American Zombie Detective

Ms. Wright had just rushed to the door when she was stopped by Deputy Director John.

He tried his best to calm Ms. Wright down, even offering the governor's special tax exemption, but fear had already taken root in her heart. Her eyes were unfocused, and she kept repeating the words "Let me go" with astonishing strength.

Fortunately, Detective Carter's preliminary work was thorough enough. He immediately poured a glass of wine and brought it to Ms. Wright. She downed most of the glass of McClane in one gulp, and her trembling began to subside.

Qin Jin knew very well that in today's situation, Ms. Wright's presence or absence made a huge difference, so he stepped forward and raised his voice slightly:

"Ms. Wright, if you are truly afraid," his voice wasn't loud, but it carried a reassuring confidence:

"I let my sister—" He pointed to the little girl in the gothic dress sitting next to him, petting a bear, without even looking up:

"How about I stay by your side the whole time? Leave the chores to her too."

Ms. Wright's cries stopped abruptly, and she looked at Alessa with surprise and uncertainty, following Qin Jin's gaze.

The girl has a very low profile and seems excessively quiet, but she is indeed a very beautiful girl. If that's the case... then it seems acceptable?

Inspector Carter poured another glass of wine, replacing the empty one in Ms. Wright's hand. She took a sip, and then watched as the little girl opposite her looked up. The calm and serene look in her eyes made Ms. Wright feel inexplicably ashamed.

"Does she dare? She's so small..."

"She's nine years old, and she can already dress herself, go to school, and even chase away the crows from the garden," Qin Jin said casually.

"She'll be there for you, at least making you feel like you're not alone."

Ms. Wright's gaze lingered on Alessa's face before she finally nodded with difficulty, a hint of despair in her voice.

"Okay... fine... since she dares to stay... I... I can too..."

Everything went smoothly from then on, and by 10:30 p.m., the entire house was completely up and running.

Deputy Chief John ordered his SWAT team to retreat to the empty house next door to wait for orders, while he and Detective Carter remained in the car across the street, keeping a distance and turning off their headlights.

Qin Jin placed the bear cub in the Dodge, and it gradually got used to this not-so-comfortable place.

Only Qin Jin remained in the house. After turning off all the lights one by one, he went into the kitchen, pulled out a chair, and sat in the shadows.

The kitchen and living room are separated by a wine cabinet, a wine tasting table, and a bar, and then there is the dining room. You can see the main entrance and most of the living room layout. Qin Jin was motionless in the kitchen and soon disappeared from Alessa's perception, like a stone.

As time ticked toward midnight, Ms. Wright and Alessa sat on the ground in front of the memorial tablet, with a brazier and paper money in front of them. When she could hear her own breathing and heartbeat, she realized that the whole room was eerily quiet.

Why is the little girl across from me not making a sound?

Ms. Wright was a little nervous; she was thinking about what to say when Alessa stood up—

It's already 11 p.m., time to begin.

The girl in the black gothic dress stood up silently and walked straight out the door, exuding an inexplicable stillness.

She took out a lighter, and the orange flame leaped, lighting the pair of bright red candles outside the steps, and then the incense stick stuck in the cold rice. The smoke curled up and twisted and swirled in the dim candlelight.

Then, she lit the seven pairs of white candles that were placed on both sides of the path leading from the garden to the gate. The pale light cast long, swaying shadows in the night wind, like a guiding light leading to the underworld.

After doing all that, Alessa went back inside, picked up the bag of flour, and began to sprinkle the flour around the entire perimeter of the house. Finally, she backed away and sprinkled the flour on the cement path illuminated by the candles before returning inside the house.

The same thing happened inside the house. Flour was scattered all over the first floor, and then scattered backwards until it reached the altar table, leaving only a small clean circle around the cushion where Ms. Wright and herself were sitting.

The entire living room, except for the area under their feet, was covered with a thin, pale, flour-coated carpet.

Alessa put down the empty bag, sat back down on the cushion, glanced at the time, and finally looked at Ms. Wright with her calm and empty pupils.

Ms. Wright felt a chill run down her spine from this series of unusually cold and emotionless actions. Throughout the entire process, the little girl did not make any other sound or pause in the slightest; it was as smooth as a machine.

In the darkness, the incense on the altar emitted a peculiar scent, and the shadows cast by the candlelight on the opposite wall flickered and stretched with the candlelight, distorting and deforming the shadows of himself and the furniture.

*Snap!* With a soft, crisp sound, Alessa lit the lighter in her hand and held it out towards Ms. Wright.

"Burn...burn it..."

Ms. Wright's voice trembled as she grabbed a stack of joss paper, her hand shaking as she lit it with a lighter and tossed it into the stainless steel basin. The orange flame licked at the paper money, and the fire gradually grew larger.

Alessa also began burning paper money. She moved very gently, throwing in one sheet after another, letting them ignite under the licking flames, curl up, and then emit light.

Ms. Wright couldn't help but look at the silent little girl opposite her. The flickering candlelight reflected on the girl's face, but her eyes were unfathomable, devoid of any emotion, simply gazing calmly at the dancing flame, or... at the deeper darkness beyond the flame.

Alessa completely ignored Ms. Wright's act of burning paper; she simply maintained that posture, like a cold porcelain doll.

"Ah... Miss Alessa?" Ms. Wright couldn't help but call out softly, trying to break the suffocating silence and the oppressive feeling of the inhuman presence around her.

Aresa slowly raised her eyelids, her expression blank, and she offered no reply.

He simply stared at her silently and coldly with those empty, deep eyes, which seemed to be veiled in the candlelight.

There was no curiosity, no comfort, not even a trace of human emotion in his eyes; it was as if he were observing an insignificant object.

Damn it!

Ms. Wright suddenly realized she had made a mistake; having this little girl with her was... more frightening than having no one with her at all!

Although she did nothing, just those eyes of hers were enough to send a chill down Ms. Wright's spine, from the soles of her feet all the way to the top of her head!

Too scary!

The oppressive atmosphere in the living room made her nerves tense, and her heart was beating faster and faster. She looked towards the kitchen, where the little girl's brother, the sheriff, was also silent, like a corpse!

Ms. Wright licked her lips with difficulty, about to speak—

suddenly!

The little girl across from him stopped abruptly, turned her head sharply towards the door, and her eyes focused as if she had seen something extraordinary!

About two seconds later, Qin Jin also suddenly opened his eyes and looked over.

Ms. Wright was startled by this sudden change; her heart pounded so hard it felt like it was going to jump out of her throat!

She followed Alessa's gaze and looked toward the door in horror, but saw nothing.

Only seven pairs of white wax trees leaping in the garden, and incense sticks burning on the ground in front of the door!

This continued for half a minute before Ms. Wright noticed something slowly crawling on the floured cement road outside. It was black, not very big, but crawling very fast.

That's a cockroach! It crawled in from outside the yard.

Then, something truly horrifying happened to Ms. Wright…

As the cockroach crawled, clear footprints appeared on the flour behind it, one after another, following closely behind the cockroach, as if something had walked in.

Ms. Wright had stopped burning paper money and was tightly covering her mouth!

She remembered being told in the afternoon that no matter what strange things happened, she should not shout or move, and should leave everything to the detective from the East!

But why isn't he coming out yet? Why isn't he handling this?

The cockroach paid no heed to the incense and candle scents and the chill in the room. After crawling over the leftover rice, it quickly entered the living room and headed towards the offering table.

Those footprints that appeared out of nowhere, like the drumbeats of death, pounded heavily on Ms. Wright's heart, getting closer and closer to the altar!

Finally, the shiny cockroach crawled to the foot of the offering table, its antennae twitching, searching for a path to climb up...

In that very instant!

"Ah—!! Get away! Don't come any closer!!!"

Ms. Wright's taut nerves snapped at that moment, turning into a hysterical scream!

She completely lost her mind, her eyes fixed on that terrifying insect. Almost instinctively, she took off her slippers and slapped them down without a second thought!

Snapped! ! !

The slipper landed precisely on the cockroach, smashing it to pieces and splattering its juices everywhere!

The temperature in the room suddenly dropped several degrees at that moment!