Let them offer their loyalty!

Seeing the change in the countdown hourglass, Qiu Tu's mind was suddenly filled with several question marks.

He couldn't understand why just being summoned by Jia Shu had triggered his "Crisis Intuition."

Could it be... Jia Shu was plotting something against him in the office?

Thinking this, Qiu Tu couldn't help but look at the series of "Crisis Warnings" that had popped up in front of him, trying to see what kind of crisis he was actually facing.

But with just one glance, Qiu Tu was baffled.

Because the content of the crisis warning was completely different from what he had imagined and even surprised him.

Thinking this, he quickly skimmed through all the "Crisis Warnings," his eyes revealing a hint of deep thought.

And as he finished reading the warnings, a 20-minute countdown hourglass also popped up, landing in the upper left corner of his vision.

[19:56]

At this time, the investigator standing at the door, seeing that Qiu Tu had not responded to him, couldn't help but urge, "Chief Qiu, the Director is still waiting for you."

Hearing his words, Qiu Tu came back to his senses, then he looked at the investigator deeply before saying with a smile, "Alright, I'll be there soon."

After speaking, Qiu Tu handed the documents he was holding to Cao Dabiao, called over several investigators, and then arranged, "Go get a photocopier and several boxes of paper, and make three copies of all these documents."

"Then one set should be categorized by location, one set by personnel, and another set in chronological order."

"When I come back, we'll analyze these documents together."

After finishing, Qiu Tu glanced at Cao Dabiao and instructed, "Big Biao, you be in charge of this."

Then he looked at Liu Fuping and Chen Feng, "Sister Liu, Chen Feng, you two assist."

"Yes!" The three of them took their orders.

Qiu Tu's work arrangement was a normal procedure, so the investigator didn't say anything, just waiting patiently at the door.

Soon, the work arrangement was done, and Qiu Tu also stepped toward the door, leaving the temporary office together with the investigator.

[18:27]

Led by the investigator, the two quickly arrived at the door of Jia Shu's office.

Arriving at the office door, Qiu Tu did not enter immediately but instead straightened his clothes while asking the investigator beside him, "I don't seem to have seen you in the Political Department before? Are you new here?"

The investigator had a somewhat aloof personality and merely hummed in response.

Qiu Tu asked, "What is your name?"

The investigator said, "Ji Chen."

Hearing this, Qiu Tu nodded slightly, then knocked on the door.

Jia Shu's voice came from inside the office, "Come in."

Hearing that voice, Qiu Tu, with a full smile on his face, pushed open the door and stepped inside.

[18:01]

As he walked into Jia Shu's office, the light suddenly dimmed, and Qiu Tu's eyes widened slightly as his vision seemed a bit unclear.

Only after his eyes adjusted to the office lighting did he notice someone sitting in the large boss chair, their back to him.

That towering, solid, black leather chair resembled a tall tombstone standing in the middle of the office.

And Jia Shu was standing respectfully beside that "tombstone."

In the whole of Xinjie City, there was only one person who could sit in Jia Shu's place and command such respectful attitudes from Jia Shu...

Sure enough, as Qiu Tu speculated, the chair slowly turned, and one of Xinjie City's Three Giants, Investigation Bureau Chief Yan Chen, appeared before Qiu Tu...

Seeing this, Qiu Tu quickly pretended to be surprised and saluted, "Hello, Bureau Chief!"

After saluting, as if he had just remembered that this was Jia Shu's office, he quickly saluted Jia Shu, standing aside, "Director!"

After exchanging greetings, Yan Chen said nothing but just looked at Qiu Tu silently, his gaze as deep as a bottomless spring…

While Yan Chen was looking at Qiu Tu, Qiu Tu was also quietly scrutinizing Yan Chen.

After all, this was not Yan Chen's own study or office: the curtains were not very opaque, and Jia Shu's desk lamp was of good quality, so... this was the first time Qiu Tu got a clear look at Yan Chen's face.

How to describe it... he was rather unremarkable in appearance and seemed somewhat aged and decayed.

Qiu Tu remembered that the official introduction stated Yan Chen was 51 years old, but... looking at him, Qiu Tu would put him past 65, he even seemed to have an old man's flavor.

Qiu Tu recalled Qin Shuman's previous hypothesis about Yan Chen's Cataclysm Path: Life, Immortality.

Frankly, Qiu Tu couldn't see any signs of "Immortality" in Yan Chen.

If it weren't for Qin Shuman's information usually being reliable, Qiu Tu might even think Yan Chen was nearly devoid of "life."

[17:36]

Meanwhile, as Qiu Tu was analyzing Yan Chen's appearance and Cataclysm Path, Yan Chen slowly spoke.

His voice was low and hoarse, like nails scratching on a chalkboard, "Qiu Tu, I heard you took the Yin Caimei case?"

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

Jia Shu wore a smile, looking straight ahead, as if the presence of Qiu Tu had nothing to do with him and this case wasn't assigned by him at all.

Seeing this, Qiu Tu nodded without denying, "Yes, Bureau Chief."

[17:30]

Yan Chen "hmmed" and then slowly said, "How is your investigation going lately?"

Qiu Tu glanced at Jia Shu again.

Jia Shu still had no reaction.

Seeing this, Qiu Tu said with a smile, "Thanks to the Bureau Chief's good luck, our investigative team has been working overtime the past few days, and we're almost close to cracking the case."

Upon Qiu Tu's words, the whole office fell quiet for a moment. Yan Chen gave Jia Shu an expressionless glance, then asked in a grave tone, "Oh? That soon to crack the case? Tell me about it."

[17:13]

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Hearing Yan Chen's question and looking at the eerie scene before him, Qiu Tu's thoughts couldn't help but drift a little...

Actually... Qiu Tu wasn't surprised about what happened in Jia Shu's office with Yan Chen.

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

Because, after "Crisis Intuition" was triggered, the "Crisis Warning" had already made him anticipate everything that was happening now...

"Crisis Intuition activated! Generating crisis report!"

"Your immediate superior, the Investigation Bureau Chief of Xinjie City, Yan Chen, is experiencing a conflict with your superior, Head of the Political Department Jia Shu!"

"The cause is that Jia Shu actually handed over 'the Yin Caimei case' to you without informing him!"

"Feeling his authority was challenged, he's not only dissatisfied with Jia Shu but also developed a profound distrust towards you!"

"Now, under the pretense of Jia Shu's directive, he has invited you to Jia Shu's office to report on the case!"

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

"Please choose carefully, as it will affect your situation going forward!"

Indeed, just when an investigator came on behalf of Jia Shu to get Qiu Tu, these prompts popped up before him.

At that moment, it nearly caused Qiu Tu's brain to crash.

'What's going on? Wasn't this case assigned to me by Yan Chen? Or was it actually given to me by Jia Shu without Yan Chen's knowledge?'

'No? Is this guy sick or what?'

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

'And moreover... because of this case, a rift formed between Yan Chen and Jia Shu, and as a result... Yan Chen only has a bit of dissatisfaction with Jia Shu but has developed a tremendous distrust toward me?'

'Is Yan Chen also out of his mind?!'

'What, am I the one getting hurt in every way here?'

'In the end, am I just a pawn in your play?'

That's why Qiu Tu stood there stunned at the time, feeling utterly overwhelmed.

Fortunately, the investigator called him again, snapping Qiu Tu back to reality and reminding him that what he needed to do now was not to complain but to quickly analyze the hints given by "Crisis Intuition."

You should know that "Crisis Intuition" is only triggered when Qiu Tu's life is threatened.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

So, this proved that if Qiu Tu couldn't get through this crisis, it's highly likely that he could be in mortal danger.

And what made Qiu Tu feel even more screwed was that this "Crisis Warning" didn't specify where the danger was coming from.

He only knew that a discord had arisen between Yan Chen and Jia Shu, and then he was being called to the office.

But... who will be detrimental to him in the future?

Is it because he concealed the investigative facts, making Yan Chen unsatisfied, hence planning to eliminate him?

Or did he reveal the truth of the investigation, unsettling Jia Shu, who's now planning to secretly get rid of him?

So many possibilities left Qiu Tu quite indecisive.

So, he arranged work for Cao Dabiao and others on the spot after recovering, which was actually a pretext to contemplate his strategies in silence.

And thankfully, with the hints from "Crisis Intuition" and those few minutes of thinking, Qiu Tu finally figured out the key to this crisis.

With this in mind, Qiu Tu also reined in his thoughts, then firmly addressed Yan Chen's scrutinizing gaze, "Yes, Bureau Chief."

[17:10]

He said, "Actually, when I learned of this case, I felt something was off about it."

"Because that night, I was overseeing the interrogation team interrogating Yin Caimei."

"Yin Caimei seemed to have no psychological issues, nor any diseases. And the interrogation by the team was quite standard, with no use of illegal tools or potions."

"Theoretically, she shouldn't have had any problems."

"So, when I heard she was dead, my first suspicion was: homicide!"

"That's why I had the coroner conduct a physical autopsy and examination on Yin Caimei."

"The result came back as death due to sudden cardiac arrest, purely an accidental death."

"This result didn't alleviate my suspicions; instead, it intensified them."

"So, I asked the Director for permission to use a catastrophe investigation Treasure to try and detect traces of Catastrophe Power or a Catastrophe Curse being used."

"And indeed, I found something."

Qiu Tu said, "Last night, I detected traces of a Catastrophe Curse on Yin Caimei's body using the 'Mist Index Book.' I then followed the clues and found the murder weapon."

[16:32]

At this point, Qiu Tu clearly noticed an interested look in Yan Chen's eyes.

Qiu Tu wasn't surprised.

Yan Chen's previous coldness was probably because he thought it was impossible for Qiu Tu to make any significant progress in just two days.

Speaking of progress in front of him and even claiming to have identified the murderer, he likely thought Qiu Tu was simply following Jia Shu's lead to pin the crime on a scapegoat.

But now, without following Jia Shu's narrative, Qiu Tu was actually presenting something solid, so Yan Chen became intrigued.

While Qiu Tu was mulling this over, Yan Chen questioningly, yet without joy or sorrow, asked, "Oh? The murder weapon? What murder weapon?"

Qiu Tu said, "A book. A book that Yin Caimei brought into the guardroom against regulations, named 'Brave New World'!"

He paused, then added, "After examination with the 'Mist Index Book,' the book has been confirmed to be a Catastrophic Treasure, with the Catastrophe Power being of the same origin as the traces found on Yin Caimei's body."

"It's precisely because of this murder weapon that I've greatly narrowed down the range of suspects, and even have a primary suspect in mind."

[15:21]

Hearing this, Yan Chen asked with an impassive expression, "So, who do you suspect now?"

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