Then, Let Them Offer Their Loyalty!

Chapter 90: This Guy is a Bit Creepy

Qiu Tu's sense of unease wasn’t without reason. The morgue they were in had been specifically requested by him to house Yin Caimei’s body alone. From the sound of Zheng Tao’s footsteps, it was clear he wasn’t just patrolling the floor; he was heading directly to this particular morgue.

But the real problem was that the Yin Caimei case was a task assigned exclusively to Qiu Tu by Jia Shu, meaning it had nothing to do with the Interrogation Office, and Zheng Tao wasn’t part of the investigation team. So why was he here, at this morgue?

As Qiu Tu considered this, he quietly stepped back a few paces, creating the illusion that he wasn’t near the door, before finally responding, "I’m inside."

Zheng Tao, familiar with Qiu Tu’s voice, hesitated slightly before asking, "Deputy Section Chief Qiu?"

Qiu Tu feigned surprise, replying, "Oh, Section Chief Zheng? What brings you here?"

While speaking, Qiu Tu signaled to Qin Shuman, who quickly handed him the Mist Index Book before glancing around the morgue. She then concealed herself inside one of the empty corpse cabinets.

Meanwhile, Zheng Tao’s puzzled voice came from outside, "What are you doing in the morgue?"

Qiu Tu quietly closed the cabinet that Qin Shuman had hidden in, then walked to the door and opened it. Outside, Zheng Tao stood, his face full of suspicion.

Standing in the doorway, Qiu Tu smiled and said, "What else would I be doing in a morgue? I’m examining a body. Or did you think I was here to become one?"

Despite Qiu Tu's joke, Zheng Tao’s expression remained serious as he peered into the morgue and asked, "Are you investigating a case?"

Qiu Tu frowned slightly but nodded. "Yes, I am."

He then countered, "What are you doing here so late, Section Chief Zheng? Taking a stroll through the morgue?"

Zheng Tao gave a nonchalant "oh" before explaining, "I was just doing a routine patrol."

"When I passed by and saw the light on in the morgue, I thought I heard voices, so I decided to check it out."

As he spoke, he gestured toward the room. "Mind if I take a look inside?"

Without waiting for an answer, Zheng Tao had already stepped into the morgue, his boots echoing with a steady "thud... thud... thud" as he inspected the space.

Qiu Tu’s eyes darkened slightly, but he didn’t stop him.

As Zheng Tao walked further in, he lifted the sheet covering Yin Caimei’s body, glanced at it briefly, then looked back at Qiu Tu and smiled. "Don’t misunderstand me, Deputy Section Chief Qiu."

"I’m not trying to interfere."

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"It’s just that... you know, there are many mysterious and strange forces in this world."

"And corpses tend to attract these forces."

"I really did hear some strange sounds earlier, so I wanted to make sure everything was in order."

He continued walking, now moving toward the row of corpse cabinets. With a loud "click," he began pulling them out one by one, inspecting each.

The morgue had been cleared out specifically for Yin Caimei, so all the cabinets were empty.

Zheng Tao opened each one, glanced inside, and then closed them again.

Seeing this, Qiu Tu took out the Mist Index Book and said, "Could the sound have come from this cataclysmic artifact?"

"I was just using it to examine Yin Caimei’s body."

Hearing this, Zheng Tao’s steps halted in front of the very cabinet where Qin Shuman was hiding. He turned to look at the artifact in Qiu Tu’s hand, his expression thoughtful.

After a moment, he nodded and agreed, "That’s possible."

"After all, cataclysmic artifacts can emit all sorts of strange noises when in use."

With that, he abruptly pulled open the cabinet where Qin Shuman was hiding!

But the cabinet was... empty.

Zheng Tao slowly closed the cabinet, then continued inspecting the others until he had checked them all.

After completing his search, he scanned the morgue once more before smiling at Qiu Tu. "It seems the noise did indeed come from the cataclysmic artifact."

"I must have been too sensitive."

He walked over to Qiu Tu, patted him on the shoulder, and offered some words of encouragement. "Deputy Section Chief Qiu, you’ve been working hard."

"I’m pleased to see you working overtime tonight instead of leaving early like yesterday."

"As agents, we should seize every moment to work hard, so that one day we might become the Director’s right-hand men."

Qiu Tu was taken aback by the bluntness of Zheng Tao’s words. Even in a world where the phrase "serve the people" didn’t exist, such an open declaration of wanting to be a lackey for the boss was surprising.

So, Qiu Tu responded with a smile, "You’re overthinking it, Section Chief. I’m working overtime tonight, but I’ll be taking time off tomorrow morning."

As Zheng Tao was about to leave, he stumbled slightly, nearly tripping. He shot Qiu Tu a glare, huffed, and then left the morgue in long strides.

Once Zheng Tao was gone, Qiu Tu didn’t let his guard down. He took a deep breath and muttered to himself, "I still need to compare the murder weapon."

With that, he left the morgue to retrieve the evidence​.

Zheng Tao returned to the morgue unexpectedly, this time more prepared. He used a spare key, turning it twice before opening the door. His eyes swept across the room with a sharp gaze, and he methodically opened every corpse cabinet, including the one where Qin Shuman had been hiding moments earlier. He also lifted the white sheet covering Yin Caimei's body, inspecting it once more. After confirming that there was indeed no one else in the room, Zheng Tao's brow furrowed in frustration.

He restored everything to its original state, exited the morgue, and used the spare key to lock the door from the outside. Standing just outside the morgue, Zheng Tao hesitated for a moment before taking out his communicator and making a call.

A few seconds later, the call connected, and Zheng Tao spoke in a low voice, "Minister, there was only Qiu Tu inside."

From the other end of the line came Jia Shu's voice, laced with amusement. "Oh? Really? Did you check thoroughly?"

Zheng Tao responded, "I checked very carefully. Before he left, I checked once. After he left, I checked again—there was no one else."

"He should have been working on the case alone tonight."

Jia Shu, with a tone of satisfaction mixed with something else, replied, "That's good, that's good."

Zheng Tao, sensing a hint of something he couldn't quite place, hesitantly asked, "Minister, did you discover something?"

Jia Shu chuckled softly, "No, I was just a bit worried. But it seems my concern was unnecessary."

For some reason, Zheng Tao detected a trace of disappointment in Jia Shu's voice. Though he wanted to inquire further, he knew his superior's temperament well and refrained from asking more, even though his curiosity was piqued.

Meanwhile, in the temporary office of the investigation team, Qiu Tu had just retrieved the book Brave New World when a notification from the Loyalty Game appeared before him. He paused, puzzled by the message:

[Jia Shu’s Suspicion level -1; Satisfaction level -3.]

Qiu Tu couldn't help but feel bewildered. "What? Did I imagine that? How could suspicion decrease while satisfaction also decreases?"

He found himself completely perplexed by Jia Shu's metrics, mumbling, "What the heck is going on? Could Jia Shu be a spy?"

"Maybe he's disappointed because I'm loyal to the Investigation Department?"

"Or perhaps he's just some kind of creep, only satisfied when I betray the department?"

Qiu Tu shook his head, muttering that the thoughts of such a twisted person were hard to grasp. Still deep in thought, he grabbed the evidence and headed back to the morgue.

Upon entering the morgue and unlocking the door, Qiu Tu saw Qin Shuman standing near the cabinet where she had hidden earlier, her expression complicated. Qiu Tu first locked the door behind him and then softly asked, "Did he come back?"

Qin Shuman nodded slightly. Qiu Tu smiled, relieved that his quick thinking had paid off. When he realized something was off with Zheng Tao, he had immediately used his cataclysmic ability, Order Space, and set the day's rules: no one other than himself would be able to see, hear, smell, touch, or sense Qin Shuman (in Su Xiaowan's body). Even after he left the morgue, the rule remained in effect.

This was why Zheng Tao, despite his thorough search, failed to notice Qin Shuman. She had been lying quietly in the cabinet the whole time.

Qiu Tu also felt fortunate that both Su Xiaowan and Zheng Tao were ordinary people. If they had been cataclysmic beings like Qin Shuman or Jia Shu, his ability might have failed, and he would have had to come up with more lies and excuses to cover everything up.

Indeed, cataclysmic powers could change the world!

With these thoughts, Qiu Tu deactivated his ability and handed the Mist Index Book and Brave New World to Qin Shuman. Despite feeling drained from the exertion, Qiu Tu pressed on, asking, "Can you check if this book is the murder weapon?"

Qin Shuman looked at him with a complicated expression before taking the book and using the Mist Index Book on it. A moment later, just as Qiu Tu was beginning to recover from the side effects of his cataclysmic ability, Qin Shuman confirmed, "It’s the murder weapon."

Qiu Tu looked up at her, and she smiled before saying, "Since this book is indeed the weapon used to kill Yin Caimei, there's only one mystery left in this case."

"And that is, who gave Yin Caimei this book?"

"Once we figure that out, we can likely identify the killer."

"And..." Qin Shuman paused, a cold glint in her eyes, "That killer is very likely a mole from the anti-government forces!"

Qiu Tu nodded slightly and asked, "Who do you think gave her the book?"

Qin Shuman thought for a moment before shaking her head. "It's hard to say. There are too many suspects—like Deputy Chairman Tian, some transporters, or even a friend of hers."

"You should investigate the people close to Yin Caimei or Deputy Chairman Tian."

"See if you can find out when she got her hands on this book. It will help narrow down our suspects."

After a brief pause, Qin Shuman added, "I hope she didn’t bring it with her when she left the anti-government forces."

Qiu Tu’s eyes showed a thoughtful expression as he shook his head. "It probably wasn’t with her from the start."

"Based on previous statements, her meeting with Deputy Chairman Tian was by chance."

"The anti-government forces likely don’t have the resources to equip every spy with a cataclysmic artifact that can eliminate them."

Hearing Qiu Tu’s analysis, Qin Shuman nodded slightly in agreement.

As they spoke, Qiu Tu’s communicator suddenly rang. He pulled it out, glanced at the screen, and a bright smile spread across his face. "The informant has arrived."

He showed the incoming call to Qin Shuman.

The name displayed on the screen read: Tian Xiaotian​.

Author's Note