Let them offer their loyalty!

Qiu Tu:....

To be honest, Qiu Tu felt that Liu Fuping's rather informal behavior just now.... had little to do with Tang Feifei.

Instead, it was the woman's old problem: as soon as she received even a little kindness from someone, she would get carried away.

However, Tang Feifei had taken the blame herself, and Qiu Tu didn't feel right about taking it back.

So he just followed with a smile, "No problem."

Tang Feifei watched Liu Fuping leave the villa, then returned to the main topic with Qiu Tu.

She said, "Just now you asked me if all the higher-ups in the Sanctuary are high-order cataclysmics...."
Find adventures on empire

"Actually, they're not."

Tang Feifei's response did not surprise him.

After all.... if the cataclysmics were that strong, why would the Sanctuary need to vigorously research weapons, develop armies, and expand their territory?

If cataclysmics were truly that powerful, why would the department related to them, the Security Department, not be a mainstream department but a secret one?

These details indicated that while cataclysmics might indeed be strong, they very likely weren't that strong, or there might be some significant issue.

As expected, Tang Feifei explained, "According to the Sanctuary's research on various Cataclysmic Creatures in the Boundless Heart Sea...."

"All cataclysmic beings can broadly be divided into five orders."

"First Order being the weakest, Fifth Order the strongest."

"And as they ascend in rank, cataclysmic beings will travel further along their respective Cataclysm Paths. They will become more aligned with their paths...."

"This leads to a very serious problem: regardless of the path, once it becomes extreme, it can generate enormous harm."

"Take the most peaceful Order Path, for example. As beings ascend in rank, their pursuit of order becomes increasingly stringent."

"From the placement of an object to the functioning of a nation, everything must follow their order, without the slightest change or modification...."

"Or take the most dangerous Destruction Path. As beings ascend in rank, the desire for destruction in their hearts also grows stronger."

"Wanting to destroy objects, wanting to destroy humans around them, even wanting to destroy everything in the world...."

"So when they reach Fourth Order or above,.... no one knows if they can still be considered human."

"Perhaps.... they're just puppets assimilated by their Cataclysm Paths?"

Hearing this, Qiu Tu's expression revealed sudden realization. He said, "I remember you just said that you are the highest Third Order Cataclysmic allowed by the Sanctuary. Is this why?"

Tang Feifei nodded, explaining, "Yes."

"The Sanctuary does support officials awakening as cataclysmics."

"But.... they don't consider power for promotion, nor do they support officials becoming high-order cataclysmics."

Tang Feifei paused, then said, "Third Order is the highest level the Sanctuary can accept. It's also the limit for maintaining sanity...."

Hearing this, Qiu Tu also finally understood why Tang Feifei was so confident in her own strength.

Put simply, unless it's those reckless Cataclysmic Creatures, Third Order cataclysmics are indeed the current ceiling of power....

Seeing that Qiu Tu was comprehending, Tang Feifei continued, "Moreover, the Sanctuary's leadership has reached a consensus on whether to cultivate high-order cataclysmics."

"That is, in any world, any era, the strength of a collective is always greater than that of an individual."

"After all.... the power of a collective can be passed down. But individual strength may vanish with the individual's demise."

"So.... instead of allocating resources to train some uncontrollable high-order cataclysmics."

"It's better to buckle down and study the technology from before the Cataclysm, or how to integrate Catastrophic Power into machinery and objects, creating a path of 'Cataclysmic Technology'...."

"That's the real invaluable treasure that can be handed down to future generations. The true path that can save humanity."

With that, Tang Feifei smiled and said, "After all, even the most powerful cataclysmic can't withstand a nuclear bomb, right?"

After understanding from Tang Feifei's mouth the differences between First, Second, and Third Order cataclysmics; their ranks and paths; as well as the Sanctuary's direction of development.

Qiu Tu also gained certain insight into his next steps and how his strength compared to that of his superior, Jia Shu....

Thinking this, Qiu Tu looked towards Tang Feifei and directly spoke, "Feifei, this time, I might really need your help."

Tang Feifei didn't mind Qiu Tu's increasingly presumptuous address....

She raised her eyebrows slightly, then a smile spread across her face as if the prey was finally taking the bait, "Okay. But.... it's not for free."

As she spoke, she stood up and stretched lazily. Perhaps because her athletic wear was a bit short, when she raised her arms, her flat abdomen and the lines of her muscles were revealed.

Seeing this, Qiu Tu laughed, "Aren't you curious about what I need your help with?"

Tang Feifei looked down at him, her gaze full of a hunter's teasing of her prey, "Or.... do you have other ideas in mind?"

Facing that gaze, Qiu Tu nodded slightly.

He said, "The political arena has never been about brute force."

"Using a dump truck to run someone over can be effective once, but only for the most crucial moment."

"Although I'm not sure why my always strategic superior has chosen such a risky path, I feel.... he's not yet worth my deploying this final maneuver."

Hearing Qiu Tu's words, Tang Feifei looked at him in surprise, "Then how do you want to resolve this matter?"

Qiu Tu gave a mysterious smile, then gestured for Tang Feifei to come closer, "Come here, I'll tell you the next plan...."

Seeing Qiu Tu's confident expression, Tang Feifei also leaned in curiously.

Two minutes later, her wheat-colored face was full of shock...

She looked Qiu Tu up and down as if meeting him for the first time and then commented, "You really are... sneaky."

"But..." She dragged out the sound, keeping Qiu Tu in suspense, before saying, "I like it."

At this, she switched gears, asking, "But what about my benefit?"

By now, Qiu Tu had already resigned himself to his fate, stretching out his hand, "A night of companionship as payment."

Tang Feifei, "Two nights."

Qiu Tu, "Deal."

.....

Tang Feifei was swift and decisive in handling business, and after having settled the cooperation with Qiu Tu,

she nimbly jumped out the window and left the villa. She didn't even tease Qiu Tu.

As she put it: there's no rush... After everything is over, she has two whole days to have fun with Qiu Tu.

At the time, Qiu Tu's expression was like that of an old man on the subway staring at his phone...

After watching Tang Feifei leave, Qiu Tu turned and went back into the villa, then took out paper and pen to write down the first step of the plan: capture the Suit Man...

[Jia Shu's Attack (30 hours)]

[Evil God's Watch (∞)]

......

6 PM in the evening.

Since it was deep autumn, the sky darkened earlier.

In the ominously dark sky of early evening, outside the perimeter of a small villa near Longshan Road in the Planning Area,

Qiu Tu was communicating with the surveillance officers from the Security Department, "Are you sure that the Suit Man hasn't come out since entering the villa last night?"

Hearing Qiu Tu's inquiry, a male officer nodded and said earnestly, "Positive."

"Moreover, we've checked, and there are only three entrances and exits to this villa above ground, with no other exit points."

Qiu Tu nodded at this, then waved over Cao Dabiao, who was behind him.

Seeing the signal, Cao Dabiao swiftly bent down and walked over.

While looking at the villa, Qiu Tu asked, "Have we figured out the ownership of this villa yet?"

The somewhat embarrassed Cao Dabiao standing beside him said, "Not yet."

"In the records of the Civil Affairs Bureau, this villa is listed as unowned, but we have found that this villa has changed hands a few times in our records."

"It's just... the buyers are all blanks. Obviously, someone deliberately erased the records."

"There's likely some dark secret hidden within."

Hearing Cao Dabiao say this, Qiu Tu couldn't help but recall the scenes he had witnessed in the memory fragment that morning...

'Could it be that villa?'

After an afternoon's investigation, the investigation team had discreetly checked the homes of the department heads and bureau chiefs who had been taken away in the past few days, as per Qiu Tu's request.

Unfortunately, out of the 33 department heads and bureau chiefs, families of at least 19 had disappeared.

They might have all been abducted by the Suit Man and Wang Xi, hidden somewhere undergoing untold suffering...

One could say that before the [8.16 Pharmacy Robbery Case] was even solved, an enormous scandal was about to blow up in the upper echelons of Xinjie City society.

While worrying about this, Qiu Tu examined the villa's floor plan again, then said, "Follow this afternoon's plan, split into teams and guard all the entrances and exits to prevent the target from escaping."

"By 6:30 PM at the latest, officers from the Security Department will knock on the door to inquire, and that's when we'll execute the arrest!"

"Yes!" After hearing Qiu Tu's instructions, Cao Dabiao quickly saluted and then went to direct the operation...

.....

Meanwhile, at the Investigation Bureau.

8.16 Pharmacy Robbery Case investigation team office.

Because Qiu Tu had reassigned two batches of people, there were only a few officers from the Public Security Bureau left in the office along with Wang Xi and Song Qing.

Not sure if it was a psychic sense he developed after becoming a Cataclysmic, but Wang Xi's right eyelid kept twitching, as if sensing something bad was about to happen.

He looked up at the few investigators in the office and couldn't help feeling something was off.

But thinking it might just be his imagination, he glanced at Song Qing beside him, hesitated, and then asked, "Song Qing, do you feel that something's not quite right?"

The young girl, Song Qing, was at that moment engrossed in playing a game on her phone.

On the yellow pixelated screen, a simple game of Tetris had her utterly captivated.

-------

That's three chapters and ten thousand words, haha. Slept too late tonight and I still have to work tomorrow, so I probably won't post the third chapter until around 8 PM. I'll try to do it earlier.