Then let them offer their loyalty!

He was like a volcano about to erupt, and Qiu Tu could clearly feel the immense pressure even through the communicator.

【1:18】

However, Qiu Tu was not affected by Yan Chen. He kept his tone unchanged and said in a low voice, "Director, actually I have some other things to do here."

Then, he deliberately hesitated for two seconds before saying as if he had made up his mind, "Director, actually, there's something I wanted to report to you these past two days, but I didn't dare to tell you because I didn't have any evidence."

"Qin Shuman is suspicious. I suspect she's a spy sent by the municipal committee to monitor you!"

As soon as those words were spoken, the air fell silent, and the countdown seemed to freeze, stopping at 1:03.

After a full five seconds of frozen time, the countdown started again.

Meanwhile, Yan Chen on the other end of the communicator asked in a deep voice, "What do you mean?"

【1:00】

With only one minute left, the countdown turned a glaring scarlet and began flashing wildly.

Qiu Tu, however, was not in a hurry. He calmly explained, "Director, I have been under your orders to protect Miss Schumann's safety for some time now. However, I have noticed that something is not quite right about her."

“For example, I remember you said she had just come to the New Territories from the disaster zone, but she seemed to know the New Territories very well.”

"For example, she was not a resident of the shelter like us, but her skin was so smooth and fair, without a single scar or callus."

"For example, every time I appear by her side, she tries to talk to me, takes the initiative to talk about you, and tries to find out information about you."

"All these signs suggest that she may not be as simple as she appears."

"Besides, don't you think it's a bit too much of a coincidence?"

"The New Territories is so big and so chaotic, why did you happen to spot such a beautiful person?"

"Are all the other women blind to such a beauty? Wouldn't they all want to possess her?"

Is this really reasonable?

At this point, Qiu Tu paused for a moment and said, "So, I've been trying to please her these past few days, subtly expressing my affection in order to gain her trust."

“Perhaps my actions really did gain her trust. Today she told me that she felt like a canary locked in a cage and wanted to go out for a walk alone. So I helped her get rid of the maid and other security personnel and went out with her alone.”

"For the past few hours, I've stayed by her side, secretly observing her every move, trying to figure out what she's trying to do."

【0:15】

This time, the countdown flashing red seemed to have stopped completely.

After a two-second silence, Yan Chen on the other end of the communicator asked, "So what did you discover?"

Qiu Tu said, "I didn't find anything."

As if he could see Yan Chen's face suddenly darken on the other end of the communicator, Qiu Tu paused for a moment before adding, "But... that's the biggest problem!"

"She went through all that trouble to escape everyone, just to take a stroll?"

"Director...is this reasonable?"

Yan Chen remained silent.

Two seconds later, instead of answering Qiu Tu's question, he asked, "Then why did you say she was sent by the municipal committee to spy on me?"

Qiu Tu, "Guessing."

"After all, everyone in the New Territories knows that the Municipal Council and our Detective Department are at odds, and Commissioner Jiang is even more at odds with you..."

Yan Chen snorted coldly.

Qiu Tu knew when to stop, and instead of continuing to discuss the bigwigs' private affairs, he changed the subject and concluded, "That's why, when considering suspects, the municipal committee was my first suspect."

"However, I am still verifying this, and there is no evidence yet."

Yan Chen's tone softened noticeably. He pondered for a moment, then asked, "Where are you now?"

Qiu Tu, “At my house.”

“It was Miss Schumann’s request.”

"She's playing video games there now, so I'm making an excuse to hide in the bathroom to answer your call."

Upon hearing this, Yan Chen responded with an "Mmm".

He then did not express his opinion to Qiu Tu, but instead returned to his original topic, "I will arrange for someone else to handle the matter of Xiafang Street. You can continue to accompany Shuman."

"Yes, Director!" Qiu Tu bowed slightly respectfully as if Yan Chen could see him. "I will definitely help you confirm Miss Shuman's identity and live up to your trust."

Yan Chen did not reply, but hung up the call.

Hearing the beeping sound from the other end of the receiver, Qiu Tu, knowing he had temporarily escaped danger, slowly exhaled. He straightened his back, and the smile on his face gradually faded, leaving him expressionless.

During his years with the scam group in northern Myanmar, he learned a lot, including reading people's expressions, understanding their psychology, and finding the weaknesses in each person's character.

Yan Chen's weakness in character is obvious: he is suspicious.

Such a person, once they have even the slightest doubt, will not easily stop.

Therefore, after Qiu Tu realized that he had been "exposed", he understood that the more he explained, the more likely he would arouse Yan Chen's suspicion.

Moreover, for a big shot like Yan Chen, his confidants and mistresses were nothing more than dogs begging for his charity.

In such a chaotic world, two ordinary people who haven't even been granted shelter can be killed if he has even the slightest suspicion or displeasure.

Therefore, if Qiu Tu wants to survive, he must introduce a third-party force that Yan Chen will be wary of.

Only in this way can Yan Chen control his emotions and not dare to act recklessly, thus buying Qiu Tu time to resolve the crisis.

This "third-party force" that Yan Chen feared was the Municipal Committee.

The Municipal Council is the highest authority in the New Territories, holding all powers related to legislation, personnel, and finance.

In theory, the Exploration Department should also be subject to the Municipal Council.

However, in order to maintain a balance of power, when the shelters send out senior management personnel, the municipal council, the investigation department, and the military all have the right to directly liaise with the shelters.

Therefore, once they reach the planned area, the three parties become relatively independent. The municipal committee cannot forcibly command the other two parties, but can only use various means such as interests, the situation, and righteousness to make them obey.

This results in a very delicate relationship among the three parties, one that is both full of contradictions and requires cooperation.

In this situation, facing someone suspected to be planted by the municipal council, the shrewd and calculating Yan Chen would likely become cautious. Before ascertaining Qin Shuman's identity and the municipal council's intentions, he wouldn't easily take action against the two, thus disrupting the delicate balance currently in the New Territories.

Such a lie would also make Qiu Tu and Qin Shuman appear as potential adversaries to Yan Chen, reducing suspicion that the two might be having an affair.

Furthermore, Qiu Tu's "open" initiative in revealing their whereabouts will likely increase the credibility of this information in Yan Chen's eyes.

Although the plan was bold and there would be more problems in the future, it was the best solution Qiu Tu could come up with in just a few seconds.

After reviewing his plan, Qiu Tu stared intently at the paused countdown in the upper left corner, his mind continuing to fill in any gaps in his work.

'Although my acting was quite good, and I replaced the original question with a new one, guiding Yan Chen's suspicions in the right direction.'

'But... given Yan Chen's suspicious nature, the seeds of doubt have already been sown; can they really be so easily dispelled?'

'Can things really be that simple?'

As Qiu Tu had this thought, the countdown hourglass in the upper left corner of his vision suddenly began to change slowly...

Chapter 3 Extraordinary Power?

As the hourglass changed, several new prompts popped up in front of Qiu Tu.

"Congratulations on successfully overcoming the crisis just now and gaining Yan Chen's initial trust."

"But his suspicious nature prevented him from being completely convinced by your lies—after all, your lies still have some flaws that don't stand up to scrutiny."

"So, he plans to go to Qin Shuman's residence tonight to ask you in person."

You will have five hours to prepare.

"Try to weave all the lies carefully, prepare the appropriate evidence, and seize a glimmer of hope."

"You don't want to know the consequences of failure."

As all the prompts ended, the original countdown hourglass slowly transformed into a small, swaying treasure chest, while another countdown hourglass jumped out and landed next to the treasure chest, standing side by side with it.

【4:59:50】

Looking at the newly appeared countdown, Qiu Tu remained silent for a few seconds, then slowly smiled.

He knew that Yan Chen, being so suspicious, wouldn't be so easily fooled.

This is a life-or-death game of walking a tightrope; there's no way it can be passed so easily.

Five hours is much better than two minutes; at least I can do other things now. Like...

Take a closer look at your cheat code.

Thinking this, Qiu Tu's gaze fell on the treasure chest icon that had just popped up, and he tried clicking on it.

The next second, the treasure chest opened and disappeared, replaced by a translucent, sea-blue stone.

At the same time, two small notifications appeared in front of Qiu Tu.

"Survive the crisis and receive a treasure chest reward: Aurora Stone."

"Aurora Stone: One of the important materials for Cataclysm. With the addition of other materials, it can be used to craft various Cataclysm potions and items, such as 'Cataclysm Potions,' 'Spell Skulls,' 'Old Seals,' and 'Shining Octahedrons,' etc..."

Looking at the two notifications that popped up in front of him, Qiu Tu remained silent for a few seconds before slowly frowning.

Cataclysmic materials?

Cataclysmic Potion? Spellhead Skull? Shining Unorthodox Octahedron?

This world isn't an ordinary world; it contains extraordinary powers? This was clearly beyond Qiu Tu's expectations.

Thinking of this, he quickly went through the memories in his mind—but he couldn't find any information related to supernatural powers.

Whether it's the official announcements from the shelter or the rumors circulating privately in the planned area, there has never been any talk of supernatural powers existing in this world.

The world's armed forces are still primarily armed with firearms, with agriculture and industry as their core sectors.

Even the major shelters are said to have been built on abandoned military factories, large farms, or industrial bases before the catastrophe.

'What's going on? Could it be... that the extraordinary powers of this world are not widely known?'

'So... are the major asylums unaware of this news?'

Thinking this, Qiu Tu quickly began to sort through his memories again.

This time, he quickly discovered some clues.

The first clue came from Qiu Tu's colleague who was seconded to the city hall.

He said that although the city hall was accepting refugees fleeing from the disaster area free of charge, it had a strange requirement for the refugees: that they mark the areas with dense animal and plant populations along the way.

The second clue was given to Qiu Tu by a black market merchant when he was freeloading on the black market.

The black market dealer said that the military, one of the three major powers in the New Territories, has been secretly collecting supplies in the disaster zone near the New Territories, but no one knows exactly what they are collecting.

The third clue is a sentence Yan Chen said when he was drunk.

In my memory, Yan Chen suddenly and inexplicably received an award from above one day, and then a small celebration banquet was held.

At the banquet, he drank a bit too much and patted the shoulder of the person next to him with great enthusiasm, saying: "Although the catastrophe destroyed human civilization, it also gave humanity new opportunities."

When asked what it meant, Yan Chen simply smiled and remained silent. The next day, she vehemently denied ever saying it.

Because these three things were very fragmented, and the middle and senior management personnel from the shelter were all acting mysteriously, Qiu Tu hadn't thought much about it before.

But now, after putting everything together, Qiu Tu felt something was wrong.

'Could it be... that extraordinary powers have truly emerged in this world due to the Great Cataclysm? And that the various sanctuaries already possess such powers?'

'So, the reason they're establishing these unplanned zones isn't just to collect various disaster materials and valuable resources, is it?'

The more Qiu Tu analyzed, the more he felt that his conjecture might be correct.

Moreover, this clue led him to think of even more.

If the shelter truly has a way to allow humans to evolve and gain superhuman powers... then wouldn't Committee Member Jiang of the Municipal Council, that bigwig in the military, and Yan Chen... all possess superhuman powers?

After all, they were key figures carrying out important tasks, coming to this dangerous area awaiting planning to perform their duties...

Thinking about it this way, Qiu Tu suddenly felt even more pressured.

After all, no one knows what type of extraordinary power exists in this world, what direction it takes, or what powerful, strange, or magical effects it has.

This would make his situation even more dangerous....