Then let them offer their loyalty!

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At this moment, seeing Qiu Tu deep in thought, the few confidants in the office fell silent.

They looked at each other, then stood there silently, waiting for Qiu Tu to make a decision.

The group already had complete faith in their young boss and were willing to continue following Qiu Tu's lead.

This can be seen from their loyalty scores of over 80.

They've been through so much with Qiu Tu these past few months, so they've long had complete faith in him.

They believed that no matter what difficulties or troubles they faced, Qiu Tu would be able to solve them.

Even if the enemy might be Yan Chen, the highest-ranking officer in the investigation department...

At this time.

Qiu Tu, on whom high hopes were placed, was also working at a breakneck pace.

He mentally calculated which card in his hand would be the most effective to play...

Don't be fooled by the fact that Qiu Tu's power is still much weaker than Yan Chen's.

But he knew from the beginning that he would clash with Yan Chen, so he worked hard to collect evidence of Yan Chen's crimes and find leverage against him.

However, most of the incriminating evidence against Yan Chen was actually nothing to him.

Even if you take it out, it will serve no purpose other than revealing that you pose no threat whatsoever.

Therefore, after much deliberation, Qiu Tu realized that he only had two possible leverages against Yan Chen.

One is Secretary Bai.

Back then, he hinted to Secretary Bai that she should pledge allegiance to the evil god Larilu and become a follower of the evil god.

Over the course of the past year, Secretary Bai has helped the evil god La Riluo do many bad things and clean up a lot of messes.

Although Yan Chen's ultimate goal was to devour the evil god, he ultimately failed.

Therefore, some of his and Secretary Bai's actions over the past year have still crossed the line of the shelter.

Once exposed, it could have a significant impact on Yan Chen.

Besides Secretary Bai, another thing Qiu Tu could use to manipulate Yan Chen was the recording of the night Jia Shu died.

At that time, Qiu Tu asked Yan Chen whether he should save Jia Shu. After weighing the pros and cons, Yan Chen decided to use Jia Shu's death to make Liu Xiong Yuan and Huang Shang Zong enemies.

This recording is enough to make the entire Investigation Bureau understand Yan Chen's character, and it will also cause Huang Shangzong to become estranged from Yan Chen.

Either of these two weaknesses could be shown to Yan Chen, making him hesitant to act rashly and dare not push him any further.

Thinking of this, Qiu Tu hesitated for a moment: Should he... use these two leverages to threaten Yan Chen?

'Wouldn't this be a bit too little, and might alert the enemy?'

Thinking this, Qiu Tu took a deep drag on his cigarette, his gaze becoming somewhat somber.

At first glance, these two leverage points do seem to have some effect.

However, upon closer examination, it seems difficult to reach a definitive conclusion.

Although Qiu Tu had figured out everything about "Secretary Bai's" weakness, firstly, Yan Chen hadn't directly ordered Secretary Bai to do these things, and secondly, Secretary Bai wouldn't testify for Qiu Tu.

So even when the shelter came down to investigate, it seemed they couldn't find anything.

The recording of Jia Shu's death could indeed sow discord between Huang Shangzong and Yan Chen.

But both of them are already big shots, and they have long since put interests above feelings.

Would they really fall out over a dead person?

Even if they really do break up, don't forget that they belong to the same faction. Once the bigwigs in their faction find out about this, they will 100% step in to reconcile them.

Therefore, neither of these two things seems to pose much of a threat to Yan Chen.

On the contrary, it would make it easier for Yan Chen to see through Qiu Tu's true nature...

Thinking this, Qiu Tu closed his eyes and continued to ponder.

Besides these two pieces of leverage, do you have any other leverage over Yan Chen?

Or... should I go find Tang Feifei and the Five Elders myself?

Directly and collectively put pressure on Yan Chen?

Thinking of this, Qiu Tu's brows furrowed involuntarily.

Something's wrong! Something's wrong!

'Something's weird....'

Although he sensed something was off, Qiu Tu couldn't quite put his finger on what it was.

So he closed his eyes and quietly pondered for a few minutes.

Several minutes passed, and Qiu Tu suddenly opened his eyes when the cigarette butt was almost burning his fingers. His eyes were filled with horror!

'Holy crap! Could this all be a trap?'

Thinking this, Qiu Tu's eyes flickered as he carefully recalled Yan Chen's every move over the past year. He quickly discovered clues and hints...

Just as Qiu Tu analyzed before, Yan Chen is actually a politician with very shrewd political skills.

Although he was skilled in intrigue and trickery, his greatest habit was to use minimal force to achieve maximum effect.

Yan Chen was particularly adept at using a very simple trick to snowball and eventually create a huge impact.

His actions included subduing the Qin family, extorting Vice President Tian, ​​paving the way for Deputy Minister Qiu Tu, and the failed attempt to devour the evil god...

They all used this method.

Therefore, today's high-profile suspension, which forced Qiu Tu to take desperate measures, is not his style at all!

Although... it's also possible that Yan Chen was so badly schemed against by Qiu Tu that she directly violated her personal habits and launched a powerful attack in retaliation; Qiu Tu is more inclined to believe that this is a scheme within a scheme.

Yan Chen was still using the "using minimal force to deflect a great weight" tactic to deal with himself.

However, this "four ounces" was too heavy, so Qiu Tu didn't realize it at first.

Thinking about this, Qiu Tu suddenly felt that everything made sense.

He stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray Song Qing handed him, then a look of realization flashed in his eyes.

He understood! He really understood!

Yan Chen was using the tactic of "using four ounces to move a thousand pounds":

He deliberately and ostentatiously dismissed Qiu Tu's close associates!

And, deliberately, they didn't touch anyone else!

This was to mislead Qiu Tu into thinking that he was recruiting one group and then attacking another!

After that, he forced Qiu Tu to make a move against him!

Qiu Tu felt that Yan Chen might have two purposes for doing this.

Firstly, he and Qiu Tu had officially broken up, so he came to put pressure on Qiu Tu and test his limits, to see just how much leverage Qiu Tu had over him.

Second, and most importantly... Yan Chen had accurately predicted Qiu Tu's arrogant and domineering nature, and together with Qiu Tu, Tang Feifei, and the Five Elders, they formed a force capable of challenging him on equal footing.

Then... they wanted to force Qiu Tu to make a big fuss.

At the cost of saving face, Qiu Tu was labeled a "troublemaker," "insubordinate," and "disregarding the overall situation."

Recently, Dongye Prefecture was established, and various levels of institutions were reorganized.

With this label attached, Qiu Tu's chances of becoming the Minister of Political Affairs are 100%. In fact, in this round of reshuffling, he might even be reassigned to a less desirable department.

Thinking about this... especially after he had actually considered making a big scene just now, Qiu Tu suddenly felt a cold sweat break out on his back.

'That's insidious...'

'This cunning and manipulative skill is truly worthy of Yan Chen...'

'If I get even a little overconfident, I'll probably make a move right away, either testing him or going head-to-head!'

'They've immediately fallen into his trap!'

'He's deliberately trying to force me to make a mistake!'

Thinking about this, Qiu Tu thought of even more...

Today is the day the candidate for Minister of Political Affairs will be announced.

'Yan Chen suddenly pulled this stunt? Does this mean he actually lacks confidence in the situation at the shelter?'

Thinking this way, Qiu Tu felt much more at ease.

Because he already knew the key to breaking the deadlock!

He glanced at the few trusted confidants still standing in front of him, then smiled confidently and said, "Alright. I understand. You can go back now."

Hearing Qiu Tu's words, the group looked at each other, wondering what idea Qiu Tu had come up with after thinking for so long.

Finally, it was Song Qing, the most unconventional of them all, who asked the question first.

She looked at Qiu Tu and asked curiously, "Sir, have you come up with a solution? Do you need our cooperation?"

Hearing Song Qing's words, Qiu Tu smiled and said, "We have indeed come up with a solution."

Upon hearing this, Song Qing immediately asked curiously, "What method?"

Qiu Tu calmly said, "Quiet!"

"In such a volatile situation, the more you do, the more mistakes you make."

"Therefore, we must calm down and patiently wait for the storm to pass and for the sun to appear."

Upon hearing Qiu Tu's words, Cao Dabiao, A Kun, and Li Xian exchanged glances, clearly not quite understanding.

Only Chen Feng and Eagle seemed lost in thought, as if they had realized something...

After a moment, Chen Feng asked, "Sir, how long do we wait?"

Qiu Tu calmly replied, "Wait until my appointment is granted."

"Wait until I take over as Minister of the Political Department!"

"The Minister of the Political Department is appointed by the shelter and is one of the nine top officials of the Investigation Bureau!"

"Even the director of the investigation department cannot adjust the work of the political affairs minister or suspend him from his post!"

"That will be the time for our desperate counterattack!"

"I will lead everyone back to the Political Department! And reclaim everything we have lost!"

"The Minister of the Political Department?" Perhaps because Qiu Tu had never revealed his ambition to seize the position, several of his confidants exclaimed in surprise, their faces then filled with horror...

......

After half an hour.

New Territories City Exploration Department, Director's Office.

Yan Chen looked at Cai Peiyuan, the deputy minister of the political department, and asked coldly, "Qiu Tu has no reaction?"

Cai Peiyuan chuckled twice and nodded. "Yes. His confidant found him a long time ago."

"But he only kept them in his office for half an hour to talk."

"Then they were given a little goldfish and told to relax and have some fun while they were on leave."

Upon hearing Cai Peiyuan's words, Yan Chen chuckled twice.

"Interesting, very interesting... You really know how to keep your composure."

As he said this, his eyelids drooped, and he said, "In that case, go find Director Yu and get a document on the division of labor adjustment, then go with Lao Zhang to see him."

"Tell him that from today onwards, apart from the surveillance work which still belongs to him, everything else, such as intelligence gathering and interrogation, will be divided between you and Lao Zhang."

Upon hearing Yan Chen's words, Cai Peiyuan quickly saluted and replied, "Yes!"

Another half hour passed.

Cai Peiyuan and Zhang Jian indeed arrived at Qiu Tu's office with the work assignment adjustment documents, intending to hand over their work to him.

But to their surprise... Qiu Tu seemed to have been prepared all along, having already organized all the materials, documents, reports, and summaries from the interrogation and intelligence departments, and handed them directly to the two of them.

This caught the two of them off guard.