Chapter 386: Returning 16.

Yan Cijin shook her head.

"You’re terrible."

"You knew that already."

They passed a broken pedestrian bridge.

A few survivors stood on top of it.

One boy shouted, "That’s the same bike!"

Another shouted, "Those two again!"

Yan Cijin looked up.

"They recognize us now."

"We’re famous."

"Please don’t become arrogant."

"Too late."

The boy on the bridge laughed.

"Be careful!"

Bai Li raised a hand.

The bike continued.

Their route took them closer to the river.

The water appeared again between the buildings.

For a moment, the road ran almost directly beside it.

The morning light had become brighter now.

The sky was pale blue.

Smoke still rose in the distance, but the sunlight softened the edges of

the broken city.

Bai Li slowed slightly.

Not because she was tired.

Because she wanted to enjoy the last quiet stretch.

Yan Cijin noticed.

"Beautiful."

Bai Li nodded.

"Yeah."

Neither said what they were thinking.

The river had been there before the apocalypse.

It would probably still be there afterward.

The city had changed.

The river had not.

They continued along the bank.

A flock of birds lifted from the water as the motorcycle passed.

Their wings flashed in the morning sun.

Yan Cijin watched them.

"Do you think they know the world changed?"

Bai Li thought about it.

"They probably just know there are fewer people."

"Maybe that’s enough."

"Maybe."

The road curved.

A large billboard had fallen across half the street.

Bai Li slowed.

The space beneath it was barely wide enough for the motorcycle.

She looked at Yan Cijin.

"Hold on."

Yan Cijin wrapped both arms around her again.

Bai Li leaned the bike.

The motorcycle slid beneath the fallen billboard.

For two seconds, the world became dark.

Then they came out the other side.

Yan Cijin let out a small laugh.

"You enjoy that too much."

"Maybe."

"That’s what you said before."

"Still true."

A little farther ahead they found a small open plaza.

Several survivors were sitting there, taking a break.

They immediately looked up when the motorcycle approached.

A man stood.

"Hey!"

Bai Li slowed but did not stop.

The man waved.

"The bridge ahead is partially blocked. Take the next left."

Bai Li nodded.

"Thanks."

Another survivor stared at the motorcycle.

"Where did you find that?"

Bai Li called back, "It’s mine."

The man’s face lit up.

"Seriously?"

Bai Li nodded.

The survivor laughed.

"That’s incredible."

Yan Cijin smiled.

"She likes it."

The survivor shouted, "I can tell!"

They kept riding.

The next left led into a narrower road bordered by old office buildings.

The road was clear.

Too clear.

Bai Li’s instincts immediately tightened.

Yan Cijin noticed.

"Something?"

"Maybe."

They slowed.

Nothing moved.

No zombies.

No survivors.

No animals.

Only the wind.

Bai Li looked at the windows.

Several were open.

Then a piece of cloth fell from the top floor of one building.

Yan Cijin looked up.

The cloth fluttered down.

A hand appeared at the window.

Someone waved.

Bai Li relaxed slightly.

"Survivors."

A second hand appeared.

Then a third.

Several people had been watching them from inside.

A man called down.

"Keep going! The road is safe!"

Bai Li nodded.

The tension disappeared.

They continued.

The city seemed to be settling into a rhythm around them.

Danger.

Silence.

Survivors.

Zombies.

Then silence again.

The end of the journey was beginning to feel real.

Yan Cijin leaned closer.

"Do you remember the first time we rode together?"

Bai Li smiled.

"Yes."

"You nearly threw me off."

"You were leaning the wrong way."

"I was trying not to fall."

"Exactly."

Yan Cijin laughed.

"And now?"

"Now you lean correctly."

"High praise."

"Very."

The conversation faded.

Neither needed to say more.

They had traveled far enough together that silence had become its own

language.

The road ahead began to look familiar.

Bai Li recognized a convenience store they had passed several times

before the apocalypse.

Its sign was hanging crookedly.

A faded advertisement still showed a smiling family holding bottled

drinks.

She smiled at the memory.

"Almost there."

Yan Cijin looked around.

"I know this place."

"So do I."

They passed it.

The next block had several abandoned cars.

Bai Li maneuvered between them.

A zombie rose from behind one vehicle.

She barely slowed.

Yan Cijin dealt with it with the revolver.

Bang.

The zombie fell.

"One less."

"Good."

They rode on.

A few streets later, the outer wall of the Riverside Apartment complex

appeared in the distance.

Bai Li saw it first.

She did not say anything.

Her eyes simply stayed on it.

Yan Cijin noticed her expression.

She followed Bai Li’s gaze.

Then smiled.

"There."

"Yeah."

The apartment district was now only a few streets away.

The nearer they came to the Riverside district, the more familiar the

streets became.

Bai Li recognized the corner where a bookstore had once stood.

The roof was gone now.

The front windows were broken.

Old books were scattered across the sidewalk, their pages stuck together

by rain and dirt.

Yan Cijin noticed the building too.

"That used to be your favorite bookstore, right?"

Bai Li nodded.

"One of them."

"You never told me that."

"You never asked."

Yan Cijin smiled.

"I’m learning things slowly."

"So am I."

They passed the bookstore.

Neither looked back.

A little farther ahead stood an old bus stop.

Someone had painted a large arrow on the wall pointing toward the river.

The arrow was fresh.

That meant survivors were still actively marking the roads.

Yan Cijin looked at it.

"People are rebuilding routines."

Bai Li nodded.

"A little at a time."

They continued along the road.

A faint breeze moved through the trees on the riverbank.

The leaves rustled.

A few small birds sat on a wire above them.

The sound of the motorcycle made them fly away.

The city looked damaged, but it no longer felt completely abandoned.

There were signs everywhere now.

A rope ladder hanging from a balcony.

A water barrel outside a building.

A small table where

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TO BE CONTINUED.