Chapter 366: The golden fruit 77.

Bai Li stared up.

"You’re saving the hardest one for last."

Yan Cijin walked closer.

"Maybe it knows you’re stubborn."

"Maybe."

Bai Li looked at the final fruit.

Then she looked at Yan Cijin.

"We do it together."

Yan Cijin nodded.

The final climb began.

Both women moved.

Bai Li led.

Yan Cijin followed.

The tree attacked them with everything it had left.

But now it was different.

The once overwhelming power had weakened. Its branches were slower. Its roots were thinner. The golden radiance was fading.

Still, it was dangerous.

A branch struck Yan Cijin.

Bai Li caught it.

She pushed it aside.

"Stay behind me."

Yan Cijin frowned.

"No."

Bai Li looked back.

Yan Cijin raised her revolver.

"We’re doing this together."

Bai Li stared at her for a moment.

Then nodded.

"Fine."

They climbed together.

Yan Cijin fired at the branches.

Bai Li cut the openings.

They reached the final fruit.

The fruit was different from the others.

Its glow was almost white gold.

The surface was smooth.

A thin halo surrounded it.

Bai Li reached for it.

The tree made one final attempt.

Its trunk cracked completely.

The entire canopy collapsed inward.

Branches came down from every direction.

Bai Li grabbed Yan Cijin.

They fell together through the branches.

The world became golden.

Yan Cijin clung to Bai Li.

Bai Li twisted in midair.

Whisperfang appeared.

One slash.

Two.

Three.

Branches split around them.

Bai Li landed on the trunk.

Yan Cijin landed beside her.

The last fruit hung above them.

Bai Li looked at Yan Cijin.

"Ready?"

Yan Cijin nodded.

"Ready."

They moved at the same time.

Yan Cijin fired.

The bolt struck the fruit stem.

Bai Li jumped.

Whisperfang flashed.

The stem broke.

The final fruit fell.

Bai Li caught it.

At that exact moment, the tree stopped moving.

Every branch became still.

The golden light disappeared.

The rooftop fell silent.

For several seconds Bai Li simply stood there holding the final fruit.

Then the great tree began to crumble.

Not violently.

Slowly.

Peacefully.

The golden bark turned to dust.

The branches dissolved into light.

The roots withdrew beneath the ruined concrete.

Within minutes, the enormous golden pomelo tree was gone.

Only a small mound of luminous soil remained where it had stood.

Bai Li looked down at the fruit in her hands.

Five golden pomelos.

Five miraculous fruits.

The scent filled the rooftop.

Yan Cijin came to stand beside her.

Neither woman spoke for a while.

They had climbed through the abandoned mall, fought gangs, killed monsters, survived the strongest creatures gathered around the rooftop, and then fought the tree that was supposed to be their reward.

Now the prize was finally in their hands.

Yan Cijin looked at Bai Li.

"So."

Bai Li glanced over.

"So?"

"We actually got them."

Bai Li smiled.

"We did."

Yan Cijin looked at the five fruits.

Then at Bai Li.

"Do you think they are really worth all this?"

Bai Li looked toward the broken skyline beyond the mall.

The ruined city was still there.

The apocalypse was still there.

Nothing outside had become safer simply because they had reached the rooftop.

But for the first time in a long while, she felt something like satisfaction.

"We’ll find out."

Yan Cijin nodded.

She stood beside Bai Li in the fading golden light.

For a moment neither woman moved.

Then Bai Li handed one of the fruits to Yan Cijin.

Yan Cijin looked surprised.

"Why are you giving me one?"

Bai Li shrugged.

"Because there are five."

"That’s not an answer."

Bai Li looked at her.

"It’s enough of one."

Yan Cijin stared at her for a moment.

Then she accepted the fruit.

Her fingers brushed Bai Li’s hand.

Neither of them pulled away immediately.

The ruined rooftop was quiet.

The city below was quiet.

Even the wind seemed to have stopped.

Eventually Yan Cijin withdrew her hand.

"We should go."

Bai Li nodded.

"Yeah."

They turned away from the remains of the tree.

Five golden fruits rested safely with them.

The impossible reward they had crossed half a city to find was finally theirs.

And for a few peaceful seconds, with the sunset beginning to spread over the ruined skyline, they simply stood together and looked out at the dead city.

The journey was not over.

But this part was.

The first thing Bai Li noticed after the fifth fruit came free was that the tree had not actually become weaker in the way she expected.

The glow had faded, but the branches still moved.

They moved differently now.

Before, the tree had fought like a creature defending a territory. Every attack had been aimed at driving them away from the fruits. It had been violent, but there had been a strange order to it. Roots formed walls. Branches created lanes. Leaves blinded and distracted. The whole tree had behaved like one enormous body with a single purpose.

Now that four fruits had already been removed, its movements had become erratic.

That was more dangerous.

Bai Li saw a branch twitch.

She immediately stepped aside.

The branch struck the floor where her ankle had been.

A second branch came from behind.

She leaned forward.

It passed over her back.

A third came straight for Yan Cijin.

Bai Li turned and cut it in half.

"You’re really not giving up," Yan Cijin said.

"It’s a tree."

"A tree that doesn’t know when to quit."

"I respect that."

Yan Cijin gave her a look.

"Don’t respect it too much."

The tree shook.

The remaining golden radiance gathered around the final fruit.

Bai Li looked upward.

The fifth fruit was the largest of them all.

Its surface had no marks, no cracks, nothing unusual except the light that pulsed beneath the skin. Unlike the other four, it had not swung wildly when the branches moved. It remained completely still.

Bai Li frowned.

"That’s strange."

Yan Cijin looked up.

"What?"

"That fruit isn’t reacting."

"Maybe it’s already ripe."

"No."

Bai Li narrowed her eyes.

"The others reacted to us. This one is waiting."

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TO BE CONTINUED,