Global Awakening: Apocalypse Ender's Chronicle Chapter 1136: The Emergency

The bustling marketplace in Eclipse Domain brimmed with crowds nonstop.

Shane’s sky-high Reputation made a hundred or so Infamy Points irrelevant at this Apocalypse stage.

Wandering Merchants now dropped by their shelter nearly every other day.

Merchants bellowed prices in the plaza, survivors bargained aggressively, and scents of grilled seafood, shrimp, clams, and fish wafted everywhere.

Blue Haven Shelter appeared to have released yet another load of supplies.

Anna tugged her hood deeper as she wove through the throng. “It should be around here...” she whispered, glancing about.

Her popularity in the shelter had surged too much, likely from healing nearly every soldier. She sought to dodge mobs of grateful folks.

Quickly, she located her item at a stall and bought powdered silverroot, renowned for countering toxins.

Shinja, a top poison expert in the shelter, had recommended it himself. Anna relied heavily on his expertise with poisonous plants’ medicinal traits or any poison matters.

The merchant, a gaunt fellow with ink-smudged fingers, wanted fifteen Zombie Cores for a pouch. “Too much,” Anna stated bluntly. “Silverroot grows wild in the northern cliffs, right? How about ten cores? You’ve already profited enough with this.”

He grimaced yet yielded to her just offer. “Fine. Ten cores. Please come again...”

From another stall, she secured dried moonleaf, a scarce herb boosting spiritual fortitude. This mutated herb emerged only post-Zombie Outbreak.

The sharp-eyed woman vendor pushed hard. “Twenty-five Zombie Cores. Moonleaf is scarce this season. There’s also that field destroyed by the typhoon. You can’t get them from other shelters at this point.”

Anna shook her head. “Give it to me for twenty each... and I’ll take two bundles.”

The woman paused briefly, then agreed. “Deal.”

Next, she haggled for vials of distilled enhanced water, pristine and vital for brewing potions.

The seller demanded four Zombie Cores, but Anna bargained down to three. It didn’t work this time. Still, Tundra had taught her to haggle always.

Every resource counted, and she refused to squander any.

Luckily, she soon gathered nearly all required materials.

This personal experiment, unlike shelter projects, required her own funds.

She didn’t care, having collected ample Zombie Cores without frontline battles.

Deeper in the market, stalls hawked rough weapons, looted armor, and zombie-bone charms passed by. Desperate survivors clamored to trade or sell.

In this zone, children dashed with bread in hand, tossed balls, or played hide-and-seek. Guards scanned from rooftops meanwhile.

Anna halted at a stall manned by a Springriver wandering merchant.

She recognized the shop as belonging to Alexa, Springriver’s lead chef.

It doubled as her side hustle for extra cash. Plus, her links to mercenary survivors, scavengers, and zombie hunters funneled their spoils to her, resold at markup in the Random Item Store.

Even so, glass jars showcased exotic reagents: zombie eyes, serpent bile, a vial of crystallized venom.

Prices stunned: twenty Zombie Cores for ten grams of Zombie Lord Ash, two hundred for a Zombie Lord red crystal, one thousand for a Screamer King zombie’s ringing sword, and beyond.

“Highway robbery,” Anna grumbled.

The shopkeeper grinned craftily. “Rare goods for rare customers. Ahem... We can always discuss the price.”

This highlighted why haggling remained essential.

Anna sighed, yet her target items stayed affordable regardless.

Thus, she snagged only necessities, unfooled by tactics. She never revealed needing reagents for potion-making.

Her bag weighed heavy with goods by the end.

Leaving the packed street, arms loaded, she gazed at the sky.

Sunrise illuminated Eclipse Domain. Heat mounted already, pressing her to hurry back to the lab.

She pivoted toward the tower, set to start her task. Yet a pale, gasping runner in Eclipse Domain uniform barreled up before she stepped.

“Alchemist Anna!” he bellowed. “You’re needed immediately!”

Anna frowned. “What is it?”

The runner bowed with haste. "A message arrived moments ago from the portal. Blue Haven Shelter urgently requests your presence. They insist it’s critical... someone requires treatment that only you can provide."

Her heart raced. Key figures at that shelter included Fiona, Tundra, and several others.

Curiosity gripped her about who needed help. Summoning her directly signaled a truly desperate scenario.

"Who?" she demanded.

The runner shook his head. "They didn’t specify. Just that it’s critical. The portal stands ready."

Anna hesitated briefly. She’d only just collected the reagents, her bag still packed with supplies for the Corpse Flower medicine. Another emergency dragged her away now.

Fists clenched tight, she said, "Fine. I’ll go. First, drop this at my laboratory... and grab my alchemist’s kit."

"No, I’ll carry it all for you. Your assistant, Mila, should already be waiting there, right?"

"Oh? You know her? Great. She ought to have arrived by now."

In an instant, the runner grabbed the items and sprinted toward the laboratory to unload them. Anna hurried after him right away, though she trailed slower.

By the midpoint to the laboratory, the runner had returned, her alchemist’s kit clutched in his grasp.

The moment they stepped through the portal, Anna froze in shock—the patient wasn’t by themselves.

What’s more, immediately outside the portal loomed a gigantic tentacle slamming into the barricade shielding against sea zombies.

The ground quaked violently, survivors shrieked in terror, and the air thickened with salty seawater mist.

Anna’s eyes flew wide. "Kraken?!"