the silence a second longer, Yang Jun quietly opened his door and slipped out into the dim, vacant hallway.

The air was cool and static, illuminated only by the faint blue strip-lighting running along the baseboards.

Yang Jun walked aimlessly down the quiet hall, his soft-soled slippers making almost no sound against the floor tiles.

As he approached the rooms near the secondary lounge, a faint, angry murmur caught his attention. He paused near the door of a room.

Inside, a woman’s voice was spitting out venomous, tear-choked curses.

”Arrogant, heartless bitch...” Lu Ning’s voice rasped through the thin ventilation paneling at the base of the door, trembling with raw, hysterical rage.

”Acting like a high and mighty Vice Commander... turning those illiterate depot guards against me... setting that guard to threaten me! I hope you freeze to death out on that ridge, Lin Qing! I hope the zombies rip you apart...”

Yang Jun stood motionless in the quiet hall, his dark eyes widening in realization.

He knew Lu Ning well from their past interactions.

He knew how vain, selfish, and desperate for status she was. Listening to her bitter tirade, a sudden, sharp idea struck Yang Jun—a desperate, sinister spark in the pitch-black panic of his mind.

Han Zheng was closing the trap around him. Yang Jun couldn’t strike Han Zheng directly—the Commander was too powerful, too guarded, and far too dangerous. Nor could he easily reach Lin Qing, whose instincts kept her constantly alert.

If he wanted to break Han Zheng, he had to cut out his very heart.

Yang Jun raised a pale, trembling hand and knocked softly on the door.

The bitter cursing inside instantly stopped. A few seconds later, the heavy mechanical lock clicked, and the door pulled open a few inches.

Lu Ning stood in the doorway, her hair disheveled, her eyes red-rimmed and swollen from crying. She glared suspiciously into the dim hall, but when her eyes landed on Yang Jun’s pale, exhausted face, her defensive posture softened slightly.

”Yang Jun?” Lu Ning whispered, frowning in confusion. ”What are you doing here at this hour?”

”Lu Ning,” Yang Jun said in a low, urgently hushed voice, his eyes darting down the empty corridor. ”I heard you. I know how much you hate her. Let me in... we need to talk.”

Lu Ning hesitated for a brief second, then pulled the door open, stepping back to let him inside. In her haste and emotional turmoil, she pulled the door shut behind him—but the mechanical latch failed to engage fully, leaving the heavy slab resting against the frame with a thin, three-millimeter crack open to the quiet hallway.

Inside the small, private room, Yang Jun didn’t waste a single second. He turned to face Lu Ning, his bloodshot eyes gleaming with a manic, terrifying intensity.

”Lin Qing has humiliated you, hasn’t she?” Yang Jun whispered, taking a step toward her. ”She’s stripping away everything you have, treating you like trash while she plays the hero for Commander Han and Guo Jiong’s men.”

Lu Ning’s face twisted into an expression of pure, ugly hatred. ”She’s a monster. She had that depot guard threaten to drag me by my hair to Lu Feng just for speaking the truth! She’s ruined my life!”

”She’s going to destroy both of us if we don’t act first,” Yang Jun said, his voice dropping into a razor-sharp murmur. ”Han Zheng is under her finger. As long as she stands beside him, neither of us will ever be safe in this base. But we can’t touch Lin Qing directly—she’s too protected.”

Lu Ning crossed her arms, her breathing shallow. ”Then what are you suggesting?”

Yang Jun leaned in closer, his dark smile twisted with desperation. ”Han Zheng only cares about two things in this entire world: Lin Qing... and his son.”

Lu Ning froze, her eyes widening slightly as the weight of his words settled into the room. ”Little Han Ye?”

”Think about it, Lu Ning,” Yang Jun urged, his words coming out in a fast, persuasive rush. ”Han Zheng treats that boy like his absolute world. Aside from Lin Qing, that child is the only thing that can break Han Zheng’s legendary composure. If something terrible happens to little Han Ye... if he is harmed while Han Zheng is out leading tomorrow’s early transport detail...”

”If Han Zheng is gone...” Lu Ning whispered, her mind rapidly following the dark logic, ”...then Lin Qing is the one in charge.”

”Exactly!” Yang Jun hissed, clapping his hands together softly in dark satisfaction. ”If the boy is harmed while Han Zheng is away, all the blame falls directly on Lin Qing! We frame her for negligence—or better yet, make it look like she intentionally allowed it to happen out of coldness! Han Zheng will go completely insane with grief and rage. He will turn on Lin Qing instantly! Their trust will be shattered, the base will tear itself apart, and both of your headaches will be eliminated in a single stroke!”

Lu Ning stood frozen in the middle of the room, her chest rising and falling rapidly.

The sheer malice of the plan was horrifying, but to her warped, bitter mind, it was an absolute godsend. It was the perfect revenge. It would tear Lin Qing down from her high pedestal, ruin her standing with Han Zheng forever, and break the untouchable Commander completely so she could step in instead.

”Tomorrow morning...” Lu Ning whispered, a cruel, vicious smile slowly spreading across her pale lips.

”Han Zheng leaves with the primary haulers at dawn. Lin Qing will be occupied in the main command room reviewing the satellite feeds.”

”Yes,” Yang Jun whispered, his eyes dancing with dark relief. ”You do it while the corridors are quiet. Make it look like an accident and point every clue straight at Lin Qing.”

”I’ll do it,” Lu Ning agreed softly, her tone hardening into pure malice. ”I’ll make sure that little brat suffers, and Lin Qing pays the ultimate price.”

Outside in the dim, silent hallway, the air was dead still.

Standing near the wall just two feet away from the room’s unlatched door, a small figure stood frozen in absolute, paralyzing horror.

It was Guo Jiong’s daughter.

She had woken up thirsty a few minutes prior and slipped out of her room down the hall to fetch a cup of warm water. Walking back through the quiet corridor, she had noticed the thin sliver of yellow light spilling out from the cracked doorway of the room.

She had paused, intending to just pass by—until she heard the familiar names.

Han Ye... Commander Han... Lin Qing... make sure that little brat suffers...

The little girl’s hands trembled violently, clutching her water cup so tightly her knuckles turned white. Her large, innocent eyes were wide with pure terror, her heart hammering wildly against her tiny ribs like a trapped bird.

She knew little Han Ye.

And now, the mean lady inside and the pale man were planning to hurt him. She pressed her small back against the cold metal wall, taking tiny, agonizingly slow steps backward into the dark shadows of the hallway. Her slippers made no sound as she retreated inch by inch, never taking her eyes off the sliver of light coming from the room.

Once she reached the safety of the dark corner fifty feet away, the little girl turned and ran as fast as her small legs could carry her, heading straight toward her father’s room, her mind screaming a single frantic thought:

’I have to tell dad! I have to save Han Ye!’