Ban Xia turned off her walkie-talkie and began to retreat cautiously on tiptoe.
One step, two steps, as if she were walking on a tightrope.
She backed away slowly from the entrance of Brande University's building three. There was a thin layer of soft mud on the ground, making no sound when stepped on, and the weeds in the green belt towered higher than a person. The ground floor of the CFC Plaza Building C, close to the street, featured a lineup of entertainment venues spanning fifty meters; seafood, lobsters, spicy hotpot skewers, banquet rooms, chess, and mahjong parlors, all marked with the remnants of scorched and deserted signs. Ban Xia moved backward, hunching closer to the ground, and finally crawled across the street and through the pitch-black night, her clothes and backpack brushing against the yellow-green, withered grass.
"Where are you— I've found you—"
"Delicious fruit—"
