Let them offer their loyalty!

Chapter 80 Monsters of the Immaterial World (7k)

In the Planning Area, vehicles are a rare sight.

So crossing the street doesn't require much care.

Qiu Tu strode across the street and then opened his arms wide, laughing as he said, "Miss Shuman! To not see you for a day feels like an eternity has passed! Let me give you a hug."

Hearing Qiu Tu's words, Qin Shuman, dressed in a black coat, stepped back with a smile and then pushed away at Qiu Tu's chest with her hand, which was gloved in black, scolding playfully, "Stop it! Be serious!"

But Qiu Tu didn't heed Qin Shuman's rejection and still wrapped his arms around her to hug her tightly.

With a beauty in his arms, Qiu Tu was surrounded by the faint fragrance of Qin Shuman.

Somehow, the anxiety he had been feeling over the past days seemed to have quieted down a bit.

Qin Shuman quietly leaned into Qiu Tu's embrace, at first holding back a little, but in two seconds, she gently rested her head against his chest.

The two of them, fatigued from the terrible issues in their respective departments, suddenly found a haven where they could briefly rest...

After quietly holding each other for a while, Qin Shuman looked up at Qiu Tu's face.

Qiu Tu's resolute, handsome face had a hint of worry, even his eyebrows were furrowed.

Qin Shuman reached out and gently smoothed Qiu Tu's brow, then said softly, "Chief Qiu seems to be in a really bad mood today~~"

Snapping back to reality, Qiu Tu smiled and asked, "Oh, really?"

Qin Shuman replied with a "hmm" and said, "I don't think I've ever seen your brows so deeply furrowed."

"Is the case that difficult to handle?"

Qiu Tu said, "That's not it. I was just thinking about how white that girl's legs across the street are, and why she doesn't show them off a bit more."

Qin Shuman: ??

Annoyed, Qin Shuman kicked Qiu Tu in the stomach and then pushed him away.

Qiu Tu yelped, "Ouch," clutching his stomach. "You woman lack martial morals! Attacking by surprise!"

Seeing his reaction, Qin Shuman's lips curled into a smug smile. She teased him, "Chief Qiu~~ If you lack the alertness of the Security Department and hug people carelessly, you should be prepared to get hurt!"

Qiu Tu looked innocent, "The work of the Security Department is too hard! Even a hug has to be so cautious!"

The two bantered back and forth, lightening the somber mood from when they first met.

While arguing with Qiu Tu, Qin Shuman was searching the periphery for the girl showing off her legs.

But after a long search, she found no one.

It took her a while to realize it, and then she glanced at Qiu Tu.

Qiu Tu, with a smile, let go of his stomach and took her hand, then invited, "Shall we take a walk together?"

Qin Shuman felt as if something soft in her heart had been touched. She replied with a "hmm" and then joined Qiu Tu for a stroll along the street.

Today, Qin Shuman had come out as her true self, so there was no need to worry about being recognized.

Hand in hand, they walked along the street, with Qiu Tu softly sharing everything that had happened today with Qin Shuman.

This included Jia Shu assigning him to handle the "Yin Caimei case"; Jia Shu saying he would gain the trust of the Security Department; and all the unusual signs and his speculations after taking over the "Yin Caimei case".

Since it was already past 9 p.m., there were no pedestrians on the road, so they didn't worry about being overheard by others.

Qin Shuman listened to Qiu Tu's current problems in silence, pondered for a moment, and then also spoke up,

"Let's not talk about the Yin Caimei case for now. Jia Shu said you will receive attention from the Security Department, and I think I have some guess and understanding of it."

She glanced at Qiu Tu and said softly, "Because of protecting Master Qin Si, our Security Department leaked information to the Political Department, giving them an excuse to make things difficult."

"So, just yesterday alone, several moles we had placed close to the upper echelons of the Investigation Bureau were all extracted, and we haven't heard from them since."

"Jia Shu is ruthless; I think they are very likely in a dire situation."

"Considering what you said about last night's Yin Caimei case information being bait, I suspect that some of the Security Department's lower-level moles were also listed by him during last night's operation."

"Therefore, next he is likely to one by one remove all the moles from the Security Department. In this case, to expand our channels of information, we will inevitably have to cooperate with you."

"And that's how you can infiltrate our ranks."

Upon hearing this, Qiu Tu pondered for a moment, then nodded slightly, "It should be so."

Then, Qiu Tu continued, "The situation for your moles now is very dangerous."

"What do you plan to do? Withdraw them?"

Qin Shuman's face showed struggle as she shook her head slightly, "We can't withdraw them."

"If we do, it could expose you."

At this point, Qin Shuman's gaze deepened, "The best course of action is if we can also find out the moles that the Investigation Bureau has within the military."

"And through you, tip off Jia Shu."

"That way, both sides holding each other's people, we could reach a new balance."

Qiu Tu asked, "Then... how do you plan to find out the Investigation Bureau's moles in the military?"

Qin Shuman said with a wry smile, "There's no way for now."

"Our lines to the higher-ups in the Investigation Bureau are all severed."

"Trying to screen through so many soldiers is simply not realistic."

Hearing Qin Shuman's words, a bolt of lightning suddenly flashed through Qiu Tu's mind.

He thought of... Liu Fuping and Tang Feifei.

As a spy planted by some unknown power within the Investigation Bureau, and with the support of Tang Feifei, the Deputy Director of the Bureau, she must have accessed a great deal of classified information, right?

I wonder if she has a list of the Bureau's spies...

Moreover, as the Deputy Director and a rival of Yan Chen, if there was a way to diminish Yan Chen's power, I believe she would be very tempted.

Futhermore, planting spies in other departments is inherently against the rules, so making a move on this matter wouldn't put her in a difficult position.

So… even if Liu Fuping doesn't have a list of spies, if I can connect with Tang Feifei and collaborate, maybe there will be some unexpected results.

After all… Tang Feifei is the "Deputy Director of Administration" in charge of "training".

Most of the spies among the three major power institutions are secretly trained in Xinjie City.

If I could get from Tang Feifei the names of those who have been trained at the Bureau over the past year, who didn't pass the assessment, but finally got jobs in the military, maybe we could catch a large number of spies…

And such a collaboration would be greatly beneficial to Qiu Tu as well.

Besides reducing the power of Yan Chen and Jia Shu, it would also allow him to establish a connection with Tang Feifei.

Having a Deputy Director as a hidden backer was far too important for Qiu Tu, who was currently treading on thin ice within the Investigation Bureau...

The room for maneuver would suddenly become much larger.

Having clarified his thoughts, Qiu Tu glanced at Qin Shuman and said, "I'll think of a way to help you with this matter."

"I might have some ideas."

Upon hearing Qiu Tu's words, Qin Shuman looked at him in surprise.

As the head of the Security Department's Investigation Division, Qin Shuman knew all too well the difficulty of obtaining a list of spies; an opportunity like the one presented by Jia Shu was truly rare and hard to come by.

And now, Qiu Tu was saying he had a way?

Truth be told, Qin Shuman's first reaction was disbelief... but after all, it was the thought that counted coming from Qiu Tu. So after a brief pause, she still smiled and said,

"Then I'll thank Chief Qiu in advance~~"

"My entire career is now in your hands~"

Although Qin Shuman hid it well, using a light joke to dilute the seriousness of the matter, Qiu Tu still sharply picked up on her underlying emotions.

Qiu Tu didn't say anything. "Doing" was always more reliable than "talking"; handing over the list to Qin Shuman would be the best response when the time came.

After discussing the matter of the double agent, Qin Shuman also brought up the "Yin Caimei case".

When it came to this case, she became noticeably more serious.

She said, "The book 'Brave New World' is actually very famous."

"It's just that it's known among the great Sanctuaries, not in the Planning Area."

"Sanctuaries?" Qiu Tu asked in surprise.

Qin Shuman nodded, then continued, "Yes. This book was once wildly popular in the Eight Great Shelters."

"After all, turbulent times are the best breeding ground for such cultic propaganda."

"But, a few years ago, the Eight Great Shelters came to an agreement to ban the book and called for all residents to hand it over for destruction!"

Qiu Tu asked curiously, "Why?"

Qin Shuman's brows furrowed as well.

She said, "I'm not sure. It's classified as level B secret, and I don't have access to check."

"But I've heard the director mention before that this book has caused a lot of trouble in the non-material world."

"It seems that many people committed suicide or died in strange ways after reading it, leading to the birth of a terrifying Cataclysmic Creature in the non-material world, which then caused some bizarre changes in the real world."

The previous night, when she met with Qiu Tu, Qin Shuman had given him several pieces of information on Cataclysmic treasures and Cataclysmic abilities.

It roughly recorded some of the information Qiu Tu received from the origin of the world.

However, possibly to avoid leaking secrets or for some special reason, the information did not directly use the term "Boundless Heart Sea" but referred to it as "non-material world" instead.

After listening to Qin Shuman, Qiu Tu automatically replaced the keywords in his mind and sorted through the intelligence as well.

Then, with some hesitation, he asked, "So, do you suspect that Yin Caimei's death might be related to that book?"

Qin Shuman spread her hands, "I'm not sure. I'm just giving you a new direction to consider."

After saying that, she paused for a moment before adding, "Besides, although 'Brave New World' was banned and destroyed in the Sanctuaries, it is still very prevalent among anti-government organizations like the United Front."

"So it makes sense that Yin Caimei had this book."

Hearing this, Qiu Tu sensed something amiss.

He paused for a moment, then tentatively asked, "If I'm not mistaken, the Sanctuaries have been continually purging anti-government armed forces, and it's not just because they threaten the rule of the Sanctuaries, right?"

"But it's related to... that non-material world, or rather the creatures in it?"

"Things like 'Brave New World,' which can give rise to creatures in the non-material world, are not the only ones?"

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