Then, Let Them Offer Their Loyalty!

Chapter 71: Surging Loyalty

Chapter 71: Surging Loyalty

Qiu Tu looked at the wide-eyed faces of Cao Dabiao and Chen Feng, their mouths trying hard to maintain a straight line but curving upwards nonetheless. He smiled slightly. This was exactly the effect he wanted.

Only when these agents had lost all hope and were merely praying for mercy from their interrogator, could he appear and maximize his impact, swiftly boosting their loyalty.

To achieve this moment, Qiu Tu had even specifically instructed Liu Fuping not to mention his name when announcing the interrogation order. And now, it seemed, the effect was quite satisfactory.

Thinking this, Qiu Tu walked to the interrogation seat, sat in the middle, and calmly swept his gaze over all the agents in front of him, taking in their loyalty levels at a glance.

[Cao Dabiao: 23+8]

[Chen Feng: 42+6]

[Ding Xiaoliu: 29+6]

[Ding Xiaoqi: 13+6]

[...]

The first number represented these agents' loyalty before seeing Qiu Tu, while the latter indicated the loyalty boost after his appearance.

Overall, most agents' initial loyalty was not high. Besides Chen Feng, who had a loyalty score above 40, and Zhu Huoyan and three others with scores above 30, most agents' loyalty ranged between 20 and 30.

This was not beyond Qiu Tu's expectations.

After all, he had only been their superior for two days, there wasn't much emotional connection, and he had dragged them into the Qin family's mess. Now that he was no longer their superior, there was no hierarchical relationship; it was good enough that they didn't hate him. So, it was normal for their loyalty to drop below 30 in two days.

Qiu Tu guessed that their loyalty hadn't dropped below 20 because he had given them benefits before.

Thus, compared to their initial loyalty, Qiu Tu was more concerned with the increase in loyalty. An increase of 5-8 points from a single appearance indicated that his plan was working. He felt that with some effort, he could quickly elevate their loyalty to a new level by invoking their image several times during the interrogation.

With this thought, Qiu Tu continued with his plan. He tapped Liu Fuping's desk. The beautiful lady adjusted her hair and then stood up to read the document.

The document's content was simple, detailing the mistakes made by Cao Dabiao and others during this mission: failing to protect the key person (Qin Shuman), letting an important suspect (Shen Lingshuang) escape, failing to complete the assigned task (obtaining evidence against the Qin family), and embezzling public funds, among other charges.

As these charges were read out, the expressions of Cao Dabiao and the others grew increasingly bizarre. It was bizarre because, although these charges were indeed related to them, most seemed to be led by Qiu Tu, who was now sitting at the interrogation table while they wore handcuffs. Such a stark contrast made it impossible for them not to feel strange.

Naturally, this contrast also made Cao Dabiao realize Qiu Tu's background and power once more. Despite all these issues, Qiu Tu remained unharmed and even conducted their interrogation. Qiu Tu indeed was deeply favored by the Director, as he claimed.

So, when Liu Fuping finished reading the charges and Qiu Tu began to speak, they listened intently.

"Since we are all familiar, I won't hide anything," Qiu Tu said slowly. "Initially, this interrogation wasn't supposed to be handled by me."

"Since I participated in this mission and was your superior, it would be inappropriate."

"But, thinking differently, it is precisely because I participated and understand the situation that I am the best person for this internal review."

"So, I specifically approached the Director and the Minister to take on this internal review."

As he spoke, Qiu Tu tapped Song Qing, who was busy writing, and cleared his throat, "No need to record the above."

Upon hearing this, Song Qing paused, then tore the half-page of interrogation notes she had written, crumpled it into a ball, and threw it into the trash can.

A simple command left a deep impression on the agents who had worked with Qiu Tu. They understood that Qiu Tu was demonstrating his power, reminding them of his backing by Yan Chen and Jia Shu, and showing that he could freely alter the interrogation records and decide their fate.

Instantly, a wave of [loyalty] increase notifications floated before Qiu Tu.

He casually glanced at it and then began the formal review. First, he looked at Cao Dabiao.

"Cao Dabiao."

Hearing Qiu Tu's call, Cao Dabiao hurriedly stepped forward, "Here, sir. I'm here."

Qiu Tu glanced at the file in his hand and said, "As a high-level agent, you were the action leader and the head of the guard group in this mission."

"Regarding your failure to protect the key person, letting the suspect escape, and embezzling public funds, do you have any defense?"

Cao Dabiao was momentarily stunned by Qiu Tu's questioning. To be honest, he had many grievances to voice.

For instance, letting the suspect escape—God knows! He hadn’t even seen the suspect, okay?! Qiu Tu never handed the suspect over to him during the transition. He only found out about the suspect's presence in the guard team after he was arrested.

As for embezzling public funds, he did...embezzle a little, yes, but out of 500 silver coins, most of it was taken by Qiu Tu. He only took 100 silver coins.

If someone else were handling the interrogation, he might hesitate before speaking up. But now that Qiu Tu was in charge, could he say anything? He couldn’t. He knew that even if he dragged Qiu Tu down with him, it wouldn't save himself and would only offend Qiu Tu further. So it was better to admit everything, hoping to leave a good impression on Qiu Tu, who might then help him out of old camaraderie.

Thinking this, he gritted his teeth and forced a smile, "I admit it, sir."

[Cao Dabiao Loyalty +6]

Hearing this and seeing the prompt, Qiu Tu understood Cao Dabiao’s thought process: he was starting to bet on him. Qiu Tu gave him a deep look and smiled, "Agent Cao, don't you want to reconsider? Are you sure it was you who let the suspect escape? Are you sure you embezzled the funds?"

Cao Dabiao was momentarily stunned. Seeing Qiu Tu’s half-smiling expression, he cursed inwardly. He realized Qiu Tu was testing his loyalty, so he gritted his teeth again and said, "Yes, sir, it was truly my doing!"

Qiu Tu’s face showed a look of disappointment. He tapped Song Qing’s notebook, signaling her to pause. Then he turned to Cao Dabiao, "Agent Cao, don’t feel pressured. This is just a routine internal review."

"Let me share my perspective."

He took a sip of water and said calmly, "As members of the guard team and investigation group, it’s indeed disappointing that you didn’t complete the tasks assigned by the department."

"But, no one expected the sudden upheaval at the Qin household that day."

"Fourth Master Qin set fire to the main house, causing chaos within the Qin family."

"You noticed something was wrong and rushed to protect Miss Qin Shuman."

"Who knew, when you arrived at Miss Qin’s residence, the agents from the Special Operations Division were unconscious, and Miss Qin had been taken away."

"You followed the clues to rescue her, but it turned out to be a diversion. Not only did you fail to rescue Miss Qin, but your base was also attacked."

"This incident indeed reflects significant negligence on your part, but it's understandable."

As Qiu Tu explained the case details, the agents’ eyes grew brighter. If Qiu Tu’s appearance initially gave them hope, now they seemed to see the dawn of salvation!

At this moment, Cao Dabiao, filled with joy, nodded repeatedly, "Yes, exactly, sir, you’re right!"

[Cao Dabiao Loyalty +2]

Qiu Tu’s expression changed, and he scolded, "What do you mean I'm right? What did I say?!"

"Cao Dabiao! I warn you, don’t speak recklessly here!"

Qiu Tu’s sudden change of attitude startled Cao Dabiao, but he quickly realized his improper wording could not only fail to save him but also add to his charges. So he hurriedly said, "Sorry, sir, I misspoke. I finally remembered the situation that day."

[Cao Dabiao Loyalty +3]

Seeing he understood his intent, Qiu Tu tapped Song Qing’s hand, signaling her. Song Qing rolled her eyes and once again tore up the interrogation notes.

As she crumpled the notes into a ball, she irritably said to Cao Dabiao, "You better think carefully before speaking this time! I'm tired of taking notes!"

Cao Dabiao hurriedly apologized to Song Qing, nodding and bowing.

With Qiu Tu’s guidance, the note-taking proceeded smoothly. All the agents firmly claimed that the sudden incident left them no time to react, resulting in the current situation.

After finishing the notes, Qiu Tu flipped through the files, then randomly pulled out a few and said, "Ding Xiaoqi, Shi Zhang, Su Yun, your notes are incorrect."

"I remember Cao Dabiao said you two were the duty officers guarding the suspect and the treasury."

Hearing Qiu Tu’s words, Ding Xiaoqi, Shi Zhang, and Su Yun were stunned. They weren’t fools. According to the previous notes, at most, they were guilty of inefficiency, but now being labeled as guards of the suspect and treasury, they faced more severe negligence charges.

But before they could argue, Qiu Tu pulled out a few more notes and said, "And Chen Feng, Zhu Huoyan, Li Xian, Jiao Ming, weren’t you assigned to investigate the case that day? How did you end up rescuing Miss Qin?"

"Correct them, all of them."

If it were only Ding Xiaoqi, Shi Zhang, and Su Yun’s notes being worsened, the agents wouldn’t think much. But seeing Chen Feng and others’ notes being corrected towards innocence, they sensed something was off.

They looked at each other and recalled that Chen Feng and Zhu Huoyan had been speaking on Qiu Tu’s behalf in the detention room these past two days.

Author's Note