Chapter 313: The golden fruit 24.

Yan Cijin sensed it too.

"There are survivors ahead."

"Mm."

"How many?"

"Twelve."

"Danger?"

Bai Li looked at the road.

"Zombies."

"How many?"

"A lot."

Yan Cijin sighed.

"That is not a number."

"It is enough of one."

Bai Li accelerated.

The road bent around a collapsed shopping complex.

The survivors were trapped in a city bus wedged between two concrete barriers.

Zombies surrounded it.

Dozens.

Maybe more than a hundred.

Some dragged their feet.

Some crawled along the road.

A few were fast mutants, their bodies warped by crystal growths.

Inside the bus, a man held a broken metal pole across the rear door.

A woman was crying quietly.

One child had both hands over her mouth.

Another child was hiding under a seat.

"Dad," the girl whispered, "they are going to get in."

The man looked at the door.

"We will be fine."

His voice shook.

He knew he was lying.

A zombie slammed into the side of the bus.

The whole vehicle shook.

The children screamed.

Another slammed against the windows.

The glass began to crack.

Then the sound of an engine came through the street.

The man turned.

Two headlights appeared through the horde.

A black motorcycle moved through the zombies like it had every right to be there.

The rider did not slow down.

The passenger lifted a blade.

The survivors stared.

"Who are they?" someone whispered.

No one answered.

Bai Li drove straight toward the densest section of the horde.

Yan Cijin rose slightly from the pillion.

Her blade flashed.

A zombie lunged.

Its hand vanished.

Another came from the left.

Yan Cijin rotated her wrist.

Its head fell.

A third climbed over the motorcycle’s front wheel.

Bai Li kicked once.

The creature flew across the road and smashed into a concrete wall.

The fourth tried to grab Yan Cijin’s shoulder.

Bai Li tilted the motorcycle.

Yan Cijin leaned with her.

The claw missed.

Yan Cijin cut upward.

The zombie fell backward.

They reached the bus.

Bai Li braked sharply.

The rear wheel swung sideways.

The motorcycle rotated almost ninety degrees.

Bai Li planted one foot on the road.

Yan Cijin jumped off.

"Stay inside!" Yan Cijin shouted.

The bus passengers stared at her.

One of the men on the bus yelled, "Who are you?"

Yan Cijin did not look back.

"People passing through."

Then she entered the horde.

Bai Li laughed softly.

"Passing through."

She stepped off the motorcycle.

Three zombies rushed her.

She extended two fingers.

The air around them twisted.

All three were thrown upward.

They slammed into the ceiling of a nearby parking structure.

More came.

Bai Li moved.

She did not appear to be fighting.

She appeared to be walking through rain.

Every zombie that approached her simply failed to reach her.

A hand extended.

She moved one step.

The hand missed.

A jaw snapped shut.

She turned her shoulder.

The teeth closed on empty air.

She touched the creature’s forehead.

It dropped.

Another swung a metal sign.

Bai Li caught it with one hand.

The sign stopped.

The zombie did not understand what had happened.

Bai Li pulled.

It flew past her.

Yan Cijin had already cut down two behind it.

For several minutes the street became a blur of steel, crystal and dust.

The survivors could barely follow their movements.

One woman inside the bus stared through the cracked window.

"They are not even breathing hard."

The man beside her swallowed.

"They are monsters."

The woman shook her head.

"No. The zombies are the monsters."

Outside, Yan Cijin ducked beneath a swinging arm.

She stepped behind a massive zombie and drove her blade through the back of its skull.

It collapsed.

She wiped the blade clean.

Bai Li walked toward her.

"Done?"

Yan Cijin looked around.

One zombie was still crawling toward the bus.

She pointed.

"That one."

Bai Li flicked a pebble.

The pebble crossed thirty meters and pierced the creature’s forehead.

Yan Cijin stared at her.

"You had to show off."

"You were too slow."

"I was waiting."

"For what?"

"For you."

Bai Li paused.

Their eyes met.

For a second neither spoke.

Then Yan Cijin looked away first.

The bus door opened.

The father stepped down slowly, still holding the broken pole.

He looked at the corpses around them.

His lips moved, but no words came out.

Bai Li glanced at the bus.

"Everyone alive?"

The father nodded quickly.

"Yes."

"Any bites?"

"No."

"Good."

She turned toward the motorcycle.

The father called after her.

"Wait!"

Bai Li looked back.

The man bowed deeply.

"Thank you."

His wife stepped down and bowed too.

Then the children followed.

Even the little girl who had been hiding under the seat bowed awkwardly.

Bai Li looked slightly uncomfortable.

"You do not need to do that."

The father straightened.

"If you had not come..."

He did not finish.

He did not need to.

Yan Cijin said, "There is a service road about one kilometer west. The horde on this street will attract more. Take your bus there and wait until the area settles."

The father nodded.

"How do you know that?"

Yan Cijin pointed toward the road.

"The main avenue ahead is worse."

The father looked at Bai Li.

"You are going there?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

Bai Li glanced toward the mall.

"Something we need is there."

The father hesitated.

Then he said, "Be careful."

Bai Li almost laughed.

"Sure."

Yan Cijin returned to the motorcycle.

She waited until Bai Li climbed on.

Then she sat behind her.

The father watched them leave.

His son stood beside him.

"Dad," the boy said, "were they soldiers?"

The father shook his head.

"I do not know."

"Then what were they?"

The father looked at the road covered in dead zombies.

"Something much worse for the zombies."

The motorcycle disappeared around the corner.

The journey continued.

The city became more ruined as they moved closer to the mall.

Buildings stood with their fronts torn open.

Apartment blocks had sections missing as if giant hands had ripped them apart.

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TO BE CONTINUED.