Nickname

Liam put down his phone and snacks before getting to his feet and cautiously approaching the entrance.

He peered through the modified night vision peephole and confirmed that someone was pounding on the outer gate.

The banging was loud and forceful, but the door itself remained firmly in place. It seemed the tens of thousands of dollars he had spent reinforcing it hadn’t gone to waste.

There was a small space between the outer gate and the main door. They had filled it with various self defence tools, including knives, baseball bats, steel pipes, stun guns and other useful items.

It also served as a temporary storage area for rubbish. Since Liam rarely went outside, Jack usually took the rubbish downstairs every couple of days when he left for work.

The original front door had been reinforced with steel frames, while the outer entrance featured a double layered security system made from reinforced stainless steel.

The outermost layer consisted of steel bars as thick as a man’s arm, while the inner layer was a solid steel plate. A small section of the plate could be opened from inside, allowing them to look outside without exposing themselves.

The pounding continued without pause.

After a while, a man and a woman began calling through the door.

“Hello! I know you’re home. We’re your neighbours from downstairs…”

“Your boyfriend is part of the rescue team. He gave us supplies just a couple of days ago…”

Before the apocalypse, Liam had memorised the residents in their building. Since joining the rescue team, Jack had also become familiar with the neighbours through his regular supply deliveries.

The moment Liam heard the man’s voice, he recognised him.

Although they claimed to live downstairs, they actually lived two floors below, on the eighth floor. They were a couple around Liam’s age.

Making too much noise at night could attract unwanted attention, so Liam carefully opened the main door just a crack.

He grabbed a headlamp, but its brightness was too conspicuous in the darkness. He quickly put it aside and picked up a tiny torch instead.

Then he stepped forward and demanded coldly, “Stop banging! What do you want?”

Pounding on someone’s door in the middle of the night, especially in complete darkness, was either incredibly stupid or suspicious.

Perhaps both.

Liam had seen enough of such behaviour in his previous life.

The knocking finally stopped, and the woman spoke again.

“Look, our lock is broken. Can you let us stay here for tonight?”

“No. Figure something else out or ask someone else.”

Liam refused without hesitation.

The man immediately joined in.

“Mate, just one night! We’ll leave first thing tomorrow morning. We won’t bother you.”

“Absolutely not. There aren’t many zombies around here. The rescue team cleared them out recently when they delivered supplies. Just barricade your own door and make do for tonight. And don’t sleep too deeply.”

Liam remained unmoved.

Their building was considerably safer than most places, thanks entirely to Jack. During the early stages of the apocalypse, before the zombies began mutating, dealing with them was relatively easy for someone like Jack, who had awakened a Superpower.

“You’re alone in there, aren’t you?” the woman pleaded. “Please, just let us in. We won’t get in your way. We can sleep on the balcony tonight, and we’ll give you some supplies in exchange.”

Her voice carried a note of desperation.

Liam clenched his jaw.

“Not a chance. Get lost. I’m not opening this door. It’s late, so go back and figure out how to barricade yours.”

With that, he turned to leave.

If he hadn’t been reborn, and if he hadn’t experienced the betrayal of his previous life, perhaps he would have felt sorry for them and opened the door.

But not anymore.

He could pity them without putting himself at risk. There was no way he would let strangers into his home.

However, just as he rejected them again, the people outside resumed their attack.

No, they weren’t merely knocking anymore. They were smashing the door, apparently using something heavy.

So much for their little emergency.

The man’s voice turned aggressive.

“We’re all neighbours! How the fuck can you be so heartless? Your boyfriend works for the rescue team, and all we’re asking is to stay one night in your safehouse! You can’t even do that? Fuck you!”

The woman abandoned her earlier pleading tone and joined in sharply.

“Exactly! You’re connected to the rescue team. What would it cost you to help us a little? We’re not asking for charity. We’ll trade supplies! What are you so afraid of? Come on, you’re a grown man!”

“Shut the fuck up!”

Liam had never been someone people could push around.

His temper flared immediately.

“Stop trying to guilt trip me! This is the apocalypse. Helping someone is an act of kindness, not an obligation. Refusing to help is my right! Do I even know either of you? Get lost! Keep shouting, and if you attract something dangerous, you’ll be the ones who die!”

Being a good person wasn’t something one could pretend to be when it was convenient. Either you were willing to help, or you weren’t.

If he let these two idiots inside tonight, someone else would undoubtedly show up tomorrow with the same pathetic demands and try to blackmail him into opening the door.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The man continued slamming something heavy against the gate, cursing furiously.

“What makes you so special, huh? Just because your boyfriend on the rescue team gets to keep all the good stuff? You’re nothing but a gold digging fag! Who the hell do you think you are, acting so high and mighty?”

Liam laughed in anger.

“Fuck your mother! My man provides for me, and I’m proud of it! You’ve got a girlfriend too. If you had any backbone, you wouldn’t be dragging her around at midnight, banging on strangers’ doors! Who the hell are you to talk shit to me? Go get eaten by zombies already!”

After that, he ignored their continued shouting, turned around and locked the door behind him.

If the circumstances had been different, he would have thrown the door open and smashed that idiot’s face in himself!

Who did those two think they were, daring to insult him in his own home?

His phone began pinging repeatedly with messages from Jack.

Jack had asked what he was doing, how his Superpower training was progressing and what he had eaten for dinner.

Before Liam could reply, the phone rang.

It rang several times before he finally calmed down enough to answer, a faint smirk appearing on his face.

“Hey, Jack. I was busy earlier, so I couldn’t reply.”

“I thought something had happened…”

Jack paused halfway through his sentence. A moment later, he asked, “What’s that noise over there?”

The couple outside was still pounding on the door and shouting abuse.

Liam glanced towards the entrance before answering casually.

“That couple from the eighth floor. They said their lock was broken and wanted to stay here for the night. I refused, so now they’re throwing a tantrum. They’re banging on the door, calling me a kept man and trying to guilt trip me into helping them.”

“Don’t open the door. Don’t even bother arguing with them. I’ll deal with it when I get back. Idiots like that won’t last long anyway. Fuck them. They’re not worth wasting your breath on.”

Jack’s voice was icy.

Anyone who responded to a refusal by insulting people and trying to smash their way into someone else’s home in the middle of the night was clearly trouble.

Fuck them!

Liam knew Jack was probably worried that he might lose his temper and go outside to confront the couple.

He chuckled.

“Don’t worry, Jack. I’m not going to do anything stupid. Besides, being spoiled is actually pretty nice. I’m enjoying it. You and the team just stay safe out there.”

“Yeah.”

Jack probably meant that the rest of his squad was listening, so he didn’t say much more.

Liam ended the call first and returned to his snacks.

The pounding outside continued, but he couldn’t be bothered to pay attention to it anymore.

Meanwhile, inside a modified van heading back to their headquarters, Jack had just ended the call when he noticed the cheeky grins on his teammates’ faces.

Hannah Walsh was sitting in the front passenger seat, driving. As usual, she was the first to speak, her voice full of exaggerated concern.

“Is your little hamster having trouble?”