Then, Let Them Offer Their Loyalty!

Qiu Tu's initial words to Ai Li tonight weren't meant to show off or deliberately oppress her; he was simply telling the truth.

For someone of Qiu Tu's status, beauty is no longer a rare commodity.

He is one of the Three Giants of Xinjie City. In terms of both reputation and strength, he vaguely leads the trio.

Calling him the uncrowned king of the entire Xinjie City isn't an exaggeration at all.

So, whatever type of woman he desires, he merely needs to mention it, and various forces would probably queue up to present them to him.

Be it mature women, young girls, or pairs of sisters, he could have his pick.

Thus, at such times, a merely beautiful woman no longer catches Qiu Tu's eye.

Privately speaking: those beautiful women must possess sufficient status and professional value in order to stand out from the many alternatives and pique Qiu Tu's interest.

Publicly speaking: those beautiful women must be able to provide certain help to Qiu Tu's career and strength to be considered by him.

So... Yanyan only thought about tricking her three best friends into Qiu Tu's bed. Qiu Tu was… well...actually quite interested.

But! That would only satisfy Qiu Tu's first kind of "need"—mere stimulation and interest.

However, when Qiu Tu found out that Yanyan wanted to manipulate Ai Li, he thought far beyond that.

Ai Li was not just a pretty young girl or one of the three best friends.

She was also an orphan who needed to be favorably treated by the Academic Faction's top tier, the Deputy Director of the Xinjie City Investigation Bureau, and a confidant of Huang Shangzong.

If... he could truly win her over, then Qiu Tu would have secured a very useful "card" in his hand.

Advancing would allow him to probe into the core secrets of Huang Shangzong, retreating would enable Qiu Tu to completely control the Investigation Bureau with no further hidden concerns.

—Adding Ai Li's vote, Qiu Tu would hold five votes, firmly surpassing the majority. This would also give him two independent votes at the Bureau Chief meetings, free from any constraints.

Therefore, Qiu Tu had Yanyan consider not only Ai Li's body in the plan but most importantly, winning Ai Li's heart and ensuring the effectiveness of their betting agreement politically…

And besides setting the actual course to pursue Ai Li, Qiu Tu also solved two critical issues within the plan.

The first was... how he could win the bet with 100% certainty.

All of Yanyan's plans were built on the premise that Qiu Tu could defeat Ai Li, often referred to as a gambling dog.

But if Ai Li was often referred to as a gambling dog, naturally, she gambled frequently.

So, she was actually not weak in the artistry of gambling. She nearly dabbled in everything from card counting, memorizing cards, to discerning dice by sound.

Moreover, being cautious in gambling, Ai Li knew that certain Cataclysmic abilities could influence the game, so she would also employ "ambergris."

Thus, after Qiu Tu had thoroughly understood the effects of "ambergris" and learned Ai Li's preferred gambling methods from Yanyan...

He carefully considered and experimented, then found the best method to cheat.

—His Fourth Rank Psychic Power.

As a Fourth Order catastrophe-evolver, Qiu Tu's psychic power could penetrate various objects and walls to observe his surroundings like eyes. (Chapter 383)

It could also be used to move objects. (Chapter 396)

More importantly, psychic power is a truly intangible primal force, not belonging to Cataclysmic Power, so it couldn't be detected by "ambergris."

With the assistance of his Fourth Order psychic power, Qiu Tu was virtually employing the cheats "x-ray vision" and "cheating."

Whether Ai Li was rolling dice, playing poker, or pai gow, Qiu Tu was assured to win against her.

As for… whether there was any Cataclysmic treasure to prevent cheating by Fourth Order Cataclysm-evolvers.

Without discussing whether Ai Li knew that Qiu Tu was a Fourth Order Cataclysm-evolver— even if she did know, such artifacts are exceedingly rare…

The reason is simple... At the level of power held by Fourth Order Cataclysm-evolvers, each one is a high-ranking official at the level of a Shelter State.

How could they possibly participate in low-end gambling...

If they need money, they simply levy it…

Besides ensuring his own 100% victory, the second key issue was: how to "seduce" Ai Li.

In Yanyan's plan, in order to win both Ai Li's body and heart, Qiu Tu must ultimately let go of Ai Li and Yanyan.

After all… if he truly took advantage of this situation to completely possess Ai Li and Yanyan.

Even if Ai Li lost herself to Qiu Tu, she would hold a grudge and might grow to completely hate him.

However, if Qiu Tu let Ai Li go, she would indeed undergo a significant change in her impression of him, and might even develop a fondness for him.

But this kind of fondness would be "gratitude," not "flirtation," and certainly not "liking."

So, Qiu Tu also needed to ensure that in Ai Li's heart, he wasn't just a "benefactor" or "ordinary friend," but a "love interest."

Thus... Qiu Tu thought of the famous scene from a previous life, "dating the girlfriend's best friend while on the phone with the girlfriend."

So... he directly enacted it himself and ordered Ai Li not to hang up the phone, but to keep listening.

He didn't believe that after listening for a few hours, when Ai Li saw him later, she could still regard him only as a "benefactor" or "ordinary friend."

He felt that after those hours of absurdity, Ai Li would probably become bashful and weak at the knees upon encountering him.

Yanyan, this girl of contradictions, had a mind more intricate than Guan Xiao's... Thus, upon learning Qiu Tu's intentions, she immediately raised both hands in agreement.

Thus, when Qiu Tu carried Yanyan to the upstairs bedroom, pretending to rip her clothes, he also marked her slightly clothed lower abdomen with the "Seal of Ownership."