Then let them offer their loyalty!

Upon hearing this, Jia Shu chuckled twice, lightly dismissing the topic, and then appropriately changed the subject.

He asked, "I can understand why Section Chief Qiu arrested four transporters. But why did he also arrest Qin Shu, and... Director Qin Zhengguang?"

Jia Shu paused, then added with a smile, "Did you know that after they were arrested, Director Qin Heng immediately called the Director and me..."

He stopped there, leaving neither what Director Qin had said nor what Yan Chen had stated, leaving only a cryptic silence...

Upon hearing this, Qiu Tu knew that the most crucial moment had arrived.

So he didn't answer Jia Shu's question directly, but instead changed the subject, saying, "Minister, did you know that Director Qin Zhengguang was actually very happy when our political department agents took him away?"

"He even shook our agent's hand and said 'thank you'."

Upon hearing Qiu Tu's words, Jia Shu, who was playing cards on the other end of the phone, paused, gave a forced laugh, and asked with feigned curiosity, "Really? Why?"

Qiu Tu paused for two seconds before saying softly, "Because... I sent him a text message beforehand. I told him... the security department was watching this case, and they were watching him."

"Boom!"

Whether by coincidence or not, just as Qiu Tu quietly revealed this secret, a muffled thunderclap resounded over the New Territories.

With that muffled rumble of thunder, the already gloomy sky began to drizzle.

The light rain seemed to have cut off communication signals. Jia Shu paused for two seconds before putting away the cards and his smile, and slowly asked, "The security department... has it set its sights on this case?"

Qiu Tu grunted and then revealed an even bigger secret: "Moreover, according to my information, the security department is very likely to take action to arrest Vice President Tian tonight."

Jia Shu remained silent for two seconds.

Two seconds later, as if he had finally gone through all the information in his mind and reviewed the whole case, he suddenly returned to normal.

He leaned back on the sofa in the private room and asked with a forced smile, "Section Chief Qiu, how did you find out about this?"

Qiu Tu said with a smile, "Because I've been in touch with them."

At this point, Qiu Tu paused, then said softly, "Or rather... I'm the one who leaked this case to the security department."

"Boom!"

Another rumble of thunder boomed across the gray sky. The rain intensified, soon becoming a continuous downpour.

Through the glass, the torrential rain seemed to divide the world into pieces like a curtain of rain.

On the other end of the phone, Jia Shu finally couldn't contain his emotions. He laughed out loud twice and said, "Interesting, very interesting. I didn't expect Section Chief Qiu to be so frank."

Qiu Tu also laughed along.

Two seconds later, Jia Shu's fake laughter stopped, and he straightened up, saying calmly, "Give me a reason."

This time, he didn't laugh, and his tone was very calm. But... it still gave off a chilling, bloody feeling.

As soon as Jia Shu said this, a bunch of crisis warnings suddenly popped up in front of Qiu Tu.

A countdown hourglass with only one minute remaining suddenly popped out. It flashed red light frantically, as if telling Qiu Tu just how dangerous the crisis was.

But Qiu Tu didn't even glance at the countdown hourglass, nor did he look at the crisis warnings.

He took a deep breath silently, suppressing the turbulent emotions in his heart, and said to Jia Shu naturally,

"Because... in the past few days of working on this case, I've discovered that it's far too complicated and too unusual. It's like a piece of candied fruit wrapped in poison."

"If you do it well, you won't get much benefit. If you do it badly, you'll be troubled by various forces."

【0:53】

"So I thought: if that's the case, why does our political department insist on holding onto this case? This case involves crimes committed by the disaster victims, which is not within our investigative scope."

"Then why not throw this case to the military and let them fight it out with the city hall, so we can reap the benefits?"

Qiu Tu's voice had a bewitching charm as he said softly, "Anyway, we're the ones who discovered the case. If we solve it, we'll get credit."

"It can't be broken. We're not the organizers, and we won't be attacked..."

【0:45】

"We should take the benefits; let the military and the security department bear the pressure!"

"As long as we have some of the key suspects in our hands, the security department's investigation progress will remain under our control."

【0:39】

Seeing that Jia Shu had taken it to heart, Qiu Tu paused for a moment, then said softly, "Moreover, and most importantly, this way, the fundamental conflict between you and the director regarding this case will no longer exist..."

"I can finally breathe a sigh of relief. After all, being caught between you and the director has been an agonizing experience for me..."

As Qiu Tu finished speaking, the red-glowing countdown hourglass ticked away for a few more seconds before slowly coming to a stop.

Qiu Tu didn't let his guard down; he waited quietly for a few more seconds. Only when he saw that the countdown hourglass hadn't stopped ticking did he breathe a sigh of relief without making a sound.

'You must have won the bet, right?'

There was a reason why Qiu Tu took such a risk and boldly proposed his cooperation with the security department.

After their passionate encounter last night, Qiu Tu and Qin Shuman spent the entire time reviewing the case and outlining their next steps.

As a result, they discovered a difficult problem: as soon as the security department intervened, Jia Shu and Yan Chen would know immediately that Qiu Tu had "betrayed" them.

After all, all the clues and evidence in this case are currently in Qiu Tu's hands. The security department has no excuse to intervene.

Even if Qin Shuman could find other entry points and force her way in, given Yan Chen and Jia Shu's cunning and suspicious nature, it would be hard for them to believe such a coincidence could happen.

So, after much deliberation, the two decided that rather than being discovered by the other, they might as well take the initiative and tell each other, bringing the whole matter into the open.

In this way, as long as the reason is sufficient, even if Yan Chen and Jia Shu still have some doubts, it will certainly be more credible than if they discovered it themselves.

As for what reasons could make Qiu Tu's cooperation with the security department seem reasonable?

After much deliberation, the two finally chose the reason that Qiu Tu had just given them.

It was originally very simple.

In this world, every decision is driven by self-interest.

The reason why Yan Chen and Jia Shu had a conflict over this case was ultimately due to their conflicting interests.

Jia Shu's "interests" in this case are twofold:

1. The brand-new monitoring equipment promised by Vice President Tian.

2. They do not want to withstand the pressure from the city council and various forces in the New Territories.

Yan Chen also had two interests in this case:

1. To reprimand Jia Shu.

2. Crack down on the city hall faction.

The two men have almost satisfied their first "interest," leaving only their second "interest" unsatisfied, which is also the core conflict between them in this case.

It is precisely because of this core conflict that Qiu Tu is caught in the middle, torn between the two. He can't proceed with the case, nor can he afford not to...

At this point, if Qiu Tu discovers a new approach that doesn't harm the Investigation Bureau's interests, resolves the conflict between the two, and allows him to shift the blame, wouldn't everything seem perfectly logical?

The involvement of the security department has changed from being unacceptable to being something that can be observed.

At this moment, after listening to Qiu Tu's account, Jia Shu indeed fell silent again.

This was the longest Qiu Tu had fallen silent during their many conversations. It also showed that every step of today's conversation had taken him somewhat unexpectedly, requiring him to constantly reflect...

However, Qiu Tu didn't give Jia Shu much time to think. He dropped another bombshell, "Minister, there's something I'm not sure if I should say."

"Actually... the reason I did this was entirely to save you."

-------

There's one more chapter, but I can't finish writing it. I'll finish it tomorrow morning and try to post it around noon.

Chapter 111 Nobody's Home Tonight (10,000 words, please subscribe)

It must be said that Qiu Tu really gave Jia Shu a lot of surprises today.

In the past, Qiu Tu, while not exactly subservient to Jia Shu, was always on edge. A seasoned interrogator like Jia Shu could immediately spot Qiu Tu's nervousness.

But... today, Qiu Tu seems to have suddenly revealed his true strength.

From the moment he answered the phone, he displayed a state of struggle against himself.

Natural and composed. Unacceptable, uncompromising. Even later, he dropped a bombshell that backfired.

To be honest, even Jia Shu, who has seen a lot in the world, finds it hard to imagine what kind of mentality Qiu Tu had to dare to say that he had leaked information about the case to the security department.

Isn't he afraid that I'll take him down for dereliction of duty?

Aren't you afraid that you'll get so angry that you'll secretly execute him?

It was precisely because of this curiosity and surprise that Jia Shu remained silent, constantly pondering Qiu Tu's changes.

What trump card does Qiu Tu have that allows him to be so confident?

Before Jia Shu could even figure it out, Qiu Tu dropped another bombshell...

"You did all this to save me?" Jia Shu repeated Qiu Tu's words with a smile, his eyes almost overflowing with interest.

He stood up, walked to the window of the box on the fifth floor of the racecourse, looked at the torrential rain outside, and asked with a light laugh, "What makes you say that, Section Chief Qiu?"

At this moment, Qiu Tu was standing by the window of the empty conference room of the Political Department, gazing at the New Territories City shrouded in rain and fog.

Although the two were in different places, it was as if they were separated by countless spaces, by the heavy rain, gazing at each other from afar...

Qiu Tu said softly, "Minister, actually, besides arresting the four major transport companies and Director Qin and Third Master Qin, I also arrested a few other people today."

Because this incident only happened in a private room, and Section Chief Huang has kept quiet, it hasn't spread yet.

Therefore, Jia Shu was also a little surprised, and he asked, "Who else?"

Qiu Tu said, "Chief Kong from the Education Department, Deputy Chief Zhuang from the Environment and Health Department, Deputy Chief Yuan from the Commerce and Economic Development Department, and Chief Bai from the Civil Affairs Department..."

Upon hearing the list, Jia Shu on the other end of the phone frowned slightly.

But before he could speak, Qiu Tu added, "Minister, aren't you curious? What kind of coincidence led me to run into them?"

"And what kind of coincidence allowed me to... wipe them all out without a trace?"

Jia Shu chuckled twice and joked, "Section Chief Qiu has actually learned to ask and answer his own questions."

Qiu Tu ignored Jia Shu's sarcastic remarks and calmly said, "It was Section Chief Huang from the Logistics Department who introduced us and acted as a matchmaker."

As he looked out the window at the heavy rain and listened to the pattering sound of the rain, he analyzed, "When I first met Section Chief Huang today, he said he wanted to introduce me to a few friends and help us make connections."

“At the time, I actually had doubts about Section Chief Huang’s purpose and identity. I wondered if he also played some important role in this case.”

"However, after easily extracting inside information about the case from several section chiefs, and after easily apprehending those section chiefs..."

"A different idea actually came to mind."

Jia Shu on the other end of the phone clearly guessed Qiu Tu's thoughts. The smile on his face slowly disappeared, and his gaze became as deep and somber as the torrential rain before him...

Qiu Tu said calmly, "Could it be that Section Chief Huang was actually helping me from the very beginning?"

"He was instructed by someone or some force to deceive those four section chiefs in advance, so that they would expose themselves to me."

"Then...not only did it lead to a breakthrough in my case, it also revealed the largest possible scope of the entire case for me..."

"The City Hall's Department of Environment and Sanitation, Department of Commerce and Economic Development, Department of Education, and Department of Civil Affairs..."

At this point, Qiu Tu smiled.

He countered, "Minister, I believe by now you should have guessed who's behind Section Chief Huang, right?"

Jia Shu chuckled and asked knowingly, "Who is it?"

Qiu Tu said, somewhat exaggeratedly, "It's the director! The minister!"

“We all thought the chief was too high and mighty to handle such a small case. But actually… he had planned every single step!”

"He's determined to get this case done! No one can stop him!"

"Today's arrangement is both a help and a warning."

"He's telling me, and he's telling you, that he has a thousand, ten thousand ways to move the case forward!"

"We're not allowed to play tricks!"

At this point, Qiu Tu's emotions slowly subsided, and he became calm again. He said, "Although I don't know exactly why you have been on the opposite side of the director in the 'Yin Caimei case'."

“But I feel that if things continue like this, the director will soon abandon you and me.”