Chapter 351: The golden fruit 62.

"Because they are all waiting."

A huge roar came from the top of the stairwell.

The walls shook.

Yan Cijin looked upward.

"Then let us make them wait a little less."

They stepped into the final stairwell.

The stairs went upward through a hollow central shaft.

The walls were covered in golden light.

Every few floors there were signs that something had fought its way downward.

Deep claw marks.

Broken stone.

Blood.

The farther they climbed, the larger the marks became.

Yan Cijin touched one.

"Those are fresh."

Bai Li nodded.

"Very."

They continued.

A level two creature dropped from above.

Bai Li caught it.

Yan Cijin finished it.

Another attacked from below.

Bai Li struck.

Another.

Then two.

They were close now.

The final stretch became a relentless sequence of battles.

Monsters attacked continuously, not because they wanted to kill them for food, but because they recognized them as competitors.

Every creature near the top had the same instinct.

The fruit was almost ripe.

Only the strongest would get to eat it.

Bai Li and Yan Cijin became the final obstacle.

A giant wolf-like monster came first.

It moved so quickly that the stairs cracked beneath its feet.

Yan Cijin met it head-on.

Bai Li struck from the side.

The monster fell.

Then a winged beast attacked.

Yan Cijin cut its wing.

Bai Li finished it.

Then a massive zombie appeared.

It struck Bai Li hard enough to shatter the wall.

Yan Cijin’s expression changed.

She attacked with everything she had.

Bai Li recovered.

Together they brought it down.

The next creature was even larger.

Then another.

They fought for what felt like hours, although neither knew exactly how much time had passed.

The golden pulse had become nearly constant.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

The building itself seemed alive.

At one point, the entire stairwell flashed gold.

Every monster stopped.

For one second, every creature looked upward.

Then they all started climbing at once.

Yan Cijin stared.

"They are running toward the rooftop."

Bai Li nodded.

"The fruit is close to ripening."

"Then we should hurry."

They raced upward.

Monsters crowded the stairs.

They attacked in desperation now.

There was no strategy.

Only hunger.

Only instinct.

Bai Li and Yan Cijin cut through them.

Level two creatures fell one after another.

Their cores flashed in the golden light.

Some tried to flee.

None escaped.

Finally, the stairs opened onto the final landing.

Both women stopped.

Ahead stood a massive steel door.

Before they reached the final landing, the stairwell suddenly became narrow.

A creature dropped from the ceiling. It had the body of a panther and the face of a human skull, with golden fire burning between its ribs. Yan Cijin moved first, striking its jaw, but the creature twisted in midair and came back at her. Bai Li intercepted it, driving it into the wall.

It recovered almost instantly.

"This one is stubborn," Yan Cijin said.

"Then hit it harder."

The creature attacked again.

Bai Li stepped aside. Yan Cijin struck its leg. The creature stumbled. Bai Li caught its neck. Instead of breaking it immediately, she threw it upward into the ceiling. The creature bounced off the concrete and fell directly toward Yan Cijin.

Yan Cijin smiled.

She stepped forward and struck at the exact moment it reached her.

The creature disappeared into the stairwell below.

For several seconds, neither woman moved.

Then a roar came from far beneath them.

Yan Cijin looked downward.

"It is still alive."

Bai Li shrugged.

"Not for long."

They kept climbing.

Another monster appeared at the next landing, but this time it did not attack. It stood in front of the stairs with its head lowered. Golden light ran through its veins. Its breathing was slow and heavy.

Yan Cijin whispered, "Is it guarding the way?"

Bai Li studied it.

"No. It is waiting its turn."

The creature suddenly turned and rushed upward.

They followed.

That sight changed something in both women. The monsters were no longer interested in stopping them unless necessary. They were racing toward the rooftop. Whatever was about to happen above was close enough to overpower their normal instincts.

Bai Li and Yan Cijin accelerated.

The final flights blurred together. They stepped over bodies, crossed broken landings, and pushed through clouds of golden dust. Every few seconds another roar came from above, closer and louder than the last.

Yan Cijin glanced at Bai Li.

"Whatever is waiting up there, it sounds big."

"It is."

"You have no idea, do you?"

"No."

Yan Cijin laughed.

"At least you are honest."

They climbed the last steps together.

The air became so saturated with the fruit’s energy that both women could feel it against their skin. Their hair moved in the invisible current. The golden vines around the walls pulsed in time with the distant heartbeat.

They reached the landing.

For the first time since entering the mall, Bai Li did not immediately move forward.

Yan Cijin noticed.

"What is it?"

Bai Li looked at the door.

"The pressure beyond it is different."

Yan Cijin nodded slowly.

"I feel it too."

Neither woman needed to say anything else.

They had fought through every floor below them. They had defeated gangs, zombies, beasts, evolving creatures, and monsters that should have been impossible for ordinary survivors to face this early in the apocalypse. But all of that had been the path leading here.

The door was the boundary.

Beyond it was the place where the strongest creatures had gathered, drawn by the same promise.

Bai Li stepped beside Yan Cijin.

Their shoulders almost touched.

"Ready?" Yan Cijin asked again.

Bai Li looked at her and gave the smallest smile.

"Always."

The final stairs were ahead.

But the monster was not the last.

As they climbed, more emerged.

One from the wall.

Two from the ceiling.

Another from a door.

Then another.

The upper stairwell was packed with level two monsters.

Bai Li and Yan Cijin fought through them.

The creatures were powerful enough to kill almost anyone who had entered the mall alone.

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TO BE CONTINUED.