Deputy Director Yu, who was in charge of animal husbandry at the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Bureau, felt deeply wronged.
Although their bureau was among the first groups that were supposed to set out before noon, people may be busy—but horses don’t rush. They simply couldn’t move any faster.
Because they had only set out after making full preparations—except, well… they were a bit late.
—Over an hour late to begin with. Then after taking a detour, they were delayed by another hour or so midway.
By the time more than three hours had passed, when they arrived at Zhongbao Farm Town, they happened to run right into the cat-and-dog riot breaking out there!
Even though they had clearly played a major role, after communications were restored, he was harshly criticized by higher-ups. He was told that once things calmed down, he would be seriously dealt with.
Not everyone who had rushed to the front lines was to be punished—only him, because his team had moved too slowly.
Deputy Director Yu truly felt wronged. Was running faster really that useful?! It was easy for those sitting in offices to point fingers, judge everything, and say who should be punished and who shouldn’t. Hmph!
Although later on, the higher-ups not only did not punish him, but even commended him.
He didn’t say it out loud, but he would remember this “wronged grievance” for the rest of his life. Hmph!
The Agriculture and Rural Affairs Bureau was a large department. It had been formed by merging the Agriculture Bureau, Animal Husbandry Bureau, Forestry Bureau, Water Resources Bureau, and Rural Revitalization Bureau.
Its scope of responsibilities was enormous—so large that it covered almost half of all township-related work.
Because there was so much work, there were many staff members; and because the work was dispersed, everything was scattered and loosely organized.
At first, they received information that a mutated rabies outbreak had occurred in Tashui Village of Zhongbao Town, where a person had bitten dozens of others.
No matter how they looked at it, this sounded full of loopholes—or logically inconsistent.
Based on years of experience dealing with towns and villages, the bureau staff—from the director to deputy directors to section chiefs—voiced similar opinions in the work group chat:
“How could one person bite dozens? The township must be panicking and reported it incorrectly! It’s definitely not a human biting people—most likely dogs biting people! I know their messy reporting style too well—it’s all over the place!”
“If dozens were bitten, there must be a lot of mad dogs. But this isn’t the season when rapeseed flowers bloom—where would so many rabid dogs suddenly come from?”
“Heh, mutated rabies? How is it mutated?”
“I heard people get infected within half an hour after being bitten!”
“Huh?! That fast? Is that even rabies?”
“The county government has issued orders—we must immediately go support. Comprehensive law enforcement team, move out!”
“…What are we supposed to do when we get there? Beat dogs or beat people?”
“Probably not people… so it’s dogs then? We need to prepare tools. There are a lot of dogs in rural areas, and it won’t be easy at night…”
“According to our duties, eliminating rabid dogs is handled by the public security bureau and specialized ‘dog-catching teams.’ We are mainly responsible for technical guidance, epidemic prevention supplies, and later harmless disposal.”
“Oh, that works. Let’s go inventory supplies. Wait, the rain is heavy—I’m driving back to the office now…”
The director, seeing the chaotic group chat, directly tagged Deputy Director Yu:
“Move faster! Medical staff and police have already assembled and set out, and your people still aren’t even gathered!”
Deputy Director Yu, already irritated and under pressure, replied in the group chat:
“We can’t move fast! We’re not police or medical emergency responders—we don’t have 24-hour standby staff. We have to call people one by one. Those who can’t be reached, we have to go knock on their doors. While calling people, we also have to prepare equipment. Everyone must put on protective gear first. Director, you don’t want us to go like meat buns thrown to dogs—never to return, do you?!”
The bureau director, who had been woken up in the middle of the night by repeated calls from county leaders, looked at the chaotic group chat and felt completely helpless. It was true—staff were scattered across homes in the middle of the night; non-essential government departments did not have full overnight duty. There was no way to gather everyone immediately.
He could only maintain authority and say:
“Then hurry up and make sure your protection is ready. Don’t get injured!”
In fact, Deputy Director Yu thought: the police are already going in with guns. They would be far more effective than them at dog-catching.
Their role was mainly to arrive on-site for guidance…
Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind: people biting people, infection within half an hour, dozens of cases, cats and dogs, rural areas—rural areas have lots of cats and dogs. If infection really occurs within half an hour, and if this didn’t start tonight, but earlier… if it was already spreading…
Both of Deputy Director Yu’s eyelids twitched violently. Goosebumps rose all over his body. His smartwatch alarmed—heart rate 110.
Alright. He understood now. Just going to the scene itself might already be dangerous.
Deputy Director Yu decided that although armed police and medical staff were already on the front lines, in many cases even mountains collapse, rivers dry up, and people run away when trouble comes—if they followed, they must be fully prepared for themselves.
They were going for rescue. If extreme situations arose and they couldn’t respond in time, it would be suicide.
So Deputy Director Yu arranged for the comprehensive law enforcement team leader to gather personnel—while also instructing him to bring along the usual dog-catching teams.
At the same time, he sent people back to the bureau to collect supplies; if supplies were insufficient, they were to immediately contact veterinary and agricultural supply shops, get goods on credit if necessary. He also ordered them to bring in experienced older veterinarians from city pet clinics, promising post-payment—these would join the operation tonight for “dog catching,” or rather, “vaccination.”
As for young veterinarians from pet stores—no, they were not needed. Too soft-hearted.
He also had people prepare protective equipment. With both biting dogs and biting humans, even a one-in-ten-thousand accident had to be considered—what if they ended up fighting both dogs and people?
Although they were not combat personnel, once on the front line, rabid dogs and rabid humans would not care about your job title.
Thus, they slowly and haphazardly made preparations. By the time the second wave of special police units had fully deployed, Deputy Director Yu’s team still had not set out.
The director, having been scolded by county leaders, lost his temper and called Deputy Director Yu:
“Old Yu! How long are you going to delay?! Are you afraid to go?!”
Deputy Director Yu also exploded. A man in his fifties with no promotion prospects left, usually polite only when he chose to be polite, now snapped back:
“I’m afraid to go? Are you?! Then you go yourself! Talking is easy! We have no guns, no bullets, no protective gear, no weapons—what the hell are we supposed to rush in with?! When people are gathered and equipment is ready, we’ll move!”
Director: “…Just you wait! I’m coming right now!!!”
He didn’t hear the rest. Only the first half echoed in his mind at high volume.
Furious, the director stormed out, got in his car, and rushed toward the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Bureau. He knew Deputy Director Yu had told everyone to assemble at the bureau.
When he arrived, splashing through rainwater, he saw law enforcement officers fully equipped and lined up, boarding vehicles.
His anger caught in his throat. Without thinking, he also tried to board the Coaster bus.
But Deputy Director Yu, wearing a mask, goggles, and fully protected, stepped forward and shoved him off:
“Go back! Go back to your office and stay in command there! Who knows whether other nearby towns will also have outbreaks tonight—you’ll still be needed later!”
The director, only forty years old but unable to do anything against the ten-years-older deputy director, stomped in the rain in anger:
“You think I’m afraid of death?! Everyone else has gone and we haven’t even set out yet! The county leaders say we’re being indecisive and cowardly! If you still don’t go, I’ll go myself…”
Deputy Director Yu muttered: “…Didn’t realize you were this easily provoked.”
He knew their preparations had been slow—but their department was never a rapid-response unit to begin with!
During this delay, new information from the county actually confirmed his caution was correct.
Special police had been deployed—special police! What did that mean? It meant this was not something ordinary people could handle.
At this rate, even armed police or military units might be mobilizing.
He sneered:
“Alright, tell the higher-ups this—those who haven’t been on the front line have no right to criticize. Once we go in, we’ll likely be sealed in the area and won’t be able to return for a while.”
The director froze, not having considered this.
Deputy Director Yu waved his hand:
“Hold the fort, Director. Try to secure some year-end bonuses for the brothers and sisters. Let’s go!”
The enforcement team of the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Bureau had 30 positions, 27 active staff, and 26 were assembled tonight.
In addition, Deputy Director Yu brought in 18 people from three dog-catching teams and 9 veterinarians.
A large convoy set off in heavy rain, carrying weapons, tools, veterinary vaccines, and various supplies.
Like the medical teams and special police, they encountered road blockages and detours were necessary.
They were not physically elite personnel—the enforcement team mostly handled agricultural and fishery enforcement. If they had to run carrying equipment for dozens of minutes, it would be exhausting.
Along the detour, on a rural road, they saw several dead cats and dogs on the ground, apparently struck by vehicles.
The veterinarians got out to inspect.
“This is… hmm? The body is crushed, but the head is still moving?”
“The eyes are red! They’re infected!”
“This much damage and still not dead? Let me stab the head and see.”
“We need to crush the skull or destroy the brain matter.”
“This really does look like a zombie virus…”
“What?!”
“My daughter said it looks like zombie viruses from movies. Hiss—trouble. In this heavy rain, could water sources be contaminated?”
“Damn it, be careful!!!”
From the farmland on both sides of the road, more than ten small cats and dogs suddenly staggered up and charged toward them.
Fortunately, everyone was well equipped. Veterinarians might not be great at fighting people, but they were very experienced in dealing with animals. With the help of professional dog-catching teams, the dozen or so infected animals were no match.
The dog-catching teams worked in groups of three: one used clamps and forks to restrain the animal’s neck and head, one struck the limbs with sticks, and the third used sharp tools to strike behind the ears or directly penetrate the back of the neck into the brainstem.
They quickly abandoned the usual method of using blunt force to the skull—now, destroying the brain was necessary for a true kill.
After eliminating the dozen or so infected cats and dogs, they spent time cleaning up the scene.
“We can’t just leave infected animals here—the rain will wash everything away, spreading the virus…”
“Shut up, you’re making it sound even scarier.”
“How do we dispose of them? Burn them? In this rain, where would we even burn them?”
“Normally we would spread quicklime or caustic soda, and bury them in deep pits far from water sources and villages. We even brought a whole truck of quicklime…”
“Where are we supposed to find a place to bury them in the middle of the night?!”
“We can’t just leave them lying on the ground!”
Deputy Director Yu got out of the car, rainwater splashing all over his face. He issued orders: “We brought leak-proof body bags for cats and dogs. First… pack them up and load them in. We’ll take them to Zhongbao Town and figure something out there!”
No one could think of a better solution, so they could only gruntingly get to work.
The dog-catching team and veterinarians were already exhausted, so this kind of work—bagging animal corpses—had to be left to the law enforcement team.
This delayed them for another twenty minutes, and then they continued on their way.
As Deputy Director Yu passed scattered farmhouses, he couldn’t shake the feeling that the distant houses illuminated by the headlights seemed like something was awakening in the darkness, swaying around the buildings like branches in a storm.
The convoy drove as fast as it safely could. The swaying shapes were far enough away that they didn’t catch up.
Not only Deputy Director Yu, but others also felt the same unease, though everyone tacitly chose to bear it themselves—for a short while.
“What are those things? Could they be infected people?”
“Maybe. These infected cats and dogs on the road can’t be wild, right? If the animals are infected, their owners are likely to get scratched or bitten too!”
“Can the satellite phone still work? Can we ask the town what’s going on?”
“The lightning here hasn’t stopped. We can’t communicate in time.”
“Damn it, it’s already been three hours. Let me calculate… one wave every half hour, that’s nine waves in three hours…”
“You calculated that fine, stop calculating!”
“Three nines is nine, that’s right!”
“…Two times three is six!”
On the Coaster bus, Deputy Director Yu’s tense mood was slightly eased by this absurd chatter.
But the heavy pressure in his heart did not ease.
What was the situation in town right now? Were there infected cats and dogs? Were there infected people?
“Everyone stay alert. We’re almost at the town. Let’s go to the township government first to check the situation. If the SWAT officers are still there, we’ll follow them. If they’ve already left, we’ll coordinate with the township government on what to do next.”
“After all, we are not combat personnel.”
These words from Deputy Director Yu made everyone feel a bit more at ease. Right, they were not combat personnel.
The SWAT officers could just spray a few bursts of bullets and handle some cats and dogs—that was all. Nothing to be afraid of.
Under this uneasy mutual reassurance, the convoy descended the mountain and entered the town.
They entered—a town filled with screams rising one after another.
As soon as the vehicles reached the edge of town, Deputy Director Yu could faintly hear screams through the rain, as well as intermittent gunfire.
“Stop the car!”
Old Yu rolled down the window, letting rain pour into the vehicle. He listened intently—it was several pistol shots!
A member of the dog-catching team leaned out and looked toward the faint light in the darkness. He recognized it immediately:
“It’s the township government!”
What required gunfire?!
Old Yu’s heart tightened. He jumped out of the car. The convoy behind him also came to a stop. He knocked on the driver’s window of the second vehicle:
“Pass it back—everyone hold your weapons and get ready! There’s gunfire at the township government!”
From each vehicle, one person got out to relay the message backward, then quickly returned.
Old Yu also picked up a long spear specially made by the dog-catching team. He didn’t even close the car door, ready to jump out at any moment.
The Coaster bus wheels rolled through a puddle, splashing a high curtain of water onto a dead, mutilated kitten by the roadside.
The lead vehicle stopped in front of the township government building. The noise and bright lights startled the rampaging infected dogs inside, and they turned and rushed outward.
Old Yu immediately realized something was wrong—there were at least twenty large infected dogs here!
But he had over fifty people!
Advantage: us!
“Kill the dogs! No survivors!”
Old Yu called out. He stepped back and did not get out of the vehicle. There were too many dogs—he didn’t think he was suitable for combat.
The dog-catching team and veterinarians swarmed out, and law enforcement officers also rushed forward with weapons. Their legs were wrapped in thick cotton bandages under anti-bite rain boots and specially provided protective pants, making movement slightly clumsy—but they really did prevent bites.
At that moment, the situation reversed. Earlier, the dogs outnumbered the people left in the township government; now, the incoming group outnumbered the dogs.
As long as people were not afraid of getting injured, they became a united, coordinated, terrifying force of upright apes.
Especially with the help of professional dog catchers and veterinarians.
The infected dogs, their eyes blood-red and mindless, charged forward. Groups of three or five people worked together—if one person couldn’t pin a large dog, two would. Three would throw nets over them. Five would use special long-handled curved blades to cut their legs and stop their movement.
Once they were controlled, a quick stab followed—straight to the brainstem.
The surrounding infected dogs were soon piled up at the entrance of the township government building.
Only then did Deputy Director Yu get out of the car. He was already in his fifties—he only went into situations where he didn’t need to personally fight, to avoid dragging others down.
Killing dogs was hard physical work, and everyone in the second wave was already exhausted. Deputy Director Yu immediately turned and grabbed Team Leader Liang from the comprehensive enforcement team.
“Hurry, hurry, come with me into the township government to check things out!”
Through the gate, seeing the scattered document boxes and abandoned riot shields, Old Yu’s heart raced.
Where were the SWAT officers? Where were the police? Who had fired the gun just now?
He was deeply worried—could it be that they had arrived too late and the township government had been slaughtered by infected dogs?
Anxiously, Old Yu pushed Team Leader Liang and squeezed through a half-open side door.
Team Leader Liang muttered helplessly while holding his Y-shaped spear: “Don’t push, don’t push—you’ll get bitten if you’re not careful!”
Old Yu heard dogs still barking near the stairwell as he entered. He immediately stood behind Team Leader Liang and waved seriously at the others outside: “Come in quickly! There are still dogs inside!”
The others outside, panting heavily, splashed through the water and rushed in, storming into the administrative building.
Soon after, two dead dogs were thrown out of the building.
Old Yu’s spirits lifted again. He instructed Team Leader Liang: “You handle collecting the dog corpses first. I’ll go upstairs to find Secretary Zhou. Come up when you’re done—the office will make you tea!”
Gu Lili was helping Tu Mingxiao wash the blood off her body in the women’s restroom, carefully checking for wounds.
On the other side, police officer Du Chen was cleaning the township secretary’s leg wound, while Deputy Secretary Lin and Yang Xiao were also in the men’s restroom, helping the two older officials clean their injuries.
Deputy Director Yu rushed upstairs, running from the Party and Government Office to the Party Building Office, then to the Deputy Secretary’s office, then the Secretary’s office—finding no one.
His heart filled with shock and bitterness.
Screams came from the restroom. Old Yu immediately raised his weapon and kicked open the men’s restroom door.
Secretary Zhou was trembling all over in pain. He turned and saw Deputy Director Yu—they recognized each other.
“Dogs! There are too many mad dogs! The shelter, the high school, township cadres and volunteers… no warning—they’re being bitten…”
The first thing Secretary Zhou thought of was the other colleagues and civilians.
“Hiss… Old Yu, how many people did you bring?” Secretary Zhou said through gritted teeth, the pain intense. A large dog bite had torn deep wounds; it wasn’t easy to wash directly and needed to be cut open.
Old Yu answered without hesitation: “Fifty-four people with professional dog-catching equipment. All the mad dogs in the township government have been killed!”
Secretary Zhou’s eyes lit up. For a moment he forgot the pain and urgently ordered:
“Go to the shelter and the high school! Hurry! They don’t have dog-catching equipment… go protect them!”