American Zombie Detective

Pushing open the door, Qin Jin was not greeted by his usual quiet demeanor, but rather by a negative and oppressive atmosphere.

Alessa curled up in the far corner of the living room sofa, clutching Frankenstein's monster tightly in her arms, unconsciously pulling the zipper up and down—

Splash! Splash! Splash! ...

The whole house was filled with a cold, unapproachable atmosphere, just like the feeling I had back in Silent Hill!

Qin Jin sighed, casually tossing the heavy file onto the table with a soft "thump".

Aresa's body moved almost imperceptibly, but she still didn't raise her head.

"Alessa?" Qin Jin walked over and sat down next to her, the sofa denting slightly.

There was no response; the sound of the zipper being pulled became fainter and more rapid.

"Don't you want to go to school?" Aresa suddenly looked up!

His gray-blue eyes were no longer empty or curious as usual, but filled with resistance and anger!

Her face was taut, her lips pursed into a pale line, like a wildcat with its fur standing on end!

"NO, School!" she uttered, her voice filled with strong rejection.

Qin Jin looked into her eyes and knew that this was more than just a childish dislike of going to school.

Her experiences in Silent Hill, her inhuman nature, and the incompatibility of normal childhood life with her all contributed to the intense conflict she felt at that moment.

"I know, Alessa," Qin Jin's voice lowered, carrying understanding yet a certain insistence:

"I know you don't like going to school, and you're even a little afraid of it, but listen to me..."

He reached out and gently placed his hand on Alessa's small hand, which was clutching a doll and whose knuckles were taut. Both of their hands were icy cold.

"In this world, it's so strange for a little girl not to go to school. The police, neighbors, social workers... they'll all be watching us. And California law doesn't allow it; they'll think I'm abusing you, which will cause a lot of trouble, you understand?"

The anger in Alessa's eyes faded slightly, replaced by a hint of confusion and anxiety.

She hated trouble, and even more so, she hated causing trouble for Qin Jin.

"I assure you," Qin Jin said, his tone carrying a solemn sense of promise.

"Nothing bad will happen at the school here. And I'm letting you bring your phone to school so I can get there immediately if needed... And all of this is only temporary. Give me some time to get the necessary documents... Then you can legally go whenever you want, or not go whenever you don't want to."

He paused, looking at the faint glimmer of hope that was gradually appearing in Aresa's eyes, and added:

"Of course, even if it's just going to school, if I were to commit murder, kidnapping, or bombing, I'd still ask for leave for you and take you with me, okay?"

Aresa stared intently at Qin Jin, seemingly judging the truthfulness and feasibility of his words.

A few seconds later, her tense body finally relaxed a little. Although her little mouth was still slightly pouting unhappily, the strong storm of resistance had temporarily subsided.

She lowered her head, buried her face back in the doll, and mumbled in Chinese, "Hurry...up..."

Qin Jin breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that she had reluctantly accepted the deal.

"Don't worry, I'll do it as soon as possible. Now, we need to solve the immediate problem," he stood up, picked up his car keys,

"Come on, let's go to the mining area. We'll talk to the paper bride, and maybe we'll cause some trouble for certain people!"

When Alessa heard that he was looking for trouble, her eyes lit up instantly. She quickly jumped off the sofa, hugged her doll, and followed Qin Jin closely like a little tail.

Night fell once again over the abandoned mine. Qin Jin led Alessa to the edge of the pool, the very spot where the paper bride had surfaced yesterday.

All around was silent, except for the whistling of the wind blowing through the treetops.

"Hey! Is anyone home? Come out and chat!"

Qin Jin shouted twice at the dark water, his voice echoing in the empty mining area, but there was no response.

Qin Jin took out five incense sticks from his pocket, lit them, and placed them by the pond.

Three sticks are offered to the gods, four sticks are offered to the ghosts, and five sticks are used to summon evil spirits... Shouldn't paper brides be categorized as evil spirits?

Seeing the puzzled look on Alessa's face, Qin Jin could only explain it to her:

"Look, this is the bad habit of the Eastern monsters. To get her to come out, you have to pay money and give them benefits first—look, look, she's coming out!"

As wisps of smoke rose, ripples silently spread across the pool. Then, the canopy of a scarlet sedan chair emerged from the water, followed by stiff paper figures, and finally, a paper bride sitting atop it, covered with a bright red veil, as if it were a scene from yesterday.

The paper figures floated above the pool without approaching, so what the two saw was still a line of paper figures, not a living bride.

"What do you want now?" The cold female voice was clearly impatient.

Qin Jin shrugged helplessly and got straight to the point:

"Trouble has come knocking. I've been drafted by the police to investigate... well, the cases you left behind."

"What?!" The eerie wind around the paper bride suddenly became fierce, making the weeds by the pond rustle. "I told you to arrest the men of the Tong family! Not to investigate me!" The resentful aura almost solidified.

"I didn't want to either!"

Qin Jin spread his hands, his face showing an expression that said, "I am the victim."

"Isn't it because you were too arrogant and didn't know how to be discreet when you killed people recently? The impact was too great, and the police have to solve the case..." Seeing the eerie wind by the pond growing stronger, Qin Jin quickly changed the subject:

"Now, we need to find someone to take the blame and take the fall—I'm here to ask you, when did you wake up and start killing people? Did the hiking trip arranged by the Big Guy Travel Agency have anything to do with you?"

"Hmph!" The paper bride let out a cold sneer. Qin Jin's explanation eased her slightly.

"This matter wasn't initiated by me, but... it is indeed connected to certain living people!"

This answer put Qin Jin at ease; it was just as he expected!

He had thought of this from the beginning: the paper bride had been asleep for decades or even centuries, and recently she had inexplicably started killing people. There must be a reason, right? This was the pretext, and also the best candidate to take the blame.

"What happened?"

The paper bride remained silent for a moment, the chill gradually subsided, and only her eerie, cold voice echoed by the still pool:

"A month ago, someone came here and lit a lamp with corpse oil by the pool, reversing the celestial order and summoning my soul back... When I woke up, this person was already gone, his aura dissipated, leaving only a talisman, which gave my hatred an opening to attach itself to!"

boom!

A flash of insight struck Qin Jin! So that's how it is!

Someone knows he's here, and knows how to wake her up and use her to kill!

Everything connected! This perfectly matched his story to Director Frank and gave him a target to solve the case!

"Could you tell me about the murder you committed?" Qin Jin squinted and stated his assessment:

"I think the reason we're trying to wake you up might be related to the Tong family! Think about it, if they weren't involved, how would they know how to wake you up?"

After a brief silence, the paper bride, filled with resentment, made her demands:

"Okay, I can tell you everything, but..." Her voice was as cold as ice, creating ripples on the water's surface:

"If I could, I'd kill this person!"

"Deal!" Qin Jin said decisively. "Tell me everything from beginning to end, and I'll handle the rest!"

Under the moonlight, the paper bride began to recount the murder in detail… As she described it, images gradually appeared in Qin Jin's mind—

Late at night, two people climbed out of an abandoned mine pit, panting heavily.

Song Weihe threw the old parchment in his hand to the ground, cursing loudly and declaring that he had been deceived and would go to settle accounts with the guy who sold them the treasure map the next day.

The man behind him was in his fifties, thin, with a prominent scar on his forehead. He kept glancing up the mountain, his eyes darting around, as if waiting for something…

The woods began to rustle and make strange noises. Then, the sound of suona horns rang out, and a wedding procession adorned with red ribbons emerged from the woods. The beautiful woman struggled and cried on the sedan chair, repeatedly calling for help.

Her gaze fell on Song Weihe, and she saw the runes written on his backpack with ashes mixed with corpse oil, and there seemed to be a large character for "earth" in the text...

Song Weihe's eyes became vacant. After a moment, he suddenly rushed forward, pulled out his gun and pointed it at the wedding procession. Then he rescued the woman, got into his pickup truck, and sped away.

Unnoticed by him, the gaunt man had already curled up inside his car, holding a strangely shaped wooden carving in his hand and muttering to himself.

The scene shifts to Song Weihe's home.

Faced with this beautiful young girl, Song Weihe moved closer, saying something and getting closer and closer, but the girl held scissors and huddled in the corner, shaking her head and screaming desperately!

This is a typical lecherous scheme, a trick to lure a girl into bed. Unfortunately, the girl didn't comply and told him that the only way to get her was to marry her!

This scene might have carried some weight if it happened in ancient times, but it just so happens to be happening in modern times, in the supposedly freest country, America—

Song Weihe immediately used the most common trick of scumbags, making a verbal promise to eat the meat first!

So, as the girl requested, he took out white paper and a red pen, drew a large "囍" (double happiness) character, and pasted it on his window. Then...

When he turned back to feast, the girl in the red wedding dress had turned into a paper effigy!

The image lingered in Qin Jin's mind:

Song Weihe huddled in the corner, clutching the phone, staring despairingly at the floating paper figures.

The urgent shouts of the 911 operator came through the receiver.

The paper bride pointed her pale finger at the replica David sculpture next to her. The sculpture's base emitted a teeth-grinding scraping sound, floated up, and smashed down on Song Weihe's head!

A dull thud, the cracking sound of bones breaking, blood and brains splattered all over the carpet...

The element of Earth in the Five Elements was accomplished through the most primitive and violent means.