Hearing Qiu Tu's words, the detective replied respectfully, "The minister is waiting for you upstairs."
Upon hearing this, Qiu Tu looked up at the Investigation Bureau building.
It seemed as if he could see a pair of profound eyes watching him...
This was not bad news.
Because... since Jia Shu was still in the Investigation Bureau building, it meant that the Political Department had not yet officially intervened in the matter, and that... the Security Department would have ample time to erase any traces.
He and Ah-Tai, along with Eagle, would be that much safer...
Thinking this way, Qiu Tu calculated the time and formed a rough guess in his mind.
Old Alley Street, the Qin Family, and City Center Garden roughly formed a triangle.
And the Investigation Bureau building was right in the middle of this triangle.
Therefore, when Qiu Tu arrived at the Investigation Bureau, Qin Heng should still be on his way back, not yet having reached the Qin Family residence.
Before fully understanding the beginning and severity of the event, Qin Heng wouldn't ask the Investigation Bureau for help.
Hence the situation, where he had come to the Investigation Bureau building first, and Jia Shu had not yet left.
With this in mind, Qiu Tu couldn't help but make a further speculation: So... did Jia Shu, knowing something had happened to the Qin Family, call and lock him down immediately?
Qiu Tu's gaze flickered.
Heh heh... Look at that, this is the real master. A step in chess, seemingly effortless, yet it played a critical role, almost disturbing his own plans.
It's known that the outcomes of many plans executed in person and those remotely directed can be worlds apart.
If Qiu Tu had not connected with the Security Department in advance, tricking the Security Department into covering for him; if Qiu Tu had not taken control of Master Qin Si's wife and children beforehand, stopping Master Qin Si's betrayal with just a phone call; he who needed to handle everything personally would have already been defeated by this move.
So... the greatest danger tonight was indeed here...
It seems it was time to meet this legendary chief.
With that thought, Qiu Tu straightened his clothes and then, with a smile on his face, stepped into the Investigation Bureau building.
The Investigation Bureau building at night was pitch-black, like a monstrous beast choosing its prey.
Taking the elevator to the 9th floor, Qiu Tu followed the guidance of the detective and arrived at Jia Shu's office in the Political Department.
"Knock, knock, knock."
Upon Jia Shu's consent, the detective opened the door and led Qiu Tu into the office.
"Minister, Chief Qiu is here."
Qiu Tu's gaze landed on Jia Shu.
Jia Shu, dressed in casual clothes, wore a pair of gold-rimmed glasses on his nose, his eyes narrow and smiling behind the lenses.
If one hadn't seen his perverse side, they might think he was just an ordinary beast in gentleman's clothing...
"Good day, Minister!" While inwardly sneering, Qiu Tu saluted.
Seeing this, Jia Shu returned a forced smile and pressed his hand down, "Just us folks here, no need for all the formalities."
His smile narrowed his elongated eyes into slits, imparting a falsely cheerful yet insincere aura.
Qiu Tu replied seriously, "It's the protocol, sir. I'm afraid I cannot comply."
Jia Shu didn't argue further, waving the detective off. Once the detective had left, he then asked with a grin, "Agent Qiu, you got here quickly."
He glanced at his watch, "You said 18 minutes, but you only took 15 to get here."
Qiu Tu said, "I just left the house, turned around, and drove here. Didn't waste any time on the way."
Jia Shu gave a half-smile and nodded, then as if out of curiosity, inquired, "Planning a gathering with friends tonight?"
Jia Shu, "Which friend?"
Qiu Tu, "Wang Tai. He just passed the Special Service Detective assessment the day before yesterday. Celebrating for him."
Qiu Tu, "At a small restaurant on Nanfang Street, number 29."
Jia Shu, "Who else will be there?"
Qiu Tu hmm, "Some friends who grew up with me and Ah-Tai."
Jia Shu swept his gaze over Qiu Tu twice, finding no flaws, then asked again, "Did you receive any calls on the way?"
Qiu Tu, "The first call was from Ah-Tai, asking where I was. I told him I had official business and couldn't make it."
"The next few calls were from Master Qin Si."
Jia Shu uttered an "Oh" with an interested look on his face, "Master Qin Si? What did you talk about?"
Qiu Tu glanced at Jia Shu and said without any change in expression, "He cursed at me. Said that I took his lead and then turned around to betray him."
"Said he would never let me off."
"I hung up on him several times. But he kept calling back."
"Finally, I answered the call again and cursed a few words back at him."
"Do you need me to repeat the content of his curses at me and mine at him?"
The smile on Jia Shu's face became incredibly brilliant, "No need. We're just making small talk."
"After all, I've disrupted your plans for the evening, so I care about you."
After saying this, he acted as if he was indeed just making casual conversation, reached out to open a drawer, and took out a file to toss to Qiu Tu.
"This is your mission for tonight. We just caught a 'Female Captain' from United Front who had infiltrated Xinjie Chamber of Commerce."
"You're working overtime to interrogate her. See if there are any breakthroughs."
Qiu Tu received the file, and while looking down at it, he asked, "What methods can we use?"
Leaning back in his chair with a half-smile, Jia Shu watched Qiu Tu and teased, "Does Chief Qiu also understand interrogation?"
Looking up at him, Qiu Tu replied with a smile, "No."
"But I understand killing."
The playful look in Jia Shu's eyes was almost spilling out as he watched Qiu Tu with interest, his narrow eyes narrowing, "No bottom line; the Political Department isn't lacking in death quotas."
Qiu Tu saluted, "Yes!"
After assigning the task, Jia Shu waved his hand, "Alright, go on with your work."
Qiu Tu nodded, then turned and left the office.
Once Qiu Tu had left the office, silence slowly returned to Jia Shu's office.
Jia Shu sat quietly in his chair for a while before reaching out to pick up an upside-down document from the desk.
Opening the file, it clearly recorded Qiu Tu's call history from just the past several minutes.
Xinjie City was newly established, and the Information Department of the Investigation Bureau was not fully equipped, with limited devices, so they could only record and monitor the targeted call history.
Thus, he only had reports of incoming and outgoing calls on Qiu Tu's communicator after he had called Qiu Tu.
The record clearly showed that the first call was from Ah-Tai to Qiu Tu, lasting only over ten seconds.
Then it was Master Qin Si calling Qiu Tu, also a brief talk of a dozen seconds.
After that, Master Qin Si made three consecutive calls that went unanswered.
Finally, Master Qin Si made a fourth call, Qiu Tu answered, and the two talked for some twenty seconds.
It all exactly matched what Qiu Tu had just claimed.
"Interesting... very interesting...."
Jia Shu's smile became more and more splendid, his pupils turning slightly red, as if filled with the desire of encountering prey....
Carrying the file, Qiu Tu didn't let his guard down after leaving Jia Shu's office but methodically carried out the task Jia Shu had given him.
He turned and headed for the Interrogation Section.
Approaching the door of the Interrogation Section, laughter and chattering from the lit room could be heard.
A young girl's curious voice, "Sister Liu, come on, tell us what's going on between you and Section Chief Liu from next door?"
A mature woman's voice, "Hoho~ there's nothing going on between us. We're just ordinary friends."
A young man's voice, "No way~ I see you two exchanging glances every day, there's got to be something."
The girl, "Yeah, yeah, I was on duty the other day and even heard Liu Ke feeding you in the meeting room, saying it was too big and you couldn't swallow it."
"You little wench, you're asking for trouble! Keep blabbing and see what happens!"
Listening outside, Qiu Tu felt as if a certain part of his body had stiffened....
Indeed, the office was always brimming with juicy news....
With this thought, he coughed and knocked on the door.
Hearing the knock, the noisy chatter inside instantly ceased.
Seeing this, Qiu Tu pushed open the door and stepped inside.
In the afternoon, Jia Shu took Qiu Tu to the Interrogation Section and had already met everyone.
So, as soon as they saw Qiu Tu, the three men and two women present stood up with varying expressions and called out in a jumble, "Good afternoon, Chief." "Hello Chief Qiu." "Good to see you, sir." "Sir!"
Meanwhile, in Jia Shu's office.
The desk phone suddenly rang, "Ring ring ring."
Jia Shu, sitting in deep thought, snapped back to reality, glanced at the caller ID, and immediately picked up the phone.
"Bureau Chief, is there news?"
Yan Chen's deep and husky voice came from the receiver, "Hmm... Ji Chen just reported. Old Fourth Qin has run off, and his wife and children were moved away early."
"Qin Shuman has also disappeared."
"The detectives who were protecting her and the maid were knocked out and dumped in a warehouse. But because the fire wasn't severe, no one was hurt."
"The fire has now been extinguished, and after a brief inspection by Ji Chen, it was found that the ignition points were all in the remote courtyards of the Qin Family."
"It seems Old Fourth Qin is leaving room for both the Qin Family and us."
"He might have been compelled."
Hearing Yan Chen's analysis, Jia Shu's gaze flickered slightly as he pondered quietly.
After a moment, he asked, "Bureau Chief, do you have any suspects?"
Yan Chen didn't respond directly but instead asked in a low voice, "Has Qiu returned to the Investigation Bureau?"