Then let them offer their loyalty!

Page 384

After Qiu Tu's recent change in attitude towards her, she realized that her core competitiveness was her ability.

Beauty only allowed Qiu Tu to understand himself better and trust his assistance.

Thinking this, she snapped her fingers at Shen Lingshuang.

Shen Lingshuang obediently got up, walked to Qiu Tu, and handed him a document.

Qiu Tu took the document and read it while listening to Guan Xiao's explanation.

Guan Xiao: "Chief, our target is named Cao Songqing."

"He is a close confidant of Elder Fang, one of the Five Elders."

“Old Fang…” Qiu Tu paused for a moment, and couldn’t help but think of Fang Ming, his old friend.

Guan Xiao hummed in agreement, then continued, "Cao Songqing is one of the most trusted confidants of Elder Fang, and played a very important role in Elder Fang's rise to power."

"Later, during the Five Elders' administration, he also served as an adjutant, following closely behind Elder Fang."

"He did a lot of the dirty work for the Fang family back then. His hands were covered in blood."

"He wasn't interested in women, but he was passionate about brotherhood and loyalty. So while he was with Master Fang, he gathered many people in the martial arts world and even took on many disciples and grand-disciples."

“They surrounded Cao Songqing and formed a sizable gang.”

"Later... you can probably guess. The shelter wanted to turn the New Territories into a planned development zone, so they sent General Ye to sweep it up ahead of time."

"As a result... his gang, along with his followers and their descendants, were either arrested or killed."

"He intended to organize a rebellion, but he was subdued by Fang Lao's men and his life was saved."

"After that, the Five Elders lost power. Elder Fang took him to Longshan Road and settled him in."

"But perhaps because the blow was too great, he developed some mental problems, becoming somewhat erratic or taciturn."

"In addition, he lives alone and is only cared for by the nanny arranged by Mr. Fang, and he doesn't have many friends or relatives."

"So, gradually, he became marginalized in Longshan Road."

“We didn’t suspect him at first. It was only when Xiao Xiao transformed into a black cat and was investigating in Longshan Road that we noticed something was wrong with the aunt who was taking care of him. It seemed like she was losing a lot of life, which made us consider him a suspect.”

Guan Xiao is stunningly beautiful, and her voice carries a hint of languidness, like an elegant cat gently rubbing its tail against your ear...

Qiu Tu looked up from the documents, his gaze sweeping over her parted, fiery red lips, before asking, "A lot of life has been lost?"

Upon hearing this, Guan Xiao smiled brightly, nodded, and then said earnestly, "Yes."

She said, "This requires explaining the situation of the evil god who possessed Cao Songqing."

When the topic of that evil god came up, Guan Xiao became much more serious.

She said with a serious expression, "That evil god is called 'Twilight.' According to the information from the Political Department, he is a fifth-tier evil god."

Upon hearing the term "fifth-order evil god," Qiu Tu's pupils contracted slightly.

Guan Xiao continued, "But He is not a peak fifth-order evil god like Zhao Ji, but an ordinary fifth-order evil god."

"Furthermore... because his abilities aren't well-suited for combat, he only occupied a portion of the 'Boundless Sea of ​​the Heart'."

Upon hearing this, Qiu Tu breathed a slight sigh of relief and then looked down to search for the documents behind him.

After flipping through a few pages, he suddenly thought of Yan Chen. He stopped what he was doing and asked, "So, his ability to break through to the fifth rank is related to his abilities?"

Guan Xiao smiled and nodded, "Director, you are indeed amazing. I only mentioned a couple of pieces of information casually, and you analyzed it all."

She affirmed, "Yes. The reason 'Twilight' is a fifth-tier evil god is related to his path and abilities."

"Although the shelter doesn't have detailed information about 'Twilight's' abilities either,... there are some speculations."

"The cataclysmic path of the fifth-tier evil god 'Twilight' should be the relatively rare 'immortality'."

“Immortal…” Qiu Tu’s eyes flickered slightly as he murmured the name of this cataclysmic pathway.

During this period, Qiu Tu also gained some different understanding of the six major catastrophe pathways.

The six pathways to catastrophe are: destruction, life, mystery, immortality, order, and chaos.

Destruction, life, order, and chaos are among the most common themes.

Mystery and immortality are much rarer.

Ultimately, it is because the path to disaster must align with people's "true nature".

Only when a person truly desires something from the bottom of their heart will they be able to embark on that path.

The mystical and immortal paths are far removed from those of ordinary humans. Many humans don't even know what these two paths represent.

For example, "immortality" means never being erased, existing eternally in time. But... how could an ordinary human being possibly be immortal, existing eternally in time?

Therefore, it is often long-lived catastrophic creatures, or... creatures that have died but have been resurrected for some reason, that embark on this path.

The Cataclysmic Creatures of this type are notoriously difficult to deal with and are considered sinister. Many of their abilities are so bizarre that they send chills down your spine.

Meanwhile, as Qiu Tu was thinking this, Guan Xiao indeed spoke up to explain, "In the shelter's database, 'Twilight' has a very high danger rating. His abilities are extremely seductive."

"He can get believers to sacrifice livestock and their faith, and then give them back vitality and lifespan."

"For him, lifespan and vitality were like a currency that could be used for exchange."

"And the eternal pursuit of all living beings is 'to live.' Therefore... his faith developed rapidly."

"Although he only possessed one 'Boundless Sea of ​​the Heart' region, his faith spread widely throughout the cities of the disaster zone and the areas awaiting development."

"Many mid- to high-ranking generals of anti-government armed forces such as the New Democratic Army are his followers."

"This also laid the foundation for his status as a fifth-order evil god."

At this point, Guan Xiao paused, then said, "As for why he came to the New Territories and got involved in the affairs of Whale Shark and Evil Moon..."

"We suspect that this is likely because he also made a deal with the evil god."

"Although the details and methods of their transaction are unclear."

"But both the Whale Shark and the Evil Moon are evil gods of life pathways, and 'Twilight' requires a large amount of life force and lifespan when giving feedback to believers."

"There are likely some connections we are unaware of..."

Upon hearing Guan Xiao's analysis, Qiu Tu's gaze darkened slightly, and he pursed his lips as he continued his analysis.

Guan Xiao's speculation is not without merit.

The core of this world's supernatural power system is "equivalent exchange." Power cannot be created out of thin air, nor can it be lost out of thin air.

Responding to the prayers of so many believers, providing them with vitality and even lifespan, "Twilight" is nothing more than a transporter unless it is the producer of lifespan itself...

And what could be more vital and have a longer lifespan than an evil god who follows the "life" path?

Therefore, it's understandable that "Twilight" is mixed up with whales and evil moons.

Thinking of this, Qiu Tu pondered for a moment, then, as if he had just remembered something, asked, "By the way, I remember that only two unusual phenomena have occurred in the New Territories during this period."

"One is a whale's tail, the other is two moons. There's no 'Twilight' phenomenon in either of them. So..."

Before Qiu Tu could finish speaking, Guan Xiao understood his meaning, so she nodded and replied, "Yes. Twilight did not send a clone."

"He was just a normal possession."

When the "true form" and "avatars" of an evil god descend into the real world, it will cause strange phenomena in the heavens and earth, but "possession" and "summoning" will not.

Therefore, the former two carry very strong power, while the latter two carry very weak power.

"Then he shouldn't affect our plans tonight."

Qiu Tu made a rough judgment.

Guan Xiao nodded in agreement, "Yes. The power he carries shouldn't affect the overall battle situation."

Seeing that Guan Xiao's judgment was the same as his own, Qiu Tu felt relieved.

He pondered for a moment, then instructed, "But we still can't let our guard down. When we execute the plan tonight, remember to have the Cataclysm keep an eye on him."

"Don't let him get overturned in the end."

Guan Xiao straightened her back and replied, "Yes, Director."

After discussing that, the four of them went on to talk in detail about their plans for the evening.

This is a plan that has been rehearsed many times over this period of time, and there haven't been many changes. At most, there have been minor adjustments to some small details.

So, the four of them finished their conversation in no time.

After discussing the plan, Qiu Tu didn't try to keep the three women who were going to make the arrangements in advance. Instead, he got up to see them off.

As a result... just as he got up...

Suddenly, his vision blurred as a wisp of yellow mist flashed before his eyes, then disappeared again.

Qiu Tu was startled, and the "crisis sense" of a fourth-order Cataclysm was immediately triggered!

Just like Tang Feifei last night, he quickly retreated in a few flashes!

Only after retreating to the corner did Qiu Tu look back at the spot where he had just been standing, still somewhat shaken!

What was that just now?

Qiu Tu blinked, but there was nothing there.

His eyes suddenly changed from dark to azure, instantly transforming into a state of spiritual vision as he scanned the entire office.

The entire material world had been transformed into lines and flames in his vision.

He could clearly see the lines of the walls, tables and chairs, and he could also see the three blazing flames of Shen Lingshuang, Guan Xiao, and Miao Xiaoxiao.

But... there's nothing else.

Qiu Tu frowned slightly, then suddenly closed his eyes, trying to use the mental power of a fourth-tier Cataclysm to sense the situation around the office.

A few seconds later, he opened his eyes with a blank expression.

No... or nothing at all...

The entire office area was perfectly normal. It was as if what Qiu Tu had just witnessed was a hallucination.

Qiu Tu stood still, pondered quietly for a few seconds, and then glanced at "Crisis Sense" again with a hint of disbelief.

The "crisis sense" was not triggered.

'Could it be... I really saw it wrong?'

The moment this thought arose, Qiu Tu immediately dismissed it. Even if he had indeed misjudged due to exhaustion...

Then...did his crisis perception as a fourth-tier Cataclysm also malfunction?

He must have sensed danger just now, otherwise he wouldn't have acted so rashly.

Meanwhile, as Qiu Tu was thinking this, Shen Lingshuang, Guan Xiao, and Miao Xiaoxiao looked at him with some confusion and bewilderment.

From their perspective, Qiu Tu had just stood up and said he wanted to see them off.

Then, as if they had discovered some terrible danger, they suddenly retreated at a speed that their eyes could not keep up with!

They were even a little frightened and had no idea what was going on.

Therefore, they could only quickly leave the spot and wait for the situation to develop.

But... there was nothing there.

"Qiu Tu... what happened?"

Of the three women, Shen Lingshuang was closest to Qiu Tu, so she looked at Qiu Tu with some concern.

Upon hearing this, Qiu Tu didn't overlook any clues. He looked intently at the three women and then asked, "Did you see anything just now?"

Shen Lingshuang, Guan Xiao, and Miao Xiaoxiao exchanged glances, then shook their heads in a somewhat bewildered manner.

Qiu Tu's brows furrowed even deeper...

Because there was another major operation tonight, Qiu Tu didn't dare tell the three women about his discovery, lest it shake the morale of the troops.

So he could only pretend he had misread it and said with a smile, "Maybe I've been too tired lately and my eyes are playing tricks on me."

"It's alright. You guys go back and get ready."

"Tonight's operation is the most important."

Hearing Qiu Tu's words, Shen Lingshuang glanced at him with some concern. She was about to ask a few more questions when Guan Xiao suddenly put his arm around her shoulder and said to Qiu Tu with a smile, "Okay, sir. We'll head back now."

"Please take a rest."