Yan Chen's Shock! (Ten Thousand Characters, Please Subscribe)

Not only did the Qin Family have its own people in all Three Great Power Institutions, but its businesses also spanned ready-made clothing, jewelry, department stores, transportation, and numerous other industries. It had money when it needed money, and people when it needed people!

And once such a massive Qin Family fell, the benefits produced would be staggering.

As long as Qiu Tu could obtain even a portion of them, he could save an enormous amount of starting resources!

With that in mind, he briefly "dismantled" the Qin Family.

No matter what kind of great family it was, at its core, it consisted of only four dimensions: 1. Money! 2. Power! 3. Talent! 4. Technology!

Among them, the Qin Family's most valuable assets were naturally its technology and power.

The Qin Family's Clone Female Body technology was clearly far ahead of the current chaotic Calamity era. If he could obtain it, not only could it sustain a small family for generations, but it might even allow him to reverse-engineer related technologies and drive the development of more peripheral technologies.

As for "power," it referred to the various positions the Qin Family occupied within New Realm City's Three Great Power Institutions.

Given the Qin Family's current circumstances, unless one of the New Realm City Three Giants stepped forward to protect them at all costs, Old Master Qin's—Qin Heng's—position as director and Qin ZhengGuang's position as deputy director would definitely have to be relinquished.

Besides the two of them, a group of directors and section chiefs from the Investigation Department and Executive Hall implicated by this matter would likely receive warnings or even be demoted.

This was practically a massive reshuffling of power among New Realm City's middle ranks!

And compared to the most important assets—technology and power—the Qin Family's money and talent were just as enticing.

The Qin Family had vast assets and extensive businesses. Once it fell, the vacant market shares, company holdings, houses, and land would all be prized spoils. Snagging even one of them could keep someone fed for years.

As for talent, whether it was trained private armed forces or technical backbones the Qin Family had cultivated across various industries, recruiting any of them would save many years of development!

However, Qiu Tu knew he was not the only one eyeing the Qin Family's juicy piece of meat. Once the Qin Family fell, countless large and small forces throughout New Realm City would surely swarm in like wolves to share this feast!

So... I must determine what I want in advance. Then I need to start laying the groundwork early.

Thinking that, Qiu Tu took out a pen and paper and began sketching things out in his notebook. Before long, he identified his first target: power.

Whether it was to live better in this chaotic age or... to upgrade his Calamity Ability, Qiu Tu's greatest need was to raise his position!

He was currently the Deputy Section Chief of the Political Department Interrogation Section, two ranks below Qin ZhengGuang's deputy director position. And since he had only recently been promoted, he was destined not to get that deputy director position.

But once a deputy director was promoted, a full section chief position would definitely open up!

Considering the merits he had earned during this period and the Connections he had developed, Qiu Tu felt that perhaps he could seek another advancement.

The difference between a section chief and deputy section chief might only be one rank, but a deputy section chief was ultimately just an assistant, while a section chief was the highest Superior of an entire section. Not only would his authority increase greatly, but it would also become easier to place his own people and cultivate trusted subordinates.

It could be said that once he rose this rank, Qiu Tu would truly open up the situation! He could genuinely begin building his own power base!

After determining his primary goal, Qiu Tu immediately settled on his secondary goal: talent!

After swindling a large sum of startup capital from Fourth Master Qin, Qiu Tu was not actually short on money.

But he lacked the methods and channels to make that money grow.

If he could poach a group of talents from the Qin Family, regardless of their industry... with their experience and Connections, he could quickly gain a foothold in a certain field, then develop and expand. That would give him a steady stream of income and ensure he no longer had to live off his savings!

As for the remaining two benefits—money (assets) and technology (Clone Female Body)—the former was too obvious. Too many people would fight over it. If Qiu Tu moved early, not only would he be suspected of violating regulations, but he could easily become the target of public criticism.

The latter was simply too scarce and too precious. Even if Qiu Tu secretly made arrangements, there was a High Probability that he still would not obtain it.

Thus, after considering it from every angle, Qiu Tu decided to give up competing for those two benefits and focus all his efforts on seeking a position and gathering talent!

After sorting out his approach to obtaining benefits, Qiu Tu quietly wrote down the resources he currently possessed that could be used for exchange:

Old Master Qin's secret of "Eternal Life";

Evidence of Director Qin—"Qin Heng's"—crimes;

A list of every New Realm City official involved in this case, obtained from Third Master Qin, Qian Dafu, Qi Yun, and Bai Ru;

Fourth Master Qin's properties and land deeds, which had not yet been transferred;

Two Calamity Materials and several Calamity Items;

Clues and suspects from the recent Pharmacy Robbery Case;

Liu Fuping's True Identity, and so on.

By linking the resources he had listed, the people he could cooperate with, and the things he wanted to obtain one by one, Qiu Tu quickly sorted out his plan.

After organizing his plan, Qiu Tu solemnly memorized everything on the paper, then took out a match and burned the sheet completely clean.

After finishing all that, Qiu Tu stood and tried walking a few steps. Once he confirmed that the aftereffects of using his Calamity Ability had passed, he took out the special communicator Qin Shuman had given him and called her.

The call connected, and Qin Shuman's sweet voice came through the receiver. "Section Chief Qiu~~ How are things progressing on your end? Can we act now? I can barely wait any longer."

Hearing Qin Shuman's words, Qiu Tu smiled and said, "Don't be so impatient. I called this time because I want to discuss a deal with you."

Qin Shuman immediately became interested. "A deal? What kind of deal?"

Qiu Tu said, "An insurance policy."

On the other end of the call, Qin Shuman, dressed in a yellow-green military uniform, gazed at the unceasing drizzle outside the window. Her lovely face was full of smiles. "Oh? Insurance? Let's hear it."

Ten minutes later... Qiu Tu finished his call with Qin Shuman.

Then he sat quietly in the Interrogation Room for a while. Once he confirmed that nothing had been overlooked, he cleaned up the ashes at the scene and left the Interrogation Room.

By then, Chen Feng and A Kun, who had finished organizing the video and audio materials, were already waiting outside the door.

Qiu Tu took all the materials, carefully reviewed them, then thoroughly questioned Cao Dabiao and Eagle about their search for clues and evidence. Only then did he bid everyone farewell and head to the Investigation Department's 9th Floor.

When he arrived on the 9th Floor, Secretary Bai was already waiting there.

Seeing Qiu Tu, Secretary Bai gave him a faint smile before leading the way ahead of him with neither warmth nor coldness.

"The Director is in a good mood. I hope... you'll be bringing him good news as well."

Hearing Secretary Bai's words, which sounded sarcastic on the surface but actually contained Key Information, Qiu Tu's lips curled into a slight smile.

"I will. Thank you for your concern, Secretary Bai. The weather is getting cold—you'd better take care of yourself. Don't freeze to death."

"You should worry about yourself instead. Who knows how many people out there want you dead right now."

"Don't worry. I have my ways. Even if they die, I won't."

With just a few simple exchanges, the two discreetly traded a round of information and concern.

At the door to Yan Chen's office, Secretary Bai knocked lightly. Yan Chen's steady, powerful voice came from inside. "Come in."

Secretary Bai pushed open the door and said inside, "Director, Deputy Section Chief Qiu has arrived."

Yan Chen gave an "Mm" from inside the office but said nothing more.

Secretary Bai gestured to Qiu Tu. Qiu Tu took a deep breath, then stepped into Yan Chen's office.

Perhaps because it was a rainy, overcast day, the curtains in Yan Chen's office had been drawn open for once.

Rain drizzled endlessly outside, pattering against the glass with a pleasant drip-drip-tap.

Yan Chen sat by the window, quietly listening to the rain as he read the newspaper with his head lowered.

New Realm City had no newspaper office, so this newspaper had clearly come from the Shelter.

Thinking this, Qiu Tu walked over and gave a respectful salute. "Good day, Director!"

Then he secretly glanced at the contents of the newspaper.

The front-page headline read: In order to better manage the various cities in the To-be-Planned Zone and expand outward, the Shelter is studying the establishment of higher-level administrative units within the To-be-Planned Zone.

Qiu Tu froze. Higher-level administrative units?

Did that mean regional administrative bodies like "states" or "provinces," integrating a dozen or more cities into one whole?

Before Qiu Tu could figure it out, Yan Chen set down the newspaper in his hand, picked up the teacup beside him, took a sip, and asked in an indifferent tone, "I heard you had something to report to me. Is it about the Yin Caimei Case?"

Yan Chen really was in a good mood today. He even took the initiative to ask another question. "How did the case go? Was the investigation progressing smoothly?"

Hearing Yan Chen's words, Qiu Tu came back to his senses.

Looking at Yan Chen, he declared in a ringing voice, "Reporting to the Director! The case has been closed! I came here specifically to report it to you!"

"Cough, cough." Perhaps Qiu Tu's investigative efficiency was simply too outrageous—even Yan Chen choked on his tea.

After coughing, he wiped the moisture from the corner of his mouth, set down the teacup, then looked up at Qiu Tu and confirmed, "The case is closed?"

He glanced at the clock hanging opposite him, did a quick calculation, and said with some surprise, "It's only been three or four hours since you made the arrest."

"You wrapped up the case that quickly?"

This was exactly the kind of shock Qiu Tu wanted. It would help with his next plan.

So he gave an "Mm" and said, "Yes, Director!"

"I used a few small methods. I easily broke through several suspects' psychological defenses and obtained Key Information and evidence."

"Oh? Is that so?" Yan Chen rose, returned to his desk, and sat down. Only then did he look at Qiu Tu and ask with an unreadable expression, "Tell me. What exactly happened in this case? Who was the murderer?"

There will still be three updates totaling ten thousand words today. I'll post two chapters first, and the third should be out around 1 PM. (Looks like I can just barely keep this pace up.) Please vote with your monthly tickets!