Chen Yunhao used to really like rainy days.
Drizzling rain, like mist and clouds, felt like a gentle caress. Light rain produced soft, rising and falling whispers. Moderate rain created a steady white-noise drip-drip sound that was perfect for sleep. Heavy downpours were ideal for staying in a dorm or at home playing games. Thunderstorms, even more so, were a natural spectacle—perfect for taking atmospheric photos.
Now? Heh.
From tonight onward, rain at night was the thing he hated most in his entire life. The absolute top of his personal blacklist.
He used to hear people say that behind a beautiful life, someone was always carrying the weight of it. He would smile at that, without feeling much.
Until he became the one carrying it.
After grinding through exams, finally getting a civil service position, and traveling across provinces to a rural township for work, he had been on duty for as long as he had been employed.
When the weather was clear, there were forest fire and fire-prevention alerts. When it rained, there were heavy rain and geological disaster warnings. It was alert after alert, overtime after overtime—he was completely dizzy from nonstop work.
Chen Yunhao thought to himself: I was really naive. I really was.
He had known online that grassroots workers always complained about being busy, tired, underpaid, overwhelmed, and stressed. He had assumed they were just venting after getting “on board,” exaggerating to reduce workload. After all, people in big cities—except police, doctors, and teachers—hardly knew anyone in the system, and naturally assumed government workers didn’t have much to do.
Now he finally understood: even the smallest job could be extremely hard.
Like right now—evacuating civilians.
Chen Yunhao and Qin Liangyu rushed out from the mountain homestay courtyard, riding electric bikes through the heavy rain. They sped along the rainwater-soaked village cement road and quickly arrived at a household below.
They arrived just as Deputy Township Head Zhang and the Qin family group were fighting a zombie dog.
A large yellow dog with red eyes circled around Aunt Qin’s tricycle, growling. It repeatedly tried to leap up, but was knocked back down by everyone’s sticks.
They had been in a standoff for a while. Uncle Liang only had one arm, and Grandpa was too old, so those two were protected in the middle of the tricycle. Deputy Township Head Zhang, driver Old Du, Aunt Qin, and Grandpa Qin each defended one direction.
The dog was more agile than humans. No one dared to get off the vehicle, and after a long fight, they still hadn’t managed to kill it. Its injuries didn’t affect its movement much.
The household had already been awakened and was shouting the dog’s name from behind the window, but the yellow dog was no longer a tame village pet—it had become a resurrected infected hound.
Deputy Township Head Zhang stopped them from coming out. It was another household with elderly people, women, and children. If they came out and couldn’t help, they might get bitten and increase the number of infected instead.
Before Chen Yunhao and Qin Liangyu arrived, they already saw that the situation around the tricycle was unstable. Light from the house’s flashlight revealed the infected dog circling and roaring in the rain.
“Xiaoyu! You rush in, I’ll handle the dog!”
Maybe it was the recent experience at the homestay that had awakened Chen Yunhao’s fighting instincts, or maybe it was the natural recklessness of teenagers. In any case, he felt they could pull it off again.
Qin Liangyu agreed without hesitation. “Okay!”
The two teenagers charged in, fully in sync.
Qin Liangyu rushed forward, braked hard, and swerved.
Chen Yunhao threw his suitcase straight at the charging dog, then grabbed a riot fork and slammed it down onto the falling dog.
Luckily, the ground was soft mud soaked by rain. Chen Yunhao’s force drove the fork deep into the ground, pinning the dog’s head tightly in place.
At that moment, the first to react was unexpectedly Qin Liangyu’s great-grandfather. The nearly hundred-year-old man suddenly stood up from the tricycle and handed Qin Liangyu a spear with a red tassel.
She took it without thinking. She let go of the handlebars, braced the tricycle with her legs, aimed the spearhead, and thrust upward into the dog’s open mouth.
It pierced straight through its skull.
The infected dog’s red eyes dimmed and it collapsed.
With the dog finally dead, the family behind them let out a sigh of relief. The woman of the house, Liu Jinfang, finally came out and greeted Aunt Qin from under the eaves.
“Aunt Qin, what’s going on?!”
What followed was an explanation.
Then the convoy gained an additional vehicle. The suitcase Chen Yunhao brought was placed in the trunk. The woman drove, carrying her parents in their sixties, her fifteen-year-old son, and her eight-year-old daughter, and joined the group.
Deputy Township Head Zhang checked the time. They had already been delayed by over ten minutes here. If they kept going household by household, they might not finish until dawn.
“We’re taking too long,” he decided. “If we continue, we need to split into teams and spread out.”
Qin Liangyu still rode the electric bike with Chen Yunhao on the back. Hearing this, he replied:
“There are four houses down the left path ahead. One of them is my cousin Zhang Fei’s home. Chen Yunhao and I will go that way and bring all four households back.”
Aunt Qin also responded, “There are three households on the right. I know them. I’ll put the old folks in Jinfang’s car first, then take Deputy Zhang and Old Du to the right side. Jinfang and the others can wait at the next intersection—they’re safe in the car, no need to worry about dogs.”
More people meant more strength. Deputy Township Head Zhang agreed.
Only Liu Jinfang raised her sleeve, revealing a muscular arm as thick as Zhang’s.
“I’m not scared. I wanted to go out and fight the dog earlier—you just didn’t let me. I’m not the kind who can’t handle things.”
Deputy Township Head Zhang quickly said, “No one is looking down on you, but don’t be reckless. If you get bitten or scratched and turn into one of those infected, you might end up biting your own children.”
Liu Jinfang immediately lowered her sleeve. “Alright then. We’ll wait in the car.”
Inside the small car, the older boy sat in front holding his younger sister, while four elderly people and one man were squeezed tightly into the back seat.
Qin Liangyu and Chen Yunhao went to the left path. They reached the farthest house first. Qin Liangyu climbed over the courtyard wall and banged loudly on the security door.
Soon, Chen Yunhao saw Zhang Fei.
He had imagined someone like Zhang Fei from legend—over 1.8 meters tall, muscular like Aunt Liu Jinfang—but instead, a slim girl around 1.7 meters came downstairs. She had short hair, drooping eyelids and mouth corners, and a rather world-weary expression. She looked young, possibly not even an adult.
Half-asleep and clearly annoyed, Zhang Fei came down holding a sharp metal pipe. The pipe had a red plastic grip wrapped with colorful yarn, and the tip had been sharpened into a dangerous point.
Chen Yunhao swallowed hard and whispered, “What school does your cousin go to?”
This aura didn’t look like an ordinary rural girl at all.
“A vocational school for nursing,” Qin Liangyu said proudly. “Five-year program after junior high. She’s only been there two years and is already the best fighter in the school.”
Best fighter?
That sounded less like academic excellence and more like literal combat ability.
Chen Yunhao decided to be extremely careful with this seemingly underage rebellious “nursing school war god.”
Zhang Fei assessed the situation, then immediately became serious when she saw her cousin.
“What’s going on?”
Without wasting time, Qin Liangyu said directly: “There are zombies in the village. Township officials are evacuating everyone. Watch the video—you’ll understand.”
Zhang Fei: “?!”
Without the video, she might have knocked her cousin unconscious on the spot.
One minute later, the young, similarly wired Zhang Fei immediately went to wake her parents and grandparents and told them to prepare the car.
“Let’s go. We’ll go help the other three households.”
She calmly pulled out her motorcycle.
“Wait,” Chen Yunhao couldn’t help asking, “Are you even 18? Do you have a motorcycle license?”
Qin Liangyu quickly answered, “Yes yes, she’s 18! Just turned last month!”
From behind, Chen Yunhao muttered, “Don’t lie.”
“…Fine,” Qin Yunyu said. “I’ll ride the electric bike, she’ll take you on the motorcycle.”
But Chen Yunhao immediately refused. Either option sounded like trouble.
“I’ll ride with you. She can take the electric bike.”
He was exhausted. This electric bike had already been modified and could go 60 km/h. This was not some standard low-speed vehicle anymore.
He decided not to ask about licenses anymore. After all, he didn’t have one either.
In this thunderstorm zombie apocalypse night, what was he even hesitating for? Was moving slower going to make things better?
The three teenagers quickly split up and headed to the remaining houses.
The next two households agreed immediately. Most rural families had vehicles—cars, tricycles, motorcycles, or electric bikes—so evacuation was manageable.
But the last household refused.
“It’s the middle of the night. Where are we supposed to go? The township government? Where will they even place us?”
The man in his forties, experienced in traveling for work, spoke confidently.
Even though he believed them and the video was scary, running down the mountain in the middle of the night was dangerous too.
He reasoned that it was likely just a thunderstorm causing communication issues. Tomorrow morning, the military might already be here.
Better to stay home and wait.
Chen Yunhao found himself unable to argue.
Zhang Fei immediately snapped: “Suit yourself. We already informed you. Don’t go complaining later that no one warned you.”
The man grumbled, calling her a “sharp-tongued little Zhang Fei.”
He handed them helmets. “Wear helmets when riding motorcycles.”
As they left, Chen Yunhao reminded them again to keep doors and windows closed.
Qin Liangyu also added, “Uncle, keep an eye on your cat Blackie.”
The man froze, then went to look.
In the courtyard, a black cat lay motionless in a corner. Fur scattered around it. Its head was twisted, jaw torn off. It had clearly fought desperately before dying.
Then its body twitched.
And suddenly—jerked back to life.
More than ten minutes later, the man’s family of five hurriedly drove out, chasing after the direction the group had gone…