at the same time when Larilo was fleeing and planning to swoop in like a sly sparrow, to seize the Dock Sea Area.
In Xinjie City, at the office of the Investigation Bureau Chief.
Qiu Tu appeared remarkably at ease.
With a smile, he lit a cigarette. Amidst the whirling smoke, he pondered over Larilo's little trick.
Larilo had a reason for daring such a move.
Although Wuhai City and Xinjie City were both part of Dongye State, they were quite far apart.
Xinjie City was to the west of Eastern City, while Wuhai City was to the east.
Traveling from Xinjie City to Wuhai City would take roughly 10 hours.
A round trip would require about 20 hours.
Adding the time to search for and capture Larilo, one would need to allocate two to three days for the task.
And as the Investigation Bureau Chief who had just launched a new purge plan, Qiu Tu could not afford to leave Xinjie City for an extended period.
Hence, Larilo would get a brief yet opportune moment.
The reason for it being brief but opportune was also based on a reason.
With the Whale Shark's "Cataclysm Path" being "Life", Larilo's speed in refining the Leyline Nodes and the Central Hub of the Dock Sea Area would be greatly reduced.
Moreover... Although the Whale Shark looked imposing and his strength was decent, because he became a god through Cataclysmic Creatures and not a naturally nurtured Evil God like Larilo, he carried an inherent sense of inferiority and caution.
This explained why he often bragged but was the first to cower, a facade masking inner vulnerability.
Such a character meant he did not dare to covet a large area, hence... the Dock Sea Area was quite small, arguably the smallest. Only having 9 Leyline Nodes.
Thus, Larilo could refine them at a very swift pace.
Two to three days might be tight, but it was absolutely feasible.
And once Larilo successfully refined all the Leyline Nodes and reconstituted the Central Hub,
Qiu Tu, unless he killed her, would have no chance of acquiring the Central Hub.
But would Qiu Tu really kill Larilo?
Although Larilo had been scheming for so long without ever conspiring against Qiu Tu, after spending much time together, she realized one thing: Qiu Tu, for whatever reason, was reluctant to kill her.
It was precisely because she grasped Qiu Tu's bottom line that Larilo dared to make such a move.
To put it plainly, she was like a petulant child at home who, upon seeing something tasty, stuffed it straight into her mouth!
It didn't matter whether it belonged to her. She would savor it first, her "dad" surely wouldn't kill her over it!
Having figured out Larilo's thought process, Qiu Tu shook his head and chuckled. Then, leaning back in his chair, with the cigarette in his hand, he gestured towards Ah-Shui in front of him, "Alright, I've got it. I will make arrangements."
Hearing Qiu Tu's words, Ah-Shui responded, then his dark figure shrank, blending with the shadow of the desk.
He and Da Tou took turns leading their teams to protect Qiu Tu each day. Zhu Huoyan was stationed at the Central Hub, commanding the Dark Soldiers.
The Special Warfare Squad had an independent formation. They performed missions when there were any, and when not, they would take turns guarding Qiu Tu...
After sending Ah-Shui off, Qiu Tu smoked his cigarette, his eyes narrowed as he contemplated quietly.
To be honest, Larilo's escape had disrupted his plans. He had actually "prepared" a place in the Boundless Heart Sea Region for Larilo, but it was not the Dock Sea Area.
The Dock Sea Area, he had other plans for it... related to his promotion to Deputy Speaker.
'So... I'll still have to capture Larilo back.' He thought.
With that in mind, Qiu Tu snuffed out the blazing cigarette butt in the ashtray on his desk and picked up the landline to make a call...
"Ask Eagle to come over."
The work of the Investigation Bureau Chief was hectic and dull.
Fortunately, there was Tang Feifei's "catch the big and let go of the small" management strategy given to Qiu Tu.
Thus, Qiu Tu, as a Chief with insufficient background who ascended too rapidly, was able to keep the Investigation Bureau operating smoothly.
Additionally, Qiu Tu pragmatically had Ai Li wipe out all scouts and plants from the Anti-government Armed Forces and Extreme Religion once and for all.
And with Tang Feifei, they had trained a batch of elite in the two months of her authority, hence the public security pressure in Xinjie City was not heavy.
This allowed Qiu Tu, a beginner Chief, to not embarrass himself in daily operations.
In the afternoon, Tao Yaoyao successfully transferred from the City Hall to the Investigation Bureau.
As Qiu Tu expected, without his intervention, just with Chen Feng, the matter was handled.
However, what surprised Qiu Tu a bit was... the matter caused quite a stir.
It was said that after coordinating with Chen Feng and having Tao Yaoyao's profile transferred to the Investigation Bureau by the Organizational Department, City Hall directly packed Tao Yaoyao's office belongings and personal items and had them dumped at the entrance of the Investigation Bureau.
It was the investigators from the Political Department who noticed these items, sensed something amiss, and notified Guan Xiao. Guan Xiao came personally to inspect and discovered they belonged to Tao Yaoyao.
Although Guan Xiao immediately sealed off the news, there are no walls in the world that can keep secrets, especially when it involved a beautiful female secretary and two giants of Xinjie City, the news just couldn't be kept under wraps.
As many people at the City Hall were aware of the aunt-nephew relationship between Tao Yaoyao and Jiang Zhenpeng, the rumors didn't spin into a romantic narrative.