Nikke, something’s seriously wrong with this evacuation point! Chapter 170 170: If People Don’t Have to Die, Who Would Want

"Oh, and tell Dorothy this–country music is the ultimate romance!"

That was Red Hood's final sentence before Charon left. He treated it as background noise and ignored it.

A certain degree of "friendly exchange" might help friendships develop, but once people started arguing about music taste, there would never be an end to it–especially with a classical purist like Dorothy.

The public lounge had sohow acquired an elegant tea corner. British-style tables and chairs, expensive-looking tea sets, and classical music playing from a vinyl record player gave the room an oddly refined atmosphere.

Seeing Charon push open the door, Dorothy smiled faintly and nodded at him.

Compared to how she treated him back when he was rely a lieutenant, this attitude was already incredibly friendly.

So Charon didn't hesitate to relay Red Hood's original words–well, except for the part insulting classical music.

Dorothy listened with a frown, then stared directly into his eyes.

"You omitted the most important part, didn't you? The part where she said country music is true romance."

"…?" Damn, your intuition's that sharp?

"I was only guessing, but to think that girl actually dared to say it." Seeing Charon's expression, Dorothy imdiately knew she had guessed correctly. "What a tasteless barbarian. 'Casting pearls before swine' would be putting it mildly… Ah well, I'll go pick out a few broken clocks for 05 later. But in exchange, Red Hood will sit in front of and listen to three hours of classical music."

Charon looked like he wanted to say sothing.

Dorothy really knew how to tornt people.

Still, imagining Red Hood's future expression made him want to laugh.

"I'll pass the ssage along. Then I'll–"

"Wait, Commander." Dorothy interrupted him. "You've already spent so ti listening to country music today, haven't you? Why not stay here and have afternoon tea with ? You could also appreciate the classical pieces I selected personally."

That last sentence was your real objective, wasn't it?!

Charon thought for a mont, then nodded.

He could listen to almost any genre anyway. Classical music belonged to that category of tiless masterpieces. Though if soone wanted to stir emotions quickly, modern music might be more effective.

Perhaps Red Hood liked country music because she missed ho.

But she had never talked about it.

"This piece is called The Four Seasons: Spring. If you enjoy it, you should listen to the other seasons as well."

"..."

Not bad.

Half an hour later, just as Charon was wondering how to leave without disappointing Dorothy, his phone rang.

He answered almost instantly.

Facing Dorothy's questioning gaze, he imdiately said:

"Ah, I didn't want the ringtone to disrupt the beauty of the music. That would've been terribly disrespectful."

Only after Dorothy looked away did he answer the call.

[Lieutenant! Mr. Andersen sent a ssage saying today's harvest from the farm exceeded expectations. He wants to know if we should increase the distribution quota–]

She hadn't even finished speaking before Charon interrupted decisively.

"I see. Alright, I'll go inspect it personally."

[Ah, you're going to check? That's certainly fine, but actually I could–]

"It's fine. Since you're managing the accounts, just make sure there are no errors there. Leave the rest to ."

After hanging up, Charon looked at Dorothy.

She rely sighed.

"Commander… honestly."

But in the end, a subtle smile appeared on her face.

"There's no need to waste ti here. Harvests are important, aren't they?"

"Okay, then I'll head out first."

Before he even finished the sentence, he was already at the door. The mont it opened, he disappeared.

Only then did Dorothy reveal a genuine smile.

"Liliweiss… the Commander you acknowledged really is interesting."

At the very least, he was completely different from those arrogant n she had known before.

He genuinely treated Nikkes as equals–and from the bottom of his heart.

Dorothy was certain of that.

"What an incredible person."

From the insignificant "lieutenant" she had once ignored, Charon had beco a "commander" with imnse authority and terrifying backing power, yet he had never changed.

How wonderful.

If the commander was soone like him, perhaps the Goddess Squad really could…

…

The farming district was currently undergoing a massive project: selecting crops suitable for transplantation to the surface in preparation for large-scale production.

The upgraded base was now capable of creating surface farms. Soil was still superior to hydroponics, and the current cultivated soil simply wasn't fertile enough.

"So why the hell are you in the farm area?" Charon crossed his arms while staring at the man carrying boxes nearby.

"Gotta find sothing to do… Ah, my back. I'm way too young for it to be giving out already."

"You say 'young' with a straight face?"

"You're not much different… Wait, why do you still look so damn young?"

"None of your business. I've mastered eternal youth. By the ti you die, I'll still look exactly like this."

Andersen glanced around before leaning close to Charon's ear.

"Actually, the human governnt has already developed drugs capable of extending lifespan."

"…?"

Wasn't that information way too casually delivered? What do you an 'extend lifespan'? Has the world gone insane, or have I?

"By sheer coincidence, I happen to qualify for the injections." Andersen raised his chin smugly. "When you die, I'll co visit your grave."

"…."

Charon rubbed his chin, then suddenly said:

"I thought you'd be the type to say, 'Birth, aging, sickness, and death are the laws of nature. Humans shouldn't oppose nature. Therefore I'm going to kill whoever made that stuff.'"

Andersen fell silent.

Then he gave a bitter laugh.

"Haha… perhaps."

"If there were no Raptures, if humanity didn't need to hide inside the Ark just to survive, then yes–I would agree with you."

"But Earth is vast, and the Ark is small. It can only support a limited population. anwhile, Nikkes consu enormous human resources. In that situation, ordinary humans–who require more than a decade to mature–grow far too slowly."

"Even if it ans defying nature… even if people call soone 'occupying the toilet without taking a shit'… I need to stay alive. I need to remain on the frontlines against the Raptures until I die in battle, or until the next capable generation finally grows up."

"I know you'll think I'm selfish. And I admit it–I do selfishly want to live." Andersen smiled faintly. "If people don't have to die, who would want to?"

"Will you look down on for that?"

"Of course… not."

Charon patted Andersen's shoulder.

"Though you probably don't know this, I'm going to beco one of those immortal bastards too."

Once the Outpost was bound to his dog tags, his biological age beca permanently fixed. Every new body would be fresh. As long as Zone Zero existed, he would remain immortal.

"That's actually pretty nice." Andersen laughed. "Then the two of us immortal old monsters can work together to get rid of the real people who are 'occupying the toilet without taking a shit.'"

"I'll take that seriously, you know. I'm not joking," Charon replied.

"Haha, feel free. After all, you're the only friend I can truly trust."

"…By the way, didn't you say the harvest was excessive?"

"Oh, right. We've got way too many tomatoes."

"Perfect. Today I'll show you sothing. I'm making tomato scrambled eggs."

"I thought you were about to cook sothing impressive… That's it?"