In the future, someone would ask Guifang: in that situation back then, how could you dare let those policemen in?! One careless mistake and your whole family could have been infected and killed.
At that time, Guifang would firmly answer:
Even if it all happened again, she would still open the door.
Because…
When Guifang led the five police officers upstairs, their footsteps echoed sharply on the cement floor.
The pounding from outside was growing more and more intense, as if the door could be smashed open at any moment.
Wang Song didn’t know why—maybe his brain was subconsciously pulling from movies and games he had seen, or maybe it was pure intuition—but he called out from behind:
“Turn off the lights! Where’s the light switch?!”
Guifang was so frightened she could barely speak. She turned and rushed toward the room where the elderly couple had been staying.
In a flash of lightning, dozens of twisted, ferocious faces were pressed against the window!
Crash!
The window shattered!
Several figures squeezed in without caring about the broken glass cutting into their bodies, climbing in while howling.
But the nearest light switch was right by the window! Otherwise, they’d have to reach the bedside… Guifang didn’t know what to do.
Fortunately, Wang Song reacted quickly. He pulled out his telescopic baton from his duty belt, snapped it open with a “whoosh,” pulled Guifang back with one hand, and smashed the baton onto the light switch—then hooked his leg and slammed the door shut with a bang.
“Go upstairs!”
He dragged Guifang upstairs.
The two of them scrambled up the stairs and immediately locked the heavy security door behind them.
Once the door was closed, the pounding downstairs seemed slightly quieter, as if the danger had lessened.
“Lights off! Those zombie-like things are attracted to light!” Wang Song gasped for breath, his heart pounding so fast it felt like it would explode.
On the wooden bench inside the room, three officers had just set the deputy station chief down. Hearing Wang Song’s shout, they instinctively threw him aside and rushed to turn off the lights.
The deputy station chief’s foot hit the ground and he let out a painful groan.
The lights went out, and everyone fell into brief silence.
The howling downstairs did seem to become slightly weaker.
Guifang felt cold all over, her hands and feet trembling.
“What’s happening to them? Possession? What is ‘zombie’? Ghost? Corpse coming back to life?! Aren’t you all supposed to be talking science…?”
She subconsciously went to pour hot water, but the kettle missed the cup and spilled onto the table.
Lingling stood timidly at the doorway, with her grandparents peeking nervously from behind her.
Wang Song quickly helped her pour water for everyone and casually replied:
“It should be rabies. You know rabies, right? Like mad dogs that bite people—once bitten, you can get infected and lose your mind.”
What people fear most is the unknown. Unknown things mean you don’t know how to fight them.
Once you know what you’re facing, most people can calm down. Only by staying rational can you find a way out.
Although Guifang was just a rural woman with a junior high education, she was familiar with rabies. Every spring and autumn, livestock officers, village doctors, and local cadres would go door-to-door vaccinating cats and dogs and spreading prevention knowledge.
Guifang herself was even a small grid worker.
So she relaxed a little.
“…Rabies makes people go this crazy? That’s terrifying. Wait—doesn’t that mean being bitten spreads it? Then you guys…”
Her words suddenly reminded the deputy station chief.
His dark face turned pale. He looked down at his leg.
Before departure, they had all worn stab-resistant uniforms and full protective gear with riot shields.
These preparations had been extremely useful—they had avoided serious injuries while being surrounded.
But the deputy station chief himself had been unlucky.
He had been knocked down while his leg was grabbed. In the chaos, his shoe and sock were torn off, and his right foot had been bitten several times—one toe had even been bitten off.
But during the escape to the vehicle, they had also had to abandon some shields to fit everyone in.
More scuffles and injuries had occurred in that process.
“Everyone check each other. See if anyone is injured,” the deputy station chief said with a long sigh.
Police work always came with injuries. That was inevitable.
But this time… it was especially dangerous.
Far more dangerous than anything like drug addicts or HIV patients biting someone.
Rain had already washed most of the blood off them. The officers quickly checked each other.
After inspection, only the youngest auxiliary officer, Wang Song, was completely uninjured. Because he was the youngest, in his early twenties, everyone had subconsciously protected him.
The other three officers had no major wounds—shields had blocked most frontal attacks—but scratches were concentrated on cheeks and behind ears, some shallow, some deep enough to bleed or swell.
The deputy station chief drank several cups of water in a row while Wang Song kept refilling them. Eventually he simply brought the kettle over.
Then Wang Song nervously asked:
“What now? Brother Qiu… will you lose your mind later and bite us?”
The question was too direct. The deputy station chief couldn’t answer.
The other officers looked at each other in silence.
“…Report… situation… please respond… please respond…”
A crackling sound came from the intercom on the deputy station chief’s shoulder.
He took a deep breath and pressed the reply button:
“Command center, this is the scene report. We have arrived and are being attacked by approximately fifty infected individuals. They are mentally unstable and highly aggressive… We have lost contact with the township cadres and are currently in the second-floor living room of the yellow-tiled building opposite the village office. The infected are gathered downstairs. I have been bitten. The others are lightly injured and at risk of infection. Request urgent support…”
In the stormy night of thunder, lightning, and torrential rain, there was no way they could hike back.
Staying inside was the only sensible option.
After repeated transmissions due to poor signal, they finally confirmed the message.
On the other end, things were tense. The person speaking changed, and then the deputy station chief heard the voice of the county public security bureau chief:
“…Hold your position, observe the situation, maintain communication! Rescue teams are already en route, medical teams with vaccines are on the way. Hold on—you’ll be there soon!”
A spark of hope ignited. Everyone silently breathed a sigh of relief.
At that moment, the old grandmother stepped out.
She was slightly hunched, thin, and her speech was somewhat unclear, but everyone could understand her:
“Rabies, huh… for bites and wounds, wash them with soap water right away… clean them thoroughly, then get vaccinated… listen to me, I used to be a barefoot doctor in the village, I was taught this…”
Guifang suddenly snapped back to reality.
“Yes, yes! Quickly, treat the wounds! I remember the village group chat had rabies prevention materials in spring… let me check… ah, that ambulance just left earlier… anyway, treat it like rabies for now! Hurry! When the county team arrives, you’ll be safe.”
Everyone felt their hope rise again. Wang Song quickly helped, and they moved the deputy station chief into the bathroom.
According to Guifang’s phone information, rabies has an incubation period ranging from days to years.
Wounds from bites or scratches should be washed with soap water for at least fifteen minutes, then disinfected with alcohol or iodine to remove most of the virus. Vaccination should be administered within 24 hours, and immunoglobulin injected if necessary.
So the officers scrubbed their wounds hard with soap, then sprayed alcohol aggressively.
Wang Song used the showerhead to rinse the deputy station chief’s foot. Only then did he realize the foot was not only missing a toe, but the calf had been bitten multiple times, swollen and purplish-red.
“Disinfect first… then bandage,” someone said.
The deputy station chief felt cold all over and slightly dizzy.
“I feel cold,” he muttered.
His clothes were still wet, making him extremely uncomfortable, as if the cold had seeped into his bones.
Wang Song touched his foot and was shocked.
“You’ve got a fever. You’re burning up.”
A fever?
The deputy station chief suddenly became alert.
“I… I’m thirsty. I want water…”
“Wait, let’s finish cleaning first.”
After fifteen minutes of washing and disinfecting, Wang Song helped him again.
The deputy station chief felt a mountain slowly sinking into a dark swamp in his mind.
He took out his phone and opened WeChat, trembling as he clicked on his wife’s chat.
The latest message was from half an hour ago:
“Be safe. Don’t forget to come home the day after tomorrow for your little sister’s birthday dinner. I’ll make your favorite taro chicken.”
The background of the chat was a warm family photo—his wife smiling brightly, his children cheerful and lively.
He typed a long message.
Failed to send.
No signal.
Guifang found some men’s clothes from her wardrobe.
“You’re all soaked. Change into these.”
She had already settled the elders, found a first-aid kit, and even produced a large box of medicine when she heard about the fever—ibuprofen, azithromycin, cephalosporins, amoxicillin, dexamethasone, ribavirin… a chaotic mix.
Wang Song carried the deputy station chief back to the living room.
“Let’s disinfect first, then bandage properly,” the deputy station chief said weakly. “Don’t change clothes yet—we need to keep the protective gear on…”
He took the medicine.
His hand trembled as he lifted the cup, spilling water onto his chin. Someone helped him swallow the pills.
Then—
A child’s cry suddenly rang out.
“Mom… outside… third uncle’s house… auntie’s house…”
Lingling burst into tears:
“They’re killing people—!”
Everyone rushed to the window.
Outside, faint screams and cries for help echoed.
The crowd that had gathered earlier had now spread to both sides of the road, rushing into nearby homes.
Some of the awakened households turned on their lights.
When they heard knocking, some unsuspecting people opened their doors…
Believing it was just neighbors asking for help.
The police were too late.
The fifteen minutes of wound care were already too late.
“…They’re eating… eating…” Wang Song murmured.
Guifang covered her daughter’s eyes and stepped back, trembling.
“They’re eating people… they’re actually eating people…”
Wang Song quickly opened his phone.
“Village group chat! Send a message! Tell everyone not to open their doors!”
“It won’t send,” the deputy station chief said quietly. “No signal.”
He felt colder and colder. A strange hunger rose inside him.
Something to eat… why do the people inside the house smell so warm and fragrant…
He swallowed hard.
It’s over.
I’ve definitely been infected.
Just like the Party Secretary.
How long did it take for the Party Secretary to turn like this?
He tried to recall through his foggy mind.
Right… when he called the township government, he had just been bitten.
Then about half an hour later, when they arrived at the village office, the Party Secretary came out in a strange state—but hadn’t immediately attacked them.
There was still a trace of consciousness left.
I still have a little time.
I can still do something.
It’s not too late yet.
He thought this silently.
I still have time.