"So... does anyone want to volunteer to help Minister Qiu?"
Hearing Tang Feifei's words, the few high-level executives present exchanged glances and then began playing dead.
Even Guan Weihua, who had just praised Qiu Tu, remained motionless, eyes on his nose, and nose on his heart—admiration is one thing, but emulating Qiu Tu was beyond him.
Seeing that no one responded, Tang Feifei did not persist. Instead, she pondered for a moment and spoke again, "Since no one wants to send reinforcements, let's discuss another matter."
"The mission of the Dare-to-Die Team is basically completed. Although it fell short of expectations, the objective has been achieved."
"Xinjie City is not suitable for development right now."
"So... can we just go ahead and promote Deputy Director Qiu Tu based on the completion of the mission?"
At Tang Feifei's words, the executives were taken aback.
In truth, if taken seriously, the mission of the Dare-to-Die Team could indeed be considered complete: The Three Giants had dispatched the team to figure out whether the Xinjie Territory was suitable for development or not.
Now that they had proven it unsuitable, it made sense—even if they hadn't fully understood the leyline nodes, the distribution of cataclysmic creature territories, cataclysmic materials, and mineral deposits—since it was unsuitable for development, knowing everything else would be moot.
But... the thing was, Qiu Tu didn't exactly have a good relationship with those present. In fact, many harbored deep grudges against him.
Even if the Dare-to-Die Team had completed its mission, they did not want to let Qiu Tu get promoted so easily.
Now that the mission wasn't truly finished, how could they possibly agree to it?
Moreover, the hierarchy in government was pyramid-shaped; the higher you went, the fewer the spots available. If Qiu Tu moved up, they'd be stuck.
So... thinking of this, Shi Youxin, Lin Ting, and even Guan Weihua all promptly expressed their opposition.
Originally, they thought that by voicing their objections, they would undoubtedly incur Tang Feifei's displeasure or retaliation.
The two sides would engage in verbal sparring for a few rounds but, unexpectedly, something miraculous happened.
After the three opposed her, Tang Feifei simply nodded her head in agreement.
Then Tang Feifei, as if nothing had happened, dismissed the meeting and took all sorts of audio-visual materials and intelligence gathered by the Dare-to-Die Team back to the Bureau Chief's office.
This abrupt end to the meeting left the high-level executives' CPUs overheated.
They looked at one another, clueless about what Tang Feifei was plotting...
The night passed without incident.
Day and night in the Boundless Heart Sea were the opposite of those in the real world.
It was in the morning of the Boundless Heart Sea that Qiu Tu had team 1 and 4 return.
They arrived back in the real world at around 20:00 to 21:00.
At this time, there weren't many agents still working at the Investigation Bureau, and although the news about Qiu Tu and the Dare-to-Die Team had begun to spread, it wasn't yet widespread.
The next day, as the sun rose over Xinjie City, and the various departments of the Investigation Bureau began their workday,
the news about the Dare-to-Die Team and Qiu Tu exploded like a bomb in the calm waters of the organization.
The mission that the Dare-to-Die Team had undertaken encountered an unexpected event and became extremely dangerous?
Many members were injured, and three were critically wounded?
Qiu Tu was forced to halt the Dare-to-Die Team's mission and sent all its members back?
But Qiu Tu himself hadn't given up on the mission and was continuing to act in the face of immense danger?
This somewhat legendary experience quickly elevated Qiu Tu's reputation among the lower-level agents in various departments of the Investigation Bureau to new heights.
If things had stopped there, maybe these agents would just deepened their image of Qiu Tu as a superior who cared and sympathized with his subordinates, choosing to side with Qiu Tu when the time came, without stirring up any real resonance...
But then, another piece of gossip began to spread.
The gossip was about the emergency high-level meeting the previous night.
Someone had leaked the words spoken by Shi Youxin about the "Combat Troops" and "Logistics Department," as well as the news that the three top executives jointly vetoed Qiu Tu's promotion.
All of a sudden, the bottom layer of the Investigation Bureau was abuzz.
The lower ranks of the Investigation Bureau were all ordinary agents.
Regardless of the Public Security Bureau, the Special Service Department, the Political Department, or the Administrative Office, besides the mid-high-level officials who worked in offices, everyone else worked on the front lines.
When someone like Qiu Tu, a high-level executive, went to the front lines for combat, Shi Youxin's one sentence could erase most of his achievements.
Feeling oppressed by those in the rear, this sense of shared identity suddenly made it
impossible for everyone to accept the diminishment of their accomplishments.
As he was thinking this, Fang Tangtang shyly covered her face and then untied her waist sash.
The next second, her bathrobe slid down to reveal a body as exquisitely carved from white jade.
Qiu Tu acknowledged that in that moment, his heartbeat seemed to accelerate for an instant.
But after all, he was a decent man. Besides, he had a philosophy book to read tonight!
So, he lowered his head to look at the book "Existence" in his hands, first glance, second glance... and then kept reading!
"Fuck 'Existence', the meaning of 'existence' is in Cao currency!"
Thinking this profoundly vulgar, philosophy-insulting thought, Qiu Tu leaped out of bed, amidst Fang Tangtang's cries of alarm, scooped her up, and then pressed her down onto the bed...
Blue Moon blushed and brought clouds to cover her face.
That night, Qiu Tu and Fang Tangtang were engaged in a passionate battle until midnight.