American Zombie Detective

Chapter 152 Departure, Romania

Chapter 151 The Golden Sail Yacht Club was in a mess, but the previous terrifying atmosphere had dissipated with the destruction of the mountain spirit, leaving only the howling of the sea wind and the clear sound of police sirens outside the club.

Qin Jin dialed Carter's number: "Detective Carter, the matter is resolved. Bring your men to clean up the scene."

While he was on the phone, Alessa walked over to Lin Hao's body, unzipped her pants, fumbled around for a bit, pulled out an old, thread-bound book, and handed it back to Qin Jin.

Qin Jin took the old book. It felt rough to the touch. He turned the yellowed and brittle pages and saw tiny red characters, traditional Chinese characters, and classical Chinese phrases. The contents were all kinds of evil arts, such as sacrifices, prayers, and curses.

"White Lotus Secret Techniques—" Qin Jin glanced at the book, murmured its title, and curled his lips into a mocking smile: "As expected, these things have too many side effects and are not fit for public display."

He casually closed the ancient book, put it in his pocket, and then put it away with the parchment manuscript he had obtained from the Tong family in San Francisco and the Five Elements Notes he had received from Chen Bonian.

Qin Jin wasn't particularly interested in this knowledge that contained elements outside of his power system; he simply kept it.

Then, Aresa retrieved the yellow cloth that had wrapped the black stone from the ruins, and casually stuffed a large stack of the remaining US dollars from the safe into her doll's little treasure vault.

Detective Carter led his men back to the ruins. In addition to the officers who had arrived earlier, there were patrol officers who had responded to the call, as well as reinforcements Carter had called in. They quickly set up a cordon, moved the bodies, and carried out a series of tasks.

Carter then approached Qin Jin, his eyes filled with a searching gaze: "Detective Qin!"

He lowered his voice, his gaze sweeping over the busy officers around him and the corpse in the distance: "This case—how should we write the report?"

Qin Jin glanced at him, his tone indifferent: "Oh? Detective Carter, what are your thoughts?"

Carter immediately shook his head vigorously: "No, Inspector Qin, whatever you say goes, no doubt about it, but—I need to get the brothers on the same page first, to avoid any trouble later."

He adopted a very humble attitude. Having gone through everything in the case, his attitude towards Qin Jin reached a new level, and he basically obeyed Qin Jin's every word.

Qin Jin nodded, satisfied with his tact. He said calmly, "The report should be written like this: We brought Chen Anni to identify the scene and happened to run into Tagore and Lily, who were committing the theft. During the standoff, an inexplicable natural disaster occurred, and the three died from shock. The disaster caused damage to the dock and buildings—that's how the written report should be written. As for Director John, just tell the truth; he doesn't need to hide anything."

Carter listened carefully and realized that this was the easiest and safest way to handle things for everyone.

"I understand, Detective Qin. I'll handle it." Carter nodded solemnly.

He hesitated for a moment, as if he still had something to say, his lips moving as if to speak.

"Is there anything else? Just say it, Detective Carter." Qin Jin noticed his hesitation.

Carter took a deep breath, organizing his thoughts: "Detective Qin, to be honest, this is the first time I've personally experienced a case like this. Many of your methods—I—I didn't understand them at first, and were even somewhat shocked." He carefully chose his words: "I know I shouldn't ask so many questions, but could you please advise me on the most important principle when dealing with this kind of situation? If, I mean, if I encountered it myself, would I know what to do?"

Qin Jin looked at him. Carter's eyes held lingering fear and confusion, but even more so, a burning desire to understand and learn. He was a smart, seasoned policeman who wanted to survive.

Qin Jin pondered for a moment before speaking, "Carter, dealing with these things is different from dealing with people. Their destructive logic and power limits often exceed common sense. Many times, there are no second chances." He pointed to the mess, saying with a mix of truth and feigned seriousness, "Like tonight. If we chose to confront it head-on, facing it directly when it's at its most enraged, we might eventually resolve the situation, but the cost could be the deaths of more than half of the officers here, or even their escape, causing even bigger problems later. So, as you saw, I used Lin Hao and the others to calm its anger before attacking. This is the most efficient option with the fewest casualties!"

He paused, his tone carrying an ancient coldness: "This isn't like catching a serial killer, where you can surround and intercept them, negotiate, or wound them. When facing certain entities, a moment's hesitation can lead to an exponential increase in the spread of disaster. Therefore, the primary principle is: extinguish the source immediately, at any cost. The process doesn't have to be perfect, but the result must be clean."

This is more like a state of war; extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. Do you understand?

Carter listened intently; Qin Jin's words struck him like a hammer blow.

He pondered the terms "state of war" and "extraordinary measures," and then recalled Qin Jin's ruthless yet extremely efficient actions that evening. A new, profound realization gradually replaced his previous fear and unease.

"I—I think I understand, Detective Qin." Carter let out a heavy breath, his eyes hardening. "Your guidance has benefited me immensely. Thank you."

"It's alright, we'll head back once things are settled here. We'll also let Hansen know to come back," Qin Jin smiled at Carter. "We can report the case closed to Deputy Chief John now!"

"Okay, I'll contact them right away!" Carter said, glancing at the sky where dawn was just beginning to break.

The sky finally began to brighten, and the long and bloody night seemed to be finally coming to an end.

Not far away, Alessa squatted on the ground, with Yuanxiao, a teddy bear cub, chirping and nuzzling in front of her.

She reached out her little hand and carefully smoothed the wind-blown fur of the glutinous rice ball, then said to the little bear in her slightly halting Chinese, with a serious expression, "Today is dangerous. You can't participate." She paused, her grey-blue eyes looking into the little bear's beady black eyes, and added, her tone even carrying a hint of childish promise, "Later, when you grow up, you'll help me fight bad guys, okay?"

Yuanxiao seemed to understand the concern in her words, and chirped happily, nudging her palm with its fluffy head.

After handling the initial matters at the club, Qin Jin, Detective Carter, and others returned to the police station to meet with Detective Hansen, who had returned from the lawyer's office, and Deputy Chief John, who had come from home.

Upon learning that the case had been solved, Deputy Chief John could not contain his excitement and relief.

Upon seeing Qin Jin, he warmly greeted him and shook his hand vigorously: "Detective Qin! You've worked so hard! Thank you so much! I knew inviting you was the right decision!"

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, John, Qin Jin, Carter, and Hansen closed the door for a short meeting, mainly about how to write reports and how to report on the actual circumstances of the cases.

Deputy Director John listened attentively. As a seasoned bureaucrat, he instantly understood the report's soundness: "Yes, this approach is appropriate. It's indeed inappropriate to include paranormal phenomena in official reports submitted to the state government and media, as it could cause unnecessary panic and questioning."

"Understood, Deputy Director." Carter immediately replied, feeling relieved; the support from his superiors made his work much easier.

"Detective Qin," John turned to Qin Jin, his smile even more sincere, "thank you again! Don't worry, I will arrange the reward and investigation funds I promised to you in Los Angeles immediately, as quickly as possible. I will never let a meritorious person down!"

He paused for a moment, then warmly invited, "The case is closed, and the pressure is gone. Why don't you and Miss Alessa stay here for a few more days? Let us do our best to be your hosts."

Qin Jin shook his head politely but firmly: "Thank you for your kindness, Director John. However, I have already asked for leave from Director Edward in Los Angeles. After finishing things here, I need to leave immediately for some personal business in Romania."

"Romania?" Deputy Director John paused for a moment, then, as if suddenly remembering something, slapped his forehead: "Oh right! Your adorable little bear cub, Yuanxiao, right? What about it? Are you planning to take it with you, or—"

Upon hearing this, Qin Jin was taken aback for a moment, a rare occurrence. He hadn't really considered this matter; now, things were getting a bit complicated.

Seeing Qin Jin's expression, Deputy Director John laughed instead, a hint of smugness in his eyes: "Haha, leave this to me! Remember Justice Waring? He's not just a justice, he's also the honorary president of our state's wildlife conservation association. I'll go find him right now and get you an official certificate in the name of the association and research, stating that it's for the transfer of injured young wild animals to Romania for special rehabilitation treatment. That'll solve everything. What do you think?"

This was undoubtedly a timely help. Qin Jin showed a sincere expression of gratitude: "Thank you so much, Director John! This has solved a huge problem for us."

Next, Deputy Chief John personally contacted Judge Warlin to handle Little Bear's documents, while Inspector Hansen helped check the flight information.

The news was quickly confirmed: there was a direct flight to Bucharest, Romania, at 5 pm the next day, with a flight time of about 17 hours, which would reduce the hassle of connecting flights, so Qin Jin agreed.

At this moment, Carter suddenly remembered a question and asked with a mixture of curiosity and confusion, "Detective Qin, there's something I still don't quite understand. You had David bring Chen Anni from the police station—"

But didn't we initially speculate that the mountain spirit would come to claim her life at midnight? Why didn't it immediately go to Chen Anni at the police station after killing Chen Zhenni?