Then let them offer their loyalty!

As the initiator of the case, the Investigation Department has always stayed behind the military, not only with the military's protection but also by making a fortune in silence—no matter how much the military contributed to the case, it had to share the profits with the Investigation Department.

This action further increased Yan Chen's satisfaction with Qiu Tu, who had come up with the plan. Even... he found Jia Shu, who had hinted at the plan, somewhat more agreeable.

The rain continued to fall in a drizzle, and the earthquake in the middle of the New Territories was still ongoing.

At 8:30, Qiu Tu and Yan Chen left the Investigation Bureau together by car and returned to Yan Chen's villa in the city garden.

Perhaps because of Yan Chen and the surrounding guards, no one came out to attack Qiu Tu.

At 9 o'clock, the two arrived at Yan Chen's villa.

At 9:10, the two got out of the car and went into Yan Chen's study.

Qiu Tu naturally boiled water and made tea for Yan Chen, just like a real assistant, showing great care.

But... just when everything was going incredibly well...

9:20.

Suddenly, there was a rapid knocking on the door.

Just as Yan Chen was writing documents with a soft rustling sound accompanied by the rain, he was startled from his thoughts.

He glanced at Qiu Tu, who was standing to the side, already yawning from sleepiness, and gestured to him.

Qiu Tu quickly stopped yawning and strode forward to open the carved door of the study.

Standing outside the door was Ji Chen, who looked anxious.

Upon seeing the door open, he didn't even greet Qiu Tu before barging into the study. He then quickly walked to Yan Chen's side, bent down, and whispered a few words.

Upon hearing his words, Yan Chen, who had been writing documents with his head down, suddenly changed his expression drastically. With a "crack!" sound, he accidentally broke the pen in his hand!

But he suddenly looked up, completely oblivious, and glared angrily at Qiu Tu, who was closing the door!

In that instant, Qiu Tu, who had his back to the two of them, felt a terrifying aura coming towards him. He felt as if he were being stared at by a giant beast, and the hairs on his body stood on end! His body stiffened!

The dark study was like a monstrous beast, its jaws wide open. The dim light from the desk lamp illuminated only the small area under the desk.

Yan Chen sat in that area, his hands covered in black ink, his face as gloomy as the torrential rain outside the window, staring motionlessly at Qiu Tu...

At this moment, Qiu Tu also sensed the danger before him. He dared not make a move, and could only slowly turn around, looking at Yan Chen with a surprised expression, tentatively asking, "Chief... what's wrong?"

Yan Chen was clearly furious about the news. He slammed his hand on the table with a loud "Bang!" The objects on the table seemed to jump several centimeters off the table!

Then he glared at Qiu Tu and demanded, "Qiu Tu! What exactly is going on with the security department?!"

Upon hearing Yan Chen's words, Qiu Tu deliberately feigned confusion and then asked, "Security Department? What about the Security Department?"

Seeing Qiu Tu "pretending to be stupid", Yan Chen took a deep breath, suppressed his anger, and then waved to Ji Chen.

Upon seeing this, Ji Chen straightened up expressionlessly, faced Qiu Tu, and said, "Section Chief Qiu, just now, the Security Department took Director Qin away from the Qin family."

"At the same time, troops were deployed to seal off the entire Qin family compound, prohibiting anyone from entering or leaving."

Hearing Ji Chen's words, Qiu Tu remained calm, but an expression of disbelief appeared on his face. "They took Director Qin away?! Why?!"

Is it because of the Yin Caimei case?

Qiu Tu asked in surprise, "But do they have any evidence? Without evidence, isn't this just arresting people arbitrarily?"

Seeing Qiu Tu's genuine expression, Yan Chen's expression gradually softened, and he asked in a deep voice, "You really don't know what's going on?"

Qiu Tu quickly shook his head and raised his hand to swear, "Director, I really don't know what happened!"

Upon hearing this, Yan Chen took a deep breath.

His face was ashen, his gaze deep, as if he were making some kind of judgment.

After a moment, he picked up the landline on the table and dialed a number.

A moment later, the call connected, and a somewhat sinister voice came from the other end, "Director Yan?"

Upon hearing this, Yan Chen said with a forced smile, "It's me, Director Dai. I heard you just took Director Qin away? And you even sealed off the entire Qin family's residence?"

"May I ask what the reason is?"

Hearing their conversation, Qiu Tu immediately guessed that Yan Chen was calling Dai Yukang, Qin Shuman's superior and the head of the security department.

Despite his title of "section chief," Dai Yukang actually held a very high rank. His military rank was Senior Colonel, making him the second most important figure in the New Territories City Military Command, after General Ye.

If placed in the Investigation Bureau, he would be the First Deputy Director. His position might even be higher than Tang Feifei's.

This is also why Yan Chen would speak to him directly, even using a very tactful tone.

Just as Qiu Tu was thinking this, Dai Yukang spoke up.

He said indifferently, "Director Yan, we dare to arrest such a high-ranking official because we have solid evidence."

"However, since you asked me personally, I'll be frank. The Qin family is very likely a mole planted by the Alliance in the New Territories. The Alliance is not only the financial backer of the Qin family, supporting their growth, but they have also been serving the Alliance all these years."

"A lot of intelligence in the New Territories was leaked by the Qin family, and many of the anti-government spies in the New Territories were also planted with the help of the Qin family."

“We only dared to make arrests because we had sufficient evidence. In fact, I even wrote a report to the shelter before making the arrests and only took action after receiving approval.”

At this point, Dai Yukang paused and said tactfully, "Director Yan, I know that you and Director Qin have some personal connections."

"But... I still have to remind you. This time, you may have misjudged the person."

After saying that, Director Dai made an excuse to hang up the phone.

After finishing the call, Yan Chen did not continue his furious rage as Qiu Tu had imagined. He sat quietly in his chair for a while.

Then he opened the drawer and took out cigarettes and matches.

"Snap... snap..."

Striking a match, Yan Chen brought the flame to the cigarette in his mouth, squinted, and took a deep drag.

His face was partially obscured by the swirling smoke.

The atmosphere in the study fell silent for a moment.

After a moment, Yan Chen picked up the landline on the table again and dialed a few numbers.

The call was answered shortly after.

Yan Chen said in a hoarse voice, "Go check my safe. See if there's a black metal box inside containing evidence."

After giving the instructions, Yan Chen hung up the phone and continued smoking.

A few minutes later, the landline on the table rang, and Yan Chen answered the phone.

A deep male voice came from the other end of the phone, "Chief, there's the black metal box you mentioned in the safe, but... it's empty. There's no evidence!"

Upon hearing this, Yan Chen's expression turned even more unpleasant.

Seeing this, Qiu Tu still wore a bewildered and confused expression, but inside he was overjoyed...

It seems my plan tonight went perfectly!

This backstabbing is enough to make Yan Chen confused!

------

Three chapters, each 3 words long, updated consecutively! More 1 words a day tomorrow! Please vote with monthly tickets!

Chapter 124 Qiu Tu's Deal with the Security Department (10,000 words, please subscribe!)

The rain was pouring down outside the window, pattering against the glass, and was especially clear in the quiet study.

Yan Chen's face was grim as he spoke in a deep voice to the person on the other end of the phone, "Have the Political Department... no, have Old Chu come over and check the traces. See if there are any fingerprints or other clues left behind."

"Call Lao Huang again and ask him to send you a few Cataclysmic Artifacts to check for any traces of Cataclysmic power."

"Yes." The person on the other end of the phone quickly responded upon hearing Yan Chen's words.

After hanging up the phone, Yan Chen took a deep breath and stubbed out his cigarette on the table. Then, his tiger-like eyes stared quietly at Qiu Tu, as if he were deep in thought.

Qiu Tu tried his best to appear normal, so his eyes looked completely innocent when he looked at Yan Chen.

Yan Chen stared at Qiu Tu quietly for a while before saying in a deep voice, "You heard those two phone calls just now."

Qiu Tu hummed in agreement.

Yan Chen asked, "What are your thoughts?"

Upon hearing Yan Chen's question, Qiu Tu tried to forget all his plans for the day and put himself in the shoes of an agent who knew nothing about the situation.

He pondered quietly for a while before tentatively asking, "Could there be a mole within our investigation department?"

Yan Chen stared coldly at Qiu Tu, saying nothing. Because... what Qiu Tu said was nonsense: Without an inside traitor, how could the evidence just fly away on its own?

Seeing this, Qiu Tu carefully said, "I feel that the mole is most likely someone close to you."

Yan Chen gave a blank "Oh?" and asked, "Why do you say that?"

Qiu Tu chuckled awkwardly, "Because... the only people who know your safe combination and understand your habits, and who know you would put evidence in your safe, are probably the people closest to you, right?"

Yan Chen clearly didn't really want to hear Qiu Tu's analysis, but rather wanted to find clues or loopholes in Qiu Tu's words, so he hummed in agreement and asked, "So, do you have anyone you suspect?"

Qiu Tu coughed and offered Yan Chen a candidate she had never considered before, "Secretary Bai?"

Perhaps this choice was too unexpected for Yan Chen, so his eyes flickered slightly, and he thought quietly for two seconds before asking, "Why him?"

Qiu Tu said carefully, "It's just a guess."

"Secretary Bai is, after all, one of your most trusted people. She should know your habits very well and also know your safe combination."

"Moreover, he was the one who brought the investigation team in when they came to deliver the evidence. So he knew that once the evidence was in your office, he never left."

"Furthermore, he also knows why I came to see you, so he can guess what kind of evidence the investigation team brought."

"In this way, he has met all the prerequisites for committing the crime."

Yan Chen seemed genuinely considering whether Secretary Bai might be the thief. So, after a moment, he asked, "And what's the motive?"

Given Qiu Tu's relationship with Secretary Bai, he certainly wouldn't be smearing Secretary Bai just to protect himself. He was simply using Secretary Bai to bring up the next topic...

So, after a moment's hesitation, he said, "I'm guessing... could Secretary Bai have some kind of conflict with the Qin family?"

"Perhaps he thinks that with the Qin family siding with you, his position by your side is in jeopardy?"

"Or... perhaps he had a conflict with you recently? And he simply wants to get revenge on you?"

"Or perhaps... he actually secretly reached some kind of agreement with the military or the city government? Is this a pledge of allegiance?"

Qiu Tu's series of hypothetical motives made Yan Chen frown. Because... listening to Qiu Tu's various motives, the suspect Yan Chen thought of wasn't Secretary Bai, but... Jia Shu.

After all, although Secretary Bai was his right-hand man, she did more administrative work, such as helping him file all information and work documents, and handling all sorts of miscellaneous tasks in the department.

While this job carries considerable power, it is actually extremely complex and meticulous, and it's difficult to exercise that power externally. Therefore, very few people at the same level are willing to replace Secretary Bai or compete with her.

In contrast, Jia Shu was different.

As his right-hand man, Jia Shu was not only closer to him, but also controlled the Political Department, the most powerful department in the Investigation Bureau.

Furthermore, he instructed Jia Shu to handle many of his private affairs, so Jia Shu could often use his power to act in the New Territories—which is one of the important reasons why the New Territories are terrified of the Political Department.

Therefore, once the Qin family and Yan Chen get too close, it will inevitably affect Jia Shu's position in his heart. He will no longer need Jia Shu's help to do many things, which will further weaken Jia Shu's power in the entire New Territories.

And then, considering that Jia Shu knew the safe's combination and also knew his habit of putting evidence in that safe...

Suddenly, Yan Chen's suspicions about Jia Shu increased dramatically.

More importantly, Jia Shu has been at odds with Yan Chen because of the Yin Caimei case, and Jia Shu has been paying extra attention to the Yin Caimei case. Even Yan Chen doesn't know what role Jia Shu played in it, which undoubtedly increases his suspicion.

Thinking of this, Yan Chen frowned deeply, momentarily forgetting to suspect Qiu Tu...

...

As the director of the Investigation Bureau, Yan Chen's word was law. When he wanted to investigate a case or use a catastrophic artifact, he didn't need to go through layers of approval or wait for his superiors to collect it, unlike Qiu Tu.

So, just 10 minutes later, the phone rang again.

The study had been quiet for 10 minutes by then.

For those ten minutes, Yan Chen simply smoked quietly, so the ashtray was filled with several cigarette butts, and the entire study was filled with a hazy, smoky atmosphere. Combined with the steam streaming in from the window, it was practically a scene from a decadent fairyland...

Amidst the white mist, Yan Chen slowly picked up the landline receiver and said in a hoarse voice, "Hello?"

The voice of the man Yan Chen had just contacted came from the other end of the phone, "Chief. Old Chu examined the marks on that black box and found only your fingerprints on it."

"And in the safe, besides your and my fingerprints, there are only Secretary Bai's and Minister Jia's fingerprints, and no traces of outsiders."

"As for... the surveillance cameras outside the office, we've checked them too. Due to confidentiality principles, the cameras on the ninth floor are not turned on. So they're not useful for now."