Chapter 91 The Puppet Master Appears (7k for Monthly Ticket)
Chapter 91 The Puppet Master Appears (7k for Monthly Ticket)
```
Seeing the name that appeared on Qiu Tu's communicator screen, Qin Shuman froze for a moment. Then she looked at Qiu Tu with a slightly complicated expression.
To be honest, Qiu Tu really gave her a lot of surprises today... and scares.
First, she accidentally discovered through the "Mist Index Book" that Qiu Tu was actually a Cataclysmic.
Moreover, he was one who could still partake in a successful Cataclysm Awakening after possession of another person's body.
This unheard-of incident had already shaken her worldview.
Then, right after that, there was the incident where she hid in the morgue cabinet and wasn't found by Zheng Tao.
Honestly, at the moment Zheng Tao pulled open the morgue cabinet, Qin Shuman's heart nearly leaped to her throat. Even her mind had started to rapidly think of ways to deal with the imminent crisis.
But who knew that Zheng Tao would act as if he hadn't seen her and closed the morgue cabinet again.
At that moment, Qin Shuman was truly bewildered for a good ten seconds. It was only after combining the mysterious force that had descended upon her that she guessed Qiu Tu might have used his Cataclysmic ability or treasures to pull the wool over everyone's eyes.
And now, Qiu Tu had already established contact early on with Tian Xiaotian, the son of Vice President Tian, getting Tian Xiaotian to provide him with information about his father.
Honestly, Qin Shuman felt like she was refreshing her understanding of Qiu Tu over and over again today.
But it seemed like Qiu Tu always had new surprises waiting for her.
This also made Qiu Tu's image in her heart increasingly mysterious...
Meanwhile, Qiu Tu had no idea what Qin Shuman was thinking.
After showing the communicator to Qin Shuman, he laughed and answered the call.
Once the call connected, the somewhat honest voice of Tian Xiaotian came from the receiver, "Chief Qiu?"
Qiu Tu responded with a smile, "Brother Tian. We don't use titles after work."
Tian Xiaotian didn't really care about titles or such formalities, so he just went with the flow and called him again, "Brother Tu."
Qiu Tu acknowledged with a "Hey!" and then probed, "Brother Tian, have you made a decision?"
Tian Xiaotian hummed affirmatively over the phone and said, "Yes."
"I've thought it over long and hard at home. I feel that cooperating with you would indeed make it easier to clear my father of suspicion."
"Plus, I want to do something for my father, so I made this call to you."
After saying this, he paused and asked tentatively, "Brother Tu, is it true that by providing 'Travel Records' and 'Gift Registry' from the past year between my father and Yin Caimei, you can help my father?"
When Qiu Tu first spoke to Tian Xiaotian that morning, he had merely been looking for an excuse to drag Tian Xiaotian into the mix.
But now, having found the murder weapon and the most crucial clue to the case, Qiu Tu did only need Yin Caimei's 'Itinerary' and 'Gift Registry' from the past year to significantly narrow down the range of suspects.
So without any hesitation, he said, "Yes."
Hearing this, Tian Xiaotian obviously breathed a sigh of relief, then he said, "I've got both documents."
"I found them in my father's secretary's office."
"Inside, there's a record of all the travel between my father and Yin Caimei for the year. While it may not be complete, it should be fairly comprehensive."
"How should I get them to you?"
Upon hearing Tian Xiaotian's words, a trace of excitement flickered through Qiu Tu's eyes.
He quickly said, "Leave me an address. I'll come over right away, and we can meet and talk."
Tian Xiaotian, sounding as if he was stealing something, whispered out an address.
Looking at the location of the address, those documents must have just been stolen from Vice President Tian's company.
Qiu Tu quickly jotted down the address, then finally hung up the phone...
.....
At the same time.
Xintian Communications Company, General Manager's Secretary Office.
Tian Xiaotian put down the phone, his face showing a conflicted yet bewildered expression.
He wasn't sure if he was doing the right thing.
But... based on Butler Shi's investigation of Qiu Tu, everything Qiu Tu told him today hadn't been a lie:
Qiu Tu was indeed just an ordinary civilian from Xinjie City at the beginning. Later, during the recruitment drive by the Investigation Bureau, he was selected because he could read, write, and drive, and was assigned to work in the Administrative Office as a clerical investigator.
Afterward, having performed well in the Administrative Office, he was noticed by Secretary Bai, who then recommended him to Yan Chen, promoting him to Second-Class Investigator.
Subsequently, because he saved Yan Chen's mistress, Qiu Tu was promoted by Yan Chen to First Level Detective and was taken into the Political Department by Jia Shu to investigate the Qin Family.
No one knew what he did in the Qin Family, but shortly after his arrival, the Patriarch of the Qin Family openly aligned with Yan Chen, and as a result, he was promoted to Chief Qiu.
So, one could say that every step of Qiu Tu's promotion was shadowed by Yan Chen's faction, with Secretary Bai and Jia Shu, two of Yan Chen's right-hand men, being his benefactors.
With this in mind, Tian Xiaotian felt somewhat reassured: after all, if such a person couldn't be trusted, then who else in the Investigation Bureau could be trusted?
It's not like Qiu Tu would still harbor ill intentions towards Yan Chen and Jia Shu after being promoted to Deputy Staff, right?
With this thought, Tian Xiaotian finally made up his mind.
With a determined look in his eyes, he packed all the files into his backpack and then stealthily slipped out of the secretary's office, heading downstairs.
```
However, what he didn't see was that, just as he turned the corner, the secretary to the Vice President Tian happened to walk by on the other side of the corridor.
The secretary caught a glimpse of the broad back that flashed by the corner and hesitated for a moment.
'Was that President Tian's son?'
She looked at her office, then back at the empty corner, and shook her head slightly, paying it no mind.
.....
Driving with Qin Shuman, they arrived at the office building of Vice President Tian's communications company. Qiu Tu met Tian Xiaotian alone in the alley next to the communications company and obtained the travel records and gift registry of Vice President Tian and Yin Caimei.
Before handing over the materials, Tian Xiaotian seemed a bit uneasy, so he clutched his backpack and asked Qiu Tu with his little eyes, "Brother Tu, swear to me! You truly want to help clear my father's name!"
Seeing this, Qiu Tu didn't hesitate at all and made a vow, "Don't worry. I swear on my patron Jia Shu, the minister. If I intend to harm your father, may he never rest in peace!"
Tian Xiaotian sharply noticed the problem with this promise:
Although Jia Shu indeed was Qiu Tu's superior, but... Qiu Tu's promotions had more to do with Yan Chen, right!
He quickly took back his backpack, shaking his head, "No! You must swear on Director Yan!"
Qiu Tu: .....
'Director Yan, this kid won't let you off, ah. It has nothing to do with me.'
While internally complaining, Qiu Tu yet again made a vow on Yan Chen's life and fortune.
This time, Tian Xiaotian finally showed a relieved expression on his face and confidently handed over the backpack to Qiu Tu.
Taking the backpack and looking at the "foolish son of a landowner" in front of him, Qiu Tu felt as if his conscience was slightly troubled... so he kindly and tactfully reminded him, "Xiaotian, you should eat less when you can. Getting too fat can affect the blood supply to your brain."
But to his surprise, Tian Xiaotian looked at Qiu Tu with astonishment and said, "Where am I fat? My dad said that I'm just... inactive because our house is too small, and my muscles are a bit slack, that's all!"
As he spoke, he couldn't help but touch his belly, muttering quietly, "Now that you mention it, I do feel a bit hungry. I need to find something to eat later."
Qiu Tu: .....
Indeed, you look hungry, so hungry you're starting to talk nonsense....
After saying goodbye to Tian Xiaotian, Qiu Tu returned to the car with the travel records and gift list.
Qin Shuman had been waiting there, and the two of them sat in the car to sort through the box of materials.
While organizing, Qiu Tu curiously asked, "Assistant Su has been quiet for a while, hasn't she?"
Qin Shuman chuckled lightly, "She's asleep."
"This girl has no other faults but just sleeps a lot."
Qiu Tu laughed, commenting, "In this era, having good sleep quality is actually a bonus."
Qin Shuman smiled and shook her head.
As she continued to look through the materials, she added, "The approach you chose is very good."
"Vice President Tian is not like ordinary people. He's always busy with affairs, and everywhere he goes, he's taken by car."
"In the Planning Area, private cars are a rarity, and with the fuel being so expensive, each of his trips has to be recorded by the secretary, who then regularly checks the fuel costs with the drivers and the finance department."
"Moreover, with his frequent business interactions and numerous social reciprocities, and since the value of gifts given and received must be at least equivalent, the secretary also organizes a gift list for easy reference when returning favors."
"So, with these two sets of records, we can quickly understand Vice President Tian's social and connection circles, and even determine his range of movements, secret bases, safe houses, and other hidden locations."
Qiu Tu nodded with a smile and flipped through the pages of the gift list rapidly.
Both being Cataclysmics, their physical and their mental capacities were much stronger than those of ordinary people.
So, in just a few short minutes, Qiu Tu quickly pulled out a gift list.
He carefully reviewed it for a moment, his brows slightly furrowed, and he muttered softly, "Why would it be them?"
Noticing Qiu Tu's unusual reaction, Qin Shuman put down the file she was looking through, looked up at him.
Seeing him engrossed in the materials, she moved closer to Qiu Tu and started looking as well.
After one glance, she too was a bit surprised, "The Qin Family?"
She turned to Qiu Tu, and he just happened to turn his head to look at her.
The space in the car was already narrow, and since they were so close to each other, as they met eyes, their noses touched together, and it felt like there was a faint current flowing between their lips.
His nose filled with the scent of Su Xiaowan, looking at a face different from Qin Shuman with hints of naivety and innocence, and feeling Qin Shuman's familiar expressions, gaze, and aura...
Qiu Tu found his lips getting dry. The contrast of unfamiliarity mixed with familiarity made it all too easy to make a mistake...
Qin Shuman clearly felt the change in Qiu Tu, coughed once, stepped back, and gently reminded him in a low voice, "Stop it. It's weird."
After saying that, she pointed to the name on that list, bringing the conversation back on track, "This Banned Book is actually related to the Qin Family?"
Seeing this, Qiu Tu adjusted his emotions and refocused on the task at hand.
The list indeed had connections to the Qin Family.
It was from a small-scale dinner hosted by the Patriarch of the Qin Family.
Not many attended the dinner, besides the Patriarch of the Qin Family, Qin Heng, and of the third house, Qin Shu, there were only a handful of others, most of whom were major businessmen associated with the Qin Family.