Chapter 50: Blue Veins on the Back of the Hand
Chapter 50: Blue Veins on the Back of the Hand
Some say that pregnancy makes you forgetful, and this is certainly true for Anran. It could be due to hormonal changes or the sleepless nights spent caring for the children, but her memory is failing her—she can't even remember what her ex-husband looks like.
Maybe she will remember it after seeing him, but right now, she just can’t picture his face.
So when Anran turns her back while busy with the two children, she completely forgets about the white powder on her hands.
It strikes her as odd that she isn’t feeling hungry at the moment; instead, there is a sense of fullness in her stomach. Could dreaming about eating roast chicken actually make her feel full?
Watching Chen Jiao’s son smacking his lips as he greedily drinks milk makes Anran smile. But when her gaze shifts, she notices the veins on the back of her hand, now covered in lime powder. There are not just one or two veins, but countless, densely packed ones!
Initially alarmed, Anran feels a sense of calm wash over her as she finishes feeding Chen Jiao's son. She sets down the bottle and examines the back of her hand closely. With her other hand still cradling Doll for breastfeeding, she notices that her other hand also bears bulging veins.
She grabs the wilted bellflower beside her, hoping to alleviate the throbbing sensation in her hand. As she holds it, the bellflower begins to grow roots, sprout, and bloom as if she has pressed a fast-forward button.
“Ha ha!!” Anran laughs, tossing aside the growing bellflower. Its growth slows down and eventually stops. She looks around and finds the avocado pit she discarded earlier. Using the same method that revived the bellflower, she successfully encourages the avocado to sprout a branch.
It seems that heaven isn’t done with her yet; perhaps she has acquired some sort of special ability to make plants grow! She has seen a few movies with Stephen Chow that feature such extraordinary powers, so it’s easy for her to think that she might possess a similar gift.
However, the avocado only sprouts a branch and doesn’t grow any further, and the veins on the back of her hand quickly disappear along with the growth of the avocado. Anran figures that to make the avocado bear fruit, she will likely have to wait for the veins on her hand to reappear.
But how can she make those blue veins grow again?
Feeling a bit lost, Anran realizes that without the veins, her hunger is returning. This makes her lose interest in pondering her newfound abilities. She collects the wilted flowers, the blooming Powdered Snow Mountain, the bellflower, and the thriving avocado seedling, and continues her mission of clearing out zombies
The zombies on the fifth floor have all been dealt with, leaving a hallway littered with bodies in various positions—an alarming sight. Anran sets down the pile of supplies and moves the sleeping Doll and Chen Jiao’s son to a safer stairwell. She then grabs a fruit knife and scissors, opens the security door, and leans out to assess the situation on the fourth floor.
Most of the "evolving" zombies that have been aimlessly wandering around the fourth floor now have developed fangs. From Anran's vantage point, she can just make out the door to the ward where Hu Zhen is.