Chapter 350: The golden fruit 61.

Bai Li nodded.

"We end it quickly."

They attacked from opposite directions.

The serpent turned toward Yan Cijin.

Bai Li struck its exposed neck.

Yan Cijin used the opening.

Her strike cut deep.

The creature thrashed.

Water flooded across the floor.

Bai Li moved through it, caught the serpent’s head, and forced it downward.

Yan Cijin attacked again.

The serpent stopped moving.

The water gradually settled.

Yan Cijin exhaled.

"That was disgusting."

Bai Li smiled.

"You are getting used to it."

"I do not want to."

The fortieth floor was almost empty except for a long glass bridge connecting two sides of the building.

There was no ground below it.

Only a massive open shaft leading all the way down.

The bridge was cracked in several places.

Yan Cijin looked at it.

"We are going across that?"

"Yes."

"You really do not care about convenience."

Bai Li stepped onto the bridge.

Halfway across, the glass beneath them cracked.

Yan Cijin froze.

Bai Li did not.

"Keep moving."

"I am moving."

Another crack appeared.

Then another.

Something was moving beneath the bridge.

A long shadow traveled through the shaft.

Yan Cijin looked down.

"What is that?"

The glass shattered.

Bai Li caught Yan Cijin’s arm.

Both women dropped.

For a moment they were falling.

Then Bai Li struck the side wall and changed their direction.

Yan Cijin grabbed a broken beam.

Bai Li landed on a narrow ledge below.

The creature that had broken the bridge emerged from the darkness.

It was long and winged, with a mouth full of glowing teeth.

Yan Cijin looked at Bai Li.

"We need to go up."

Bai Li nodded.

"Yes."

The creature attacked.

Bai Li jumped.

Yan Cijin followed.

They used the wall itself as a battlefield.

Bai Li struck the creature’s wing.

Yan Cijin climbed onto a support beam and attacked its eye.

The creature screamed.

Its body slammed into the wall.

Bai Li caught another beam.

Yan Cijin kicked the creature away.

The monster fell.

Bai Li finished it from above.

Both women landed safely on a maintenance platform.

Yan Cijin looked up toward the broken bridge.

"We are not using that again."

"Agreed."

A maintenance ladder led upward.

They climbed.

The forty-first floor was a warehouse.

Rows of shelves stretched into darkness.

Boxes were stacked everywhere.

At first the place appeared empty.

Then the shelves began moving.

Yan Cijin stopped.

"That is not normal."

Bai Li nodded.

A shelf tipped over.

A monster burst through it.

Then another.

Then several more.

The creatures were small but incredibly fast.

They moved between shelves, attacking from unexpected angles.

Bai Li shattered a row of shelves to create open space.

Yan Cijin followed the opening.

Together they forced the monsters into the center.

The fight ended quickly.

But something else was inside the warehouse.

A large crate.

Its surface had been torn open.

Inside were weapons.

Old weapons.

Human weapons.

Yan Cijin examined them.

"Someone stored these here."

Bai Li looked at the floor.

There were human footprints beneath the dust.

Fresh.

Yan Cijin’s expression became serious.

"Someone may still be here."

A voice answered from the darkness.

"We know you are here."

Both women turned.

A group of frightened survivors stepped out.

They had no weapons raised.

One woman held a broken pistol.

An older man stood beside her.

Two teenagers stayed behind them.

Yan Cijin lowered her weapon.

"We are not here to hurt you."

The older man looked at Bai Li.

"You killed the creatures outside."

"Yes."

"And the gangs below?"

Yan Cijin glanced at Bai Li.

"They are not following us anymore."

The man understood.

He lowered his weapon.

"Please do not leave us here."

Bai Li looked toward the stairs.

"There is no safe place in this building."

The woman stepped forward.

"Then where can we go?"

Yan Cijin looked at Bai Li.

Bai Li thought for a moment.

"The lower floors are clear enough to move through now. Follow the marked stairwells. Avoid the central corridors."

The older man nodded.

"Why help us?"

Yan Cijin smiled.

"Because you asked."

They left the survivors behind with food and a few basic supplies.

When they reached the stairs, Yan Cijin looked back.

"You did not even hesitate."

Bai Li glanced at her.

"They were not enemies."

"You make it sound simple."

"It is simple."

Yan Cijin was quiet for a few seconds.

Then she smiled.

"That is probably why I trust you."

Bai Li looked at her.

Yan Cijin immediately looked away.

"I mean, in a fight."

Bai Li’s smile returned.

"Of course."

They climbed.

The forty-second floor was filled with wind.

There were holes in the walls where windows had once been.

A strange storm had formed around the upper levels, and the wind carried dust and bits of golden leaves through the corridors.

A winged monster attacked them from outside.

Bai Li caught it before it could carry Yan Cijin away.

They pulled it into the building and killed it together.

Another came.

Then another.

The two women fought against the wind until the corridor was covered in feathers.

The forty-third floor was colder.

Ice covered the walls.

A large level two monster had frozen itself into the center of the floor.

It opened its eyes when they approached.

Its roar caused the ice to explode outward.

Bai Li blocked the shards.

Yan Cijin attacked.

The creature moved with surprising speed.

It froze the floor beneath Bai Li’s feet.

Yan Cijin broke the ice.

Bai Li struck the monster’s chest.

The creature staggered.

The fight ended quickly after that.

The forty-fourth floor was the last true interior level.

Beyond it was the final stairwell.

The moment they entered, the atmosphere changed completely.

The air became warm.

The golden glow became almost blinding.

There were no monsters in the corridor.

No bodies.

No broken furniture.

Only golden vines and a single path leading toward the stairs.

Yan Cijin walked slowly.

"This feels wrong."

Bai Li nodded.

"Yes."

"Why is it so quiet?"

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TO BE CONTINUED.