Township Government Dormitory
Warm water flowed from the showerhead.
Grid worker Zhang Xue stood under the spray with her eyes closed, carefully washing her body with soap. Another girl was in the bathroom with her, helping wash her back.
Her usually bright, peacock-like eyes were now dull and unfocused. Her round face was pale, and her whole body trembled uncontrollably.
Zhang Xue had just been rescued from the village committee office and brought back to the township government. The township leadership was currently in a meeting with incoming special police units, preparing rescue operations. Gulili and Tu Mingxiao from the Party and Government Office were still busy at the meeting site.
Deputy Party Secretary Lin had arranged for Yang Xiao from the Party Building Office to take care of Zhang Xue first.
While washing, Zhang Xue told Yang Xiao everything she had experienced.
Yang Xiao, with her curly hair tied up, casually removed her makeup as she listened. She was also mentally exhausted—she had originally been on duty, video-calling her boyfriend when this huge incident suddenly erupted. She had been completely unprepared and had since been running around assisting Deputy Secretary Lin, and now she was assigned to take care of Zhang Xue.
Zhang Xue’s red vest was stained with blood, and her body was soaked by rain. She needed to change clothes and bathe first.
As Yang Xiao helped her wash her hair and body, she listened to her account, knowing she would soon need to turn it into a written report for the leaders.
After a thorough check, Yang Xiao only found faint scratch marks on Zhang Xue’s arm and the back of her neck—no broken skin.
“There are some injuries, but the skin isn’t broken. I’ll wash it again with soap for you?” Yang Xiao asked gently.
Zhang Xue nodded, still shaken and unable to calm down.
The scratch on her neck had come when the injured Party Secretary Huang, still conscious at the time, grabbed her in panic while trying to shove her into the rural library. At that moment, Huang was still lucid.
The marks on her hands were from panicked villagers who had gone mad. The neighbors she once knew had turned grotesque and terrifying.
Her job had mostly involved spreadsheets and documentation. She rarely mediated disputes or physically intervened in conflicts. But tonight’s sudden outbreak, watching villagers rapidly descend into madness, had traumatized her deeply.
Even now, after being rescued, everything still felt unreal.
After finishing the bath, Zhang Xue changed into long-sleeved clothes and long pants provided by Yang Xiao. Her original clothes had already been placed into a metal barrel and burned.
“There was too much blood on them. We were worried about infection, so we just disposed of them,” Yang Xiao explained.
“This was instructed by Deputy Township Mayor Hou. We can’t bring any virus into the township government.”
Zhang Xue nodded. “Okay… so now I’m in quarantine?”
Her family all lived in the village, and she was deeply worried.
But at this moment, she could do nothing except rely on the government.
She was afraid—afraid she might turn into one of those crazed infected people, or bite someone.
Yang Xiao nodded and held her hand to comfort her.
“The makeshift shelter isn’t ready yet. We’ve prepared some isolated rooms on the ground floor of the dormitory building. You can rest there first.”
“But I suggest you don’t sleep immediately. After major psychological shock, sleeping right away can cause the brain to consolidate traumatic memories, which may lead to lasting psychological stress.”
Yang Xiao offered this advice, though she herself was unsure what else could be done. “Drink some hot water, eat something… or I can get you a copy of Banyuetan or Qiushi to calm down.”
Zhang Xue had never heard of such a thing. She gave a dull “oh” and lowered her head, dejected.
“All our village committee members… they’re all infected… I… I can’t sleep.”
Everything had changed too suddenly for her to process.
The township was currently stretched thin, unable to assign guards to Zhang Xue. Fortunately, the dormitory windows were reinforced with bars and mesh. As long as the room doors were locked, basic safety was ensured.
Only a few edge rooms were used as isolation rooms. The bedding had been freshly replaced with disaster-reserve supplies from township staff. Even though emergency power was available, rechargeable flashlights were placed in every room.
Just after Zhang Xue entered, Tu Mingxiao from the Party and Government Office rushed over carrying a thermos, paper cups, tissues, a bag of supplies—including instant noodles, ham sausages, small bread rolls—and even towels, a basin, a chamber pot, and a roll of garbage bags.
“Zhang Xue, here—eat and drink first. And this… there’s no toilet in the isolation room, so use this for now. The shelter is being cleaned urgently; later you’ll be moved to proper rooms with bathrooms.”
The Party and Government Office handled logistics. These small but essential details were their responsibility. They also had to plan food supplies for the coming days.
After leaving everything, Tu Mingxiao patted Zhang Xue’s shoulder reassuringly and hurried off again.
Left alone, Zhang Xue sat on the bed for a long time.
So long that her legs went numb and her head felt dizzy.
She stood, paced the room, drank some hot water, flipped through the books left behind—but couldn’t read a single word.
Eventually, she sat again in a daze, then tore open a bag of spicy beef instant noodles and poured hot water over it, continuing to stare blankly.
Outside, heavy rain poured continuously, thunder rumbling intermittently, keeping her on edge.
After a while, she began eating. She couldn’t taste anything. Halfway through, she suddenly broke down and cried.
Not long ago, everyone had still been joking and chatting, complaining about the terrible weather and endless overtime work—earning just two thousand a month while working themselves to exhaustion. At least there was enough instant noodles to avoid hunger at midnight.
They had even talked about taking time off after the flood season, going on trips, eating well, relaxing, enjoying life for a while.
And then, suddenly, everything had fallen apart.
She wiped her tears away.
Suddenly—bang!
Something slammed into the protective mesh window.
The force shattered the glass. Rain and blood splashed inside.
Already in a highly stressed state, Zhang Xue screamed and knocked over her instant noodles.
A sharp cry came from outside:
“Meow——”
A pair of fluorescent red cat eyes flashed past the window.
Township Health Center
More than a dozen large infected dogs, following vehicles from the county CDC, rushed into the township health center.
Fan Xiaoqiu screamed at the sight and immediately ran upstairs, moving with astonishing speed.
In contrast, Ceng Meiling—having grown up in a rural area and used to dogs, and also driven by her responsibility as a nurse—shouted warnings:
“Rabid dogs incoming!!! Everyone hide!!!”
At the same time, she grabbed a chair and smashed it at the fastest charging dog, slowing it down.
Chaos erupted. Doctors and nurses fled in panic, slamming doors shut behind them.
Ceng Meiling also ran back. Not far ahead, Sister Xia fell. She rushed to help—but behind her came low growls.
Xia Sister suddenly shoved her aside.
In that split second, Ceng Meiling saw Sister Xia being torn apart by two dogs.
Red eyes. Sharp teeth. Flesh and fabric ripped from her leg.
Her pupils contracted sharply.
No weapons nearby.
She kicked open a nearby room, grabbed an IV stand, and charged out, striking the dogs’ weak points repeatedly.
“Let go!! You damn dogs!! Let go!!!”
But the dogs felt no pain and kept tearing at their prey. More dogs were rushing in.
Crash!
Fan Xiaoqiu returned, throwing bottles of high-concentration alcohol and igniting a nurse’s uniform with a lighter.
Flames spread across the ground, forcing several dogs back.
Another nurse rammed a stainless-steel cart into the attacking dogs.
Ceng Meiling threw the burning clothing onto the cart, finally forcing the dogs to release.
She quickly carried the severely injured Sister Xia and fled upstairs with others.
The first floor was a scene of carnage—medical staff were bitten, some killed, others injured while trying to rescue colleagues.
Dozens of infected dogs rampaged through the health center, killing two people and injuring dozens. Only three were killed.
After the staff retreated and locked themselves in rooms, the dogs finished feeding and scattered.
In the rain, the lit buildings of the town became their next targets.
The nearest locations were the township government and the police station.
Township Government
Zhang Xue, still in a highly stressed state, let out a scream the moment she saw the infected cat smash through the glass.
She realized a huge problem—an enormous crisis!
She slapped on the door and shouted: “Someone come! Open the door!! We need to guard against a cat-and-dog outbreak!! There are lots of dogs in the village and lots of cats in the town, hurry!!”
Outside the door, Yang Xiao, who had been organizing data on a laptop, was startled badly and quickly went to unlock and open it.
Zhang Xue rushed out, grabbed Yang Xiao and shook her. “Cats! I saw sick cats! They smashed the glass! Hurry, we need to prevent a mass cat-and-dog outbreak…”
Yang Xiao was shaken until she was dizzy. She ran into the dormitory to take a look.
The glass really had been smashed, and a few cat hairs remained on the rain-soaked window.
She chose to believe Zhang Xue!
“Even though the glass is broken, there are still stainless-steel bars and a snake-proof net. The cats can’t get in. First move the desk to block the window—I’ll report this to the leaders!”
Yang Xiao rushed downstairs in a hurry, not even having time to open an umbrella. She ran through the rain and up to the second floor of the office building, then breathlessly entered Secretary Zhou’s office.
“Secretary, a sick, mad cat smashed the window of Zhang Xue’s room…”
Before she could finish, screams came from the gate of the compound.
Secretary Zhou’s face turned pale. Deputy Captain He and Deputy Secretary Wang had taken almost all combat personnel away, and the remaining cadres and volunteers were either at the shelter hospital or the high school. There weren’t many people left in the township government!
He quickly walked to the window and looked out…
More than a dozen mad dogs were rushing toward the gate. To allow easy access for township staff, the iron-bar gate had not been fully closed, leaving a small side door half open.
These rabid dogs first slammed into the iron gate but, unable to get through, kept ramming it. A few squeezed through the gap of the half-open side door and broke inside!
At the gate guard room, Tu Mingxiao heard something hitting the door and instinctively went out to check.
A row of glowing red eyes, like ghostly fire, made her scream at the top of her lungs. She darted back into the guard room and slammed the glass sliding door shut!
But the infected dogs didn’t understand what glass doors were—they just kept ramming them.
Once, twice, three times, five times…
With every impact, Tu Mingxiao inside screamed again.
She could no longer maintain her usual calm expression. Terrified to tears, she quickly put on a mask from the drawer, then a helmet and goggles, and grabbed a riot shield and a stainless-steel baton from the wall. In panic, she recalled the militia training she had once learned.
Fortunately, Deputy Mayor Wei had once forced all young cadres to attend training—no matter how poorly they had learned it, at least she had been trained before!
Tu Mingxiao’s screams alerted others in the township government.
At this point, only a few older staff members and young female cadres remained. Everyone immediately looked around and discovered more than ten red-eyed dogs blocking the gate, with even more infected dogs pouring in.
Two elderly comrades in their sixties grabbed fire shovels from the forestry station and rushed out!
Secretary Zhou also ran out immediately, bumping into Deputy Secretary Lin who was coming out. She handed him a pickaxe.
The Party and Government Office was next to Deputy Secretary Lin’s office. The petite Gu Lili ran out in panic, collided with Yang Xiao, and only then did they both realize they had no weapons. If they went out, they would only be a burden. So they turned around, ran back together, and locked the door tightly with a loud click.
Crash—!
The guard room glass was smashed by three infected dogs!
Tu Mingxiao screamed in terror, hiding in the corner behind the desk, using a chair as cover. In her left hand she held a shield, gripping a baton, and swung wildly at a dog that had jumped into the office.
Two strikes per second was already her physical and reaction limit—not her mental limit.
At the extreme of fear, the explosive strength triggered by adrenaline had completely erupted. She showed no restraint at all. Her screams mixed with the metallic thuds of the baton striking the dog’s head and neck, fur and flesh flying everywhere.
Fortunately, she had wisely put on a mask, helmet, goggles, and held a shield, preventing blood and flesh from splattering into her eyes or nose.
The other two infected dogs failed to break through the office furniture and chairs, and were soon killed when the elderly comrades rushed in and broke their necks with fire shovels.
But more infected dogs were already rushing in.
Few people. Many dogs. Injuries were inevitable.
When Secretary Zhou and Deputy Secretary Lin rushed down, the other sick dogs had already begun attacking the two elderly comrades.
The veterans were experienced, but they were still old. After killing two infected dogs, their stamina dropped and their reactions slowed. Both were bitten on their legs.
Deputy Secretary Lin was not as fast as Secretary Zhou. The moment she arrived downstairs, she immediately judged—this could not be won!
“Everyone retreat to the upper floors!” she shouted while fighting and running forward.
Secretary Zhou rushed toward the guard room, knocking a dog away with a shovel along the way. He was no longer the strong young man who could go home and thresh grain; after a few bursts of strength, his arms went weak.
He pulled Tu Mingxiao out of the room and pushed her, saying, “Women go upstairs first! Get inside and lock the door!”
Deputy Secretary Lin’s pickaxe was heavy. She knew she couldn’t swing it many more times, so she immediately obeyed and pulled Tu Mingxiao toward the stairs.
But then she glanced back—and her heart nearly stopped.
Secretary Zhou had been grabbed by two dogs biting his trouser legs and was knocked to the ground.
Deputy Secretary Lin gritted her teeth and ran toward the back of the building, shouting in a high-pitched voice she had learned from singing practice:
“Police station!!! Bring guns!!!”
Behind the township government was the police dormitory.
Tu Mingxiao’s earlier screams had already faintly reached the police station.
The only remaining officer, Du Chen, was already panicking while loading his gun.
He rushed downstairs toward the dormitory back exit, and just then heard a heart-rending scream from the township government:
“…Bring guns!!! Shoot the dogs!!!”
Du Chen, also a relatively inexperienced officer, rushed through the rain toward the township government, almost stumbling.
Turning the corner from the dormitory building, he saw three dogs tearing at Secretary Zhou, who was on the ground struggling and swinging a shovel.
Deputy Secretary Lin was fighting a dog at the staircase entrance on the first floor.
Du Chen raised his gun but did not dare fire—he was afraid of missing and hitting Secretary Zhou on the ground.
From the second floor, Tu Mingxiao threw her shield down. It landed in the center of the courtyard with a loud crash, splashing water everywhere.
The noise drew the infected dogs’ attention; they all turned toward where the shield landed.
Seeing this worked, Gu Lili and Yang Xiao began frantically throwing anything they could find—Party-building document boxes, ideological study materials, magazines—everything crashing down one after another.
Secretary Zhou took the opportunity to struggle up from the ground. The two elderly comrades also supported each other, and everyone quickly retreated toward the administrative building.
Du Chen finally seized the chance. He ran forward, positioned himself in front of the administrative building with his back against the wall, took aim—
Bang! Bang! Bang!—!
A burst of gunfire. Ten bullets fired: two hit dog heads, five hit bodies, three missed.
Secretary Zhou and the two elderly comrades ran toward the stairs. Together with Deputy Secretary Lin, they managed to smash one dog’s head.
“Go upstairs!” Secretary Zhou shouted.
Du Chen, now with only five bullets left, turned and ran upstairs. Deputy Secretary Lin pulled him forward while he pushed from behind, as the infected dogs chased after them…