Then let them offer their loyalty!

Chapter 19 My Dad, Shen Yuzhou!

Upon hearing Qiu Tu's words, the detective gave him a knowing look, then saluted with a grin and walked out.

The New Territories were newly established, and most of the people living there still retained the habits and customs of the chaotic past. They didn't have the habit of treating criminals kindly...

At this moment, Fang Ming, who had been following behind Qiu Tu, quickly stepped forward and tugged at his sleeve.

When Qiu Tu looked over, he lowered his voice and reminded him, "Don't do anything reckless."

"If you need anything, just go directly to the Qin family. They're in the brothel business, so they can definitely arrange it for you."

"Otherwise, we could go out for a stroll. This is a busy downtown area, there must be some suitable places nearby."

He paused, then, perhaps worried that Qiu Tu wouldn't understand, added in a low voice, "That girl's identity... is probably not that simple. Don't be fooled."

Qiu Tu couldn't help but chuckle upon hearing this. He replied in a low voice, "Do you really think I'm that eager for sex? I just really have some questions I want to ask her."

Upon hearing Qiu Tu's words, Fang Ming glanced at Qiu Tu suspiciously, trying to find a trace of lying in his eyes, but all he saw was an honest gaze.

"Anyway... I told you, so be careful." Fang Ming whispered another reminder to Qiu Tu before leaving the room.

Watching Fang Ming disappear from sight, Qiu Tu smiled, feeling that this guy was somewhat interesting.

Not only is he a good person, but he's also... very perceptive.

But how did he know that the girl's identity wasn't so simple?

Even I only found out after stepping into the Qin family and the countdown refreshed...

Thinking this, Qiu Tu couldn't help but recall the scene when he first stepped into the Qin family...

Just as Qiu Tu stepped into the Qin family home, the countdown treasure chest, which had been frozen for 24 hours, slowly unsealed, and a new crisis warning popped up in front of him.

"Peaceful life is always fleeting, but crisis is always lurking."

"Your boss Yan Chen was not fooled by your lies, but he was wary of your non-existent background and was also very interested in the origin of the aurora stone you possessed."

"He's currently in the eye of the storm and doesn't have time to deal with you, so he took advantage of the situation and sent you to the Qin family, hoping they would test your strength."

"To make this test more difficult, he not only assigned you a female pharmacist with a special identity, but also spread rumors that you have an old grudge against the Qin family and that you came here ostensibly to protect Qin Shuman, but in reality to investigate the Qin family."

"So the moment you stepped into the Qin family, thousands of eyes were already fixed on you, waiting for you to make a mistake..."

"Meanwhile, Yan Chen is also closely monitoring your every move, trying to uncover your secrets..."

"Hide your weakness, show your strength, and you will survive surrounded by wolves..."

Along with this notification, a new crisis countdown also appeared. It read: 7 days.

Through this crisis warning, Qiu Tu became more clearly aware of the perilous situation he was currently in:

He's surrounded by the Qin family, who are closing in on him relentlessly, and Yan Chen, who's watching him like a hawk. He's also accompanied by a "criminal girl" of unknown identity.

In addition, there's Qin Shuman, whose stance is unclear, and Cuilan, the maid who is constantly monitoring her.

The phrase "fraught with danger" is the most apt description of the situation at this moment.

That's why Qiu Tu came to see the special young female pharmacist as soon as the banquet ended.

After all, only by figuring out her identity could Qiu Tu adjust and execute his next plan...

...

After watching Fang Ming leave, Qiu Tu turned around, closed the door, and then stepped into the inner room.

Inside the room, the young pharmacist with the unusual identity was handcuffed to a chair with her left hand, while she was eating heartily with chopsticks in her right hand.

Perhaps because the food was good today, her cheeks were bulging, making her look like a hamster.

When Qiu Tu came in, she wasn't shy at all. She even waved to him warmly with her right chopsticks and mumbled, "Come and eat something with me."

Qiu Tu almost burst out laughing.

This girl is so carefree; anyone who didn't know better would think she was the suspect and the detective.

It seems his identity is indeed extraordinary, which explains his composure even while imprisoned.

Thinking this, Qiu Tu casually asked, "I've seen many suspects. Some are scared, some are arrogant, and some cry foul as soon as they see an agent, but I've never seen anyone as calm as you."

At this point, Qiu Tu paused, "I heard from Fang Ming that you have connections? Tell me. What kind of connections scared him into arranging for such good hospitality for you?"

Hearing Qiu Tu's words, the girl nonchalantly tossed her chopsticks aside, pouted, and said firmly, "My dad is Shen Yuzhou!"

Qiu Tu was stunned for a moment upon hearing the girl's words.

Then... with a blank look on his face, he asked, "Who?"

girl: ? ? ?

Perhaps because her father's name had always worked well, the girl was used to the surprise the other person would feel upon hearing it, so Qiu Tu's blank expression confused her as well.

Her face flushed red, and she said hurriedly, "Shen Yuzhou! Shen Yuzhou! Shen Yuzhou, the vice chairman of the Supreme Council of the Third Shelter!"

Upon hearing the girl's words, Qiu Tu quickly searched his memory, then remained completely bewildered...

Because he had no memory of this person's name.

After all, New Territories City belongs to the Eighth Shelter, and it's still in its early stages. Qiu Tu, a low-ranking detective, might not even know all the higher-ups in his own shelter, let alone the higher-ups in the distant Third Shelter: he'd never even heard of them...

However, Qiu Tu finally understood why Fang Ming looked so strange and why Yan Chen had pushed this girl to him.

To put it bluntly, no one in the New Territories can verify whether the girl is telling the truth or not. Qiu Tu has no right to verify, and neither does Yan Chen.

If the girl's identity is genuine, hastily punishing her could easily provoke a conflict between the two shelters, and neither can bear that responsibility.

If the girl's identity is fake, and because of a lie, no one in the investigation department dares to convict her, then the entire investigation department will lose face.

So, this is a hot potato.

Thinking about this, Qiu Tu was also a little unsure about the girl's identity. After all, the "crisis sense" only said that the girl's identity was special, but who knew if it was referring to the fact that her father was Shen Yuzhou?

Perhaps she's a spy? Perhaps there's something wrong with her mentor?

There are too many interpretations to describe someone's special status...

Thinking this, Qiu Tu's mind raced, and then he asked curiously, "Since your father's status is so noble, why have you fallen to this state?"

"You're not lying, are you?"

Chapter 20 The Quirky and Clever Shen Lingshuang

Hearing Qiu Tu's words, the girl became even more agitated. She slammed her hand on the table and shouted, "Who are you talking about! Who are you talking about!"

"How could I, Shen Lingshuang, lie!"

Qiu Tu glanced at the girl suspiciously. He wasn't good at interrogation, but he was... a master of deception.

The girl's expression and movements were full of flaws in the eyes of a master liar like him.

First, the girl habitually maintains eye contact with him. This is a common mistake made by novice scammers: they mistakenly believe that this will increase credibility.

Secondly, the girl repeatedly used phrases like "Shen Yuzhou" or "Who are you talking about?", which is actually a sign of her guilt.

Finally, shouting and exaggerated table-slamming are all behaviors that show a lack of confidence and are merely bluffing.

So... this girl is lying?

Thinking this, Qiu Tu slowly put away his smile and quietly looked at the girl.

The girl initially put on a show of bravado, but gradually her gaze became increasingly unfocused, and finally she simply lowered her head and started eating her food.

Seeing this, Qiu Tu reached out and dragged the table aside. The girl, holding out her chopsticks, exclaimed, "Hey? Hey? Hey? What are you doing!"

Qiu Tu, his face cold, pointed to his black uniform and asked in a deep voice, "Do you know which department this uniform belongs to?"

The girl looked bewildered.

Qiu Tu said decisively, "The Political Department!"

After saying that, he asked again, "Do you know what the Political Department does?"

The girl shook her head in confusion.

Qiu Tu, "in charge of all sorts of shady dealings, including espionage, counter-espionage, and internal surveillance!"

Then he continued, "Do you know what methods we use when interrogating prisoners?"

The girl's attitude softened noticeably; she shrugged and shook her head pitifully.

Qiu Tu took out a stack of slightly blurry color photos from his pocket and slapped them heavily into the girl's hand.

The girl took the photo and wanted to look at it, but found it inconvenient because she was holding chopsticks. So she hesitated for a moment, put the chopsticks in her mouth, and looked through the photo.

These photos were obtained by Qiu Tu from the Political Department this afternoon; they are all of torture scenes or bodies that have died tragically.

Even Qiu Tu felt horrified when he looked at the photos, let alone Shen Lingshuang, a girl.

So after looking at just two pictures, her face turned deathly pale, and her eyes glazed over.

Seeing this, Qiu Tu asked knowingly, "Why are you shaking?"

Shen Lingshuang said tremblingly, "Where am I shaking?"

By the end, her teeth were chattering loudly.

Seeing this, Qiu Tu chuckled inwardly: What a useless piece of trash. He thought he was so tough, but he chickened out after being scared like this.

Seeing that the time was right, he stopped pressuring the girl and instead reached for the photo while reassuring her, "Don't worry, as long as you behave, I won't hurt you."

"You didn't want something like this to happen to you, did you?"

Shen Lingshuang quickly shook her head. Perhaps afraid that Qiu Tu wouldn't believe her, she shook it so vigorously it was like a rattle drum.

Seeing this, Qiu Tu nodded in satisfaction and then began a new round of questioning, "So tell me, who exactly are you? How did you get to New Territories City?"

Shen Lingshuang looked at Qiu Tu pitifully, "I...I fled from the unplanned area of ​​the Third Shelter. My family suffered a sudden disaster, so I had no choice but to flee to the Eighth Shelter..."

Qiu Tu pulled out a notebook and casually started taking interrogation notes. "Don't be so vague, be more specific. Which planned area of ​​the Third Shelter?"

Shen Lingshuang shrank back, "The Seventh City."

Qiu Tu wrote it down, and then asked, "So how did you become a pharmacist?"

Shen Lingshuang said timidly, "It's a family tradition..."

"A family tradition?" Qiu Tu asked curiously.

Shen Lingshuang nodded. "My family has a long history in medicine, so I learned to prepare medicine from a young age and gradually got the hang of it."

Qiu Tu frowned at her. "Was the recipe for that cataclysmic potion also passed down in your family?"

Shen Lingshuang looked at Qiu Tu in surprise, "You actually know about the Cataclysmic Potion?"

Qiu Tu: ....

"How novel! Don't you know why you were arrested?"

Shen Lingshuang blinked, looking puzzled, and said, "Wasn't I arrested for selling counterfeit medicine?"

Qiu Tu:?

The two looked at each other with confusion.

After a moment, Qiu Tu tapped his notebook and said sternly, "Stop joking around!"

"Do you think I'm playing a game with you?"

"I'm telling you, this is an interrogation, an interrogation!"

After saying that, he glared fiercely at the girl and changed his question, "I'm asking you, can you make a cataclysmic potion?"

Shen Lingshuang shrank back and said cautiously, "They can only make inferior catastrophe potions."

"But I have no idea what the specific effects will be..."

She said softly, "The medicine I make is always strange. It always has some weird effects."

"For example, when my father had a fever when I was a child, I made him a dose of fever-reducing medicine according to the prescription."

"His fever has gone down, but he's completely cold..."

Qiu Tu:? ? ?

"Another time, I was experimenting with a new drug, and I found that it was poisonous and I could only take an antidote."

"But taking several antidotes was ineffective. I had no choice but to vomit green foam while gnawing on antidotes."