Chapter 474: Eternity 35.

"I might."

The answer came so easily that Bai momentarily forgot what she had been

about to say. Yan noticed her pause. A small smile appeared at the

corner of her mouth, and she lowered her gaze to the blood on Bai’s

sleeve instead. "You have something on you."

"Not mine."

"I know. Hold still anyway." Yan took a clean cloth from her pocket and

wiped a narrow streak of dark fluid from Bai’s wrist. Her touch was

light and practical, but Bai found herself watching Yan’s face instead

of the cloth. Yan was close enough that Bai could see the small lines of

concentration at the corner of her eyes. It seemed ridiculous to be

distracted by something so ordinary after fighting a mutant that could

have torn the lobby apart. It seemed even more ridiculous that she

wanted Yan to keep holding her wrist for a few seconds longer.

"There," Yan said, letting go. "Now you look less like you crawled out

of a drain."

"Is that your way of saying I looked bad?"

"It was my way of saying you looked like you had been fighting zombies."

"I was fighting zombies."

"Yes, Bai Li. I had noticed."

Bai smiled despite herself. "You’re getting better at this."

"At what?"

"Making me feel insulted while sounding perfectly reasonable."

Yan’s expression became sweetly innocent. "I’m learning from the best."

They returned to the cars. With the nearest zombies gone, moving the

roadblock became a simple problem of strength and angles. Bai pushed the

compact car toward the curb, then turned the delivery van enough to

create a narrow lane between it and the larger sedan. Yan directed her

from the side, checking the wheel positions and warning her when a

bumper caught on a piece of broken pavement. Bai could have moved

everything more quickly, but Yan’s directions kept the cars from

scraping against the caravan’s body when they passed through.

The gap was not pretty. It was barely wide enough, and the van’s side

mirror had to be folded inward. But the caravan could get through if Bai

drove slowly and Yan guided her from outside. Once the last vehicle was

shifted, Yan checked the roadway beyond the bend. She walked ahead a

short distance, keeping herself in sight of the driver’s window, and

returned with a small shake of her head.

"There are more cars farther along, but they aren’t blocking the whole

road. I can see the next intersection. The right lane is partly clear."

"Any sign of the big thing?" Bai asked.

"Nothing moving now."

Bai did not like that answer either. "All right. We get through this

section and stop somewhere we can turn around if necessary. No long

detours until we know what the road ahead looks like."

Yan nodded, then went back to the caravan. Mother Yan had kept Lili in

the protected compartment, exactly as instructed. When the inner door

opened, Lili peered out with wide eyes.

"Did you win?" she asked.

Bai stepped into the vehicle and lowered herself to one knee so she was

not towering over the child. "The cars put up a very poor fight. I think

they were too frightened to try anything clever."

"Did you hurt them?"

"Only their feelings."

Yan entered behind her. "The cars are going to need time to recover."

Lili giggled, apparently satisfied that the roadblock had been defeated

without any serious injury to the vehicles. Mother Yan gave Bai a brief,

questioning look. Bai answered with a small nod to show that the route

was clear enough for the moment. Mother Yan did not ask about the large

shape they had seen beyond the bend. She had learned that if the danger

was immediate, Bai and Yan would explain what everyone needed to do. If

they were still assessing it, asking the same question several times

would not make them know more.

Once everyone had settled back into position, Bai checked the mirrors,

moved the caravan forward, and guided it through the narrow opening.

Metal passed close on both sides, but the reinforced panels did not

scrape. Yan watched the right side until the last car was behind them,

then climbed in through the side door and returned to her seat. Only

when the caravan was fully through the roadblock did Bai let out the

breath she had been holding.

"Not bad," Yan said, folding the map back open.

"I was excellent."

"You were adequate."

Bai looked at her. "You watched me move two cars and clear an office

full of zombies. Adequate?"

"I was trying not to encourage you."

"Too late."

Yan shook her head, but she was smiling as she marked the roadblock on

the map. A small line crossed the route, followed by a note about the

altered vehicles and the mutant in the office building. The map was

becoming a record of everything they learned, not just a guide to

Shanghai. Every stop could give them useful information, and every

careless decision could cost them supplies, time, or safety. Bai was

glad Yan had taken responsibility for the notes. She could remember the

important details, but she tended to remember them in the order that

mattered to her, which was not always the same order somebody else would

need to understand them.

The road beyond the bend sloped gradually toward a stretch of low

commercial buildings. Several shops had their shutters down, while

others stood open with their windows broken. An overturned bus blocked

part of the opposite lane. The caravan rolled at a steady speed, not

fast enough to lose control if a new obstacle appeared, but fast enough

to leave the roadblock behind without wasting the morning.

The first few minutes passed quietly. They saw no living person, and the

zombies visible inside the shops did not pursue them. Bai kept both

hands on the wheel and checked the mirrors every few seconds. Yan

tracked the turnoffs and noted where the pavement was cracked. Mother

TO BE CONITNUED.