Then, Let Them Offer Their Loyalty!

Chapter 67: Yan Chen's Satisfaction +9

Chapter 67: Yan Chen's Satisfaction +9

Upon hearing Yan Chen's inquiry, Jia Shu hesitated for a moment. He adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses and said somewhat ambiguously, “Director, I think... how that woman died is not important. What's important is what her death brings us.”

He paused and then continued, “For example, her death can bring peace of mind to many. Don’t be fooled by the harsh criticism from the Municipal Council towards our Investigation Department. Who knows how many council members had a good night's sleep last night because of it. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing for our Investigation Department or for you.”

Yan Chen fell into deep thought upon hearing this. After a moment of quiet contemplation, he glanced at Jia Shu with a faint smile. “It seems you have a lot of thoughts about this case?”

Jia Shu smiled back. “Director, the recent cases I’ve handled have shown me how important a good information monitoring system and a city-wide surveillance network are. And... only Deputy Chairman Tian can provide that.”

Yan Chen pondered silently for another moment. Then, tapping his finger lightly on the armrest of his chair, he said softly, “You handle it. But, close the case. Don’t let it become a cold case.”

Jia Shu quickly smiled and bowed slightly. “Director, rest assured, I’ll take care of it.”

After this topic, Jia Shu thought the conversation was over and straightened up, ready to leave. But at that moment, Yan Chen spoke again.

“By the way, the team of Political Division agents sent to the Qin residence the other day—isn’t it still detained?”

Caught off guard by the sudden question, Jia Shu paused for a moment and then nodded, “Yes. The Special Operations Division agents were demoted for their incompetence and sent back for retraining. The Political Division agents are still in the detention room, waiting for punishment as a lesson.”

Yan Chen responded with a neutral "Hmm" and then added, “Since Qiu Tu is no longer a suspect, we should continue to groom him. He was the leader of that operation and is now the Deputy Section Chief of the Interrogation Division. Let him handle the review and punishment of this team.”

Jia Shu was stunned for a second before looking at Yan Chen. Yan Chen’s expression was calm, as if this was just an ordinary arrangement. Seeing this, Jia Shu immediately broke into a bright smile. “Understood, Director.”

Yan Chen smiled slightly, then took a sip of tea. Jia Shu took the hint and retreated to the office door before turning to leave.

Meanwhile, Qiu Tu, who was eating soup dumplings with Shen Lingshuang, suddenly received two notifications:

[Yan Chen’s Suspicion -4, Satisfaction +9]

[Jia Shu’s Suspicion -0, Satisfaction +0]

Qiu Tu’s movements paused slightly as he processed this, a question mark slowly appearing above his head: ?

He was utterly puzzled.

Shen Lingshuang was indeed a good girl. Though a bit proud, she was very good at taking care of people and quite diligent. While Qiu Tu was in bed reviewing last night's "Loyalty Game" gains, she had already finished in the bathroom and then, with her slender legs, hurried downstairs.

When Qiu Tu finished analyzing the "Loyalty Game" rewards and was processing the intelligence, she came back upstairs with two baskets of soup dumplings, urging him to eat.

After eating Shen Lingshuang’s dumplings, Qiu Tu washed up briefly. With her help, he put on his uniform, holstered his gun, and headed to work. They tacitly avoided discussing why she stayed or why he didn’t ask her to leave. During breakfast, Shen Lingshuang returned all the money Qiu Tu had given her the previous night. Qiu Tu silently pocketed the money, and that was the end of it.

Before leaving the house, Qiu Tu gave Shen Lingshuang two instructions. First, to be careful while alone at home and to seek help from "Monkey" at the Old Lane Security Bureau if needed. He had already informed Monkey. Second, to stop burning paper offerings and hanging his portrait. He didn’t want such “surprises” again.

Shen Lingshuang pouted in defiance at his stern rebuke, her lips forming a tiny oil-can-worthy pout. Even after Qiu Tu’s scolding, she muttered behind his back, complaining about his overnight absence and speculating absurdly about him seeing other women. Qiu Tu ignored her, giving her a knock on the head to silence her before heading downstairs to his car.

Once in the car, Qiu Tu didn't start the engine immediately but instead reviewed the two notifications he received while eating dumplings:

[Yan Chen’s Suspicion -4, Satisfaction +9]

[Jia Shu’s Suspicion -0, Satisfaction +0]

He had been genuinely confused at the time because he had merely been having breakfast.

Why did Yan Chen reduce his suspicion and increase his satisfaction? Puzzled, he had said nothing and continued eating with Shen Lingshuang. Now alone, he finally had time to ponder this mystery.

First, he rechecked the "Loyalty Game"'s explanation about “Active Notifications”: You will see how your actions and words affect your subordinates and superiors.

When he first saw this definition, Qiu Tu thought the notifications would only appear during direct interactions. However, he realized that wasn't the case. Even if he wasn't in front of Yan Chen or Jia Shu, his previous actions and words could influence them and provide him with real-time feedback.

Understanding how this notification system worked made things simpler. Now he just had to figure out what he had done to decrease Yan Chen's suspicion and increase his satisfaction, especially since Jia Shu was involved too. After all, without Jia Shu, both notifications wouldn't have appeared simultaneously.

With this thought in mind, Qiu Tu started his car and drove carefully through the streets. Recently, New Realm City's Municipal Council had received a significant influx of funds, leading to road repairs and the reconstruction of public facilities, marking the start of the city's infrastructure era. However, with construction happening everywhere, the roads had become even harder to navigate.

As Qiu Tu carefully navigated through the city, he suddenly hit the brakes hard when he passed a rebuilding power plant. The screeching of tires on the old road caused pedestrians to scatter—not out of fear of an explosion but worried that the driver might get out and randomly assault someone. In this nearly lawless area, anyone driving a car was either wealthy or powerful, and pedestrians could only silently endure any mistreatment.

But Qiu Tu wasn't that cruel. He had just figured out the answer to his earlier question: What if it wasn't something he did that pleased Yan Chen, but rather something he didn't do?

With this insight, Qiu Tu quickly pieced together the truth. Yan Chen's satisfaction likely stemmed from something Jia Shu had reported about him. What could Jia Shu have reported that would please Yan Chen? It couldn't have been Qiu Tu slacking off at the Investigation Department or flirting with female subordinates.

The report had to be about his actions last night. But how did Jia Shu know what he did last night? The only plausible answer was that Jia Shu had been monitoring him.

Why would Jia Shu monitor him? Was it out of suspicion? Qiu Tu recalled his conversation with Jia Shu yesterday and found no issues. This was confirmed by the unchanged "suspicion" level in the "Loyalty Game".

Could it be about his meeting with Qin Shuman? the Investigation Department and the Security Department wouldn't risk a direct confrontation, and Jia Shu wouldn't have infiltrated his room to eavesdrop. So, there was no need for surveillance there either.

The only significant event around Qiu Tu last night was the death of Deputy Chairman Tian's mistress. Once he pinpointed this, everything else fell into place.

Qiu Tu hadn't run away after receiving Bai’s call, nor had he conducted any private investigations. He had met with Liu Fuping without collaborating or following her. These non-actions reduced Yan Chen's suspicion and increased his satisfaction.

It all made sense now. Last night's situation was a setup! The news about the spy's death was likely planted by Yan Chen and Jia Shu to test the loyalty and reactions of everyone involved, identifying those who might have ulterior motives against Yan Chen or the Investigation Department.

Qiu Tu now understood Liu Fuping's source of information. He had been suspicious last night since he had learned about the spy's death from Secretary Bai, Yan Chen’s trusted aide and a high-ranking official. How could Liu Fuping have received the same information? The answer was that Jia Shu had leaked the information along multiple lines, ensuring it reached all the spies of various factions.

Anyone who showed any movement upon receiving this information was likely monitored by Jia Shu. Qiu Tu's face darkened at the realization of the ruthless tactics employed.

‘Such vicious methods,’ he thought. ‘One piece of news, and several spies are exposed! Last night, who knows how many operatives were compromised because of this.’

Despite understanding everything, Qiu Tu wasn't pleased. The harsh truth was that while he had "passed the test" and gained Yan Chen's favor, it meant that Secretary Bai and Liu Fuping had failed. Liu Fuping’s fate wasn’t a major concern, but Bai was his ally within the Investigation Department. If anything happened to Bai, Qiu Tu would lose his only reliable informant and guide.

Determined to prevent this, Qiu Tu’s expression grew colder. ‘I can’t let anything happen to Secretary Bai!’

With this resolve, he started the car again, driving and thinking of ways to save Secretary Bai. By the time he neared the Investigation Department, he had a rough plan in mind.

Gazing at the scenery passing by the car window, Qiu Tu took a deep breath, silently hoping for the right opportunity. ‘I hope I’m not too late.’

With these thoughts running through his mind, Qiu Tu drove to the Investigation Department. Upon arriving in the parking lot, he stopped the car and was about to get out when he encountered Qin Zhengguang, the Deputy Director of the Security Department from the second branch of the Qin family, who had just stepped out of his car.

In just two days, Qin Zhengguang seemed to have aged significantly. His face was lined with new wrinkles, and dark circles shadowed his eyes, clear signs of anxiety and sleepless nights.

Seeing Qiu Tu, Qin Zhengguang's expression grew complicated. After all, Qiu Tu was both his "savior" and the "enemy" of the entire Qin family. Without Qiu Tu's investigation, the four Qin brothers wouldn't have turned against each other, the main house wouldn't have burned down, and the Qin family wouldn't have been forced to seek refuge under Yan Chen.

He stood dazed for a moment before managing a strained smile. "Agent Qiu—oh, I mean Deputy Chief Qiu. How are you settling into the Interrogation Division?"

Qiu Tu was also taken aback upon seeing Qin Zhengguang. His thoughts immediately turned to Fourth Master Qin's wife and children. While they were safely under the watch of the Security Department, the valuables they had were now in the hands of Qiu Tu's own men. He made a mental note to find an opportunity to inventory the wealth accumulated by that old schemer over the years.

Author's Note