American Zombie Detective

Johnny was so startled he almost threw the phone away!

He covered the microphone, looked at Qin Jin in horror, and mouthed silently, "The Tong...Tong family! Tong Shouyi! They've come knocking!"

Qin Jin's eyes lit up, and he gave a "finally here" smile. He walked over to Johnny and whispered a few quick instructions.

As Johnny listened to Qin Jin's words, the fear on his face was gradually replaced by disbelief and a desperate madness.

He took a deep breath and, speaking with all his might into the phone, his voice, though still trembling, carried a kind of petty greed and cunning:

"Mr. Tong... Mr. Tong! I'm on my way to San Jose, on the outskirts of the city. There's an abandoned 'Old Man Jenny' restaurant here... He... he's nearby, hurry... run!"

Then, that cold voice rang out again, carrying a hint of disdain and decisiveness:

"Okay, I'll be right there. Keep an eye on where they go!"

"Yes, yes, yes, yes!"

Johnny's heart pounded wildly, almost bursting out of his chest: "Mr. Tong... I'm waiting for you..."

He finished speaking quickly and hung up the phone before the other party could respond. He leaned against the wall, completely exhausted, and gasped for breath.

He looked at Qin Jin, his gaze complex:

"B-Boss! I've done everything you asked, and the Tong family... the Tong family is coming soon... When did I become a vampire...?"

He subconsciously touched the teeth marks on his neck, his eyes still showing a mixture of longing and fear for immortality.

Seeing his expression, Qin Jin couldn't help but burst into laughter.

He patted Johnny on the shoulder, quite forcefully:

"The Embrace? No need, you're not infected. How should I put it, well, they made a mistake, they didn't get to the bottom of it... This 50,000 is your reward, how about that, more than you expected, right?"

Johnny was struck dumb, completely petrified on the spot!

Didn't it bite through? How is that possible?

He stared blankly at Qin Jin's face, which had regained some of its laziness but still wore a devilish smile. He touched the teeth marks on his neck that were still faintly painful. A huge fear surged into his heart, making his face display a variety of expressions!

"However, you'd better not talk about this!" Qin Jin revealed a smile that concealed murderous intent.

"Even though I've left, you know there are still many vampires here! They could kill you at any time! And let me add, if those twenty-odd people knew you were in cahoots with me to set them up, you probably wouldn't fare any better!"

Johnny's thoughts, which had been racing through his mind, were abruptly spoken by Qin Jin, causing Johnny's face to instantly turn incredibly awkward and unsightly. He no longer knew what to do...

Qin Jin ignored the stunned Johnny and called to Selena:

"Alright, that's done. I'm going back!" With that, he pulled out two thick rolls of banknotes, probably more than ten thousand, and threw them over, which Selena caught in her hand.

The black Dodge started heading towards San Francisco, picked up Alessa, and then sped towards Los Angeles. Selena randomly picked a car and left, quickly disappearing into the night.

Johnny stood there, watching the direction the car had disappeared in, weighing the pros and cons repeatedly in his mind. Finally, he gritted his teeth, picked out a car from the side, and dialed Tong Shouyi's number:

"Hello... Mr. Tong? It's me, Gecko! They... they drove southeast, and I... I've already followed them in my car... Yes! I'm following them, and I'll report back to you at any time..."

After hanging up the phone, he started following the direction Dodge had gone. He knew that Qin Jin had asked him to reveal the location as Los Angeles, so—

I probably can't stay in San Francisco anymore. Since that's the case, why not do a better job for this vampire who's more terrifying than a demon, and then go to Los Angeles? Maybe I'll still be of value to be used by him.

The Tong family is nothing compared to vampires! Following vampires is a much better path!

…………

The Dodge roared like a raging beast as it sped along the winding California Highway 1.

The deep blue of the Pacific Ocean on the right resembled a galaxy, while the shadowy mountains on the left presented a magnificent view. However, the two were not focused on this; their attention was entirely on the kidnapping that was about to take place.

Qin Jin held the steering wheel with his left hand and pulled a wad of cash from his pocket with his right hand, stuffing it into Alessa's arms.

"Take it..."

Alessa glanced down at the large stack of US dollars, then calmly raised her head, seemingly not quite understanding Qin Jin's behavior. At this moment, he uttered the second half of his sentence.

"When I was in school, I would treat my classmates to food and drinks, buy them something, and make friends."

Alessa put the US dollars back in the passenger seat: "I don't want them."

Qin Jin raised an eyebrow: "Hmm?"

"It was hard work, I got it by deception," Aresa said succinctly.

Qin Jin chuckled, then casually grabbed the money and stuffed it back into his hand.

"We still have money, we don't need this much, take it."

This time, Aresa didn't put the money back. Since Qin Jin insisted, she would do as he said. However, she didn't quite understand why:

"If that's enough, why bother lying?"

Qin Jin grinned and explained his reasoning to Alessa. She had recently become increasingly adept at thinking, indicating a rapid improvement in her intelligence, which was a good thing. Qin Jin didn't hesitate to elaborate:

"Originally, I was worried that Johnny's news wouldn't spread fast enough, so I made a big fuss and then tried to let a few escape, but who knew..."

He chuckled slowly, a satisfied look on his face, and a smile played at the corners of his lips.

"This gecko turned out better than I expected, and word got straight to the Tong family, so the others are no longer needed..."

Alessa remained silent for a few seconds, seemingly processing Qin Jin's intricately linked thoughts.

Finally, she looked down at the money in the doll's arms and, unusually, uttered a sentence in Chinese:

"I don't need your cronies."

"This is called friends, not cronies, it means this..." Qin Jin explained the meaning of the two words with a wry smile, but still stuffed the money into her hand in the end:

"If you're not going to make friends, then save your money to buy bombs. I see you're almost out of grenades."

Alessa didn't say anything more, but simply stuffed the money into the body of the rag doll Frankenstein's monster.

The engine roared on, and the coastline rushed past the car window.

After driving for about three and a half hours, and about halfway through the journey, just as we were about to pass through the town of Saint-Simon, we saw red and blue flashing police lights on the road ahead.

Police cars and two pickup trucks were parked in the middle of the road, forming makeshift roadblocks. People nearby were armed, and apart from two police officers, the rest were small-town residents in civilian clothes.

Qin Jin slowly brought the car to a stop. A burly police chief walked over with two armed residents, his hands habitually resting on his holsters.

"What's the matter?" Qin Jin asked, taking the initiative to identify himself.

"Los Angeles Police Department Canyon Precinct, Trainee Detective... I can show you my badge."

This is also standard practice for American police: before doing anything, it's best to state your intentions first. Otherwise, suddenly reaching out where the police can't see you often leads to riots or tension, and in serious cases, even direct firing.

This situation is less common for white people and Chinese people, but it's different for black people. If they dare to reach out, they will be shot almost immediately.

After obtaining the sheriff's permission, Qin Jin took out the police badge and handed it to him. Upon confirming it was correct, the sheriff's tense expression visibly relaxed, and he even showed a hint of friendliness.

"Detective Qin, I'm sorry! This is Sheriff Harvey from St. Simon. Something has happened in town, and we are investigating."

"Murder or robbery?" Qin Jin asked casually.

"It's much more complicated than this, and it's not just one thing!" Sheriff Harvey shook his head, his face somewhat troubled.

"Starting yesterday, a man-eating bear has been appearing near the town, killing several residents! We haven't caught it yet, and now there's another bizarre murder in town—a Chinese couple on Oak Street were found dead in their home… The scene was simply…"

"How is it?" Qin Jin pressed, as if he had thought of something.

"They have teeth marks on their necks, and their blood has been drained!" Sheriff Harvey's face showed fear.

"But the doors and windows were intact, and there were no signs of forced entry! Everyone in town says it was done by vampires..."

He clearly found the claim absurd, but couldn't explain the facts before him.

Qin Jin's pupils contracted almost imperceptibly.

He hesitated for a moment before speaking, "Sheriff Harvey, would you mind letting me see the crime scene or the victim's body? Perhaps I can offer a different perspective."

Sheriff Harvey hesitated for a moment, glanced at Qin Jin's badge, and then thought that the detective from Los Angeles might indeed have seen some of the world, before finally nodding:

"Alright, you're one of us. Park your car over there, I'll have someone take you there."

Qin Jin parked the car in the designated spot next to the roadblock. As he got out, Alessa asked him, "Qin, why?"

Qin Jin leaned close to Alessa's ear and whispered:

"Do you remember that resurrected corpse from the morgue, Luke Lee?"

Aresa blinked, indicating that she remembered.

Qin Jin's voice was cold and calm:

"His parents, a couple who came from China with a large sum of money years ago, lived in St. Simon. Luke also fled in this direction, so I suspect..."

A cold, unfeeling smile curled at the corner of his lips:

"Zombie murderer! Zombie Luke, having drunk his parents' blood, has transformed from a black zombie into a hopping zombie... This thing can't be allowed to live!"