The group reached Ethan's front door. They were hidden under umbrellas, but what they didn't know was that the security company Ethan hired—Aegis Tactical Security—had installed multiple pinhole cameras on this floor.
From every angle, Ethan could see exactly what they were doing.
One of them pulled out a few shiny metal tools and started fiddling with the lock.
"Trying to pick my door?"Ethan raised an eyebrow, amused. "Cute."
But he wasn't worried.
If his security door could be cracked that easily, Aegis Tactical might as well shut down.
The door wasn't just top-tier. It was military-grade—on par with a bank vault.On top of that, Ethan had added five internal layers of reinforcement.
The outermost lock alone would stump all but the best locksmiths in the world.And behind it?A ten-centimeter-thick steel bar jammed horizontally across the door from the inside.Unless someone rammed it with a car, there was no way to break it down manually.
But Ethan wasn't just counting on brute strength.He had also prepared for intruders.
Watching from his monitor, he pulled out his phone, opened his smart home security app, and tapped a single button.
Zzzzztttttt!
A massive jolt of electricity surged through the metal door.
Leo Lu, the guy hunched over with the lockpick, screamed in agony as the voltage tore through his body.The others panicked and jumped back, their faces pale.
"Help... me...!" Leo gasped, convulsing violently.
The current held him like a vice.He couldn't let go.He couldn't move.
Claire, Peter, Natalie—everyone stood frozen, horror etched across their faces.
They had not anticipated this.
And they didn't have any proper insulation gear.
Within seconds, smoke began to rise from Leo's clothes.The smell of burning flesh filled the hallway.
Thud!His body finally dropped to the ground, twitching once before going still.
His clothes were charred.His skin?Blackened and cracked.
He was dead.
"AHHHH!!" Claire and Natalie both screamed.
Seeing someone die right in front of you?It messed you up.Big time.
Inside the apartment, Ethan leaned back on the couch, watching the scene unfold.He actually felt... satisfied.
"You came to take what's mine?""Then you get what's coming to you."
The rest of the group was stunned.Their lockpick was fried.Their plan was ruined.
Simon Sun's eyes turned red.Leo had been one of his closest friends.Now his corpse was smoking on Ethan's doorstep.
"Ethan, you son of a bitch! Get the fuck out here!"
Simon grabbed a shovel and started smashing it against the front door.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
The sound echoed through the entire floor.
But the door didn't even dent.The outer paint chipped off, revealing the dense alloy beneath.
Ethan walked to the door, hands in his pockets, his tone laced with mockery.
"Trying to break into my house? You idiots are asking for death."
He shook his head and sighed.
"Wasn't it nice, being alive?"
Outside, rage and fear blended into chaos.
Wendy Wang shouted from behind the group:
"Ethan, we just wanted to talk to you! Now you've murdered someone! You're worse than Tony Chen!"
At that moment, Ethan realized—these weren't Tony's men.This was Claire's group.
No remorse.
Leo got what was coming to him.
Ethan's voice turned cold:
"Talk? You call this talking? You brought tools to my door to break in—and when your guy dies doing it, I'm the villain?"
"Let me guess: after you got inside, you were gonna kill me, or throw me out and take over my place, right?"
The group exchanged awkward glances.
That... was exactly the plan.
Simon clenched his fists.
But right now, none of that mattered.They needed to figure out how to break the door down.
Simon took a deep breath and tried to regain control:
"Ethan, I'm giving you one last chance. Open the damn door, or we'll make you pay!"
Claire chimed in, trying to sound sincere:
"Ethan, come on. We're not trying to hurt you. We just want to live together, face the apocalypse as a team.Can't you see we're all better off if we cooperate?"
Natalie joined in:
"Yeah! You can even have the master bedroom and first pick of the supplies. How's that?"
They were desperate.
Just on the other side of the wall was paradise, and they'd been dreaming about it for weeks.
But Ethan only scoffed.
"You must be out of your fucking minds."
"This is my house. My food. My life.And you're trying to play landlord and divide it up for me?"
"Try me. Come break in if you dare. Let's see how that works out for you."
As he spoke, he calmly loaded his pistol.
His crossbow was already in hand.
Hunting season was about to begin.
Through his monitors, he could see and hear everything.They weren't even whispering.
Gavin, the most cowardly of the bunch, looked like he was going to puke.
"Guys, we're fucked. Leo's dead. None of us can pick locks. Maybe we should bail.What if Tony Chen hears all this noise?"
Simon snapped:
"Are you stupid?! We're on the 24th floor. You think Tony's gonna hike up here for fun?"
"He'll start from the bottom. We're fine."
Wendy, arms crossed, said with a grim expression:
"This Ethan guy... he's no joke. It's like he knew the apocalypse was coming. His setup is insane."
And from inside the apartment, Ethan smiled as he cocked the gun.
"You're not wrong."