Global Game: I Have Portable Store-Chapter 60: Hunter and Prey

Chapter 60: Chapter 60: Hunter and Prey
The Screamer was perched on a corpse, staring at Su Changxing’s fleeing figure, without immediately chasing after him.
Su Changxing exerted all his strength to run forward, covering tens of meters in a few strides, crossing hundreds of meters in three breaths, yet still feeling a tingling sensation on his scalp, reminiscent of a cat-and-mouse chase.
He was the mouse, the Screamer was the cat, there was a hint of a hunter teasing its prey hidden within.
Perhaps the Screamer targeted him simply because he was stronger than others, like humans, who develop higher-level needs when everything is provided for.
In the instant Su Changxing reached another street, a piercing screech shattered the Darkness, Heavy footsteps transmitted from behind.
Su Changxing suddenly halted, a dark arrow appeared in his hand, drawing the bow, nocking the arrow, aiming—all in one smooth motion, extending half a stature forward in anticipation, firing the arrow.
He knew if he just kept running, he would fall into the Screamer’s rhythm, the Screamer allowing him to run a certain distance meant it was confident in catching Su Changxing.
The Screamer seemed to have a premonition, tilting its head slightly, its eyes avoiding the arrow, which firmly planted itself in its side face.
A painful roar echoed.
The arrow only penetrated the arrowhead portion, wedged into the bone, causing significant pain though without extensive damage.
"Effective."
Su Changxing’s eyes brightened; his greatest fear was the arrow being unable to pierce the Screamer’s skin, immediately turning to sprint toward the nearby building.
No way could he outrun this thing on the street, but inside the building, Su Changxing’s advantage in stature would be evident.
The Screamer chased again with roaring anger, faster than before.
Su Changxing again halted his pace, drawing the bow and shooting, yet this time the Screamer learned wisely and avoided the arrow with a small side leap, although unable to see its trajectory.
Su Changxing was notably shocked—the Screamer’s intelligence exceeded his expectations, comparable to humans.
With this brief delay, Su Changxing successfully scaled the wall into a second-floor room, assuming the Screamer would cease pursuit, but contrary to his thoughts, the Screamer too ascended to the second floor through the window.
"Chasing me for shooting one arrow?"
However, Su Changxing was no longer panicked—the Screamer, large in stature, was impeded within the narrow confines.
He ran directly to the opposite room, closing the door behind him and climbing out the window, ascending to the third floor.
Wood chips and rubble flew about in the room as the Screamer crashed from one room into the next; the door frame was exposed, its doorway widened as if by force.
Su Changxing clung to the third-floor window, drawing the bow and aiming, firing the moment the Screamer poked its head, the arrow striking precisely at the Screamer’s brow.
Another deafening roar resounded.
Su Changxing entered the opposite room but awaited no pursuit from the Screamer, nor signs of movement.
In that moment, the surroundings plunged into silence, merely two Zombies baring teeth and claws lunging at him in the corridor.
The Zombies’ heads cracked open and fell to the ground.
"Could it be lurking downstairs?"
Su Changxing, panting heavily, leaned against the wall cautiously scanning his surroundings, affirming: "Surely, it’s lurking down there."
Su Changxing stood entrenched in the corridor, in a spot equidistant between two rooms—ensuring safety with a retreat path no matter from which side the Screamer might emerge.
The night plunged into the deepest silence; only faint howling could be heard from afar, moonlight wafting over the window ledge, weaving a thin veil of frost.
An hour passed with Su Changxing leaning against the wall motionlessly, slowing his breath to its slightest frequency, feeling a chill in the evening’s lowest temperature.
He surmised that the Screamer likely remained nearby; the quieter it got, the more peculiar it felt.
Su Changxing hardly imagined the Screamer slinking away discreetly—wouldn’t it proclaim its dominion with that long screech?
Another hour passed, Su Changxing struggling to maintain composure, inhaling deeply to relax, doubting the monster could endure longer than him.
Yet another hour elapsed; his lips felt parched, drawing his last bottle of water from the backpack, emptying it, murmuring:
"Alright, I admit; you surely have more patience than me."
He relinquished confrontation with the Screamer, preparing to breach the impasse, when a long screech from downstairs reached, tinged with vexation.
Su Changxing smirked, glimpsing a purple silhouette retreat down the street: "Seems like our patience is matched."
Relaxing, Su Changxing sat down, browsed his phone for forum posts, finding many discussions on zombie attacks that night, notably a hot post titled ’Zombies Climbing Walls’.
Edward: We’re a group of over ten people, recently assaulted by zombies. You wouldn’t even predict their methods; these zombies constructed a human ladder to climb through the windows.
Though zombie numbers were sparse, three of our members died, as we blocked their access paths without expecting these zombies to climb up.
Zombies seem to be gaining intelligence at a terrifying speed; feeling apprehensive, I believe we must quickly establish large gathering sites to combat these rapidly evolving intelligent zombies.
Su Changxing was somewhat astonished, only aware that these Zombies grew stronger but hadn’t expected their intelligence to increase.
"The situation might be even worse than initially estimated—deaths that had leveled off could likely spike again."
Following, Su Changxing noticed someone had messaged him, someone from the ranking list, Marquis Hei.
Marquis Hei: I want to know the method of accessing paths; you may make any requests in exchange. We can negotiate.
Not surprising, Su Changxing knew someone would seek him out, although he felt that accessing paths was purely accidental, lacking any specific method—merely a culmination of odds.
Lucky Child: Actually, I’m unclear; cannot specify a definite method.
Marquis Hei: There’s no need for such definitive rejection; I can satisfy most of your requests, even in this Doomsday World.
Su Changxing felt somewhat helpless—the other party evidently doubted his sincerity; disbelief was understandable, though, as even if he knew, he might not divulge it easily.
Lucky Child: How about this? Can you tell me who you are?
Marquis Hei: I can’t reveal that—presumably, you wouldn’t wish to know.
Lucky Child: So, you aren’t even willing to tell me that; why should I divulge this secret then?
Marquis Hei: I can exchange the best superpower development method with you, or anything else you may desire.
Superpower development method?
Can Superpower still be enhanced?
Su Changxing was fairly certain that Marquis Hei belonged to some powerful current-world organization, likely not an official one; otherwise, Feng Hua Mao would have contacted him instead.