Chapter 368: The golden fruit 79.

Yan Cijin came to stand beside her.

"We really went all the way up."

"Yes."

"I thought the top would look different."

Bai Li looked around.

"What did you expect?"

"Something more dramatic."

Bai Li laughed.

"The fruit was dramatic enough."

Yan Cijin smiled.

They stood there quietly.

Then Bai Li noticed something.

The five fruits were getting brighter.

She turned.

The golden pomelos were resting together near the remains of the tree.

Their glow was no longer spreading outward.

Instead it seemed to be sinking inward.

The scent was becoming more concentrated.

Yan Cijin noticed too.

"They’re changing."

"Yes."

The skins of the fruits became smoother.

The golden patterns beneath them formed rings.

One fruit gave a faint pulse.

Then another.

Then all five.

Bai Li stepped closer.

"Back."

Yan Cijin stopped.

A soft wave passed through the air.

Nothing exploded.

Nothing attacked.

Instead, the five fruits released tiny strands of golden light that floated upward and vanished.

Bai Li watched carefully.

"They’re stabilizing."

"Meaning?"

"The energy inside is settling."

Yan Cijin thought about it.

"So they can be stored now?"

"Probably."

She reached toward her storage space.

The first fruit disappeared into it.

Nothing happened.

Bai Li smiled slightly.

"Good."

She stored the other four.

The rooftop suddenly felt empty.

Too empty.

Yan Cijin looked at the place where the tree had stood.

"That’s it."

Bai Li nodded.

"That’s it."

A gust of wind passed over the rooftop.

It carried away the last traces of golden light.

The atmosphere returned to normal.

Almost.

There was still an unusual pressure in the air.

A faint aftereffect of the fruit.

Bai Li could feel it in her soul.

Whisperfang was unusually quiet.

The revolver had stopped vibrating.

Yan Cijin’s crossbow also seemed heavier in her hand.

"Looks like everything reacted to those things."

"Soul weapons probably sensed the same energy."

"Do you think they’ll change?"

Bai Li looked at Whisperfang.

"Maybe."

Yan Cijin smiled.

"That would be nice."

"Let’s not assume."

They began gathering the remaining supplies.

The rooftop had no food.

No water.

No shelter.

Only the fruits and the remains of the battle.

Bai Li checked the revolver.

There were only a few bullets left.

Yan Cijin checked her crossbow.

She had three bolts remaining.

Her normal revolver had almost nothing left.

Bai Li noticed.

"You’re low."

"Yes."

"We’ll replenish downstairs."

Yan Cijin looked toward the stairwell.

"The mall probably has zombies all the way down."

"Probably."

"You sound excited."

"I’m hungry."

Yan Cijin stared at her.

"You want to fight zombies because you’re hungry?"

"No."

Bai Li looked at the five fruits stored in her soul space.

"I want to go somewhere safe and figure out what those things can do."

Yan Cijin nodded.

"Good answer."

She walked toward the stairs.

Bai Li followed.

Then stopped.

"Yan Cijin."

Yan Cijin turned.

"Hmm?"

"Come here."

Yan Cijin walked back.

Bai Li reached out and brushed a small piece of golden bark from Yan Cijin’s hair.

Yan Cijin froze.

Bai Li did it casually.

"You had something there."

Yan Cijin touched her hair after Bai Li’s hand moved away.

"Oh."

"We should go."

"Right."

They started down the stairs.

Neither mentioned the tiny awkward moment.

But both noticed it.

And both thought about it longer than they wanted to admit.

The staircase was dark.

The golden light was gone.

The dead monsters on the upper floor were still lying where they had fallen.

Bai Li stepped over one.

Yan Cijin followed.

Neither looked back at the rooftop.

Neither needed to.

They had reached the top.

They had killed what had been waiting there.

They had taken the reward.

Now they only had to survive the way back down.

A distant roar rolled through the ruined city.

Bai Li smiled faintly.

"Sounds like someone knows we’re leaving."

Yan Cijin sighed.

"Of course they do."

Bai Li drew Whisperfang.

"Then let’s go."

They descended together.

The golden pomelo tree was gone.

The five golden fruits were theirs.

And somewhere deep inside the fruits, something ancient had begun to wake.

Neither woman knew it yet.

But the moment the first fruit had been touched, the entire city had changed.

The staircase had barely swallowed them before Bai Li stopped again.

Yan Cijin looked back.

"What now?"

Bai Li raised one finger.

"Listen."

They stood silently.

At first there was nothing.

Then came a faint clicking sound from somewhere below.

Another click.

Then another.

Not one creature.

Many.

Yan Cijin’s expression changed.

"They know."

"Yes."

"Because of the fruit?"

"Probably."

Bai Li looked at the storage space where the five golden pomelos rested.

The fruits were still warm.

Their presence was subtle, but not completely hidden.

It was as though each fruit was giving off a pulse that living things could sense even through the storage barrier.

The pulse traveled through Bai Li’s soul.

She could almost feel the reaction of the creatures below.

They were moving.

They were gathering.

And some of them were coming upward.

Yan Cijin tightened her grip on the crossbow.

"We’re going to have company."

"We already did."

Bai Li started down the stairs.

Yan Cijin followed.

The first zombie appeared on the landing below.

It was not strong.

It was the kind of ordinary infected corpse they had been killing since the road.

Its jaw hung open.

Its clothes were torn.

It smelled awful.

It looked at them.

Then it smelled the fruit.

Its eyes widened.

It rushed upward.

Bai Li sighed.

Whisperfang appeared.

One slash.

The zombie fell.

Another came behind it.

Yan Cijin fired.

The bolt passed through its forehead.

It fell backward and took two more with it.

"Efficient," Bai Li said.

"I have limited ammunition."

"Then every shot counts."

"Exactly."

They continued.

The staircase soon became a narrow battlefield.

Zombies climbed from below.

Some came from side corridors.

A few had apparently been hiding in maintenance rooms and were now attracted by the scent.

Bai Li kept moving.

She did not allow the stairwell to become crowded.

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.

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TO BE CONTINUED.