Chapter 33

Pedro’s First Job

Hearing the shouting from the family upstairs and seeing the boy leap down from above, an old lady hurriedly opened her window and looked outside. When she saw that the boy was unharmed and had already started running, she sighed in relief. She closed the window and, despite the continued cursing from upstairs, wasn’t bothered in the slightest. With a cheerful smile, she turned to her husband and said:

“That boy Anan has always been too soft. If he had acted like this earlier, those two wouldn’t have dared be so arrogant.”

The old man nodded in agreement.

Juan, oblivious to the neighbors’ gossip about his “jumping out of a building,” had already returned to his hospital room, still carrying the large bundle on his back.

As before, he entered through the window.

“You seem to have a thing for windows,” Pedro remarked with a raised eyebrow from his seat by the window, as if he had been expecting Juan.

Standing on the windowsill, Juan paused to think for a moment, then replied: 

“This body is very agile and flexible.” 

“The windows here are easy to climb.” 

“And there are more windows than doors,” he added after some thought.

Pedro couldn’t help but chuckle at the last reason. “Well, why don’t you teach me how to climb windows sometime?”

Juan gave a slight nod, not refusing the suggestion. 

Stepping off the windowsill and onto the floor, he handed the bundle to Pedro. “These are some clothes I brought back. There were a lot, so I took extra. You all can wear them.”

Hearing that, the boys who were tidying the room with Pedro immediately gathered around excitedly.

“Wow, so many clothes? Juan, your family must be really well-off!” Wang He exclaimed, his eyes sparkling. Although his clothes were thicker than Pedro’s, they weren’t much better.

The orphanage only provided the children with basic necessities. The younger kids sometimes got more, but for older children like them, resources were limited. All they had were thin cotton coats, and to stay warm, they wore every piece of clothing they owned, layering them on top of each other.

Wang He wasn’t the only one dressed like that—Ah Hai and the others were, too. So, when Juan mentioned that there were clothes for them, the boys eagerly crowded around.

The last to join was Xiaolu, who carefully put the lid on a lunch box before handing it to Juan. “Juan, we saved some food for you,” he whispered. “Don’t worry, no one touched it. We set aside your portion before we ate.”

Juan had left so abruptly that they barely had time to react, but they wanted to make sure he had something to eat.

However— 

“Thanks, but I don’t need it,” Juan said, shaking his head. After a moment’s thought, he added, “I’ve already eaten.”

He remembered what someone had once told him about human society: People dislike things that are too out of the ordinary. Sometimes, a small lie is necessary to fit in.

Sure enough, Xiaolu didn’t press the matter. Instead, he offered the lunch box to Pedro, but Pedro was already full and declined it. Left holding the box awkwardly, Xiaolu looked unsure of what to do.

Ah Hai noticed and cautiously asked, “Juan, can I have the lunch box?” 

“Sure,” Juan agreed without hesitation, not even asking for a reason.

Relieved, Ah Hai carefully stowed the lunch box away.

With that settled, Pedro began unwrapping the bundle. Everyone gathered around eagerly, anticipating the moment it was opened.

As Pedro loosened the last knot and flipped the fabric open, a collective “Oh” escaped the group.

The sound started loud, then faded into a confused, questioning tone.

No one could blame them for being surprised—the clothes inside were all pink.

Bright pink, light pink, and even some with hints of purple—they were all overwhelmingly pink.

Since these clothes had come from Juan’s own wardrobe, no one dared to question him directly. Still, the boys couldn’t help but feel awkward, their expressions a mix of disbelief and amusement.

Unable to hold back, Ah Hai finally asked in a low voice, “Juan, are these really your clothes?”

“I got them from… my room, so they should be mine,” Juan replied.

From his perspective, there had been three bedrooms. Two clearly belonged to the couple and the young woman, leaving the last one to belong to the body he now inhabited—Anan’s.

Unfamiliar with the nuances of human life, Juan had overlooked the possibility of a walk-in closet.

“I even picked colors I thought would suit you all,” he added sincerely.

The boys exchanged bewildered glances.

He thinks these colors suit us? 

“Isn’t pink… for girls?” Wang He asked tentatively.

Juan immediately dismissed the notion. “No. Pink is the color of blood vessels beneath the skin—it represents passion and vitality. It’s a masculine color.”

This was something Juan had specifically studied. He recalled seeing many men wearing pink during his time in the human world and was confident in his answer.

The boys, however, were now unsure what to believe.

Still, they glanced back at the bundle filled with warm clothes. There were thick coats and even a down jacket among them.

Who cares if pink is for boys or girls? If it’s warm, it’s a good color!

Delighted, the boys insisted that Juan and Pedro pick first. Once the two had chosen, the others happily dug through the remaining clothes, each picking something they liked and putting it on right away.

With the room now clean and the boys dressed warmly, they prepared to head out.

Only then did Juan realize they had jobs to do.

“We’re not babies. The orphanage only provides two meals a day, which isn’t enough. If we want to eat more, we have to find work,” Ah Hai explained.

“Wang He and I usually join groups running missions and take on errands they don’t want to do. Feng Ruixuan and Tony handle manual labor jobs at the base. As for Xiaolu, since he’s still young, he helps out by babysitting.”

After explaining, Ah Hai turned to Pedro. “What about you, boss? What kind of work are you planning to do?”

“You’re an Esper, right? There are so many jobs you could take. Want me to find you a team? Honestly, it’s a shame none of us have powers—if we did, we could’ve teamed up with you!”

As he spoke, he truly began to imagine the glorious days ahead, following a powerful leader with supernatural abilities and conquering the world—

However—

“What abilities? I don’t have any special abilities,” Peder said to him.

“Huh? But what about those flowers…” Ah Hai asked in confusion.

Peder smiled gently and replied, “That’s not an ability. It’s magic.”

Magic? Fine, call it what you want, but in our eyes, it’s still a supernatural ability…

Although Ah Hai didn’t say it out loud, the expression on his face made it clear.

Peder didn’t care what he thought

Through the window, he seemed to spot the small vegetable plots scattered throughout the neighborhood and declared with conviction:

“Farming.”

“I’m going to farm.”

“That’s how I used to make a living.”

He said it with full confidence, brimming with determination!

Ah Hai, Wang He, Feng Ruixuan, Tony, and Xiao Lu: … Is this some sort of luxury?

He really has powers, but he just wants to farm?

They didn’t understand, but unfortunately, Peder was a tough leader. They didn’t dare ask or even think about questioning him.

So, faced with their leader’s confidence and grand ambitions, all they could do was nod in agreement. Before they left, Ah Hai gave them instructions on where to apply for land rental. Bundled up in their pink puffy coats, the boys cheerfully went off to work.

And then, Peder decided he wanted to find a job too.

“They’re right. If you want to live in one place for a long time, you need a job!” Turning to Juan, Peder’s face lit up with excitement.

Juan: …I never planned on settling down anywhere. I just want to read my magic books.

However, if Peder wanted to live here stably ≈ Juan could continue reading his books here stably. With that thought, Juan nodded in approval.

Bundled in a pink down jacket, Peder eagerly prepared to head out. Just as he was about to walk through the door of the ward, Juan tapped him on the shoulder and gestured toward the window.

Grinning even wider, Peder followed Juan and climbed up to the window.

Clumsy but determined, Peder managed to leap through the window for the first time—though he messed up his final step and ended up sprawled face-first in the snow. Even so, he found the mouthful of snow surprisingly enjoyable.

“We’re definitely doing this again next time,” he said excitedly, his light brown eyes sparkling as he licked the snow off his lips.

Thanks to the down jacket, being outside wasn’t so unbearable anymore. They skied and walked along the way, occasionally asking for directions. After half an hour, they finally arrived at the place in charge of farmland rentals—

The property management office.

Yes, the same property management that everyone was familiar with before the apocalypse.

At the beginning of the apocalypse, this neighborhood survived the first wave of viral attacks thanks to the efforts of the property management. And under their continued organization, the internal security of the community remained intact. While the world outside spiraled into chaos, the residents held onto their last bit of peace.

The property management protected the residents, and in return, the residents continued to support the management. Even 40 years into the apocalypse, the property management office still existed.

Despite the rise of people with abilities, the original property management team remained responsible for coordinating community affairs.

The property manager hadn’t changed, nor had the stewards.

The person now handling Juan and Peder’s application was one of the original surviving stewards—a woman, age eighty-one.

Wearing reading glasses, the elderly lady greeted them with a practiced professional smile, “Hello, I’m Rose, your property steward. What service can I assist you with today?”

The neighborhood’s stewards were named after flowers—Rose, Lily, Peony, and Osmanthus.

Both Juan and Peder were taken aback by the formal atmosphere and were momentarily speechless. After a pause, Peder decided to explain their purpose.

“I want to farm.”

“Oh, you’re looking to rent farmland,” Rose said, taking Peder’s card and inserting it into her computer. As the system loaded, she continued, “Please bear with me; this computer is over 50 years old, so it’s a bit slow.”

They waited patiently, but after a while, the computer still showed no response. With a decisive smack, Rose hit the machine, and with a “click,” Peder’s information finally appeared on the screen.

Still smiling, Rose glanced at the screen and asked, “You’re new, right? Do you have any prior farming experience?”

After thinking it over, Peder answered seriously, “Yes, I have seven years of farming experience.”

“Oh? You look quite young. How old are you?” Rose asked, adjusting her glasses and taking a closer look at Peder’s face.

“Fourteen, I think.”

Rose paused for a moment, then tapped away at her keyboard, adding his age and work experience to his profile.

Once she updated his file, the elderly steward opened another document—this one listing the available farmland in the community. Her task was to find a suitable plot for Peder.

“Let’s see… It seems there’s no available land inside the base. All the farmable plots have already been taken. You’ll have to farm outside the base. But don’t worry too much; even the land outside the base is relatively safe. The base sends out patrols regularly, and if you’re concerned, you can hire security personnel. Also, since it’s outside the base, the land tax will be lower. The farther the plot is from the base, the lower the tax. With your current credit level, you’re eligible to farm on three different plots. Take a look and see which one you’d like.”

Rose turned the screen toward Peder and Juan so they could see it more clearly.

Carefully examining the size and topography of the three plots displayed on the screen, Peder didn’t hesitate. He immediately chose the largest one.

“This plot is the biggest, but it’s also the farthest from the base,” Rose reminded him.

“I want this one,” Peder said firmly.

Without saying more, the elderly steward began processing his rental application. When she reached the final step, she turned to him and asked:

“The rent for this land is 200 points per month, and we don’t allow credit. You’ll need to pay at the end of each month. Is that okay?”

“Got it!” Peder answered loudly.

He signed the electronic pad the steward handed him, officially securing his plot of land.

He also received a small bag of seeds.

Clutching the bag of seeds as if holding his future, Peder dreamed that night of his vegetable garden.

It wasn’t in Eden, but on a vast, unfamiliar stretch of land.

In his dream, he was working in the garden, planting lush, vibrant green vegetables, while Juan sat nearby, reading under the warm sun. Everything felt perfect.