Raise a Baby in an Apocalypse 21

In that moment, An Ran’s resolve solidified. She grabbed Chen Jiao, who was whimpering on the ground, and dragged her to the window, saying, “You will go down first!”

“I don’t want to! You’re insane! Have you considered which floor we’re on?” Chen Jiao protested.

Naturally, Chen Jiao was not willing to act like Batman, hanging from a rope on the fourth floor. It was already noon, the sky was still dark, and she was tired and hungry. All she wanted to do was to lie in bed and wait for her husband to rescue her. So, why was An Ran forcing her to jump off the building?! Chen Jiao was too exhausted to care about the pain from being pushed from the bed, and continued to struggle in An Ran’s grasp.

An Ran felt drained but summoned all her willpower. She clutched Chen Jiao clothes tightly, and growled in a low voice, “You have to go down first. If you don’t, you might undo my rope.”

An Ran’s thoughts might seem dark, but it was mainly because Chen Jiao had untied the rope once. Because of that, An Ran had to force Chen Jiao to jump with her, and she insisted that Chen Jiao should jump first!

Hearing the noise of an argument in the hospital room, the zombies outside forcefully banged on the door. Chen Jiao and An Ran were both taken aback and didn’t dare to argue anymore. They released each other and stood by the window, not making a move.

The pounding on the door grew quieter, and An Ran gave Chen Jiao a stern look. Regardless of Chen Jiao’s psychological state at that moment, An Ran knew that if Chen Jiao didn’t follow her down the rope, she would not jump down alone.

Hu Zhen, lying on the bed, struggled to sit up and looked at An Ran and Chen Jiao with a worried expression. Just as she was about to try to reconcile them, she saw An Ran walk over to bed number 16, pick up a fruit knife she had left there earlier, and draw it from its sheath. An Ran then approached Chen Jiao and placed the knife against her throat.

“No, An Ran!” 

Hu Zhen exclaimed, alarmed. Chen Jiao was petrified, standing at the edge of her bed, staring at the desperation in An Ran’s face and the faint glint of menace in her eyes. She started to whimper in fear, “I… I didn’t really mean to untie your rope. If you really go down, I won’t be so reckless as to harm you. If I hurt you, I would end up in prison too.”

“Shut up! I have nothing left now. My daughter is all I have. I must get out, alive!”

An Ran admitted that her emotions had crumbled. A person whose emotions had completely collapsed was beyond reason. She was divorced, had no house, no car, and no man to rely on. Her daughter was her only blood relative in this world, and her daughter’s life currently hung in the balance at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. An Ran had to get out, bring notice of the situation inside the hospital to the outside world, and then bring back help to save her daughter.

And it had to be fast!

The child couldn’t endure hunger for long. If they delayed any further, An Ran feared that her daughter might starve or worse, be consumed by those doctors and nurses in the neonatal unit who had turned into monsters!

“I… I… I don’t want to. I’m scared. I don’t want to… I didn’t mean to untie your rope, I swear.” Chen Jiao stammered.

Chen Jiao found herself under the threat of An Ran’s knife, the blade inching closer to her throat with each passing moment. Step by step, she reluctantly retreated, with tears streaming down her face as she gasped for breath. Compelled by An Ran’s coercion, she tightly clutched the rope in her hand and ascended the steps in tears. She hung onto the awning and continued pleading with An Ran, “Please let me go. I’m scared, I’m really scared. I’m afraid of heights. Please!”