Let them offer their loyalty!

Chapter 71 Soaring Loyalty (7k for follow-up reading!)

Qiu Tu looked at Cao Dabiao, Chen Feng, and their wide eyes, barely restrained yet still upturned lips, and smiled faintly.

That was exactly the effect he wanted.

Only when these detectives had given up all hope and could only pray that the interrogator would let them off easy, and then he made his entrance, could he elevate his status in their hearts to the highest degree and rapidly increase their loyalty.

For this moment, Qiu Tu had even specifically reminded Liu Fuping to omit his name when announcing the order for the interrogation.

And now, didn't the effect seem quite good?

Thinking thus, Qiu Tu walked to the interrogation seat, sat down in the center position, and calmly swept his gaze over all the detectives present, capturing all their loyalty levels in his mind.

[Cao Dabiao: 23+8]

[Chen Feng: 42+6]

[Ding Xiaoliu: 29+6]

[Ding Xiaoqi: 13+6]

[Zhu Huoyan: 31+5]

[....]

The numbers in front represent the detective's loyalty levels before seeing Qiu Tu, while the numbers following represent the instant increase in their loyalty after Qiu Tu made his appearance.

Generally speaking, most detectives' original loyalty levels were not high. Apart from Chen Feng, whose loyalty exceeded 40 points, and three detectives like Zhu Huoyan who were over 30 points, most detectives had loyalty levels in the 20-30 range.

This was within Qiu Tu's expectations.

After all, he had only been their superior for two days, there wasn't much emotional connection, and he had also dragged them into the mess that was the Qin Family.

Now that he was no longer their superior, there was no superior-subordinate relationship, and it was good enough that they didn't hate him. Hence, it was quite normal for their loyalty to drop below 30 after just two days.

Qiu Tu speculated: their loyalty didn't drop below 20 probably because he had given them benefits before.

Therefore, compared to the original loyalty levels, what Qiu Tu was more concerned about was the increase in their loyalty.

An appearance that increased loyalty by 5-8 points let Qiu Tu know that his plan was working.

He felt that as long as he made an effort, by manipulating their perceptions a few more times during the interrogation, he could swiftly raise their loyalty to a new level.

With this in mind, Qiu Tu continued to execute his plan.

He tapped on Liu Fuping's desk. The beautiful young woman gathered her hair, stood up understandingly, and then began to read out the document.

The content of the document was simple; it listed the mistakes made by Cao Dabiao and others during the mission.

These included not protecting the key person (Qin Shuman) safely, allowing an important suspect (Shen Lingshuang) to escape, failing the tasks assigned by superiors (obtaining evidence of the Qin Family's crimes), embezzlement of public funds, among others...

The more these charges were read out, the weirder the expressions of Cao Dabiao and others became.

They couldn't help feeling strange because although these charges were indeed related to them... it appeared that most were led by Qiu Tu himself, who was sitting in the center of the interrogation podium.

And now, Qiu Tu sat at the interrogation podium, while they wore handcuffs?

How could such a sharp contrast not make Cao Dabiao and the others feel bizarre?

Of course, it was this very contrast that once again made Cao Dabiao "recognize" Qiu Tu's background and power.

After so many incidents, Qiu Tu was safe and sound, even in a position to interrogate them, he really was as favored by the Bureau Chief as he said.

So, when Liu Fuping finished reading the charges and Qiu Tu slowly began to speak, they listened with utmost attention.

That was when they heard Qiu Tu slowly say, "We're all acquainted here, so I won't beat around the bush."

"Actually, I wasn't initially in charge of this interrogation."

"After all, I was involved in the mission, had been your superior, and should, by rights, recuse myself."

"But then again... it's precisely because I participated in the mission and understand everyone's situation that I am the best candidate to preside over this case."

"Therefore, I specifically went to the Bureau Chief and the Minister, and took over this internal review."

Upon saying that, Qiu Tu tapped Song Qing, who was writing vigorously, and coughed, "Don't record what I just said."

Upon hearing this, Song Qing paused for a moment, then tore off the half page of interrogation transcript she had just written, crumpled it into a ball, and threw it into the trash can.

With a simple statement and command, Qiu Tu immediately left a deep impression on the group of detectives below.

Those who had worked with him on a case knew that Qiu Tu was showcasing his power and giving them a tap on the shoulder as a warning.

Qiu Tu not only told them that he had the support of Yan Chen and Jia Shu behind him but also demonstrated with a simple command that he could freely alter the records of the interrogation and decide their fate.

Thus, all at once, before Qiu Tu, rose another wave of prompts indicating an increase in [loyalty].

Qiu Tu glanced at them nonchalantly and then began the formal proceedings.

His gaze turned first to Cao Dabiao.

"Cao Dabiao," he called out.

Hearing his name from Qiu Tu, Cao Dabiao quickly put on an ingratiating face and stepped forward, "Here, Chief. I'm here."

Qiu Tu looked down at the document in his hand and then said, "As a First Level Detective, you were the operational leader of this mission, as well as the leader of the Security Team."

"Regarding your failure to protect key personnel, letting suspects escape, and embezzling public funds—do you have anything to say in your defense?"

Upon hearing Qiu Tu's question, Cao Dabiao was momentarily stunned.

To be honest, he indeed had a lot of grievances he wanted to dispute.

For example, about letting suspects escape...

He could swear to heaven! He never even saw the suspect, okay?!

Qiu Tu did not hand it over to him during the transfer.

It was only after he was arrested that he learned there was even a suspect within the Security Team.

For instance, embezzling public funds. He indeed... embezzled a bit, um... some. But out of the 500 Silver Yuan of public funds, most were taken away by Qiu Tu. He only took 100 Silver Yuan.

If someone else were conducting the trial, he might hesitate and speak out. But now that Qiu Tu is overseeing the trial, can he say it?

He cannot...

He knows that even if he truly drags Qiu Tu down with him, it won't save himself; it would only offend Qiu Tu. So, it's better to take all the blame, leave a good impression on Qiu Tu, and perhaps Qiu Tu might remember their former relationship and give him a hand.

Thinking this, he gritted his teeth and managed a forced smile, saying, "I admit it, Chief."

[Cao Dabiao Loyalty +6]

Hearing his words and seeing the prompt that appeared before him, Qiu Tu knew exactly what Cao Dabiao was thinking: He was starting to place his bets on him.

Therefore, Qiu Tu looked deeply at him and smiled, "Detective Cao, won't you think it over?"

"Are you sure it was you who let the suspect escape? The public funds, you embezzled them?"

Cao Dabiao was startled.

Looking at Qiu Tu's mocking smile, a wave of silent complaints rose in his heart.

He was convinced that Qiu Tu was testing whether he would truly not betray Qiu Tu; so, he bit his lip again and said, "Chief, it truly was me!"

A look of disappointment crossed Qiu Tu's face. He knocked on Song Qing's record book again, asking her to stop.

Then he said to Cao Dabiao, "Detective Cao, don't feel pressured. This is just a normal internal investigation."

"Let me share my thoughts first."

He drank some water and said indifferently, "As members of the Security Team and the task force, your failure to accomplish the task given by the department is indeed very disappointing."

"But nobody expected the Qin Family to suffer such a disaster on that day."

"Master Qin Si set fire to the main house, throwing the entire Qin Family into chaos."

"You all realized something was wrong and hurried to protect Miss Shuman."

"Only to find upon arriving at Miss Shuman's residence, the detectives from the Special Service Department were knocked out and Miss Qin Shuman was taken away."

"You followed the clues, intending to rescue her. But unexpectedly, you fell for a diversion tactic, and not only did you fail to rescue Miss Shuman, but your station was even attacked in the process."

"You are indeed greatly negligent in this matter, but it is understandable."

Hearing Qiu Tu recount the course of the case, the detectives present began to see new hope in their eyes.

If Qiu Tu's arrival had given them hope a moment ago, they now seemed to see the first light of dawn!

At this moment, Cao Dabiao's heart was filled with surprise, and he kept nodding, "Ah, yes, yes, you're right, Chief!"

[Cao Dabiao Loyalty +2]

Upon hearing these words, Qiu Tu's expression changed, and he scolded, "What do you mean by saying I'm right?"

"What did I say?!"

"Cao Dabiao! I warn you, don't talk nonsense here!"

Qiu Tu's sudden change of demeanor startled Cao Dabiao, but he also quickly realized his improper wording could not only fail to save himself but also add to the evidence against him.

Therefore, he hastily said, "Chief, I'm sorry, I misspoke. I've finally remembered what happened that day."

[Cao Dabiao Loyalty +3]

Seeing he understood his intention, Qiu Tu knocked on Song Qing's hand and gave her a sign.

Song Qing rolled her eyes and once more tore up the interrogation record just taken.

Then while crumpling the record into a ball, she said to Cao Dabiao with annoyance, "Make sure you think it through this time before speaking! I'm tired of taking notes constantly!"

Cao Dabiao hurriedly offered Song Qing an apologetic smile, nodding and bowing.

Following Qiu Tu's guidance, the record-taking went very smoothly.

All the detectives insisted that the incident occurred suddenly, and they were too late to respond, leading to all the subsequent consequences.

After the records were taken, Qiu Tu flipped through the pages of the file, then casually pulled out a few records, saying, "Ding Xiaoqi, Shi Zhang, Su Yun, the three of your records are wrong."

"I remember Cao Dabiao saying that you two were on duty at the station guarding the suspect and the petty cash."

Hearing Qiu Tu's words, Ding Xiaoqi, Shi Zhang, and Su Yun were all stunned.

They were not fools.

According to the previous records, they were at most guilty of negligence, but now being specified as the guards of the suspect and petty cash meant dereliction of duty, facing harsher punishment.

But before they could refute,

Qiu Tu pulled out several more records and said, "And Chen Feng, Zhu Huoyan, Li Xian, Jiao Ming, weren't you all dispatched to investigate a case that day?"

"How did you end up going to rescue Miss Shuman?"

"Make the corrections, all of you correct it."

If it had only been Ding Xiaoqi, Shi Zhang, and Su Yun's records being altered for the worse, many detectives might not have thought too much of it.

But when the records of Chen Feng and others were directly changed toward exoneration, many detectives started to sense something was amiss.

They looked at each other, then reflected on the situation, only to suddenly realize... Chen Feng, Zhu Huoyan, and the others seemed to be the ones who had been speaking up for Qiu Tu in the Guard Room these past few days.