Then let them offer their loyalty!

Thinking this, Qiu Tu, following his usual routine, set up the [Loyalty Game], then lay down on the bed and fell asleep early...

Having likely worked hard all day, Qiu Tu was indeed exhausted. So, not long after, he fell into a deep sleep...

The heavy rain continued to fall, and the long night continued its furious onslaught...

So many things happened that night...

[5 days (the time it took to close the Yin Caimei case)]

[One and a half days (Danger in the Dark)]

......

The rain stopped and the clouds dispersed the next morning.

Sunlight shone on the New Territories, which had been raining all night, making the newly built city appear exceptionally fresh and clean.

Qiu Tu probably went to bed early last night, so he woke up early and got up to wash up.

Then, as if they were old friends, he asked the maid to prepare breakfast for him. After eating, he went to the villa's garden for his morning exercise.

After running two laps and working up a sweat, Qiu Tu was about to go back and take a shower.

Turning around, I saw a beautiful girl in a white dress slowly walking out of the villa, strolling happily in the garden.

She was like a beautiful, refreshing sight; even a garden full of flowers planted by Yan Chen couldn't overshadow her charm.

Qiu Tu glanced at her curiously, then called over a maid and asked, "Who is that?"

The maid glanced at the girl and then whispered, "That's the director's daughter. She just arrived in the New Territories last night."

Qiu Tu was taken aback by the maid's words.

The director's daughter? That is, Yan Chen's daughter?!

Qiu Tu glanced at the pretty girl in surprise, then recalled Yan Chen's wrinkled old man appearance in his mind.

Then he had only one thought in his mind: Yan Chen's wife must be very beautiful.

Thinking of this, Qiu Tu suddenly recalled many other details from this period of time.

For example, Yan Chen is clearly very busy with work and has no interest in flowers, but he built such a large garden in front of his villa and planted it with all kinds of precious flowers.

Like... Yesterday there was nothing particularly joyous, but Yan Chen was happy from morning till night.

Like... Secretary Bai disappeared without a trace after reporting the intelligence around 7 p.m.

Like... Secretary Bai arrived at Yan Chen's villa last night with half of her body soaked.

Qiu Tu didn't pay much attention to all of this at the time, but now that he thinks about it, it must all be because of the girl in front of him.

Thinking this through, Qiu Tu couldn't help but make a simple judgment: It seems... Yan Chen really loves his daughter?

'Perhaps... this is a place we can utilize in the future?'

Thinking this, Qiu Tu glanced at the girl again before looking away, wiping his sweat, and going back to his room to take a shower.

The morning passed quickly. At 8 o'clock, Qiu Tu once again hitched a ride with Yan Chen to the Investigation Department.

The only difference was that last night he rode in the same car as Yan Chen, but today he was relegated to the rear of the convoy.

This seemed to foreshadow a change in his status in Yan Chen's heart.

But... Qiu Tu didn't care, because he knew it was nothing: he hadn't gotten past the most crucial hurdle yet—Jia Shu.

Last night, Qiu Tu's communicator was left on his bedside table without being silenced.

He originally thought Jia Shu would definitely call him to ask about the whole thing. But to everyone's surprise, Jia Shu actually kept his cool and didn't contact him all night.

But this doesn't mean the matter is over; on the contrary, it foreshadows an even bigger storm.

Therefore, Qiu Tu's most important task now is to figure out where things have progressed.

What do Yan Chen, Jia Shu, and the high-ranking officials of the Investigation Bureau really think about what happened yesterday?

Whether in espionage or conventional warfare, intelligence is of paramount importance.

Thinking this, Qiu Tu got out of the car and followed Yan Chen into the Investigation Bureau office building.

Yan Chen took the elevator, and Qiu Tu naturally couldn't follow him in. So he watched Yan Chen, who had a gloomy expression, go upstairs, and then took the next elevator to the Political Department.

Upon arriving on the 9th floor, as soon as I stepped off the elevator, a familiar figure approached me: Eagle.

The eagle nodded at Qiu Tu as if it were just passing by, and then brushed past him.

But... at the moment their bodies touched, when no one else was looking, he secretly slipped a crumpled piece of paper into Qiu Tu's pocket...

------

I only slept for two hours today before I couldn't fall back asleep. My head has been spinning the whole time. Luckily I had a detailed outline, otherwise I probably wouldn't have been able to write anything.

Then after lunch, I went to the clinic. The doctor gave me a few acupuncture needles, prescribed some medicine, and told me I couldn't stay up so late anymore.

Therefore, I might adjust my schedule slightly while maintaining the word count of 10,000. For example, I might update one chapter in the evening, and then update two chapters the next day in the late afternoon after waking up.

Let's take a look at what I wrote tonight. I'm going to get some sleep now.

Chapter 127 Kneel Down, Liu Fuping (10,000 words, please vote!)

Qiu Tu was slightly taken aback when he sensed the eagle's movement.

Because... this wasn't his arrangement, and he wouldn't let the eagle deliver a message to him at such a sensitive time.

However, compared to Artest's tendency to get carried away, Hawks and Akun are always more reliable in their actions.

Therefore... Qiu Tu believed that he must have some important information to convey to him, which was why he would pull such a stunt at such a sensitive time.

Thinking this, Qiu Tu quietly brushed past the eagle.

The two figures crossed paths, and when they turned around again, one had already entered the elevator, while the other had walked to the corner of the corridor.

Watching the eagle slowly descend in the elevator, Qiu Tu went to the investigation team's temporary office as if nothing had happened.

Because it's the weekend and yesterday's tasks were all completed, the investigation team's office was empty today.

Qiu Tu entered the office, locked the door, went to the window, opened it, and then took out the crumpled paper that the eagle had handed him.

Unfold the crumpled paper, and what came into Qiu Tu's view was the eagle's crooked and messy handwriting.

In the post-apocalyptic wasteland, being able to read and write is already a remarkable skill for the common people—and clearly, Eagle doesn't have that ability.

Therefore, this letter was clearly copied or excerpted from someone else's work.

Moreover... that person must be someone Eagle knows and trusts: otherwise, he wouldn't have taken such a big risk to pass it on to Qiu Tu.

In that instant, the image of Secretary Bai appeared in Qiu Tu's mind.

The relationship between Qiu Tu and Secretary Bai was not a secret within Qiu Tu, Atai, and Lao Ying's small group.

After all, Qiu Tu took in the seriously injured Secretary Bai and cared for him for so long; Eagle and Atai had both seen him.

Later, Qiu Tu was recruited into the Investigation Department by Secretary Bai, and he and his men rose to prominence. When drinking, which of the brothers didn't praise Secretary Bai?

As for other people who might pass on information to Qiu Tu, such as Qin Shuman and Tang Feifei, Lao Ying and the others did not know them and would not easily believe their identities to pass on information to them.

Having ascertained the writer's identity, Qiu Tu began to carefully read through the entire letter.

After reading the letter, Qiu Tu couldn't help but smile.

He guessed correctly; the letter was indeed written by Secretary Bai.

The reason is that Secretary Bai knows that Qiu Tu is probably very eager to know the movements of the Investigation Bureau's senior officials and Yan Chen's attitude towards the whole incident yesterday.

That's why, after his meeting with Yan Chen, he took the risk of writing this letter and went to the old alleyway late at night to find Lao Ying and ask him to pass it on to Qiu Tu.

To ensure his identity remained confidential, he instructed Eagle to make a copy of the letter before handing it over.

Looking at the scribbles and messy handwriting on the letter, one can imagine how desperate Eagle, being illiterate, must have felt when he received this mission so late at night...

Even... because he was illiterate, he copied many characters incorrectly. Fortunately, he still had the general strokes, so Qiu Tu managed to understand the contents of Secretary Bai's entire letter by guessing and piecing together the information.

As stated in Secretary Bai's letter.

Last night, after Qiu Tu left, Yan Chen held a small meeting with him and Ji Chen.

During the small meeting, Yan Chen recounted in detail everything that had happened the previous day, emphasizing the vault theft and the Qin family's complete raid by the security department. He then asked for the opinions of the two men and their suspected perpetrators.

Ji Chen was the first to suspect Qiu Tu.

After all, Qiu Tu's actions throughout the entire incident were quite peculiar.

Even though Qiu Tu had given reasonable explanations for all those strange occurrences, Ji Chen still felt that if too many coincidences happened to one person, then it couldn't possibly be a coincidence.

However, Yan Chen disagreed with Ji Chen's questioning.

Without even having Secretary Bai speak, he directly refuted Ji Chen's opinion.

In the letter, Secretary Bai vividly described the scene at the time.

At that moment, Yan Chen sat in his boss's chair, the dim light illuminating him. He smoked a cigarette while explaining to Ji Chen with a deep frown...

There are several reasons why I don't doubt Qiu Tu.

“First of all, the safe was placed in the break room of my office. When storing the evidence, I did not let Qiu Tu go in with me.”

"Instead, we had Secretary Bai stay outside with him."

"So, he had no idea where I had put the evidence, let alone the combination to the safe."

"Therefore, he couldn't steal the evidence I had stored."

"Secondly, even if he has the [Cataclysmic Artifact] that allows him to transfer items without needing to locate them."

"But... since noon yesterday, he has stayed by my side, almost never leaving my sight, and has not spoken to anyone."

"...there was simply no time to commit the crime."

"If we assume he was part of a group, then...the whole case becomes incredibly complicated. Because anyone could use group tactics to avoid suspicion."

"Even assuming he did commit the crime as a group, the whole thing still doesn't make sense."

"Because... he had no motive..."

At this point, Yan Chen narrowed his eyes, tapped the air a few times with the hand holding the cigarette, and said seriously, "Apart from random crimes, all murderers need a motive to commit their crimes."

"Qiu Tu is someone I promoted myself. I've treated him fairly well, and since his position is relatively low, he still has a lot of room for advancement."

"With me, he should have no problem continuing to rise in rank."

"Moreover, just before the evidence was stolen, he subtly tried to curry favor with me, hoping to get a promotion!"

"And I... although I didn't give him a clear answer, I hinted that I would consider it carefully. He shouldn't misunderstand what I meant!"

At this point, Yan Chen said with a serious expression, "So, under these circumstances, just how high a price would the security department have to offer to bribe him?"

"Captain?"

"The Qin family's businesses?"

"money?"

Yan Chen shook his head. "Don't even mention that the security department won't provide these conditions. Even if they did... it would just be a one-off deal. It's far better for him to work hard here; his future is brighter."

"So, unless he and I have some irreconcilable conflict, he would never betray me."

At this point, Yan Chen stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray and concluded, "Besides, I had suspected him before. It turned out I was wrong. And because of that, a lot of things were delayed."

"This time, I don't want to make the same mistake again."

"So, let's talk about the other candidates... Do you think Jia Shu is a suspect?"

The following part of the letter continued with the three people's speculations about Jia Shu's identity.

In short: highly suspicious!

Clearly, after Qiu Tu's repeated attempts to sow discord, Yan Chen had developed deep suspicions about his right-hand man...

After reading the entire letter, Qiu Tu had some guesses about Secretary Bai's motives for writing to him.

Secretary Bai was unaware of Qiu Tu's role in the whole affair, and he was even unaware of the truth.

He most likely saw Qiu Tu's "disheartened" appearance after being scolded by Yan Chen last night.

Worried that Qiu Tu might have some inner conflict or be filled with fear, Yan Chen risked revealing the contents of the meeting to Qiu Tu—hoping to alleviate Qiu Tu's anxiety with Yan Chen's affirmation.

His purpose in doing this was similar to that of tipping off Qiu Tu about the death of Yin Caimei last time.