American Zombie Detective

Chapter 133 Zhang the Diviner: His Character

"Wha-what? Who owes you money? We—we don't know what you're talking about!"

Despite the excruciating pain, the man with the rooster-like head retorted in a trembling voice.

"have no idea?"

Qin Jin grinned maliciously, released him, walked over to another thug with a nose ring who was clutching his stomach and groaning, and stomped on his injured calf without any politeness!

"Agh—!!!" A pig-like scream echoed through the alley.

Qin Jin bent down, picked up the leaves they had just thrown away, sniffed them, and then roughly shoved them into the mouth of one of the thugs with a dragon tattoo on his chest: "Damn it! That's the smell, my stuff! I gave that kid Lin Hao the goods because we're both Chinese, and now he's dead—I don't care how much you gave him, but right now, give me my money!"

"No! No! You've got it wrong!" Another slightly more lucid blond-haired man shouted through the pain, "Lin Hao! That student, I know him—he doesn't sell leaves! We don't sell goods either, we, we buy them to smoke—"

Qin Jin narrowed his eyes, walked up to him, and placed his foot on his chest, applying slight pressure: "Oh? Then what's he doing in this godforsaken place? Don't tell me he pocketed all the goods—if he didn't distribute them to you, tell me, who did he sell them to?"

The thug being trampled felt as if a huge rock was pressing on his chest, making it hard to breathe, his face turning red: "He—he was here—but he didn't tell us he had leaves—he, he must have sold them to that grocery store owner behind us—"

"A general store?" Qin Jin loosened his grip slightly. "Who is it? Where? When did you see him going to sell goods?"

"The alley behind Banyan Tree Street! I've seen it too—"

The thug with the nose ring next to him quickly chimed in, afraid of being beaten again: "There's a secondhand shop over there, with a fortune-telling sign hanging outside—we've never been inside—Lin Hao has been there several times, I've seen it—"

"Very good." Qin Jin got the information he wanted, withdrew his foot, and coldly glanced at the thugs groaning in pain on the ground: "One last question—how did you know his name was Lin Hao, and how did you get to know him?"

"Lin Hao, Mike, and that other guy, they're really famous here—" the man with the mohawk shouted in a panic, "Lin Hao lived here when he was a kid, lots and lots of people know him—"

"Hmm?" Qin Jin's heart skipped a beat. "You mean, they moved away after they got rich?"

"Yes, yes—" the blond thug said, "His family didn't have much money before, but somehow they got rich and bought a house and moved away, but—but he often comes to Chinatown—"

This is interesting. What kind of business can make such a fortune?

Thinking of this, Qin Jin nodded and searched them one by one, finding driver's licenses on the three guys: the one with the rooster-comb haircut, the one with blond hair, and the one with the nose ring.

For Americans, this thing is almost equivalent to a Chinese ID card, encompassing almost all their information. With this thing, you basically have all the information about these three guys.

Qin Jin stuffed their driver's licenses into his pocket, then took out his wallet, pulled out about a hundred US dollars, and threw it on the ground: "Now, I'm going to go check out the grocery store you mentioned, and you guys—help me find someone who knows the specifics of how Lin Hao's family got rich, a neighbor, classmate, coworker—call me after you find them before midnight."

Qin Jin slowly leaned down, looking into the eyes of the man with the rooster-like hair, his gaze fierce: "If you do a good job, I'll give you another two hundred yuan and return your driver's licenses. But if you dare to run away—" Qin Jin's face slowly twisted into a sinister smile: "If I can't find you, I'll blow up your entire house—BOOM!"

He made an explosion gesture, stood up straight, and walked away without looking back, leaving the terrified thugs in the alley behind.

Stepping out of the alley, Qin Jin entered the address of the secondhand store into the navigation system, then started the Dodge and made a phone call to have Carter meet him there.

Soon, at the entrance of a narrower, older alley next to Banyan Tree Street, Qin Jin found his target.

A faded, white wooden sign has several lines of traditional Chinese characters written in thick ink: "Occupy, Change Fate, Cleanse, Five Ghosts Transport Wealth, Tai Sui Suppresses Evil".

The sign was hanging behind the window, barely visible through the dusty glass. The shop door was locked and looked dusty.

Without the slightest hesitation, Qin Jin got out of the car, walked to the door, and lifted his leg!

"Bang—!!!" One kick, and it broke open.

This has become Qin Jin's signature move, and it feels great and satisfying to use.

Carter and David arrived as well, parked their car outside, and followed Qin Jin inside.

The store was dimly lit and small, and seemed to be cluttered with a lot of things. As soon as Qin Jin entered, he sensed something was wrong. Clearly, someone must have died here.

Although the smell of blood was faint, it did not escape Qin Jin's nose. He quickly found the bloodstains remaining on the wall in the inner room.

The scene had been cleaned, but not professionally. Some areas were not wiped properly, and the direction of the bloodstains indicated that it was dripping, suggesting that the person was stabbed to death with a sharp weapon.

This is the original crime scene, but the body is no longer there. Judging from the traces, it was probably dragged out, put into some kind of object, and then taken away to be buried.

Continuing his search, Qin Jin found another box under the bed whose lock had been pried open. The remaining traces indicated that something was missing from inside. The remaining items were scattered and looked like various magical artifacts, but they were not old enough, appearing to be no more than from the Republican era.

"David, come investigate this shop owner tomorrow," Qin Jin stated his request: "Shop owner information, recent customers, closing times, nearby CCTV footage—it's been a while, so the footage might be hard to find, but do your best!"

Qin Jin's gaze swept over the secondhand shop, which exuded an eerie atmosphere. "I have a feeling this guy is definitely connected to the case we're investigating!"

"yes!"

Qin Jin quickly scanned the room, which was filled with a cheap yet mysterious atmosphere, but found nothing more of value.

Before we knew it, it was almost evening, and the sky outside the window began to turn orange-red.

"Let's go to Hellfire Bar and have a chat with Lily." Qin Jin dusted off his hands and prepared to leave.

"Detective Qin!" Detective Carter rubbed his rumbling stomach, his face showing a mix of fatigue and embarrassment. "Look, it's almost lunchtime, and we haven't had lunch yet—I know the case is urgent, but could you find a place where I can treat you to something simple to eat?"

Qin Jin paused slightly, then nodded. "Okay, let's go outside and take care of this quickly." He gave a somewhat embarrassed smile. "Sorry, that's just how I am when I'm working on cases; I forget things when I get busy."

"Haha, it's alright, it's alright," Detective Carter chuckled ingratiatingly. "We adults are fine, it's just that—" He glanced at Alessa, "Your sister is still growing!"

The group quickly found a restaurant and sat down. It was a Mexican restaurant, and the air was filled with the rich aroma of chili peppers, tortillas, and fried food.

Carter and David were clearly hungry, and they quickly ordered tortilla chips, French fries, chicken burritos, and beef tortillas from the menu.

When it was Qin Jin and Alessa's turn, Qin Jin's eyes quickly scanned the menu: "Two cream of mushroom soup. Two steaks, medium-rare."

"Yes, sir." The waiter noted it down and left.

Carter was somewhat surprised: "That's all? Detective Qin, you and your sister have such small appetites." He enthusiastically recommended, "The beef burritos here look authentic, or perhaps you should try their signature stew?"

"No need, this is enough."

Qin Jin politely declined, turning his gaze to the bustling street outside the window. Alessa sat quietly beside him, expressionless, while Yuanxiao crawled around, drooling, completely captivated by the aroma.

Soon, the food was served.

Carter and David immediately began to devour their food, while Alessa slowly sipped her drink, seemingly waiting for the mushroom soup to cool down. Qin Jin, meanwhile, cut small pieces of steak in front of him, pondering a way to escape.

Qin Jin took out his phone, intending to ask Alessa to go to the restroom and delay her for a while, and then pack up the food. Just then, out of the corner of his eye, he caught a fleeting figure across the street!

It was a woman wearing a beige trench coat, whose profile and walking posture looked exactly like Chen Anni!

Judging from her walking posture, she seemed to be deliberately avoiding people, appearing somewhat furtive.