Then, Let Them Offer Their Loyalty!

Hearing Scarface's words, Ai Li had a face full of question marks.

There was the scent of an Evil God, but it wasn't from a living Evil God, but... Xie Yue's "Boundless Divine Crystal"?

Was it possible that Qiu Tu was secretly using the "Boundless Divine Crystal" to cultivate in his office?

What a revelation! After all this time spent searching for a traitor, I've stumbled upon a righteously ambitious fellow, haven't I?

Moreover, I've even found the reason why Qiu Tu had advanced so quickly in strength—it was sheer hard work.

Having analyzed this far, Ai Li couldn't help but laugh out of frustration.

'This is just too fake!'

'It's fake to the point of being somewhat provocative.'

Ai Li hadn't ruled out the possibility that Scarface, one of her subordinates, had made a mistake and misidentified the scent of the Evil God.

But... the odds of that were too low.

The detection of the Evil God's scent worked on a complex set of logic; not to mention that each Evil God's scent was unique, even the scent of a fallen Evil God was different from that of one who had not fallen.

A fallen Evil God's scent had no "source" and was filled with the aura of death.

While a living Evil God's scent did have a "source" and was brimming with vitality.

Now that Scarface had detected the scent of a "dead object", it meant that even if it wasn't Xie Yue's, at most it was the "Boundless Divine Crystal" of another fallen Evil God or an item imbued with their scent.

So...

'Have I really wronged Qiu Tu? Or have I encountered a mastermind?'

With that thought, Ai Li's eyes gleamed with intrigue...

...

Meanwhile, at the same time.

In the office, Qiu Tu, wrapped in a black coat, stood beside the floor-to-ceiling window, looking down on the entire Investigation Bureau, then gazed at the slowly departing convoy of Ai Li, Xue'er, and Yanyan in the distance...

Behind him, Tan Huimin was dressed in a secretary outfit, with her hands folded in front of her lower belly, head bowed, embodying guilt.

She was clearly self-reproaching for not having stopped Yu Zhengyi and the others at the door earlier.

Qiu Tu, with his powerful spiritual power capable of sensing things around him, detected her emoion.

So after silently watching the convoy of Ai Li and the others disappear, he turned around with a smile and said, "Sister Tan, you did very well this time."

Hearing Qiu Tu's praise, Tan Huimin looked up in surprise, "Ah?"

Qiu Tu walked over, guiding her toward his desk. As they moved, he explained, "Sister Tan, your support at such a crucial moment has proven your loyalty."

"Whether you could have stopped them or not, it has nothing to do with your loyalty and it's not even about your capabilities."

"It's all about your power and status."

He led Tan Huimin to the bureau chief's chair and rested his hands on her shoulders, pressing her into the seat.

Tan Huimin jumped in fright and her first instinct was to stand up quickly.

But Qiu Tu's hands were heavy as a weight of ten thousand pounds on her shoulders, rendering her unable to move.

Seeing no other option, Tan Huimin sat in Qiu Tu's luxurious chair.

Qiu Tu walked behind her, wrapped his arms around her from behind the chair, rested his head on Tan Huimin's shoulder, and then pointed ahead, saying, "Sister Tan. Like now... if you took my place, and were the Deputy Director of the Investigation Bureau."

"Do you think they would still dare threaten or coerce you?"

Tan Huimin sat there stupefied, unsure of how to respond.

Qiu Tu, as if not waiting for her answer at all, said softly, "They wouldn't."

"Because you would have the power and status to match theirs."

After finishing, Qiu Tu stood up and then added, "Moreover... you did help me."

"The few minutes you delayed them were enough time for me to take care of some things."

Hearing Qiu Tu's words, Tan Huimin couldn't help but look up, asking softly, "Really?"

Qiu Tu nodded slightly.

He didn't explain further to Tan Huimin, but he couldn't help recalling the critical situation that had just passed.

In fact, even before Yu Zhengyi brought Ai Li upstairs, Qiu Tu had received a tip-off.

It wasn't from the agents of the Investigation Bureau: Yu Zhengyi had concealed the identities of Ai Li and the others so well that Qiu Tu's confidants thought they were merely friends of Yu Zhengyi.

The one who tipped off Qiu Tu was Bai Ru.

And the one who passed the message to Bai Ru was Commissioner Jiang's secretary, Tao Yaoyao.

For the past few months, the relationship between Qiu Tu and Tao Yaoyao had been ongoing. Furthermore, they had collaborated several times.

Like the previous "Bai Ru disciplinary incident (Chapter 316)" and the "Dongye State Investigative Team incident (Chapter 306)", Tao Yaoyao had been a great help.

Qiu Tu reciprocated by arranging for his people to handle several matters that were inconvenient for her to deal with herself.

After Qiu Tu became the Deputy Director and even acted as the Acting Bureau Chief, Tao Yaoyao became even more enthusiastic (Chapter 366).

Any intelligence from City Hall was nearly always passed to Qiu Tu by her as soon as possible.

For some sensitive information, she would find Bai Ru first and let Bai Ru relay it to Qiu Tu.

This instance was no exception. Lin Chuan and Yu Zhengyi thought they had blocked off the military and the Investigation Bureau's information, and with only Commissioner Jiang in the know at City Hall, all seemed well.

But what they didn't expect was that Commissioner Jiang's most critical confidante—the 'Secretary of Confidential Affairs'—was an important collaborator of Qiu Tu...

So, Qiu Tu had been well-informed quite early about the "secret" arrival of Ai Li and Huang Xue'er in Xinjie City.

As an enemy of Huang Shangzong and Yan Chen, Qiu Tu's first reaction was, of course, that they were targeting him.

Except... he truly couldn't fathom how Ai Li was going to make her move.

Not until he discovered Yu Zhengyi audaciously bypassing procedures, secretly welcoming Ai Li, Xue'er, and Yanyan into the Inquiry Bureau.