American Zombie Detective

After circling the streets twice, Qin Jin found a shop called "Frank the Old Man's Auto Repair Shop." After agreeing on a price, he left the Dodge behind and turned into the large supermarket next door.

The early summer sun streamed through the massive glass curtain wall, almost blindingly bright, as he skillfully pushed his cart and trolley between the shelves—

T-shirts, jeans, light jackets, toothbrushes, towels, shower gel, garbage bags, cola, beverages...

He picked out some basic shoes, socks, and clothes for himself and Alessa, but none of them were Alessa's favorite styles.

That kind of black dress with a gothic feel, simple yet with a cold vibe, is adorned with lace trim.

Aresa's taste in clothing was as stubborn as a rock; apart from this long dress, everything else looked no different from a burlap sack in her eyes.

"Tsk, what a troublesome brat!"

He muttered something, paid the bill, carried two large bags of clothes and miscellaneous items back to the repair shop, and stuffed them into the trunk of his Dodge.

It was still early, and Qin Jin remembered the flea market he had seen while driving. He spent another ten minutes walking into the market.

The flea market was tucked away a few blocks down the street, like a huge, chaotic flea den.

Under the rusty sheds, the stalls were crammed together, piled high with all sorts of odds and ends, from old furniture and records to various strange and wonderful things. The air was thick with the smells of dust, old books, and cheap gossip.

Qin Jin patiently passed through each shop, and finally, on a stall filled with Victorian-style items, he found several folded black dresses, the one on top being Alessa's favorite—

Pure black, high-necked, long-sleeved, with a skirt hem that reaches the knees, and lace trim on the neckline and cuffs, exuding a sense of aloofness left over from the last century.

Fortunately, these dresses were still Alessa's size.

"How much?"

Qin Jin picked up the skirt and asked the stall owner, an old lady wearing reading glasses, who was engrossed in repairing a music box.

The old lady looked up, pushed up her glasses, and a hint of surprise flashed in her cloudy eyes.

"Oh, that? Ten dollars, honey. These old dresses aren't worn much anymore."

"That's it."

Qin Jin paid the money promptly and packed up all three similar dresses.

Having resolved this major issue, he felt much more relaxed and turned to return to the repair shop with the bag in hand.

Just as I stepped out of the shadow of the flea market stalls, my phone rang in my pocket. I took it out, and the screen flashed the name "Alessa".

"Feed?" He answered the phone, holding it in his hand and switching to another phone.

On the other end of the phone, Alessa's voice remained calm, but it carried a hint of... just a hint of inquiry:

"Qin, there's been a murder nearby. May I go check it out?"

Qin Jin's steps faltered, but his words remained calm and unhurried:

"How did you find out?"

"The wind blows, bringing a fresh, pungent smell of blood, which suddenly bursts forth. It's oxygen-rich; the major artery has been severed."

Aresa's tone was as precise as a forensic pathologist's: "The back, the third row, the middle house."

"No!" Qin Jin's tone became slightly more forceful, his voice carrying an undeniable certainty:

"I told you there are three things that require an invitation to visit, do you remember?"

"Murder, doing A, and taking D," Alessa answered crisply, then immediately added:

"But in these three years, you were the only one who invited me to witness the murders!"

"Yes, that means you don't have any other good friends besides me, so no one invited you..."

There was silence on the other end of the microphone. Qin Jin keenly noticed Alessa's disappointment, like... a child whose newly discovered toy had been confiscated.

"...Stay home, keep the door closed, and don't open it for anyone!"

After explaining everything, Qin Jin sighed inwardly. He was just about to lighten the mood by telling her that he had found the gothic dress she had been longing for, and to share his joy—

Alessa's voice rang out again without warning, equally calm, but to Qin Jin it was like a bomb:

"The one who killed him... was a paper doll!"

Paper doll? Qin Jin's heart skipped a beat. He was somewhat surprised: "Paper doll? The kind that's cut out or a paper effigy?"

"You've shown me paper effigy..." Alessa searched for the most accurate and indirect way to express herself:

"We've seen it in movies, next to a coffin. I saw it fall into the yard from a second-floor window."

She described it as if repeating an objective phenomenon, but the details that followed sent a chill down Qin Jin's spine:

"Its feet... were stained red, with patterns, like, red shoes."

Blood-stained embroidered shoes?

Qin Jin tightened his grip on his phone slightly. He wanted to keep a low profile, but this kind of thing just had to happen to him, and it even had a strange, oriental feel to it…

The eeriness and malevolence of this matter far surpasses that of werewolves, vampires, or even vengeful spirits. It's fucking disgusting!

"Listen, Alessa," Qin Jin's voice became slightly more serious, carrying a certain tension about the unknown:

"Since it's something like this, you definitely shouldn't go. Stay home, I'll be right back..." He paused, a rare hint of uncertain anxiety creeping into his voice.

"I don't want this thing to ruin our plans, so let's talk about it when I get back, understand?"

"it is good."

Aresa's voice sounded flatter, as if the disappointment had been forcibly suppressed, or perhaps transformed into anticipation of Qin Jin's imminent return.

Qin Jin seized the opportunity and threw out the prepared candy:

"Oh, right, I found the dress. It's the kind you like best—pure black, with lace trim, a high neck, and long sleeves," he deliberately described the details.

"I searched for so long in Arland but couldn't find it. I never expected there would be one in Los Angeles!"

On the other end of the phone, Alessa was silent, but Qin Jin could almost imagine that her usually emotionless big eyes might have lit up slightly at that moment.

Several seconds passed before a short, sharp voice replied, "...Really?"

"I promise!"

Qin Jin said confidently, a habitual, lazy smile unconsciously appearing on his lips.

"Exactly the same as before—hey, Alessa, I've solved a big problem for you. What should you say in Chinese?"

There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone, then Alessa spoke earnestly in her signature, flat tone:

"You... are quite sensible."

"puff--"

Qin Jin nearly choked on his own saliva, both amused and exasperated. "Wrong! Little darling! At this moment, you should say 'Thank you, Qin' or 'Qin Jin, you're such a good person!' Not 'You're quite sensible!' You're acting like an elder to me!"

He shook his head and sighed. This girl's path to learning human social etiquette was truly long and arduous.

"Oh," Alessa responded, though it was unclear whether she actually heard her.

"Okay, wait for me at home, I'll be back as soon as possible."

Qin Jin hung up the phone helplessly, his smile quickly replaced by a serious expression.

He clutched the bag containing the gothic skirt tightly, as if it were the only "normal" thing he could grasp at that moment, and strode towards Old Man Frank's repair shop.

The glass had been replaced. After confirming the repairs, Qin Jin paid the money and quickly drove back to Qingcao Community.

As the car turned into the community street, the middle house in the third row ahead was surrounded by police lights, with yellow police tape and police officers going in and out of the scene.

Like everyone else, Qin Jin slowed down, looked around, and drove around the yard. He glanced at the yard and saw no paper effigy or bloodstains. He quickly parked his car in front of his house and went home.

In the living room, Alessa was still sitting cross-legged on the sofa watching TV. Hearing the door open, she came over, took the bag from Qin Jin's hand, pulled off her dress, and began to pull the black gothic skirt up from the bottom...

"I'll go upstairs and take a look."

He went up to the window of his third-floor bedroom and cautiously looked out.

Looking through the windows of the room surrounded by police, one could vaguely see mahogany furniture, a Chinese kitchen, and everything else that indicated the person's Chinese identity.

The floor of the second-floor room was covered with large, reddish-brown bloodstains that had begun to congeal. However, Qin Jin unexpectedly noticed a piece of paper pasted on the window—a white A4 sheet of paper, with…

It is a blood-red Chinese character:

"Double Happiness!"

A paper effigy of a blood-stained embroidered shoe? A Chinese family? A traditional Chinese double happiness character on a window? Plus a bizarre killer…

He felt a familiar headache coming on—his new life in Los Angeles had started off with a major surprise.