Chapter 64

The Explosion in the Previous Life

One of the men was playing the piano, singing softly. Although Juan didn’t recognize the song, he had to admit that the man’s voice was captivating, drawing more and more passersby to stop and listen to the music floating through the glass.

Standing in the crowd, Juan listened to this impromptu concert along with everyone else.

After the “concert” ended, Pedro handed Juan a bouquet of flowers he’d bought from a nearby flower shop earlier, and Juan placed the flowers in front of the display window.

Apparently unused to receiving flowers, the man inside looked surprised before breaking into a big smile and nodding in gratitude from beside the piano. Then he played a cheerful piece, expressing both his thanks and his happiness.

Leaving the flowers by the window, Juan turned and walked away.

But they didn’t go far. Instead, they found a café nearby and took a seat.

They chose a table by the window, and it wasn’t long before a cool-looking punk girl came over with the menu.

Without taking the menu from her, Juan directly ordered the items Scott had mentally picked out.

“Two steaks, please, but don’t use the house sauce. Use the dipping sauce from the dumpling shop across the street.”

At this, the girl’s cool expression momentarily cracked as she looked Juan over carefully. But she didn’t ask any questions and took the menu over to the bodyguards’ table.

Hearing the bodyguards ordering, Scott chuckled in Juan’s mind.

“Julie’s steaks actually taste best with the dipping sauce from the dumpling shop. Her dad even admits it! That’s how their family eats it, but they don’t advertise it in their own restaurant, so only regulars know about this pairing.”

“Heh, she must have been surprised!”

Scott laughed so hard in Juan’s mind that by the time he stopped, Juan was already eating his steak.

Savoring the familiar flavor, Scott said softly, “Julie was actually my crush in my past life. I fell for her slowly over time, but meeting her again in this life, I realize it’s still love at first sight.”

“But…”

But what, he didn’t say.

Not far away, the lights in the piano room went out, and Scott’s fathers soon stepped out. They seemed to know all the nearby shopkeepers well, bidding farewell to the music store owner and calling goodbye to other shop owners along the way.

Eventually, they made their way to the steakhouse, exchanging a few words with the owner before passing by Juan’s window.

One of Scott’s fathers, the one who had been playing the piano, recognized Juan as the one who had left the flowers. Through the glass, he waved the bouquet at Juan, clearly having retrieved it after his performance.

In response, Juan nodded slightly, and the man went on his way.

To match Scott’s intentions, Juan kept his eyes on the two men’s retreating figures until they disappeared down the street.

“Thank you,” Scott said sincerely in Juan’s mind.

When they turned back, Pedro had just returned from the front desk.

He had ordered more food and struck up a long chat with the owner’s family while he was at it. When he came back, he brought not only a tray of food but also the latest information on the two men.

“Your dads are currently working—one as a bartender, the other as an accountant at the Sunshine Hotel. They don’t have any children, though they did try to adopt from an orphanage, but couldn’t find a match.”

Scott, who had been dying to know if his dads had adopted any other children, sighed in relief, his sadness dissipating. Through Juan, he told Pedro cheerfully:

“My dads were actually forced to go to the orphanage to try to adopt. They’re both refugees here, and the settlement requirements for this base are super strict—too high for them, in fact. They aren’t really a couple; they were just neighbors before the apocalypse. To increase their settlement points, they first married to create a family, then tried to adopt a child for extra points.”

“My second dad said they were specifically looking for a child with health issues or disabilities, since that would give them higher adoption points. And that’s how they found me—at the time, I was already sick!”

Pedro said, “…Your dad sure told you everything, didn’t he…”

Feeling smug at Pedro’s comment, Scott replied, “Right? My first dad always says the same thing! Haha, my second dad and I have no secrets. We’re not just father and son; we’re best friends, too!”

“But… neighbors? Before the apocalypse?” Pedro sipped his juice thoughtfully, picking up on a detail.

So Scott explained in a low voice, relaying through Juan, “Actually, my two dads are survivors from cryosleep.”

“When the apocalypse first hit, different regions handled it differently. In their area, a large number of people were cryogenically frozen—to save resources and to prevent humanity from being wiped out. My dads were chosen, but the facility couldn’t stay operational until the end of the apocalypse, so they were unfrozen early. When they woke up, they realized their skills didn’t match the new world at all.”

“My first dad was an accountant, and my second dad was a famous singer. But at their initial post-apocalyptic location, jobs like accounting and singing didn’t exist—all work was focused on fighting zombies. They could hardly survive, let alone find jobs!”

“They got lucky while fleeing with a group and eventually made it to the Laukkin Base.”

“Laukkin Base is decent, but nearby is Sunchill City, a massive metropolis! It’s almost as bustling as before the apocalypse, so they could finally find work here!”

“But the residency requirements for Sunchill are sky-high. It’s almost impossible for an average person to qualify. My dads worked hard to earn settlement points for Laukkin Base, settled there, and eventually found jobs in Sunchill. That’s how they managed to stabilize their lives.”

Finishing the story, Pedro sipped his juice and sighed, “Your family sure has a lot of stories!”

Scott laughed in agreement. “Right? I could write three books out of our life alone, each one a different genre! I always think that if I live long enough, I’ll definitely write down every story when I’m nearing the end of my life.”

After saying this, he fell silent for a long time.

In his silence, Juan and Pedro finished the extra food, and when they stood up to leave, the bodyguards, who had already finished, stood as well, and they all headed toward the door together.

When they left, the steakhouse was already empty, and the owner’s family had completed their daily cleaning. As soon as Juan and the others stepped outside, the owner locked the door, and the family climbed onto two hover bikes and rode off.

“They’re heading back to Laukkin Base,” Scott explained, noticing Juan watching the family’s departure. “Even though they work in Sunchill City, they can’t afford to buy a home here or meet the residency requirements, so they have to leave at a certain time every day.”

“My family’s the same way. My first dad’s job as an accountant has a pretty steady hourly rate, but my second dad’s work as a bartender pays a lot more at night. Since he doesn’t have a Sunchill City residency permit, he can only work daytime hours, so he earns just a third of what he’d make at night.”

“But my second dad doesn’t mind. He says that this way, the whole family can have the same schedule, and we get to spend more time together.”

“But because of this, they’ll definitely be affected when the Laukkin Base explosion happens.”

“What should I do? Before today, I just wanted to get my dads a plane ticket so they could leave and avoid the explosion. But now…”

After seeing so many familiar faces, his wishes had grown.

But what could he do? When he’d first asked to use Juan’s body, his only condition had been to see his fathers from his past life, hear his dad sing, and then give them tickets to leave. Juan had already done so much for him—how could he ask for more?

Scott didn’t say anything more.

But hearing about the explosion, Pedro asked, “What day does the explosion happen?”

Scott remembered the date clearly and quickly answered through Juan, “June 15th!”

“Not yet…” Pedro mumbled, and then he made a call.

“Hey! Has anyone hired you recently for a job? Bomb installation, anything like that…”

“No? Then do you know of any explosive experts who’ve recently arrived in the area? I’ll pay for information.”

“Or has anyone notified you to clear out near Laukkin Base?”

After finishing that call, he made a few more, but all the answers seemed to be the same—

“No,” Pedro said, shaking his head. “Not that this line of questioning is super reliable. First, those people might not talk, and second, whoever’s behind this might not even hire outside help—they could just do it themselves.”

“Even knowing the date isn’t reliable because your life’s path has changed, so there’s no guarantee everything will be exactly the same as in your last life.”

Scott grew even more disheartened at Pedro’s words.

Juan, who had been relaying Scott’s words, was also looking at the road. When they passed by an art shop, he stopped and looked at a painting for a long time.

“Do you like it? If you do, go ahead and buy it,” Pedro said, still on his phone but keeping his eye on Juan. Noticing Juan’s lingering gaze on the painting, he went ahead and asked the shop owner to buy it.

He didn’t even ask the price!

But the painting wasn’t expensive anyway. After all, it was just a small art shop by the road, selling “antiques” that even the owner didn’t believe were real. He set a casual price, and when Pedro didn’t haggle, the shop owner felt like he’d made a good deal.

As Juan held the painting, he sensed Scott’s sadness and suddenly made a suggestion:

“How about buying it?”

“Like this painting—what if we bought Laukkin Base?”

Pedro was stunned. “Wait… an entire base? Let me check my wallet…”