Character Weakness

Staring at the countdown and text that had abruptly manifested before his eyes, Qiu Tu was utterly baffled. *Is this... a golden finger?* A cheat that warned him of danger? After a moment's thought, Qiu Tu decided that although it seemed a bit underwhelming, it was acceptable. After all, without the warning from this "Crisis Sense," he never would have known that Yan Chen had learned of the situation from the maid, begun to suspect him of an affair with Qin Shuman, and was preparing to test him. Had he answered the call and dared to utter even a single lie to cover it up, he would have ended up dead in a filthy drainage ditch by tomorrow. Under such circumstances, this golden finger had effectively saved his life. *I can't swap it for another cheat anyway, so there's no point overthinking it. Better to focus on dealing with the problem right in front of me.* With that in mind, Qiu Tu studied the prompt hovering before him and began deliberating how to handle the situation. The communicator buzzed persistently in his palm. The crimson countdown pulsed like a beating heart. [1:56] [1:55] [1:52] [1:51] [1:48] [1:47] Seconds ticked away. Only when the timer hit [1:45] did Qiu Tu's gaze gradually harden into resolve, and he pressed the call button without hesitation! The next instant, the expression on his face shifted seamlessly. He spoke into the communicator with utmost deference, "Chief, were you looking for me? I had my hands full just now, so I was late picking up." Whether it was the lingering influence of his predecessor's instincts, the flattering words rolled off Qiu Tu's tongue with astonishing ease—so smooth it surprised even himself. [1:42] [1:41] Hearing that Qiu Tu's tone sounded no different from usual, Yan Chen on the other end harbored no suspicion. He grunted a low acknowledgment and said, "Qiu Tu, I have a task for you." "The Xiafang Street police post arrested an apothecary peddling black-market medicine. Head over, bring the man back to the bureau. I have a use for him." [1:27] [1:26] Catching the shrinking numbers of the countdown out of the corner of his eye, Qiu Tu promptly replied, "Understood, Chief!" Yet as soon as he answered, he affected a conflicted tone. "However, Chief, I..." Yan Chen's voice turned imposing. "What? Is there a problem?" He felt like a volcano on the brink of erupting; the crushing pressure radiated palpably even through the communicator. [1:18] Yet Qiu Tu remained completely unfazed. Keeping his voice steady, he whispered, "Chief, to be honest, I have something else on my plate right now." He deliberately hesitated for two seconds before speaking with an air of newfound determination. "Chief, there's actually something I've wanted to report to you over the past two days, but since I lacked proof, I didn't dare say anything." "There's something wrong with Qin Shuman. I suspect she's a plant sent by the Municipal Council to spy on you!" As soon as those words left his mouth, the air fell deathly silent. Even the countdown seemed to freeze, stopping dead at [1:03]. It hung suspended for a full five seconds before the timer resumed ticking down. On the other end of the line, Yan Chen asked in a heavy voice, "What do you mean by that?" [1:00] With only one minute remaining, the countdown turned an eye-searing crimson and began flashing frantically. Qiu Tu didn't panic in the least. He explained calmly, "Chief, during this time, I've been guarding Miss Shuman's safety on your orders. However, I've noticed several things that don't add up." "For instance, I remember you mentioning she had just arrived in Xinjie City from the Cataclysm Zone, yet she seems remarkably familiar with the city." "For another, like us, she isn't a resident of a sanctuary, yet her skin is smooth and fair, without a single scar or callus." "And whenever I'm near her, she tries to strike up a conversation, constantly steering the topic toward you and fishing for information about you." "All of these signs indicate she is very likely not as simple as she seems on the surface." "Besides, don't you think it's a bit too coincidental?" "Xinjie City is vast and chaotic. Why would such a stunning beauty happen to be discovered by you, of all people?" "Were all the other men blind? Would none of them have tried to claim such a beauty for themselves?" "Does that really make sense?" Pausing briefly, Qiu Tu continued, "That's why over the past few days, I've been trying to flatter her and subtly hint at my own infatuation to win her trust." "It seems my approach worked. Today, she told me she felt like a canary locked in a cage and wanted to go out for a stroll alone. So I played along, helping her slip away from the maid and the other security guards to take her out by myself." "For the past few hours, I've stayed right by her side, quietly observing her every move to figure out what she's really after." [0:15] This time, the flashing red countdown ground to a complete halt. After a silence of two seconds, Yan Chen asked from the other end, "And what did you find?" "Nothing at all," Qiu Tu said. As if picturing Yan Chen's face darkening on the other end, Qiu Tu paused before immediately adding, "And that's precisely the biggest issue!" "She went to all the trouble of shaking off everyone just to go for a simple stroll?" "Chief... does that seem reasonable to you?" Yan Chen remained silent. Two seconds later, rather than answering Qiu Tu's question, he asked, "Then why do you say she was sent by the Municipal Council to spy on me?" "A hunch," Qiu Tu replied. "After all, everyone in Xinjie City knows the Municipal Council doesn't see eye to eye with our Investigation Bureau. Commissioner Jiang, in particular, has had issues with you..." Yan Chen let out a cold snort. Knowing when to stop, Qiu Tu refrained from delving further into the personal grievances of big shots. Shifting his tone, he concluded, "That's why, when considering possible suspects, my mind immediately went to the Municipal Council. However, I'm still trying to verify it. I don't have concrete proof yet." Yan Chen's tone softened noticeably. After a moment of thought, he asked, "Where are the two of you right now?" "At my place," Qiu Tu replied. "It was Miss Shuman's request. She's playing video games over there right now. I made an excuse to duck into the bathroom to take your call." Hearing that, Yan Chen gave a low "Mm." Without revealing his stance on the matter, he returned to his original topic. "I'll assign someone else to handle the matter on Xiafang Street. You stay with Shuman for now." "Yes, Chief!" Qiu Tu bowed slightly with deference, as though Yan Chen were watching him in person. "I will definitely verify Miss Shuman's true identity for you and live up to your trust." Yan Chen offered no reply, simply hanging up the call. Listening to the steady beeping from the receiver, Qiu Tu let out a slow breath, knowing he had narrowly escaped disaster for the moment. Straightening his back, the smile faded from his face, replaced by a cold, blank expression. During his years embedded in the telecommunications fraud syndicate in northern Myanmar, he had learned a great deal—how to read people's expressions, how to decipher their psychological states, and how to identify everyone's character weaknesses. Yan Chen had an obvious flaw in his character: paranoia. For a man like that, once a seed of suspicion was planted, it could never be easily uprooted. Therefore, once Qiu Tu realized he had been exposed, he understood that the more he tried to explain himself, the more suspicious Yan Chen would become. Furthermore, to a high-ranking figure like Yan Chen, trusted subordinates and mistresses were merely dogs begging for scraps. In a chaotic world like this, two bottom-feeders who had not even secured sanctuary resident status could be snuffed out on a whim over the slightest irritation or doubt. Thus, if Qiu Tu wanted to survive, he had to introduce a "third party" that Yan Chen genuinely feared. Only by doing so could he force Yan Chen to rein in his temper and refrain from acting rashly, buying Qiu Tu enough time to resolve the crisis. And that third party was none other than the Municipal Council. The Municipal Council was the supreme authority in Xinjie City, holding absolute control over legislation, personnel appointments, and finances. In theory, the Investigation Bureau was also supposed to take orders from the Municipal Council. However, to maintain a balance of power, when the sanctuaries dispatched senior administrative officials, the Municipal Council, the Investigation Bureau, and the Military Department were all granted the right to report directly back to the sanctuaries. As a result, within a zone pending planning, the three factions operated relatively independently. The Municipal Council had no power to forcefully command the other two, having to rely on mutual interests, political maneuvering, and high-minded appeals to secure their compliance. This created a delicate dynamic where the three entities were rife with friction yet forced to cooperate. Under such circumstances, when faced with someone suspected of being a plant from the Municipal Council, the shrewd and calculating Yan Chen would undoubtedly proceed with caution. Before clarifying Qin Shuman's identity and determining the Municipal Council's intentions, he wouldn't rashly lay a hand on either of them and shatter Xinjie City's precarious balance. Furthermore, this lie pitted Qiu Tu and Qin Shuman against each other in Yan Chen's eyes, dispelling suspicions of an illicit affair. On top of that, Qiu Tu had candidly volunteered their current location, which would lend far greater credibility to his claims in Yan Chen's mind. Although the plan was audacious and would inevitably create more problems down the line, it was the best solution Qiu Tu could have devised within a matter of seconds. Having reviewed the scheme he had formulated, Qiu Tu gazed intently at the frozen countdown in the upper left corner of his vision, searching for any flaws or blind spots in his mind. *My performance wasn't bad, and I successfully replaced his original doubt with a new one, steering Yan Chen's suspicions elsewhere.* *Yet given Yan Chen's paranoid nature, now that the seeds of doubt have been planted, can they truly be dismissed so easily?* *Could things really be that simple?* Just as that thought crossed Qiu Tu's mind, the hourglass countdown in the upper left corner of his vision suddenly began to shift...