American Zombie Detective

The old Dodge's powerful engine roared along the canyon highway, its headlights piercing the night. Under Qin Jin's control, it sped along, the lights of Los Angeles already reduced to a dim, yellowish glow.

"We're almost there." As usual, Alessa helped him check the navigation on her phone.

After navigating a near 90-degree bend, two dim yellow taillights appeared ahead. The Dodge roared after them, only to discover that it was a bright yellow taxi weaving along the not-so-wide road, its body swaying with every bump and pothole.

Qin Jin applied the foot brake, intending to pass this section of road before overtaking, but just then—

In the passenger seat, Aresa suddenly raised her hand and pointed to a dark shadow in front of her to the right.

On the edge of a cliff a few hundred meters away, a huge wooden road sign gradually came into view as we drove on. The faded paint barely revealed the arrow and the blurry lettering below it:

"Xisen Coal Mine".

"That's it." Qin Jin tiptoed again; there was no need to overtake anymore.

However, an unexpected situation occurred.

Just as the taxi reached the fork in the road, it unexpectedly turned onto the same old road leading to the Xisen Coal Mine!

This is?

Qin Jin followed in surprise. Although this road was wider than the main road, the road conditions were terrible. There were potholes and gravel everywhere, and the branches of the trees on both sides drooped as if they were about to swallow the road.

The taxi was moving even slower, but it was also more difficult for Qin Jin to overtake it. Unless he risked a tire blowout by going over those protruding sharp rocks or large potholes, he had no chance at all.

The Dodge's horsepower was completely restricted, leaving it helplessly following behind.

Watching the old taxi lurch along, seemingly about to fall apart at any moment, Qin Jin wasn't annoyed. Instead, a sense of foreboding arose within him—

Who's in the car? A policeman, an exorcist, or a reckless internet celebrity? Or... something related to the paper bride?

Bang! — Sizzle!

The screeching sound of a tire blowout disrupted Qin Jin's thoughts. The taxi in front of him suddenly veered off course, accompanied by a screeching sound, and came to a complete blockage in the middle of the road.

Qin Jin reacted quickly and braked the Dodge to a stop about five or six meters away from the taxi.

A short, thin figure emerged from the taxi, cursing as he checked the tires. Qin Jin unbuckled his seatbelt.

"I'll go down and check. You stay here and don't come out."

Alessa nodded quietly, still holding the Frankenstein doll in her little hands, but the zipper on the back was already open.

Qin Jin walked towards the car in front. At the same time, a man in a beige trench coat got out. He had a handsome mixed-race face and dark hair, but his face showed deep fatigue, and he had a cigarette in his mouth.

He first glanced at the blown tire, then his gaze naturally turned to Qin Jin.

"Hey, need any help?" Qin Jin asked with a warm, overly familiar expression.

"After all, we can't leave until your troubles are resolved."

The man in the trench coat lingered on Qin Jin's face for a moment, as if he had caught something, but couldn't be sure, so he immediately chose to ignore it: "Hi, my name is John."

The man in the trench coat had a deep voice with a Hawaiian accent:

"John Constantine, thank you for your help."

Qin Jin also introduced himself: "Qin Jin," he said, glancing at John, and casually added:

"You seem to have some Eastern ancestry?"

"Yes," John Constantin readily admitted, a certain pride playing on his lips:

"I am one-eighth of East Asian descent, and I am very proud of that..."

By this time, the young boy had already removed the tires, and Qin Jin began to use the jack to raise the car, while casually mentioning:

"John, what brings you here so late...?"

John Constantin maintained a faint smile, a wisp of smoke escaping from the corner of his mouth:

"I have some personal business to take care of. And you, are you with... your sister or your daughter?" He skillfully threw the question back at them, glancing at the passenger seat of the Dodge.

"Little sister," Qin Jin chuckled briefly and shrugged, "like you, I also have some personal matters to attend to."

He deliberately emphasized the last few words, his eyes briefly meeting those of Constantine in mid-air.

They both saw a certain understanding in each other's eyes, as well as a deliberate maintenance of distance.

It's an unspoken understanding that those who appear on this road are probably not there to see the scenery.

That concludes the discussion.

Both sides tacitly agreed not to delve into each other's destinations; the more pressing issue at the moment was the traffic jam.

The three of them worked together and quickly changed the spare tire. The two cars restarted and continued their journey deeper into the area, one in front of the other.

The road grew increasingly dilapidated, and the atmosphere gradually became eerie. Both sides maintained a fragile balance of non-interference and silence, advancing into the heart of the mine in a strangely unsettling peace.

In a vast ruin overwhelmed by collapsed mine racks, rusted machinery, and overgrown weeds, they found nothing unusual or anything that might be related to the paper bride.

The pale moonlight spilled onto the ruins, and only the sound of the wind echoed through the dilapidated factory buildings and mine shafts, adding to the desolate and deathly silence.

There were no lanterns, no sedan chairs, no paper figures, and certainly no so-called "paper bride."

It's so empty here, as if the world has completely forgotten it.

Constantin got out of the car, lit a cigarette, frowned, and walked a few steps along the edge of the ruins. His sharp eyes scanned his surroundings, as if sensing something. In the end, he just irritably exhaled a smoke ring and muttered something under his breath.

Qin Jin also got out of the car, but didn't go far. He just leaned against the Dodge, while Alessa remained quietly sitting in the passenger seat.

He also did not sense any strong sinister aura; the air was filled only with desolation, decay, and... a kind of dilapidated desolation.

Looks like I made a wasted trip tonight.

Constantin stubbed out his cigarette and came back, his tone a mix of disappointment and something that seemed to have been expected.

He gave Qin Jin a deep look. "Mr. Qin, it seems you haven't accomplished your 'business' either?"

At this point, both sides had guessed each other's intentions, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, they were likely on the same page. Seeing Constantin's hesitant expression, Qin Jin preemptively interrupted him, preventing him from saying anything more:

"Yeah, bad luck, we guess we'll just have to give up!"

Finding nothing, the atmosphere grew increasingly oppressive. The two cars turned around and, one after the other, silently drove away from the desolate mine ruins along the broken road they had come from.

The vigilance and exploration they brought with them have now turned into the frustration of returning empty-handed and the unresolved questions in their hearts.

As the car overtook the yellow taxi and returned to the canyon highway, Alessa suddenly spoke:

"Should we go back to find her?"

The "she" she was referring to was likely the red-dressed vampire. In Alessa's view, failing to find the target was the vampire's fault; therefore, her suggestion meant—

Find the vampire and kill her!

Of course, this was also to fulfill Qin Jin's threat before departure; after all, keeping one's word is a good habit.

But Qin Jin shook his head, a lazy smile playing on his lips, seemingly confident:

"She wasn't lying to us, it must be... the timing is wrong! Although we didn't find this thing, I did find some interesting things on the way."

Aresa tilted her head and looked at him without saying a word.

So Qin Jin continued speaking on his own:

"The dirt on this road is mixed with a lot of dark gray gravel. I saw it when I passed by the house where the accident happened today—"

"There are also these kinds of gravel in the tire tracks in front of his house, a lot of them."