American Zombie Detective

That evening, Catherine delivered the weapons to the Peninsula Hotel.

As soon as I picked up the Basmo Armor M machete, a distinct stinging sensation shot through my palm the instant I held it, like a slight electric shock. This feeling traveled up my arm and all the way to my heart.

The blade of the machete and the barrel of the Gru Red Eagle gun both faintly glowed with a pure white light, their sacred and restrained aura silently permeating the surrounding air.

"Not bad, very authentic." Qin Jin weighed it in his hand and felt it was good.

When wielded, the blade displays intricate sacred patterns, depicting the gaze of God, the judgment of the divine scales, and the mercy of justice, revealing traces of alchemy.

Aresa has a natural aversion to weapons with such sacred attributes, but since Qin Jin had them made, it doesn't matter.

Seeing that Qin Jin had put away his weapon, Catherine took out her Glock and placed it on the table. This gun had the same luster. Qin Jin didn't say anything, but just nodded.

"Qin, how did you know he'd fall for that?"

Catherine, somewhat excited, shared:

"After he refused my request, I immediately brought out your argument, and the result—the old guy was stunned for a long time, his expression was priceless, and he muttered something about 'feeling a familiar despicableness,' and then he actually attached it to me."

She mimicked the old alchemist's frustrated yet forced-to-maintain-dignity demeanor, which made Qin Jin chuckle. Yuanxiao wobbled over from the side and began to climb up Catherine's legs...

Catherine picked up Yuanxiao, stroking her fur as she said:

"There's one more thing, Qin, what about Los Angeles..."

She paused, her tone becoming serious: "The situation behind the scenes is very bad. The mayor is about to lose control. More than twenty people have fallen into... uh, this strange disease, and several are on the verge of death. Now, everyone is putting pressure on me, asking me to persuade you to go back."

Qin Jin stared blankly at the Chicago night view outside the window for a while, then slowly said, "I'll think about this some more."

Catherine sighed softly, said nothing more, and instead brought up another matter:

"Oh, by the way. Someone died, you know? It was Gleason, the hearing officer who suspended you. He died the day before yesterday in a remote motel. I heard he came after you, but..."

"Oh?" Qin Jin's expression was calm, but a barely suppressed smile played at the corners of his lips. "How did he die?"

Catherine's gaze shifted from Qin Jin's face to Alessa's, who was still curled up on the sofa watching her soap opera, not even lifting her eyes, as indifferent as ever.

Catherine breathed a sigh of relief, shrugged, and said nonchalantly:

"It seems like a supernatural phenomenon has occurred. There are still a dozen or so corpses stuck in the cornfield, and the hotel has been burned to the ground. The police only confirmed their identities after they saw Gleason's car and the body of his assistant and extracted DNA from the charred remains in the fire."

"Well, it's better that he's dead. This guy..." Qin Jin's lips curled into a slight smile. "I don't like him."

Qin Jin's attitude completely reassured Catherine. In her mind, if Qin Jin had taken action, he wouldn't have so openly shown disgust and schadenfreude. It probably... had nothing to do with him.

More importantly, there are supernatural phenomena occurring there. If it were Qin, how could he have let it go unchecked?

Only Qin Jin himself knew that all of this was originally his plan, but he didn't expect the vengeful spirit to appear so quickly.

The curses and resentment uttered by the tall, thin man when he was used as bait will form an evil spirit at the site of the murder. Qin Jin also deliberately released the black energy from the straw man. The combination of these two factors will cause the motel to generate a new highway evil spirit, attracting the attention of the FBI.

However, it appeared faster than planned, and it seems that what that black mist contained was larger than imagined.

"Has the case been handed over to the FBI?" Qin Jin asked casually.

"Yes, the X Special Team is handling it," Catherine said with a smile.

"It seems to be an evil spirit, a bit fierce, wandering around in that area. It'll probably take some effort to deal with it."

Qin Jin's smile deepened, which was exactly the effect he wanted.

Gleason's death was attributed to an attack by an evil spirit, while Qin Jin was completely unrelated.

After all, he was a member of the Police Management Committee and had a direct conflict with him; killing him would cause more trouble.

Catherine stayed a while longer, but seeing that Qin Jin still hadn't given a clear answer about returning to Los Angeles, she had no choice but to reiterate that he should think it over carefully before taking her leave.

Not long after, Constantine burst in, his face beaming with an almost excited, boastful expression.

Without saying a word, he rolled up his trench coat sleeves, revealing his two strong forearms.

He had the complete Red King's Seal tattooed on both arms. When the two arms were brought together, a new Red King's Seal would be formed, creating a special trinity that greatly enhanced the power of the seal.

"How about it, Qin?" Constantine smugly stretched his arms, the tattoo seeming to come alive as it rippled slightly with the movement of his muscles, emanating a certain aura:

"With this, I'll never be possessed or controlled by demons again, and I can also see through all invisibility!"

He felt the power flowing through his arms, the very strength he had longed for, the support that would allow him to walk more steadily on the path of the exorcist.

Qin Jin gave a thumbs up. He had to admit that Constanze's actions had indeed exceeded his expectations. It was most likely the succubus's methods that had allowed Constanze to truly rise from an ordinary exorcist to a senior exorcist.

After showing off, he also said seriously:

"By the way, the Chicago Police Department contacted me again, urging me twice. Deputy Chief Logan is probably getting anxious too. That bastard is causing too much trouble, it might get out of control if this continues. What... what do you say?" He looked at Qin Jin.

When urged to return to Los Angeles, he still used the same all-purpose response:

"I'll think about it some more."

Constantine's expression suddenly became serious, and his speech slowed down by half, as if he were deep in thought:

"Qin! There's something I want to say, but I'm not sure if I should..."

Do I have to ask that myself?!

Faced with this argument, Qin Jin's response remained consistent: "If it's not something you should say, then don't say it!"

When Constanze saw that Qin Jin had seen through his trick, he was first taken aback, then burst into laughter:

"Oh dear! Look at you! This is too important, I have to say it even if I don't want to... otherwise you'll blame me later..."

Qin Jin remained silent, simply watching him show off.

After laughing, Constanze suddenly got up, walked to the door, opened it, went out, and then turned his head back:

"Qin! Don't forget, the third-grade final exams start in three days—"

Having said that, he quickly ducked his head out and slammed the door shut!

Over here, Alessa has already pulled out her Gru Super Red Hawk...

Qin Jin reached out and grabbed the gun from Alessa's hand, then looked into her grey-blue pupils:

"Then, shall we go back tomorrow?"

Aresa turned her face away and shook her head! After a pause, she shook her head vigorously again!

"You should go back and take the exam!" Qin Jin understood what she meant and could only advise her.

"Grades are not required, just participation is enough. The main thing is... only by participating in the exam can things be handled properly, and only then can you continue your studies."

Aresa turned her head away, neither speaking nor turning back.

After thinking for a moment, Qin Jin had no choice but to resort to his trump card:

"We'll soon have our new house. I promise you, if you're willing to take the exam, I'll let you handle the decorating style—you can do whatever you want! How about it?"

Aresa turned her head back instantly, her eyes sparkling, and a rare smile blooming on her face...

She agreed!

Qin Jin knew from Alessa's style of dressing that she had a very stubborn sense of aesthetics, and now that he sees it, hey, it's true!

Early the next morning, Qin Jin, along with Alessa, Constanze, and Catherine, embarked on their journey home.

"Qin," Constantine couldn't help but bring up the case first:

"What exactly is this stuff? I heard that the victims are all young people, like they've been completely drained, and they even... spray themselves every now and then?"

Catherine also pricked up her ears; she heard more details at the police station, and they seemed even more bizarre to her.

"I think this thing is a vixen," Qin Jin thought, considering the dangers of vixens, and decided it was best to warn them beforehand, especially that shameless guy, Constantine.

"According to Eastern legends, fox spirits use magic to drain men's essence to quickly become stronger—the symptoms of these people are typical of those who have been subjected to this method, and it's highly likely they are right."

"A fox spirit?" Catherine asked curiously. "Is this thing... very powerful? How does it compare to the Painted Skin Ghost?"

"That depends; there are different kinds of vixens," Qin Jin said calmly.

"If it's an ordinary fox spirit, it's probably a little stronger than the Painted Skin Ghost, but if it has a name and a reputation, then it'll be difficult to deal with..."

At this point, Qin Jin suddenly interjected, "Jack, do you remember the clues we got when we went to find the painting?"

"The painting? You mean, the one with the gourd?" Constantin remembered.

"Yes, the vixen came out by rubbing against it!" Qin Jin's eyes deepened.

"According to my investigation, there are seven such paintings in total, which seal seven demons from the Tang Dynasty, that is, seven calamities from the ancient East. I don't know how many of them were taken to America... The Painted Skin Demon is one, the Fox Spirit is another, and I also know of a Corpse Demon... I don't know what the others are."

The car fell into a deathly silence. Only the roar of the engine and the sound of the wheels rubbing against the road could be heard.

Constantine's expression turned somewhat unpleasant:

"How do we deal with this thing? If all else fails, should we go outside and find some help?"

"It's best not to confront it head-on," Qin Jin shook his head. "If what's inside is too powerful, I suggest a softer approach. It would be best to negotiate, but if that's not possible, at least force it to leave... Killing it is too risky, and we might not even be able to kill it."

"Discuss?" Catherine asked, taken aback.

"That's right," Qin Jin nodded, confirming the objective of this operation:

"Find out its purpose, find out its demands, negotiate with it, and make it leave voluntarily, or it doesn't have to leave, as long as you control your methods..."

"When dealing with intelligent, supernatural beings whose primary purpose isn't killing, negotiation is always far more effective than brute force!"