Chapter 314: The golden fruit 25.

Cars filled the roads, most of them abandoned, some burned, some crushed beneath fallen concrete.

The night air carried smoke from somewhere far to the east.

Every few hundred meters there were signs that people still existed in the city.

A blanket hanging from a balcony.

A hand-painted arrow pointing toward a shelter.

A pile of empty food tins.

A barricade that had been abandoned in a hurry.

Bai Li slowed slightly near a narrow street.

Yan Cijin noticed.

"What?"

"Human scent."

They turned.

The alley looked empty.

But Bai Li stopped the motorcycle.

"Three people."

Yan Cijin looked toward a shuttered pharmacy.

"Inside?"

"Yes."

"Trouble?"

"Not exactly."

They entered the alley on foot.

A metal shutter covered the pharmacy’s front.

Behind it, someone was whispering.

Bai Li knocked twice.

Silence.

Then a voice answered.

"Go away."

Yan Cijin said, "We are not zombies."

There was another pause.

"How do I know that?"

Bai Li crouched and looked through the narrow gap beneath the shutter.

She saw a teenage boy holding a kitchen knife.

Beside him were two elderly people.

The room was dark.

Bai Li said, "Because zombies do not usually ask permission."

A nervous laugh came from inside.

The shutter rose a few centimeters.

The boy looked through.

His face changed when he saw Bai Li and Yan Cijin.

"You are the ones from the road."

Yan Cijin raised an eyebrow.

"You have heard about us already?"

The boy nodded.

"My aunt saw you."

"Your aunt?"

The boy pointed to the elderly woman.

"She was watching from the second floor."

Bai Li nodded.

"How many zombies in this area?"

"Maybe fifty."

"Any mutants?"

"Two."

Bai Li stood.

"Stay here."

The boy stared.

"You are going to fight them?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

Bai Li looked at the elderly couple.

"They need to get out."

Yan Cijin glanced at her.

Bai Li pretended not to notice.

They left the alley.

A few minutes later, the street was quiet again.

When Bai Li returned, there were no zombies standing.

The elderly man stepped outside.

He was shaking.

The boy looked at the blood on Yan Cijin’s blade.

"You killed all of them?"

Yan Cijin nodded.

The boy looked at Bai Li.

"How?"

Bai Li shrugged.

"Practice."

The boy seemed disappointed by the answer.

Yan Cijin smiled.

"That is the entire secret."

They helped the three survivors reach a nearby community shelter, where several more people were hiding behind a barricade.

When the shelter guards saw who was approaching, they nearly refused to open the gate.

Then the boy shouted, "They saved us!"

The gate opened.

The refugees crowded forward.

Questions came from every side.

"How many zombies were there?"

"Where did you come from?"

"Are there still roads open?"

"Can you take us with you?"

Bai Li raised a hand.

The crowd slowly quieted.

"We are going somewhere else."

An older woman asked, "Where?"

Bai Li pointed toward the distant skyline.

"The mall."

The older woman frowned.

"That place is dead."

"Probably."

"Then why go?"

Bai Li answered simply.

"Something valuable is there."

The woman stared at her.

Yan Cijin said, "Take care of them."

The shelter guards nodded.

As the two women turned away, the teenage boy ran after them.

"Wait!"

Bai Li stopped.

The boy took a deep breath.

"Are you two sisters?"

Silence.

Yan Cijin looked at Bai Li.

Bai Li looked at Yan Cijin.

"No," they said at the same time.

The boy blinked.

"Oh."

Yan Cijin’s lips twitched.

Bai Li looked away.

The boy asked, "Friends?"

Neither answered immediately.

Finally Bai Li said, "Something like that."

Yan Cijin looked at her.

She did not disagree.

The boy smiled and ran back inside.

They reached the motorcycle.

Yan Cijin climbed onto the pillion.

After Bai Li started the engine, Yan Cijin said quietly, "Something like that?"

Bai Li looked into the mirror.

"What else should I have said?"

"I do not know."

"You asked the question."

"I did not ask you."

Bai Li smiled.

"Then stop talking."

Yan Cijin laughed softly.

The road ahead was clear for another kilometer.

Then the rain began.

It came suddenly.

Heavy drops struck the road and motorcycle.

Within seconds both women were damp.

Bai Li kept driving.

Yan Cijin leaned closer to avoid the worst of the wind.

The rain made the city look even more deserted.

Neon signs flickered weakly on buildings with no electricity.

A broken billboard showed half of an advertisement for a vacation resort.

The smiling family on it seemed almost absurd now.

Bai Li looked toward it.

Yan Cijin followed her gaze.

"Strange."

"What?"

"Everything used to look so ordinary."

Bai Li was quiet.

Then she said, "It still does."

Yan Cijin looked at her.

Bai Li continued, "The world changed. Streets are still streets. Buildings are still buildings. People still want to go home."

Yan Cijin’s expression softened.

"You are surprisingly philosophical."

"I am hungry."

Yan Cijin laughed.

"That ruined it."

"Good."

The motorcycle passed beneath an overpass.

Something moved in the darkness above them.

Bai Li stopped.

Yan Cijin raised her weapon.

A low growl echoed between the concrete supports.

Then another.

Then dozens.

Bai Li glanced upward.

"Infested."

"How many?"

"A few hundred."

Yan Cijin stepped off the motorcycle.

"Want help?"

Bai Li looked amused.

"That is a lot of confidence."

"I was asking politely."

"Fine."

They entered the underpass.

The first zombie dropped from the ceiling.

Yan Cijin cut it in half.

Two more charged from the left.

Bai Li sent a shockwave through the ground.

The zombies lifted into the air.

Yan Cijin spun beneath them.

Her blade drew a silver circle.

The bodies fell in pieces.

A larger creature crawled down one of the pillars.

Its limbs were too long.

Its hands were covered with black crystal claws.

It opened its mouth.

Bai Li sighed.

"Ugly."

The creature screamed.

Yan Cijin smiled.

"You insulted it."

"It deserved it."

The monster lunged.

Yan Cijin stepped forward instead of back.

Their bodies crossed.

The monster’s claw missed her.

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TO BE CONTINUED.