Chapter 361: The golden fruit 72.

She looked at the fruit.

For one dangerous second she wanted to believe it.

Then she heard the real Yan Cijin shouting from somewhere outside the illusion.

"Bai Li, left!"

Bai Li smiled.

The false world broke.

The real monster was already at her left.

She ducked.

A claw swept past.

Yan Cijin fired her crossbow.

The bolt struck one of the shoulder eyes.

The monster shrieked.

Bai Li stepped in and cut the other shoulder.

The creature twisted.

Its tail hit Bai Li in the ribs.

She flew sideways and struck the ground.

Yan Cijin ran toward her.

"Bai Li!"

Bai Li raised one hand.

"Stay back."

The monster opened its mouth.

A black pulse formed.

Bai Li rolled.

The blast carved through the concrete where she had been.

She came up on one knee and drew the revolver.

Bang.

The first round destroyed another shoulder eye.

Bang.

The second hit its jaw.

The third was held.

Bai Li waited.

The monster lunged.

She moved backward.

It followed.

She kept giving ground until the creature was directly between her and the golden barrier.

Then she stopped.

The monster realized the trap too late.

Bai Li fired the third shot.

The bullet entered the open mouth.

The monster recoiled.

Yan Cijin fired a bolt into its foreleg.

It stumbled.

Bai Li rushed forward.

Whisperfang slashed the back of its neck.

The creature turned.

She cut the front of its chest.

The body split enough to expose the core.

It was smaller than the zombie cores but much denser.

The monster tried to run.

Bai Li grabbed one rear leg.

The creature twisted and bit toward her face.

She leaned away.

Yan Cijin fired.

The bolt passed between Bai Li’s shoulder and ear and struck the monster’s eye.

Bai Li looked at her.

Yan Cijin shrugged.

"Timely."

"Very."

Bai Li pulled the monster backward and drove Whisperfang into the exposed core.

The creature shrieked.

The sound was so loud that Yan Cijin covered one ear.

The core resisted the blade.

Bai Li pushed harder.

It cracked.

The monster’s body expanded.

Black energy poured from every wound.

Bai Li jumped away.

The creature collapsed.

It twitched once.

Then again.

Yan Cijin raised the crossbow.

Bai Li lifted one hand.

"Wait."

They watched.

The monster’s shoulder eyes closed one by one.

The body became still.

Bai Li approached.

She placed Whisperfang against its chest.

Nothing.

She nodded.

"It is done."

Yan Cijin lowered the crossbow.

The last major threat on the roof was gone.

But the fight had taken longer than the first exchange suggested. Bai Li had blood on her sleeve. Yan Cijin had only a few bolts remaining. Her revolver was empty and needed to be reloaded. The rooftop was cracked in dozens of places. A bent pipe hissed steam near the ventilation structure. Dust drifted through the golden light.

Bai Li looked at Yan Cijin’s hands.

"Give me the revolver."

Yan Cijin hesitated.

"Why?"

"I can reload it faster."

"You know how to use one?"

Bai Li looked at her.

Yan Cijin laughed despite herself.

"Right. Stupid question."

She handed it over.

Bai Li reloaded with quick, practiced movements and returned it.

"There."

Yan Cijin checked the cylinder.

"You missed one."

"I did not."

She checked again.

Bai Li was right.

Yan Cijin shook her head.

"You are annoying."

"I hear that a lot."

The golden fruit pulsed.

Both women looked up.

The scent became stronger again.

It was no longer merely sweet.

It carried the smell of something ancient and clean, like a forest after years of rain. Bai Li could feel the energy in it through the soles of her boots. The fruit seemed to call to every living thing on the rooftop.

The tree itself remained strangely peaceful.

Its trunk was not large, yet it looked impossibly old. The roots disappeared into the rooftop without cracking it. The branches moved in slow, almost graceful patterns. The golden leaves made no sound when they brushed against each other.

Bai Li stepped closer. ℴ

The invisible barrier became visible for a second.

A translucent golden curve appeared in front of her, stretching from one edge of the rooftop to the other before curving around the tree.

Yan Cijin held out her hand.

She stopped before touching it.

"You can actually see it now."

Bai Li nodded.

"It is weakening."

"How much?"

"Not enough."

"That’s helpful."

Bai Li ignored the comment.

She crouched and picked up a pebble.

She tossed it.

The pebble struck the barrier and fell straight down.

"Still closed."

Yan Cijin looked at the fruit.

"What happens when it opens?"

"We take it."

"And if it does something dangerous?"

"We deal with it."

Yan Cijin nodded slowly.

"That sounds about right."

A low rumble came from below the rooftop.

They both turned.

The building groaned.

The mall had been fighting the pressure of the apocalypse for too long. The roof had taken the last stage of damage from their battle. A crack ran beneath the ventilation structure and disappeared toward the stairwell.

Bai Li looked at it.

"How long?" Yan Cijin asked.

"Not long."

"That is becoming a theme."

Bai Li smiled.

The golden fruit pulsed again.

This time the light spread from the branches down into the trunk.

The roots glowed.

The barrier shifted.

It had moved inward another half meter.

The perimeter was shrinking.

Yan Cijin stepped closer beside Bai Li.

The fragrance was so strong now that both women had to consciously control their breathing.

"I can see why the monsters went crazy," Yan Cijin whispered.

Bai Li nodded.

"It is not only power."

"What else?"

"It promises something."

Yan Cijin looked at her.

"Something you cannot name?"

"Yes."

Neither woman spoke after that.

The rooftop settled.

For the first time since they entered the mall, there were no footsteps below, no screams, no distant gunshots. The city outside seemed far away. The world had narrowed to a single tree, one impossible fruit, and two women standing at the edge of an invisible boundary.

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TO BE CONTINUED.