Then let them offer their loyalty!

Page 308

"I was just guessing randomly."

If Qiu Tu had readily admitted it, Guan Xiao might have doubted whether he was lying. But the more Qiu Tu denied it, the more Guan Xiao felt that he was faking it.

So after a moment's thought, she began to recount the information she had obtained, hoping to glean some clues from Qiu Tu's reaction.

Thinking this, she said softly, "Sir, since you guessed it, I'll briefly explain the whole story to you."

Qiu Tu walked forward while listening to Guan Xiao's story.

According to Guan Xiao.

Last night, Yan Chen invited Lai Shun to his villa in the city. They then chatted for a long time.

No one knows what the two talked about. All that is known is that afterwards, Yan Chen made a phone call to Committee Member Jiang of the Municipal Committee, saying that he was unwell and would not be able to attend the committee meeting the next day.

In order not to delay Committee Member Jiang's important business, he asked Lai Shun to attend the meeting in his place.

Although Committee Member Jiang was somewhat reluctant, Yan Chen had personally called and, unusually, had taken the initiative to show weakness, so he agreed.

Because Lai Shun had gone to the garden villa with Yan Chen the day before, and stayed at Yan Chen's garden villa for another day.

So early this morning, Yan Chen had his motorcade take Lai Shun to attend the municipal committee meeting.

As for Yan Chen himself...?

He's not feeling well, so he's not coming to work today.

And so... Lai Shun, riding in Yan Chen's chariot and escorted by Yan Chen's convoy, fell into the trap of the Allied Special Forces and perished!

The attack on Yan Chen's convoy caused a great stir. Even though the security personnel at the scene were all silenced, the news still spread quickly among the local residents.

When Committee Member Jiang of the Municipal Committee learned of this, he was both shocked and furious. He immediately called Yan Chen to inquire about the details.

It was precisely because of their phone call and communication that Guan Xiao's informant obtained this information and passed it on to Guan Xiao.

After listening to Guan Xiao's story, Qiu Tu chuckled twice.

Then he silently commented to himself: "That's ruthless enough..."

I didn't let myself down...

Yes, Qiu Tu and Yan Chen did not actually reach any cooperation agreement or communicate in any way.

The two of them were just scheming against each other all along.

It's just that...because they know each other too well, Qiu Tu and Yan Chen were able to tacitly choose/deduce the scapegoat...

Thinking this, Qiu Tu couldn't help but look up to the east, towards the direction of Yan Chen's garden villa...

To be honest, if the feud between the two hadn't been so intense...

Qiu Tu genuinely wanted to have a drink with Yan Chen.

Hmm...and while you're at it, poison Yan Chen's wine a little after he finishes drinking it...

After all, Yan Chen is too cunning and ruthless. Whether you consider him an enemy or a friend, he's someone you can't help but fear...

Thinking of this, Qiu Tu couldn't help but laugh out loud. He felt he really was similar to Yan Chen...

Because he seems to be the kind of person who makes both enemies and friends feel uneasy.

Thinking of this, Qiu Tu slowly pulled himself out of his thoughts.

This "operation to drive out the wolf and devour the tiger" can be considered a success after Lai Shun's death.

When he reported the "Joint Special Forces" to Yan Chen a few days ago, he was only thinking about eliminating some of Yan Chen's middle and lower-level loyalists.

In the end, getting rid of a deputy director is already a huge win.

Especially after Lai Shun died, the Investigation Department was left with only two deputy directors.

Tang Feifei, the former marginalized deputy director, is bound to take real power.

Whether it's taking over Lai Shun's authority or Yu Zhengyi's authority, it shows that she has become a true powerhouse!

At that time, with her influence and strength, plus Qiu Tu's wisdom, the two of them will be able to officially compete with Yan Chen!

Thinking this, Qiu Tu couldn't help but hum a little tune, feeling he could now boast to Tang Feifei about his achievement...

.........

Meanwhile.

Yan Chen's villa in the city, study.

The curtains in the luxurious study were half-drawn.

Because of the overcast and rainy weather, the sunlight was not strong, making the entire study room appear dim and dark.

Because of the successive arrests and killings of his trusted confidants and subordinates, this luxurious study seemed somewhat empty and desolate.

And right here in this study.

Yan Chen was on the phone.

On the other end of the phone was Yu Zhengyi, the deputy director of the management department. He was clearly very agitated, completely disregarding their past relationship, and immediately launched into a tirade of abuse!

"Yan Chen! Are you fucking insane?!"

"That deadbeat is dead! Dead! The driver of the car he was in died!"

"Can you swear you didn't know any of this? Or that you weren't deliberately sending a deadbeat to deliver it?!"

"You fucking fight Qiu Tu yourself, go die! What's with sending someone else to their death?!"

After listening silently to Yu Zhengyi's rant for a long time, Yan Chen finally spoke slowly, "I knew there might be unexpected events, but I didn't know it would be this serious."

“I didn’t know the deadbeat would die. If I had known, I definitely wouldn’t have made this choice.”

Yu Zhengyi clearly didn't believe Yan Chen's story, and he continued to curse, "You're talking bullshit!"

"If you hadn't guessed something would go wrong, would you have let that deadbeat go to the meeting in your place?"

"Come here, explain to me why you let that defaulter go to the meeting in your place! Give me a reasonable explanation!"

Upon hearing Yu Zhengyi's words, Yan Chen remained silent for a few seconds before slowly explaining the reason.

After hearing Yan Chen's explanation, Yu Zhengyi on the other end of the phone fell silent.

He asked, "When did this happen?"

Yan Chen said in a deep voice, "Just last night."

After receiving Yan Chen's reply, Yu Zhengyi remained silent for a few seconds, and then... he hung up the phone without saying anything.

While Yan Chen's explanation wasn't enough for Yu Zhengyi to forgive him for killing his own people, it did prove that it wasn't intentional on Yan Chen's part, but rather a matter of extenuating circumstances and coincidence...

Therefore, he couldn't continue criticizing Yan Chen and could only silently suppress his feelings of shared sorrow...

However, what he didn't know was...

After he hung up the phone, Yan Chen let out a deep sigh.

Then Yan Chen slowly leaned back in the large chair behind his desk, sinking deep into the darkness...

He... lied to Yu Zhengyi.

Actually... he deliberately sent Lai Shun to his death.

Yesterday, after the assassination attempt on Qiu Tu failed, Yan Chen knew that things were getting out of control.

He knew that Qiu Tu was vindictive and would definitely retaliate in kind.

Moreover, since he struck first, even if Qiu Tu retaliates against him, the higher-ups will only turn a blind eye.

However... at that time, he had no idea how Qiu Tu planned to retaliate against him.

It wasn't until... Qiu Tu quickly changed his tune and backed down after he framed the Alliance for everything that he realized something was amiss.

Qiu Tu's actions seemed to give him a direction: form an alliance.

After all... Qiu Tu's actions clearly indicated that he wanted to go along with him and make everything a reality.

Therefore, he speculated that Qiu Tu's method of revenge was likely also a joint attack...

After all... just two days ago, Qiu Tu came to report to him with intelligence from the spy department. (Chapter 314)

The intelligence report clearly stated that the Alliance had actually sent a special forces team to New Territories City to carry out a mission.

而且这支特战队的人员还极为强大。拥有1名3阶灾变者，4名2阶灾变者和15名1阶灾变者。

This setup is more than enough to assassinate Yan Chen.

Although I don't understand why Qiu Tu could get the alliance to take action.

But for Yan Chen, this was not important.

The important thing is... how he should deal with it.

He first reviewed all of Qiu Tu's actions over the past two days, starting with Qiu Tu's request for his itinerary.

He guessed that Qiu Tu might also be planning to take action against him.

It just so happened that we bumped into each other.

So he took out his schedule and studied it carefully. He quickly determined the only possible reason for Qiu Tu's actions: the municipal committee meeting the next morning.

The reason was the same as what Qiu Tu had told the Joint Special Forces: this was the only time he couldn't change. Other meetings and activities were simply a matter of a word for Yan Chen...

After determining the time and personnel Qiu Tu would take action.

Yan Chen was left with only three choices.

One option is to take a detour or simply ask for leave and not go;

Secondly, they arranged for people to lie in ambush and force their way in;

The third is... arranging for others to die.

In comparison, the first option is the safest. But... it's just running away.

After all, you can run from the first day of the month, but you can't hide from the fifteenth. For every day the Joint Special Forces were in the New Territories, a sword of Mocroid hung over Yan Chen's head.

This problem is bound to explode sooner or later. Delaying it is not the solution.

The second method, while good, had no connection between Yan Chen and the Joint Special Forces.

He couldn't know the location of the Allied Special Forces' ambush, so he couldn't carry out targeted counter-ambush operations.

Using him as bait to lure the allied forces into action, while having reinforcements provided from behind, is far too dangerous.

Moreover... only true loyalists can provide such support without leaking the news, preventing the Allied Forces and Qiu Tu from getting advance notice, halting their plans, and going back into hiding.

Therefore, those who will fight next will all be Yan Chen's direct subordinates.

Facing a special forces team of 20 Cataclysmics, the casualties would be devastating.

So, after much deliberation, Yan Chen finally chose the third option: to send others to their deaths to save himself from disaster.

There are only two people who can die in place of Yan Chen: Yu Zhengyi and Lai Shun.

After all, only these two deputy directors could attend the meeting in place of Yan Chen.

Only after the two of them died could Qiu Tu temporarily cease his activities—he had vented his anger, and because a deputy director had died, he could no longer cause trouble.

Actually, Yan Chen initially wanted to choose Yu Zhengyi: after all, Yu Zhengyi had been getting a little too close to Tang Feifei lately, and things were getting a bit out of control.

But... when he thought that the Scarlet Widow was brought by Lai Shun, he realized that once Qiu Tu interrogated Lai Shun from the Scarlet Widow, it would inevitably implicate him.

Therefore, after much deliberation, Yan Chen ultimately chose Lai Shun....

In this way, the blame for the attacks on Qiu Tu and Lai Shun can truly be pinned on the Allied Forces...

Of course, the reason for choosing the third option, personally sending a deputy director to his death, was also because Yan Chen had further plans...

This was a "gift" he gave to Qiu Tu and Tang Feifei...

Yes, that's the reason he just told Yu Zhengyi that everything was a "coincidence"...

Thinking this, Yan Chen sat quietly for a while, then sighed deeply again.

Then he picked up the landline receiver on the table and made a call to Qiu Tu...

"Beep...beep...beep..."

The call was answered shortly after.

Qiu Tu's casual voice came through the receiver, "Hello? Chief? You wanted to see me?"