The windshield wipers were set to their highest speed, but they were almost useless against the torrential rain, which poured down like water being dumped from a basin.
Outside the window, the sound of rain blended with thunder. Lightning occasionally lit up the mountains. The winding uphill road looked like a river—flickering in and out of view—where fragments of rocks and broken branches occasionally floated through the water.
Fortunately, the driver was a local who had been driving for the township government for over twenty years. He was the kind of driver who could probably reach the destination even with his eyes closed, which was why he dared to drive in such dangerous conditions.
【Heavy rain + nighttime + mountain road = ?】
Chen Yunhao quietly recorded a short video on his phone and sent it to his gaming group chat.
The group immediately exploded with “???!!!”
“So intense! So exciting!”
“This lightning, this mountain road, this rain, this atmosphere—it’s like a horror game…”
“Feels like zombies are about to jump out any second lol”
“Bro what the hell is up in those mountains?! What kind of death mission are you guys going on?? You just got a government job and you’re about to become a martyr already…”
Chen Yunhao quietly typed: 【Heard there are dozens of people bitten by rabies…】
The livestock station director, Uncle Luo, sitting beside him, shot him a sideways glance through his small glasses and immediately elbowed him.
Chen Yunhao shuddered. Before he finished typing, the message was sent.
Luo Dahua kept glaring and muttering. Chen Yunhao looked at him blankly, still holding his phone.
The deputy township mayor in the front passenger seat turned around as if he had eyes in the back of his head.
“Don’t post random messages!”
Chen Yunhao quickly deleted the message from the group chat.
More “???” flooded in.
Deputy Mayor Zhang was in his thirties, tall and slightly overweight, wearing black-framed glasses. He looked at the three people in the back seat: a young rookie in his early twenties, a middle-aged livestock station head with health issues, and an elderly soon-to-retire veteran.
A full mix of old, middle-aged, and young—but somehow the pressure felt even greater.
His gaze settled on Chen Yunhao.
“According to emergency management and public opinion control regulations, before the situation is confirmed, you are not allowed to post anything outside. No text, no photos, no videos. Do you understand, Chen Yunhao?”
When your mom or your boss calls your full name, it usually means you’re in serious trouble.
Chen Yunhao’s face turned red instantly. He quickly stuffed his phone into his pocket.
“Understood! Understood! I’ve already deleted it. It won’t happen again!”
The quicker you admit fault, the better. Cute attitude matters. No one hits someone who apologizes fast.
Seeing his embarrassment, Luo Dahua—whose son was about the same age as Chen Yunhao—explained why this was a sensitive issue:
“Right now we only have hearsay from village cadres that someone suspected of rabies is biting people. Nothing is confirmed yet. If someone takes your screenshot and spreads it online, within two hours you’ll have zombies, aliens, reptilian people—everything. No matter how you explain it later, you can’t beat people’s imagination.”
Chen Yunhao smiled awkwardly, thinking this uncle’s vocabulary was surprisingly internet-savvy.
Uncle Li also joined in:
“Rabies usually appears in spring and autumn. Patients are either paralyzed and weak, or extremely agitated, afraid of wind and water. Tonight’s situation is strange. Could be drug users, or mentally ill people having an episode.”
He paused, his drooping eyelids flashing with a strange light of anticipation.
“Preferably… mentally ill people!”
Chen Yunhao: “……”
Thanks, I feel strangely encouraged. Compared to rabies that spreads through bites, or drug users who might also be infectious, mentally ill people with high resistance really do sound better!
The deputy mayor suddenly remembered something and asked Luo Dahua:
“What about that livestock incident in the homestay in Tashui Village today? The chickens and ducks being killed—what exactly happened? Is it related?”
Deputy Mayor Zhang didn’t directly oversee health or agriculture, so he only knew fragments.
Luo Dahua looked worried.
“All the chickens, ducks, and geese at that homestay were bitten to death. The owner’s golden retriever is missing…”
Chen Yunhao recalled the misty scene from earlier that day—the strange homestay surrounded by rain.
The memory resurfaced: blood-stained feathers scattered everywhere, bite marks on chicken and duck carcasses, the smell of blood in the dark forest, and the faintly swaying curtains on the top floor…
It was genuinely terrifying.
“Think scientifically!” Chen Yunhao encouraged himself. “We must use rational analysis! No idealism! We are firm communist believers!”
“Could it be that the golden retriever got rabies, killed the poultry, and then went on to bite villagers, causing tonight’s incident?”
That was the most logical explanation his young, university-trained mind could come up with.
Yes—this must be it!
Luo Dahua didn’t respond. Uncle Li spoke instead:
“Stop guessing. We’ll know when we get there. Just be careful—don’t get bitten by any stray mad dogs.”
Chen Yunhao stayed silent, thinking: you’re also talking about dogs now—so it’s basically the same idea, right?
Please, ancestors, let it just be a mad dog. I’d rather it be a mad dog.
Although Tashui Village was in a mountainous area, the Party and Community Service Center was built near the dam area. Normally it was a twenty-minute drive, and even in heavy rain it took just over thirty minutes.
As soon as Chen Yunhao opened the car door, torrential rain slammed into his face and body. He couldn’t even open his eyes.
For a moment, he genuinely thought he had fallen into a swimming pool.
He couldn’t breathe. Water filled his face, his nose—damn it, water went into his airway!
The uncles beside him quickly grabbed riot forks and moved forward with the deputy mayor. When they turned back, they saw Chen Yunhao flailing his arms like he was swimming, coughing violently.
He looked completely ridiculous.
A police car with flashing red lights arrived right behind them, followed closely by an ambulance from the health center. Everyone rushed out into the rain and ran toward the village office.
A doctor passing by glanced at Chen Yunhao and muttered:
“Out-of-town guy ate mushrooms? Swimming in the rain? Acting like he’s choking? Interesting…”
Nurse Fan Xiaoqiu followed behind. She suddenly tripped on something and stumbled into Chen Yunhao, nearly falling.
He instinctively caught her. Only then did he realize he wasn’t actually choking at all—it was just his own panic.
The rain was so heavy under the red alert that he felt like he was standing inside a waterfall.
Fan Xiaoqiu’s flashlight shone on the ground. In the flowing water, patches of red liquid were being washed away.
“…!”
Her eyes widened.
That amount of blood looked like a slaughtered pig.
If that was a person… they’d either already be dead, or urgently need hemostasis, suturing, and IV access immediately!
While Chen Yunhao and Fan Xiaoqiu paused briefly, the deputy mayor and deputy police chief had already met up. Cadres, police, doctors, and nurses all rushed across the muddy field toward the village committee building.
The village office was an old brick-and-tile structure with five rooms: a central meeting room and two rooms on each side.
Right now, the lights were on. The main meeting room door was shut. Dirty blue curtains were drawn, and faint shadows moved inside.
One of the side rooms had a half-open door; the rest were closed.
Deputy Mayor Zhang was about to step forward when the deputy police chief suddenly grabbed him and instinctively reached for his gun.
The officers behind him reacted half a beat later, but quickly became alert.
Even though heavy rain had washed away most smells, human instinct still sensed danger.
Behind the flowing rain under the eaves, the faintly moving curtain was stained—not with patterns, but with splashes of blood.
The deputy mayor didn’t fully understand, but he knew one thing:
When the police stop you, don’t rush forward.
So he stopped.
“What’s wrong?” Luo Dahua asked, sensing the tension.
Before anyone could explain, a tall limping figure slowly walked out from inside.
Head lowered, face unclear, breathing heavy, moving slowly. He was injured—his clothes stained with blood.
“Secretary Huang?” Uncle Li recognized him.
Without hesitation, he rushed forward and supported him.
“Doctor, come quickly!”
Secretary Huang’s skin was pale with a faint bluish tint. He let out hoarse, painful sounds, his body trembling.
As everyone gathered around him, the situation inside the office was still unclear.
The doctor ran up to check him—and noticed bite wounds all over his body, with missing flesh, as if he had been torn apart by multiple people.
Secretary Huang suddenly seized the doctor’s shoulder with stiff fingers. His purple-black lips trembled as he forced out a beast-like sound:
“Gh… gk… ruu… run…”
“What? Secretary Huang, what are you saying?”
The doctor leaned in closer.
At the same time, the deputy police chief’s radio crackled:
“…Have you arrived? Report the situation immediately…”
“Reporting. We have arrived at Tashui Village Committee with 13 personnel including township cadres, health center doctors and nurses. Village secretary is injured, two villagers are on the ground convulsing. Situation unknown, suspected attack. Large amount of blood present. Request backup.”
“Copy that. Stay safe. Maintain contact.”
Less than two minutes after arriving, the deputy police chief already felt his spine tighten—the same feeling he had when chasing an armed murderer years ago.
He waved to his officers.
“We check the surroundings. Stay close.”
Inside, the danger was palpable, but its source unclear.
The four officers followed, shields raised, batons ready, forming a tight formation.
As they approached the meeting room, chaos erupted inside—crashing sounds, falling metal beds, overturned stools, and screams.
In three seconds, the deputy police chief’s heart rate shot to 180. Without thinking, he drew his gun and shouted:
“Back off!!! Everyone back off!!!”
At the same moment, the doctor’s scream came from the office:
“AHHHHH—pull him off!! He’s tearing the flesh off!!”
But it was too late.
The villagers burst out screaming, charging forward.
The police retreated, but collisions broke formation. The villagers lunged through the gap.
Riot shields blocked the first wave.
Even though they recognized familiar village faces, the officers were momentarily unsure how to respond. They could only form a defensive circle and shout:
“Don’t panic!”
“Calm down!”
“We are police—don’t be afraid!”
In the chaos, villagers scratched two auxiliary officers. An elderly woman fell and crawled through the rainwater, biting at a policeman’s leg.
The deputy police chief lost his balance and fell.
The moment he went down, more villagers rushed through the gap…