Chapter 307: The golden fruit 18.

She sidestepped and buried her weapon through its skull.

Within seconds, all four of them were surrounded.

The armored figure fought the zombies with brutal efficiency.

It was fast, but not elegant.

Its movements were designed for killing, not surviving gracefully. Every strike shattered bone. Every beam cleared a path.

Bai Li and Yan Cijin were the opposite.

They flowed through the horde.

Bai Li moved between bodies as if she knew exactly where every attack would land before it began. She grabbed wrists, twisted necks, kicked knees, and used fallen zombies as stepping points. Once, she grabbed a zombie by the back of the skull and threw it upward, where it collided with two others.

Yan Cijin fought beside her without missing a beat.

She never wasted the same movement twice. A slash took one head. The return motion severed another arm. A short kick knocked a third into Bai Li’s path, and Bai Li finished it without turning around.

They were efficient to the point of being almost lazy.

At one point Bai Li yawned.

Yan Cijin looked at her.

"Seriously?"

"I am bored."

"You are fighting a hundred zombies."

"Yes."

"That is not normal."

"You are still here."

Yan Cijin smiled despite herself.

The armored figure suddenly released a pulse of energy.

Everything within ten meters was thrown backward.

Bai Li landed on the roof of a car.

Yan Cijin rolled across the asphalt and came up on one knee.

The stranger stood alone in the center of the road.

The zombies were temporarily scattered.

Its armor glowed brighter.

The red light in its visor expanded.

A voice emerged.

"Combat escalation."

Bai Li stepped down from the car.

"Go ahead."

The stranger raised both hands.

Small drones unfolded from its back.

Six of them.

They rose into the air with a sharp mechanical whine.

Yan Cijin looked up.

"You have got to be kidding."

Bai Li looked at the drones.

"Those are interesting."

One drone fired.

Bai Li moved her head slightly.

The projectile missed and struck a wall.

Another fired at Yan Cijin.

She sliced it in half.

The remaining four opened fire together.

Bai Li grabbed a fallen street sign and spun it once.

The projectiles hit the metal and ricocheted away.

Yan Cijin used the opening to jump onto a car roof, then onto the hood of a truck. She vaulted upward and cut down another drone.

Bai Li jumped after her.

She caught the third drone by its body and slammed it into the fourth.

Both exploded.

The fifth drone turned toward them.

Yan Cijin kicked it into the sixth.

The sky went quiet.

Bai Li landed beside her.

Yan Cijin looked at her.

"That was satisfying."

"Very."

The armored stranger watched them.

Its visor flickered.

Then it spoke again.

"Correction. Target classification updated."

Bai Li folded her arms.

"Go on."

"Primary target. Bai Li."

Yan Cijin’s expression changed.

Bai Li’s eyes narrowed.

"You know my name."

"Confirmed."

"From where?"

No answer.

Yan Cijin stepped forward.

"Who sent you?"

The stranger’s visor turned toward her.

"Secondary target. Yan Cijin."

Yan Cijin froze.

The air suddenly felt colder.

Bai Li glanced at her.

For the first time since the fight began, there was no amusement in her expression.

"Interesting."

The stranger’s weapon began charging again.

Bai Li moved between it and Yan Cijin.

Yan Cijin frowned.

"What are you doing?"

"Standing."

"In front of me?"

"Yes."

"You do realize I can defend myself."

"I know."

"Then move."

"No."

Yan Cijin stared at her.

Bai Li did not look back.

Something in her tone made the argument pointless.

Yan Cijin’s fingers tightened around her weapon.

"You are really stubborn."

"So are you."

The weapon fired.

Bai Li raised one hand.

The beam stopped.

For the first time, the armored figure reacted with visible shock.

The energy bent around Bai Li’s palm like water around a stone.

The road beneath her feet cracked.

Yan Cijin stared.

Bai Li’s hair lifted in the energy wind.

She closed her fingers.

The beam collapsed.

The stranger took one step backward.

Bai Li walked forward.

The sound of her boots against the asphalt was almost quiet.

"You should answer questions before attacking."

The stranger raised its weapon again.

Bai Li vanished.

She appeared beside it.

Her hand struck the armor’s chest.

The force sent the stranger through the concrete wall of a building.

Yan Cijin exhaled.

"You really do not know how to hold back."

"I held back."

The entire front of the building collapsed behind the stranger.

Yan Cijin stared at the rubble.

"That was holding back?"

Bai Li looked at her.

"Yes."

Yan Cijin laughed.

The armored figure emerged from the ruins.

Its armor was cracked across the chest.

A blue light pulsed beneath the broken plates.

Bai Li noticed.

"There."

Yan Cijin understood.

"The core."

The stranger raised its weapon.

Bai Li moved first.

Yan Cijin moved with her.

They attacked from opposite sides.

Bai Li drew the stranger’s attention high.

Yan Cijin went low.

The armor blocked Bai Li’s strike, but Yan Cijin’s weapon slipped beneath its arm.

The blade cut through the damaged section.

Blue light spilled across the street.

The stranger staggered.

Bai Li caught its head.

"You are done."

The stranger’s visor flickered.

"Not yet."

Its core surged.

The entire street shook.

Bai Li’s eyes narrowed.

"Yan Cijin."

"I know."

They both jumped backward.

A ring of energy burst from the armored body.

Cars flipped over.

Windows shattered.

Dust swept across the avenue.

The zombie horde was thrown into the walls and vehicles around them.

When the dust cleared, the stranger was gone.

Bai Li stood in the center of the ruined street.

Yan Cijin landed beside her.

"Where did it go?"

Bai Li looked upward.

Nothing.

Then the system flashed.

[Energy trail detected.]

[Direction: western district.]

The same direction as the mall.

Bai Li stared into the distance.

Yan Cijin noticed.

"It is going there."

"Yes."

"Do we follow?"

"We are already going that way."

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TO BE CONTINUED.