Chapter 334: The golden fruit 45.

Several vehicles had rolled through the damaged facade and landed on this floor.

One was still leaking fuel.

"We should move quickly," Yan Cijin said.

Bai Li nodded.

They crossed the obstruction.

Halfway through, a hiss came from beneath a wrecked sedan.

Yan Cijin stopped.

"That is not fuel."

A black shape unfolded beneath the car.

It was a monster the size of a large dog, but its body was segmented like an insect and covered in overlapping bone plates.

Its mouth opened sideways.

Bai Li stepped forward.

"I have that."

She flicked two fingers.

The creature was pinned to the wall by invisible force.

It thrashed.

Its claws carved grooves into the concrete.

Bai Li walked toward it.

"Do you know what the funny thing is?"

Yan Cijin watched her.

"What?"

"Everybody keeps attacking from the wrong direction."

She struck the creature from the side.

Its body shattered.

The pieces fell apart before they touched the floor.

Yan Cijin nodded.

"Efficient."

"Thank you."

They entered the service corridor.

The corridor was dark.

The emergency lights had died long ago.

There were scratches on the walls.

Some were at waist height.

Some reached nearly to the ceiling.

Yan Cijin’s eyes narrowed.

"Something big passed through here."

Bai Li touched one of the marks.

"Recently."

The corridor went silent.

Then came a distant metallic crash.

They stopped.

Another crash.

Closer.

Bai Li smiled.

"Finally."

Yan Cijin glanced at her.

"You were waiting?"

"A little."

The ceiling shook.

A huge creature dropped from above.

It had six limbs and a body like a deformed bear covered in hardened plates.

Its head had no visible eyes.

Instead, dozens of tiny mouths opened along the front of its skull.

It roared without sound.

The pressure alone cracked nearby glass.

Yan Cijin stepped forward.

"This one is yours."

"Why?"

"Because you were complaining."

Bai Li laughed.

Then she vanished.

The creature swung one arm.

She appeared above it.

Her heel crashed down.

The monster dropped to one knee.

It swung again.

Bai Li landed on its shoulder.

She stepped along its back like it was a staircase.

Then she drove her fist into the center of its spine.

The entire creature collapsed.

Yan Cijin looked impressed.

"You really wanted to hit something."

"A little."

The corridor went quiet again.

They kept moving.

On the next floor, they found the first signs that humans had lived there recently.

A cooking fire.

Empty ration packs.

Blankets.

A child’s drawing taped to a wall.

Yan Cijin stopped.

The drawing showed a family holding hands.

Above them was a yellow circle.

Bai Li looked at it.

"The fruit?"

Yan Cijin nodded.

"Probably."

They did not know whether the child had seen the fruit or simply heard stories about it.

Either way, the fact that the drawing was recent made the silence around them feel heavier.

They passed through a small restaurant.

The chairs were stacked against the doors.

There were bloody handprints on the tables.

Bai Li looked at them.

"Someone tried to hold this place."

Yan Cijin nodded.

"And failed."

A soft sound came from the kitchen.

Someone crying.

Both women stopped.

Yan Cijin approached first.

A young woman was hiding beneath a counter.

She was dirty, frightened, and holding a kitchen knife with both hands.

She saw them and immediately raised it.

"Stay back."

Bai Li stopped.

"We are not here to hurt you."

"Everyone says that."

Yan Cijin crouched.

"Then we will not say it again. You can decide by what we do."

The woman stared at them.

After a moment, she lowered the knife.

"Are you going up?"

"Yes," Bai Li said.

The woman’s face tightened.

"Then you are going to die."

Bai Li smiled.

"That would be inconvenient."

The woman almost laughed despite herself.

She had a small cut on her forehead.

Yan Cijin noticed.

"Are you alone?"

The woman hesitated.

"My brother was with me. We got separated."

"Where?"

"The next floor."

Bai Li looked at Yan Cijin.

Yan Cijin looked back.

Neither needed to say anything.

They would check.

They found the brother near the escalator.

He had been bitten.

But he was still alive.

His sister screamed when she saw him.

Bai Li immediately examined the wound.

"This is not a full bite."

The teeth had grazed him.

The wound was bad but shallow.

Yan Cijin cleaned it with water from one of their supplies.

The brother stared at them.

"Why are you helping us?"

Bai Li shrugged.

"You needed help."

"You do not know us."

"Does that matter?"

He looked away.

The siblings were eventually guided back to a safer storage room they could lock from inside.

Before leaving, Bai Li gave them food.

Yan Cijin gave them a knife.

The woman looked at the weapon.

"This is expensive."

Yan Cijin smiled faintly.

"Stay alive and give it back someday."

Bai Li glanced at her.

"You think we are coming back?"

Yan Cijin met her eyes.

"Maybe."

Bai Li smiled.

They continued upward.

The mall grew quieter.

The lower level noise faded behind them.

The gangs were no longer shouting.

The screams had stopped.

Only distant growls remained.

Then they heard voices.

Human voices.

Bai Li stopped.

Yan Cijin looked ahead.

A wide atrium opened before them.

Several men stood around a barricade.

They were wearing armor made from sports gear, motorcycle helmets, and metal plates.

One of them held a rifle.

Another carried a machete.

Three more watched from behind.

At the center of the barricade were four terrified civilians.

Two adults.

A teenage boy.

A little girl.

The people at the barricade had tied their wrists together.

Bai Li’s expression changed.

Only slightly.

But Yan Cijin noticed.

The man with the rifle stepped forward.

"Stop."

Bai Li did.

Yan Cijin looked at the civilians.

The little girl was crying.

The teenage boy was bleeding from his forehead.

The leader smiled.

"There you are."

Bai Li looked at him.

"You were waiting for us?"

"Not you specifically."

He glanced upward.

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TO BE CONTINUED,