Let them offer their loyalty!

Seeing Liu Fuping outside the car window, Qiu Tu raised an eyebrow, a bit surprised.

After all, it was already 12 o'clock at night.

In these troubled times, the night was very dangerous, and without a car, a beautiful woman traveling alone deep into the night was not a simple matter.

So, unless there was a special circumstance, Liu Fuping would not take the risk of coming out to meet him.

And thinking of special circumstances... Qiu Tu's heart suddenly stirred: Could it be... she also knew about the female spy's death?

With that thought, Qiu Tu smiled at Liu Fuping, then opened the car door and got out.

Liu Fuping was wearing a green knitted sweater tonight. The sweater was loose, with a large, slightly skewed neckline, allowing one to see the black strap of her lingerie on her fair left shoulder, and if one looked down, there was a cleavage that could bury a person.

Liu Fuping noticed something was off with Qiu Tu's gaze, looked down at herself, and made no adjustments. Instead, she even clasped her hands under her chest, making herself even more prominent.

Seeing this, Qiu Tu couldn't help but smile. Look, this is the advantage of a married woman, she always cooperates tacitly with you...

Thinking this, Qiu Tu leaned against the car, lit a cigarette, and teased nonchalantly, "Sister Liu, are you coming to see me so late because you can't sleep alone?"

"Hohoho~" Liu Fuping laughed, shaking her whole body, creating waves of motion.

After laughing, she put her hand on Qiu Tu's arm, and with a smile that wasn't quite a smile, she said, "Is that what you're coveting, Chief?"

But Qiu Tu's smile remained as he replied, "Isn't it Sister Liu who has always been coveting me?"

The two of them looked at each other, their smiles growing brighter, a sense of ambiguity as if "you know my unscrupulous intentions, I understand your feigned modesty."

And just as the atmosphere was getting more and more romantic,n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

suddenly, a horrific scream of "Ah!" echoed between the densely packed buildings on Old Alley Street.

Followed by a "thud!" as something like wet mud slapped against the wall.

Liu Fuping was startled, locking her neck to look in that direction.

Qiu Tu casually flicked the cigarette ash, "It's nothing, probably just some unfortunate soul who couldn't handle the pressure and jumped from a building."

Liu Fuping immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

In this chaotic world, human life was cheap, and nobody cared, except... the group of urban sanitation workers that City Hall had just recruited.

However, because of that interruption, the romantic atmosphere was broken. Liu Fuping finally started talking about serious matters.

She gathered her hair and moved closer to Qiu Tu, whispering, "Chief. I heard some news. Yin Caimei is dead."

The name was somewhat unfamiliar, and Qiu Tu almost didn't react in time, "Who?"

Liu Fuping said, "The female spy we interrogated last night."

Qiu Tu "Oh~" in understanding. It matched his own intelligence.

Liu Fuping earnestly observed Qiu Tu's expression, noting that he didn't seem surprised, and her expression became complicated.

She continued to probe, "Chief, her identity is quite special, and this case involves a wide range of issues."

"I'm worried that the minister will be furious when this gets out, and all of us involved in the interrogation won't be able to escape the consequences; we may be implicated."

Qiu Tu, upon hearing this, laughed, flicked away the cigarette butt, and reassured her, "Don't worry, the minister won't."

Liu Fuping didn't understand where Qiu Tu's confidence came from and was taken aback for a moment.

Then, the next second, she heard Qiu Tu say, "Because the one who's furious is the Bureau Chief. He's already gotten involved in this matter."

Upon hearing Qiu Tu's words, Liu Fuping's body shivered noticeably, and she appeared astonished, "The Bureau Chief got involved?"

Qiu Tu put his arm around her and pulled her into his embrace, the married woman's body soft and comfortable to hold. Then he replied casually, "Yes."

"Isn't it very normal for the Bureau Chief to get involved in such a sensitive issue?"

After finishing, Qiu Tu gazed at her, probed with a smile that wasn't quite a smile, "Sister Liu, you're not the murderer, what are you nervous about?"

Liu Fuping swallowed and said softly, "Chief, you don't know the methods of the Investigation Bureau."

"Once the Bureau Chief gets involved, the whole affair will become incredibly complicated."

Pausing, she continued, "The Bureau Chief getting involved means he doesn't trust the Political Department. And this will provoke the anger of the minister."

"And the minister... he's a pervert!"

"His interrogations never aim to extract information but to take pleasure in torture."

"As long as someone is suspected, whether they are the real criminal or not, they won't come out alive from his hands."

"Our Interrogation Section was cultivated by him personally, so we are too familiar with his methods."

"With the gravity of the situation and the Bureau Chief's involvement, it's very likely he will just detain us internal staff first and torture us, to vent his rage and force confessions."

By the end, her complexion was pale, her voice trembling slightly, "I haven't even learned the basics from him, and few prisoners can survive. There's even less chance for us."

Upon hearing this, Qiu Tu pondered for a second, then smoothly asked, "So, you think we should find the murderer ahead of time?"

Seeing that Qiu Tu finally got to the content she was most interested in, Liu Fuping nodded eagerly.

She spoke softly, "We must find the murderer in advance, to clear ourselves of suspicion. Only by doing so can we avoid being implicated."

Hearing the words of the beautiful young woman in his embrace, Qiu Tu's eyebrows twitched slightly, and he watched her quietly, his gaze somewhat inexplicable.

The beautiful young woman felt a strange look from him, then touched her own face, puzzled, she inquired, "Chief, what's wrong?"

Qiu Tu smiled and glanced once again at Liu Fuping's astonishing loyalty.

[Liu Fuping, Loyalty: 13]

Then, smiling, he said, "It's nothing. I just thought Sister Liu looked especially beautiful tonight, and I got lost in thought for a moment."

Although he complimented her with his mouth, Qiu Tu's mind was rapidly analyzing the matter of Liu Fuping's loyalty.

Just like the experience he had confirmed in the Interrogation Section before: without the influence of personal interests, most subordinates should have a loyalty above 30 towards him.

This wasn't due to Qiu Tu's personal influence, but rather the natural oppression from superiors to subordinates under the strict system of the violent organization.

After all, if Qiu Tu hadn't made any mistakes, opposing him would be tantamount to opposing the entire violent organization.

And yet, Liu Fuping had a loyalty towards Qiu Tu that didn't even reach the basic 30 points.

This could only mean three possibilities.

One, Qiu Tu's teasing in the past two days made her dislike him, reducing her loyalty.

Two, she was part of a faction within the Investigation Bureau, and that faction was hostile or disliked Qiu Tu.

Three, she... was a spy.

All three scenarios could lead to her loyalty dropping below "30," the minimum threshold, causing her to disobey Qiu Tu's orders overtly and covertly.

Especially the third possibility.

If she were really a spy, then the likelihood of her being the murderer also greatly increased.

But... what Qiu Tu couldn't understand was: if she really was the murderer, why would she come to see him?

Was she planning to frame him? Was it a case of a thief crying "Stop thief"? Or did she intend to deflect the blame elsewhere?

'Things are getting interesting...'

Thinking this, Qiu Tu also probed, "Sister Liu, who do you think the murderer is?"

Liu Fuping hesitated for a moment before whispering, "I think it might be Wang Xi."

Qiu Tu went "Oh?" and asked with interest, "Why?"

Liu Fuping replied, "He's a Pharmacist, responsible for dispensing interrogation potions."

"So, he could easily add some lethal drugs to the normal interrogation potion without anyone noticing."

Qiu Tu went "Oh," as if in deep thought.

After a moment, as if something suddenly occurred to him, he looked sharply at Liu Fuping, then feigned surprise and said, "In that case, Sister Liu, you're also quite suspicious."

"After all, you were the interrogator for that female spy. During the interrogation, you too could have poisoned her without anyone noticing."

"For example, hiding poison in the crevice of your nails, then applying it to her wounds during execution."

Liu Fuping wasn't frightened by Qiu Tu; her face fell as she admitted, "It's precisely because I know I'm one of the most suspected that I'm so anxious."

"If I were like you, Chief, having never made contact with that prisoner, I would be sleeping without worries."

Qiu Tu looked earnestly at Liu Fuping's expression, finding no faults...

So he continued to probe, "Then, Sister Liu, what brings you to me tonight?"

"I should be one of the most suspected as well, right?"

Liu Fuping's response to Qiu Tu's relentless questions showed some discomfort as she said, "I... I'm just a little panicked inside. So I wanted to consult with you, Chief, to see if we could find other clues."

'That's a lie.'

Qiu Tu sensed something off.

Liu Fuping's gaze clearly shifted towards the bottom right as she spoke.

But interestingly enough, Liu Fuping's gaze snapped back immediately after shifting to the right.

A hint of amusement flashed in Qiu Tu's eyes.

'Interesting...'

If the gaze had just darted to the bottom right, it would have indicated Liu Fuping was lying, but nothing more could be proven.

However, this retraction indicated that she was likely trained professionally, aware of the micro-expressions when lying, and was trying to control them. Perhaps it was lack of skill, or a fluctuation in emotion, that led to the slip.

'So... is the beautiful young woman in front of me a spy?'

'Does the Political Department actually have a spy in its midst? And is it her?'

Thinking this, Qiu Tu tightened his hold around Liu Fuping's arm, pulling her closer into his embrace.

Liu Fuping thought Qiu Tu had some ulterior motives at first, so she initially struggled politely, but soon gave up.

Then, the next second, she felt the barrel of a gun pressed against her waist.

With one arm, Qiu Tu encircled Liu Fuping tightly in his embrace and with the other hand, he pointed the gun at her.

Then he laid his head on Liu Fuping's shoulder and asked in a whisper close to her ear, "Sister Liu, have you ever considered that you might be the person I suspect the most?"

Hearing Qiu Tu's words, Liu Fuping froze completely...