Chapter 315: The golden fruit 26.

Bai Li tapped its chest.

The force of the impact launched it across the underpass.

It hit a pillar with enough power to crack the concrete.

Yan Cijin stared.

"Still ugly?"

"Now flatter."

The underpass erupted into chaos.

Zombies came from every direction.

The two women stood back to back.

Yan Cijin’s blade moved continuously.

Bai Li’s spiritual force expanded around them.

They did not need to discuss where to move.

One would leave a gap.

The other would fill it.

One would attack high.

The other would strike low.

The coordination looked practiced, but neither of them remembered ever formally practicing it together.

Perhaps they simply understood each other.

When the last zombie fell, rainwater ran along the bloodstained concrete.

Yan Cijin lowered her blade.

Bai Li looked at her.

"You are improving."

Yan Cijin raised an eyebrow.

"That sounded suspiciously like praise."

"It was an observation."

"You stole my line."

"I liked it."

Yan Cijin smiled.

They returned to the motorcycle.

The city beyond the underpass was darker than before.

The rain continued.

Far away, lightning flashed.

For the first time since leaving the building, Bai Li’s expression grew serious.

Yan Cijin noticed.

"Something changed?"

"The energy."

"In the mall?"

"No."

Bai Li looked back at the sky.

"Behind us."

Yan Cijin turned.

The convoy had appeared again.

The headlights were barely visible through the rain.

There were more vehicles this time.

Far more.

At the front stood the armored figure.

Yan Cijin frowned.

"How are they following us?"

Bai Li considered the question.

"Probably tracking the motorcycle."

"Then why have they not attacked directly?"

Bai Li’s eyes narrowed.

"They are waiting."

"For what?"

The answer came from the sky.

A pulse of green light spread through the clouds.

Every crystal-infested creature in the city screamed at once.

The sound rolled across the streets.

Yan Cijin looked up.

"They are summoning something."

Bai Li nodded.

"And we are standing exactly where it wants us."

The road ahead shook.

A crack appeared in the asphalt.

Then another.

Then dozens.

Something moved beneath the street.

Bai Li started the motorcycle.

"Hold on."

Yan Cijin climbed behind her.

The road exploded.

A huge crystalline arm burst through the asphalt directly behind them.

Bai Li accelerated.

The Kawasaki shot forward.

The arm slammed down where they had been.

The street collapsed.

Bai Li raced through the rain.

Behind them, the creature emerged.

It was enormous.

Its upper body alone was nearly as tall as a five-story building.

Black crystal covered its torso.

Green light pulsed inside its chest.

The armored convoy stopped behind it.

The soldiers did not attack.

They watched.

Yan Cijin looked back.

"They knew."

"Yes."

"You think they brought that thing here?"

Bai Li nodded.

"To stop us."

Yan Cijin looked at the creature.

"Poor thing."

Bai Li laughed.

"You feel sorry for it?"

"No. I feel sorry for whoever thought this was enough."

The giant creature roared.

The shockwave shattered every remaining window along the avenue.

Bai Li’s motorcycle did not slow.

The creature raised an arm.

A green blade formed along its forearm.

It swung.

Bai Li leaned the motorcycle almost horizontal.

The blade passed overhead.

Yan Cijin drew her weapon.

She jumped.

Bai Li looked into the mirror.

Yan Cijin’s silhouette vanished into the rain.

Then she appeared above the creature’s shoulder.

Her blade struck.

A bright line cut across the black crystal.

The creature roared.

Yan Cijin landed on a broken building ledge.

Bai Li stopped the motorcycle several hundred meters away.

She looked back.

Yan Cijin stood on the ledge, rain falling around her.

"Show off," Bai Li muttered.

Yan Cijin heard her somehow.

She smiled.

"You started it."

The creature turned toward her.

Bai Li disappeared from the motorcycle.

A heartbeat later she appeared beside Yan Cijin.

"You missed the core."

Yan Cijin looked surprised.

"I was testing it."

"Then test the next one properly."

They jumped together.

They descended toward the giant creature.

It swung both arms.

Bai Li twisted in the air.

Yan Cijin passed beneath her.

Bai Li caught Yan Cijin’s wrist.

For one instant their bodies moved like a single shape.

Bai Li threw Yan Cijin upward.

Yan Cijin used the momentum.

She reached the creature’s chest.

Her blade pierced the crystal.

The core was exposed.

Bai Li appeared directly in front of it.

She raised her palm.

The creature’s eyes widened.

Bai Li said softly, "Sleep."

Her palm touched the core.

The entire creature froze.

Then it shattered.

Thousands of crystal fragments rained onto the street.

Yan Cijin landed beside Bai Li.

The convoy remained silent.

For several seconds nobody moved.

Then the armored figure stepped from the lead vehicle.

Even through the rain, the voice carried.

"You should not have done that."

Bai Li looked toward him.

"Why?"

"You were supposed to run."

Yan Cijin looked at the enormous pile of crystal behind them.

"We were bored."

The armored figure raised one hand.

Every vehicle in the convoy opened fire.

Machine guns erupted.

Missiles streaked through the rain.

Bai Li raised her hand.

A transparent barrier expanded.

Bullets stopped in midair.

Missiles slowed.

Yan Cijin stepped forward.

"Can I?"

Bai Li lowered the barrier slightly.

"Be efficient."

Yan Cijin smiled.

She disappeared.

The first armored vehicle was cut in half.

The second lost both wheels.

The third flipped into a building.

The convoy panicked.

Soldiers jumped out.

Some raised rifles.

Others tried to flee.

Yan Cijin moved through them without killing those who dropped their weapons.

Bai Li walked behind her.

"Stop fighting."

Her voice was calm.

"Anyone who continues will regret it."

Several soldiers hesitated.

One fired anyway.

The bullet stopped three centimeters from Bai Li’s face.

She glanced at it.

The soldier’s hands began to shake.

Bai Li flicked the bullet back.

It struck the rifle and knocked it from his hands.

He immediately put both hands in the air.

The armored figure remained standing.

His helmet hid his face.

Yan Cijin approached.

"Why follow us?"

The figure said nothing.

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TO BE CONTINUED.