When people dream about being reincarnated, they often fantasize about worlds like High School DxD or That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime. Some might even imagine the grimdark universe of Warhammer 40k. I, on the other hand, didn't get to choose my new world. When I died, I met an old man who apologized, saying that the truck that hit me wasn't supposed to. As compensation, he promised to reincarnate me into a safe world. Before I could respond, he snapped his fingers, and I blacked out.
I woke up in the body of a 10-year-old rich kid named Adam Ashford. Fast forward nine years, and here I am, in my mansion, playing video games on my futuristic PC. Did I mention this world is more advanced than my previous one? I didn't get any special powers or cheats, but I didn't mind too much since my dad here is a trillionaire. Yet, one thing still bothers me: I'm still a virgin. In my previous life, women weren't interested in me, and in this world, though I'm handsome and rich, all the women I meet only care about my money. I'm not going to date a gold-digger.
"Haaah, man. Nine years in this world and still no sex. Maybe I should get a hooker instead of a girlfriend, but nah, I don't want to shame my dad's name. Damn it, old man, when you reincarnated me here, you could've given me a cheat or something. Oh well, I guess I should be happy with my new life. At least I have everything I could ever need—a large penis, a handsome face, and above all else, money."
Suddenly, an alarm started going off on my phone. I picked it up and checked the message:
**WARNING: NUCLEAR MISSILES INBOUND. PLEASE EVACUATE TO A SAFE LOCATION.**
My face turned pale, and I immediately ran downstairs to the garage to get my car. You're probably thinking, "What is this idiot doing? A car won't help him escape a nuclear explosion." You're right, but I'm using my car to drive to my dad's company building. My father's company specializes in technology and preservation. He once told me that beneath the building, there's a facility filled with cryo pods designed to preserve the last survivors of humanity in case of global catastrophe.
I reached the garage, jumped into my car, and sped off. As I drove, I saw chaos around me—riots, looting, people killing each other, while some were simply hugging their loved ones, accepting their fate. Why didn't I bring anyone with me? Well, my friend, I just saw a mushroom cloud in the distance, and I think I AM SCREWED.
True to my words, a shockwave from the explosion hit me, flipping my car. Thankfully, I wasn't knocked out. I crawled out of the wreck and took a bicycle from a nearby corpse. Pedaling furiously, I was relieved to see the company building in the distance.
I reached it, ran inside, and took the elevator to the bottom floor, using my keycard to access the secure area. Scientists were running around frantically, and selected individuals, presumably the last survivors of humanity, were being led to the cryo pods. I grabbed a scientist by the collar.
"Yo, egghead."
He turned to me, recognizing who I was. "Y-yes, sir?"
"Where's your boss?"
"The chairman is in his office upstairs."
I let him go and rushed to my father's office. Inside, I found a stern, middle-aged man looking over some papers. When he saw me, he smiled faintly before his expression turned dire.
"Hi, Dad. This is one shitty, fucked-up day, isn't it?"
With a sigh, he replied, "At a time like this, I would scold you for your language, but considering the situation, yes, this is indeed a fucked day."
"Never thought I'd see the day you'd agree with me, though I hoped it wouldn't be like this."
"Me too, son. Listen, Adam, there's something I've been keeping from you. I have cancer."
My eyes widened, and my heartbeat quickened. "S-since when, Dad?"
"Four years ago, I was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. It was in its early stages, and my doctor said that with medication and chemotherapy, I should live a few more years. Those years have run out. I have only weeks left."
"But why didn't you tell me? I could've helped somehow. Wait—we can still fix this. You can join me in cryostasis. Maybe in the future, there'll be a cure for cancer."
"I knew you'd react this way. I'm sorry, but I think I'll stay. Even if your words come true, I've lived long enough, and you've grown into a fine young man. Besides, it's time I join your mother. Otherwise, she'd come down from heaven and start hitting me with her slippers."
"No, but d—"
"I'm sorry, son."
Before I could react, my dad pulled out a tranquilizer gun and shot me. As I fell to the floor, tears in my eyes, I whispered, "Why, Dad?"
On the surface, multiple nuclear detonations continued. One missile hit Antarctica, melting a large portion of the ice, raising sea levels, and triggering volcanic activity. The surface was soon flooded, with only small patches of land remaining. Civilization was reduced to ruins and corpses. Time marched on: one year, ten years, a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand years. As sea levels receded, land reemerged. Sea life crawled onto land, and two kinds of cephalopods evolved rapidly. Fast forward another 2,000 years, and these creatures formed societies—the squids and the octopuses, now known as Inklings and Octarians.
These two races, resembling humans but with distinct anatomical differences, fought a Great Turf War 100 years ago due to rising sea levels, battling for fertile land. The Inklings won, banishing the Octarians underground to old human tunnels and bunkers.
In one of those tunnels, a large metal door lay sealed shut for who knows how long. Inside, advanced technology and numerous cryo pods lay dormant, except for one pod still radiating light. It opened with a hiss, and cold air spilled out. A humanoid figure emerged—Adam.
---
"Ughhh, dammit old man, why did you have to do that?" I groaned, looking around. The room was empty, the other pods offline for some reason.
"Where the hell is everybody?" I approached the pod nearest to mine. Inside, I was greeted with the skeletal remains of the person within. "OHHHHH SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT! What the hell happened here?" I stood up and began searching for anyone or anything.
"HELLO? ANYBODY STILL HERE? I NEED HELP!" I shouted, but there was no response. Moments later, a robotic feminine voice echoed through the speakers.
"(Greetings-Greetings-Greetings, Mr. Ashford.)"
"Well, at least the automated system is still on, though it seems somewhat malfunctioning. Computer, what is your designated name?"
"(Designated name is H-H-HO-O16E, sir. Or Hope for short.)"
"Hope, why am I the only one alive? What happened?"
"(Twenty years after the cryostasis began, an undetonated nuclear warhead near the facility was reactivated by tectonic activity, damaging the main power stations and disabling power to the pods. The emergency power station was activated, but it suffered damage as well and had enough power only to keep me operational and monitor one pod. A hidden directive left by the chairman stated that I must ensure your survival above all else in case of an emergency.)"
"Damn it, Dad. Computer, how long was I asleep?"
"(Twelve thousand years, sir.)"
My eyes widened, and my mouth fell open. "Twelve thousand years?! Can you scan for any signs of human life?"
"(Negative, insufficient power.)"
"Then reroute the power from my pod to some maintenance bots and send them to fix the power stations. How long will it take them to fix it?"
"(Very well, sir. Rerouting power to maintenance bots. Estimated time to accomplish the task: one hour, sir.)"
"One hour? Didn't you say it was seriously damaged?"
"(It is, sir. Over time, I rerouted a very small amount of my power to one maintenance bot. Unfortunately, due to the facility's sheer size, repairs to the power stations were extremely slow.)"
"Just get it over with. What's the situation with the water and food supplies?"
"(Water is available, sir, but most supplies have expired. Only a handful are still edible.)"
"Ugh, fine. I'll wait here until the repairs are finished."
"(Affirmative, sir.)"
One hour later, the dark and lifeless facility suddenly sprang back to life. A voice echoed through the speakers. "(Facility returned to full power. All operations available. Awaiting orders.)"
"Finally! Quick, check if there are any human life signs."
"(Affirmative, sir. Scanning for human life signs.)" A few moments later, "(Scan complete. Human life signs found: zero. However, there are signs similar to them, sir.)"
"WHAT?! Do you mean humanity is gone and I'm the last one?"
"(I'm afraid so, sir. Scans show zero human life signs, but there are signs similar to them, both underground and on the surface. They differ somewhat from one another. I have also detected a signal, sir.)"
"Ugh, FUCK. Scan the signal."
"(Scanning... scanning complete. It appears to be a TV broadcast signal, sir.)"
"A TV broadcast signal? Quickly, tap into it."
The screen in front of me flickered to life, showing two girls with tentacle-like hair, slightly younger than I remembered.
"Y'all know what time it is!
It's Off the Hook coming at you LIVE from Inkopolis Square!"
"Ah Fuck"
[Please tell me your thoughts in the comments]