Chapter 79: The Hateful Peacemaker
Chapter 79: The Hateful Peacemaker
As An Ran touches the grass, it grows taller under her hand. She wonders if flowers and plants are easier to stimulate than fruit trees. Or could it be that her ability only works on flowers and plants?
Either way, it isn’t necessarily bad news, but it isn’t great either. An Ran can't help but feel her ability is somewhat useless. Flowers and plants might be pretty to look at, but they aren’t something you can eat or drink. She has no idea why fate awakens such an impractical skill in her. Is God planning for her to open a flower shop when they return to human society?
While she daydreams about opening a flower shop to make money in the future, Hu Zhen appears from the third floor, her arms full of books. She makes her way over to the sky garden, drops the books onto the grass near An Ran, and, panting, says, "I found these in some doctors' offices."
"Books?" An Ran yawns reflexively, then smiles at Hu Zhen apologetically. "I know what they are, but they don’t know me. Why'd you bring them?"
"They’re all professional books on pediatric medication. You should read up; it'll help with raising kids."
Hu Zhen hands An Ran a book thicker than a dictionary before sitting down with a book of her own. An Ran blinks at the tiny print, flipping through the pages without much enthusiasm.
"Sister Zhen, what did you do before all of this?" An Ran, losing interest in the book, places it behind her head, lies back on the grass, and starts a conversation with Hu Zhen.
"I run a small supermarket in the neighborhood, but I don’t make much money. I spend everything I earn on IVF treatments." Hu Zhen smiles humbly and glances at He Wen, who is sleeping beside her. "I guess I’ve always been in business. That’s why I try to keep the peace, even if it means stepping between you and Chen Jiao. I know it’s annoying being the peacemaker."
Although Hu Zhen isn’t sick, she has failed multiple IVF attempts, which has piqued her interest in medical topics. She often flips through medical books, trying to figure out why the treatments haven’t worked. Over time, she develops a habit of reading in her spare time.
With the current situation, where An Ran and Chen Jiao openly dislike each other, Hu Zhen’s peacekeeping nature makes her step in between them as a mediator. She knows it isn’t an easy role—both An Ran and Chen Jiao resent her for being neutral. But in a hospital where there are only three people left to talk to, what else can she do? The other two survivors are too broken to do anything but cry.
An Ran is stubborn in the face of Chen Jiao’s arrogance. If Hu Zhen doesn’t step in to smooth things over, who will?
An Ran lowers her gaze, a hint of melancholy creeping into her voice. "I don’t actually hate you. If you were someone I’d met before all this, we might have been good friends."
An Ran has always enjoyed the company of people like Hu Zhen. In the past, she would have taken her shopping or to the movies to fill the void of loneliness she often feels when her husband is away. It would have been nice.
Chapter 80: There Are No Zombies in the United States
Thinking about it, An Ran realizes that the days she once considered lonely and dull now seem like paradise in comparison. What was she fussing about back then? She insists on divorcing her ex-husband. If it were now, she wouldn’t even have the energy to think about freedom or finding happiness again when survival itself is so difficult.
An awkward silence falls over them for a moment. The baby, who has been playing on the quilt, eventually grows tired and falls asleep. After a while, Chen Jiao suddenly bursts out from the third floor, standing by the glass door, waving excitedly at An Ran and Hu Zhen. “I just remembered, there’s a waste disposal passage here! Once we go through it, we’ll end up at the back of the emergency room on the first floor, right next to the emergency pharmacy. The emergency and outpatient pharmacies are connected!”
An Ran jolts awake, sits up, and tilts her head to look at Chen Jiao’s cheerful face. "Keep your voice down; you’ll attract all the zombies downstairs!"
"What are you afraid of? They’re easy to deal with!" Chen Jiao dismisses An Ran’s warning, acting as if she is the one who will handle the zombies.
"What are you afraid of? They’re easy to deal with!" Chen Jiao dismisses An Ran’s warning again, acting as if she is the one who will handle the zombies. She happily makes her way to Hu Zhen, sits down beside her, and boasts, “My husband did the renovations for this hospital. I was supposed to go to America to give birth, but I went into labor early and had to be rushed to this hospital in the middle of the night. Hey, Hu Zhen, after we get out of here and I find my husband, I’ll get him to give you money. However much you want, it’s yours! I’ll even take you to America.”
An Ran, who is being deliberately ignored, can’t help but scoff and sarcastically remark, “Do you think America is some kind of paradise? Running off to America to have your baby—why don’t you just immigrate there? There are no zombies in America!!!”
“Was I talking to you?” Chen Jiao snaps at An Ran before turning back to Hu Zhen and saying, “Ignore her. In the future, I’ll give you money but not a penny for this one named An.”
“Oh, I’m so heartbroken!” An Ran mocks dramatically. Does Chen Jiao really think she needs money? During this time, she has collected tens of thousands in cash, with more likely to come in the future.
Hu Zhen, sitting on the grass, sighs. "Alright, let’s stop arguing and check if the sewage passage is safe."
According to An Ran's plan, if they want to leave the hospital, they need to take medicine with them, making the pharmacy on the first floor their destination. The sewage passage that Chen Jiao mentions is used by hospital cleaners to transport garbage. Now that the entire hospital is without power, the elevator can’t run.
However, there is a staircase next to the general sewage elevator that leads from the first floor to the top floor. Compared to safer routes, fewer people use the sewage passage. It can also lead directly to the basement, but the door to the passage is usually located in secluded corners and is typically locked, so it won’t be easily discovered by patients seeking treatment.
Chen Jiao leads Hu Zhen to the side of the sky garden, pointing to a corner outside the railing. "The exit to the sewage passage is down there; it leads to the first floor."
An Ran walks over to Hu Zhen's side, leaning forward to look down from the third floor to the first.