Hearing Qiu Tu's words, Cao Dabiao's eyes flickered constantly, as if trying to discern whether the information Qiu Tu had revealed was true or false.
Seeing this, Qiu Tu did not rush him. He simply pulled out a cloth pouch, counted out eighty silver dollars from the chest brimming with coins, and tossed it to Cao Dabiao.
*Clink, clink, clink...* The moment the pouch landed in his hands, it produced the intoxicating music of hard currency.
Cao Dabiao caught it with a dazed expression, then looked at Qiu Tu in astonishment.
"That's eighty silver dollars," Qiu Tu said. "Yours."
Feeling the heavy weight in his hands, Cao Dabiao swallowed hard, forcibly suppressing the surge of greed in his chest before testing the waters. "S-Sir, this seems to be the operational funds, doesn't it? Isn't this..."
Qiu Tu waved a hand, cutting him off. "Since I dare let you take it, I can protect you.
"If I'm not afraid, what are you afraid of?
"Even if the sky falls, I'll be the one holding it up!
"Now make your choice. If you want to follow me, keep the money, and whenever I'm promoted or strike it rich down the road, I won't forget you!
"If you don't want to, put it down and find yourself a place to lay low for a few days. Once I finish the mission, you can come back, and I won't make things difficult for you in the slightest!"
Hearing this, Cao Dabiao's expression shifted rapidly.
After a few moments, he seemed to come to a decision, and his spine instantly bent. Moving closer to Qiu Tu with a broad, obsequious smile, he fawned, "You jest, sir.
"In truth, from the very first moment I laid eyes on you today, I felt as if we were old friends. I wanted nothing more than to serve at your beck and call.
"It was only that you seemed to have some misunderstandings about me, sir, and didn't give me the chance.
"Now that you're willing to take me in, I couldn't be happier!"
With that, he slipped the cloth pouch into his coat, grinning servilely. "From now on, whatever orders you have, just say the word, sir. I swear to go through fire and water for you, no matter the cost!"
Listening to his flattering words, Qiu Tu looked deeply at him for a couple of seconds, then burst out laughing.
Cao Dabiao chimed in with laughter from the side, looking just like an obedient lapdog.
Half an hour later, Cao Dabiao backed out of the room, bowing and scraping the entire way. Once he turned around, he touched the heavy weight of silver dollars against his chest, his face practically glowing with excitement.
Behind him, Qiu Tu watched his retreating back, his eyes full of amusement.
See? Greed was always the most potent weapon.
Without greed, it would have been nearly impossible to drag Cao Dabiao and the entire Political Department squad into the mud.
Now, the whole squad had taken a cut of embezzled public funds. Cao Dabiao in particular had pocketed a massive share. From this moment on, they were truly grasshoppers tied to the same string.
When everything went smoothly, Qiu Tu would naturally protect them. But if he ran into a crisis... then to save their own skins, they would have no choice but to protect him in turn.
Used properly, these men could yield unexpected results.
With that thought in mind, Qiu Tu took out his communicator and dialed Lao Ying's number.
Over the line, Qiu Tu arranged for the herbs Shen Lingshuang needed, instructing him to have A Kun, Houzi, and a few other brothers purchase them in separate batches from different pharmacies and the black market.
Once he finished going over the precautions, Qiu Tu added, "Lao Ying, I plan to transfer you and A Kun over to the Political Department to help me."
Hearing this, Lao Ying replied steadily, "Understood, Brother Tu. I'll go submit the report to the Political Department tomorrow and prepare for the assessment."
"Right," Qiu Tu said. "But don't put my name down as your recommender."
"Who should I put then?" Lao Ying asked.
"Cao Dabiao," Qiu Tu answered.
"I'll send you his contact information in a bit. Reach out to him when the time comes."
"Understood," Lao Ying acknowledged. After a brief pause, he added, "Brother Tai received notice from the Special Service Department today and went in for his assessment.
"Word is that aside from failing the shooting portion, he scored Grade A on everything else. Passing the assessment shouldn't be an issue."
This had already been agreed upon between Fang Ming and Qiu Tu, so Qiu Tu merely gave a calm hum of acknowledgment without further comment.
After hanging up, Qiu Tu sat in his chair and quietly looked out at the night sky for a while.
He felt extraordinarily like a fragile ogre-faced spider in the Amazon rainforest, quietly weaving a dark, colossal web whose threads reached across all of Xinjie City, patiently waiting for the moment to strike.
[5 days (Final deadline to obtain incriminating evidence on the Qin family)]
[31:12:11 (Cataclysm potion craftable)]
The night passed without incident.
The next day, before Qiu Tu could hear from the faction backing Qin Shuman, another fish took the hook first.
"Fourth Master Qin? I didn't expect you to contact me."
Over the communicator, Fourth Master Qin chuckled. "Hahaha. Agent Qiu, I wouldn't come knocking without a good reason."
"Oh?" Qiu Tu took a sip of tea and asked casually, "What made you think of me, Fourth Master?"
Fourth Master Qin replied, "My good-for-nothing second brother, of course."
Pausing briefly, he continued, "I'd like to invite Agent Qiu to watch a show tonight."
"A show?" Qiu Tu asked.
"Yes, a show," Fourth Master Qin said.
"To let you witness with your own eyes the scene of my second brother's confidant meeting with an anti-government organization."
Hearing that, Qiu Tu paused for a moment.
With an intrigued tone, he asked, "Actually, Fourth Master, compared to Section Chief Qin colluding with an anti-government organization, I'm far more curious about why you're targeting him like this.
"What good does Section Chief Qin's downfall do for you?"
Fourth Master Qin gave an unequivocal answer: "None at all!"
With a touch of exasperation at his brother's failure, he continued, "But I simply cannot stand by and watch him destroy the family business my father worked so hard to build!"
His voice carried a wistful edge as he reminisced, "Back then, my father built the Qin family's massive estate from scratch, hacking through brambles with nothing but his bare hands! Aside from the one hundred jin of gold my grandfather left him, a tech company, and a few dozen trusted subordinates, he relied on no one!
"So I will not allow anyone to ruin his life's work!"
Qiu Tu: "..."
"Understood."
Fourth Master Qin hummed in agreement, then continued, "So, when I found out my second brother had actually done such a thing, I knew that only placing righteousness before family could rescue the Qin family from the fire.
"Leaving that document behind last time was to see whether you truly dared to investigate this matter, Agent Qiu.
"And yesterday, you mobilized a squad of Political Department agents to look into it, which convinced me of your sincerity. Naturally, I am willing to show you more of mine."
After hearing Fourth Master Qin out, Qiu Tu went silent for a moment before saying, "Alright. Then please send the address and time to my communicator, Fourth Master."
Fourth Master Qin let out a hearty laugh, then hung up.
Moments later, Qiu Tu's communicator indeed received an address from an unknown number: *Zhizhen Grand Hotel, Room 108, 8:00 PM.*
"Zhizhen Grand Hotel?"
Murmuring the name to himself, Qiu Tu hadn't even made up his mind when, the very next second, his communicator rang once more.
This time, it was another message from yet another unfamiliar number.
Chapter 33