Chapter 388: Returning 18.

"Now they’ll all know we’re back."

"That’s okay."

Bai Li slowed near the final intersection.

A group of survivors was gathered there.

Someone had blocked one lane with a metal gate.

Bai Li stopped.

A man approached.

"Sorry. We’re just moving supplies across. Give us one minute."

Bai Li nodded.

"Take your time."

The man looked at the motorcycle.

Then at Bai Li.

"You went out far today, didn’t you?"

"Yes."

"Everything okay?"

Bai Li nodded.

"We’re fine."

He smiled.

"Good."

The gate was moved aside.

He stepped back.

"Welcome home."

Bai Li paused.

The words were simple.

Still, they felt different coming from someone standing beside the road.

She nodded.

"Thanks."

The motorcycle moved forward.

Yan Cijin looked back at the man.

"That was nice."

"Yes."

They entered the final street.

There were only a few more buildings before the apartment complex.

The morning light had become warm.

The road was clear.

For the first time in hours, there was no immediate danger ahead.

Bai Li let the motorcycle roll at a relaxed pace.

She did not need to hurry anymore.

She had already made it.

Almost.

The final few blocks passed almost too quietly.

Bai Li followed the road she knew best, staying close to the river until

the apartment complex would be impossible to miss.

On the left stood a small playground.

The swings had stopped moving days ago, but one of them still hung

crookedly from its chain.

On the right was an old clinic.

Its front door was barricaded from the inside.

A handwritten sign on the wall said that medicine was being distributed

from a different building now.

Yan Cijin read it as they passed.

"People are really organizing things."

"They have to."

"Still impressive."

Bai Li nodded.

They rode on.

A sudden shadow moved across the road.

Bai Li looked up.

A group of birds flew between two buildings, scattering dust from a

rooftop.

Yan Cijin laughed softly.

"I thought that was something dangerous."

"So did I."

"Good. I’m not the only one."

The motorcycle passed beneath another broken sign.

Ahead, a few survivors had placed a table beside the road with cups of

water.

One woman stepped forward and raised her hand.

Bai Li slowed.

"Water?"

"Fresh water," the woman said. "You’ve been riding for a while."

Yan Cijin looked at Bai Li.

They stopped.

Bai Li accepted one cup and drank.

The water was cool.

She handed the cup to Yan Cijin.

Yan Cijin drank too.

The woman smiled.

"Going far?"

"Not anymore."

Bai Li glanced toward the apartment tower.

The woman followed her gaze and smiled.

"Then you’re almost home."

Bai Li nodded.

"Yes."

The woman waved them on.

They started moving again.

The brief stop had taken less than a minute.

Still, it reminded them how tired they actually were.

The road ahead looked softer now.

Not safer exactly.

Just closer to familiar ground.

Yan Cijin rested her head lightly against Bai Li’s back again.

"I really want a bed."

Bai Li smiled.

"So do I."

"And food."

"Definitely."

"And silence."

"Maybe."

Yan Cijin laughed.

"You don’t know how to relax."

"I know how."

"When?"

Bai Li thought for a second.

"Usually when you’re around."

Yan Cijin became quiet.

For several seconds, only the engine spoke.

Then she murmured, "That’s a strange answer."

Bai Li smiled.

"It’s a true one."

Yan Cijin did not answer.

But her hand remained at Bai Li’s waist.

They continued toward home.

The last straight stretch of road ran beside a row of low buildings.

Bai Li could already see familiar faces at several windows.

One man looked down from a balcony and recognized the motorcycle.

He raised both hands.

"They’re home!"

Someone inside the apartment behind him shouted something back.

Another person came to the balcony.

Then another. ℯℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Yan Cijin smiled.

"News travels fast here."

"Apparently."

The motorcycle moved beneath the balconies.

A few people waved.

Bai Li waved back.

One woman called, "Did you get what you went for?"

Yan Cijin answered, "Yes."

The woman cheered.

Bai Li laughed quietly.

The sound surprised even her.

She had been tired for so long that she had almost forgotten how easy

laughter could feel when nothing was immediately trying to kill them.

The road curved.

The apartment tower finally appeared fully between the buildings.

Bai Li slowed even more.

The entrance was visible now.

People were moving around the courtyard.

Some were carrying supplies.

Some were talking.

The place looked alive.

Yan Cijin squeezed Bai Li’s waist lightly.

"Home."

Bai Li nodded.

"Home."

Neither woman said anything else.

They did not need to.

The motorcycle’s tires rolled over one final patch of broken asphalt

before the road became smoother.

Bai Li recognized the change immediately.

The apartment complex maintained this section more carefully than the

surrounding streets.

Someone had filled several cracks with fresh rubble.

A narrow path had been cleared around a fallen tree.

There were even small white marks painted along the edge of the road so

people could see the safest route at night.

Yan Cijin noticed them too.

"They’ve been working."

"Yes."

The closer they came to the building, the less the city felt like a

battlefield.

There were still weapons visible.

Still barricades.

Still people watching the entrances.

But there was routine here.

Someone was sweeping.

Someone was carrying water.

Someone was repairing a window.

A man stood beside a bicycle with a basket full of vegetables.

Two women were arguing over a box of canned food.

A child was sitting beside a doorway, drawing something in the dust.

It was not normal.

Not yet.

But it was life.

Bai Li felt strangely grateful for the sight.

Yan Cijin seemed to feel the same.

Neither said it aloud.

The motorcycle passed another small group.

They moved aside respectfully.

One woman recognized Yan Cijin and smiled.

"Welcome back."

Yan Cijin smiled back.

"Thank you."

Bai Li kept riding.

The apartment entrance was now directly ahead.

The last few meters passed quickly.

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TO BE CONTINUED.