The three of them hadn’t walked far along the narrow path when they heard a loud commotion ahead, there seemed to be a lot of people.
Unconsciously, they slowed their pace.
“Where are we now?” Ke Bei asked.
Cheng Qian took out his phone, opened the offline map he had downloaded earlier, and said, “We’re almost at Zhoujia Town. Up ahead should be the town entrance. Once we cross the town and head east for about five kilometers, we should reach the airport.”
He bent down to wipe the sweat from Xiao Tian’s face and said, “Let’s go take a look.”
Following the sound of the crowd, they walked a bit further, and soon they saw a throng of people in the distance.
At the end of the narrow path was a relatively wide road, still free from invasive plants.
Across the road was a large square, with a sculpture in the center that appeared to be some kind of landmark.
Many people were standing in the square in small groups, helping the elderly and children, with large bags and suitcases at their sides, it looked like everyone was waiting for transportation.
This scene was a stark contrast to the empty market they had passed earlier, where not a single person was in sight. Both Cheng Qian and Ke Bei were very surprised.
“Where are you coming from? You can’t pass this way!”
Just as they crossed the road to ask for clarification, someone shouted at them from a distance.
Judging by his clothing, he seemed to be an official. Cheng Qian quickened his pace, stepped forward, and handed him a cigarette, asking, “Brother, what’s going on here? Why are so many people gathered?”
The man looked to be in his early fifties, probably a local township official.
Seeing Cheng Qian offer the cigarette, he quickly waved his hand. “I don’t smoke anymore, quit long ago.”
Although he refused the cigarette, his demeanor toward Cheng Qian softened noticeably.
He sized up the three of them and even reached out to adjust Xiao Tian’s sun hat.
Then he asked, “You’re coming from the city? It must’ve been tough along the way, look at how hot the child is. Was it chaotic back in the city? And where are you heading now?”
Feeling the man’s goodwill, Cheng Qian didn’t mind being asked instead of getting a direct answer.
He explained, “Yes, we came from the city. Things back there are terrible, trees in our neighborhood have mutated, and several people have died.
We couldn’t stay at home, so I brought my wife and child and ran out. I have a relative who works at the military airport ahead, so we wanted to go there first, see them, and figure out what to do next.”
When he mentioned they came from Tianshui, a lot of people nearby gathered around, clearly very concerned about what had happened there.
Hearing his story, some people sighed, some looked scared, and others began talking among themselves.
“You want to go to the military airport? That’s probably not possible; the road there is blocked, everything’s sealed off.”
“Sealed off? The airport is closed?” Ke Bei asked in surprise.
The person shook his hand. “Not the airport itself, the road to the airport is blocked. There’s only one road from here to the airport!”
“Sigh, you shouldn’t go to the airport anyway. To be blunt, your relative might not even be safe! Who knows what the airport’s situation is now?
It’s no better here than in the city.
The trees haven’t mutated here, but the dogs… they’ve all turned feral!
You didn’t see it, but yesterday several big dogs ran into our village. Those dogs were huge, each one as big as a cow!
Fortunately, my house has high walls and a reinforced front gate, they couldn’t break in. But my neighbors, a family of four, were all torn apart!
I stood by the window and saw it all clearly…”
His voice trembled as he spoke, his eyes full of fear and grief.
“Yeah, same here! In our village, the family at the entrance rented out their house. Dozens of laborers lived there, and the dogs jumped over the wall and ate them all.
You didn’t see it, the blood… and the screams—I’ll never forget them in my life!”
“Damn that dog farm! Why did they raise so many dogs? Over a hundred of them, it’s like they don’t want anyone to survive!”
“The people at the dog farm probably never imagined they’d mutate. And they didn’t survive either, didn’t you hear the SWAT say that none of them made it out alive?”
“What kind of world is this? God, this is just not letting people live!”
“Fortunately the SWAT showed up; otherwise, it’s hard to say whether any of us would have survived.”
The more they heard, the heavier the mood became for Cheng Qian and Ke Bei, and they finally understood why that market earlier had been completely empty.
The roads were blocked, so no one could get out.
Although they had already known about the mutated dogs, no one had expected their numbers to be so huge!
At the village checkpoint where the toll was collected, there had been at most a dozen mutated dogs, yet they had turned the entire road into a river of blood, destroying cars and killing people.
If there were over a hundred…
Just thinking about that number sent chills down their spines.
“Let’s go!”
Ke Bei and Cheng Qian exchanged a glance. Neither spoke, but in each other’s eyes, they saw the same answer.
Cheng Qian picked up their drenched son and asked the middle-aged officer, “Brother, if we take the side road here, where does it lead?”
He pointed toward the seemingly wide road just outside the square.
“That way won’t work; it’s a dead end,” the officer replied. “At the end of that road is a river. It’s a branch of the main river, very deep. There used to be a bridge, but a few days ago, for some reason, large cracks appeared, and it’s now a dangerous bridge.”
Seeing Cheng Qian and the others listening carefully, the officer warned again, “Don’t even think about taking that way, you’ve got a child with you. If the bridge collapses and you fall into the water, it’s not a joke.”
Cheng Qian nodded repeatedly. “Got it, understood.”
Now the entire Zhoujia Town was sealed off, and every road checkpoint was guarded by fully armed SWAT.
The people still at the checkpoints had all been mobilized from the restricted areas, waiting for the government to arrange vehicles for evacuation.
Cheng Qian and his family naturally couldn’t stay there and wait. Even though the officer’s warning was serious, they still decided they had to see for themselves.
If they could get across the river to the airport, they would give it a try.
Before leaving, Ke Bei paused for a moment and called out to the crowd, “You’d better figure out a way to get out on your own. The main road is blocked, and the side path up ahead is completely overgrown with trees, cars can’t get through at all. We had to abandon our vehicle and walk here.”
“Ah? That can’t be! The town government specifically told us to wait here!”
Hearing her, one of the onlookers exclaimed in surprise.
“Yes, didn’t they say the city would send buses to pick us up? And they said seats are limited, no large luggage allowed.”
“Exactly!”
Everyone around grew anxious.
Since leaving the restricted area, they had been waiting in the square for a vehicle, and no one dared to wander off. They had no idea what was happening outside.
What they didn’t realize was that, in the time it took to speak, the path Ke Bei and the others had come from was already being slowly overtaken by overgrown weeds and shrubs, and even the narrow trail that had only fit one person was nearly invisible.
“You can go out and see for yourselves. You’ll understand right away.”
Ke Bei didn’t explain further. She adjusted her backpack and, with her husband and son, continued along the road by the edge of the square.
“Hey, wait! Let’s go together!”
They hadn’t gone far when several people began running after them.
Ke Bei turned and saw six young people approaching, all dressed like students.
“I’m Yang Lele, this is my boyfriend Zhao Yan, and these are our classmates,” a short-haired girl at the front introduced herself to Ke Bei.
Ke Bei nodded but didn’t respond, continuing to walk forward.
Yang Lele wasn’t deterred by her cold attitude and quickened her pace to catch up.
“Big sister, would you mind if we tag along? We’re not locals, we came here from Beijing as tourists, and now we’re stuck in this town. We don’t know the roads or which way to go.”
Hearing this, Ke Bei turned her head, puzzled. “Then you should be following the other villagers. It’s always safer with the main group, especially with the government providing support. Why are you heading this way? It’s really remote here. We have no choice because we’re going to find relatives, but where are you trying to go?”
“We came from Yunshui City before, and we don’t want to go back there. Besides, didn’t you just say it’s dangerous there too? What if we run into mutated plants again?” Zhao Yan chimed in.
“So where are you planning to go now?” Cheng Qian turned to look at him.
“We…”
“We…”
The students exchanged glances several times among themselves, hesitating, until finally Yang Lele spoke up. “Big sister, are you going to the airport? Is it… um, are there planes back to Beijing there?”
A flicker of irritation passed through Cheng Qian’s eyes.
Ke Bei knew what her husband was worried about and reached out to press his large hand gently.
Then she addressed Yang Lele and the others: “We’re going to see relatives, so we don’t know much about that area. We’re not even sure if this road leads all the way there.
Even if it does, it’s a military airport and not open to the public. You wouldn’t be able to get in freely, let alone catch a flight.”
“Still, we should go check,” one said.
“Yeah, what if we can?”
“If there’s trouble, we can ask the soldiers. It’s their duty to protect civilians. Maybe they’ll help us get back to Beijing?”
The students chattered excitedly among themselves, faces full of confidence, ignoring Ke Bei’s words entirely.
“Fine,” she muttered.
Seeing their stubbornness, Ke Bei shrugged and quickly walked over to her husband and son.
The students, realizing they weren’t getting a response, didn’t press further, but they clearly weren’t giving up, trailing at a moderate distance behind Ke Bei and her family.
The two groups were about ten meters apart, each moving at their own pace.
“Mom, I see the river!”
After walking for over half an hour, Xiao Tian, perched on Cheng Qian’s back, suddenly became excited.
Although he kept saying he could walk on his own, Cheng Qian couldn’t bear it, so he carried him the whole way.
Now the little one straightened up on his father’s back, pointing excitedly at the path ahead that was hidden by bushes.
“I see it!” he exclaimed.
“Careful!” Cheng Qian suddenly stopped.
He bent down swiftly, grabbed Ke Bei beside him to prevent her from moving forward, and lowered his voice. “There are dogs ahead.”
Ke Bei froze for a moment, instinctively squinting to look ahead.
Sure enough, about one or two hundred meters in front of them, a large grayish-yellow dog was wagging its tail as it walked toward the river.
Its back was to them, seemingly unaware of anyone following, moving lightly, probably intending to reach the river to drink.
And at the river’s edge, there were already three large dogs in view!
How many more were further out, no one knew.
“Let’s fall back,” Cheng Qian whispered, his voice tense.
Ke Bei nodded, bent down, and carefully began retreating with her husband, keeping their son safe between them.
But they hadn’t gone far when a sharp scream rang out beside them: “Dogs! There are dogs ahead!”
Ke Bei’s pupils constricted instantly.