How to Raise a Baby in an Apocalypse - Chapter 217

As soon as Anran leaves the maternity store, the mobile phone playing music on the first floor goes silent—its battery dies. The zombies surrounding the phone are soon consumed by the lilies. In the lush sea of lilies, the bronze-skinned and iron-boned zombie wanders aimlessly, looking for prey.

Its eyes seem to function, though its vision is poor; it primarily relies on hearing. Now, unable to find any targets, it sniffs the air, depending on its sense of smell to guide it.

Anran stands by the glass guardrail on the second floor, observing the bronze-skinned and iron-boned zombie on the first floor. She quickly turns and enters the maternity store, grabs the bag of urine-soaked diapers she collected earlier, and pours them down from the guardrail. The pungent smell of urine fills the air, drawing the zombie’s attention. It sniffs eagerly at the scent.

Leaving the zombie momentarily distracted, Anran turns and sees Yun Tao standing in front of the children’s playground, waving at her. She walks over to his side.

Yun Tao points at the play area and, in a low voice, says, “I saw some ropes in there used for children’s obstacle courses. I have an idea—let’s lure that zombie inside and tie it up first.”

“Do you think that will work?” Anran asks, peering through the transparent plastic shutter door at the playground. She can see some developmental props for children, two of which seem potentially useful. One is a three-tiered net structure, where children have to climb from the first floor to the highest level before sliding down. The other resembles a large tree made of ropes, with a netted step leading into a hole in the tree.

Anran can’t see into the tree hole, but considering the zombie’s size—about that of an adult man—if it enters, it will be difficult for it to escape.

“If this bronze-skinned, iron-boned zombie gets inside the rope tree, it’ll be in a relatively passive position. It won’t be able to get out quickly. Without it causing destruction, the smaller zombies will be no problem,” Anran reasons.

However, Anran hesitates. It’s clear that this bronze-skinned, iron-boned zombie can’t even be harmed by a knife. Can it really be tied up with ropes? And even if it were, how could they kill it?

Yun Tao, noticing her concern, reassures her, “It shouldn’t be a big problem. It’s not particularly strong, but it’s tough all over. Let’s tie it up first. We can figure out the rest later.”

Yun Tao doesn’t have a solution for how to kill the zombie, but he is confident that once it’s restrained, they’ll find a way. The world is full of interdependencies—Anran’s lilies can’t consume this zombie, but what about fire or water? There has to be a way.

With that plan in mind, Anran nods in agreement. Together, they decide to break into the children’s playground and lure the bronze-skinned, iron-boned zombie to the second floor alone.

Leading the zombie upstairs is simple enough. A little noise on the second floor will be enough to draw it up, and the sound of breaking down the door will certainly attract attention.

Yun Tao turns to the fire hydrant, grabs a fire axe, and begins hacking at the plastic door. After a while, the zombies’ attention is drawn to the escalator. Meanwhile, Anran takes charge of the lilies, reinforcing the flower wall and dealing with the ordinary zombies that have broken through. She also uses the lilies to create obstacles, tripping the bronze-skinned, iron-boned zombie whenever it gets close.