Let them offer their loyalty!

Chapter 229 The Second Evil God (10,000 characters plea for subscription!)

In the night, light and shadows intertwined.

The face of Qin Shuman, derived from Yan Chen's wife, also seemed exceptionally charming.

Qiu Tu looked at the beautiful, glamorous face and, while envying Yan Chen's good fortune, also conjured up the image of Yanyan's angelic, pure face.

In fact, Qiu Tu had started to doubt Yanyan not today.

As early as his second encounter with Yanyan, he had pondered whether she could be a part of the Heretic Goddess Girl Larilo.

The reason was simple: what had Larilo come to this world for?

To infiltrate this world, to spread her own faith.

And what was Larilo's method of coming to this world?

Incarnation through a clone.

That is to say, even if Larilo's avatar in this world was destroyed, it would actually have little impact on her.

Therefore, she definitely would not choose her avatar in a "covert" manner.

To put it bluntly, in order to fulfill her purpose of infiltrating this world, she wouldn't choose a random passerby.

—Because a "random passerby" has too little influence on this world.

Thus, she would certainly pick someone with a high status, as only through such a person could she influence more people and more easily achieve her goals.

During this time, although many people came and went in Xinjie City, the highest status girls were only a few, like Yanyan, Shen Lingshuang, and others.

Although Shen Lingshuang's status was high, her influence was mainly in the Third Sanctuary and couldn't be "monetized" in the Eighth Sanctuary.

Moreover, Old Master Qin had likely not had the opportunity to contact her a few years ago, so of course, Yanyan was the person Qiu Tu most suspected.

Later, when he knew that among the high ranks of the Investigation Bureau there were followers of Larilo, his suspicion of Yanyan grew even stronger.

And all of this, until just now, had reached a crescendo.

That is...if Old Master Qin was not collaborating with Yan Chen for the future of his own son, then why would he create a clone of Yan Chen's wife?

Moreover, after creating the cloned female body, Larilo did not control Yan Chen.

What then was her true purpose?

It couldn't possibly be to perform charity or to sing praises to love, right?

So, after thinking it over, a bold idea arose in Qiu Tu's mind: could it be that Old Master Qin not only cloned Yan Chen's wife but also... cloned Yan Chen's daughter?

Was the reason Old Master Qin helped Yan Chen revive his wife to get close to Yanyan, to obtain Yanyan's genetic material?

The reason for choosing Yanyan as a target, Qiu Tu thought, was not hard to guess.

Because the location where Larilo descended was in Xinjie City, and at that time, Yan Chen had already been confirmed as the Investigation Bureau Chief of Xinjie City.

As one of Xinjie City's future Three Giants, Yan Chen's future status was bound to be at the pinnacle of Xinjie City.

Therefore, descending as his daughter would certainly be worthwhile.

Secondly... if Qiu Tu was not mistaken, that betrayer among the high ranks of the Investigation Bureau, likely similar to Zheng Tao, was seduced and degenerated by Larilo during the Great Purge.

And he was Yan Chen's confidant.

Therefore, with his support, Larilo's undercover work would proceed more smoothly, and she would be able to exert her influence more easily.

It was precisely because he grasped these points tonight that Qiu Tu was almost 100% certain that the cloned female body which Larilo descended into was Yanyan.

With this realization, the image of Secretary Bai once again emerged in Qiu Tu's mind...

Because, if Yanyan really was an avatar of Larilo, then Secretary Bai's suspicion would rise sharply again.

After all... Secretary Bai was not only the person most likely to cooperate with Yanyan to exert Yan Chen's influence.

Moreover... more importantly, if Qiu Tu remembered correctly, the day Yanyan came from the Sanctuary to Xinjie City, it was Secretary Bai who received her. (Chapter 124)

Thinking this way, Qiu Tu couldn't help but recall the night in the study when Secretary Bai, soaked on one side, stood under an umbrella.

His heart began to sink.

'Old Bai... is it really you?'

After reasoning through all the grounds for suspecting Yanyan to be an avatar of Larilo in his mind, Qiu Tu explained them one by one to Qin Shuman at a deliberate pace.

After listening to Qiu Tu, Qin Shuman's brows furrowed slightly, and after pondering for a moment, she nodded.

"It makes sense..." she remarked, "No wonder our Security Department has not found any traces of anomaly despite casting a wide net in various parts of Xinjie City."

"It turns out that Larilo was hidden in Yan Chen's garden villa."

Qin Shuman brushed the stray hair at the side of her face behind her ear, "That place is indeed the safest in Xinjie City."

"After all, without a high-level search warrant issued by the Sanctuary... no, even with a high-level search warrant, we are not authorized to search the villa of the Investigation Bureau Chief."

"To search a villa of the Investigation Bureau Chief, only a Disciplinary Committee dispatched by the Sanctuary can manage it."

As she spoke, Qin Shuman seemed to recall something.

She moved her slender legs and walked to the bedside, took some documents from a bedside cabinet, and handed them to Qiu Tu.

Then she said, "These are all interrogation records of Old Master Qin."

"They also involve information about Larilo."

"Under normal circumstances, this document couldn't be provided to you in written form."

"But... who made you get promoted and become the Deputy Minister of the Political Department."

"With your authority, you already have access to this information."

"So, I just brought them directly to you."

Hearing Qin Shuman's words, Qiu Tu took the documents and skimmed through them at a glance.

The information revealed by Old Master Qin was actually not much. After all... Larilo had installed a "trigger word" device on him, and when he spoke of key intelligence, Larilo blew up his head.

Moreover, Qiu Tu had already collected a lot of information about Larilo during this period. Hence, there was not much valuable content in the whole document.

Only two pieces of intelligence caught Qiu Tu's attention.

The first was that Old Master Qin said Larilo had actually begun to strategize in the Cataclysm area near Xinjie City many years ago.

He was neither Larilo's first nor last follower.

In the cities near Xinjie City, Larilo actually also has widespread influence.

After all, reproduction is the instinct of all living things, and men are particularly avid supporters of certain activities.

Larilo not only perfectly satisfies men's desires, but also trains women, so many powerful and influential figures actually worship Larilo in secret.

The second piece of intelligence is that, apart from Larilo, other Heretic Gods are marking their territories around Xinjie City, and this has been happening in the past two years.

The reason is that after Old Master Qin established Xinjie City, he once went to Eastern City nearby to conduct business.

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At that time, Old Master Qin had tried summoning Larilo.

After Larilo appeared, she was initially indifferent.

But when she realized that Old Master Qin was summoning her in Eastern City, her expression immediately turned solemn, and without saying much, she returned to the Boundless Heart Sea.

Old Master Qin didn't understand at first. It was Larilo who later explained to him that a very powerful Heretic God, Zhao Ji, was entrenched near Eastern City.

And Heretic Gods do not coexist peacefully with one another.

Initially, they would fight and devour each other. Later, realizing that this approach often resulted in mutual heavy losses, they started to mark their own territories like wild beasts.

Among these, Xinjie City is Larilo's territory.

As for Eastern City and several other surrounding cities, they fall under Zhao Ji's territory.

After initially descending forcefully and clashing directly with the human world—only to gain little to no benefit—the Heretic Gods became more cunning.

They began sifting through believers using faith, bolstering their own strength, installing their spies amongst the three major power structures, and gradually infiltrating the human world.

They aim to ascend their spies to high positions, or spread them through the mid-ranks, in order to crack open the human world and enable their true descent...

This is also a significant reason why the three major institutions are wary of each other, planting spies, and investigating one another.

Having finished reading the material from Old Master Qin, Qiu Tu's gaze was profound.

He had found it strange before: the world is already chaotic, and there's also a major external enemy.

Why do the three major power institutions still maintain their rivalries?

Although part of the reason is that the powers within the Eighth Sanctuary had not fully integrated, and were still in the process of harmonizing.

But such aggressive efforts at implanting agents within other forces still seemed a bit excessive to him.

Now he finally understood.

It is actually a special kind of mutual Supervisory system compelled by external pressure: internal monitoring is often only top-down, while peer monitoring can easily become a mere formality.

So, simply turn internal monitoring into "external monitoring." Use spies from other organizations to monitor for Degeneration in middle and upper management.

If there is any Degeneration in middle and upper management, it can be eliminated promptly.

If there isn't any Degeneration, it can also promote the improvement of secrecy and counter-espionage abilities among these middle and upper ranks.

To prevent future infiltration or secret exposure to the Heretic Gods.

'Indeed... every unique system bears the imprint of the unique era in which it exists.'

Thinking thus, Qiu Tu gradually withdrew his thoughts and then handed the documents back to Qin Shuman.

Qin Shuman took the materials, then casually gathered up the other documents as well, and placed them in a silver brazier.

Then she stretched out her hand toward Qiu Tu.

Qiu Tu tacitly took a match from his pocket and placed it in her hand.

Qin Shuman took the matchbox, pulled out a match.

"Scratch!"

A match flared inside the room, Qin Shuman let go, and the burning match, sprinkling sparks, then fell into the silver basin.

"Woosh!" Flames leaped up, and the materials began to burn furiously in the flames.

With the blaze as a backdrop, Qin Shuman stretched languidly, displaying her flawless curves and slender waist.

Then, looking at Qiu Tu, she giggled and said, "Our Security Department isn't quite convenient for investigating Director Yan's family or Secretary Bai."

"So... the next steps will have to trouble Minister Qiu~~"

Qiu Tu laughed and said, "Others at least promise something tempting. You can't even bother with that, can you?"

Qin Shuman covered her mouth and chuckled, then said, "Don't worry. I will arrange an action team equipped with the necessary gear to protect you at all times and to follow your commands."

"They should find you to report tomorrow morning."

"Should any emergency arise, or should you encounter danger, you can contact them immediately."

Towards the end, Qin Shuman approached with a mischievous smile, adjusted the uniform draped over Qiu Tu with her hand, and giggled, "Don't worry~~ After the case is cracked, I'll definitely commend you for your work."

Qiu Tu had known Qin Shuman for more than a day.

If Qin Shuman was laughing so heartily, she was mostly acting. So, he unceremoniously put his arms around her, then leaned close to her ear and whispered, "Do I care about your commendations? How about... a different kind of repayment?"

"I'm quite interested in your true form..."

This time, Qin Shuman didn't blush. Perhaps because she had "put on her mask," she smiled and winked at Qiu Tu, "That depends on your efforts, Minister Qiu~~~"

The quiver in her voice made Qiu Tu's body feel a bit weak.

His hand involuntarily moved to slide down her back.

But just then, Qin Shuman reached behind and caught his hand.

"Minister Qiu~~ It's quite late. You should head back."

Qin Shuman's eyes were bright as she looked at Qiu Tu.

Qiu Tu had the intention to let things escalate, but remembering Qin Shuman's recent fatigue and her direct way of showing him out, he ultimately suppressed what he wanted to say.

"Alright then. I'll be going."

After speaking, Qiu Tu paused, then asked one final question.

"By the way, if I want to help you, to what extent should I go?"

If someone else heard this, they'd probably be baffled, not understanding what Qiu Tu meant by this question.

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