Chapter 64: A Wine Bath—A Bit Pricey

When Jiang Yan entered her space, it was already past two in the afternoon—well past lunchtime.

Maybe it was all the bloody scenes she’d witnessed today, but she didn’t have much of an appetite anyway.

On top of that, she was covered in bloodstains. The combat glove on her right hand was soaked through with blood.

Luckily, her combat suit, gloves, and mask were all black, so only the blood on her forehead and fingers stood out, making her look a little less terrifying.

Jiang Yan headed straight for the bathroom in the Apple Pod.

She was exhausted, so she set the water temperature for the jacuzzi, turned it on, and then went next door to the walk-in closet to change.

Her clothes were splattered with blood and bits of flesh. She took them off and, out of habit, tossed them straight into the trash.

The combat suit was expensive and had special functions, but she still had a whole pile of them in her space—enough to last several lifetimes.

Besides, wearing bloodstained clothes just felt unlucky.

But then she realized: it was already the apocalypse outside. Wearing clothes that looked used and bloodied was actually much safer than wearing brand-new ones.

Some cautious people even went out of their way to dirty and age their outerwear.

Thinking of this, Jiang Yan hurried back to the trash, fishing out the clothes and mask before the space’s cleaning system could dissolve them.

She tossed the dirty clothes into the washing machine, added a special detergent for bloodstains and disinfection, and finally returned to the bathroom.

The custom jacuzzi from the Apple Pod company was made of white, jade-like tiles and shaped romantically like a heart.

There were four water inlets, so in just a couple of minutes, the tub was nearly full.

Jiang Yan sniffed the faint scent of blood on herself, glanced at the rushing water, and felt like something was missing in the spacious three-meter tub.

Fresh rose petals?

The batch of roses she’d planted in the black soil had started to bud, but the buds were only the size of her fingertip.

She did have plenty of dried rose petals, but they just didn’t compare to the real thing.

A milk bath?

Forget it. Just like she didn’t want to eat, she didn’t want to smell milk right now.

A green tea bath could work.

West Lake Dragon Well, Huangshan Maofeng, Lushan Yunwu, Xinyang Maojian, Anji White Tea, Dongting Biluochun, Taiping Houkui, Liu’an Guapian, Emei Snow Bud—she had all the best organic teas in her space, pesticide-free and top quality.

But tea baths were a bit too subtle in scent—better for hot weather.

She thought some more.

She had plenty of traditional Chinese medicinal herbs: ginseng, notoginseng, angelica, mugwort, and even ready-made herbal bath packs for blood circulation, fatigue relief, muscle relaxation, beauty, and mental clarity—anything she could want.

But she wasn’t in the mood for the smell of medicinal herbs right now.

Jiang Yan pondered for a few seconds, then suddenly had an idea.

Although it was sunny in her space, it was pouring rain outside, the air damp and chilly.

This kind of weather was perfect for a fragrant red wine bath.

Scientifically speaking, hot water opens up the pores, and the wine can penetrate the skin to stimulate capillaries, improving blood circulation. The polyphenols in the wine are antioxidants and also help with circulation.

Plus, after soaking in red wine, the body releases a substance called “furfuryl alcohol,” which can calm the nervous system, relieve anxiety and stress, and leave you feeling happy and refreshed.

Bingo! That’s it!

With a thought, Jiang Yan estimated the water in the tub and took out three bottles of fruity red wine from her [Storage Area].

“Ordinary” wines, but actually all certified regional wines from the Baima Winery in Hexagon Country—much higher quality than regular table wine, and each bottle cost over 8,000 yuan.

Three bottles: 24,000 yuan. And you can’t even soak for long.

That’s 2,200 yuan per minute.

This bath was a bit pricey.

But for her, it wasn’t really a big deal.

She used an electric wine opener, then poured all three bottles into the tub.

The water quickly turned a clear, light wine-red, and the bathroom filled with a fragrant, floral mist.

After washing the blood from her face and hands, Jiang Yan sank into the tub, closed her eyes, and let the warm, powerful jets massage her body.

With the dual effect of her space and the wine bath, her fatigue and gloom soon melted away.

You can’t soak in a wine bath for too long. After about twenty minutes, sweat beading on her face, she got out.

She rinsed off, put on a white bathrobe, and strolled back to the living room.

As soon as she sat on the sofa, she noticed a warm, tingling sensation in her palm.

She’d felt it earlier, but it wasn’t obvious while she was soaking.

Now, she could clearly sense something small in her palm, as if it was trying to emerge.

The last time she’d felt this was right after her rebirth, when she activated her first “golden finger”—the “Vine. Man-eating Flower.”

Unfortunately, after the man-eating flower helped her kill Song Deming and Zhang Kai, it had withered completely.

She’d tried everything to revive it, but nothing worked.

The instructions had said it could be used once a month, but it seemed more like a one-time thing.

That was why she’d always told herself not to rely entirely on her space.

She was afraid her “invincible space” would disappear as suddenly as the man-eating flower had.

Later, she’d been so busy stockpiling supplies around the world that she’d almost forgotten she even had a golden finger.

But now, that feeling was back.

Could it be that the man-eating flower was about to awaken again?

Or maybe, after getting blood on her hands today, she’d triggered it somehow.

She’d never tried using fresh blood before.

Jiang Yan gently rubbed her palm with her thumb, a little excited.

*

Outside, the battle on the 32nd floor was over.

Sun Jingtao and Ye Qing led the surviving residents in cleaning up the aftermath.

“Cleaning up” just meant dragging the corpses and body parts out of the hallways.

As for the bloodied weapons, everyone got one.

Disgusting as it was, self-defense came first.

There were too many bodies and limbs to throw them all out the window into the water below.

That would have been the easiest way.

But now, the water around the building was rising and stagnant, more like a pool of dead water.

If you tossed the bodies down, before long, all you’d see would be a pile of bloated, white corpses floating below.

That was even harder to stomach than garbage."