Now, in this second-floor room, the atmosphere was incredibly strange.
Sam sat in an office chair he'd dragged from somewhere, legs comfortably crossed, the Glock pistol he'd "borrowed" from the Chief twirling nimbly between his fingers now and then, like an experienced gambler playing with his chips.
And on the other side of the room, Chief Benjamin was currently slumped wretchedly on the floor, hands tightly clutching his battered abdomen, cold sweat beading on his forehead, his portly body trembling uncontrollably from pain and fear. The dark muzzle of the gun was, from time to time, aimed at his forehead. Under the shadow of death, he dared not make any unnecessary movements.
"My dear… Mr. Chief," Sam began, his voice low but carrying a calmness and mockery, "now, do you have anything you'd like to say to this 'probationary officer'? Or perhaps, you'd like to hear my 'list of questions' first?"
"Don't… don't kill me! Please! Spare me! I was wrong! I was really wrong!" The Chief could no longer care about dignity or appearances. His knees buckled, and he directly knelt on the cold floor, his voice sharp and piercing from the intense pain and extreme fear, mixed with suppressed sobs and pleas.
"Oh? Is that all?" Sam's smile widened, but his eyes grew colder. He seemed somewhat disappointed by the Chief's groveling demeanor. "I thought you might have some more… 'profound' insights." He paused, then his tone shifted, carrying an undeniable pressure as he continued, "Since you have nothing to say, then it's my turn. I ask, you answer. No, that's not right… This 'probationary officer' here has some work-related confusions that require you, Mr. Chief, to 'patiently enlighten' me. How about that?" Sam grinned, revealing a set of perfectly white teeth—thanks to a previous visit to the dentist for a toothache, which turned out to be tartar buildup from too many sugary sodas. After a painful polishing session, his teeth had become remarkably white. Of course, the dentist's bill had also made him wince for quite a while.
"You… what do you want to ask… as long as I know… I'll definitely… I'll definitely tell you everything!" the Chief answered, trembling, cold sweat already soaking his shirt. He increasingly felt that this "probationary officer" calling himself Sam was no rookie, but some monster disguised in a police uniform, crawled out from hell.
"Very good. First question." Sam stopped twirling the pistol, its muzzle still steadily aimed at the Chief's forehead. "Tell me, what exactly happened outside? Or rather… before you so bravely abandoned your subordinates and fled in your vehicle, what exactly did you encounter?" As he spoke, his finger tapped lightly, rhythmically, on the trigger guard—of a pistol with the safety off.
"A monster… a giant, enormous monster…" The Chief seemed to have a fear switch triggered by Sam's question. His eyes instantly became vacant, and his body began to tremble uncontrollably, as if reliving that terrifying moment. He recalled in a near-dreamlike, fragmented voice:
"The day before yesterday… everything was fine. Then, suddenly, in various parts of the city, simultaneously… a large number of people turned into those… those man-eating monsters outside. It was the same at the police station; many civilian staff, and even some officers on duty, suddenly went mad and started biting people. The entire precinct collapsed instantly, communications went down too…"
"At that time… the orders I received were to organize the evacuation of children from nearby schools, to get them out of the city safely. I took Charlie and Jackman… we were originally trying to find SWAT or National Guard reinforcements, hoping they could help secure key streets, or provide stronger firepower, so we could transfer the students out more safely…"
"But… we saw… a pair… a pair of giant hands…" The Chief's voice grew shrill with fear. He stared fixedly at the floor, as if those hands were right there. "I don't know what that thing was. I only saw those giant hands covered in… something like rock or some other stuff, effortlessly… crushing those SWAT members who were blockading the street, along with their armored vehicle, like crushing cookies… all of them. Bullets hit it and didn't even make a spark. We… we had no idea what that monster was, only knew we had to run. Then… then Charlie and I ran all the way to this apartment building, hid inside, and haven't dared to go out since…"
"Hands? Giant hands?" Sam frowned, trying to picture the scene. "What exactly did they look like? It can't be Titans from the God of War game making a guest appearance, can it?"
"I don't know… I really didn't see clearly… too fast… too big…" The Chief shook his head desperately, his voice filled with uncontrollable fear. He didn't even dare to ask what the hell Sam's 'God of War' was. "After we ran into this building, I just lay on the floor, didn't even… didn't even have the courage to look out the window again…"
"That does sound pretty weird." Sam rubbed his chin thoughtfully. He pondered for a moment, then waved his hand dismissively, as if temporarily setting the matter aside. "Alright, hope I don't get unlucky enough to run into that 'giant hand' thing myself. Since you don't know anything about that big guy either, then tell me… about the gun stores around here. And John's house, do you know the specific location?"
"Gun stores…" The Chief struggled to compose himself, recalling. "Commercial street, over on Willow Creek Road, there's a fairly large one there. Then… to the southwest, in the residential area near Riverbend Park, there's another one, a bit smaller. Further out… Westwood Boulevard and near Stampede Trail, there should be one at each of those places too, but those two are quite far."
"As for John's house…" The Chief seemed a bit surprised by this question but quickly answered, "I remember… his house is near Westwood Boulevard. That's right, there's a small park called 'Oak Seed Pet Park' over there. His house is not far east of the park, a detached house with a brown roof and yellow walls, and a white-painted wooden deck in the backyard. It's pretty recognizable."
"Is that so? But what if I don't know the way? Do you have a map here?" Sam asked. He didn't want to run around like a headless chicken in this godforsaken place.
"Yes. Yes." The Chief nodded quickly. "Outside… that police car outside, in the glove compartment in front of the passenger seat, there should be a city dining map. It also marks the main districts and road names."
"Very good." Sam nodded with satisfaction. He lowered the muzzle of the gun slightly, but it still didn't completely leave the Chief's head. Then, that unique, mocking smile appeared on his face again. He asked in a tone as if chatting about everyday matters, "Speaking of which, Mr. Chief. Although I've only been an intern at the precinct for a few days, I've been diligent and hardworking. You see, that 'sudden attack incident' earlier, and then the 'rescue the elementary students' mission, I completed them quite well, didn't I? Especially… I even personally took care of a disgusting, multi-legged monster that looked like a spider. That was a considerably tough moment…" Sam said, nodding gravely as if recalling his own great achievements. Then his tone shifted, and he said to the Chief in an almost fawning, wheedling tone, "So, Your Excellency the Chief, you see… could you… promote this outstanding probationary officer to a permanent position?"
"Huh?!" Chief Benjamin was stunned by Sam's sudden request. He never dreamed that, with the world ending, this guy who had just been as ferocious as a demon would seriously make such a request to him. Looking at Sam's grinning face, the Chief didn't know how to react for a moment and could only stammer along with his words, "Ye-yes. Of course. Absolutely no problem. Sam, you… you're a permanent officer now. Whatever you want… I can give it to you. I… when I was Chief before, I accepted some… uh… 'political contributions', and some corporate 'donations'… To put it bluntly, it was corruption. I embezzled a lot of money. Cash, jewelry, antiques… it's all in a secret account and a safe deposit box of mine. If you want it, I… I can give it all to you. Really." To save his own skin, he couldn't care about anything else now.
"Stop, stop, stop." Sam waved his hand, interrupting the Chief's 'sincere' confession. "I'm not really interested in your little slush funds, Mr. Chief, at least not under the current circumstances. I'm a simple man. Just making it official is enough for now." Looking at the Chief's expression, contorted by extreme fear, and the cold sweat constantly beading on his forehead, he couldn't help but laugh again.
"Okay. Okay. Okay. Sam. You're a permanent officer now. I'll even get you a solid gold badge remade later." The Chief clasped his hands together, almost crying. He just wanted to get rid of this capricious madman before him as soon as possible. "Please, let me go…"
"Hee hee, I got promoted." Sam whistled happily, as if he had truly received some great benefit. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he tilted his head and asked the Chief, "By the way, Chief, according to regulations, when a new officer gets promoted, isn't there supposed to be a promotion party to celebrate? Could you… contribute some good wine, so everyone can have some fun?"
"Yes. Yes, wine. I have plenty of wine at home." The Chief nodded repeatedly, speaking rapidly. "Lots of expensive red wines. Bordeaux, Burgundy… a few bottles are even from auction houses, thousand-dollar-a-bottle stuff."
"Oh? Red wine…" Sam seemed uninterested. "Then your house… is it far from John's?"
"My house is in the wealthy district to the northeast, John's house… is in an ordinary residential area to the southwest," the Chief answered honestly, not daring to hide anything.
"Is that so…" Sam shook his head thoughtfully, a look of regret on his face. "That's truly a pity, Mr. Chief. It seems I won't have the pleasure of enjoying your fine wines. I personally prefer whiskey." He paused, and the smile on his face once again turned somewhat eerie. He said in a very "friendly" tone, "By the way, Mr. Chief, since I'm a permanent officer now, could I… trouble you for one more small favor?"
Chief Benjamin hadn't fully grasped the hidden meaning in Sam's words yet, only seeing the chilling smile on Sam's face growing larger as he approached him step by step…