"They are afraid of something."
A roar answered from above.
The sound was deep enough to make dust fall from the ceiling.
Yan Cijin's face became serious.
"Or they are afraid of what is waiting there."
Bai Li nodded.
They climbed faster.
The seventeenth floor had no monsters.
That was worse.
There were only nests.
Hundreds of them.
Eggs covered the floor.
Some were small.
Others were as large as people.
Many had already cracked open.
Bai Li studied the eggs.
"They are not breeding."
Yan Cijin looked at her.
"What?"
"They are feeding."
The golden glow beneath the floor illuminated the eggs.
Inside each one was a tiny creature connected to a root-like filament.
The roots ran downward.
Toward the fruit.
Yan Cijin's expression hardened.
"The fruit is feeding them."
"Or they are stealing from it."
"Either way, there are too many."
Bai Li looked at the ceiling.
"Not for long."
They moved through the room without disturbing the eggs.
