Chapter 331: The golden fruit 42.

They were being watched.

But the pursuit itself was not the greatest danger.

The upper floors were becoming far more hostile.

The number of monsters increased.

Their bodies became stronger.

Their movements became smarter.

Several had clearly adapted to the building and learned how to use the stairwells, walls and broken floors to their advantage.

Bai Li and Yan Cijin responded the same way.

They adapted faster.

On one floor they used a broken elevator shaft to bypass a pack of monsters.

On another they deliberately made noise in one corridor, drawing creatures away before slipping through a service tunnel.

A third time they allowed a massive beast to chase them across an open area, then redirected it into a pile of unstable shelving.

The entire structure collapsed.

Yan Cijin dusted off her shoulder.

"That was elegant."

Bai Li looked at the wreckage.

"It worked."

"That is your definition of elegant."

"Yes."

They eventually reached the final ordinary stairwell before the upper monster floors.

The door had been painted black.

No signs.

No warnings.

Just a single golden symbol in the center.

Yan Cijin stared at it.

"That is not human writing."

Bai Li touched the symbol.

The entire stairwell vibrated.

Somewhere above, a massive heartbeat answered.

Once.

Twice.

Then silence.

Bai Li withdrew her hand.

"We are close."

Yan Cijin looked at the darkness above them.

"How close?"

"Very."

"And the people following us?"

"Still there."

"What happens when they catch up?"

Bai Li turned toward the stairs below.

For the first time, her expression became completely cold.

"Then they will have to decide whether they want to be our enemy."

A soft metallic click echoed from below.

Someone had loaded a weapon.

Yan Cijin smiled.

"I think they have decided."

Bai Li looked up again.

"Not yet."

She opened the black door.

Cold air rushed down the stairwell.

A distant roar shook the building.

Both women stepped through.

Behind them, the footsteps stopped.

For a few seconds there was complete silence.

Then several voices whispered from the darkness below.

Bai Li did not look back.

Yan Cijin did not either.

They continued upward toward the floors where the stronger creatures waited and where the humans who had followed them would soon have to reveal themselves.

The golden light above grew brighter with every step.

And somewhere far beyond the next landing, something huge opened its eyes.

Bai Li stopped.

Yan Cijin stopped beside her.

They looked at each other.

Neither spoke.

Then Bai Li smiled.

"Ready?"

Yan Cijin tightened her grip on her weapon.

"Always."

They climbed toward the light.

The stairwell behind them remained silent.

The humans had not yet stepped into view.

The next floor waited.

The next landing was different.

There were no broken signs, no dead stores and no abandoned furniture. Someone had kept this place clear. The floor had been swept recently, the walls were free of dust, and the golden veins had been cut away from the stairwell as if somebody wanted an unobstructed path.

Bai Li stopped at the last step.

Yan Cijin looked past her.

"Someone has been maintaining this place."

"Yes."

"That means the people behind us are not the only ones here."

Bai Li nodded.

At the end of the corridor stood a wide wooden door.

A faint light escaped around its frame.

Neither woman approached immediately.

A smell drifted through the gap.

Cooked food.

Fresh food.

Someone was living comfortably somewhere above the monsters.

Yan Cijin’s expression hardened.

"That is interesting."

"Very."

They moved closer.

Voices could be heard now, but the words were still too muffled to understand.

Bai Li raised one finger.

Yan Cijin stopped.

They listened.

A man was speaking.

Several people answered him.

Someone laughed.

Then a woman said something that made the room go completely quiet.

Bai Li could not hear the exact words.

But she heard one name repeated afterward.

The name was theirs.

Yan Cijin slowly looked at Bai Li.

"They know who we are."

Bai Li looked at the door.

"Yes."

"Then we finally found the people waiting for us."

Bai Li rested her hand on the weapon at her side.

"Not yet."

Yan Cijin frowned.

"What do you mean?"

Bai Li pointed upward.

Above the wooden door, almost hidden behind the ceiling, another staircase climbed into darkness.

The voices were coming from the room beyond the door.

But the staircase above it led farther upward.

The fruit was still higher.

Bai Li stepped away from the door.

"We are not here for them."

Yan Cijin gave her a slow smile.

"Not yet."

They turned toward the hidden stairs.

Behind the wooden door, something heavy moved.

A lock clicked.

The people inside had realized they were outside.

Bai Li and Yan Cijin continued upward without looking back.

The final human camp waited below them.

The stronger monsters waited above.

And the golden fruit waited at the very top.

For now, the women kept climbing, leaving the unopened door behind as the voices on the other side grew steadily louder.

The hidden stairs were narrower than the others.

They curved around the inside of the building instead of rising straight through the center. The walls were covered in old service numbers, faded maintenance notices and, more recently, small scratches that looked almost deliberate. Some of the scratches formed arrows. Others pointed toward sections of the wall where the golden roots had become unusually thick.

Yan Cijin ran her fingers over one of the markings.

"Someone mapped this route."

Bai Li looked at the stairwell.

"Someone wanted to reach the top without using the main path."

"The gang?"

"Maybe."

"You really do not like giving me certainty today."

Bai Li glanced at her.

"Would you prefer I lied?"

Yan Cijin laughed quietly.

"No."

They climbed several more turns.

The air became warmer.

Then hotter.

The golden scent became so strong that Yan Cijin almost forgot the blood and dust around them. It was sweet enough to make her mouth water, and for the first time she

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TO BE CONTINUED.