Let them offer their loyalty!

Qiu Tu did not have to wait long.

After just a few minutes, his communicator began to vibrate with a "buzz buzz" sound.

He picked up the communicator and glanced at the caller ID. After confirming it was the person he was waiting for,

he adjusted his demeanor and then answered the phone with a smile.

As the call connected, Jia Shu's forced laughter came through the earpiece, "Chief Qiu's methods are impressive. You made such a big splash without making a sound."

Hearing Jia Shu's somewhat sarcastic words, Qiu Tu replied with a serious expression, "Thank you for the compliment, Minister. It's all thanks to your excellent guidance."

Both men were old foxes, and simple verbal sparring wouldn't affect their moods.

So, Jia Shu pretended not to catch Qiu Tu's sarcasm and formally started the conversation.

He asked with a smile, "Does Chief Qiu know who he arrested today?"

Qiu Tu honestly replied, "Of course, I know. I arrested Qian Dafu, Wang Zhuang, Hu Kaiwei, and Qi Yun, four big merchants in the transportation industry."

At this moment, Jia Shu was sitting in a private box on the fifth floor of the Emerald Fort racecourse.

The sky outside the box was dull and overcast, casting his face in intermittent shadows.

Hearing Qiu Tu's words, Jia Shu chuckled, casually fiddling with a set of playing cards in his hand, and corrected lightly, "Not four big merchants in the transportation industry, but the heads of the only four transportation companies in Xinjie City."

"Apart from the official transport teams managed by the military, these four companies are the sole channels for Xinjie City to exchange materials with other cities."

"Is that so?" Qiu Tu, who already knew all this, feigned surprise and asked, "Did I cause any trouble for the minister then?"

Qiu Tu's feigned ignorance didn't deceive Jia Shu, who chuckled lightly and affirmed, "Indeed, you've caused some trouble."

"As soon as these four big merchants were arrested, the exchange of supplies in Xinjie City came to a complete halt."

"The various departments of the City Hall are calling me one after another, asking what exactly happened and when I can release these four merchants, fearing that the transport channels might be closed permanently."

With that, Jia Shu sighed, as if he were pressuring or lamenting, "It's a serious matter, Chief Qiu. After all, the Investigation Bureau also needs supplies distributed from the City Hall."

Upon hearing this, Qiu Tu sat at a table in the empty conference room, his expression unchanged.

He knew that no matter what Jia Shu said, he was actually pressuring him to release the prisoners.

But... the men had already been arrested; how could Qiu Tu possibly let them go!

Therefore, he did not follow up on Jia Shu's words but instead took a different angle, lamenting,

"It seems... they really have a grip on the lifeline of Xinjie City, otherwise... they wouldn't have the courage to engage in illegal activities."

Hearing this, Jia Shu "ha-ha" laughed twice, downplaying the topic and then timely switched to another one.

He asked, "I understand why Chief Qiu arrested four transport merchants, but why did you also arrest Qin Shu and... Director Qin Zhengguang?"

Jia Shu paused for a moment, then added with a laugh, "Do you know, after they were arrested, Commissioner Qin Heng immediately called the Bureau Chief and me..."

He stopped there, neither revealing what Commissioner Qin had said nor how Yan Chen reacted, leaving a meaningful silence...

Upon hearing this, Qiu Tu knew the most crucial part was coming.

So instead of directly answering Jia Shu's question, he digressed and said, "Minister, do you know that Director Qin Zhengguang was very happy when he was taken away by our Political Department Investigator?"

"He even shook the Investigator's hand and said 'thank you.'"

Upon hearing Qiu Tu's words, Jia Shu's card-playing paused momentarily over the phone. He feigned surprise with an "Oh?" and asked, "Really? Why?"

Qiu Tu paused for two seconds, then softly said, "Because... I sent him a text message beforehand. I told him... the Security Department was eyeing this case, eyeing him."

"Boom!"

Whether by coincidence or not, as Qiu Tu quietly revealed this secret, a rumble of thunder exploded over the sky of Xinjie City.

Together with the thunder, the already gloomy sky began to pour down small droplets of rain with a "whoosh."

The drizzle seemed to disrupt the communication signal. Jia Shu paused for two seconds before putting away the cards and the smile, and slowly asked, "The Security Department... is eyeing this case?"

Qiu Tu hummed in affirmation, sharing an even bigger secret, "Moreover, according to the information I've received, the Security Department is very likely to take action to arrest Vice President Tian tonight."

Jia Shu was silent again for two seconds.

After two seconds, as if he had replayed all the information in his mind and re-evaluated the whole case, he regained his composure.

He leaned back on the sofa in the private box, laughed insincerely, and inquired, "Chief Qiu, how did you come to know about this?"

Qiu Tu replied with a smile, "Because I've been in mutual communication with them."

Having said that, Qiu Tu paused then added softly, "Or rather... I was the one who disclosed this case to the Security Department."

"Boom!"

Another peal of thunder rumbled across the murky horizon. The rain fell harder and soon melded into sheets.

Through the glass, the downpour partitioned the world into segments, like a curtain of rain.

Over the phone, Jia Shu could barely contain his emotion. He laughed twice with a "ha-ha" and then said, "Interesting, interesting. I had not expected Chief Qiu to be so forthright."

Qiu Tu also started to laugh.

Two seconds later, Jia Shu's fake laughter ceased; he sat up and said blandly, "Give me a reason."

This time, he did not smile, and his tone was very calm. Yet... it still gave off an eerie sense of bloodiness.

As Jia Shu spoke these words, a mass of Crisis Warnings suddenly popped up in front of Qiu Tu.

A [Countdown Hourglass] with only 1 minute started flashing, crazily flickering with red light, as if telling Qiu Tu how dangerous the crisis was.

But Qiu Tu did not even glance at the countdown hourglass, nor did he look at those Crisis Warnings.

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

"Because... during the days handling this case, I've found it to be too complex, too special. It's like a candied fruit wrapped around poison."

"Handled well, there isn't much benefit to be gained. Handled poorly, one might instead face difficulties from all sides."

[0:53]

"So, I thought: since this is the case, why should the Political Department insist on clinging to it? After all, this case involves crimes committed by Cataclysmics, which isn't within our investigative domain."

"Why not throw the case to the military, let them deal with City Hall, and we reap the benefits like a fisherman?"

Qiu Tu's voice had a beguiling charm as he softly said, "After all, we're the ones who discovered this case. If it's cracked, we get the credit."

"If it's not solved, we're not the principal investigators, so we won't be criticized..."

[0:45]

"We'll take the benefits we deserve, let the military, let the Security Department bear the pressure!"

"As long as we have some key suspects in our hands. The progress of the Security Department's investigation will always be under our control."

[0:39]

Seeing that Jia Shu was taking the bait, Qiu Tu paused, then whispered, "Moreover, what's most important is that in doing so, the fundamental conflict between you and the Bureau Chief over this case will no longer exist..."

"I could also breathe a sigh of relief. After all, being caught between you and the Bureau Chief has been like an eternity for me...."

As Qiu Tu spoke his last sentence, the [Countdown Hourglass] struggling through a few more seconds of flashing red light, gradually came to a halt.

Qiu Tu did not let his guard down, he quietly waited a few more seconds. Seeing that the [Countdown Hourglass] truly did not resume its countdown, he finally allowed himself to secretly exhale in relief.

'I should have won the bet, right?'

The reason Qiu Tu took such a risky gambit, boldly proposing his cooperation with the Security Department, was actually based on a reason.

After the fervor of last night, Qiu Tu continuously reviewed the entire case with Qin Shuman and sorted out their plans moving forward.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

As a result, they stumbled upon a difficult issue: that as soon as the Security Department made a move, Jia Shu and Yan Chen would know immediately that Qiu Tu had "defected".

After all, to this point, all the clues and pieces of evidence for the case were in Qiu Tu's hands. The Security Department had no pretext to act.

Even if Qin Shuman could find another entry point to force an intervention... given Yan Chen and Jia Shu's cunning and suspicion, it was unlikely they would believe in such a coincidence.

Therefore, after much consideration, they felt it was better to take the initiative in disclosing this rather than being found out. To bring the matter out into the open.

In doing so, as long as the reasons were valid, even if Yan Chen and Jia Shu might still be suspicious, it would surely be more credible than if they discovered it on their own.

As for what reason could make Qiu Tu's collaboration with the Security Department appear reasonable?

After much thought, they ultimately decided on the reason just mentioned by Qiu Tu.

It's actually quite simple.

In this world, every decision is driven by interests.

The reason Yan Chen and Jia Shu had conflicts over this case, in the end, was due to a lack of unified interests.

Jia Shu had two "interests" in this case:

1. The promise of brand-new surveillance equipment from Vice President Tian.

2. The desire not to confront City Hall and other Xinjie City forces directly.

Yan Chen also had two "interests" in this case:

1. To put Jia Shu in his place.

2. To strike against the City Hall faction.

Both of their first "interests" had been nearly satisfied, leaving only the second "interest" unfulfilled, which is their core conflict concerning this case.

And it was because of this core conflict that Qiu Tu, caught between the two, found himself in a difficult position. He was damned if he did, and damned if he didn't...

At this time, if Qiu Tu came up with a new approach, one that does not affect the Investigation Bureau's interests, simultaneously resolving the conflict between the two, and managing to shift the blame from himself, wouldn't everything seem logical?

And wouldn't the involvement of the Security Department shift from unacceptable to a wait-and-see situation?

Now, having heard Qiu Tu's explanation, Jia Shu indeed lapsed back into silence.

This was the most Jia Shu had ever been silent in the many conversations between him and Qiu Tu. It was clear that each step of the conversation today was a bit beyond his expectations, necessitating his continuous reflection...

But Qiu Tu did not give Jia Shu too much time to think, he lobbed another bombshell, "Minister, I'm not sure if I should say this..."

"Actually... what I'm doing is entirely to save you."

-------

There's one more chapter, but I can't finish it tonight. I will get up tomorrow morning to complete it and aim to post it around 12 noon.