American Zombie Detective

"Ah! Who—!!!"

Even though Tong Jizong was ruthless, he couldn't help but let out a roar of shock and anger when he saw this scene.

"There's someone in the barn! I saw someone!"

A gunman pointed towards the barn; he thought he'd seen a figure move there in the brief flash of lightning!

"Go! Kill him!"

Tong Jizong's eyes began to turn bloodshot and red. He led the remaining four men, guns in hand, and rushed toward the dark barn door, trying to find the murderer who killed his men!

The barn was even darker inside, filled with a strong musty smell, the stench of rotting hay, and a certain chill.

The beam of the flashlight swung erratically in the vast space, only illuminating the blurry outlines of flying grass clippings, piles of hay, and discarded furniture. Rain pounded against the tin roof, producing a thunderous sound like the pounding of fists.

"Search! Search carefully! He must be hiding!" Tong Jizong ordered sternly, his voice trembling with tension.

The four men stood back to back, carefully spreading out, their guns pointed warily at every dark corner. The shadowy figures in the barn were a source of tension for them...

The oppressive atmosphere tightened everyone's nerves. The constant patter of rain echoed through the barn, making it impossible to hear anything at all.

suddenly!

"Ugh!" A short, muffled groan came from behind one of the gunmen near the door!

Everyone turned around abruptly, and flashlight beams shone in unison—

The spot where the gunman had just stood was now empty! Only on the ground remained a trail that had been dragged into the deeper darkness, and... a cluster of bright red bloodstains blooming like flowers!

"Sixth Brother!" the gunman next to him cried out in surprise, instinctively taking two steps toward the darkness.

"Don't move! Come back!" Tong Jizong felt a chill run down his spine and shouted sharply to stop him!

This is too bizarre! A grown man was dragged away right under their noses without even letting out a proper scream?

However, the warning came too late!

The gunman had only taken a few steps when a dark shadow, like a fishing line being cast, silently slid down from above the barn! A huge iron hook, with a heavy chain attached to its end, swung out with a whooshing sound!

"Pfft!"

The iron hook pierced the gunman's neck with perfect accuracy!

He only had time to let out a short cry before a terrifying force dragged him off the ground and disappeared into the shadows of the tall haystacks deep in the barn. Drops of blood fell from mid-air onto the faces of Tong Jizong and the last gunman.

The sound of raindrops pattering was accompanied by the rattling of chains being dragged along.

"A ghost! There's a ghost!"

The last gunman completely broke down. He screamed and ran desperately toward the light at the barn gate!

Tong Jizong was terrified and didn't care about anything else, so he ran outside!

Just as they were about to rush out of the barn gate, a voice suddenly appeared on the line separating light and shadow—

The man wasn't particularly tall, but he was incredibly eerie!

He had a dirty burlap sack over his head, covering his entire head, with two buttons sewn crookedly at his eyes to serve as eyes;

He was wearing tattered clothes, with countless straws sticking out from the gaps and holes in them, standing out awkwardly.

The only thing that could be clearly seen were his hands, which were gray, swollen, covered with lividity and rotting wounds, with congealed bloodstains on his fingertips, and he was tightly gripping a huge slaughter hook with an iron chain attached to the back!

Like a giant scarecrow, holding an iron hook, blocking their only exit.

"Get out of the way!!" The devastated gunman had lost his mind and roared as he raised his gun and fired!

Bang bang bang!

The bullet hit the scarecrow, sending straw flying. Several holes appeared in the sack, revealing the equally rotting flesh underneath, and even the bluish lips and filthy teeth were visible!

But the thing just wobbled, as if it felt no pain.

The next moment, the huge iron hook in its hand shot out like a venomous snake emerging from its hole, accompanied by a sharp whistling sound as it ripped through the air!

puff!

The iron hook pierced the gunman's cheek with pinpoint accuracy!

The immense force propelled his body backward, slamming him heavily against the wooden wall inside the barn! Blood and shattered teeth splattered out!

The gunman's limbs convulsed violently, a gurgling sound came from his throat as he lay dying, and his eyes bulged out, filled with endless fear and confusion.

Tong Jizong witnessed this hellish scene firsthand and was terrified!

He let out a strange cry, and in the instant the scarecrow retracted its iron hook, he suddenly turned around, jumped out of the window next to the barn, and landed on the muddy ground. After scrambling to his feet, he ran wildly forward like a madman.

He dared not look back, he only knew to run desperately, towards the hotel, towards room number 10 where Tong Zhenjiang was, towards any place with light!

Tong Jizong stumbled along, his heart pounding as he rushed across the open space in front of the granary, skirting two rusty pieces of farm machinery...

Just as he rushed to the end of that row of hotel rooms, about to go around it and get back to the front... a pale flash of lightning accompanied by a deafening clap of thunder, and raindrops began to fall again!

Lightning cast a huge shadow on Tong Jizong's face. The scarecrow covered with a burlap sack stood silently in the shadows around the corner, like a ghost!

The huge iron hook, dripping with blood, was already raised high!

"No—!!!" Tong Jizong roared in despair, desperately raising his gun.

Swish!

The iron hook, gleaming with the chilling light of death, swung down with deadly force, piercing his chest with unparalleled precision!

The immense force pinned him to the mottled bricks next to the hotel!

Tong Jizong's body convulsed violently a few times, a large amount of bloody foam gushed from his mouth, his head lolled to the side, and he fell completely silent.

The scarecrow seemed satisfied with the massacre, turned around, and silently continued its work.

It dragged the corpses with iron hooks, like slaughtered livestock, its steps faltering but resolute as it walked toward the endless cornfield behind the hotel.

It dragged the corpses one by one into the depths of the cornfield, and like displaying trophies, tied all the corpses to wooden stakes in the ground, spread their arms wide, and put burlap sacks over their heads.

Straw sprouted from the corpse's skin, covering its exposed skin. Rainwater washed away the blood and grime, dripping onto the soil.

Like countless scarecrows!

At this moment, Tong Zhenjiang suddenly sat up in room number 10.

The faint screams and gunshots coming from outside sent a chill down his spine, and a sense of foreboding enveloped him.

"We can't wait any longer! Go! Go now!" Tong Zhenjiang suddenly stood up and ordered the two remaining gunmen:

"This place is suspicious! Drive, let's go!"

Ignoring everything else, even Tong Jizong's life or death, the three of them braved the heavy rain and rushed towards the luxury SUV in front, frantically starting the car.

"Hurry! Drive faster!" Tong Zhenjiang, sitting in the back seat, was pale and kept urging.

The car suddenly lurched out of the mud in front of the hotel and onto the muddy dirt road leading to the county highway. The windshield wipers were swung wildly, but visibility remained poor.

Just as the car drove onto a slightly smoother section of road and picked up speed—

Bang! Crash!

A large, dense mass of dark shadows crashed into the windshield like cannonballs!

It was crows! Countless crows were frantically crashing into us!

"what!"

The gunman driving the car was startled by the sudden impact and the windshield instantly covered in blood and feathers, and instinctively swerved the steering wheel!

The out-of-control SUV spun violently on the slippery road before crashing hard into a large oak tree on the side of the road!

The hood twisted and deformed instantly, and white smoke mixed with water vapor hissed out!