Reborn Before The Apocalypse: The Last Safe Hotel

Chapter 002 – Last Haven System

*****

Ronan didn’t waste another moment.

After he had made up his mind to divorce Celeste, he checked the time on his phone.

“6:10.”

If Celeste were on night duty, she would probably return soon.

Ronan quickly entered the washroom, cleaned himself up, and then changed his clothes.

He had just reached for the bedroom door when…

[Ding!]

A strange notification echoed through the room out of nowhere, startling him so badly that he nearly jumped.

Ronan immediately looked at his phone, but the sound had not come from it.

Before he could investigate, a feminine, mechanical voice sounded inside his mind.

[System initializing.]

Ronan froze. “Who’s there?”

He looked around the room, his instincts immediately on high alert. There was no one else inside.

Then, without warning, a translucent blue interface materialized before his eyes. A miniature woman dressed in a futuristic jumpsuit appeared inside it, her expression completely emotionless.

Ronan’s hair stood on end. He instinctively reached out and swatted at her, only for his hand to pass straight through the image.

[Congratulations, Host. You have activated the Last Haven System.]

Ronan stared blankly at the floating figure, unable to react for a second. ‘Am I… hallucinating?’

[The Host is not hallucinating.]

His eyes widened.

The miniature woman continued speaking in the same mechanical tone.

[The host has fulfilled all requirements to activate the Last Haven System. The system has been assigned to assist the Host in constructing a haven for humanity.]

Ronan frowned. “What… what exactly is going on? What is this ‘last haven’?”

[The Host is not authorized to know everything at the current stage. However, the system can reveal the host's primary mission.]

The interface changed.

……

[Mission: Construct a safe haven before the apocalypse begins.]

[Required Facilities: Defensive Perimeter, Food Production, Medical Center, Energy System, Comfortable Residential Sector.]

[Completion Condition: Shelter and feed at least fifty survivors.]

[Time Remaining: 29 Days, 22 Hours, 59 Minutes.]

…..

Ronan stared at the mission in disbelief.

“Why would I build a safe haven for other people?” His expression darkened as memories of his previous life resurfaced.

In the apocalypse, survival itself had become a luxury.

People had frozen to death when the power grid collapsed, starved when their food ran out, and eventually turned against one another.

And now, this…

Ronan still didn’t understand what this system was.

But one thing he didn’t understand even more was whether it was trying to harm him or turn him into a saint.

Almost as though it had heard his thoughts, the miniature woman reappeared.

[The Host is not required to become a saint.]

Ronan raised an eyebrow.

[The Host will operate the haven more strictly as a business.]

Ronan’s expression changed.

The system then explained its function.

Once the apocalypse began, Ronan could charge survivors for food, rooms, medical treatment, warmth, and protection.

The money they paid would retain its value within the system, allowing him to purchase resources and upgrades for the haven.

The more money he earned, the more he could invest in the hotel, expanding its facilities, strengthening its defenses, and improving its amenities.

Ronan’s eyes widened as the implications sank in.

He wouldn't be sacrificing himself to save humanity that might end up betraying him. He would be running a business while building one of the safest places in the apocalypse.

For the first time since waking up, he felt the suffocating weight of his previous life begin to disappear.

In his first life, he had struggled desperately just to survive.

This time, he had a system, and he had thirty days to prepare.

If he played his cards right, by the time the apocalypse arrived, he wouldn't merely be trying to survive. He would be the one everyone else needed to survive.

A surge of excitement coursed through Ronan's body, and a grin slowly spread across his face.

“I’m going to be invincible in the apocalypse.” He laughed. “Alright, System. I accept the mission.”

[Mission accepted.]

The miniature woman disappeared, but her voice remained inside his mind.

[The Host does not need to speak aloud to communicate with the system. As long as the Host thinks about the system, the system can hear him.]

Ronan barely reacted.

Compared to everything else he had experienced that morning, telepathic communication was hardly worth mentioning.

His mind had already moved to the most important problem.

Money.

“How am I going to raise enough money to build all this?” He mumbled to himself, realizing he would need, at the very least, several million dollars.

Suddenly… Ronan's eyes widened.

“Wait.” He stared at the phone in his hand, his eyes suddenly lighting up.

A knowing smile slowly appeared on his face.

In his previous life, Ronan had spent years following the financial markets. He had always been fascinated by stocks and futures, constantly studying price movements, market trends, and financial news despite rarely having enough money to invest.

Fortunately, his excellent memory allowed him to retain countless details from what he had seen and studied.

And now, with a second chance, that knowledge was no longer useless.

He still remembered several major market movements that would occur over the coming weeks… opportunities that had once been nothing more than numbers on a screen.

Now, he had exactly thirty days to turn that knowledge into a fortune.

“The capital problem is solved.” Ronan chuckled. “This time, I'll accumulate enough wealth before the apocalypse begins and make those who killed me pay dearly.”

He grinned darkly. Just then…

“Useless fool! Didn’t I order you to have breakfast ready before dawn?” A furious voice suddenly rang outside his room, followed by a loud bang against the door.

Ronan's smile disappeared, and his eyes turned cold.

The voice belonged to Helena, the woman who had joined in mercilessly killing him.

An intense murderous intent surged through him, but he quickly suppressed it. Killing her now would be too easy.

She deserved to experience the despair of losing everything first.

Ronan calmly opened the door.