Within seconds the entire entrance hall was quiet again.
Yan Cijin glanced at the corpses.
"That was almost disappointing."
Bai Li looked deeper into the mall.
"It is the first floor."
"So?"
"It is supposed to be easy."
A low growl came from somewhere in the darkness.
Yan Cijin smiled. "Good."
They continued.
The first floor had once been a bright shopping district filled with clothing stores, cosmetic counters, fast food stalls and a wide central atrium. Now it looked as if someone had taken the entire place apart and left the pieces where they fell. Storefront shutters hung halfway down. Clothing mannequins lay scattered across the floor with their heads missing. A fountain in the center had dried years ago, leaving mineral stains along the stone basin. Several escalators stood motionless in the middle of the floor, leading upward into darkness.
Bai Li walked past a cosmetics store and stopped.
Yan Cijin looked at her. "What?"
"Nothing."
