Deputy Township Head Zhang’s group brought three households, while Chen Yunhao’s side also brought three. They regrouped at a fork in the road, and the convoy had grown into six small cars, two tricycles, one motorcycle, and one electric bike.
They optimized the formation: elderly people and children were prioritized into cars, while able-bodied adults sat on the tricycles.
In rural areas, both men and women worked in the fields, and everyone regularly slaughtered chickens, ducks, geese, sheep, and pigs for food. Their emotional boundaries were very clear—there was no hesitation about killing. They were, by nature, the foundation of a militia-like population.
If they encountered infected people or infected cats and dogs, they would absolutely strike with lethal force to protect their families.
Deputy Township Head Zhang and Old Du discussed it and noted that they had already encountered two infected dogs along the way. No one could predict what else might appear.
To avoid further encounters with infected animals or people, they arranged the convoy formation as follows:
A motorcycle in front as a scout, followed by a small SUV; behind that, tricycles carrying combat-capable adults; then a chain of small cars.
The rear was arranged similarly. The last vehicle was an SUV, accompanied by an electric bike for observation, with a tricycle as the second-to-last vehicle.
“I can do it. Rear guard is my specialty.”
Zhang Fei refused to give up the electric bike to anyone else. Her youthful face was full of teenage arrogance and disdain, clearly showing she didn’t trust these foolish adults.
Moreover, the sharp metal pipe in her front basket was openly visible—a deadly weapon that made anyone who saw it uneasy. Her rebelliousness was completely unhidden.
Deputy Township Head Zhang found dealing with this rebellious minor extremely troublesome, especially with that obviously dangerous metal pipe. He couldn’t help wondering if the girl was really law-abiding.
He hoped her parents could rein her in.
As her aunt, Aunt Qin simply turned her face away and said nothing.
She knew very well what girls that age were like—rebellious, unwilling to submit to anything.
Zhang Fei’s parents, however, didn’t care at all. They were extremely calm. Her mother—Aunt Qin’s younger sister—even said with pride:
“Let her be. We never disciplined her since she was little. It’s a good thing she wants to protect everyone. The road ahead isn’t dangerous, and there shouldn’t be much danger behind either. Her great-grandfather fought in the Korean War, her grandfather served in the Vietnam War, her fourth aunt was in the Sichuan female SWAT unit, and her fifth aunt was in the armed police. She takes after them—strong-willed…”
Chen Yunhao had seen plenty of parents who let boys run wild, but very few who raised girls this way.
By the end, the truth was clear: this was a Sichuan-Chongqing “combat lineage” family.
Deputy Township Head Zhang, also from Sichuan, immediately realized further argument was useless. He didn’t want to waste time, so he assigned tasks:
“Chen Yunhao, at the next household, borrow an electric bike and follow at the rear.”
How could they let a minor girl take the rear guard? If word got out, he’d never be able to hold his head up again.
Chen Yunhao was a bit reluctant to give up the chance to stay at the front with Qin Liangyu, but indeed, letting an underage girl handle the rear was humiliating. He couldn’t accept it either.
“Okay!”
Zhang Fei glared coldly at Deputy Township Head Zhang, clearly unconvinced. She didn’t care who he was—she just felt he looked down on her. And that “city pretty boy” Chen something-or-other clearly didn’t trust her either.
Old Du, seeing the situation, simply stood up and said:
“Feifei, come ride with me. My leg is injured, so I can’t walk well, but my arms are still strong. You ride, I’ll be the observer. We can work as a team and notify households together.”
No one trusted a minor girl alone. Old Du was in his fifties, a local elder, and a driver who had been visiting Zhang Fei’s great-grandfather every year with township and veteran affairs officials.
Zhang Fei’s greatest idol was her nearly hundred-year-old great-grandfather, a war veteran. Because of this, she respected Old Du.
So she said nothing—implicitly agreeing.
Old Du understood her temperament well. As soon as he got on the electric bike, he praised her:
“Wow, Feifei, your riding is so steady! You won’t even throw off this old lame man. You’re amazing!”
“Of course,” Zhang Fei replied, immediately slowing down so she wouldn’t actually shake him off.
Soon, a car rushed up from behind, honking urgently.
At the rear, Zhang Fei turned and recognized the license plate—it was Third Uncle He’s family.
Huh? He changed his mind?
Third Uncle He rushed over and asked, “Where’s that Chen township officer? My cat scratched me with an infected cat’s claws—what do I do? Am I going to get infected?”
Hearing someone was scratched by an infected cat, Deputy Township Head Zhang quickly ordered the convoy to stop and ran back.
“What happened?!”
“Oh, it’s all my fault for not listening,” Third Uncle He said. “Just now Officer Chen, Feifei, and Xiaoyu came to tell me to evacuate, but I thought it was too dangerous to go out at night in a thunderstorm. Then my Blackie—my cat—was bitten by something, got infected… so tragic… my sweet Blackie…”
He kept rambling, clearly heartbroken.
Deputy Township Head Zhang interrupted: “Get to the point…”
Zhang Fei snorted coldly from the side: “The point is he got scratched by an infected cat.”
“Yes, yes! My wife and I both got scratched!” Third Uncle He nodded.
Zhang Fei immediately snapped at him in dialect, sharp and unfiltered, scolding him for not listening and now suffering consequences.
Third Uncle He could only sigh and mourn his cat.
“Enough, enough… who knew Blackie would go crazy…”
Zhang Fei, still annoyed but responsible, checked his wounds:
“Where’s the injury? Is it bleeding? Did you wash it with soap water?”
He said they had already washed it and disinfected it with alcohol, following rabies guidelines.
Zhang Fei rolled her eyes: “Human rabies immunoglobulin. Not protein powder!”
Everyone tried to get the situation under control. Deputy Township Head Zhang quickly reorganized the vehicles.
Just then, Zhang Fei suddenly asked:
“Where’s Blackie?”
Everyone froze.
They had all forgotten.
Third Uncle He quickly said, “In a cage, in the trunk!”
Everyone: “……”
Without hesitation, Zhang Fei got up, took her metal pipe, and went straight to the car trunk.
Before anyone could stop her—
Bang.
She stabbed the already-deformed infected cat’s head through the cage with the metal pipe, finishing it instantly.
Third Uncle He screamed in grief. His family cried.
Deputy Township Head Zhang quickly held him back, explaining the danger of carrying infected animals.
After a messy emotional moment, the cat was sealed in a plastic bag.
Zhang Fei returned to her electric bike, glanced at Deputy Township Head Zhang proudly, saying nothing—but her expression said everything.
Deputy Township Head Zhang scratched his nose, realizing again: these teenagers weren’t to be treated like children.
Just as the convoy was about to set off again, three more cars rushed up behind them, honking frantically.
A man rolled down his window and shouted:
“Run!!! There’s something haunted at the village office!!!”
Deputy Township Head Zhang shuddered and rushed forward:
“What’s happening at the village office?!”
Zhang Fei and Lao Du were at the rear of the group, and they followed along to hear what was going on.
The car owner, still in a state of panic, spoke incoherently at first, but quickly managed to explain the tragedy that had occurred at the village committee office. The entire populated area there had been hit. They said they had fled out from the road above the village committee office.
While listening, Zhang Fei silently calculated directions and routes in his mind.
The escape routes of the three vehicles at the beginning were the same as Deputy Township Chief Zhang’s group. They went down from the homestay area, but ran into a collapsed road section and couldn’t pass. So they circled back to the homestay and tried another direction.
In fact, even after detouring around the homestay, there were still different small roads leading to different places. But these three families were facing the same problem—where should they run? Where was safest? Where could they resolve the crisis?
In towns and villages, people usually have regular contact with group leaders, village cadres, and township officials. Even if they don’t meet them often, they hear about them frequently. After all, in a market town, when going out to shop or attend fairs, the health clinic, police station, and township government are the three places everyone inevitably visits.
Especially the township government building with the national emblem hanging at its entrance—it had a convenience service hall handling things like medical insurance, social security, farming subsidies, agricultural machinery purchase subsidies, only-child allowances, funeral and cremation fees, and mediation of disputes.
There’s even a saying: “If you have problems, go to the government. If you have nothing to do, go to the government for tea.”
So when this kind of in-between crisis struck—neither high enough nor low enough to know what to do—the villagers’ first instinct was to run to the township government.
Naturally, they all ended up converging on the same road.
After hearing the situation, Deputy Township Chief Zhang felt a chill run through his entire body for a brief moment.
It was over. The township head… and the others…
He closed his eyes and tried to analyze the situation:
In the first group, the people from the health clinic had escaped, while those from the police station were trapped in a small building. Aside from those who had died in the line of duty, the rest were evacuating civilians.
A second wave had already arrived from the township, but they couldn’t handle the situation and retreated in two vehicles. The township head’s vehicle—most likely—had been lost.
Then—
A third wave of county-level reinforcements would definitely arrive soon.
Even though no one knew exactly when tonight’s damned situation would allow it, it would at least be the county special police unit coming in with firearms. Firepower support from the city would be behind them, and the fourth wave would definitely be the armed police.
The township would also certainly set up isolation zones and organize civilian evacuation.
Yes, the township would definitely handle logistics support properly.
So right now, their task was to evacuate as many civilians as possible and lead healthy villagers toward the township.
Once he figured this out, Deputy Township Chief Zhang no longer rushed back to the township. His entire focus shifted to evacuating people.
Moreover, their current route could pass through the Party and Mass Service Center in Qiyun Village. They could also stop there and check whether Qiyun Village had made preparations.
The group continued advancing, evacuating many households along the roadside. Some winding side paths were handled by villagers with family ties who went to persuade their relatives, while the main convoy kept moving forward.
Because the people coming to persuade them were mostly relatives and acquaintances, the vast majority of villagers accepted the advice. When it came to matters of life and death, no one dared to hesitate too much.
Of course, there were also some people with stubborn personalities who liked arguing with neighbors on normal days. But the villagers didn’t indulge them—if you want to leave, leave; if not, it’s up to you.
One household delay here, another ten minutes there. A chat at one place, packing at another. More than an hour passed, and Chen Yunhao’s group had only advanced a few kilometers, but the convoy had grown to more than fifty households and over two hundred people.
Some families didn’t have cars at home, or didn’t own private vehicles, so in addition to tricycles, the convoy also gained several “old-man cars” (small electric carts). More villagers rode motorcycles and electric bikes as well.
Some even volunteered to take detours alone to call on other relatives and neighbors. Everyone agreed: proceed cautiously, stay alert, carry weapons, ensure safety, and meet at the township government.
On the rainy mountain road at night, it was very easy for vehicles to skid. Deputy Township Chief Zhang had to assign Lao Du to lead the main group toward the township government first.
They left behind only a portion of capable personnel to guard against infected cats, dogs, or humans they might encounter on the way, while continuing to notify and evacuate people along the route.
Chen Yunhao rode on Qin Liangyu’s motorcycle again, while Deputy Township Chief Zhang borrowed a volunteer’s off-road vehicle. Four strong adults were seated in it. Aunt Qin still worried about her son and niece, so she chose to stay behind.
Zhang Fei also insisted on staying, saying she had to personally look for her cousin Dong Zhuo.
Her carefree parents not only didn’t stop her, they even instructed her:
“Tell your second aunt to hurry over. We’ll go ahead with grandpa’s family to the government!”
They acted as if their underage daughter could fully take charge of herself, completely at ease.
Deputy Township Chief Zhang looked at this family and was utterly speechless. He had no choice but to neither agree nor refuse—he simply pretended he didn’t see it.
He really wasn’t suited to taking care of kids. He was exhausted.
Along the way, stopping and going, they soon gathered another seven households. They no longer split up. Qin Liangyu said the next stop was her cousin Dong Zhuo’s home.
This area bordered Qiyun Village and, administratively speaking, was already part of Qiyun Village’s jurisdiction. It was a small residential cluster of more than ten households, mostly elegant two- or three-story villas nestled among hillside trees.
However, when Qin Liangyu and Chen Yunhao, who were leading the group, were still over 200 meters away, they first heard hoarse barking dogs through the rain and thunder.
Qin Liangyu suddenly thought of something and slammed on the brakes, saying awkwardly:
“…I have some bad news…”
Chen Yunhao was thrown forward by the sudden stop, nearly crushing Qin Liangyu. In that instant, he seemed to read Qin Liangyu’s thoughts.
“Don’t tell me… there are a lot of dogs here?”
“Not a lot, not a little—just around twenty or so. All kinds of breeds: Chihuahuas, Pomeranians, corgis, beagles, native dogs, shepherd dogs, huskies, golden retrievers, Alaskans, Tibetan mastiffs…”
Qin Liangyu tried to recall the types of dogs kept near Dong Zhuo’s cousin’s home. There really were many breeds.
Before Chen Yunhao even had time to complain that “that’s not a small number,” he asked urgently, “Wait—what was the last one?!”
“Tibetan mastiff.” Qin Liangyu snapped back to reality and almost broke down.
“Why would anyone keep Tibetan mastiffs!!”
Chen Yunhao tried to comfort him—and himself—as he said hopefully:
“Maybe they’re not infected! We’re already pretty far from Tashui Village’s village committee office…”
Before he could finish speaking, a red-eyed native yellow dog with wounds on its body and one missing leg staggered out from the nearest house. Its entire mouth was stained red with blood.
Behind it followed a massive black-furred, red-eyed Tibetan mastiff.