Chapter 384: Returning 14.

Yan Cijin nodded.

"Then we’re almost there."

Bai Li’s expression softened.

Almost home.

The thought came with an unexpected warmth.

Lili.

The little girl would be waiting.

Bai Li could imagine the child’s face without trying.

That was enough to make her want to ride faster.

Yan Cijin was quiet for a moment.

Then she said softly, "I wonder whether Lili is awake already."

Bai Li nodded.

"Probably."

"She’ll worry if we’re late."

"I know."

Bai Li looked ahead.

"Let’s get home before she starts crying."

Yan Cijin smiled.

"Agreed."

Neither woman said much more about it.

They simply rode faster.

The city blurred around them.

A delivery truck lay on its side near an intersection.

Bai Li swerved around it.

A line of zombies followed the sound of the engine but could not keep

up.

A woman standing on the second floor of a residential building saw the

motorcycle below and waved.

Yan Cijin noticed and waved back.

The woman shouted something that the wind carried away.

Bai Li smiled.

They were becoming a strange sight in the ruined city.

Two women on a black motorcycle, moving through the streets with the

kind of confidence that made people look twice.

Some survivors stared.

Some waved.

Some simply stepped aside and watched them pass.

At one intersection, three young men standing behind a barricade lowered

their weapons as the bike approached.

One of them said, "They’re not zombies."

Another replied, "Obviously."

The third laughed.

"I thought they were some kind of army unit."

Bai Li heard the last sentence and called over her shoulder, "No army."

The young men looked surprised.

Then Yan Cijin added, "Just going home."

The three men broke into laughter.

"Going home!"

Their voices faded behind the bike.

Bai Li shook her head.

"People are strange."

Yan Cijin smiled.

"You like them."

"Some of them."

"That’s enough."

The river road appeared ahead.

Bai Li slowed briefly.

A section of the road had collapsed into the river.

The bridge was still standing, but one lane had disappeared.

The remaining lane was narrow.

Bai Li studied it.

"Hold tight."

Yan Cijin immediately wrapped both arms around Bai Li’s waist.

Bai Li noticed.

She did not say anything.

The motorcycle moved onto the bridge.

Water rushed far below.

The river was dark and slow under the morning light.

Halfway across, a zombie staggered from an abandoned maintenance truck.

Bai Li leaned left.

The bike passed within inches of the zombie.

Yan Cijin’s grip tightened for a second.

Then they were past.

The far side of the bridge opened into a long riverside avenue.

Bai Li accelerated again.

The apartment district was getting closer.

The buildings here were taller.

Most had survived the worst of the early destruction.

Some windows were boarded.

Others were broken.

Several balconies still had signs of habitation.

A few ropes hung between buildings, probably used to move supplies.

The area was not safe.

But it was more familiar.

Bai Li felt some of the tension leave her shoulders.

Yan Cijin noticed.

"Relaxing?"

"A little."

"Good."

The motorcycle passed a small park.

A group of survivors were clearing zombies from a street corner.

They stopped when they heard the engine.

One woman raised a hand.

Bai Li nodded.

Another survivor shouted, "Nice bike!"

Yan Cijin laughed.

"That’s the fifth person today."

"People have good taste."

"You’re impossible."

Bai Li smiled.

"You still ride with me."

"I am aware."

The road curved along the river.

For a moment, the city became strangely peaceful.

The water reflected the pale morning sky.

The wind carried a cool scent.

Birds flew above the rooftops.

It looked almost normal.

Almost.

A distant explosion reminded them that the world had not changed.

Bai Li continued driving.

The five golden fruits remained safe inside her storage space.

She did not think about them anymore.

Not now.

They could wait.

The road home mattered more.

The motorcycle’s engine hummed steadily beneath them.

Yan Cijin’s head rested lightly for a moment against Bai Li’s shoulder

blade.

Neither commented on it.

They were tired.

Really tired.

The kind of tiredness that settled deep into the muscles after fighting

for hours.

Yet neither wanted to stop.

Not until they were home.

At the next intersection, Bai Li slowed.

She saw something ahead.

A crowd.

Survivors were gathered around a damaged truck.

The truck had overturned in front of a narrow side road.

Several people were trying to move it.

Bai Li pulled over.

Yan Cijin looked at her.

"Problem?"

"Maybe."

They stopped near the group.

A middle-aged man approached immediately.

"Can you help us?"

Bai Li looked at the truck.

"What’s wrong?"

"It’s blocking the road. We need the road open before the next group

comes through."

"Next group?"

The man pointed toward the far end of the street.

Several dozen zombies were moving slowly toward them.

Yan Cijin sighed.

"Of course."

Bai Li got off the motorcycle.

She walked to the truck.

There were six survivors trying to move it.

The vehicle was too heavy.

Bai Li crouched.

She put one hand against the side.

Then pushed. 𝘧𝓇ℯℴ𝓂

The truck moved.

The survivors stared.

Bai Li pushed again.

The truck slid several meters across the broken asphalt.

Everyone went silent.

Yan Cijin smiled.

"She’s always like this."

One man laughed nervously.

"I can see that."

The road opened.

Bai Li returned to the bike.

The survivors thanked them repeatedly.

One woman said, "You two are going toward the river apartment district,

right?"

Bai Li nodded.

The woman pointed ahead.

"The road is clear for another few blocks. After that, take the left

turn near the old pharmacy."

"Why?"

"The main road has a collapsed building."

Bai Li nodded.

"Thanks."

The woman smiled.

"Stay safe."

Bai Li looked at Yan Cijin.

They rode on.

The encounter lasted only a few minutes.

Still, it felt good.

Not because moving the truck was difficult.

It wasn’t.

It was because helping someone had become almost ordinary for them.

They did not stop to think about whether they were heroes.

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.

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TO BE CONTINUED.