Then let them offer their loyalty!

Why should the cataclysmic materials that you just received be returned before you even have a chance to enjoy them, and why should you even give the other party more cataclysmic materials?

This...it looks so much like a scam!

Could Qiu Tu be planning to abscond with the "treasure"?

After thinking quietly for a while, Yan Chen spoke.

He gave Qiu Tu a deep look, then said in a hoarse voice, "Qiu Tu, this treasure is called the Aurora Stone. Although it is not particularly valuable, it is a controlled item."

"Even I can't just take it out of the office."

"So although your plan is good, I still need to think about it carefully."

After saying that, he paused for a moment, then waved his hand, "Go back and rest tonight."

"I will have someone give you an answer tomorrow."

Upon hearing Yan Chen's words, Qiu Tu's eyes flickered slightly, showing some surprise.

He wasn't wrong. Qiu Tu's plan was actually a dead end, a scheme to rip him off, completely disrupt the situation, and then find a new way to break the deadlock.

Qiu Tu even considered running away with the catastrophic materials he had obtained through the trap and the beautiful woman if he couldn't break the deadlock.

Surprisingly, he didn't agree.

This moment gave Qiu Tu a deeper understanding of the value of aurora stones.

'If the Aurora Stone were truly that valuable, Yan Chen would never have been willing to give up his own path, would he?'

'Then...can I go a little further?'

As his thoughts raced, Qiu Tu seemed to have found the key to breaking the deadlock...

Thus, with each of the three harboring their own ulterior motives, Qiu Tu was escorted out of the study by Jia Shu.

Upon leaving the study, Qiu Tu saluted Jia Shu to say goodbye. Jia Shu didn't say much, but patted Qiu Tu's shoulder with a half-smile and said, "Not bad, very good."

As Qiu Tu left, he felt as if a gaze was following him, like a ghost haunting him...

That feeling lasted until Qiu Tu turned a corner before it completely disappeared.

After that feeling completely disappeared, Qiu Tu slowly breathed a sigh of relief. Just then, he noticed that the crisis countdown in the upper left corner of his vision was also slowly changing...

Chapter 14 Blue Moon

Qiu Tu paused slightly, but resumed his normal pace the next second.

He continued walking forward discreetly, glancing towards the upper left corner of his vision.

Similar to last time, several new notifications popped up in front of Qiu Tu.

"Congratulations on successfully surviving the crisis just now, but you have also attracted Yan Chen's attention."

"He became somewhat curious about your changes, secrets, and fabricated lies."

"But fortunately, he's in the middle of a huge storm and doesn't want to invest too much energy in someone as weak as you for the time being."

"Cherish the calm before the storm, after all, you only have 24 hours to rest..."

As the prompt ended, the hourglass slowly transformed into a treasure chest. However, unlike the treasure chest that was opened directly last time, this time the treasure chest was gray, with a 24-hour countdown on it.

【23:59:59】

Qiu Tu: ....

Good news: There are no new countdowns yet, which means I'm safe at least tonight.

Bad news: The reward will take 24 hours, and I passed this time because I caught Yan Chen's attention, not because Yan Chen trusted me.

To put it bluntly, his own lies failed to deceive Yan Chen, but the Aurora Stone successfully aroused Yan Chen's greed, thus preventing him from harming him.

Although Qiu Tu had guessed this possibility as early as the final game, he still couldn't help but feel a little disappointed: the boss is so smart, it's not very fulfilling, is it?

I still prefer the simple mode; I don't like walking on a tightrope like this.

I wish I could get a "lower difficulty" cheat code next time...

As Qiu Tu contemplated the future, he walked outside.

Stepping out of the villa, the moonlight, like water, draped the tranquil night in a mysterious and enchanting blue veil.

The moon after the cataclysm is blue. This is because the atmosphere of this world is filled with tiny particles slightly larger than 0.7 micrometers (red light). These tiny particles scatter red light, so people underground see the moon as blue.

'What a polluted world...' Qiu Tu sighed inwardly as he walked through the garden.

In the garden, various flowers peeked out from under the blue moon, emitting a faint fragrance. They swayed gently in the evening breeze, like whispering sprites, but Qiu Tu, preoccupied with his own thoughts, had no heart to appreciate them.

As Qiu Tu left the garden and reached the sentry post, he saw two familiar figures squatting by the roadside—Atai and Eagle.

The two stood side by side, hands tucked in their sleeves, like two large penguins perched on the roadside. Atai chewed on a blade of grass he'd picked from somewhere, his head tilted back, while Eagle cautiously observed their surroundings out of the corner of his eye.

Perhaps because their posture and movements were so strange, the security officers at the post kept a close eye on them. If it weren't for their detective uniforms, they probably would have already turned them away.

Eagle was the first to see Qiu Tu come out. He patted Atai lightly and quickly got up to greet him, "Brother Tu."

Atai, on the other hand, was much more cheerful. Upon seeing Qiu Tu, he spat out the wild grass in his mouth with a "tui~" and rushed over shouting, "Brother! You're out!"

Seeing the two figures, one tall and one short, running towards him, Qiu Tu was first taken aback, then a warm feeling welled up in his heart...

.....

Meanwhile, in Yan Chen's study.

The light was still dim, and Yan Chen remained hidden in the darkness.

Have all the people around him been investigated?

Jia Shu sat opposite him and said with a smile, "I've checked. They're all low-level thugs and hooligans. They couldn't possibly have access to the catastrophic materials."

"He used your name to place these people in local police stations as temporary detectives, so the investigation didn't take much effort, and the information was all very reliable."

Yan Chen chuckled and said in a hoarse voice, "He's actually quite loyal."

After commenting on that statement, Yan Chen fell silent, and the room gradually quieted down.

After a long pause, Yan Chen said again, "Then the only way he could have accessed the Aurora Stone is through the Qin family?"

Jia Shu nodded. "Theoretically, that's how it is. But... my intuition tells me otherwise."

Yan Chen shook her head as well, "I don't think so either."

He fiddled with the aurora stone in his hand. "That kid thought he could easily fool everyone by making up a story as bizarre as Arabian Nights. That's just wishful thinking."

"He must have a secret, and a very big one at that."

"But I haven't had time to pay attention to such a minor character lately."

Upon hearing Yan Chen's words, Jia Shu tentatively asked, "Then...should I just take him into custody?"

“You should know my methods; no one can last a night,” he gestured, indicating torture.

Yan Chen hesitated for a second, but finally shook her head.

"No. He must have someone backing him to get the Aurora Stone."

"Recently, the city hall has been keeping a close eye on me, so I don't want any unexpected trouble."

He paused for a moment, then added, "Let him fight with the Qin family like dogs."

"Didn't he want to bring a 'pledge of allegiance' to the Qin family? Then give it to him."

"Disaster materials are controlled resources; we can't give them to him."

"But I remember that a pharmacist who sold illegal drugs was arrested in Xiafang Street today?"

As he spoke, Yan Chen put the aurora stone in his hand, along with the gold bars and silver coins on the table, back into his cloth bag, and then threw them all to Jia Shu.

"Have someone bring that pharmacist out tomorrow and send him there along with these things."

"A pharmacist who can make catastrophe potions is worth much more than some catastrophe resources."

"I'd like to see how he plans to put on this show..."

........

【12:09:57 (Treasure Chest)】

The next morning, Qiu Tu was woken up by a loud knocking on the door.

He yawned as he got out of bed and kicked away Atai and Eagle, who were sprawled out next to him.

Having lived two lives, Qiu Tu hadn't had a close friend in a long time. Having just weathered a crisis yesterday, he needed an outlet for his emotions. So last night, he dragged two people out for drinks until late.

The three of them drank too much, so they simply slept at Qiu Tu's house.

After pushing the two aside, Qiu Tu yawned and went to open the door.

The door opened, and outside stood a uniformed agent.

Upon seeing Qiu Tu, he snapped to attention, saluted, and said, "Good morning, sir!"

Qiu Tu instinctively saluted, then belatedly asked, "You are...?"

The detective at the door said solemnly, "Sir, I am Li Ke, a Level 3 Detective from the Administrative Department. I am here on orders from our superior to deliver your new uniform and epaulets."

As he spoke, he waved his hand behind him, and a temporary agent immediately came to his side carrying a set of black agent uniforms.

Black is the distinctive color of the Political Department, representing the official status of the "Secret Police".

The uniform had a pair of shoulder straps with three gold flowers on them, signifying the identity of a first-class agent.

Although he had received Yan Chen's promise last night, Qiu Tu's heart still skipped a beat when all of this was laid out before him.

Just then, Atai's voice came from behind him, "Brother Tu, what's wrong?" "Who's here?"

But the next second, the question turned into an exclamation, "Holy crap! A first-class detective from the Political Department?"

Qiu Tu turned around and saw Atai and Eagle staring dumbfounded at the doorway...

Chapter 15 A Triumph

The two were clearly woken up by the noise at the door, so their hair was a mess, like an uncombed bird's nest, and they were only wearing a pair of shorts, looking completely unkempt.

But the agents outside the door weren't surprised at all. In this world, survival is a difficult thing; apart from a very few powerful and wealthy people, how many people really care about their quality of life?

So he reached out and took the uniform and epaulets from the temporary agent, handing them to Qiu Tu with both hands, "Sir!"

After Qiu Tu took the uniform, the detective did not leave. He took out a slip of paper from his pocket and respectfully handed it to Qiu Tu with both hands again.

"Sir! This is my contact information."

"If there's anything I can do to help you, please don't hesitate to ask. I'll be there whenever you need me!"

Then, he repeated his name again, "My name is Li Ke."

After saying that, he gave Qiu Tu a standard salute and left without any hesitation.

Watching Li Ke's retreating figure, Qiu Tu's eyes flickered slightly, then a smile appeared on his lips.

Indeed... clever people are everywhere.

Yesterday, in order for Atai to fall into the Special Operations Department, I kept trying to curry favor with Fang Ming and use all sorts of schemes.

Today, with his promotion to first-class detective in the political department, people immediately began to actively seek his services.

Sure enough, Level 1 agents, especially those in powerful departments, are highly sought after.

With that thought in mind, Qiu Tu put Li Ke's note into his pocket. He wouldn't mind giving this clever detective a chance if the opportunity arose in the future.

Turning around, Atai was already close by. He looked around dumbfounded, examining the surroundings closely, and said incredulously, "Brother, you really became a Level One Detective? And you even joined the Political Department?"

As Qiu Tu closed the door, he smiled and nodded, "Yes."

Atai exclaimed excitedly, "Damn, I was worried something had happened to you last night!"

"That's why I held the eagle and squatted at the garden gate, planning to rush in and save you if you didn't come out!"

"And yet, not only did you escape unscathed, you even got promoted?"

Hearing Atai's words, Qiu Tu was amused. He said, "Rush in to save me? With your little iron hammer?"

Do you know how many agents and how many guns are inside?

"I'm afraid you'll be shot dead before you even get close to me."