American Zombie Detective

Chapter 212 1000 Knives

"This story didn't appear out of thin air; it must have a source!"

Qin Jin stated definitively, "I don't care if you go to your occult friends, writers, publishers, use police resources, or even get a group of Bruce's guys to help you find a collection of short horror stories in that style, or an author who specializes in writing this type of story."

He emphasized: "If this author is still alive, he must be quite old, or he wrote these things a long time ago and may have already stopped writing. A key point is that his stories likely feature similar scenes more than once: for example, a late-night subway train or a last bus, on which several strange passengers board, leading to a series of deaths."

"Let's look in this direction."

"clear."

Constantine stubbed out his cigarette in the extinguisher by the door, a worried look on his face. "This is much more troublesome than exorcism—but don't worry, I have two old friends who can help."

Qin Jin knew he was referring to Beman, who had some knowledge of mysticism and demonology, but this wasn't a demon! He'd probably be stumped even if he had him!

After leaving old Murphy's house, the afternoon sun became quite intense.

Constantine stretched and loosened his limbs: "Qin, you've been busy all morning. I know a good Texas barbecue place around here, it has a unique flavor, and the owner has his own small smokehouse. Want to try it? It's almost lunchtime anyway."

Qin Jin glanced at Alessa, who showed no reaction. He thought for a moment, realizing that it wouldn't make sense to keep refusing. Since he and Alessa could eat anyway, he nodded and said, "Okay, we'll do it your way."

Just as Constantine had said, the barbecue restaurant wasn't large, but it was filled with the smoky aroma and the raw scent of meat. Constantine, familiar with the place, ordered a whole bunch of food.

Qin Jin symbolically ate some vegetables and half-cooked meat, chewing slowly and eating less than the average disciplined person. Alessa was even more decisive, directly eating half a rare steak, but she drank quite a bit of beverage.

Since she was able to try human food, she seems to have developed a unique interest in all kinds of carbonated drinks. Although she still can't taste much flavor, the sensation of bubbles stimulating her mouth is novel to her.

The happiest one was Yuanxiao. He received several large pieces of beef brisket and pork ribs that were simply roasted and sprinkled with a little salt. He ate them until his face was shiny with oil, grunting and humming, extremely satisfied.

Qin Jin strictly controlled its diet, fearing that it would have problems if it ate too much raw meat or strong-flavored human seasonings.

After finishing their meal, Constantine leisurely drank two cups of coffee before the three of them drove back to the Canyon Precinct.

Catherine has returned to work. Although she went back to rest, she perfectly balanced work and life. She sent the photos to the police department for verification. While she was sleeping, the situation of the nine survivors was verified, and the information is now stored on her phone.

This is the advantage of being a child of an official! Ahh ...

"Qin, you're back." Upon seeing the three, she immediately reported, "It's all confirmed. Of the nine people on the list, seven have been confirmed dead, all recorded as accidents. There are currently two people still alive."

She placed two printed documents on Qin Jin's desk: "One is a software engineer named Mark Wilson, and the other is Emily Chen, a Chinese-American college student."

I've already contacted them. Mark was skeptical and nervous; Emily, on the other hand, was terrified and believed us almost immediately.

Qin Jin picked up the documents and quickly glanced through them: "Well done. Catherine, go find a safe house immediately, and then persuade these two people that they may be being targeted by a serial killer, and for their safety, they need to temporarily stay in the safe house and accept our protection. The duration—start with one week."

He looked at Constantine and Catherine: "After they check in, you two will be on duty at the safe house around the clock. Jack, go find Frank and ask him to add two more people to your team, not only to help you keep watch, but also to help you look up information."

Catherine nodded immediately, but then asked worriedly, "What if—what if that thing still comes after them? Can we protect ourselves from that kind of accident in the safe house?"

Qin Jin paused for a moment, then shook his head: "This is the best way right now. Centralized protection is better than them being scattered and encountering misfortune on their own. Be vigilant and pay attention to any unusual details. Notify me immediately if you discover anything."

Catherine suddenly realized: "Qin, aren't you going?"

"I'm not going for now, I have other things to do," Qin Jin confirmed her guess, "I'll leave the safe house to you."

Constantine, a cigarette dangling from his lips, glanced at Alessa, who was sitting on the sofa playing on her tablet, and suggested, "Qin, could Alessa keep us company? Her—well, there's a saying in the East that children, cats, and dogs can see many things that adults can't. Why don't you give it a try?"

Alessa, should you stay? Qin Jin didn't make a decision for her, but asked directly, "Alessa, Jack wants you to stay with them for the night. What do you think?"

Aresa glanced up but didn't say anything, her meaning clear—it's up to you, go or don't, let Qin Jin decide.

Qin Jin thought for a moment and decided that letting Alessa stay was fine, since he had important business to attend to that evening. So he gave her a brief instruction: "Alessa, you should understand what we need to do now, right?"

Alessa didn't answer, but simply reached out and touched the tactical collar around Yuanxiao's neck, then pressed the third button.

This key means: [Target cleared/Area safe/All killed]

It seems that Alessa has fully grasped Qin Jin's intentions.

After arranging the work, I called Johnny again.

"Johnny, how's the investigation on the Blood Relic going?" Qin Jin asked directly.

Johnny's voice came through the phone, sounding like he was at the airport: "Boss! I was just about to get in touch with you. There's been progress. I tracked down that blood relic to a small private collector's auction in New York in 2021, where it was bought by an anonymous buyer. I'm getting ready to come back and start investigating from the person who handled the auction."

"Very good," Qin Jin said. "I'll contact you again when you get back."

After hanging up the phone, Qin Jin had nothing else to do for the time being, so he logged into the Los Angeles Police Department's internal network and browsed through cases from recent years, hoping to find other unusual events.

Lucky you!

Although three or four cases showed signs of supernatural phenomena, these cases were either already close to being closed and there was no follow-up for the time being; or they were simply cases of demonic murder, simple and brutal, which Qin Jin really couldn't be bothered to deal with.

After get off work, Qin Jin returned to Qingcao Community, while Alessa, along with Yuanxiao, Catherine, and Constantin, went to the safe house.

Night slowly fell, enveloping Los Angeles.

That evening, almost at the same time as yesterday, a black Ford F-150 pickup truck silently pulled up in Qin Jin's driveway again.

The man in the black trench coat got out of the car again, and then—

He turned around and unloaded four large 28-inch suitcases and a small encrypted metal box from the car.

He walked to the door and rang the doorbell.

Qin Jin opened the door and looked at him expressionlessly.

"Mr. Qin," the man handed over the encrypted metal box, "1000 million in cash, old bills, not consecutive serial numbers, please count them. This box contains an encrypted satellite phone and a user manual."

Mr. K asked me to reiterate his sincerity to you.

Qin Jin took the tin box, glanced at the suitcase behind him, and stepped aside: "Bring it in. I need to count them. You come in and help too."

The man in black's face twitched slightly: "—Uh, count?"

"Yeah, did you not count the change you got when you bought something outside?" Qin Jin pointed to the four boxes. "What if a few bills are missing?"

It has to be said that the man in black had probably never heard such an outrageous request in his life. He had considered the possibility that Qin Jin would renege on his promise, double-cross him, or disregard martial ethics, but he never expected this—

He wanted to help count the money himself!

He was about to refuse when Qin Jin exuded a faint killing intent, the air seeming to chill. His eyes were like knives: "Let me tell you the truth, if you miss even one card today, you'll be dead right here!"

"Gurgle!"

The man in black clearly heard himself swallow.