Chapter 319: The golden fruit 30.

The road was broken into long cracks, and pieces of glass glittered beneath the headlights.

Yan Cijin looked at the mall.

"It really is abandoned."

"Mostly."

"Mostly?"

Bai Li nodded.

"There are signs of recent movement."

Yan Cijin looked again.

A shopping cart sat outside a side entrance.

Fresh scratches marked the concrete beside it.

Someone had dragged something heavy recently.

She frowned.

"So there are people."

"Maybe."

"And the voice knew our name."

"Yes."

"Are you concerned?"

Bai Li thought for a moment.

"No."

Yan Cijin smiled.

"That answer was too quick."

"I am not worried about people inside a mall."

"What are you worried about?"

Bai Li looked up at the green clouds.

"The thing above it."

Yan Cijin followed her gaze.

The spiral in the sky had grown larger.

A faint golden light pulsed at its center.

For a moment, it looked almost beautiful.

Then a distant crack of thunder rolled across the city.

The road beneath the motorcycle trembled.

Bai Li gripped the throttle.

"Almost there."

Yan Cijin nodded.

"Then let us finish the road."

The last few blocks before the mall seemed strangely untouched.

There were no fresh corpses.

No broken vehicles.

No wandering zombies.

Even the rainwater on the road reflected the headlights without interruption.

It was as though the entire district had been cleared for their arrival.

Yan Cijin finally said, "This feels deliberate."

Bai Li nodded.

"It is."

"Should that bother us?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because whoever arranged it has already spent more effort than necessary."

Yan Cijin laughed softly.

"That is a very Bai Li answer."

"What does that mean?"

"You assume anyone who plans something around you has already made a mistake."

Bai Li considered it.

"They usually have."

Yan Cijin smiled.

"Confidence suits you."

"I know."

The mall was now less than a kilometer away.

Its dark windows rose above the surrounding buildings like empty eyes.

The golden energy had become impossible to ignore.

Even Yan Cijin could feel it clearly now.

Warmth pressed against the skin of her arms.

For a moment she closed her eyes.

"Bai Li."

"Hm?"

"I think the fruit is waking up."

Bai Li’s expression sharpened.

"Then we should not make it wait."

The final approach became almost calm.

Bai Li guided the motorcycle around a fallen street sign and across the empty parking lane.

Yan Cijin could see the entrance clearly now.

Broken glass covered the ground.

Vines hung from the upper floors.

A faded advertisement still clung to one wall, its smiling model completely untouched by time.

The contrast was almost funny.

Yan Cijin said, "We crossed twenty kilometers for a piece of fruit."

Bai Li replied, "A valuable piece of fruit."

"You really believe it is worth all this?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

Bai Li was silent for a moment.

"Because the system wants it."

Yan Cijin nodded.

"That is probably the best reason we have."

Bai Li stopped the motorcycle.

The engine faded.

The entrance was directly ahead.

The road behind them was empty.

The mall waited.

Neither woman moved for a moment.

Then Yan Cijin stepped down.

Bai Li followed.

They stood side by side, looking at the darkness beyond the doors.

The journey was over.

Whatever waited inside would be the next problem.

Yan Cijin looked once at the road they had crossed.

The city was still full of dangers.

Somewhere behind them, survivors were hiding, zombies were gathering, and the strange convoy was probably regrouping.

None of it mattered for the moment.

They had reached the place they came for.

Bai Li adjusted her coat and looked at the entrance.

"Ready?"

Yan Cijin nodded.

"Always."

Bai Li smiled faintly.

Then they walked forward together.

The final three kilometers passed quickly.

Then the road began to shake.

Not from zombies.

From the sky.

The clouds had begun to rotate above the city.

A spiral formed over the mall.

Green energy spread outward like veins across the clouds.

Bai Li slowed.

Yan Cijin looked up.

"That is new."

"Yes."

"Is it dangerous?"

"Yes."

"Very?"

"Very."

Yan Cijin considered that.

"Should we turn around?"

Bai Li looked at her through the mirror.

Yan Cijin smiled.

"I know. Stupid question."

"Very."

They continued.

The closer they got, the stranger the city became.

Zombies stood motionless in the streets.

Some had stopped mid-step.

Others were kneeling.

All of them faced the mall.

Bai Li noticed immediately.

"The signal is controlling them."

"Like soldiers."

"Something like that."

One zombie suddenly turned.

Its eyes glowed green.

Then another.

Then another.

Hundreds of heads turned toward the motorcycle.

Yan Cijin slowly drew her blade.

"They noticed us."

Bai Li smiled.

"Finally."

The horde moved.

Thousands of footsteps struck the road.

The sound was enormous.

Bai Li accelerated.

Yan Cijin stood slightly on the pillion.

The first wave hit.

Bai Li drove straight through the center.

Yan Cijin’s blade moved left and right.

Zombies flew aside.

Bai Li’s spiritual force created a narrow corridor.

The motorcycle remained in the center of it.

Every few meters, the corridor closed.

Every few meters, Bai Li reopened it.

Yan Cijin never needed to ask where to strike.

They moved together.

A zombie landed on the back of the motorcycle.

Yan Cijin elbowed it away.

Another grabbed her boot.

She kicked.

Bai Li leaned the motorcycle.

Yan Cijin used the lean to spin and cut another creature behind them.

They straightened.

A mutated zombie jumped from a balcony.

Bai Li raised one hand.

The creature froze in the air.

She flicked her fingers.

It disappeared into a wall.

Another group blocked the street.

Bai Li did not slow.

A transparent barrier formed around the motorcycle.

They crashed through the first row.

The zombies were pushed away without damaging the bike.

Yan Cijin laughed.

"You care about that thing a lot."

"It carried us twenty kilometers."

"It has not complained once."

"Good."

The mall entrance grew larger ahead.

The horde became thicker.

Bai Li suddenly stopped.

Yan Cijin looked ahead.

The road was completely blocked.

Not by zombies.

.

.

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TO BE CONTINUED.