Then let them offer their loyalty!

.......

The New Territories had only been designated a development zone for a short year. Therefore, everything was in disarray, and many areas were dilapidated. However... this did not include the privileged areas.

Even before the military arrived to purge the underground forces in the New Territories, the future middle and senior managers of the New Territories had already sent people to build their residences in the city.

So when Qiu Tu drove to the villa in Yan Chen City, he was greeted by a vast garden.

The garden is planted with a variety of precious flowers in a well-organized manner. Mutant Dendrobium nobile, mutant Zephyranthes candida, and mutant Cineraria are blooming in competition, filling the air with fragrance, just like a vivid oil painting.

The winding path was lined with neatly trimmed bushes. The afterglow of the setting sun shone on the path, creating a breathtakingly beautiful scene.

Qiu Tu glanced at the dilapidated, old residential buildings and the potholed roads behind him through the rearview mirror, as if he were looking at two different worlds...

Passing through the garden gate and under the scrutinizing gaze of the security officer at the gate, Qiu Tu drove all the way to the villa entrance.

Upon arriving at the villa, Fang Ming got out of the car first and opened the door for Qin Shuman. However, Qin Shuman hesitated and didn't want to get out.

Seeing her like this, Qiu Tu remained silent for a moment before offering a pointed reassurance, "Miss Shuman, don't worry. The director won't be angry because you sneaked out to play."

"I'll explain it to him properly tonight."

Upon hearing Qiu Tu's words, Qin Shuman was stunned for a moment. Then, as if she understood, she breathed a sigh of relief, lifted her skirt, tiptoed, and got out of the car with her head down.

Watching Qin Shuman and Fang Ming walk into the dark villa, Qiu Tu's gaze was deep, his eyes devoid of any emotion...

Then he drove to the backyard, handed the car over to the servants, and stepped into the villa...

【2:53:51】

......

Three hours passed in the blink of an eye.

At 18:15 p.m., there was a gentle knock on the door of the reception room where Qiu Tu was resting.

Qiu Tu opened the door, and standing outside was a maid in her thirties with a waist as thick as a barrel and dark skin.

Qiu Tu's eyes flickered a few times upon seeing the maid. She was Qin Shuman's personal maid, and also the key witness who exposed his affair with Qin Shuman: Cuilan.

"Detective Qiu, the Commissioner requests your presence."

Upon hearing Cuilan's words, Qiu Tu's face remained as calm as a lake.

He glanced at the countdown in the upper left corner of his vision.

【00:18】

It has to be said, this "golden touch" was incredibly precise. It said 5 hours, and it really did last 5 hours.

Thinking this, he took a deep breath without making a sound, then slightly adjusted the collar of his uniform before saying in a low voice, "Thank you for your trouble."

Cuilan nodded respectfully, but as she turned to lead the way, she couldn't suppress the gloating smile on her lips.

Qiu Tu clearly noticed the change in her expression, but said nothing. His gaze, however, became exceptionally deep...

Chapter 9: Performance Time!

After leaving the room, Qiu Tu followed behind Cui Lan.

He walked at a measured pace, his demeanor calm and composed. The flickering lights on both sides of the corridor cast his long, slender shadow, like a flowing painting.

Soon, the two arrived at the door of an elegantly decorated study.

At the entrance to the study, a middle-aged man with a refined demeanor and wearing gold-rimmed glasses was waiting. He was dressed in a well-tailored Zhongshan suit, and a fake smile was on his face, making him look like a smiling fox.

Qiu Tu knew him; he was the director of the Special Investigation Department of the New Territories City Investigation Bureau, Yan Chen's right-hand man, and chief strategist: Jia Shu.

Don't be fooled by his refined and polite demeanor; only those who have truly met him know how cruel and bloody his methods are.

The fact that the Special Branch has become a department that the entire New Territories fears is largely due to him.

At least half of the mangled corpses carried out of the Political Department every midnight are the work of this smiling fox.

He was like a shadow cast by the vast bureaucracy, silently infiltrating every corner of the city, both unfathomable and omnipresent...

Upon seeing Jia Shu, Qiu Tu immediately became extremely alert. He quickly stopped, saluted Jia Shu, and said, "Sir!"

Jia Shu seemed to have been waiting specifically for Qiu Tu. Upon seeing Qiu Tu, he looked him up and down, then asked with a smile, "Qiu Tu?"

After seeing Qiu Tu nod, his smile widened. "The director is waiting for you. Please."

After saying that, he turned around, opened the study door, and gestured to Qiu Tu.

The study was dimly lit, and Qiu Tu felt, perhaps it was just his imagination, that the wide-open door resembled the gaping maw of a monstrous beast, ready to devour someone at any moment...

But he was already prepared to walk into the lion's den today, so he calmly took a deep breath and stepped inside...

.....

Yan Chen's study was large, but dimly lit. Two thick curtains hung over the large windows, completely blocking out the light and leaving large shadows.

The entire study had only one source of light: a desk lamp. The light was dimly lit, illuminating only a small area the size of a palm on the large mahogany desk. Yan Chen sat in the shadows behind that desk, his outline barely visible...

"Good morning, Director!"

Upon seeing this overlord of the New Territories, Qiu Tu immediately straightened his back and respectfully saluted.

But... there was no response.

Qiu Tu maintained his salute, trying to find Yan Chen's expression, but because the room was too dark, he couldn't see anything.

He only sensed that Yan Chen seemed to be observing him constantly, his gaze sinister and chilling, sending shivers down his spine...

After about ten seconds, a deep "Hmm" came from the shadows. "No need for formalities."

Qiu Tu let out a soft sigh of relief, lowered his hand, and then glanced around the study.

Yan Chen wasn't alone in the study. Besides Jia Shu, who had just led Qiu Tu in and was now standing next to Yan Chen, Fang Ming was also standing not far away.

Upon seeing Fang Ming, Qiu Tu's heart stirred slightly, and he roughly guessed: it seems that his arrangements in the afternoon should have worked.

Sure enough, along with this thought, Jia Shu, who was standing next to Yan Chen, slowly spoke.

He looked at Qiu Tu with a half-smile and praised, "I heard... Detective Qiu is a very good shot?"

Upon hearing this, Qiu Tu replied earnestly, "Sir, my marksmanship is mediocre at best!"

"Oh? Is that so?" Jia Shu looked exaggeratedly surprised. "But I don't think that's what I heard."

He glanced at Fang Ming standing to the side and said with a half-smile, "Do you know that in just a few hours, the news that the Administrative Office produced a sharpshooter who repelled the combined force with six shots has spread throughout the entire Detective Agency?"

"Even some of the city hall staff have heard about it."

“I received at least three communications on my way here, all of them about you.”

Qiu Tu did not answer Jia Shu's question directly. He looked at Yan Chen and said sincerely, "Director, you personally selected me to join the Investigation Bureau back then, so you know my abilities."

"I'm okay at driving and running errands, but I'm really bad at marksmanship."

Yan Chen sat upright in the chair in the shadows, his tiger-like eyes fixed intently on Qiu Tu, without uttering a word.

Jia Shu adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses and said with a smile, "Detective Qiu, so you mean... this whole thing is fake?"

Qiu Tu shook his head. "No, it's not fake. But there's more to it than meets the eye."

As he spoke, he glanced at Fang Ming beside him and said seriously, "Detective Fang was on the scene at the time. He also witnessed how difficult the alliance was to deal with."

"The Special Operations Department launched a full-scale attack for over a minute without harming a single member of the joint force."

Upon hearing Qiu Tu's words, Fang Ming's face immediately turned somewhat ugly. However, in front of Yan Chen, he dared not conceal anything and could only nod slightly, saying in a deep voice, "Yes."

After saying that, he took the initiative to admit his mistake, saying, "It's because we haven't trained enough and haven't experienced real combat, which caused us to lose our composure."

"But Director, believe me, as long as..."

He was interrupted by Qiu Tu when he finished speaking, "Detective Fang, don't underestimate yourself."

Fang Ming frowned and looked at Qiu Tu, not understanding what Qiu Tu wanted to say.

Qiu Tu didn't even look at him, and looked directly at Yan Chen and said, "Director, the agents of the Special Operations Department are actually very capable. However, the Alliance is deliberately avoiding their attacks today."

Hearing Qiu Tu's words, Jia Shu said with a forced smile, "Detective Qiu is joking. In battle, if you don't 'deliberately' dodge enemy attacks, are you going to 'deliberately' get hit by the enemy?"

After speaking, Jia Shu seemed to have thought of something, and suddenly stopped, squinting at Qiu Tu.

At this moment, Qiu Tu finally showed his first smile since entering the room. He nodded and said, "Sir, you are wise! Those shots were deliberately fired at me!"

Perhaps because Qiu Tu's words were too far-fetched, the study fell silent for a moment...

After a moment, Fang Ming looked at Qiu Tu and said with a blank expression, "Qiu Tu, what are you talking about? Did you deliberately let me hit you?"

But before he could finish speaking, Yan Chen, who was usually very sparing with words, suddenly said, "Fang Ming, get out."

Fang Ming looked at Yan Chen in the shadows with surprise, wondering why he was suddenly being kicked out.

But Yan Chen didn't offer any explanation; she just stared at him intently.

Waves of heavy pressure swept over Fang Ming, causing beads of sweat to appear on his forehead.

After a moment, he lowered his head. "Yes, Chief!"

After saying this, he saluted and quickly walked out of the study.

As the study door closed, Yan Chen slowly sat up straight, his tiger-like eyes fixed on Qiu Tu with a sinister look. "Tell me what exactly happened."

Qiu Tu responded and then slowly said, "Director, this is a long story, it starts from when we hung up the communication."

He said, "After hanging up your call, I returned to Miss Schumann's side and took the initiative to tell her about our conversation."

"She was startled, and then asked me what I did."

“I told her that I had made up an excuse to get rid of you so as not to arouse your suspicion, and I expressed my love for her again.”

"Perhaps she felt that this was my way of proving my loyalty, so she finally stopped pretending and subtly told me that her identity was extraordinary. As long as I followed her faithfully, she could guarantee my wealth and honor."

"And to prove her power to me, she said she would also give me a gift upon meeting me..."

Chapter 10 Technology Before the Cataclysm

Upon hearing Qiu Tu's words, Yan Chen asked in a deep voice, "A gift for meeting you?"

Qiu Tu nodded. "Yes."

Then he gestured to Jia Shu and confirmed, "It's exactly what Commander Jia just mentioned: 'six shots to repel the combined forces'."

“Back when I was at home, Miss Schumann told me that she would arrange a joint attack.”

"She told me to be careful and not to get hurt in the process."

"They also told me that the attack was designed to make me famous."

"The members of the alliance will deliberately create openings for me to fire, and may even take the initiative to meet my bullets. Afterwards, I will repel them on my own."

"And in order to ensure that the Special Operations Department doesn't steal my thunder, the members of the alliance will do everything possible to ensure that they are not hit by Special Operations Department agents."

"So even if there are opportunities to counterattack on the spot, they will pretend not to see them."

After listening to Qiu Tu's exaggerated yet somewhat reasonable explanation, Yan Chen's gaze became deep, making it impossible to discern his inner thoughts.

Meanwhile, Jia Shu squinted, his eyes flickering behind his glasses, as if he were deep in thought.

Qiu Tu had taken control of the situation, so when he saw that the two were not speaking, he also shut his mouth and remained silent.

For a moment, the room fell into an eerie silence.

Time ticked by, and the atmosphere in the room grew increasingly somber.

Just as the atmosphere was about to reach its breaking point, Jia Shu snapped out of his daze. He glanced at Yan Chen, and seeing that Yan Chen didn't object, he broke the deadlock with a fake smile, "Qiu Tu, what you've said is just your side of the story. Do you have any other details or evidence?"

Qiu Tu had made thorough preparations when formulating the plan, so he said decisively, "Of course."

"1. Because I knew in advance that the Alliance would launch an attack, I was mentally prepared. This meant that when the attack occurred, the highly trained agents of the Special Operations Department didn't even have time to react, while I was able to rush up to protect Miss Schumann immediately, thus allowing the plan to continue."

"2. Because I knew that the alliance's target was not me and Miss Schumann, when Agent Fang Ming arranged for me to protect Miss Schumann and retreat first, I did not retreat, but waited for an opportunity on the side."

"3. Because I knew the final outcome of this big show, and at Miss Schumann's request, I sent a message in advance to the Old Alley Street police station to have a temporary detective come to assist. The real purpose was to increase the number of witnesses and amplify the impact of the incident."

"For these points, you can ask Detective Fang Ming or the detectives from the Special Operations Department or the Old Alley Street Police Station."

Upon hearing Qiu Tu's words, Yan Chen gestured coldly to Jia Shu.

Jia Shu bowed slightly to accept the order, then left the study to verify it.

After Jia Shu left, only Qiu Tu and Yan Chen remained in the room.