Chapter 47: Banners and Flower Baskets
Chapter 47: Banners and Flower Baskets
With the pacifier as a tool for soothing Doll, Anran spends more time killing zombies. Having decided to clear out the zombies on the fourth and fifth floors, she keeps herself busy.
Armed with a pair of scissors, she has already dispatched nearly half of the zombies on the fifth floor. Her speed and familiarity improve, allowing her to handle one or two zombies at a time without panic.
She even starts to vary her methods for killing zombies. Previously, she would always stab from the back of a zombie's head or the side of its temple, but now she occasionally challenges herself by attacking from the front.
For example, she pushes a zombie against the wall, holds its neck with her arm, and stabs its eye with the scissors, twisting them to feel for a hard spot—that’s the diamond inside the zombie's brain.
On the seventh day, Anran finishes all the fruit in her basket, and the remaining chocolate and lollipops are nearly gone. Feeling anxious, she looks at the corpses scattered in the hallway and the wilted flower basket not far away. She is troubled by the situation.
The consumption of saline solution has also been significant. Not only does Chen Jiao’s son need saline for his milk, but Anran also has to hydrate herself. Moreover, the two newborns can’t remain too dirty; every few days, she uses two bottles of saline and some clean gauze to wipe down their small bodies.
She enjoys seeing the two children clean and fresh, and even though she is filthy, her heart feels joy when she looks at them.
However, even though she has plenty of saline, it will eventually run out. This looming crisis makes Anran more anxious with each passing day in the neonatal ward.
Sometimes, in such desperate circumstances, she thinks about using the dirty water from the purifier to take a bath.
But the water from the purifier in the operating room is still yellow, and she isn’t sure if it is safe to use. After letting a bottle sit on the table for a long time, the yellow substance hasn’t settled, leading her to abandon the idea of bathing with that water.
At most, in situations where she feels she might faint from her own odor, she uses the hospital's disinfectant wipes to clean herself. Although there are many wipes available, Anran doesn't know how long she will have to stay in the hospital. She makes sure to ration each wipe and will only use a second one after the first has turned a coal-black color.
Regarding the issue of basic needs, Anran can only hope that some family member of a baby had brought more fruit baskets in their visits. So, after feeding the two children and changing them into clean, dry diapers and clothes, Anran immediately sets out to hunt zombies and search for supplies on the fifth floor.
In today’s hospitals, it seems families prefer sending banners to the medical staff rather than fruits or food. Anran finds several banners in the neonatal department, along with a flower basket meant for a doctor or nurse. Unfortunately, besides the banners and flowers, she doesn’t find any food.