Reborn Before the Great Flood: I Built the Last Ark

Chapter 5

After activating the dimensional ring, Damian immediately turned his attention to the Greyhaven Ark. 

This time, he intended to build the Ark larger and stronger than the one from his previous life.

Back then, upgrading Greyhaven had been a constant struggle. Civilization had already collapsed, leaving them to rely on rusted wreckage and whatever scraps they could recover from submerged cities.

But the Great Flood had not begun yet.

Factories were still operating.

Engineers were still alive.

Every material he had once begged the ocean to return was still available for purchase.

“This should be enough.”

Damian studied the blueprint one final time.

A cold mechanical voice suddenly echoed inside his mind.

[Level 100 Grand Ark blueprint detected.]

[Blueprint recorded in the System Archive.]

[Level requirements not met. Blueprint cannot be constructed.] 

Damian froze.

The drawing vanished from the paper in front of him.

At the same time, a translucent screen appeared in the air. Damian dropped the sheet and stared at the glowing words.

“What is this?”

He rubbed his eyes, then reached for the floating screen.

His fingers passed straight through it.

“Did I acquire a system after returning to the past?”

Nothing like this had appeared during his previous life.

He had awakened enhanced strength after the Great Flood, but that ability had only helped him fight monsters and perform the brutal physical labor required to keep the Ark alive.

“Master, would you like to begin the system tutorial?” the voice asked inside his mind.

Damian blinked.

“Yes.”

“Tutorial initiated.”

The screen changed.

[Welcome to the Great Flood Survival System.]

[I am the system assistant assigned to guide the Ark Master and issue survival objectives.]

“A guide?” Damian repeated. “The Great Flood Survival System?”

He looked down at the gold ring on his finger.

Perhaps the system had always been sealed inside the dimensional ring. In his first life, he had activated it long after the disaster began, when several of its functions might already have been damaged or permanently locked.

“The system will issue tasks,” the assistant explained. “Completing them will grant rewards and upgrade points.”

“Upgrade points?”

“Yes. They can strengthen both the Ark Master and the designated Ark.”

“Do you mean Greyhaven?”

“Yes. Once you accumulate enough points and satisfy the material requirements, the system can unlock higher-level Ark blueprints and upgrade functions. You may also improve your own abilities.”

Damian slowly looked at his hands.

In his previous life, he had awakened physical strength. That ability allowed him to fight and helped him rebuild Greyhaven piece by piece.

But if the system was telling the truth, strength was no longer the only thing he could develop.

“Why didn’t I discover this before?” he asked. “Why is it appearing only now?”

“I’m sorry, Master. That information is unavailable at your current authority level.”

Damian released a breath.

Even the system could not—or would not—explain why he had returned.

Fine.

He did not need every answer today.

“What else can I obtain by completing your tasks?”

“The system will expand as the Ark Master advances. Available functions may include supplies, blueprints, crafting facilities, defensive equipment, and survival technology.”

Damian nodded thoughtfully.

“Can the system store supplies?”

“No. Storage is not a system function. Your dimensional Vault is responsible for preserving and transporting stored materials.”

“Are the system and the dimensional ring connected?”

“Yes.”

Damian’s eyes widened.

Then a slow smile spread across his face.

With his memories, the system, and the dimensional Vault, preparing for the Great Flood would be far easier than it had been in his previous life.

He was about to ask another question when someone pounded on his front door.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The blows were so violent that it sounded as though the visitor intended to tear the door from its frame.

“Damian Cross! Open this door right now!”

Damian’s eyes narrowed.

Sarah.

She had probably tried to enter, only to discover that Damian had already changed the apartment’s passcode.

She must have also learned that every allowance connected to her family had been canceled.

Damian sighed and walked to the door.

He did not open it.

Instead, he activated the security panel mounted beside the entrance.

Sarah’s furious face appeared on the screen.

Adrian stood beside her, looking equally displeased.

Damian almost laughed.

His wife still possessed enough shamelessness to bring her lover to their marital home.

He pressed the intercom button.

“What do you want? I already told you that we would meet at the family court.”

Sarah’s eyes widened.

“You—open this door, Damian! Why can’t I get inside?”

“I changed the passcode. I also sent your belongings to your parents’ house. You can live there from now on.”

Sarah stared at the camera.

“What did you say?”

“Damian, my friend,” Adrian interrupted. “What are you doing? Sarah is your wife. Why are you treating her so cruelly? Open the door and let her inside.”

Damian laughed.

“Really? My wife?” His voice turned cold. “Then why is she spending our anniversary with you?”

Adrian’s gaze shifted uneasily.

Sarah struck the door again.

“Are you seriously asking me that?” she shouted. “What did you do, Damian? Did you say something to Mr. Cross? Did you ruin my reputation with him?”

Damian laughed again.

His guess had been correct.

Sarah must have attempted to use the black card he gave her during their honeymoon.

He had planned to reveal his true identity when he handed it to her. But Sarah became more interested in the card’s spending power than in anything Damian tried to tell her.

When he said that he was Mr. Cross, she refused to believe him.

Eventually, Damian stopped trying to convince her and continued pretending to be an ordinary security guard.

“How could I possibly do anything?” Damian asked innocently. “I’m only a security guard. I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve seen Mr. Cross.”

“I don’t believe you!” Sarah snapped. “You must have done something. Mr. Cross would never cancel my card without a reason. He likes me!”

Damian shook his head.

“Then why don’t you ask Mr. Cross yourself? You said he likes you. I’m sure he’ll solve your problem immediately.”

The mockery worked.

Sarah’s face twisted with rage.

“You bastard! I’ll make you pay for this, Damian. Just wait. You’re going to regret humiliating me!”

“Sarah and I are meeting Mr. Cross tomorrow,” Adrian declared. “You should start praying now, Damian. Once Mr. Cross learns how you treated Sarah, he’ll crush you.”

Damian suddenly remembered.

The banquet.

In his previous life, Cross Corporation had organized a banquet to announce its partnership with Rivers Trading.

Damian had not attended because Sarah told him that a security guard would only embarrass her in such an important place.

Later, he learned that she had brought Adrian as her companion.

A smile slowly appeared on Damian’s face.

“Well,” he said, “we’ll see about that.”

His expression hardened again.

“Now leave my property, or I’ll call security.”

Sarah and Adrian continued shouting, but Damian turned off the screen and walked back into the living room.

He picked up his phone and called Naomi.

“Naomi.”

“Yes, Mr. Cross. What is it?”

“What is the status of the Rivers Trading partnership?”

“I canceled it as you instructed, sir. They haven’t been informed yet. I’m also canceling tomorrow’s banquet.”

“Good. Don’t tell them anything.”

Damian paused.

“And don’t cancel the banquet. Continue with the preparations.”

Naomi fell silent.

“Why? I thought you wanted to terminate the partnership.”

Damian smiled.

“I do. But I have a plan.”

After everything Sarah and Adrian had done to him in his previous life, surely there was nothing wrong with allowing them to experience a little humiliation.

“Tell Rivers Trading that Mr. Cross will personally attend the banquet.”