Natural Disaster: Back to the End of the World

Part 47

After retiring from the military due to an injury, Ma Chen settled in Wan'an Town. His sister was studying in Rongxi City, and Wan'an Town was the closest place to Rongxi City. He was also introduced to a job here.

At that time, he needed to come up with tuition fees for his sister and needed to rest due to his injury, so he had to choose taking the money rather than getting a job assignment. Although a job assignment would be a long-term solution, he had no choice back then. Now, he could only work as an auxiliary police officer—no official position, just a contract worker.

Auxiliary police officers handle all kinds of dirty, tiring, and troublesome tasks, while the benefits and perks are reserved for those with official positions. Despite this, he was content with his job, as many veterans end up as gatekeepers.

As life slowly settled down, the weather started to act up. First, there was unbearable heat. When they weren't on duty, it wasn't too bad—they could stay in air-conditioned rooms. However, the subsequent heavy rain was a nightmare. They had to assist traffic police with various tasks, handling an endless stream of issues. With a week of heavy rain, he faced a non-stop series of bizarre incidents.

Even the food in the canteen had been reduced from three dishes and a soup to just a few buns and millet porridge. Rumor had it that if the canteen couldn't find more ingredients, they might even run out of buns and only have sweet porridge.

This morning, the rain stopped, and he hoped for a breather. However, a riot broke out. It wasn't exactly a riot but rather a few people who, having run out of food, were forced into extreme measures because the stores were closed and they had no place to buy food. Once it started, similar disturbances appeared in various areas.

After finally calming down one area, Ma Chen returned to the police station and barely had time to catch his breath when a mud-streaked man with a bandaged hand came in to report being bitten by a mad dog.

Upon inquiry, it turned out to be Lei Jia Village.

Lei Jia Village was located quite far away, up on a hillside with poor roads. Usually, when there were issues, the villagers would deal directly with the village head, so police reports about village matters were rare.

Seeing the sky darkening again, it seemed like another storm was coming. It might start raining before he even reached Lei Jia Village, so some people in the police station were unwilling to go. Their captain had no choice but to send him on the trip.

Throughout the journey, Li Feng kept complaining about how Lei Li and the others had turned them away, how they were bullied, and how they were ungrateful and let their dogs attack people. He spoke as if he were a victim of severe oppression.

Ma Chen drove with a neutral expression, choosing not to engage. He had a bad first impression of the man. It wasn't just that his presence increased Ma Chen's workload but also because the man's shifty eyes and exaggerated complaints indicated he was lacking in confidence.

Based on his initial judgment, it seemed that this man's family had come to visit relatives, but the relatives were unwilling to take them in, leading to a dispute. It was common for rural areas to have dogs, and dogs instinctively protect their owners, which could have led to the bite incident.

When they arrived at Lei Jia Village, the sky was as dark as if it were about to collapse, and the rolling clouds hinted at the severity of the upcoming rain. Ma Chen worried he might not be able to return home and wondered if his sister would be scared alone at home.

Following Li Feng to the house he mentioned, Ma Chen noticed it was quite a wealthy household with a large house—perhaps even a small business owner. The situation might be tricky given the rural nouveau riche's tendencies.