The fourth creature was lower level, but it was not harmless.
It was a monster with the shape of a huge black canine crossed with something much less recognizable. Its front limbs were too long. Its back legs were bent at wrong angles. Its mouth split far too wide, and several pale, translucent eyes were embedded along its shoulders. They were all pointed toward the golden fruit.
None of the creatures looked at Bai Li and Yan Cijin.
That was the strangest part.
They were all staring at the pomelo.
The invisible barrier around the tree shimmered faintly whenever one of them came too close. The level 3 zombies had tried to breach it. Bai Li could see the marks their claws had left in the concrete, the gouges dragged toward the trunk, the blood smeared where the barrier had thrown them back. The monster had tried too. Its long claws had carved a shallow trench in the rooftop before it finally settled into its current crouch.
They were waiting.
Waiting for the fruit to ripen.
