Then let them offer their loyalty!

"and....."

At this point, Qiu Tu raised his silly hand from earlier and showed it to Manhuang.

The Emperor's body is quite sensitive, so his hands were still moist and looked shiny.

“We were so intimate just now, and Madam didn’t mind.”

"So all you did was play with those little feet, and the lady's reaction is so strong?"

"Could it be..."

Qiu Tu drew out his words, looking at Manhuang with a teasing expression, "Is this your sensitive spot?"

At this point, Qiu Tu reached out and gently tickled the sole of Manhuang's foot.

In that instant, Manhuang's body trembled visibly, and then her beautiful eyes quickly filled with tears, and her originally taut waist went limp.

Perhaps because she had suffered too much humiliation, she finally stopped being stubborn this time. Her eyes were slightly red, she bit her lip, and looked at Qiu Tu with tears welling up in her eyes. Her tearful appearance was truly pitiful.

But Qiu Tu is clearly here tonight to break Manhuang's psychological bottom line.

Therefore, even though the Emperor looked so pitiful, he remained unmoved. In fact, he even laughed and said, "Madam, don't make such an expression."

"You need to understand... that expression of yours is not much different from seducing me."

"and...."

At this point, Qiu Tu paused for a moment, then said, "I don't think you're really that fragile either."

"So, stop pretending, madam."

Sure enough, upon hearing Qiu Tu's words, Man Huang's expression changed drastically. The tears in her eyes receded, and her gaze turned fierce again as she glared at Qiu Tu with shame and anger.

After Qiu Tu exposed her, she wanted to curse him a few times to vent her anger.

Just then, Qiu Tu suddenly let go of her cute little foot, yawned, stood up and said, "Alright, Pavilion Master Manhuang. I'm not messing around with you anymore."

"It's getting late. You should get some rest."

After saying that, Qiu Tu stood up straight and walked towards the door without any hesitation.

Having been teased by Qiu Tu for half a day, Manhuang was almost used to Qiu Tu's irreverent manner when Qiu Tu suddenly withdrew, leaving her momentarily stunned.

Her emerald green eyes looked at Qiu Tu, filled with confusion. She clearly didn't understand why Qiu Tu wasn't taking advantage of her again.

In her eyes now, Qiu Tu seems to have a split personality. One moment he's a lecherous devil, and the next he's a virtuous gentleman.

Moreover, perhaps because Qiu Tu switched so quickly, she couldn't tell which one was the real Qiu Tu for a moment.

So she watched Qiu Tu's retreating figure, her brows furrowed, her lips twitching slightly as if she wanted to say something, but she didn't know how to begin.

As a result, just as she was thinking this, Qiu Tu, who had reached the door, stopped in his tracks.

Because Qiu Tu's expression would change every time he stopped, Manhuang reflexively reached out and pressed her hand against her soft, large breasts to protect herself, then looked up at Qiu Tu warily.

But who knew... this time Qiu Tu didn't change his expression, he didn't even turn around.

He stood there with his back to the Emperor. The deep blue moonlight quietly shone on him, casting a long shadow that added to his understated and mysterious aura.

He turned his head slightly, as if glancing at the Empress out of the corner of his eye, and then said calmly, "Madam, I'll say it again... don't treat me as an enemy."

"You may not believe me now, but you can really think about it carefully in the next few days."

"Cooperation leads to win-win results, but treating me as an enemy will only make you suffer."

At this point, Qiu Tu paused for a moment, then gently reminded him, "Just like... just now."

After saying that, Qiu Tu turned around, stepped into the moonlight, and left Manhuang's room without looking back.

Perhaps Qiu Tu's words were too sincere, for Manhuang's gaze remained fixed on Qiu Tu's retreating figure until the door slowly closed.

After the door closed, Manhuang came to her senses, and the hatred on her face turned into hesitation.

To be honest, after so many years of honing his skills, Qiu Tu's acting has long since reached a state of perfection. Even though Manhuang is already married, she hasn't experienced the harsh realities of life because of her exceptional talent.

So... with Qiu Tu's words echoing in her mind, Manhuang's brain was indeed a little slow to process what he had just said.

Her brows furrowed, and then she muttered hesitantly, "So... was it my fault that he took advantage of me?"

However, although the Queen of Man has little life experience, she is clearly not so easily fooled.

So, she frowned deeply for a long time before finally snapping out of it and muttering under her breath, "Pervert! He's definitely trying to trick me!"

However, even though she was convinced that Qiu Tu was lying, what Manhuang herself didn't realize was that... a sliver of hope and expectation had secretly begun to grow in her heart...

'Maybe... he really wasn't lying to me? Maybe it was all true?'

'Could that be?'

'Or... how about trying not to provoke him next time? Let's see if that really works?'

Thinking this, even Emperor Man hesitated.

It's really not her fault for lacking willpower; that's just human nature, and Qiu Tu is best at manipulating people's hearts...

.....

At the same time, Qiu Tu, who had left the Emperor's room, suddenly stopped after stepping out of the courtyard.

Standing in the moonlight, he remained expressionless and, without turning his head, gave the order, "You guys keep an eye on her."

As Qiu Tu gave the order, several female dark soldiers slowly emerged from his shadow, then knelt on one knee before Qiu Tu to receive the command.

Seeing this, Qiu Tu resumed his walking speed and headed outside.

After he left, the dark soldiers began to scatter throughout the courtyard, sneaking into the rooms to guard the Emperor...

And so, after leaving the Emperor's residence, Qiu Tu returned to his own villa.

He picked up the phone and made a few calls. He recounted all the information he had obtained from the Emperor, and then assigned tasks.

The "puppet ant" thing that the Emperor just revealed is still very important.

As an invasive species, the "puppet ant" has almost no natural enemies, but the trouble is that it seems to be a natural enemy of humans.

After all, the largest human population is currently found in the peripheral areas.

Moreover, humans are generally not very strong; most are ordinary people, and a small number are cataclysmic beings, and even those are low-level cataclysmic beings.

This happens to be the host that the "puppet ant" likes the most.

If the "puppet ants" were to actually enter the "Northwest Region," the entire human population of the "Northwest Region" might face annihilation.

Putting aside the fact that these people are all Qiu Tu's subjects, just considering the interests: a significant reason why Qiu Tu's current ranking is so high is because he controls hundreds of millions of humans.

Once all these humans are controlled by the "puppet ants," his power will be greatly reduced.

Even if we take a step back and assume that he didn't have much hope of obtaining the "divine status" anyway, and therefore didn't need to worry about controlling the population.

However... don't forget that once the "core area" and the "periphery area" are completely merged, humans will officially become residents of the "core area".

By then, Qiu Tu should be starting to develop his own controlled territory. He'll still need human assistance then.

Therefore, from the very beginning, Qiu Tu knew that humanity was his core base.

This is why he was so dedicated after discovering that humanity might be in danger.

And so, the calls were quickly finished. Qiu Tu hung up the landline, looking slightly tired.

He sat in the chair, lit a cigarette, and smoked it quietly.

The smoke slowly rose and then spread throughout the room.

During this period, he first refined the area at high intensity, then secretly advanced, then killed four eighth-order evil gods, then rushed to "rescue" Zhao Ji, and finally interrogated Man Huang. His schedule was packed.

Even though he had advanced to the eighth rank and his body could handle it, he still felt mentally exhausted.

Having just learned about the "Puppet Ants" from the Emperor, and knowing that District 8 was blocking them, the pressure on him increased considerably.

In particular, thinking of the desolate and charred appearance of the "Northeast region," Qiu Tu's gaze slowly became solemn and serious.

He stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray and cursed, "We have to hold onto District 8!"

Leaving aside the people important to Qiu Tu in District 8; and ignoring that District 8 was Qiu Tu's first stop after transmigrating to this world, and in a sense, his hometown; just considering the support and help Tang Wanli and Rao Shou gave Qiu Tu, Qiu Tu simply couldn't stand by and watch District 8 be destroyed!

It's a good thing to know what happened in the "Northeast Region" and the "Southeast Region."

After all, the unknown is far more terrifying than a visible, tangible enemy.

'Let's wait for the Security Department and the Political Department to investigate. Let's see if any "puppet ants" have gotten in....'

.....

Meanwhile, as Qiu Tu secretly made up his mind...

The disaster zone outside of Zone 8.

Wearing a black hood, Shuxia stared blankly at the dozen or so men lying on the ground.

Beside those dozen or so men was a nest that looked like an enlarged hornet's nest.

Inside the nest, a dozen or so ants were slowly crawling out.

The ants were about the size of a thumb, blood red in color, burning like flames. They looked fierce, with their large pincers opening and closing as if they wanted to devour everything.

They crawled out of their nest, glanced warily at Shuxia, and then headed towards the dozen or so men.

Soon, after climbing onto the dozen or so men, they slowly burrowed into their mouths.

It entered the bodies of the dozen or so men through their mouths, and soon the men began to foam at the mouth and their bodies began to convulse violently.

However, Shuxia did not intervene in any way.

He remained standing quietly to the side, watching the movements of the "puppet ants".

I don't know how much time passed; it might have been ten minutes, or it might have been half an hour.

Suddenly, all of the dozen or so men opened their eyes wide.

As their eyes opened, their pupils turned fiery red, reflecting the silhouettes of the ants.

In just a moment, the fiery red color slowly faded and turned black again. The dozen or so men no longer showed any outward signs of distress, but silently began to move their bodies.

Upon seeing this scene, Shuxia's eyes held both amusement and ruthlessness.

He looked up towards the west, towards the direction of Dongcheng City.

Across layers of time and space, he seemed to see Qiu Tu and... his beautiful and alluring sister-in-law.

Suddenly, his gaze became intense.

He whispered to himself, "Don't worry, sister-in-law. Even if I'm not by your side, I will protect you."

"Even if you've become a prisoner, Qiu Tu only just captured you. He can't possibly treat you so abruptly on the very first day, can he?"

"Tonight, I'll unleash the 'Puppet Ants' to overwhelm him."

"Don't worry, I will definitely rescue you."

After saying this, Shuxia paused for a moment, then chuckled and added, "Then... you'll belong to me."

"I'm going to make sure you can't get out of bed for three days."

.....

Meanwhile, in Dongcheng City.

"Achoo, achoo." Emperor Man sneezed twice.

She crossed her arms over her chest, unconsciously squeezing her soft, approachable breasts into a narrow, ravine-like shape.

Its depth and softness were so great that if Qiu Tu were completely buried inside, he would suffocate.

After sneezing, she looked up, her brow furrowing slightly. 'Although my 'Cataclysmic Power' is restricted, I'm still an eighth-tier body. How could I catch a cold from just a little breeze?'

'Someone must be talking about me, right?'

Is it Xiaohua? Is it Cuicui? Is it Uncle Bai? Or...?

As she spoke, this woman, who had always appeared incredibly fierce in front of Qiu Tu, finally revealed her vulnerable side.

Her eyes reddened as she recalled the scene of her husband's tragic death. 'Could it be... my husband?'

She sat on the bed, buried her head in her lap, hugged her legs, and became lost in that emotion...

She guessed six or seven people beforehand, but none of them were her brother-in-law, Shu Xia's name...

.....