Then let them offer their loyalty!

Qiu Tu was completely puzzled.

I worked overtime all night last night, and I still have to work overtime tonight to be a double agent. Is it wrong for me to leave work on time?

Was Zheng Tao taking out his frustrations on himself after being mistreated outside? Or... is his management style simply using psychological manipulation to get his subordinates to work overtime?

Thinking this, Qiu Tu didn't indulge him. He pretended to look around, then said with a look of sudden realization, "No one's left. Zheng Ke, I understand. Don't worry, I'll call everyone to leave work right away!"

As he spoke, Qiu Tu made a gesture as if he was about to go to the various work groups to call on the detectives to leave work together.

Seeing this, Zheng Tao panicked. He quickly grabbed Qiu Tu and whispered, "Section Chief Qiu, what are you doing!"

"What do you mean by 'off work'! As agents of the Political Department, we should work overtime and dedicate every minute and second to the department and the bureau! To share the burden of the minister and the director!"

Qiu Tu was puzzled when he heard Zheng Tao's words.

You say it's to serve the people, which is understandable, but working overtime to relieve the minister's and director's burdens?

Could this person in front of me be a sycophant?

However, he could only think these things to himself, so Qiu Tu said with a puzzled look, "But we can't not rest."

"The value of work is not measured by time."

"Only by getting enough rest can you be full of energy to devote to your work."

As he spoke, Qiu Tu paused, then waved his hand with a smile, "Anyway, I'm going home first."

"Goodbye, sir."

After saying that, Qiu Tu turned around and left the interrogation room with a flourish.

Overtime is out of the question. If I worked 997 in my past life, I'd be wasting my time in this one.

He came into this world to enjoy life, not to cause mischief.

If Zheng Tao is willing to work overtime, then let him work overtime himself; he's not going to cater to anyone.

When Zheng Tao saw Qiu Tu leave the interrogation room, he was so angry that his face turned pale.

He pointed at Qiu Tu's back and stammered for a long time before finally angrily putting it down.

At the same time, a row of prompts popped up in front of Qiu Tu's eyes.

[Zheng Tao's satisfaction rating -5....]

Song Qing's loyalty +3

Wang Xue's loyalty +1

Cheng Jianxin's loyalty +4

【...】

Upon seeing that row of signs, Qiu Tu, who was walking down the stairs, almost missed a step.

He was completely confused: ?

Good heavens, so those agents were all eavesdropping on my conversation with Zheng Tao.

But... I only complained a few times about working overtime, and I gained so much loyalty?

Those guys are usually so badly oppressed by Zheng Tao...

Thinking this, Qiu Tu paused for a moment. He suddenly remembered that the "Female Spy Task Force" had worked overtime all night last night and was continuing to work today.

Qiu Tu suddenly realized...maybe this is a way for him to gain leverage over the interrogation department...

.....

Thinking this, Qiu Tu drove back to his home.

Qiu Tu needs to prepare in advance for his meeting with Qin Shuman tonight.

Qiu Tu stopped his car at the alley entrance, locked it, and walked home, swinging the car keys.

As soon as Qiu Tu stepped into the alley, he heard a scream, "My God! A ghost!"

Qiu Tu was startled and quickly looked in the direction from which the sound came, only to see a neighbor scrambling away.

Qiu Tu looked around, completely bewildered, but saw nothing else unusual.

He scratched his head suspiciously, then continued walking into the alley.

He initially thought his neighbor was sick, but to his surprise, wherever he went, everyone who knew him ran away faster than a monkey.

Qiu Tu was increasingly puzzled, feeling completely lost.

He glanced down at his attire. Although it was the black uniform of the Political Department, which was very intimidating to ordinary people, it shouldn't be enough to make him run away at the sight of someone, right?

In the end what happened?

Chapter 60 I Heard I'm Dead? (7k views, please vote)

Qiu Tu's motto has always been to ask questions when he doesn't understand something, and never to keep things bottled up inside.

So when Qiu Tu encountered another neighbor who would run away at the sight of him, he immediately stepped forward, grabbed the man by the collar, and said, "Uncle Chen, why are you running?"

Qiu Tu was considered a prominent figure in the old alleyway.

Before the New Territories City was established, he led Ah Tai, Eagle, and others to run rampant in the nearby streets.

Although they weren't particularly enthusiastic towards these neighbors, they didn't bully people like other groups. They even occasionally stood up for their neighbors and resolved some troubles.

After the establishment of the New Territories City, Qiu Tu, through his connection with Secretary Bai, received a government job and quickly became an unapproachable figure in the eyes of his neighbors.

However, Qiu Tu still did not act arrogantly in the neighborhood. Instead, he used Yan Chen's influence to find jobs for Lao Ying and other brothers who followed him, and helped the neighborhood obtain some benefits. He was very humane.

His way of doing things earned him a good reputation and a certain level of prestige in the neighborhood.

Therefore, Qiu Tu has never encountered a situation where his neighbors run away when they see him.

What surprised him even more was that after Qiu Tu grabbed him, Uncle Chen's face turned deathly pale. He kept bowing and making obeisances to Qiu Tu, muttering to himself, "Qiu Tu, we have no grudges from the past, nor any enmity with each other now."

"When you were alive, I even guarded your door for you. Even though I once stole two potatoes from you, I was starving, so please don't take me with you."

Qiu Tu:? ?

Qiu Tu astutely captured a key phrase: "while alive."

He deduced backwards, so... these neighbors thought he was dead?

Qiu Tu frowned slightly, grabbed Uncle Chen, and slapped him twice to wake him up....

After being slapped, Uncle Chen wasn't afraid anymore. Instead, he shouted excitedly, "Qiu Tu, you're not dead? You scared me to death! I thought I'd encountered a ghost!"

Qiu Tu: .....

Seeing Uncle Chen's reckless words, Qiu Tu resisted the urge to slap them both again and patiently inquired about the whole story.

Soon... he learned everything.

He walked towards his house with a dark expression.

Then... he saw Shen Lingshuang kneeling on the ground downstairs in his own building, dressed in mourning clothes, holding a black and white photo of herself in her arms...

The little girl was too small to fit into the mourning clothes, and she looked pitiful. Her big eyes were red and swollen from crying, but she kept throwing yellow paper into the brazier while hugging Qiu Tu's black and white photo and crying incessantly.

Seeing this, Qiu Tu was speechless.

He walked up to Shen Lingshuang and asked in a sinister tone, "I heard... you've been telling everyone I'm dead?"

Upon hearing Qiu Tu's voice, Shen Lingshuang was taken aback for a moment, her gaze lingering on Qiu Tu's black riding boots.

Then she slowly moved upwards until she could clearly see Qiu Tu's handsome face. Only then did her expression change from sadness to disbelief.

A moment later, she sprang up from the ground and jumped onto Qiu Tu, then burst into tears, crying, "Waaah! Qiu Tu! Qiu Tu, you're alive! You're alive! Thank goodness!"

Qiu Tu originally wanted to teach this little girl who "cursed herself to die" a lesson, but when he saw how genuinely sad she looked, he softened a little.

He hesitated for a moment, then gently supported the girl's delicate bottom with his right hand and patted her back lightly with his left, soothingly saying, "Alright, alright, why are you crying? And who told you I'm dead?"

Shen Lingshuang said with a wronged expression, "Nobody told me."

"I guessed it myself."

Two question marks appeared above Qiu Tu's head: ? ?

Shen Lingshuang sobbed as she explained, "When I woke up, I found the house in complete disarray. The door was broken, the roof was cracked, and things were scattered everywhere. I felt very uneasy and suspected that the worst had happened."

"After that, I searched everywhere for you, but I couldn't find any trace of you."

“I asked Sister Xin, and she said you were fine, you were just out busy.”

"Although I don't believe it, I still wait for you at home with the last glimmer of hope. I'll keep waiting for you."

"I waited all night and into the morning, but you still didn't come back. I started to panic completely."

"Then I went out to find Eagle to ask you about the truth. I asked a lot of people and finally found the Old Alley Street Police Station."

"Someone was sent in to deliver a message before the eagle came out."

"When he saw me, he said you were alright. I told him to call you and let you know you're safe."

He said he didn't have a communicator and that you were probably busy. He told me not to bother you and to go home and wait.

"Maybe because I've experienced too many disappointments since last night, plus you didn't come home all night and haven't returned all day, I suspected that something really happened to you, and that he and Sister Xin were worried that I would be upset, so they conspired to lie to me."

At this point, Shen Lingshuang's tears welled up again, and she choked out, "I've seen too much..."

Perhaps thinking that the Cataclysmic Awakening was a secret, she spoke vaguely, "I've seen too many things go wrong."

"I'm so sad, so very sad..."

At this point, she buried her face in Qiu Tu's arms and started crying again.

After listening to Shen Lingshuang's story, Qiu Tu was really at a loss for words, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

He didn't think it was Shen Lingshuang's fault for overthinking. Awakening from the Cataclysm was an extremely low-probability event, and after he awakened, he ran off and didn't return all night, and then didn't come back for another day.

If he were Shen Lingshuang, he would probably also have wild thoughts.

He couldn't help but blame himself. He'd been slacking off all day; how could he have forgotten to come back and let them know he was safe?

Thinking this, his heart softened. He hugged Shen Lingshuang and patted her gently, then felt a little conflicted.

When he first learned that Shen Lingshuang was downstairs wearing mourning clothes and burning yellow paper for him, he thought she was just playing around or cursing him.

After all, she's a young lady from a wealthy family; it's normal for her to suddenly throw a tantrum.

Unexpectedly, Shen Lingshuang was genuinely worried about him...

This silly girl. I've only known her for a few days, and she's already so upset.

"Whoosh—" Just as Qiu Tu was thinking this, a whistle suddenly came from upstairs.

Qiu Tu looked up.

Upstairs in the corridor, through the window, Atai, Eagle, and Akun were laughing and watching the scene below, clearly enjoying the spectacle.

Qiu Tu pointed at them with a helpless expression, feeling like he had really run into a bunch of bad friends.

Perhaps she was exhausted from crying, because after crying for a while, Shen Lingshuang fell asleep in Qiu Tu's arms like a koala.

The girl was only fifteen or sixteen years old and had a thin body. Qiu Tu, being a catastrophic individual, had received a tremendous boost to his body, making it almost impossible to feel her weight.

So Qiu Tu didn't disturb her. He simply kicked the brazier and the black-and-white photo aside, then carried the girl upstairs.

When they got upstairs, a few of his brothers were waiting there, looking at the two of them with teasing smiles on their faces.

Qiu Tu glared at them, then carried Shen Lingshuang back to his room and gently placed her on his bed.

Eagle is quite reliable; the door that Qiu Tu smashed has been replaced with a new one—an iron door.

After closing the iron gate and entering the corridor, Eagle and his companions leaned against the window.

Upon seeing Qiu Tu emerge, Eagle offered him a cigarette and whispered, "She's a good girl."

"This afternoon, she wore mourning clothes and burned paper money for you as your wife."

Qiu Tu, with a cigarette dangling from his lips, paused in striking a match, then struck it again.

"Snap~"

As the flames burned, Qiu Tu lit a cigarette in his mouth and said calmly, "Don't overthink it. She thinks that if something happens to me, it's because she killed me and she should be responsible for me."

"In addition, I have psychological trauma, which is why I am so sensitive to this matter."