Let them offer their loyalty!

```

The incident happened too suddenly.

At the time, Qiu Tu was being led by Ji Chen, walking up to Wu Zhi. The three of them formed a triangle.

So when Wu Zhi's head exploded, and blood burst forth, splattering both Qiu Tu and Ji Chen in the face.

At that moment, time seemed to slow down, and a ringing filled the ears of everyone present.

The brains of all who witnessed this scene were buzzing, leaving their minds blank.

Qiu Tu, Ji Chen, Commissioner Wang, and others struggled to turn their heads toward the direction the gunshot had come from.

But then, two more shots rang out – "Bang! Bang!"

Two bullets whistled towards Qiu Tu!

At that moment, time seemed to resume its normal flow.

Amidst the screams of the crowd, chaos erupted. Commissioner Wang, with his protruding belly, moved with a speed that did not seem to fit his body, diving behind the car for cover.

He was one of the quick responders; most of the people he brought scattered and fled.

By comparison, the investigators from the Investigation Bureau reacted much better.

The guards accompanying him and Ji Chen all evaded immediately, drew their guns, and started looking for the enemy.

As for Qiu Tu's confidants, they probably behaved most oddly: not one of them took cover, instead, they all rushed towards Qiu Tu with eyes split wide in fury!

After all, the assassin hadn't merely killed Wu Zhi, he had also fired two shots at Qiu Tu!

The whole event happened so suddenly that even Qiu Tu himself hadn't "reacted".

By the time he did react, Chen Feng and Ding Xiaoliu had already rushed to his front, one ahead of the other!

Then, two muffled "Bang!" "Bang!" sounds were heard.

Two blooms of blood burst from Chen Feng's shoulder and right chest.

The assassin, perhaps confident in striking his target, saw Chen Feng block the shots and did not hesitate to fire several more rounds in Qiu Tu's direction!

It was then that people finally began to react, switching off safeties to retaliate!

But as they aimed their guns in the direction of the gunshots, they shockingly realized... there was no sign of the enemy! Enjoy new adventures from My Virtual Library Empire

The initial gunshot had been very close, only a few meters away from Qiu Tu, Wu Zhi, and Ji Chen.

And the subsequent shots, although moving, were... also nearby.

Yet now, as they searched for the enemy, they couldn't find anyone?

Could the enemy be invisible? Or some kind of ghost?!

While everyone was somewhat disoriented by the sudden event, Qiu Tu, holding the injured Chen Feng who had fallen to the ground, shouted, "Lay down cover fire! Cover fire!"

Hearing Qiu Tu's voice, his confidants finally snapped to attention and hurriedly began firing a barrage at the direction from where the gunshots came.

This tactic worked. Suddenly, blood sprayed from a shadow not far from the crowd, followed by a muffled groan from someone there.

```

Seeing this, Song Qing, who had just been scared half to death, quickly cried out in alarm, "There! There!"

Upon hearing Song Qing's directions, even more bullets were discharged into that shadow!

However, this time everyone's luck was not so good; despite firing many shots, they did not hit the enemy again.

And that invisible enemy, perhaps due to the injury, did not attack anymore.

Seizing the lull in the battle, Qiu Tu propped up Chen Feng and hid behind the car, then directed the others to take cover while remaining on guard.

Like this, the group kept a vigilant watch over the battlefield for over ten minutes, and seeing that the enemy really didn't reappear, they gradually started to breathe easier.

After all, no one wanted to face such an unpredictable and invisible enemy.

It was at this moment, suddenly, cries of anguish erupted from the battlefield, "Advisor Wu! Advisor Wu! Are you alright?"

Accompanied by the wailing, Commissioner Wang crawled out from behind the car and then ran to Wu Zhi's body.

The incident had happened so suddenly that Wu Zhi was shot in the head, and everyone's first reaction was to take cover, paying him no mind.

Even later, when the detectives were shooting, they had avoided his body, preventing any further harm.

But now that over ten minutes had passed, not even a divine doctor could save someone with a bullet through the brain.

So, when Commissioner Wang picked up Wu Zhi, his body was already completely cold....

At this moment, his eyes were still wide open, his face filled with disbelief.

Clearly, even in the last moment of his life, he couldn't comprehend why he had to die here.

After all, although not nobly born, he was a native resident of the Sanctuary, with Sanctuary status. Distinguished in youth and esteemed by such an influential figure as Huang Shangzong.

Moreover, with Huang Shangzong not only serving as a member of the Supreme Sanctuary Council but also appointed as a Senior Frontier Official,

everyone—himself included, as well as those who knew him—believed his future was boundless!

Even though he hadn't aspired to reach a position like Huang Shangzong's, he had dreamt of becoming the head of the Investigation Bureau and being influential in a city.

Coming to Xinjie City this time, in his view, was just the beginning of his career. All he needed was to get rid of Qiu Tu, and a bright future awaited him.

But now.... who would have thought he'd die here, right after obtaining some of Qiu Tu's incriminating evidence, without even having exchanged a word with Qiu Tu?!

Who was so daring? To ignore the wrath of Commissioner Huang Shangzong, to dare assassinate him—the 'special envoy' charged with such an important mission?!

Perhaps because of the many questions and unwillingness he had before dying, Wu Zhi's eyes remained unblinking, glaring furiously at the heavens until his last breath....

At that point, hearing Commissioner Wang's crying, Ji Chen, who belatedly realized Wu Zhi had been shot, changed color and quickly strode over as well.

Being from the Investigation Bureau after all, and with some experience in case handling, he merely touched Wu Zhi's wrist to know it was beyond hope.

'This is bad....' Ji Chen's face turned extremely grim.

The death of Huang Shangzong's Advisor in Xinjie City was a matter that could be seen as big or small for the notables of Xinjie City.

But for him, given orders by Yan Chen to host Wu Zhi, it was a calamity as if the sky had fallen.

So he looked at Wu Zhi's corpse with a troubled expression, his mind racing. After a moment, like grasping at a lifeline, he suddenly turned and glared fiercely at Qiu Tu, "Qiu Tu! Advisor Wu died in your jurisdiction, how do you explain this!"

"Was all of this orchestrated by you?"

Upon hearing Ji Chen's words, Qiu Tu remained silent. He made just one move: he put Chen Feng down, stood up, walked briskly to Ji Chen, and drew his gun!

Then, with a "click," he pulled the gun's bolt and pressed it directly against Ji Chen's forehead!

At that moment, the atmosphere, which had just relaxed, suddenly tensed up again!

The guards brought by Ji Chen's heart leapt, and then they all drew their guns!

While they were quick to react, Cao Dabiao, Ding Xiaoliu, and others were even quicker!

"What are you doing! What are you doing! Are you rebelling!"

Accompanied by Cao Dabiao's roaring, Qiu Tu's confidants also drew their guns one after another, aiming at the guards!

After all, Xinjie City had been established for almost a year and a half, and although there was still some chaos in certain areas, the overall danger was not high. Therefore, Commissioner Wang and Wu Zhi didn't bring many people with them when they came.

A dozen guards were not enough to stand up to the nearly thirty confidants of Qiu Tu, and the sheer numerical difference made them afraid to act rashly.

So, within an instant, Qiu Tu's men gained control over the situation.

As if expecting the current situation, Qiu Tu never paid attention to the tense stand-off from the start.

Instead, with the cold muzzle of the gun against Ji Chen's forehead, he sinisterly said, "Director Ji, what did you just say? Please repeat it..."

Qiu Tu may have disregarded the unfolding scene, but Ji Chen had taken everything in at a glance.

Seeing Qiu Tu's faction gaining control and the remorseless gun at his forehead, coupled with Qiu Tu's notorious behavior of acting above the law, he truly didn't dare to bet that Qiu Tu was just bluffing to scare him. So, in an instant, he caved in...

He forced a smile and said, "Minister Qiu, it's a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding."

He hurriedly explained, "I was just a bit anxious earlier, so my words were careless."

Seeing Ji Chen submit, Qiu Tu dropped the intimidation. He snorted coldly, then reached out to pat Ji Chen on the face, saying, "Director Ji. Some food can be eaten randomly, but some words must not be spoken carelessly!"

"First, this is not within my jurisdiction."

"I merely discovered the illegal and disciplinary violations of Director Bai, so I came to take him back for investigation."

"My defensive perimeter is only the inside of the villa. Anything outside the villa has nothing to do with me."

"Secondly, I don't even know who this distinguished guest is. How could I possibly harm him for no reason?"

"Lastly, that assassin, apart from wanting to kill this distinguished guest, quite obviously wanted to kill me too."

"Those shots were fired at me without the slightest mercy."

"If it weren't for my subordinates taking the bullets for me, I might now be lying on the ground just like this distinguished guest."

"I know you're a bit anxious because you failed to protect the safety of this distinguished guest, but even if you're anxious, don't bite wildly!"

Having finished speaking, Qiu Tu turned to look at Commissioner Wang, who had been so frightened by the drawn swords and crossbows from just before that he turned pale and dared not speak. Qiu Tu then squeezed out a hideous smile, "Don't you agree, Commissioner Wang?"

The "truth" of the matter was just as Qiu Tu had described, and furthermore, Qiu Tu still controlled the situation at the scene.

So how could Commissioner Wang dare to utter a word of dissent?

He immediately grinned, nodding continuously, "Yes, yes. Minister Qiu makes sense."

After speaking, he turned to Ji Chen, scolding, "Director Ji, now that Advisor Wu has had an accident, we should be united to overcome this problem, instead of turning against each other."

"You mustn't lose your senses!"

Commissioner Wang's words sounded like a criticism of Ji Chen. But in fact, he was giving him a way out.

So, upon hearing this, Ji Chen hurriedly nodded and agreed, "Yes, Commissioner Wang and Minister Qiu's criticisms are right."

"I indeed panicked earlier."

Seeing Ji Chen had submitted,

Qiu Tu also withdrew his menacing gun.

He looked condescendingly at Ji Chen and then inquired, "The Advisor Wu you just introduced, who exactly is he?"

"What does he do?"

Hearing Qiu Tu's question, Ji Chen and Commissioner Wang glanced at each other.

With Wu Zhi now dead, their plan to take down Qiu Tu certainly couldn't be executed, and both of them couldn't guess how the situation would unfold next.

So they quickly put on a smile and gave a vague answer, "Actually, it's not much. He was just an advisor from the Sanctuary coming for a routine inspection in our Xinjie City."

"Inspecting various institutions and departments."

Upon hearing this, Qiu Tu uttered an "Oh" and then said, "Alright, you'd better make a call for reinforcements or report upwards now."

"If you need my cooperation or testimony, you can come to me anytime. I should be working from Secretary Bai's villa for the next couple of days."

After speaking, Qiu Tu put away his gun, then waved to his confidants, "Let's go, take Chen Feng with us. We're withdrawing!" and then he walked back to the villa in a grand manner.

At this time, looking at Qiu Tu's imposing figure and his many followers,

The expressions of Ji Chen and Commissioner Wang were complicated.

If they had previously only heard of Qiu Tu's ability to win over people's hearts and knew that he had cultivated a group of loyalists without taking it too seriously,

Then, after experiencing today's events, for the first time, they truly felt the difference between Qiu Tu's subordinates and the subordinates of a usual senior official — that is the kind who would obey only Qiu Tu's orders and follow him through life and death as true confidants!

With so many officials and directors at various high ranks willing to die for him, Qiu Tu was indeed growing more influential.

'He's become a force to be reckoned with, becoming uncontrollable…'

For a while, Ji Chen and Commissioner Wang had complex looks in their eyes...

They watched as Qiu Tu and his people left, and regaining their senses, they finally remembered to call for help and report up the death of Wu Zhi!

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