Let them offer their loyalty!

Hearing the girl's words, Qiu Tu smiled and nodded, then closed the door and continued to ask, "What are you doing?"

Shen Lingshuang said with a giggly smile, "I got two pieces of rather interesting Cataclysmic Material at the black market yesterday."

"I figured I could make Cataclysmic Treasures out of them."

"So, today I went and got a workbench for crafting Cataclysmic Treasures, thinking I'd give it a try."

Qiu Tu was taken aback and said with a hint of surprise, "You know how to craft Cataclysmic Treasures?"

Hearing Qiu Tu's words, Shen Lingshuang suddenly became proud.

She hopped down from the workbench, tilted her head, hands on hips, and proclaimed with pride,

"This young lady has always been versatile~~ Fortune-telling, face-reading, authentication, alchemy, beast taming, treasure crafting! There's nothing I can't do, nothing I don't know~~"

"Truly, as they say, 'In the Jianghu, having many skills does not weigh you down.'~~"

Qiu Tu watched her cute appearance and laughed so hard that he couldn't keep his mouth straight.

Leaving aside whether Shen Lingshuang really knew how to craft Cataclysmic Treasures, just from the emotional value she provided, Qiu Tu felt it was worth it.

After several exhausting days and a few life-and-death battles, seeing Shen Lingshuang seemed to lessen his fatigue quite a bit.

Thinking this way, Qiu Tu affirmed his thoughts and said, "Alright then. Since you want to experiment with something new, I'll definitely support you all the way."

As he said this, Qiu Tu thought for a moment, then took out a few pieces of Cataclysmic Material that he had obtained from the [Crisis Treasure Box] and handed them to Shen Lingshuang.

Taking the Cataclysmic Materials in hand, Shen Lingshuang was obviously surprised.

She exclaimed, "Memory Clay? Behemoth Ashes? Nameless Stele Powder?"

"Where did you get all these great items?"

Seeing Shen Lingshuang accurately identify the various materials for crafting Cataclysmic Treasures, Qiu Tu couldn't help but give her a second look.

Leaving aside whether Shen Lingshuang could make something worthwhile, just from her ability to identify these materials, Qiu Tu could be sure that Shen Lingshuang had truly studied the subject.

While thinking this, Qiu Tu casually said, "I bought them on the fly while on a mission."

Shen Lingshuang was obviously skeptical, "Let's not talk about the other things, just the 'Memory Clay', that's a Cataclysmic Material that's hard to come by even in Sanctuaries, and you were able to buy it just like that in the Planning Area?"

Hearing Shen Lingshuang's words, Qiu Tu also couldn't help but remember how 'Crisis Intuition' had introduced Memory Clay.

In his memory, 'Crisis Intuition' had described it as "precious."

Moreover, he remembered that this particular Cataclysmic Material could be used in a wide variety of Cataclysmic treasures, indicating its broad usage.

So, it made sense that even Sanctuaries found it scarce.

However, although Qiu Tu had gained a direct understanding of the value of Memory Clay, he did not change his original statement.

Even more, he said with a smile, "Just because it can't be bought in Sanctuaries doesn't mean it can't be found in the Planning Area, right?"

"Isn't the Planning Area there to collect resources for the Sanctuaries?"

Hearing Qiu Tu's words, Shen Lingshuang thought for a moment and then, with a cute nod, said, "You make sense."

Seeing her reaction, Qiu Tu followed up, "Besides, buying a few pieces of Cataclysmic Material is nothing. I'm even planning to buy a villa."

Hearing Qiu Tu's words, Shen Lingshuang's doe-like eyes suddenly widened. She looked at Qiu Tu in amazement and exclaimed, "Qiu Tu, have you struck it rich?!"

As she spoke, Shen Lingshuang reflexively glanced at Qiu Tu's epaulets.

Last time they met, Shen Lingshuang did not pay attention to Qiu Tu's epaulet.

Now, taking a closer look, she was surprised to find that Qiu Tu had already been promoted to Principal Staff!

She remembered that when she first met Qiu Tu, he seemed to have just been promoted to First Level Detective!

How had he managed to jump two ranks in just half a month?

So, she "dada dada" ran over, looked up, her deer-like eyes adorably fixed on Qiu Tu, and exclaimed in surprise, "How did you get promoted to section chief?"

"Your promotion speed is too fast!"

Perhaps because he felt relaxed in front of Shen Lingshuang, Qiu Tu said with a smile, "Section chief? In a couple of days, I'll be promoted to Deputy Division Chief, all right."

This time, Shen Lingshuang's mouth was completely agape.

She said, "Your promotion is way too fast!"

She looked at Qiu Tu with suspicion, then pursed her lips and said, "You haven't made any deals with the higher-ups at the Investigation Bureau, have you?"

As she spoke, she propped up her little chin, walked along, and analyzed with pouting lips, "To make a deal, there must be give and take."

"You got a promotion, so... what did you offer?"

She turned to Qiu Tu, asking suspiciously, "Your soul? Or maybe chastity?"

Qiu Tu: ???

Before Qiu Tu could speak, Shen Lingshuang hummed with her lips pursed and shook her head, "Definitely not the soul. Your soul is pretty filthy to begin with, probably not worth much. So, it must be chastity, right?"

As she said this, Shen Lingshuang covered her mouth, her watery eyes wide with horror as she looked at Qiu Tu, "Oh my god. Qiu Tu. You actually slept with your boss!"

Qiu Tu: .....

Honestly, in that moment, Qiu Tu felt utterly dizzy with Shen Lingshuang's confusing thoughts!

How on earth did this girl go through a bunch of messy reasoning to reach a correct conclusion?!

Ptui! Not right! He definitely hadn't been promoted for sleeping with his boss!

He earned it through his own abilities!

Qiu Tu was certain!

Thus, he couldn't be bothered to explain, and amidst Shen Lingshuang's cries of alarm, he grabbed her waist, placed her on his lap, and started smacking her cute little butt, "pap pap pap!"

A masochist needs to be taught in a masochist's way!

As expected... after a light spanking, Shen Lingshuang instantly became obedient.

Her face flushed red, she lay on Qiu Tu's legs, rubbing back and forth, looking up at him with misty eyes... like a greedy little kitten.

Qiu Tu found himself tempted by her gaze, but he knew that now was not the time for such things.

After all, Shen Lingshuang was right by his side, available for him whenever he wanted.

At present, the most important thing was to properly arrange their lives together.

Thinking thus, Qiu Tu ignored Shen Lingshuang, whose eyes were nearly turning into threads, handed over the Cataclysmic Material to her, and went out to make a phone call...

This time, Qiu Tu called Qin Shuman.

As Qiu Tu's most important partner, whenever he wanted to do something pivotal, Qin Shuman was always the first person he thought of...

Qin Shuman had been obviously busy these past couple of days, so it took Qiu Tu a full ten or more seconds to finally get her to pick up the phone.

On the other end of the line, Qin Shuman's voice sounded a bit weary, "Hello? Qiu Tu. What's up?"

Instead of getting straight to the matter at hand, Qiu Tu first expressed his concern, "Are you okay? You sound very tired."

Hearing Qiu Tu's words, Qin Shuman on the other end of the line raised her hand and rubbed her temples.

She lifted her head and glanced at the clock on the dim office wall, only then realizing that it was already 7 p.m.

She got up, made herself a cup of coffee, and walked to the window before replying to Qiu Tu, "Ah... I am a bit worn out lately."

She said, "Half a year ago, an abnormal storm from the 'Boundless Heart Sea' descended upon the Disaster Zone located between Xinjie City and Eastern City."

"At that time, several surrounding cities quietly prepared their defenses. It wasn't until about a month and a half ago that the storm gradually dissipated."

"We thought that was the end of it."

"But who would have expected that half a month ago, experts discovered that the storm from the 'Boundless Heart Sea' seemed to have changed the landscape of reality."

"A Moonlight Lake may be forming..."

"Moonlight Lake?" Qiu Tu asked somewhat curiously, "What's that?"

Qin Shuman explained, "It's a lake formed by the accumulation of the Cataclysmic Material 'Tears of Moonlight.'"

"According to experts' estimates, this newly formed Moonlight Lake could produce about 1.3 tons of Tears of Moonlight..."

Upon hearing Qin Shuman's explanation, Qiu Tu was truly startled.

The Tears of Moonlight were not unfamiliar to him.

Although it wasn't a precious Cataclysmic Material, it was an ingredient for producing the "Cataclysmic Awakening Potion."

It was with the Tears of Moonlight and Aurora Stone that Shen Lingshuang managed to craft the first batch of two bottles of Cataclysmic Potion for him.

Although Qiu Tu did not know the exact weight of a bottle of Cataclysmic Potion, he estimated it shouldn't exceed 20g.

A bottle of Cataclysmic Potion, using 20g of Tears of Moonlight.

And with 1.3 tons of Tears of Moonlight, that's enough to create 65,000 bottles of Cataclysmic Potion!

What an immense interest that represented!

So, Qiu Tu didn't even need Qin Shuman to explain further to understand why she had been so tired these past few days.

As the head of the intelligence department in the Security Department, Qin Shuman's most important task at present must be to ascertain the actual formation time of this Moonlight Lake... and to figure out the powerful interests lurking behind this Moonlight Lake.

Thinking of this, Qiu Tu's eyes suddenly flashed, recalling some Crisis Warnings he received when he had just arrived in this world.

At that time, his "Crisis Intuition" alerted him that Yan Chen was embroiled in a huge storm and temporarily unable to spare any attention for himself. (Chapters 14 and 19)

Based on the timeline, if he wasn't wrong... it should be related to that Moonlight Lake, right?

After all, as one of the Three Giants of Xinjie City, only a sudden incident representing massive interests could have caused Yan Chen to be so busy and in such disarray.

With some quick deductions made in his mind, Qiu Tu came back to the conversation and began to comfort Qin Shuman, "Such enormous interests indeed tend to attract all kinds of petty criminals."

"Being in charge of intelligence for the Security Department, you're bound to be busier for sure."

"But take care of yourself and don't overwork to the point of exhaustion."

Heeding Qiu Tu's heartfelt concern, Qin Shuman standing by the window curled her lips into a faint smile.

She took a sip of coffee, refreshed herself, and then asked proactively, "You called me, so there must be something important, right?"

Hearing Qin Shuman's inquiry, Qiu Tu then remembered the purpose of his call that night.

Though he did not wish to add to Qin Shuman's workload on the other side of the line, Qiu Tu indeed lacked other reliable channels at the moment.

So, he hummed in agreement and said, "I want to buy a villa with a good location and comprehensive security. Preferably... anonymously." Your journey continues with My Virtual Library Empire

Being the seasoned secret agent she was, Qin Shuman immediately responded to his statement, "Are you being targeted?"

"Evil God? Or United Front?"

Qiu Tu gave a wry smile, "Both."

Qiu Tu's intelligence capabilities had been verified multiple times, so Qin Shuman immediately fell into thought.

After a moment, she said, "No problem. I'll have Lin Zuo take care of it for you."

"I guarantee no one will be able to trace it. And... it should be very safe."

Upon hearing this, Qiu Tu couldn't help asking, "Where?"

On the other end of the line, Qin Shuman downed her coffee in one go, her eyes resolute, and declared crisply, "Longshan Road."

Qiu Tu was taken aback at the mention.

Longshan Road?

Qiu Tu was no stranger to Longshan Road.

It was the largest luxury villa area in Xinjie City, bar none.

Those who lived there were all prominent figures of Xinjie City before its establishment.

They included powerful clans second only to the Qin Family, wealthy businessmen involved in multiple industries, and gang leaders with tens of thousands of disciples.

Even though these magnates gradually lost their grip with the founding of Xinjie City, Longshan Road still maintained a pivotal position within the entire city.

Moreover, and more importantly, one of Qiu Tu's key partners, Fang Ming, resided there...

Recalling the stringent security and armed patrols he witnessed last time he visited Fang Ming, Qiu Tu felt reassured.

If he moved there, even if the United Front sent two or three squads, they would probably not be able to breach the area in a short time.

With that in mind, Qiu Tu responded with a thanks, "Thank you, Shuman."

Qin Shuman laughed, "There's no need for formalities between us."

Afterward, the two of them chatted briefly before hanging up the phone.

After hanging up, Qiu Tu, standing in the dirty and cluttered corridor, took a deep breath.

He looked out into the night at the faint drizzle and secretly pondered: The crisis from the United Front should be temporarily avoidable...

But... how to get through the crisis posed by the Evil God Lariro?

Based on the timeline, she could only arrive either tonight or tomorrow night.

How should he prepare himself to face it...

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Still 10,000 words for 3 chapters. The third chapter will be updated around 20:00. Love you guys~