Bai Li looked at the armor.
"You are not the one giving orders."
The figure went still.
Yan Cijin's eyes narrowed.
"Then who is?"
Bai Li looked toward the mall.
"That is where our conversation is going."
The figure suddenly threw a small black sphere onto the ground.
A pulse of energy exploded outward.
Yan Cijin raised her arm.
The smoke cleared.
The armored figure was gone.
Bai Li stared at the empty street.
Yan Cijin walked over.
"Teleportation?"
"Something similar."
"You could have stopped him."
"I could."
"Why did you not?"
Bai Li looked at the mall.
"He wanted us to chase him."
"And we are not going to."
"No."
They returned to the motorcycle.
A broken convoy remained behind them.
Neither woman cared.
The rain began to weaken.
The city grew quieter.
The mall was close now.
The final five kilometers passed through a residential district.
This area had been hit harder than the central streets.
Apartments had collapsed into each other.
