Global Game: I Have Portable Store-Chapter 51: Death? Or Life?

Chapter 51: Chapter 51: Death? Or Life?
Huang Biao downed the remaining bottle of water, looking aggrieved, "So heartless, weren’t we just good war buddies, fighting side by side?"
Su Changxing was sure that this person was an old rogue, taking advantage while pretending to be innocent. He put the water into his backpack and said:
"Let’s go. You should still be able to withstand the screams of that monster, right?"
Huang Biao walked inside with Su Changxing:
"It’s alright, as long as it doesn’t scream right in my face. The first time, that monster screamed from four or five meters away, felt like I nearly died there."
Su Changxing analyzed and said, "So, its perception isn’t that strong, or maybe it discovered you guys long ago and just didn’t act at first."
Huang Biao was silent for a moment then said, "I’m more inclined to believe it discovered us long ago. It was... observing us, or something? And... it looks a lot like a human boy."
A human boy?
Su Changxing suddenly thought of the energy network plan that led to this apocalypse. The original purpose of the plan seemed to be to leap forward human society.
But ultimately, it failed.
Huang Biao felt uneasy, confirming again, "Are you really sure? I mean, can you guarantee the bow and arrow will kill it?"
"Trust me, I’m sure."
Su Changxing stepped over corpses on the stairs and walked down. Their steps were light, but they could still hear faint echoes.
Along with some faint mumbling.
"I’ve been waiting for you all, been waiting."
"For a long, long time."
"Hurry, there are monsters, they want to kill me."
"I believe you will come."
"Definitely."
······
Some fragmented, illogical words, like sleep talk.
The voice, though faint, made one’s scalp tingle.
It’s the monster!
Su Changxing steadied himself, his right eyelid twitching wildly, unsure what this being was—a human or what.
"Why, why, do you want to leave me."
"What did I do wrong."
"Everyone is afraid of me, afraid of me."
A sound of something heavy smashing against a wall echoed in the corridor.
Listening to the sound, Huang Biao’s body involuntarily twitched, whispering, "Feels like a madman, a crazed human, or a relatively normal zombie?"
Su Changxing fixed his gaze ahead, holding the compound bow, his hand sweating, heart racing.
The sound was coming from ahead.
Turning a corner.
Su Changxing saw, in the middle of a corridor with a few beams of light in the darkness ahead, a small figure sitting.
Its body trembled slightly, still talking to itself, seemingly unaware of the presence of Su Changxing and Huang Biao.
The voice grew smaller, coming to an abrupt halt.
Suddenly, its head turned at a strange angle, revealing a human child’s pale face, with an expression of pain and sadness:
"I just want to wait for my mom and dad."
"Why must someone always try to stop me!"
A strong sense of pressure rushed over, and Su Changxing had already loosed an arrow; his hand was now empty.
Huang Biao looked utterly baffled, watching as the arrow in Su Changxing’s hand vanished from sight with no trace, as if it disappeared.
The next moment, the boy was about to open his mouth and scream, but suddenly fell backward, a dark arrow appearing on his forehead.
"Success!"
Huang Biao’s face showed a hint of joy, having not expected that it would be so easy; the monster was taken down with an effortless headshot by Su Changxing.
Su Changxing’s expression was somber, shouting, "Not yet, charge!"
The muscles in his calves tensed, and he leaped backward, rushing toward the boy with the steel saber.
He sensed that although the previous arrow had hit the boy, the arrowhead clearly didn’t pierce the bone, as if blocked by some force.
It’s a shame.
Just a little more and this monster would have been killed!
Su Changxing moved with extreme speed, reaching the boy in less than a breath, seeing the arrow still stuck to his forehead, his mouth slightly open with a strange expression.
A soul-piercing scream exploded beside his ear, followed by a massive force surrounding the boy and pushing Su Changxing away.
The steel saber slipped from his grip, silently hitting the dark floor.
Su Changxing flew backward, crashing into the wall, pain searing through his body as if all his bones were breaking.
He had not anticipated the boy had such methods. As he prepared to stand up, the scream pitched up another octave, creating fine cracks in the surrounding walls, weaving new fractures with old ones.
His body, ready to rise, slipped from the wall, staring into the boy’s dark pupils. He knew it was over; his vision gradually blurred, consciousness fading, and body paralyzed.
This monster was far beyond his imagination—they were not on the same level at all.
This was nothing more than a moth drawn to a flame.
The monster hadn’t even used half its strength before, merely toying with them.
The screams grew louder by his ear. Something within him seemed to be burning. The chord in his mind stretched to a limit and suddenly snapped.
Su Changxing’s mind went black, and he closed his eyes.
Is this the end?
Before closing his eyes, in the darkness, he saw a colorful world, paths of blue or black light crisscrossing in the space, the boy’s face glowing with a deep blue hue.
Hasn’t all this struggle been in vain?
I don’t want to die.
I want to live.
Live!
Su Changxing cried, struggled, and screamed in his heart, yet could make no move to escape or even show a sorrowful expression.
Human life seemed so fragile, always one accident away from ending.
At this moment, he felt a mix of emotions, countless thoughts swirled in his mind, thinking speeding a hundredfold, a thousandfold.
He remembered the scene of his mother sending him to school years ago, remembered countless times of drowning in solitude and tears in his room, remembered how someone always reached out a hand during his darkest moments, remembered the stray cat he adopted by chance······
The phone vibrated.
[Ignite Source Material, activate pathway]
Lights flowed, shadows of countless people swayed around him.
Su Changxing felt his body become smaller, becoming a child named Ding Yehui, walking on a bustling street.
This was a stable, affluent, and arrogant society, with faces carrying a hint of indifference as people hurried by, and quite a number of homeless people by the roadside.
He was dressed finely; both parents were Level 5v employees of Shield Company, top-notch researchers.
A woman with a scarf and mask ran toward him, picking him up into her arms.
With a puzzled look, the boy asked the woman, "Mother, am I not going to school? Today’s the Huaguang Art Festival, a famous pianist is coming to perform at our school."
"Not going, we have more important things today."
The woman ran forward with him, and not far was the Shield Company’s branch in Anxing City.