Chapter 306: The golden fruit 17.

Then she looked at Bai Li.

"Your trips are getting more complicated."

Bai Li kept one foot on the asphalt.

"You are the one who wanted to come."

"I was not aware we were going to meet a machine."

"It is probably not a machine."

The visor turned toward Bai Li.

The red light behind it narrowed into a thin line.

"Identify yourself."

Bai Li stared at it.

"No."

The armored figure paused.

Yan Cijin covered her mouth for a second, hiding a smile.

The stranger’s weapon hummed.

"Biological anomaly confirmed."

Bai Li sighed.

"I liked it better when the zombies were the biggest problem."

The armored figure took one step forward.

The street cracked under its weight.

The armor was not bulky in the way military equipment usually was. It looked almost elegant, built from overlapping dark plates that followed the shape of the body instead of hiding it. Thin lines of dull red light ran along the joints. A short cloak, torn near the edge, moved in the wind. One hand held a long weapon that looked halfway between a spear and a rifle.

Yan Cijin studied it carefully.

"It is not from here."

Bai Li nodded.

"You noticed too."

"The energy is wrong."

"Exactly."

The stranger moved.

It crossed ten meters in a blink.

Bai Li stepped off the motorcycle.

The armored weapon swept toward her.

She bent backward.

The blade passed over her face with a low hum.

She caught the shaft near the middle and twisted.

The stranger did not let go.

Its free hand struck toward Bai Li’s chest.

Bai Li blocked it with her palm.

The collision produced a deep boom.

The surrounding windows shattered.

Yan Cijin moved in immediately.

She struck the stranger’s side.

The armor absorbed the blow.

The stranger turned and attacked her.

Yan Cijin stepped back just in time.

The weapon sliced through the hood of a car behind her as easily as cloth.

Yan Cijin glanced at the cut.

"That is sharp."

Bai Li twisted the shaft and forced the stranger away.

"Do not worry."

"You have a plan?"

"No."

Yan Cijin stared.

Bai Li smiled.

"I have you."

The words came out so naturally that neither of them reacted for half a second.

Then Yan Cijin’s ears warmed.

"This is not the time to say things like that."

Bai Li raised an eyebrow.

"What did I say?"

Yan Cijin looked away.

"Nothing."

The stranger attacked again.

That ended the conversation.

This time Bai Li met it head-on.

She slipped around the weapon, caught the armored figure by the wrist, and drove her knee into its abdomen. Metal groaned.

The stranger staggered.

Bai Li seized the opening and threw it across the street.

It smashed through a bus shelter and landed in a pile of glass.

Yan Cijin stepped beside her.

"I think you dented it."

"Probably."

The figure stood.

A panel near its abdomen had folded inward.

Something dark leaked from beneath the plates.

It did not appear to be blood.

The system flickered in Bai Li’s vision.

[Unknown combat unit detected.]

[Estimated threat level: high.]

[Energy core detected.]

Bai Li’s gaze sharpened.

"Interesting."

Yan Cijin caught the change in her expression.

"You found something."

"Maybe."

The figure lifted its weapon again.

This time the weapon changed shape.

The blade retracted into the shaft, and the tip opened into a circular mechanism.

Yan Cijin frowned.

"That looks bad."

"It does."

The mechanism began to glow.

Bai Li grabbed Yan Cijin by the shoulder and moved.

The beam fired.

It passed through the space where they had been standing and tore a glowing line through the street behind them.

Concrete melted.

A nearby streetlight snapped in half.

Yan Cijin landed in a crouch.

Bai Li stood beside her.

"That was excessive."

Yan Cijin looked at the scorched road.

"That was not a normal weapon."

"No."

A zombie wandered into the path of the beam’s heat.

It caught fire immediately.

The creature kept walking for several steps before collapsing.

Yan Cijin looked toward the underpass.

The horde was getting closer.

"There are more than a hundred now."

Bai Li nodded.

"Then we should finish this quickly."

The stranger lunged.

Bai Li went forward.

Yan Cijin moved left.

The fight became a blur.

Bai Li struck first, hitting the figure’s shoulder hard enough to send it sideways. It recovered faster than expected and drove the weapon toward her back.

Yan Cijin caught the weapon before it reached her.

The impact forced Yan Cijin’s boots into the ground.

Bai Li glanced back.

"Thank you."

"Stop saying thank you."

"Why?"

"It makes it sound like you are surprised I am here."

Bai Li’s expression softened for the briefest moment.

"I am not."

Yan Cijin met her eyes.

Something quiet passed between them.

Then the armored figure tore its weapon free.

Yan Cijin was pulled forward.

Bai Li caught her around the waist and prevented her from falling.

For a second, they were too close.

Yan Cijin’s hand rested against Bai Li’s shoulder.

Bai Li’s hand was around her waist.

The sounds of the city seemed to fade.

Yan Cijin cleared her throat.

"We should probably deal with that."

"Yes."

Neither moved immediately.

Then the horde screamed.

The sound brought them back.

Bai Li released Yan Cijin.

The two women turned toward the zombies.

There were now so many that the road had become a moving sea of bodies.

The armored stranger stepped backward.

For the first time, it looked uncertain.

Bai Li noticed.

"You are not with them."

The stranger did not answer.

"You did not expect this many."

Still nothing.

Yan Cijin said, "Maybe it is afraid of the zombies too."

Bai Li tilted her head.

"Then it has something in common with us."

Yan Cijin laughed.

The horde reached the front line.

One zombie launched itself at the armored stranger.

The stranger cut it in half.

Another came from the side.

Bai Li kicked it away.

A third lunged at Yan Cijin.

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TO BE CONTINUED.