The fight lasted less than thirty seconds.
Bai Li cut its front leg.
The monster stumbled.
Yan Cijin shot its throat.
Bai Li finished it with one clean strike.
The body crashed into the storefront.
Silence returned.
Yan Cijin lowered the crossbow.
"We're almost out of bolts."
Bai Li looked at the remaining two.
"Save them."
"For what?"
"Something worse."
Yan Cijin sighed.
"I hate when you're right."
They continued.
Several floors below, the mall became quieter.
The creatures were weaker.
The scent was less noticeable.
The farther they moved from the rooftop, the more normal the apocalypse seemed.
But neither woman felt normal.
The golden fruits were changing something.
Bai Li could feel a warm current moving through her soul.
Yan Cijin occasionally glanced at her.
"You're glowing."
Bai Li looked down at her hands.
A faint golden thread really was moving along her fingers.
"Interesting."
"That's your response?"
"What else should I say?"
