What was happening in the city, a hundred or two hundred kilometers away, was completely unknown to the people of Zhongbao Town.
But that didn’t stop certain types of people from naturally imagining the worst possible scenarios. In nicer terms, they were “far-sighted and comprehensive in thinking.” In harsher local slang, they were “crow mouths”—whatever they said, the bad would come true while the good would not.
The propaganda and organization committee member pointed outward with his finger and boldly speculated:
“What if it’s already broken out elsewhere too? What if multiple provinces, multiple regions, multiple points are all seeing this kind of situation? Tashui Village started with something strange at a homestay, and that homestay was hosting outsiders. Who knows if things had already started outside? Maybe it just hadn’t been exposed yet because of various reasons—and tonight it all just happens to erupt at once!”
Everyone shuddered.
That… wasn’t impossible.
If outbreaks were happening in multiple places—especially in big cities with dense populations—those would be the places needing urgent rescue first.
The committee member continued, unsatisfied, still simulating worst-case scenarios:
“This mutated rabies has an extremely fast onset after infection. In our mountainous area with poor transport, infected people can only run on two legs and can’t go far in a day. But in cities—with subways, high-speed rail—if even a few infected people get in, even if military and police respond quickly, it might still be impossible to contain an outbreak. In that case, the only forces that could reach us would be local and nearby cities and counties—and only if we’re lucky enough that this area is the only outbreak zone.”
Everyone: “……”
What kind of “luck” is that supposed to be?!
“And if we fail to contain it tonight, and infected cats, dogs, or people spread to nearby towns—and then radiate outward to surrounding counties and cities—ha! Then there won’t even be any external rescue…”
Even the speaker himself went silent and stopped continuing the thought.
“My suggestion is to prepare for the worst in everything,” Vice Secretary Wang insisted.
“The county’s reinforcement forces are only enough to handle the dozens of cases we currently know about. But if it escalates to hundreds or thousands, then under conventional epidemic control methods, it simply cannot be handled.”
“If what Comrade Zhu said becomes reality… honestly, like last time, for one or two months at least, higher authorities will prioritize rescuing densely populated cities and stabilizing key regions.”
“As for our mountainous, remote, sparsely populated towns…”
He swallowed the rest of his sentence and emphasized instead:
“If decisive measures are taken, there’s a high chance we can suppress it in the early stage.”
“As long as our intention, our actions, and the final outcome are to protect the majority of the people, then in extraordinary situations, extraordinary measures are justified. Of course, this is only a suggestion—you don’t have to adopt it—but you must remember I made it.”
Though he called it a “suggestion,” his tone was stern, carrying a subtle threat that he would bring it up again later.
Chairman Zhao firmly opposed him. Having worked in grassroots government for over thirty years across multiple townships, his hair and eyebrows were already turning white at just fifty. Now he was agitated beyond control, slapping the conference table repeatedly:
“What you’re imagining is us detecting danger early and striking first. But what you get in reality may be completely the opposite!”
“Have you considered the possibility of mistaken killings? Have you considered how local criminals who are usually suppressed might take advantage of the chaos?”
“If public order collapses and panic leads to mob-like madness, then anyone with a suspected injury could be killed by uncontrolled crowds. If that happens, even if we were all dragged out and shot, it still wouldn’t compensate for the lives of innocent elderly, women, and children in our town!”
Deputy Secretary Lin coughed lightly and tried to calm things down:
“Chairman Zhao, your concerns are valid. However, if this mutated rabies really spreads, the elderly, women, and children are the most vulnerable. Most young and middle-aged people have already gone out to work; our town’s population of over ten thousand is about eighty percent elderly, women, and children.”
“Vice Secretary Wang’s proposal may be aggressive, but it does reflect a possible extreme scenario if the situation escalates.”
Her calm, steady voice helped stabilize the emotions in the room.
And then—she raised everyone’s anxiety again.
“Once bitten, infection occurs. We don’t yet know how long it takes to die, but rabies patients are essentially fatal cases. At times like this, those willing to stand guard at checkpoints—if we don’t give them the authority to defend themselves, who would dare step forward?”
“This is different from the previous epidemic. Back then, patients could communicate and cooperate. This time, we are not dealing with people who can be reasoned with. We may be facing a war.”
The word “war” echoed in the room—foreign, heavy, and bloody.
Chairman Zhao’s lips moved. Finally, he let out a long sigh.
“A war…”
His shoulders slumped, as if bearing an enormous weight.
Deputy Secretary Lin continued:
“But at this moment, our focus is still on what we can do now. Let’s not overextend the discussion.”
She projected forward:
“Reinforcements from the county will definitely arrive within two hours, at the latest by dawn. I suggest we preliminarily divide teams and routes. Once support arrives, we immediately enter Tashui Village, evacuate all safe villagers in batches to the township high school, and carry out unified testing and disinfection.”
Vice Secretary Wang once again spoke—his suggestions always sharp and lethal:
“I also suggest designating Tashui Village as an infected zone first. After dawn, begin culling cats and dogs. Using the village office as a center point, coordinate with surrounding towns—since it’s a red alert night, everyone is already on duty. Tomorrow, we should eliminate all cats and dogs within a ten-kilometer radius.”
Chairman Zhao, who owned both cats and dogs at home: “……”
What kind of killing machine are you?!
You’re not content with killing zombies—you’re going after cats and dogs too?!
Vice Secretary Hou couldn’t help but correct him:
“Ten kilometers? Usually it’s three kilometers…”
“In rabies regulations, the epidemic zone is three kilometers, and the buffer zone is five.”
Vice Secretary Wang replied coldly:
“First, we’re not even sure this is rabies. Second, didn’t you say a Golden Retriever went missing from that homestay yesterday? Who knows if it got infected or how far it could run? My family’s Golden Retriever once ran intermittently for a day and ended up ninety kilometers away.”
Vice Secretary Wang exchanged a glance with the police station director. Both shared deep anxiety—and a strong premonition that things would get worse.
At the mention of animal culling, the discipline inspection secretary’s temples started throbbing. She objected:
“We should follow official documents on distance standards. Villages should first mobilize cadres and grid workers to conduct door-to-door inspections…”
“Immediate culling will cause public resistance and disputes, leading to endless complaints and petitions…”
Vice Secretary Wang was frustrated and about to retort, but Deputy Secretary Lin kicked him lightly under the table.
He paused, looking at her in confusion.
Her tone remained gentle, but firm:
“I think refusing to act out of fear of public misunderstanding is also a form of bureaucratic inaction. This mutated rabies has already infected dozens. If we hesitate too much and wait for higher-level approval on everything, that itself is irresponsibility toward public safety.”
She did not explicitly agree or disagree with animal culling—but she prioritized human lives.
Comrade Zhu crossed his arms and leaned toward her in agreement:
“Afraid of this, afraid of that—so we wait until it’s uncontrollable? Until surrounding towns are infected too? Then try to fix it? Are cats and dogs more important than human lives? Is accountability scarier than death? If this spreads from us, none of us will escape responsibility anyway!”
The police station director sighed helplessly:
“Some people really do treat cats and dogs like their own children… We’ve dealt with fights between dogs leading to fights between people more than three or five times.”
Comrade Zhu: “This is a deadly contagious disease!”
Police director: “They don’t care what disease it is… Fine, I agree with culling. Worst case, we get blamed from both sides later. At most a disciplinary warning. Who cares—people’s safety comes first.”
The judicial office director hesitated again, then cautiously said:
“I support culling infected animals within the epidemic zone and any suspicious animals outside it. As for neighboring towns, that probably requires county-level coordination. We should send personnel to report upward…”
The discipline inspection secretary nodded vigorously.
Vice Secretary Wang snorted:
“Send the videos to neighboring town secretaries. Let them decide whether to wait for orders or coordinate with us. We should act first. Don’t wait for rain to stop or dawn.”
He sneered:
“I’d like to see which town is still indecisive enough not to realize how urgent this is.”
With that, the discussion basically ended.
Secretary Zhou waited a few seconds, and once everyone looked at him, he finalized the decision:
“I will now coordinate the overall deployment.”
“First, in principle, we agree to restore the previous epidemic response framework. Form Party member先锋 teams, use village cadres and grid workers as backbone, recruit volunteers, and immediately blockade all roads into Tashui Village. Establish observation points to monitor from a safe distance.”
“Inform all participants: ensure protection, avoid bites. If infected individuals do not show aggression, guide them to the temporary shelter isolation zone and await higher-level support for treatment. In extreme situations where safety is threatened, full defensive response is permitted—responsibility will be borne by the Party committee and government.”
“Second, draft an official notice to all residents of the township regarding rabies prevention. Include symptom descriptions provided by the hospital. Urge residents to avoid suspicious individuals and monitor abnormal behavior in pets.”
“Distribute immediately through village cadres and grid workers. Start door-to-door notifications before dawn: lockdown begins, do not go outside, keep pets caged. Any abnormal animals must be immediately culled. Do not contact suspected sources. Seal them and await proper disposal.”
“Third, draft an official document with seal, truthfully describing the situation, and recommend neighboring towns begin containment and preemptive animal control. Discipline inspection secretary will personally deliver it to the nearest township with a USB containing videos. It must be handed directly to the township Party secretary and signed. Also report to the county via any town with functioning communications.”
“Deputy Secretary Lin and Vice Secretary Wang, ensure cadres at home are protected and check defenses around the government compound.”
“Meeting adjourned for now. Everyone return to duties.”
“Office, bring me the satellite phone. I will report today’s decisions to the county.”
If following normal procedure, Secretary Zhou should have waited for the county leadership responsible for Zhongbao Town to arrive before holding this meeting.
But tonight’s situation was deteriorating too quickly.
He could not wait.
And even if he acted, he was not sure he could stop what was coming.
But still—every bit of effort counted. Even the smallest margin might shift the outcome slightly toward the better.
Tashui Village vicinity
For the first time in his life, Liang Huai was being chased like this. The peak of excitement—never before, and never after.
He didn’t even know he could run this fast.
In the pitch-black, stormy night, over uneven muddy roads, he felt like he was flying.
Rain blurred his vision so everything looked smeared, but the adrenaline kept his brain working at full speed. Years of police fieldwork flashed through his mind, letting him reconstruct the environment even without clear sight.
Houses, trees, ditches, fences, corners, gaps.
Even if he couldn’t see them, his mind could recognize them.
With that accumulated spatial memory, he managed to lead over a hundred infected people in a full sprint.
He also dared not lead them too far away. Keeping them concentrated here was better than letting them scatter and bite others.
So after running a few hundred meters, he cut into a narrow gap between two houses.
It was so narrow that only one person could pass sideways.
The two families had originally built their houses wall-to-wall, constantly fighting and arguing. Later, township officials and police mediated for a long time before both sides each gave up a small strip of space to form a drainage gutter between eaves.
He remembered that day—the deputy station chief smiling as he handed out cigarettes to both families, joking that neighbors sharing roof drainage were closer than distant relatives, so they shouldn’t call the police anymore.
Now Liang Huai sprinted through that narrow gutter, splashing through mud, as if passing through the faint smiling shadow of that deputy chief.
As expected, the infected crowd jammed into the narrow passage and got stuck.
They had lost not only consciousness, but also intelligence—only animal instincts remained.
He continued running around the back of the houses when suddenly something lunged at his leg.
Reflexively, he dodged sideways and kicked it away, then thrust his pitchfork forward.
In that brief moment, his flashlight swept over it.
A dog.
An injured dog—with glowing red eyes.
Shit.
Two legs versus four legs in a race?
He had no choice but to sprint back onto the village road.
After creating some distance, he flipped off his pistol safety, turned back—
Bang!
The shot pierced the dog’s head.
It collapsed instantly.
Movies and games weren’t wrong—headshots really worked.
The gunshot also alerted the infected crowd squeezed into the narrow passage not far away. They turned and rushed toward this direction.
Liang Huai didn’t dare to rest at all. He turned and sprinted back toward the small building they had just come from.
While running, he noticed that the parked vehicle nearby had its doors open, and the inside was empty. It seemed that Da Yang had already rescued the people and taken them away.
He clenched his teeth so hard that a metallic, bloody sweetness filled his mouth, and forced himself to accelerate again toward the building.
Just as he was about to rush into the ground floor—
BOOM.
With a loud crash, two struggling figures burst out through the already damaged wooden door and rolled onto the ground.
Liang Huai stopped abruptly, nearly falling over.
What came out were the already-infected deputy station chief and Yang Anyuan, who was clearly bleeding from bites.
The deputy station chief had been biting at Yang Anyuan’s body, but suddenly lifted his head and let out a feral roar at Liang Huai.
The once-steady, composed face had lost all its usual gentleness. His skin was grayish-green, veins turned dark purple, and his expression had become ferocious and inhuman—like a completely different creature.
“Don’t worry about me! Go in! Run!!”
Tears filled Yang Anyuan’s eyes. He knew he was beyond saving and would definitely be infected. At this moment, he only wanted his comrade to survive.
But Liang Huai suddenly realized something. His chest, already strained from panic and running at full speed, tightened painfully—and tears burst out instantly.
When he had just left the building earlier, the deputy station chief had clearly noticed him but did not chase him.
Now, as he tried to go back inside, the deputy station chief immediately showed a threatening and attacking posture.
The deputy station chief had indeed mutated after infection, but it seemed that some fragment of his awareness still remained—he did not attack those going out, only those trying to go in…
“Sorry…” Liang Huai cried. Not far behind him, the infected crowd was surging closer.
He remembered what the deputy station chief had said before going downstairs.
The deputy station chief, still clinging to Yang Anyuan’s dying body, twisted himself upright and roared, charging toward Liang Huai.
“Sorry…” Liang Huai said again in a hoarse voice as he pulled the trigger.
When Niu Zhiqin opened the reinforced anti-theft door, many infected had already poured into the lower area. Liang Huai squeezed through the doorway with Yang Anyuan, who was barely conscious, still on his back.
Deputy County Head Deng Zhen was rescued, and several other comrades hurriedly helped push the door shut. After locking it, they shoved a cabinet against the entrance.
Yang Anyuan was trembling all over. He complained weakly at Liang Huai:
“Why did you bring me back… you almost got bitten too… you really wanted us to die on the same day, same month, same year ah… next life let’s be brothers for real…”
Liang Huai wanted to say it was all his fault, that he should have taken a longer detour earlier.
Yang Anyuan gave a strained smile and patted his shoulder.
“Not your fault…”
He also thought that if he had trained harder earlier, he wouldn’t have been unable to fight the rampaging deputy station chief.
Everyone helped lift Yang Anyuan onto the sofa—the same one where the deputy station chief had just been lying.
Liang Huai handed the deputy station chief’s bodycam to Wang Song. Wang Song was shocked; he had heard the gunshot and already guessed what had happened.
Holding back tears, he took the device and went to boil some hot water in a daze.
There was a wound on Yang Anyuan’s neck. Although the carotid artery hadn’t been torn, infection there might progress faster. His whole body felt weak and cold.
Wang Song brought hot water to his lips, and Yang Anyuan forced himself to take a sip.
“Take off my equipment… give it to the others…”
“Record a video for me… I want to leave a message for my mom, dad, wife, and child…”
Wang Song’s nose turned sour and his eyes reddened. He nodded, removing Yang Anyuan’s duty belt and stab-proof vest, then opened his phone and started recording.
Liang Huai used a flashlight as lighting; they did not turn on the room lights.
“Mom, Dad… I can’t send you off in your old age. Being an only child really isn’t good—you can’t withstand too many hardships. But luckily, I got married early and had a child, so at least there’s someone to carry on the family line…”
“I didn’t achieve anything in my life, didn’t bring you honor. I’m sorry. If there’s a next life, I’ll still be your son.”
“Wife, I’m sorry. If you meet someone suitable, remarry if you need to—but please take good care of our child. The child is like me, a bit naughty but very loyal. Teach him well, don’t let him go astray.”
“Child, your father died in the line of duty as a hero. Remember that forever. I didn’t bring shame to you, so you must not bring shame to me either. Grades don’t matter much, but you must be a good person.”
After speaking, Yang Anyuan weakly waved his hand and touched the bodycam. He decided to keep it on—so when the rescue team came to recover the bodies, they could still see his final moments.
“That’s enough. I should go downstairs now.”
County Head Deng looked confused.
“Go downstairs?”
Liang Huai glanced around. Everyone brought up from outside was already injured. His last bit of strength suddenly collapsed. He sat down heavily on a chair, feeling as if his body had been soaked in acid—numb and aching all over.
What have I done…
He felt like punching himself.
He hadn’t saved anyone—and had instead caused his comrade’s death.
Niu Zhiqin patted his head.
“It’s not your fault. Tonight was already a life-or-death situation.”
Wang Song briefly explained the deputy station chief’s condition, his symptoms, his orders, and his final words.
“…He said that if someone shows fever, confusion, stiffness, or bloodlust, they’re about to mutate. Before that happens, they must go down on their own and not harm the people inside.”
Silence fell over the room.
A young woman suddenly burst into tears.
“My child… my child is only two years old… if I die, what will happen to him…”
The driver couldn’t believe it, touching his own body as he trembled.
“Really infected? Turning into those mad people downstairs? You mean I’ll start biting people too? Don’t joke like that…”
Another man panicked.
“No way… this can’t be real… I must be dreaming…”
Liang Huai, Wang Song, and Niu Zhiqin remained silent.
In the next room, a little girl peeked out but was pulled back inside by Guifang.
After a moment, Guifang came out, tears in her eyes. She knew the county head—he had attended meetings in the township before.
She wanted to say something, but like Liang Huai, she couldn’t speak. She could only point at the medicine and ask:
“Maybe… maybe you should take something first? Just in case… maybe there’s a miracle…”
Yang Anyuan struggled to sit up, but Deng Zhen stopped him.
An hour earlier, Deng Zhen had just finished organizing a mass evacuation at another disaster site and rushed here—only to be met with what seemed like a death sentence.
For a moment, the world felt unreal.
But after seeing the deputy station chief, the bitten Yang Anyuan, and the infected villagers, he chose to trust the police’s judgment.
“I’m the township head and deputy Party secretary. Let me say a few words.”
He sighed deeply.
“First, I believe your judgment. Among the infected earlier, I saw the village Party secretary and Deputy Chief Qiu. They are not people who would lose their minds—if they had even a shred of consciousness left, they would not attack like that.”
“Even though it’s hard to accept, the reality is that we likely have less than twenty minutes left. Honestly, I feel alternating chills and fever—I may already have a fever.”
“We are all injured. Staying here would put Guifang’s family in danger. Comrades, we must go down.”
“But—” he looked at Yang Anyuan, “we cannot die meaninglessly. And we cannot let your efforts be wasted.”
Everyone looked at him, agreeing deeply.
They feared death—but more than that, they feared meaningless death.
“The infected chase living people but do not attack those already infected.”
“Why don’t we act as bait and contain them in one area? Otherwise, they will spread into the fields and forests and cause a much larger outbreak.”
“Give me the police car keys. We’ll move the vehicle and try to lure over a hundred infected into the village committee building, then lock it.”
“After that, we’ll secure the doors.”
“Rescue will definitely be slower tonight. We should first reduce obstacles for them. Once most infected are contained, you can check nearby households one by one. If there are survivors, tell them to lock doors and windows and wait for rescue.”
“Our sacrifice must have value.”
His tone was firm, as if he were not sitting injured in a rural house, but back in his office, in meetings, in exams, in training sessions—living out the oath he once made.
Yang Anyuan listened faintly and muttered:
“Worthy of a cadre… talking like that… hey… hurry it up then, I’m starting to smell meat everywhere. I’m starving…”
Saliva dripped from the corner of his mouth.
Deng Zhen: “…Hold on for two more minutes.”
Then, unexpectedly, he smiled and raised his hand.
“Come on, let’s take a group photo! Work must be documented! Even if it’s the last moment of our lives, it should be our brightest moment!”
Guifang, while listening, quickly pulled out several locks—old padlocks, bicycle locks, and electric scooter locks.
Hearing about the photo, she tremblingly took out her phone, tears streaming down her face.
Liang Huai wiped his face. His heart felt unbearably heavy.
Deng Zhen reached out to him.
“Come on. These photos will be archived in the future, maybe even placed in memorial displays, so future generations can hear about us.”
“So that children in the future will know—the people of our hometown had backbone.”
Everyone laughed through tears, instinctively standing together.
Yang Anyuan was helped up. They all faced the camera, just like any routine group activity before a mission.
Deng Zhen smiled and asked:
“Is Zhongbao beautiful?”
“Beautiful!”
“Are we good people?”
“We are!”
After taking the photo, County Head Deng stood up and nearly stumbled as his legs went weak.
He wasn’t particularly brave, nor was he truly unafraid of death. Rather, he had reached his conclusion through cold, rational analysis of the best possible course of action.
A highly contagious virus was not the most terrifying part—the truly frightening thing was that the infected were still human. They could shout, scream, run, and bite. The situation and nature of the outbreak were unclear, throwing them completely off balance.
He was the county head. And a county head was not a position simply assigned by a superior—it required election through the people’s representatives of the entire county.
He had been chosen by the people of this town, and he was responsible for their safety.
The driver let out an irritated “aiya” and cursed under his breath.
“Damn it, how did we end up in something like this! Hold on, I’ll record my last words too.”
He pulled out his phone, muttered a long string in dialect, then handed the phone to Liang Huai.
The crying female officer scrolled through photos of her child and had already started recording a video. She spoke in a rambling voice, explaining household matters, finances, passwords, and repeatedly instructing her parents to personally raise the child until at least eighteen.
Another male officer, who had neither spouse nor romantic partner, painfully factory-reset his phone—regretting deeply that his home computer couldn’t be wiped the same way.
He then asked Wang Song to record a message for him. Even if he had no wife or children, he still had parents, and he wanted them to apply for martyr benefits.
All the phones passed to Liang Huai were handed over to Wang Song, who was uninjured.
At that moment, Yang Anyuan had already begun convulsing.
“I… I feel like… hurry…”
County Head Deng stopped delaying any further. He signaled everyone to pick up their tools, then helped Yang Anyuan to his feet.
Guifang brought out several hoe handles from the storage room and handed them to the driver, the county head, and the two other officers.
The police moved the cabinet blocking the door. Niu Zhiqin gave the signal:
3, 2, 1.
Open the door!
As soon as the door opened, several swaying infected figures were indeed waiting on the stairway. The driver and the male officer rushed forward with the hoe handles, while the county head supported Yang Anyuan as they moved down. The female officer followed behind.
Knowing they were likely to be infected as well, the driver and male officer fought with full force, clearing a path as they ran toward the village office.
Yang Anyuan also used his last strength to throw himself at several infected, knocking them down the stairs.
At the moment the door closed behind them, Liang Huai shouted at the county head:
“Remember what you said—hold the village office!”
Yang Anyuan also shouted, “If I start biting people later, shoot me in the head first!”
Liang Huai shut the door and rushed to the balcony. From there, he watched County Head Deng’s group break through the infected at the entrance and charge toward the village office, heading straight for the battered police car.
The driver jumped into the car and struggled several times before finally starting the broken Santana. He slammed the horn in frustration, moved the car, then turned off the engine but left the key in place. The scattered infected along both ends of the village road were drawn back together again and lured toward the village office.
He got out and ran back inside, shouting loudly, successfully attracting most of the infected into the building.
Yang Anyuan staggered inside as well. While he could still move, he used a handcuff to lock one of his wrists to the window bars of the village office meeting room.
The deputy station chief had once bitten him. He didn’t want to bite others after turning.
But in doing so, his still-not-fully-infected body instead attracted more people who rushed in to bite him.
It hurts so damn much! Yang Anyuan thought hazily, feeling a bit of regret.
What a pity—why didn’t I let Wang Song shoot me earlier? Being shot to death would’ve been better than being bitten to death!
But then he thought again: Wang Song is just a young kid—how could he possibly do it? Even Liang Huai… before I fully lost control, none of them could have shot me anyway.
Through his blurred vision, he saw County Head Deng and several township cadres crying. While he drew most of the infected toward himself, they worked in pairs—one using tools to hold the infected back, the other locking doors.
Yang Anyuan could no longer see the small building across the village office. He weakly raised a mangled, bloodied hand and gave Liang Huai a V-sign.
Heh—we did it!
Liang Huai stood silently. Niu Zhiqin stood silently beside him.
In the next room, Guifang held her daughter in one arm while filming the shaky video with her phone.
Wang Song and two elderly villagers stood by the bed. When they heard that the county head had gone down, the old woman—who had once been a barefoot doctor—burst into tears immediately.
At the same time, in different rooms, the three police officers raised their right hands in silence, saluting their comrades below.
Liang Huai watched as County Head Deng and the others completed the locking operation. The female officer had already been bitten and overwhelmed. The driver and male officer were barely holding on. The heavily injured Deng Zhen did his best to lure the infected into the meeting room and township office, trying to trap as many as possible inside enclosed spaces.
Once the infected in the village office gradually calmed, the scattered ones along the road strangely returned into nearby houses and stood inside them, entering a silent, inactive state.
After a while, Liang Huai saw several vehicles driving out from both ends of the village road. They sped away quickly.
The sound from both ends startled the silent infected. The ones inside the village office roared loudly, while those in the houses were reactivated and chased after the fleeing vehicles. Some ran far away; others lost their target and slowly returned to the roadside houses again.
Liang Huai observed that these infected seemed to enter nearby houses as if following a residual instinct—like a subconscious tendency to shelter from rain, or a predatory behavior of waiting and hiding.
The ones that ran far disappeared into the night and rain, no longer visible.
As events unfolded beyond expectation, Liang Huai murmured softly:
“So there really were survivors…”
Niu Zhiqin frowned.
“These cars were at both ends of the road. They probably didn’t open their doors when they noticed something was wrong, so they avoided the first wave of infection. Then they saw people successfully luring most of the infected into the village office, so they seized the chance to escape… But with this heavy rainstorm, where could they even go?”
Liang Huai shook his head, lowering his eyes.
“We can’t worry about that anymore. We just hope they’re safe.”
He looked at Niu Zhiqin.
“Are you injured? Fever yet?”
Niu Zhiqin widened his eyes and instinctively touched the scratch on his neck. It hurt sharply—far more than a minor wound should.
“Not yet… but look at this scratch. Why does it hurt so much?”
Liang Huai leaned in. The scratch on Niu Zhiqin’s neck had turned bluish-purple and was severely swollen.
Being scratched… might just mean a slower infection.
He took a photo and showed it to him. Niu Zhiqin clicked his tongue.
Neither of them spoke further. Everything was understood without words.
“Now that the scattered infected outside are fewer, I want to check the other farmhouses to see if there are any survivors,” Niu Zhiqin suddenly said.
Those who were well hidden could wait for reinforcements.
If there were people who needed help, he would rescue them and bring them back.
If there were others like him—lightly injured but not yet mutated—he could gather them to prevent them from wandering off and spreading the infection.
The more he thought about it, the more right it felt. County Head Deng had also said it before:
Their sacrifice must have value.
Liang Huai’s throat moved, as if he wanted to say something, but no words came out.
The two looked at each other and saw the same resolve and determination in each other’s eyes—an unspoken understanding.
They shook hands and bumped fists.
They reached a consensus.