Global Game: I Have Portable Store

”Don’t kill me, don’t kill me.”

”I’m human, not a Demon.”

”I haven’t killed a single person!”

That Demon Su Chang had caught kept shouting inside the Pocket Galaxy, desperately trying to draw Su Chang’s attention.

A Demon insisting he’s human was a bit strange, but this Demon really did act like a human. If not for the fact that he was, in essence, a Demon, Su Chang would have believed him.

[Soul-Binding Demon: Tier Five, able to bind and enslave souls. The more souls he binds, the stronger he becomes.

He’s a master at toying with souls. Don’t stare into his eyes, or you risk having your soul stolen at any moment!]

This kind of Demon might be terrifying for Ordinary People, but Su Chang’s Spiritual Power had long since grown to a certain level. With the blessing of Faith, there was no way a Demon of this tier could shake him.

Su Chang’s figure manifested in the sky above the Pocket Galaxy, appearing before the Soul-Binding Demon. It wasn’t his real appearance, but that of a hooded figure in a Cloak, face obscured, a phantasmal person.

”Why claim you’re human? I know Demons are crafty, but I didn’t expect one to lie even to himself.” Su Chang stared at him, probing as he spoke. Talking to this Demon was also a way to feel out intel about the Death Rift.

As a Demon who’d been here for a long time, he should know more than Sean.

The Soul-Binding Demon tried to struggle, only to find he couldn’t move at all. He then gave up and explained in that sickly, weak voice:

”I don’t really get what’s going on either. My name’s Luo Haodong, a student. I was in class, then everything went black, and when I woke up I was in this place, and I’d become like this.”

”But everyone here is terrified of me. They call me a Demon—either they run for their lives the instant they see me, or they fight me to the death. No one can communicate with me normally, some even got scared to death right in front of me.”

”I mean, sure, I look scary, but their mental fortitude can’t be that bad, right? And I really haven’t deliberately killed a single person.”

Su Chang figured those people who ”died of fright” weren’t actually scared to death, but had their souls hooked away by this Soul-Binding Demon.

He couldn’t tell if this Soul-Binding Demon was playing dumb or genuinely had no idea what was happening.

For the moment, Su Chang couldn’t determine whether what he said was true or false.

This Demon was unusually talkative. Once he got going, he kept going, and then he added:

”Bro, you’re so strong, you must have a way to fix whatever’s happening to me, right? Maybe I really am a Demon now, but my mind is still human. I don’t want to be a Demon.”

”And right now I can’t leave this area. I can only move around inside this patch of territory. I don’t even know how long I’ve been stuck here. I’m going insane.”

”If you really don’t believe me, just kill me. I don’t want to live anyway.”

The Soul-Binding Demon babbled on and on, giving Su Chang a headache, though he felt the Demon didn’t sound like he was making things up.

But the whole situation was bizarre enough as it was. Could it be that when this Soul-Binding Demon was swapping souls, he somehow replaced his own with an Ordinary Person’s soul—some kind of cosmic screw-up?

”No way something this melodramatic is real.” Su Chang reflexively rubbed his chin with his left hand—if he had one.

Verifying it wouldn’t be hard. He only needed to find out whether the Demon in this region had a human soul inside, or a Demon soul.

If there really was a human soul preserved, then what he said wasn’t wrong. But if it was a Demon’s soul, then even if his self-awareness felt human, he’d still be a pure Demon.

If he was a Demon and ended up like this, it might be because, for some reason, he’d put himself under deep hypnosis, convincing himself he was human instead of Demon.

Why he’d do that was the confusing part.

Plenty of humans have screws loose in their heads; there could be Demons with brain damage too.

”What are you doing!”

”What are you doing!”

The Soul-Binding Demon cried out in terror, shouting over and over as he saw Su Chang’s hands reaching toward him. Then Su Chang exerted force, and the Demon felt himself split open, splitting down the middle.

Su Chang tore the Demon’s body apart with both hands, forcibly analyzing his soul.

This operation would be lethal for a human, but for a Demon it was nothing.

Su Chang was thinking that, nine times out of ten, this was a pure Demon. Demons themselves were the embodiment of cunning, highly intelligent. Spinning a yarn like this was nothing to them.

But reality turned out to be the exact opposite of his expectations. What he saw was a white, pure, complete, orderly soul—the exact form a human soul was supposed to have.

How unbelievable: inside a Demon’s body, there was actually a fully intact human soul.

”Incredible. The Great Thousand Worlds really are full of wonders.” Su Chang lowered his bloodstained hands, sighing in amazement.

Luo Haodong looked a bit dazed, his body split into two halves, left and right. The two separated eyes both turned toward Su Chang. ”Well? What did you find? This should prove I’m human now, right... Ow, damn, that hurts. You could at least have given me anesthesia first.”

”As a Demon, your behavior is a disgrace.” Su Chang couldn’t help but gripe, then added:

”Your soul does indeed still retain a human form—but that’s exactly what’s unreasonable.”

Luo Haodong froze, then asked back, ”Why? I’m originally human. Isn’t it perfectly normal for my soul to stay human-shaped?”

Su Chang didn’t mock his ignorance. Instead, he explained, ”Demons aren’t as simple as you think. Even if you replace a Demon’s soul with an ordinary human soul, it’ll be warped bit by bit, until it becomes a true Demon’s soul.”

”For some unknown reason, your soul is still human. That’s misfortune, but also a stroke of luck.”

Luo Haodong nodded thoughtfully, though who knew if he actually understood. ”So what should I do now?”

Su Chang shook his head, his tone flat as he said, ”There’s no real solution. My suggestion is that embracing death is your best outcome. Otherwise, you could turn into a true Demon at any moment—that’s another kind of death.”

Luo Haodong said mournfully, ”I still want to live. Isn’t there any way for me to survive?”

No one truly wants to die. Even after becoming like this, he still clung to life. That came from the most primal survival instinct of humanity.

Su Chang glanced down, then said carefully, ”I’ll give you a task. If you complete it, I can probably let you be reborn.”