Then let them offer their loyalty!

【18:01】

As Qiu Tu entered Jia Shu's office, the light dimmed instantly, and his eyes widened slightly, feeling as if his vision was becoming somewhat blurry.

After his eyes adjusted to the light in the office, he realized that someone was sitting in the large executive chair with their back to him.

The tall, wide, black leather chair stood like a tall tombstone in the office.

Jia Shu stood beside the "tombstone".

In the entire New Territories, there is only one person who can sit in Jia Shu's office in Jia Shu's seat and receive such respect from Jia Shu....

Sure enough, following Qiu Tu's thoughts, the chair slowly spun around, and Yan Chen, one of the three giants of the New Territories City and the Director of the Investigation Department, appeared before Qiu Tu...

Upon seeing this, Qiu Tu quickly feigned surprise and saluted, "Good morning, Director!"

After saluting, Qiu Tu seemed to only then remember that this was Jia Shu's office, and then quickly saluted Jia Shu, who was standing to the side, "Minister!"

After Qiu Tu finished greeting him, Yan Chen didn't respond. She simply stared at Qiu Tu silently, her gaze as deep and unfathomable as a bottomless abyss...

While Yan Chen was looking at Qiu Tu, Qiu Tu was also secretly observing Yan Chen.

This wasn't Yan Chen's own study or office: the curtains weren't very good at blocking out light, and Jia Shu's desk lamp was of good quality, so... this was the first time Qiu Tu had clearly seen Yan Chen's face.

Well... it's not very good-looking, and it looks somewhat old and decaying.

Qiu Tu remembered that Yan Chen's age was 51 according to the official introduction, but... Qiu Tu saw that he looked over 65, and even felt that he looked old.

Qiu Tu recalled Qin Shuman's previous guess about Yan Chen's path to catastrophe: life and immortality.

To be honest, no matter how Qiu Tu looked at it, he couldn't see any "immortality" in Yan Chen.

If it weren't for Qin Shuman's consistently reliable intelligence, Qiu Tu would have thought that Yan Chen was almost dead.

【17:36】

At this moment, just as Qiu Tu was analyzing Yan Chen's appearance and the path of the catastrophe, Yan Chen slowly spoke.

His voice was deep and hoarse, like fingernails sliding across a blackboard, "Qiu Tu, I heard you took on Yin Caimei's case?"

Upon hearing Yan Chen's words, Qiu Tu glanced at Jia Shu.

Jia Shu smiled, his eyes fixed straight ahead, as if Qiu Tu hadn't been summoned by him, nor had he assigned Qiu Tu this case.

Seeing this, Qiu Tu nodded and did not deny it, "Yes, Director."

【17:30】

Yan Chen hummed in agreement, then slowly asked, "So, how's your investigation going lately?"

Qiu Tu glanced at Jia Shu again.

Jia Shu still did not react.

Seeing this, Qiu Tu smiled and said, "Thanks to the director, our investigation team has been working overtime these past few days and is almost able to solve the case."

Qiu Tu's words caused a moment of silence in the office. Yan Chen glanced at Jia Shu expressionlessly before asking in a deep voice, "Oh? You solved the case so quickly? Tell me about it."

【17:13】

Hearing Yan Chen's question and seeing the bizarre scene before him, Qiu Tu's thoughts drifted away...

Actually... Qiu Tu wasn't surprised by Yan Chen's presence in Jia Shu's office.

Even when Yan Chen asked him these questions, Qiu Tu wasn't surprised.

Because the crisis alert he received after his crisis sense was triggered had already given him a glimpse into everything that was happening now...

"Trigger crisis awareness! Generate a crisis report!"

"Your immediate superior, Yan Chen, Director of the New Territories City Detective Department, is currently in conflict with your superior, Jia Shu, Head of the Special Affairs Department of the New Territories City Detective Department!"

"The reason is that Jia Shu actually handed over the 'Yin Caimei case' to you without his knowledge!"

Feeling challenged to his authority, he not only harbored much resentment towards Jia Shu, but also developed a deep distrust of you!

"Now, he's using Jia Shu's name to invite you to Jia Shu's office to report on the case!"

"You have 20 minutes to choose which case investigation results and so-called 'truth' you want to report. This will determine your image and position in Yan Chen and Jia Shu's eyes!"

"Please make your choice carefully, as it will determine your future situation!"

That's right, just as the agent representative Jia Shu came to call Qiu Tu, a bunch of notifications popped up in front of Qiu Tu.

I almost made Qiu Tu's brain shut down at that time.

'What's going on? This case wasn't asked to be taken by Yan Chen? Instead, Jia Shu took it on for me without Yan Chen's knowledge?'

'No? Is this person crazy?'

Why did they dump such a difficult case on me for no reason?!

'Furthermore... because of this case, a rift developed between Yan Chen and Jia Shu, and as a result... Yan Chen only had a slight dissatisfaction with Jia Shu, but developed a great distrust of me?'

Is Yan Chen also mentally challenged?!

'So, I'm the one who gets hurt in this whole mess?'

So, I'm just part of your scheme?

That's why Qiu Tu was stunned at that moment, feeling completely overwhelmed.

Fortunately, the agent called Qiu Tu again, which brought Qiu Tu back to his senses. He remembered that what he needed to do now was not to complain, but to analyze the prompts given to him by [Crisis Sense].

It's important to know that the "crisis sense" is only triggered when Qiu Tu's life is threatened.

Therefore, this proves that if Qiu Tu had not survived this crisis, he would most likely have been in mortal danger.

What frustrated Qiu Tu even more was that this "crisis warning" did not specify where the danger came from.

All he knew was that Yan Chen and Jia Shu had a conflict, and then Yan Chen was about to call him to his office.

But... who exactly will be at odds with me in the future?

Was it because he concealed the facts of the investigation that Yan Chen was dissatisfied with and therefore planned to kill him?

Or did he reveal the truth of the investigation, which displeased Jia Shu, who then plotted to kill him?

With so many possibilities, Qiu Tu was a little unsure of what to do.

That's why, after regaining his senses, he temporarily assigned tasks to Cao Dabiao and the others.

Actually, his act of assigning tasks was a pretense; his real intention was to quietly devise a strategy.

Fortunately, with the alert from the "crisis sense" and those few minutes of thinking time, Qiu Tu finally figured out the key to this crisis.

Thinking of this, Qiu Tu also pulled himself out of his thoughts, and then, facing Yan Chen's scrutinizing gaze, he said firmly, "Yes, Director."

【17:10】

He said, "Actually, when I first learned about this case, I felt that it was a bit strange."

"Because that night, I was the one supervising the interrogation team members as they interrogated Yin Caimei."

"Yin Caimei appears to have no psychological problems or illnesses. Moreover, the interrogation team conducted the interrogation in a fairly standard manner, without any illegal use of torture instruments or drugs."

"Theoretically, she shouldn't have had an accident."

"So, when I learned of her death, my first suspicion was: murder!"

"Therefore, I had the forensic doctor perform a physical autopsy and examination on Yin Caimei."

"The examination results showed that he died of sudden cardiac death, which was purely accidental."

"This test result not only failed to dispel my suspicions, but actually intensified them."

"So, I applied to the minister for an investigative catastrophe artifact, intending to try again to find traces of the use of catastrophe artifacts or catastrophe abilities."

"And I actually found it."

Qiu Tu said, "Last night, I used the [Mist Index Book] to find traces of the [Cataclysmic Curse] on Yin Caimei. And following the clues, I found the murder weapon."

【16:32】

At this point, Qiu Tu clearly noticed the interest in Yan Chen's eyes.

Qiu Tu was not surprised.

The reason Yan Chen had a cold face before was probably because he felt that he couldn't possibly make any real breakthrough progress in just two days.

When he told Jia Shu that there had been progress and that he had even identified the murderer, Jia Shu probably thought that he was planning to follow Jia Shu's plan and find a scapegoat to take the blame.

As it turns out, he didn't follow Jia Shu's plan to evade the case, but actually told Jia Shu something, which is why Jia Shu became interested.

As Qiu Tu was thinking this, Yan Chen indeed asked at the opportune moment, "Oh? Murder weapon? What murder weapon?"

Qiu Tu said, "A book. A book that Yin Caimei illegally brought into the detention room, called 'Brave New World'!"

He paused, then added, "After examining the [Mist Index Book], the book is a Cataclysmic Treasure, and its Cataclysmic power is of the same origin as the Cataclysmic traces on Yin Caimei's body."

"And it was precisely because of this murder weapon that I was able to significantly narrow down the range of suspects, and even have my first suspect."

【15:21】

Hearing Qiu Tu say this, Yan Chen asked with a neutral expression, "Then who do you suspect now?"

Chapter 96: Three countdowns in a row? (7k)

Upon hearing Yan Chen ask this question, Qiu Tu's heart stirred, knowing that the most crucial step had arrived.

He secretly glanced at Jia Shu out of the corner of his eye.

Perhaps surprised that Qiu Tu had actually uncovered so many clues, or perhaps surprised that Qiu Tu dared to defy his previous hints and genuinely pursue this case seriously, Jia Shu finally stopped his previous nonchalant demeanor and looked at Qiu Tu with a half-smile.

Feeling the gaze of the two big shots, Qiu Tu didn't feel much pressure.

The reason he dared to reveal so many clues and developments was that he had already devised a plan to deal with this crisis.

So, he looked at Yan Chen, took a deep breath, and suddenly pointed at Jia Shu, "Director, I suspect it was Minister Jia who did it!"

【14:58】

Upon hearing Qiu Tu's words, the entire office fell silent instantly.

Not to mention Yan Chen, even Jia Shu, who had been faking a smile, showed a hint of surprise on his face.

He probably genuinely didn't expect that after Qiu Tu had said so much, he would ultimately be the one doubting him.

The problem is... none of the clues Qiu Tu gave me pointed to myself, did they?

This is ridiculous!

But then, remembering that Qiu Tu never spoke without reason, Jia Shu's mind raced as he pondered Qiu Tu's intentions...

While Jia Shu was deep in thought, Yan Chen's brows furrowed noticeably, and his eyes flickered: he was clearly also pondering why Qiu Tu would identify Jia Shu.

During this time, Qiu Tu had already left a deep impression on him.

Therefore, he didn't believe Qiu Tu truly thought Jia Shu was the murderer, and even pointed it out to Jia Shu's face...

At this moment, seeing that both big shots were deep in thought, Qiu Tu also held his breath, kept his eyes straight ahead, and said nothing more.

He was waiting, waiting for feedback from the "Loyalty Game" and "Crisis Sense".

Time passed by, second by second, feeling like an eternity.

Finally... two seconds later, two notifications popped up in front of Qiu Tu.

[Yan Chen's suspicion level -3, satisfaction level +4]

Jia Shu's satisfaction level +12

Qiu Tu secretly glanced at the two of them.

Yan Chen resumed her previous calm and composed expression, while Jia Shu's fake smile was replaced by a bright and genuine one.

More importantly, the countdown hourglass in the upper left corner of Qiu Tu's vision stopped slowly after it reached 14:28 and ceased ticking.

Qiu Tu breathed a slight sigh of relief, knowing that he had made the right bet.

Actually, when Qiu Tu was assigning tasks to Cao Dabiao and the others, he was thinking about something.

The fact that this "crisis sense" doesn't indicate who the crisis originated from suggests that the crisis originated from both Yan Chen and Jia Shu.

In other words, no matter which side you choose, you might be resented by the other side, thus becoming extremely dangerous?

After analyzing this, Qiu Tu suddenly had an even bolder guess: that is... no matter which side he chooses, he might not offend one person, but two!