He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down, then pressed 'Accept Call'.
"Rover! Why didn't you go to work today? Do you even know what time it is?" A sharp, harsh voice snapped through the phone.
Once, he had dreamed of hearing this voice every day. Now, just hearing it made him want to tear her mouth to shreds.
Karen didn't hear him respond and immediately exploded: "Are you deaf? Do you know I had to skip breakfast because I waited for you this morning? Rover, if you don't make it up to me tonight, then don't even think about talking to me again!"
Before he could answer, she hung up.
Rover's hand tightened around the phone until his knuckles turned white, his joints creaking with a chilling crack.
Rover frowned, his voice low and heavy: "Karen, I hope you don't die too early... otherwise, how am I supposed to play with you?"
Karen was his colleague.
She wasn't particularly beautiful, but he had loved her because once, when he was so drunk he couldn't go home, she was the one who called a taxi for him, the one who gently took care of him when he passed out.
His parents had died when he was thirteen. Because of that, he desperately craved affection, warmth, and love.
At that time, Karen had felt like a ray of light warming his lonely life.
And from then on, he was blinded, pathetically chasing after her, fulfilling every unreasonable request she made.
When the apocalypse descended, he risked his life going out to find food just so she could live safely and comfortably.
He wasn't afraid of death, he was only afraid of Karen leaving him.
But he had been wrong.
His sincerity was returned with deceit. Karen not only didn't love him and refused to let him touch her, she had also betrayed him, tricking him into opening the door so everyone could rush in, rob his supplies, and kill him.
Rover still clearly remembered the final moments of his life, the words Karen had spoken:
"Move aside! I'm the one who tricked him into opening the door, you all better give me a share of the supplies!"
Those words had completely crushed him, pushing him straight into hell.
But fortunately... he had been reborn.
This time, he would not be a fool.
Rover thought for a moment, then called the CEO of his company.
The moment the phone rang, the other side picked up almost instantly.
"Rover? What's wrong?"
The voice through the phone was cold, aggressively cold, the kind that made others instinctively keep their distance. Yet hidden beneath it was a faint gentleness, unmistakably feminine.
"Director Selvia, I want to resign."
"What?!" Selvia gasped.
Clang!
A sharp crash, like glass shattering, echoed through the phone, startling Rover.
He quickly asked, "Director, are you alright?"
"I'm fine. But why do you want to resign?" Selvia asked. She tried to sound composed, but there was a trace of frustration and worry in her voice. "Is the salary not good enough? Or are you having conflict with someone?"
"Rover, don't worry. I'll raise your salary by 50%. If you're having problems with someone, I'll fire them immediately."
Hearing her unusually eager tone, Rover felt puzzled.
A vivid image flashed through his mind, a woman so beautiful she could inspire worship, yet so cold she seemed like an iceberg drifting alone in the ocean, chilling anyone who dared approach.
And as the CEO, her presence only made people fear her even more.
"No!" Rover quickly replied. "I just want to rest. Too many things have happened lately. I need some quiet time to think and enjoy life."
The other side fell silent for a long moment, making Rover feel as though Selvia didn't want him to quit.
After all, he was one of the company's best employees. Losing him would certainly cause damage. But... he had no choice.
The apocalypse was coming, what was the point of going to work?
He had already braced himself for Selvia to scold him and for issues regarding his breach of contract. However...
"You're right. We're humans, after all, not machines. We also need time to rest and enjoy life."
"Huh?!"
Rover felt as if he had just heard the most absurd thing in his life.
A workaholic, icy woman like Selvia... agreeing with such a flimsy excuse?
Selvia continued, "Let's do it this way: I'll keep your position open for you. Just treat it as paid leave. You can return whenever you want."
"Well... that works too." Rover agreed.
With only ten days left before the apocalypse, it didn't matter whether he was on leave or not, it made no difference. What surprised him was how gentle Selvia's attitude was, something he found difficult to understand.
'Maybe she just wants to keep an efficient worker like me,' he thought silently.
"Good. Take your leave with peace of mind. I'll inform the HR department myself."
Selvia paused for a moment, then added softly, "...Are you planning to travel? I... I have two tickets..."
"Hm?! Director, what did you just say?" Rover frowned. He didn't quite catch her last sentence.
"It's nothing! Enjoy your vacation."
Beep! Beep! Beep!
The call ended abruptly. Rover was puzzled, but he didn't want to overthink it.
He changed clothes and checked his account balance.
120,000 credit points, the currency of this world.
"That much still isn't enough to stockpile everything I need." Rover sighed and murmured, "Looks like I'll have to sell this house and withdraw everything from my parents' savings."
This house had been left behind by his parents. It wasn't very large, but based on market prices, it was worth around 1.2 million credit points. Being close to the city center, that valuation was reasonable.
On top of that, his parents' death had left him a substantial insurance payout, over 3 million credit points.
If he combined everything, he would have around 4.5 million credit points.
"Still not enough. I need supplies... and I also need a safer shelter." Rover said.
In his previous life, he had hidden in this very house with Karen. Even though the door was reinforced with an anti-theft system, he had still been betrayed and tricked by her.
He let out a long sigh, thinking:
'Looks like I'll have to borrow from both the bank and loan sharks.'
After all, the apocalypse would hit in ten days. No matter how much debt he accumulated, it wouldn't matter anymore.
Once he settled his thoughts, Rover immediately changed clothes, then drove his more-than-ten-year-old Mazda CX-5 out of the garage.
...
FCN Financial Group, one of the 300 largest financial conglomerates in the country.
Inside the Planning and Investment Department, a group of people sat together, sipping tea and chatting happily.
"Karen, are you seriously still planning to stick with that idiot?" one woman asked with a laugh.
Across from her sat a woman in office attire with neatly curled brown hair, wearing a mocking smile.
Beautiful? Not quite. It was only thanks to her thick layers of makeup that she appeared somewhat more attractive than average.
Karen smirked and said, "Why not? I'm still considering other options. But keeping him around as my obedient little dog isn't bad."
"He's got a house, a car, and his parents left him a fat insurance payout. At least, if I stay as his girlfriend, I can continue living comfortably."
"If someone richer comes along, do you think I'd still keep him buzzing around me like a fly?"
The girl beside her let out an admiring laugh. "Wow! Karen, you're seriously brilliant."
"Of course." Karen crossed her arms proudly, wearing an arrogant smile.
"If you've got time to badmouth others, then get the hell out of this department."
A cold voice came from the doorway, sending a shock through the room.
Everyone froze and turned toward the source in fear.
"Director!"
"Director!"
Everyone immediately straightened up, their faces tense, their eyes avoiding the woman entering the room. None of them dared look directly at her.
She stood around 185 centimeters tall with long golden hair cascading down her back. Her alluring curves were wrapped in a sharp men's-cut suit, which only made her appear even more captivating.
Fair skin, blue eyes, a high nose bridge, naturally long curled lashes, thick eyebrows, all of it made her not only beautiful but radiantly imposing, with a presence that even men struggled to match.
She was stunning... yet so cold that people shivered the moment they saw her, as if her beautiful face was covered by a layer of eternal frost.
This woman was the CEO of the company, Selvia.
Selvia cast a glance at Karen, then swept her gaze across the room and said blandly, "Rover will be on leave for a while. You all will divide his workload until he returns."
"If you can't complete his tasks as well as he did, then you can leave. Understood?"
Everyone trembled and bowed their heads deeply. Only after Selvia walked away did they dare to breathe again.
The girl from earlier hurriedly turned to Karen.
"Karen... Rover, he..."
"Tsk!" Karen clicked her tongue irritably. "Don't worry. He won't dare leave me. But taking sudden leave and making me cover his work? Keep dreaming!"
She quickly pulled out her phone to call Rover, but a familiar automated voice echoed through the speaker.
[The number you have dialed is currently unreachable. Please try again later.]
Karen flinched. She thought she had dialed the wrong number, so she double-checked.
The screen clearly displayed: [Rover].
She gritted her teeth and dialed again.
Once more, the familiar voice responded.
[The number you have dialed...]
"Bastard!" Karen snapped. "Rover, you dare block my number?! Even if you kneel and beg me, I won't talk to you again!"
"Karen... he doesn't respect you at all. He took leave without telling you, and you still want to keep being his girlfriend?" the other girl asked.
Karen snorted disdainfully.
"Huh! Of course not. This time, I'll make sure he suffers. Then he'll kneel and apologize to me like a dog. That will be enough."
Meanwhile, Selvia had already stepped onto the rooftop.
She walked to the railing, her eyes gazing into the distance, overlooking nearly the entire city.
From her pocket, she took out a slim lady's cigarette and raised a lighter to her lips.
But after several failed attempts, the rooftop wind was too strong, she sighed softly and once again looked out across the skyline.
A memory surfaced in her mind.
'Director, you should quit smoking. It's bad for your health.'
A warm smile suddenly blossomed on Selvia's cold, beautiful face, melting away the frost.
"...Idiot!" she whispered.