American Zombie Detective

Chapter 139: Comforting, Not Saving Lives (Eight Chapters, Please Subscribe)

Chen Zhenni was escorted by police officers back to the mansion in the Rand Park community, a place permeated with the atmosphere of death and money.

This time, with Chen Zhenni's authorization, the police were able to conduct a thorough search of the house in a legitimate manner.

They searched the rooms, basement, attic, maid's room—even the garden and tool shed—and found that, just as Qin Jin had guessed, there was nothing related to the sacrificial offerings except for the incredibly luxurious furnishings and various luxury items and antiques.

Aresa walked around the entire house and confidently told Qin Jin that she was definitely not there and that the Lin family must have kept her somewhere else.

Deputy Director John inquired about the family's assets. Chen Zhenni was in a state of extreme tension. She curled up on the huge leather sofa, trembling all over, and shook her head desperately: "I don't care about any of this—I don't know anything! My sister and brother-in-law manage the money. I only spend it—they know—only they know—"

The investigation results matched her description, which showed that the Lin family's vast wealth was always controlled by Chen Anni and Lin Guofu, and Chen Zhenni was more like a caged canary who had no involvement in the wealth.

The registered properties, whether under the names of Chen Anni or the deceased Lin Guofu, appear excessively clean, with no records pointing to any specific sacrificial site or suspicious warehouse.

John, Carter, and Hansen all wore expressions of anxiety and resentment. The trail seemed to have gone cold again, while time relentlessly ticked away.

Only Qin Jin remained indifferent, looking as if it were none of his business. He surveyed the cold, luxurious living room as if he were looking at a magnificent tomb about to collapse.

"Alright, we've investigated everything we needed to." Qin Jin's voice broke the oppressive silence. "Let Ms. Chen Zhenni be alone for a while. Her maid can stay with her. Let's all leave."

"Withdraw?" Detective Carter was incredulous. "Detective Qin, this—this is it? We haven't even found the item! Chen Anni has escaped too! We—"

"There's no point in staying here!"

Qin Jin interrupted him, his tone calm yet irrefutable: "We've done what we needed to do. The rest is up to time. What's meant to be revealed will be revealed. What's coming can't be avoided. Go back and wait."

He glanced one last time at Chen Zhenni, who was curled up on the sofa shivering, then turned and walked towards the door first.

Just as the group was about to leave the ornate cage, Chen Zhenni suddenly sprang up as if electrocuted, stumbling towards Qin Jin and grabbing his arm tightly. Her bloodshot eyes were filled with extreme fear and desperate pleading: "You said it! Detective Qin! You said I wouldn't die if I confessed! What happened to the method you taught me? Tell me what to do! I don't want to die! I don't want to end up like Guo Fu—save me! Please save me!"

Her voice was hoarse and shrill, tinged with sobs, echoing in the empty hall.

Qin Jin stopped in his tracks. "A solution? Oh, right." He seemed to just remember, and slowly said, "Tonight, light seven oil lamps in your house, arrange them in a circle, and sprinkle a ring of cinnabar around the outside of the lamps. Finally, the most important step—"

Qin Jin thought for a moment, then, seeing the sudden glimmer of hope in Chen Zhenni's eyes, continued, "Make a paper effigy, write your sister Chen Anni's name and birth date on it, and ideally—get a strand of her hair and tie it to the effigy. Place this effigy right in the center of your oil lamp and cinnabar ring. Then, hide under the bed. Remember? Don't come out or make a sound before dawn."

Chen Zhenni, as if grasping at a last straw, nodded frantically: "I remember! I remember! Oil lamp! Cinnabar! Paper doll! Hair! Hide under the bed!" She immediately let go of Qin Jin and stumbled to have someone take her to Chen Anni's room, "Comb, yes, there's hair on the comb."

Obviously, they need to find these things immediately.

Seeing Chen Zhenni's frantic and panicked appearance, Deputy Director John, Carter, and Hansen exchanged glances, their faces showing a hint of surprise and astonishment. They followed Qin Jin out the door and to the police car.

"Detective Qin," Deputy Chief John finally couldn't help but lower his voice, asking with a hint of awe, "that method you taught her—does it really work? If it really is that effective, what about Judge Warling—"

Qin Jin stopped and looked at the officers with complicated expressions. He shook his head dismissively. "Works? Ha!" He chuckled. "That's just something I made up."

"What?!" the three exclaimed in unison, their eyes practically popping out of their sockets.

"Making it all up?" Carter's voice trembled. "You—you made it sound so convincing just now."

"Otherwise what?" Qin Jin spread his hands, his face full of helplessness and nonchalance, as if saying, "What else can I do?" "If we don't give her something to do, how can we get anything done? Otherwise, if she goes out and acts like she's going to kill herself, she'll only cause more trouble. It's better to let her stay at home quietly. If she's lucky, nothing will happen; if she's unlucky, at least she'll die peacefully. Isn't that better?"

He glanced at the three people who were instantly petrified, and added, "What I'm doing now is the same as the priest, comforting her soul so she can die peacefully. That's pretty good—I've said this before, there's no way around it, this is what the East calls cause and effect, whoever interferes dies! Investigating a case is investigating a case, but I can't exactly die, can I?!"

Deputy Director John's facial muscles twitched, and after a long pause, he managed to stammer, "Then—then why didn't you just say we should send people to guard her house? In case—"

"Chief John, why bother?"

Qin Jin interrupted him, his eyes extremely pragmatic and sincere, "What's the use of guarding outside? If that thing wants to kill her, the police can't stop it! Besides, why should our people take the risk? Whether it's Carter, Hansen, or anyone else, if seven or eight or ten people die, my chief, do you think it's worth it?"

At this point, Qin Jin shrugged: "The important thing is! Even if we die and Chen Zhenni survives, it'll all happen again tomorrow. Who will die then? — Maybe we should just let her obediently wait to die! What do you say, Chief?"

A series of cold, rhetorical questions struck the three men like heavy blows to their chests, plunging them into a deathly silence. The harsh reality was suffocating.

Deputy Director John opened his mouth, but ultimately closed it dejectedly, acquiescing to Qin Jin's decision.

Carter and Hansen also lowered their heads silently, speechless.

Qin Jin was right; they couldn't argue that sacrificing a police officer to protect someone who was guilty of serious crimes and was unlikely to be protected was by no means a wise move.

Just as everyone agreed to the decision and prepared to return, Qin Jin gave an order: "Everyone! There's one more thing to do now. Detective Carter, you take some men and keep an eye on Lily, 24 hours a day. Don't let your guard down."

"Keep an eye on her?"

Carter froze, Hansen froze, and even Deputy Director John cast a questioning glance at him. "Why are you staring at her? Is there a problem?"

"I don't know!" Qin Jin answered crisply. "It's my intuition! Some things in this case came too easily, such as Chen Anni calling the police about the 'murder on the seventh day after death' and Lily's confession about the 'secret base' at the bar. These are all too simple. I have a feeling that there might be more to the story. Keep an eye on them and see if there are any changes."

His gaze fell on the bustling yet indifferent city streets outside the car window. His voice lowered, carrying a chilling premonition born of worldly experience: "I have a feeling that this matter is not as simple as it seems. There are some plot points we haven't figured out yet—although it's not directly related to that ghost, it's still part of the whole case, and I think we should find it out."

Detective Carter took a deep breath and nodded emphatically: "Understood! I'll arrange it right away!"

"As for us—" Qin Jin looked at Detective Hansen: "While Chen Zhenni is at her sister's house, let's go and take a look to see if there's anything else left behind by Deputy Director John. Please go back and continue your in-depth investigation to see if you can find any properties or assets that the Lin family has hidden."

The group parted ways, with Dodge leading Inspector Hansen and his team straight to the mansion in the Walnut Forest community. Qin Jin, meanwhile, pondered the still-mysterious clues:

What's missing from Zhang Da's divination box? It still hasn't been found!

Why did Chen Anni call the police to report it?

Lin Hao used a substitution technique to trick Adams into dying in his place, but why did Mike still fall for it? Was Mike really that stupid?

Why was Zhang Dagua killed? What was Lin Hao's reason for killing him?

And Lily—why did Lin Hao take her to the secret base? Was it intentional or unintentional?

>