American Zombie Detective

As dawn was still rising and the first light of day had yet to appear, the roar of massive propellers shattered the silence of the small town of Linhai, and three helicopters painted with eye-catching medical logos landed on the open ground in front of the community hospital.

The hatch opened, and the first person to jump out was none other than Sean, the head of the Western Precinct's Homicide and Major Crimes Unit, followed by his first group of seven or eight fully armed officers, and then professional emergency medical personnel.

"Qin!" Director Sean strode into the councilor's room, his voice echoing in the empty hall.

"Where are they? What's the situation?"

Qin Jin and Alessa, who was holding Yuanxiao, appeared from the basement entrance. They were somewhat surprised by Sean's appearance, but he quickly recovered and pointed to the stairs:

"They're all down there, six of them, and they're barely hanging on."

Supervisor Sean led the medical staff into the morgue in the basement. When they saw five girls lying in the morgue cabinets and one girl lying on the autopsy table, they couldn't help but feel a chill down their spines and their faces were full of horror.

"My God... what caused this?" The doctor leading the team asked, his voice trembling.

"Don't ask questions, save them first!" Supervisor Sean shouted sternly, glancing at Qin Jin who had followed him down, and at Constanze and Catherine who were yawning in the corner:

"Qin, leave this to us. The person must be sent back to the best hospital in Los Angeles immediately! I'll leave the person with you; you make the arrangements."

As he spoke, he called the team leader over and introduced him to Qin Jin:

"David, this is Detective Qin from the second team of the Canyon Precinct. He's in charge of this case, and you'll be assisting him."

"Yes, boss!"

Soon, Supervisor Sean left David and eight of his officers to assist Qin Jin, while the rest of the team escorted the girl and medical personnel onto the helicopter. Supervisor Sean then returned with them, handing over command of the scene to Qin Jin.

"Start the search from the hospital," Qin Jin ordered succinctly.

"Objective: To find the bodies of male victims, number unknown. Also, to locate places resembling altars or shrines. Search all abandoned buildings in the town first."

The officers David brought began the search, and Constanze and Catherine joined them.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, in the room of the holiday home, Qin Jin faced Alessa and asked with an unfriendly expression:

"Tell me, why did you use your erosion? Was it out of necessity, or did you want to use it?"

Aresa's porcelain-white face was tense. She stared at Qin Jin in silence for a long time before softly saying:

"There is a threat."

"You mean, when that thing climbed up your body, you felt threatened?" Qin Jin felt he understood what she meant:

"So, it wasn't your own choice to use it?"

Alessa paused for a moment, then shook her head: "It wasn't me, it was you!"

She raised her head, pointed at Qin Jin's body, and repeated, "It can...corrode your soul!"

Soul-devouring? That hair-like monster? Qin Jin instantly understood!

It turns out that the reason Alessa used the Corrosion Domain to quickly kill this thing was because she sensed that this monster possessed a powerful ability to corrode the soul, not only Alessa, but also Qin Jin!

That's why she chose to use her own erosion to erode and destroy the hair monster!

It's not bloodlust, nor is it an inability to control oneself!

Having understood the reason, Qin Jin's mood naturally changed. After thinking for a moment, he told Alessa:

"I understand, this... isn't your fault! But you should also know that even without your Corruption Domain, we could have hurt her in other ways, including Constantine's Sacred Shotgun, or your Rune Bullets, right?"

Alessa thought for a moment and nodded: "The girl will die."

"Whether she lives or dies is irrelevant. The important thing is that you cannot get hurt, and you cannot lose your mind!" Qin Jin set the tone for Alessa:

"The lives and deaths of these ordinary people are not our concern, so don't worry about them too much. Remember in the future, these uncontrollable forces should only be used in critical moments, such as extremely important matters, or to save our friends and family, understand?"

Alessa repeated, "Family, friends?"

"Yes, family is you, me, and Yuanxiao," Qin Jin patted Alessa's head, then pointed outside:

"As for friends, there's Constantine, Catherine, and, well, maybe Chief Logan... and perhaps others later!"

Finally, Qin Jin summarized: "Remember, we are not saviors. We can't save everyone, so many times we must know when to give up, and be willing to watch them die. Do you understand?"

Alessa pondered for a moment, then nodded emphatically...

On the path of being a person, Qin Jin taught her another lesson, not only how to be a person, but more importantly, he taught her the meaning of "letting go" and when to give up!

The search continued until noon. The first thing they found was a magic circle in the basement of an abandoned house next to the hospital.

The entrance to the basement was extremely well hidden. Below was a space of about 30 to 40 square meters, with a huge, eerie magic circle drawn on the ground.

In the center of the magic circle were a dried-up, blackened animal skull, a twisted metal magic artifact, and a human skull.

The skull is black and shiny, and even has a patina, which is what Chinese people often say is that it has been "polished smooth", indicating that it has been used for an unknown period of time.

The drawn magic circle has intricate and twisted lines, exuding an unsettling and sinister aura.

However, this magic circle, which should have been the core of the ritual, now appears to have been hastily destroyed!

The central artifacts were roughly swept aside, several key nodes were trampled and blurred, and some dry, blackened human hair, torn off in the rush, was scattered on the ground.

It's as if the person who set up the magic circle, at a crucial moment, for some reason, destroyed their own masterpiece.

Anger? Or fear?

"The curse... ruined by itself?"

Constantine picked up a pinch of black ash from the ground, sniffed it, and frowned. "This doesn't make sense."

Qin Jin didn't know what this meant either, so he could only have Constantine pack the contents of the box, then sprinkle holy water inside, and then burn it.

At noon, the group ate some self-heating food and continued their search.

At this time, personnel from the nearby county sheriff's office also arrived, including forensic experts and identification specialists, and began to search the morgue for evidence. After all, it was a case in their jurisdiction, and they had to be involved in these matters.

As for the dozen or so police officers who arrived, Officer David assigned them all to search the town, instantly increasing efficiency.

As dusk fell, Officer David and his team found the newly buried body in an abandoned workshop on the other side of town.

Upon digging, they found the already decomposed bodies of Mark and Ethan, their deaths relatively normal.

Both had their hearts pierced by sharp weapons, dying instantly, their faces still showing terror and disbelief. Somewhat strangely, Mark was not wearing any clothes, and his pants were off, while only Ethan's clothes remained intact.

The on-site investigation and body disposal were handed over to the county sheriff's department, with Officer David assisting them in finishing up the matter.

Constantine and Catherine looked at the busy scene and felt that it was time to bring it to a close.

When they returned to the holiday home, they saw Qin Jin sitting on the sofa in the living room with a cup of cold brew tea in front of him. Alessa was feeding Yuanxiao next to him. Their expressions were neither relaxed nor serious.

"Qin?"

Catherine spoke up, "We've taken over the scene, the medical examiner is performing the autopsy, Officer David and his team are staying to assist, shouldn't we... prepare to head back?"

"We can prepare to head back now, but," Qin Jin pursed his lips:

"This case is definitely not over yet. I feel there will be more developments after I go back."

"I agree," Constantin immediately seconded, "The key element hasn't been found, so the case certainly can't be closed, but..."

He looked at Qin Jin: "How did you determine that the aftermath would happen in Los Angeles, and not here?"

"Just a gut feeling!" Qin Jin smiled, somewhat helplessly. "On the surface, this case seems closed—the person has been found, the body is intact, it looks like it's all over—but in reality? We don't even know what Zhan Mapeng is up to..."

"but!"

At this point, a sharp glint flashed in Qin Jin's eyes: "I've always had a feeling that this matter is still related to the six girls, and Zhan Mapeng's plan... may have more to come."

Constanze and Catherine pondered Qin Jin's question silently, nodding in agreement. They both felt it was highly likely, but there was nothing they could do about it now. After discussing it, they agreed to go back first and wait for the report to come out before seeing if there were any breakthroughs.

In the evening, Qin Jin asked Constanze and Catherine to use the ingredients in the vacation home to prepare a simple but large dinner for Officer David and his team from the Western Precinct. They were colleagues from the Los Angeles Police Department who had come to help, so it was only right to show them this courtesy.

Catherine simply stewed a large pot of potatoes and beef, and with the canned goods that Amy and the others had bought, the meal emptied the entire holiday home, barely managing to make everyone happy.

During dinner, Qin Jin expressed his intention to return the next morning. Officer David and the others said that they would leave the rest to them and would produce the report as soon as possible.

After David and the others left, Qin Jin and his three companions began showering and packing, preparing for their return journey. Just then, Qin Jin's phone rang; it was the duty phone from a police station under the Canyon branch.

"Detective Qin!"

The officer on duty sounded confused:

"We've run into a bit of a problem. A guy named Johnny just came to the police station begging us to arrest him! We ignored him, and then... he punched Inspector Morrison in the face! He's handcuffed in the interrogation room now! He says... he says he's your informant, has important information, and must speak to you immediately!"