Chapter 309: The golden fruit 20.

"There are people here."

Bai Li looked toward the basement door.

A faint knocking came from below.

They went down.

The basement was locked.

Bai Li broke the door.

Inside were three people.

An elderly couple and a young man.

The young man lifted a makeshift spear.

"Stay back."

Yan Cijin lowered her weapon.

"We are not here to hurt you."

The old woman stepped forward.

"Are you survivors?"

"Yes."

"From where?"

"Everywhere."

The old man laughed softly.

"That is a good answer."

They gave the family water and some food from their supplies.

The young man explained that their group had been attacked three nights earlier.

"Most of us died."

Yan Cijin looked at the old woman’s face.

"You should leave."

"We cannot."

"Why?"

"The old man cannot walk far."

Bai Li stepped closer.

"I can carry him."

The old man immediately shook his head.

"No."

"It is faster."

"I have dignity."

Bai Li stared at him.

Yan Cijin covered a smile.

"You two are going to get along."

They eventually convinced the old man to let Bai Li carry him to the ground floor.

He complained the entire way.

Bai Li ignored every complaint.

The young man watched in amazement.

"You really do not get tired?"

"No."

"Why?"

Bai Li thought about it.

"I drink water."

Yan Cijin laughed out loud.

The young man laughed too.

The old woman smiled.

It was a small moment, almost normal.

Then the lights in the courtyard went on.

Every light.

One after another.

Bai Li stopped.

The entire building had been without electricity for days.

Yan Cijin looked at the windows.

"There is power."

A speaker crackled somewhere above.

A woman’s voice came through.

"Attention. Unauthorized survivors detected."

Bai Li’s eyes narrowed.

The young man panicked.

"Who is that?"

"I do not know," Yan Cijin said.

The speaker continued.

"Remain where you are. Security personnel are approaching."

Bai Li looked toward the entrance.

Metal shutters began descending.

Yan Cijin moved closer to her.

"Someone has control of this building."

"Apparently."

"Do we stay?"

"No."

Bai Li grabbed the old man’s arm.

"Move."

They rushed toward the motorcycle.

Security drones emerged from the roof.

The first fired a dart.

Yan Cijin deflected it.

The second came lower.

Bai Li jumped and kicked it into a wall.

The family scrambled through the courtyard.

The young man used a metal rod to pry open the side gate.

They escaped just before the shutters sealed the courtyard behind them.

The old couple thanked them.

Bai Li told them to follow the marked road north.

The young man promised he would.

The three disappeared into another alley.

Yan Cijin watched them go.

"You really attract trouble."

Bai Li started the engine.

"Trouble has good taste."

Yan Cijin climbed on.

"Confident."

"Accurate."

They sped away.

The road toward the mall was now only a few kilometers long.

But the city had changed completely.

The closer they got to the western district, the more signs of organized survivors they saw. Some buildings had lookout posts. Some windows had red cloth tied around them. Others had warning marks painted on the doors.

The mall itself dominated the skyline ahead.

It was enormous.

Its outer walls were dark with age and smoke. A giant sign had lost half its letters. The parking structures around it were nearly empty.

Bai Li slowed.

"We are almost there."

Yan Cijin looked at the mall.

"So this is where the golden fruit is supposed to be."

"That is the plan."

"And then?"

"We take it and leave."

"That simple?"

"Hopefully."

Yan Cijin laughed.

"You should stop saying hopefully."

"Why?"

"Every time you say it, something happens."

Bai Li considered that.

"Fair."

They continued.

The last road before the mall was strangely empty.

No zombies.

No survivors.

No cars moving.

Even the wind seemed quiet.

Bai Li slowed almost to a crawl.

Yan Cijin looked around.

"This is wrong."

"Yes."

The system pulsed.

[High-density energy fluctuation increasing.]

[Estimated source ahead.]

Yan Cijin felt Bai Li’s posture change.

Not fear.

Attention.

That was all.

Bai Li stopped the motorcycle.

In front of them, the streetlights flickered on one by one.

The western district was still supposed to have no central power.

Yet every light came alive.

One after another.

A path of white light appeared leading directly toward the mall.

Yan Cijin stared.

"That is intentional."

Bai Li nodded.

"Someone wants us to go there."

"Should we?"

Bai Li looked ahead.

Then she smiled.

"We were going anyway."

The motorcycle moved again.

They passed beneath the first light.

Nothing happened.

Then the second.

Nothing.

Third.

Still nothing.

The fourth light flickered.

A faint sound came from somewhere below the road.

Bai Li stopped.

The sound came again.

A deep vibration.

Yan Cijin looked down.

"Underground."

The asphalt cracked.

Bai Li pulled the motorcycle sideways just as a mass of black tendrils erupted from the road.

The tendrils whipped through the space where they had been standing.

Yan Cijin jumped off.

Bai Li kicked the motorcycle upright before it hit the ground.

The road split open.

Something crawled out.

It was enormous.

Not a zombie.

Not exactly.

Its body was made of twisted flesh and dark crystal growths. Several limbs dragged behind it, each ending in a hooked claw. A bright core glowed in its chest.

Yan Cijin stared at it.

"That is new."

Bai Li looked at the core.

"Very."

The creature shrieked.

Every remaining zombie in the district answered.

The empty streets filled with movement.

Hundreds of them turned toward Bai Li and Yan Cijin.

The creature lunged.

Bai Li drew back one fist.

Yan Cijin stepped beside her.

"You want left or right?"

Bai Li smiled.

"Both."

They moved.

Bai Li struck the creature’s head.

Yan Cijin cut through two of its limbs.

The creature roared and slammed its body into the road.

A shockwave threw zombies in every direction.

Bai Li jumped over the wave.

She landed on its back.

Yan Cijin ran up the side of a wrecked car and jumped onto the creature’s shoulder.

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TO BE CONTINUED.