Looking at the dagger in her hand, Qin Shuman looked up at Qiu Tu and asked with a trembling voice, "You... you want me to use this to kill him if things are exposed?"
Qiu Tu shook his head, he reached out and patted Qin Shuman's heavy chest, saying,
"If you find out that things have been exposed, pull it out and stab yourself here, stir it around, you'll feel nothing in two seconds."
"Trust me, being dead is better than living a life worse than death."
Qin Shuman: ....
Her face shifted through several expressions before her eyes reddened, and she heavily pounded Qiu Tu a few times with her hand, "You are such an asshole!"
Her voice was laced with sobs, "You tricked me into bed, and now you want me to do something so dangerous."
"I shouldn't have come out today, I just shouldn't have."
Qiu Tu stared intently at the emotions on her face, seeing that she seemed truly frightened and regretful, so he showed her his tender side. He gently embraced the girl before him, patting her back, trying to comfort her.
But behind her back, where the girl could not see, his gaze turned notably deep, filled with a darkness so thick it could not be dispersed....
....
Women are indeed made of water.
Qin Shuman's tears were abundant, as was the water in other areas.
Qiu Tu spent over ten minutes pacifying her before Qin Shuman gradually stopped crying.
After soothing Qin Shuman, Qiu Tu pulled her over to sit on the battered sofa, ran through their story again, and briefly explained the next steps he needed her to cooperate with. He made sure she memorized it well before pulling her out of his home.
At that moment, there were 4 hours and 10 minutes left until the life and death trial of that night....
...
Stepping out of his home, Qiu Tu sniffed the decaying smell of the corridor and looked up at the sky.
The sky of this world was overcast, as if perpetually shrouded by a thick miasma, heavy and dark.
According to the memory of his predecessor, the sky had been like this ever since the Cataclysm, with sunshine becoming rare and precious.
The Cataclysm that occurred decades ago had destroyed the world's Order, demolished human civilization, and completely changed this world....
"What... are you thinking about?" Seeing Qiu Tu in a daze, Qin Shuman, standing beside him, cautiously glanced over at him.
Perhaps because she had recently had a gun pointed at her, Qin Shuman showed a bit of fear towards Qiu Tu.
Qiu Tu came back to his senses, gave her a glance, and shook his head, "It's nothing."
After speaking, Qiu Tu lightly reminded her, "Don't show that kind of expression. You'll just get the both of us killed."
Hearing Qiu Tu's words, Qin Shuman gave him a pitiful look, took a few deep breaths, and adjusted her demeanor.
Then she slapped her face, nodded at Qiu Tu, and carefully led the way down, holding onto the rust-streaked stair railing.
Qiu Tu followed behind discreetly, keeping a moderate distance from Qin Shuman, close enough to ensure her safety without appearing too intimate.
Qiu Tu's home was located in a tube-shaped building on Old Alley Street. Even though this was already considered a nicer area in Xinjie City, it was still dilapidated:
Stairs covered with cracks and gaps, corridors littered with discarded books, broken glass, and dirty plastic bags. It looked like a slum.
—The Planning Area was built upon the ruins of a city.
Descending the worn staircase, Qiu Tu keenly sensed several covert gazes sweeping over them.
'It must be Yan Chen's people.'
As soon as he had reported the matter to Yan Chen, Qiu Tu guessed that given Yan Chen's character, he would surely send people to monitor and observe.
Moreover, he had guessed that, given the sensitivity of the matter, Yan Chen would definitely have to call trustworthy confidants from his direct department—that's why he dared to steal a moment from his busy schedule to manipulate Qin Shuman.
Sure enough, as Qiu Tu was thinking this, an undercover detective stepped out from the shadows.
He had a stern face, unsmiling and seemingly difficult to get along with.
After taking big strides to Qiu Tu, he first gave Qiu Tu a penetrating look, then took out a black ID and flashed it, saying, "Agent Qiu, I am Fang Ming, a First Level Detective from the Special Service Department."
"By the Bureau Chief's orders, I am here to escort you and Miss Shuman to a villa in the city for a temporary rest. The Bureau Chief will speak with you tonight."
'Special Service Department?' Qiu Tu looked deeply at the detective in front of him and felt a bit sentimental, "Yan Chen really holds me in high regard."
As one of the three major power institutions in Xinjie City, the structure of the Investigation Bureau was complex and strict. In addition to the directly subordinate eleven departments, there were also seven branches and seventy-nine Public Security Offices under its jurisdiction.
Among these dozens of departments, the one with the least power was the grassroots Public Security Office, while the ones with the most power were the Political Department and the Special Service Department among the eleven directly subordinate departments.
As the two strongest departments of the Investigation Bureau:
The Political Department was in charge of intelligence, espionage, counter-espionage, internal supervision, and various other affairs, holding a high and heavy authority.
The Special Service Department, on the other hand, was responsible for countering anti-government armed forces, preventing riots, armed patrols during specific periods and in key areas, making it the Bureau's most powerful force.
Such a division of labor not only gave the Special Service Department an establishment independent of the Investigation Bureau but also allowed it to possess luxuriously equipped forces that could rival the military in power.
This was an armed force that belonged solely to Yan Chen's lineage, and it was also the key trump card that allowed him to secure his position as one of the Three Giants of Xinjie City.
Therefore, even as Yan Chen's "lackey," Qiu Tu could only obediently follow the orders of the Special Service Department.
'It looks like... Yan Chen is planning to lock down my and Qin Shuman's movements, and then proceed to direct interrogation,' Qiu Tu thought.
'Luckily, I have arranged a safety net.'
With this in mind, Qiu Tu, although expressionless, turned to Qin Shuman at his side and said, "Miss Shuman, you have heard the Bureau Chief's order. From now on, your safety will be in the hands of Agent Fang."
Upon hearing Qiu Tu's words, Qin Shuman blinked her eyes.
She cooperated by showing a look of disappointment, glanced at Fang Ming with her beautiful, peach-like eyes, and then turned to Qiu Tu with a grievance, saying, "But... I was hoping you would accompany me to Street Crossing for a stroll."
After she spoke, she looked pitifully at Fang Ming, "Agent Fang..."
As a confidant of Yan Chen, Fang Ming certainly recognized Qin Shuman and also knew about the relationship between Qin Shuman and Yan Chen.
Since Qiu Tu and Qin Shuman's affair had not been exposed, and Yan Chen would not tell a subordinate about being cuckolded, this immediately led Fang Ming to a misjudgment.
He hesitated for a moment, glanced at the time, and, after a moment of thought, said to Qin Shuman, "Miss Shuman, the Bureau Chief will return to the villa in the city center before 18:00. I can only get you one and a half hours of time."
Qin Shuman obediently nodded her head and agreed.
Qiu Tu stood by with his hands in his pockets, watching coldly, like an outsider throughout the process.
After reaching a consensus, Qin Shuman's security was promptly handed over.
The detective from the Special Service Department took over Qiu Tu's position and began guarding next to Qin Shuman, while Qiu Tu and Fang Ming patrolled the periphery, with the group moving grandiosely towards the street corner.
Perhaps because such a group of neatly dressed people were too conspicuous on the street, the bottom-level citizens hiding in the dilapidated buildings did not dare to move, their gazes filled with fear, numbness, or dullness as they watched them walk past on the sewage-filled road, afraid to provoke these clearly prominent individuals.
For most ordinary people in the city, whether it was Qiu Tu or Fang Ming, they were big shots who could easily decide their fate.
What they didn't know was that in front of the real big shots, Qiu Tu and Fang Ming were just like ants...
This was the cruel reality, a cannibalistic world born from the Cataclysm...
The detectives on the scene were already immune to these various gazes, so their expressions remained unchanged as they quietly escorted Qin Shuman through rows of low, run-down buildings to an old-fashioned sedan.
This was a car specially prepared by Yan Chen for Qin Shuman.
Seeing the old-fashioned sedan, Fang Ming quickly walked over, then reached out to open the rear car door, and offered a standard salute to Qin Shuman, "Miss Shuman, please."
Qin Shuman turned her head to look back at Qiu Tu, and without receiving any response from him, she bit her lip with a look of resentful longing and lifted her skirt to walk over.
Just as she reached the car door and bent her head to get in, suddenly from above her came a man's teasing voice, "Heh heh, how embarrassing~"
Upon hearing that voice, everyone looked around in confusion only to see a blur before them, and then with a "bang!" a body slammed heavily onto the roof of the old-fashioned sedan!
In that instant, the roof of the car was smashed into a deep dent, and the broken body, with blood splattering and limbs flying, created chaos!
The piercing screams and the wild laughter echoed throughout Old Alley Street...
Such a major incident happening so suddenly left everyone with their heads buzzing.
Only Qiu Tu maintained his composure at this moment, quickly stepping forward to protect the screaming Qin Shuman as they ran to the side.
At the same time, the detectives from the Special Service Department also came to their senses. Like arrows shot out, they surrounded the two, raising their guns without hesitation and opening fire towards the rooftop...