Chapter 362: The golden fruit 73.

Bai Li looked at the bodies behind them.

All four creatures were finally still.

Three level 3 zombies.

One level 2 monster.

She had killed them all.

Yan Cijin had helped with every important opening.

Her crossbow bolts had slowed joints. Her bullets had broken concentration. Her shots had interrupted attacks Bai Li could not have safely ignored. The damage they had done was not dramatic compared with Whisperfang, but it had been exactly where it needed to be.

Bai Li glanced at her.

"Good shooting."

Yan Cijin looked surprised.

"Was that praise?"

"Yes."

"I should write that down."

Bai Li laughed softly.

"Do not get used to it."

The fruit pulsed again.

The golden glow reflected in both their eyes.

The barrier shrank once more.

Now they could see the outer edge of the tree’s roots through it.

Bai Li felt the desire rise again.

Her throat became dry.

She wanted to cross.

Yan Cijin’s breathing changed too.

Bai Li looked at her.

Yan Cijin looked back.

Neither admitted what they were thinking.

They both knew.

The fruit wanted them to come closer.

Or perhaps the fruit was simply revealing what was already inside them.

Bai Li did not trust the distinction.

She tightened her grip around Whisperfang.

"Do not let the smell decide for you."

Yan Cijin nodded.

"I won’t."

"Good."

"What about you?"

Bai Li looked at the tree.

"I am deciding."

The words were simple.

But her eyes stayed on the golden fruit.

Another pulse moved through the branches.

The barrier contracted.

The space between them and the tree became smaller.

Bai Li stepped forward.

Yan Cijin followed.

They stopped just short of the glowing perimeter.

The air directly in front of them felt dense.

Bai Li lifted her hand.

She did not touch it.

She could feel the power humming through the space.

The barrier was no longer violent.

It was simply waiting.

Waiting for the fruit to finish ripening.

Bai Li lowered her hand.

Yan Cijin came to stand beside her.

The two women looked up together.

The golden pomelo was now brighter than the setting light beyond the ruined city.

Its surface gleamed.

Its stem glowed.

A thin line ran across its skin from top to bottom.

One more pulse.

Then another.

The barrier drew inward again.

Only a step remained before the edge of the tree’s perimeter.

Bai Li did not rush.

She had fought zombies, monsters, gangs, and the entire climb through a dying mall to reach this point.

The last step was not going to be taken carelessly.

Yan Cijin shifted her grip on the crossbow.

Bai Li checked the revolver at her side.

Then both women stood quietly in the golden radiance, just before the perimeter of the tree, waiting for the invisible barrier to finally move enough to let them cross.

Bai Li could smell it clearly now.

The desire inside her rose again.

But she kept walking.

One step.

Then another.

Until the golden light touched her face.

And they stood just before the perimeter of the tree.

The golden light touched her face.

And they stood just before the perimeter of the tree.

For several seconds, nothing happened.

Bai Li did not move.

Yan Cijin did not move either.

The rooftop was almost painfully quiet now. The wind that had been drifting across the broken upper floors had weakened to almost nothing, leaving only the faint crackle of dying energy around the dead monsters behind them and the distant settling noises of the ruined mall beneath their feet. Golden dust floated through the air in slow spirals. It looked almost unreal, like tiny stars had somehow been left behind after the end of the world and forgotten on this rooftop.

In front of them stood the golden pomelo tree.

Its trunk was thick, old, and twisted in a way that made it hard to believe it had grown inside a mall. The bark was dark beneath the radiance, but veins of gold ran through it like liquid metal under stone. Its branches spread wide above them, carrying hundreds of leaves that shimmered between green and gold whenever the light moved across them. Most of the tree had looked dead from a distance, but now that they were close, Bai Li could see that the branches were full of life. Tiny golden pulses moved through the veins of the leaves. The trunk expanded and contracted almost imperceptibly, as though the tree had a heartbeat.

And the smell of the fruit was overwhelming.

It was sweet, but not in the ordinary way.

There was a deep citrus fragrance in it, bright and clean, but underneath that was something Bai Li could not quite describe. It carried the smell of rain striking warm soil, fresh grass after a storm, cold spring water, and something older. Something that made the body instinctively want to lean closer. Her throat tightened slightly before she consciously controlled it.

Beside her, Yan Cijin took a slow breath.

Bai Li glanced sideways.

Yan Cijin’s eyes had changed.

Only slightly.

Her normally calm gaze had become unusually focused on the tree. It was not greed exactly. It was more primitive than that. The scent was reaching past thought and pulling directly at instinct. The fruit felt like the answer to a question neither of them had known they were asking.

Yan Cijin noticed Bai Li looking and turned her head.

Their eyes met.

"You feel it too?" Yan Cijin asked quietly. ℯℯ𝑙.

"Yes."

"It’s stronger than before."

"Much stronger."

Yan Cijin looked back at the tree. "That means it’s ripe."

Bai Li nodded.

The realization was followed by something even stranger.

The golden radiance around the tree began to change.

For days, perhaps even weeks, the invisible barrier had protected the tree. The monsters had gathered around it and waited. Zombies had stood in trances. Humans had fought and killed each other below for the possibility of reaching this place. The barrier had ignored all of them.

Now it began to thin.

.

.

.

TO BE CONTINUED?