It might be the tree itself. It might be another mutation attracted by the scent. It might even be nothing. The uncertainty was what made the situation dangerous.
Bai Li looked back toward the rooftop door they had entered through. The steel door was still partly open. Beyond it, the upper stairwell vanished into darkness. No new creatures had come through. That meant the golden tree was doing more than attracting enemies. It was also holding their attention.
Everything had come here.
Everything was still here.
Bai Li had the sudden feeling that the rooftop was the calm center of a storm and that the moment the fruit changed, every strong creature within several kilometers would know.
Yan Cijin seemed to understand the same thing.
"You think more are coming?"
"They might."
"Before the fruit ripens?"
"Probably."
Yan Cijin sighed. "Of course."
Bai Li smiled faintly. "At least they will come to us."
The fruit pulsed.
The seam widened another fraction.
