Then let them offer their loyalty!

Page 234

First, Deputy Section Chief Cao Dabiao caused a scene at the Personnel Department, believing that the department's promotion of him was a form of flattery to kill him, and that he was simply not up to the job of Deputy Director of the Operations Department.

Following this incident, Deputy Director Tang Feifei personally visited the Human Resources Department to inquire about personnel arrangements.

At Tang Feifei's suggestion, Cao Dabiao was transferred to the Publicity Section of the Administrative Office as the section chief.

If things had come to this point, no one would have thought there was anything wrong.

However, Tang Feifei then produced a list of over two hundred people to be promoted and held a meeting with the human resources department to discuss the promotion of this group of people.

Of the 200 people promoted, 70 were close associates of Tang Feifei and Qiu Tu. Of the remaining 150, 70 seemed to be from no faction or were just ordinary locals, while 60 were close associates of Yu Zhengyi and Shi Youxin.

This move directly swayed Yu Zhengyi and Shi Youxin, who originally wanted to refuse Tang Feifei's interference in personnel matters and obtaining licenses.

So, after some haggling, the two sides quickly reached a consensus.

And so... this list of promotions, based on the reason of "annual job adjustments," was freshly produced.

Qiu Tu and Tang Feifei have officially achieved their initial goal of placing their cronies in positions of power.

This list of promotions once again brought the entire Investigation Department to a consensus: following Qiu Tu meant a promising future...

Putting everything else aside, the fact that Cao Dabiao, Chen Feng, Song Qing, and others were promoted two ranks within a month is enough to make most ordinary detectives, section chiefs, and deputy section chiefs envious...

Suddenly, Qiu Tu's office saw a surge in visitors...

In addition to the major changes within the Detective Agency, some other changes have also occurred in the New Territories.

—The giant tree phantom that had been standing tall in the sky above the entire New Territories suddenly shook violently in the afternoon, as if something unexpected had happened.

However, the giant tree then stabilized. It even... began to sprout new branches and buds.

This change was keenly observed by various forces that had been keeping a close eye on the phantom of the giant tree.

They knew that something must have happened to Yan Chen and La Ri Luo, otherwise such a big change wouldn't have occurred on the second day after the devouring.

However, whether this change benefits Yan Chen or La Ri Luo remains unclear...

Except for... Qiu Tu.

.......

In the evening, after getting off work.

Qiu Tu had the driver arranged for him by the department drive him back to Lung Shan Road in his new car.

Now that the Investigation Bureau is controlled by Qiu Tu and Tang Feifei, all kinds of normal benefits and treatments are approved immediately without any further delay.

Therefore, on that day, the car and driver required for the position of deputy minister were all in place. The villa was also ready and could be moved into at any time.

However, Qiu Tu did not go to stay there: he had just taken Fang Tangtang's virginity last night, and it was only right and proper for him to spend the night with her.

This is not only an attitude towards Tangtang, but also an attitude towards the five elders.

Besides, Qiu Tu is very busy tonight: he needs to contact La Riluo to get information and conduct further probing. So it doesn't matter where he stays.

After the driver parked the car in front of the villa that Fang Tangtang had brought as part of her dowry, Qiu Tu stepped into the villa and saw Fang Tangtang wearing an apron, humming a song and happily cooking in the kitchen.

Her stunning figure pushed the apron up in a beautiful arc, complementing the alluring, almost sinful, youthful charm in her eyes and brows.

A phrase involuntarily popped into Qiu Tu's mind: baby face and huge breasts...

Perhaps not expecting Qiu Tu to return so early, only to witness her somewhat embarrassing moment, Fang Tangtang abruptly stopped humming halfway through her song.

In that instant, her face turned bright red, and she quickly lowered her head timidly, not daring to make any move.

Seeing this, Qiu Tu looked at her quietly for two seconds, then asked, "Did something happy happen today?"

Fang Tangtang clutched her apron, then lowered her head and whispered, "No...no..."

She was clearly not good at lying. Qiu Tu noticed her awkwardness without even using psychological techniques.

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Chapter 267 Larilu broke down (10,000 words, please vote!)

However, Qiu Tu and Fang Tangtang's marriage was originally a political alliance, and they didn't have much of an emotional foundation.

Qiu Tu's only bottom line for this relationship is that Fang Tangtang will not betray him; as for anything else, he doesn't care.

So Qiu Tu simply said, "You're not good at lying," and then went upstairs to start contacting La Riluo.

However, he may have underestimated his importance in Fang Tangtang's heart.

Upon hearing Qiu Tu's evaluation, Fang Tangtang's face turned pale instantly.

With slightly red eyes, she looked up at Qiu Tu's retreating figure as he went upstairs. She opened her mouth as if to explain, but perhaps the difference in their social status was too great, and his overwhelming power put too much pressure on her.

So she opened her mouth several times, but in the end, she still couldn't make a sound.

Finally, she could only clutch her apron tightly, then slowly lower her head, daring not to say a word...

I stood there quietly for two minutes.

Suddenly, a burnt smell wafted from the pot.

Upon smelling that odor, Fang Tangtang was startled and quickly called out softly before turning to look at the wok.

By this time, the vegetables in the wok had already burned to the bottom.

Fang Tangtang hurriedly moved the wok away from the stove, then opened the lid with a pained expression.

The once delicious and flavorful dish in the pot is now just a burnt mess.

Fang Tangtang took out her chopsticks and carefully picked up the still-intact food and put it into a small bowl. Then she tasted it to see if it was cooked. After confirming that it was okay, she frowned and secretly ate it all.

After finishing the small bowl of half-cooked vegetables, Fang Tangtang poured out the rest of the mushy vegetables, and then she walked to the wall in the kitchen and looked at a few pieces of paper on the wall.

The paper listed the names of the dishes, along with their cooking methods and flavor descriptions. These were all dishes that Qiu Tu frequently ordered or praised at restaurants and eateries.

Although the five elders have left the core power structure of the New Territories, they have been deeply involved in the city for many years, with their influence extending to every corner of the city.

Finding out the preferences of someone like Qiu Tu, a native of the New Territories, is a very simple thing.

So this afternoon, Qiu Tu presented all his preferences, habits, and favorite dishes to Fang Tangtang, asking her to memorize and recite them.

The five elders even hired a special cook to force Fang Tangtang to learn.

From the moment Qiu Tu chose Fang Tangtang last night, her life would revolve entirely around him. All her preferences and habits had to become identical to his...

Fortunately, Fang Tangtang doesn't seem to be averse to these things.

Or rather... she was completely unaware of the abnormality in her relationship with Qiu Tu.

She naively believed Qiu Tu was her husband, and that everything she did was to make him happy and to improve their family's life...

After checking the recipes on the wall, Fang Tangtang had an idea. She got up, picked out some new vegetables from a nearby cardboard box, then chopped them, washed the pan, heated the oil, and once again began cooking with a serious expression...

Her round, oval face, big eyes, and pert nose, combined with her apron and earnest expression, made her look like an adorable little cook...

We went up to the second floor of the villa.

Qiu Tu went to his study. He closed the door, checked every corner of the room, and made sure there were no obvious listening or monitoring devices or catastrophic artifacts.

He took out a small square box.

This is a jamming device commonly used by the Political Department. It can block and interfere with various surveillance and eavesdropping electronic signals. He took it from the department today.

Although he believed that given the current honeymoon period between him and the five elders, they would not do anything that could damage their cooperation.

However, in chaotic times, one can have the intention to harm others, but one must not be without the intention to guard against others.

Therefore, Qiu Tu should proceed with caution in everything he does.

With that in mind, after taking all necessary precautions, Qiu Tu took out the old-fashioned coin from his pocket and, following the instructions he had learned from La Riluo, rubbed the front of the coin three times with his thumb and the back four times before tossing it onto the table.

This time, something seemed to have gone wrong. The coin started spinning as soon as it hit the table.

A wisp of metallic mist rose upwards, but the coin continued to spin at a high speed.

Qiu Tu looked at the coin, his brows furrowing slightly.

He snapped out of his reverie and looked out the window at the towering tree outside, stretching across the entire New Territories like a mountain range, composed of green dots of light.

After the incident that afternoon, the giant tree seemed to have grown larger. Its branches and leaves were lush, and more new buds and branches were beginning to sprout from its top.

Although it's impossible to determine exactly what this represents, based on this phenomenon, Qiu Tu speculates that Yan Chen likely absorbed and digested a portion of La Ri Luo's soul, thus advancing his strength to the fourth tier.

Now, coupled with Lariluo's prolonged inability to connect to the "communication" system, Qiu Tu couldn't help but have an ominous premonition: Could it be... that something happened to Lariluo?

Today, the message I received through Secretary Bai and Zheng Tao caused La Riluo to provoke Yan Chen, and then Yan Chen directly devoured La Riluo.

"Swish swish swish... swish swish... swish..."

The coin spun against the laws of physics on the table for five or six minutes before finally slowing down and falling completely to the ground.

Seeing this scene, Qiu Tu had a bad feeling, but he didn't give up hope.

When he first contacted Lariluo, he had to contact her many times.

Larilu's current lack of communication does not necessarily mean that something has happened.

Perhaps if I waited for half an hour, the result would be different.

Thinking this, Qiu Tu returned to the mahogany desk, reached for the coin, and put it back in his pocket. Then he picked up a few books from the desk and began to read.

Books were among the most precious things in times of chaos. Most ordinary people had long since lost their books.

The study in this villa, prepared by the five elders, was filled with books.

Moreover, these books are a mix of old and new. The old ones date back to before the Cataclysmic Era, while the new ones still smell of fresh ink.

Qiu Tu casually picked up two new books and opened them to take a look.

The world uses simplified Chinese characters, so Qiu Tu found it easy to read.

His book is a philosophical speculation book called "Existence," and the author's name is Rao Shou.

Qiu Tu had never heard of this name before, nor did he know who he was.

However, this book is very interesting.

It explores the meaning of "existence" using philosophical thinking, and what exactly existence is.

The relationship between life and death, and existence.

Concepts such as "id", "ego", "superego", "consciousness", and "physical body" are used.

Qiu Tu found it more and more interesting the more he looked at it.

This philosophy book seems to be discussing philosophical issues, but it actually seems to be exploring the nature of the catastrophic era.

As Qiu Tu looked around, he suddenly remembered Secretary Bai's reminder that morning: each of the high-ranking officials in the shelter had their own political views and their own philosophical system.

Qiu Tu understood the political stance. After all, someone who could rise to the top of the shelter must have their own methodology for changing the world and altering the course of human development.

It is precisely their own methodology that leads to various disagreements regarding the direction of governance and development of the shelter.

Other middle and senior-level officials only gathered around them and formed factions because they agreed with their methodology and political views.

But Qiu Tu genuinely didn't understand the philosophical system before.

Now, through this philosophy book, Qiu Tu suddenly had a bold idea.

The biggest difference between the Cataclysmic Era and the previous normal scientific era is the spiritual power and the spiritual world (the boundless sea of ​​the mind).

Even the "catastrophic path" requires one to accept one's own path, follow it, and execute it in order to gradually upgrade.

This is actually a kind of spiritual cohesion.

So... could a philosophical system actually be a way of condensing one's spirit and building one's own spiritual world?

The more Qiu Tu thought about it, the more interesting his guess seemed.

But what happens after one finds their own political beliefs, establishes their own philosophical system, and builds their own spiritual world?

Qiu Tu felt as if everything was shrouded in layers of mist.

While reading, Qiu Tu also made sure to toss a coin every now and then.

Every half hour, Qiu Tu would rub a coin a few times, then toss it onto the table, listening to the sound of the coin spinning on the table as he continued reading.

And so, I don't know how much time passed.

Just as Qiu Tu was about to finish reading the philosophy book, the coin on the table finally reacted.