Then let them offer their loyalty!

He didn't refuse this time, but will Qiu Tu continue to force him to do other things by "acting first and asking questions later" in the future?

One or two things don't matter, but if this continues, won't he become Qiu Tu's complete appendage?

After figuring all this out, Cao Dabiao broke out in a cold sweat.

He wanted to get off the ship and stop playing with Qiu Tu, but he couldn't bear to leave.

After all, he had just done something for Qiu Tu today, but he didn't receive any benefits. If they suddenly fell out, not only would he have done the job for nothing, but he would also have to bear Qiu Tu's anger, and he might even have to return the 80 silver dollars!

How could he accept this?

Humans are creatures prone to self-comfort. So, after much deliberation, Cao Dabiao finally decided to wait and see...

He thought: Maybe Qiu Tu won't do such things again in the future? Maybe Qiu Tu can give him more benefits...?

Therefore, when questioned by his trusted confidant, his answer was ambiguous: "Um...let's follow Qiu Tu for now, and we'll see if it doesn't work out..."

......

Meanwhile, Cao Dabiao was conducting an investigation at the Zhizhen Hotel.

Qiu Tu arrived at the Milan Grand Hotel alone...

Chapter 35 Security Department!

The New Territories is a planned area that the Eighth Shelter has only recently developed in the last two years.

Material life is scarce, living conditions are poor, and much infrastructure is being cleaned up and rebuilt.

However, several large hotels and restaurants were established early on. After all, no matter how bad life was for the lower classes, the upper classes still needed to eat, drink, and enjoy themselves...

Stepping into the Milan Grand Hotel, Qiu Tu felt as if he had traveled through time.

If he didn't know he was still in a cataclysmic world, he would probably think he had traveled back to Earth and entered a high-end four-star hotel.

A large crystal chandelier hangs from the high ceiling, the floor is paved with high-grade marble, and the walls are exquisitely decorated with either relief carvings or calligraphy and paintings. Even the rest area is equipped with luxurious sofa sets.

Although hotels of this caliber typically only cater to wealthy businessmen and officials coming from shelters, the living conditions here are still excessively luxurious.

With that in mind, Qiu Tu didn't wander around like a country bumpkin. Instead, he naturally went to the lobby's rest area, ordered a cup of tea, and waited patiently while drinking it.

He didn't have to wait long. At 7:20, 40 minutes before the agreed time, a hotel waiter came to Qiu Tu and bowed to hand him an envelope.

Qiu Tu looked up at him.

He said respectfully, "Sir, this is something your friend asked me to give you."

"My friend?" Qiu Tu looked up and glanced around, but didn't see anyone suspicious.

He reached out and took the envelope. The envelope felt thin and light, as if it contained nothing.

After the waiter left, Qiu Tu opened it and took a look.

It turned out that inside was a room key.

Room number 416.

Qiu Tu fiddled with the room key, his gaze somewhat amused.

After finishing his tea, Qiu Tu picked up his room key and got up to walk towards the elevator.

I pressed the elevator button, and the elevator doors opened shortly afterward.

Qiu Tu stepped inside.

As the elevator ascended, Qiu Tu touched his waist; his sidearm was still there obediently.

Before leaving, Qiu Tu had already checked the pistol, put it in a ready-to-fire state, and then disengaged the safety.

This allows him to fire immediately if he encounters danger.

The elevator went up floor by floor and soon stopped on the fourth floor.

As the elevator doors opened, Qiu Tu cautiously observed the situation outside the elevator before stepping out.

The New Territories is a newly established city with a relatively poor business environment, so the overall occupancy rate of the hotels is not high, and Qiu Tu did not encounter any other guests along the way.

Following the room numbers, Qiu Tu walked and searched until he arrived at room 416.

When he arrived at the room door, Qiu Tu tentatively knocked on it, but there was no response from inside.

He hesitated for a moment, then swiped his room card.

The sound of the door lock turning came from inside the door, and Qiu Tu pushed the door open.

Inside the room, a young man in casual clothes with a square face was standing by the window, looking at himself.

"Who are you...?" Qiu Tu walked into the room, closed the door behind him, and asked the young man tentatively.

The young man pulled an ID from his pocket and showed it to Qiu Tu. "Hello, Detective Qiu, let me introduce myself. I am Lin Zuo, the deputy head of the Investigation Section of the Security Department."

"The reason I've taken the liberty of inviting you here today is that I want your cooperation in our work."

Upon hearing Lin Zuo's introduction, Qiu Tu's pupils contracted slightly.

Security Department...?

If it were the Qiu Tu of the past, he would probably be completely bewildered when he heard the term "Security Department," since it is not a high-profile department.

However, during his time with Shen Lingshuang these past few days, Qiu Tu obtained a lot of confidential information from her. This included details about the security department...

The Security Department, officially the Security Protection and Secret Investigation Department, is a classified department under the military.

Its main tasks are combating anti-government armed groups and handling emergency crisis events.

More importantly, some secret matters involving cataclysmic awakening also fall under the jurisdiction of this department.

According to Shen Lingshuang, all those who can enter this department are elites, and many of them are Cataclysmics.

Furthermore, since the members of this department are selected through the [Shelter] and are not recruited from various planned areas, their combat strength can be said to be the best among all departments in the planned areas.

But why would such a powerful department seek me out?

Was it because I've been making too much noise lately, attracting their attention and interest? Or... is this department my background?

Thinking this, Qiu Tu tentatively asked, "What does Section Chief Lin need my help with? And why does he need me?"

Hearing Qiu Tu's probing, Lin Zuo said, "Actually, we have been paying attention to the various important members of the Qin family for the past six months."

"So when the Allied Forces attacked you and Qin Shuman, we naturally turned our attention to you as well."

"Later, we found out that the Investigation Bureau seemed to be investigating the Qin family as well, and even transferred you to the Political Department to be in charge of this matter. So we have been hesitant about whether to contact you."

"Until yesterday, when you made a big show of sending a team of political agents into the Qin family, we felt that the situation was getting out of control, so we made up our minds and contacted you urgently."

"The reason I invited you here is twofold: to give you a heads-up and exchange information, and also to clarify the scope of our respective tasks to avoid interfering with each other and causing our missions to fail..."

Lin Zuo's reasons were very convincing, and on the surface, there seemed to be no problem, but... Qiu Tu just couldn't quite believe them...

He probed again, "Since Section Chief Lin knows so much about the Qin family's recent situation, has he planted a spy in the Qin family?"

Lin Zuo's expression remained unchanged. "I'm sorry, Detective Qiu. This is a confidential matter of the Security Department, and I cannot disclose it to you."

Qiu Tu wasn't annoyed. His mind raced. "Alright, then I won't ask that question. Let's get straight to the basics of our cooperation."

He said, "I remember Section Chief Lin saying in the text message that you have information that interests me. May I ask Section Chief Lin what kind of information you think I would be interested in?"

Chapter 36 The Secrets of the Qin Family

Upon hearing Qiu Tu's words, Lin Zuo stared at Qiu Tu expressionlessly, just staring at him.

After a moment, he sighed and said, "Detective Qiu, we are all from a classified department. We should know that some information can be said and some information cannot be said."

"We genuinely want to cooperate with you, so please stop testing us."

Qiu Tu looked at Lin Zuo, not letting him off the hook so easily. He said earnestly, "Section Chief Lin, I understand your difficulties. But I don't actually want you to break the rules."

He paused at this point, then gave a very legitimate reason.

"We exchange information with each other, so I think we can first find out what information each other can contribute."

"This not only allows both parties to more effectively assess the value of intelligence and reach cooperation, but also avoids the problem of intelligence leakage caused by discovering that the required intelligence is not available after sharing it."

Upon hearing Qiu Tu's words, Lin Zuo fell into deep thought.

After a moment, he made a decision.

"You're right."

"Then I'll be frank. We can provide you with clues about the Qin family's collusion with the Alliance and evidence of the Qin family's transfer of benefits with several members of the Governing Council."

Upon hearing Lin Zuo's words, Qiu Tu couldn't help but smile: It's done...

Actually, the reason he kept pressing this topic was to verify one thing: whether the security department's visit to him was related to Qin Shuman.

It's important to know that... the Political Department's scope of work only includes espionage, counter-espionage, and internal surveillance.

Therefore, from an outsider's perspective, Qiu Tu's entry into the Qin family had only one purpose: to investigate whether the Qin family, especially Qin Zhengguang (the second wife), had engaged in any illegal or disorderly conduct.

Although Master Qin provided Qiu Tu with some clues about Qin Zhengguang's collusion with anti-government armed forces and gangs, these were ultimately matters within the scope of the Political Department's "internal supervision" authority.

But Lin Zuo was different. The intelligence he provided to Qiu Tu was about "the Qin family colluding with the Alliance" and "transferring benefits with the City Hall," which shows that he was indeed very clear about Qiu Tu's [true purpose] in taking over the Qin family.

However, it's important to know that in the entire New Territories, only Yan Chen, Jia Shu, and Qin Shuman know Qiu Tu's true purpose in going to the Qin family.

Even with his own people like Artest and Hawks, Qiu Tu didn't reveal a single thing.

From which channel did the security department obtain the information?

Therefore, the answer is obvious.

'I never expected Qin Shuman to be so well-hidden...'

While inwardly sighing, Qiu Tu nodded calmly, confirming his cooperation with the Security Department. "I am very satisfied with the intelligence provided by Section Chief Lin, so I agree to exchange intelligence with Section Chief Lin."

As he spoke, Qiu Tu took out some of the intelligence he had copied down that afternoon and exchanged it with Lin Zuo, and they discussed it briefly.

The two had little overlap in their information, and Qiu Tu mainly had four clues.

1. Qin Zhengguang (second wife) has a history of transferring benefits with the underground gang, the Fierce Tiger Gang.

2. Qin Zhengguang and the Alliance have been secretly cooperating.

3. Two months ago, Qin Zhengguang released a group of suspects, including members of the Alliance.

4. Qin Zhengguang plundered medicines from the black market he controlled and then sold them at high prices to anti-government organizations.

However, Lin Zuo possessed clues about the collusion between the Qin family and various other forces.

For example, before the Qin family was established in the New Territories, they had dealings with the United Front and had been doing business with people, medicines, and weapons.

For example, during the period when the Qin family was building the New Territories, they had very close ties with Yan Chen.

For example, after the Qin family established the New Territories City, they secretly collaborated with several members of the City Hall on some shady businesses, and used these shady businesses to transfer benefits to the members.

For example, the Qin family's underground business involved anonymous transactions, meaning that any force could pick up and sell goods with a certificate without verifying their identity. This made many underground organizations and anti-government armed groups their customers.

After comparing the clues and evidence from both sides, Qiu Tu and Lin Zuo keenly noticed something interesting.

Lin Zuo, "Are all the clues you have about the second branch of the Qin family?"

Qiu Tu, "Are all the clues you have about the entire Qin family?"

The two looked at each other and then smiled.

Qiu Tu explained, "The Political Department's authority is internal supervision, and its main target is naturally the second branch of the Qin family."

After saying that, Qiu Tu also asked, "But all the evidence you have involves the entire Qin family?"

He paused, then tentatively asked, "Did you fail to investigate thoroughly, or do you believe the entire Qin family is problematic?"

Lin Zuo said, "The entire Qin family may be involved in some problems."

His gaze was firm. "Don't be fooled by the current internal discord within the Qin family. Don't forget that Old Master Qin has just passed away."

"Before Old Master Qin passed away, the four branches of the Qin family had already begun to handle their respective affairs and cooperate with each other."

"Therefore, they should all be involved in colluding with the Alliance to supply medicines and materials."

After listening to Lin Zuo's explanation, Qiu Tu nodded thoughtfully...

Over the next hour, Qiu Tu and Lin Zuo fully exchanged opinions between their two departments and reached a basic consensus: Qiu Tu would be in the open, while the security department would remain in the shadows, with both sides conducting joint investigations and sharing information.

If no problems are ultimately found, then keep it a secret from each other.