Chapter 310: The golden fruit 21.

For several seconds, they fought together so closely that they seemed to share one rhythm.

Bai Li broke the crystal growths protecting the creature’s back.

Yan Cijin struck the exposed flesh beneath.

The creature twisted violently.

Bai Li grabbed one limb.

Yan Cijin grabbed another.

Together they pulled.

The limb tore free.

The creature screamed.

Bai Li threw it aside.

"Almost done."

Yan Cijin looked at the glowing core.

"There."

Bai Li nodded.

She jumped.

The creature tried to protect its chest.

Yan Cijin blocked the limb.

Bai Li’s fist struck the core.

The world went silent.

For a heartbeat, nothing happened.

Then the creature exploded into black fragments.

The remaining zombies collapsed as if someone had turned off a switch.

Bai Li landed lightly.

Yan Cijin lowered her weapon.

"That was stronger than the armored thing."

"Maybe."

Bai Li looked at the fragments.

One piece still glowed.

She picked it up.

The system responded immediately.

[Unknown crystal fragment acquired.]

[Energy composition partially matches detected golden fruit signature.]

Bai Li’s eyes narrowed.

Yan Cijin noticed.

"You found something."

"Maybe."

"You really need another word."

Bai Li ignored her.

A deep sound rolled across the city.

Not thunder.

Not an explosion.

A bell.

One slow strike.

Then another.

Then another.

The mall’s massive doors opened in the distance.

Darkness waited inside.

Yan Cijin stared.

"They were closed before."

"Yes."

"Now they are open."

Bai Li looked at the entrance.

The system flashed.

[High-density energy fluctuation confirmed within structure.]

[Warning. Multiple unknown entities detected.]

Bai Li put the crystal fragment away.

Yan Cijin stepped closer.

"Do we still go in?"

Bai Li looked at her.

"We came twenty kilometers for a fruit."

Yan Cijin smiled.

"Fair enough."

Bai Li started the motorcycle.

They rode toward the mall.

But as they reached the last intersection, the street behind them suddenly filled with headlights.

Dozens of vehicles.

More than a dozen armed people.

And at the front of the convoy stood the same armored figure they had fought earlier.

It raised one hand.

The convoy stopped.

Yan Cijin turned around.

"That seems familiar."

Bai Li looked at the stranger.

The red light in its visor glowed through the rain.

"Target acquired."

Bai Li sighed.

"Again?"

The stranger’s voice carried down the empty road.

"This time, surrender."

Yan Cijin laughed.

"Do you think it knows who it is talking to?"

Bai Li’s lips curved.

"Apparently not."

The stranger lifted its weapon.

Every vehicle behind it turned on its headlights at once.

The entire avenue was suddenly flooded with white light.

Bai Li looked forward.

The mall stood ahead.

The road behind them was filled with enemies.

The sky above the mall flashed green.

Something gigantic moved inside the storm clouds.

Yan Cijin leaned closer to Bai Li.

"So much for a quiet trip."

Bai Li’s eyes remained on the mall.

"I never promised quiet."

A distant roar rolled across the city.

The armored figure pointed its weapon.

The convoy surged forward.

Bai Li twisted the throttle.

The Kawasaki’s engine screamed.

They accelerated toward the mall.

Behind them, the convoy gave chase.

Yan Cijin looked over her shoulder.

"They are actually following us."

"I noticed."

"There are at least ten vehicles."

"I noticed that too."

"And you are smiling."

Bai Li did not deny it.

The road narrowed as they approached the shopping district. Concrete barriers had been dragged into the street, probably by survivors who had tried to keep the infected out. Bai Li guided the motorcycle through gaps that barely looked wide enough to fit, leaning low over the handlebars.

The first vehicle behind them tried to copy the maneuver.

It failed.

Its front bumper clipped a barrier, the vehicle spun sideways, and the car behind it crashed into its rear.

Yan Cijin looked back.

"One down."

Bai Li glanced at the mirror.

"More like two."

The remaining vehicles kept coming.

The armored figure was in the center of the convoy, moving impossibly fast despite the ruined road.

Its weapon fired again.

A beam struck the pavement beside the motorcycle.

The explosion threw chunks of asphalt into the air.

Bai Li leaned sharply.

The motorcycle slipped sideways, passed beneath a falling piece of concrete, and straightened.

Yan Cijin held on tightly.

"You call that driving?"

"Yes."

"That was almost a wall."

"We missed it."

"That is not the point."

Bai Li laughed.

They shot beneath an overpass.

For three seconds, the armored figure disappeared from view.

Then it landed on the roof of the overpass ahead.

It raised the weapon.

Bai Li saw it immediately.

"Hold tight."

Yan Cijin tightened her arms around Bai Li.

The motorcycle accelerated.

Bai Li drove straight toward a damaged ramp.

Yan Cijin realized what she was doing.

"You cannot be serious."

The bike hit the ramp.

They launched into the air.

For a moment, the city opened beneath them.

Cars.

Broken roads.

Dark buildings.

Fires burning in distant blocks.

The mall ahead.

Bai Li tilted the motorcycle sideways.

They flew past the armored figure.

Yan Cijin laughed despite herself.

The motorcycle landed hard on the far side of the overpass.

Bai Li kept going.

The armored figure turned.

Its convoy slowed.

"Lost them," one of the drivers shouted over a radio.

The stranger answered.

"No."

It stared at the road ahead.

"They are approaching the target."

Bai Li and Yan Cijin raced down the final avenue.

The mall was much larger now.

Its broken glass facade reflected the lightning.

The huge parking lot was scattered with abandoned vehicles.

A few fires still burned near the far side.

There were no visible zombies.

That was unsettling.

Yan Cijin looked around.

"Where did all of them go?"

Bai Li slowed slightly.

"They left."

"Because of the creature?"

"Maybe."

Yan Cijin laughed softly.

"There is that word again."

Bai Li glanced at her.

"You are keeping track?"

"Someone has to."

The motorcycle entered the parking lot.

The engine noise echoed between empty rows of cars.

The entrance was still some distance away.

.

.

.

TO BE CONTINUED.