American Zombie Detective

Chapter 233 The Demons of Devil's Island

After hanging up the phone, Qin Jin immediately contacted Catherine and Constantine, without offering much explanation, simply saying, "There's a new case in San Francisco. Go home and pack your things; I'll leave from my house at 11 o'clock."

Around 4 p.m., Qin Jin and his group arrived in San Jose, the same city where Qin Jin first went to San Francisco to kidnap people and threaten Johnny.

Instead of going into the city, they went to the Garden Town community to meet with the police officers they had arranged to meet beforehand.

The door to the agreed-upon room was ajar. Qin Jin pushed the door open and entered; two people were already waiting inside.

One was a middle-aged man in his fifties, with neatly combed hair and a well-fitting suit. His eyes were sharp and cautious, and his epaulets showed his high-ranking police rank: Deputy Commissioner of the San Francisco Police Department.

The other was younger, in his early forties, wearing a more practical jacket. He looked tired but had focused eyes; he was a typical pragmatist. His identification indicated that he was the head of the Homicide and Major Crimes Division.

"Detective Qin?"

The deputy director stood up, extended his hand, and said in a formal but concise tone, "Thank you for your help. I am Deputy Director Russell, and this is Supervisor Cole, who is in charge of this case. We have already discussed the plan you proposed on the phone, and it's fine. Supervisor Cole will be responsible for the main liaison and coordination."

Supervisor Cole handed over the file folder: "Detective Qin, this is the information from our preliminary investigation. Please take a look."

Qin Jin casually flipped through the files, and the situation was largely consistent with what Qingyin had described:

Prison guard Brother Ma said he was hungry when he went to the kitchen to eat yesterday. He then disappeared for a while. His colleagues remembered him as dawn approached and searched everywhere, but they couldn't find him.

They searched until the morning, and with the help of police dogs, finally found his face a few hundred meters away from the cell block on the road leading to the dormitory.

The face was still human, but the body that was dug out was incredibly strange. It wasn't that the body was solidified in cement, but rather that the cement had completely fused with his body, turning into a large lump of flesh and cement.

Looking at the photos in the file folder, Qin Jin felt as if someone had pulverized prison guards and cement, mixed them together, and then repaved them to make the road surface solidify.

This has gone beyond the realm of the supernatural and can be considered bizarre.

Qin Jin didn't say much, handed the dossier to Constantine, and then inquired about the power structure of Devil's Island prison to get a general understanding.

Supervisor Cole was clearly prepared, and immediately pulled out his notebook from his pocket, giving a brief introduction: "According to our limited intelligence, the prisoners inside are roughly divided into four main factions."

"The largest group is a bunch of religious fanatics, the Sarin fanatics." Roy's sect, although he doesn't openly preach, everyone knows that his sect has the largest number of members and the largest scale, but—"

Colton paused for a moment: "In terms of strength, they are not the strongest."

"The strongest one is this guy." He pointed to a name circled in red: "Ivan the Butcher."

Next to it were several blurry photos of a burly man with eyes as still as water.

"He was a true killing machine; you've probably all heard about the crimes he committed. He was part of a group of seven or eight equally ruthless hardened criminals, a self-contained entity. They didn't cause trouble, but nobody dared to mess with them; they were a true no-go zone in prison."

"Third on the list is this one." He pointed to another red circle labeled MS-13: "The predominantly Latino MS-13 gang, whose godfather, El-Machetno the Guillotine, is at their core. They have not only veteran gang members here, but also many new recruits. Most importantly, they can influence behavior outside of prison. They are the most fierce and ruthless group fighting Roy's gang."

Qin Jin's eyes lit up, and he smiled, "I like this kind of ruthless guy, it's good."

"The rest are small fry, living in small groups, each relying on others, or acting as opportunists. Of course, there are also lone wolves who don't rely on anyone, but those people usually have a hard time."

After Cole finished explaining the situation, Deputy Director Russell showed a genuine concern: "Sending you in like this, especially into this kind of environment, is extremely risky. It's especially dangerous to keep your true identities a secret from the prison guards. It's very easy for something to go wrong, Detective Qin. Are you really sure you can handle this?"

Qin Jin listened without showing any emotion, simply asking, "Could we keep John's and my detention area and activity time as consistent as possible?"

"These are the most basic requirements, and we've already made arrangements. You'll be assigned to the same cell block, and your work hours will be the same," Supervisor Cole continued, but he also looked troubled. "I told the warden that you're an important witness for our major crimes unit, but I didn't dare say anything else, and I don't know if it will be of any use."

He looked at Qin Jin solemnly: "This means that you will still have to bear the vast majority of the pressure and danger yourselves. In many cases, this relationship may be of no use."

Upon hearing this, Qin Jin's lips curled up slightly, revealing a smile that was enigmatic. There was no trace of nervousness in that smile; instead, there was a hint of—a playful, eager anticipation.

"That's enough," he said. "A little bit of information is enough. The most important thing is Catherine's safety; she needs the right to come and go freely from the prison. As for the rest, leave it to me."

His smile sent a chill down the spines of the experienced deputy director and Chief Cole, as if it were not these two people who were about to be sent to that den of thieves, but rather the rest of the prison.

The following morning, San Francisco Bay was shrouded in a hazy sea fog, and the cold, rocky outline of Alcatraz Island was faintly visible in the fog, exuding a chilling and unapproachable aura.

A ferry cut through the leaden waves and slowly sailed toward the infamous Rock Prison.

On the ship, Qin Jin and Constantine wore ill-fitting, cheap prison uniforms, with cold shackles on their wrists.

Qin Jin looked exhausted, exuding a nonchalant and relaxed vibe; Constanze, on the other hand, had droopy eyelids and looked like he was still hungover!

Last night, Catherine was studying the files when Qin Jin and Alessa went to the Blood Moon Bar. He went with them, and then he went off somewhere to exchange life philosophies with a vampire girl, not returning until midnight.

Those on the same boat included Cole, the San Francisco Central Police Department's chief of homicide and major crimes, as well as security inspector Catherine, her sister Alessa, and their pet Yuanxiao.

Cole was wearing a sharp jacket and had a serious expression, while Catherine was dressed in a neat business suit with a trench coat, her makeup was exquisite, her expression was cold, and she was holding a tablet computer. She exuded an aura of "business as usual and not to be trifled with".

Alessa remained pale and indifferent, clutching her Frankenstein doll, with Yuanxiao sniffing the air curiously at her feet.

The two sides did not exchange any words on the ship, as if they were strangers.

As the ferry docked, the chains rattled, and several prison guards in dark blue uniforms with stern expressions were already waiting on the pier.

The leader was a tall man with a lean face and hawk-like eyes; his epaulets indicated a high rank.

level.

"Manager Cole, we meet again!" The hook-nosed man's expression instantly changed as he stepped forward, his smile so sweet it could melt a bee's heart. He grabbed Cole's hand and burst into laughter: "Why did you come in person? Couldn't you have just sent someone to handle this little matter? Why did you make the whole trip?"

"This is no small matter, my Captain Snake," Cole responded warmly to his greeting, then immediately introduced the people behind him, emphasizing, "This time, the main purpose is to bring Miss Catherine to the island on official business; she couldn't refuse."

Captain Snake's sharp gaze swept over Qin Jin and Constantine, as if assessing two dangerous goods, before he nodded slightly to Catherine.

"These are the two prisoners?" he asked, getting back to the point.

"Yes, that's them," Cole turned to the side and gestured to Qin Jin and Constantine. "Listen, Snake, these two are very important. They need to be settled here for a while, and we'll need their assistance in our subsequent investigation. Keep a close eye on them. Don't let anything go wrong, and don't let anyone cause them any trouble."

Cole's words were pointed, deliberately emphasizing the words "unnecessary." As a senior supervisor of the San Francisco Police Department's Homicide and Major Crimes Unit, Cole had considerable influence.

Captain Ward frowned almost imperceptibly, clearly dissatisfied with this special treatment, but ultimately nodded.

He nodded. "The procedures still need to be followed, Manager Cole. Come with me."

The group walked through the heavily guarded dock area toward the main prison building. The cold air was filled with the salty smell of the sea and a suffocating atmosphere that even disinfectant could not suppress.

Devil's Island prison, finally living up to its name, has real devils now—