Let them offer their loyalty!

Qin Shuman looked at Qiu Tu and then asked softly, "I remember you said last night that among Yin Caimei's personal belongings, there was a banned book?"

Qiu Tu nodded, "Yes. It's called 'Brave New World'."

Qin Shuman's gaze grew a bit profound, "Have you already read that book?"

Qiu Tu recalled for a moment and said uncertainly, "I should have only flipped through seven or eight pages, just skimmed it really, without looking closely."

Qin Shuman's eyebrows knitted slightly, "Although we can't be 100% certain, the anti-government organization imprinting curses on banned books for members to carry around and read, so as to conveniently dispose of them at any time, is indeed a rather reasonable guess."

Qiu Tu said, "So you also suspect that book could very well be the carrier of the 'Resentment Entanglement'?"

"Have I been targeted already?"

Chin in hand, Qin Shuman reminisced and slowly said, "I'm not very familiar with the effects of the 'Cursed Printing Machine'."

"I only heard some rumors about it during training at the Sanctuary."

"So, I can't be sure what the impact of just reading a few pages will be, nor whether there's any danger to life."

As she spoke, Qin Shuman seemed to make up her mind, and she said to Qiu Tu, "I feel that guessing back and forth here accomplishes little when we could simply verify it directly."

As she spoke, Qin Shuman didn't even wait for Qiu Tu's reaction before she deactivated the effect of the 'Mist Index Book' and then used it on Qiu Tu again.

Qin Shuman was clearly worried about Qiu Tu's condition, acting with incredible speed, so much so that Qiu Tu didn't even have a chance to refuse before feeling a mysterious force appear out of nowhere, descending upon him.

In that moment, Qiu Tu's complexion changed several times, but in the end, he chose to accept Qin Shuman's kindness.

The mist once again appeared slowly, filling the entire morgue.

Lines began to extricate, and the material world started to fade away gradually.

Soon, Qiu Tu's body was illuminated in the mist just like Yin Caimei's corpse.

Qin Shuman approached to examine the traces of Catastrophe Power outlined on Qiu Tu's body by the 'Mist Index Book'.

'Hmm... traces of Catastrophe Power in the head, that's not good.'

'Traces of Catastrophe Power in the neck, hmm, that's normal.'

'Traces of Catastrophe Power in the limbs, organs too...'

'How is the effect of this 'Resentment Entanglement' curse so strong?'

"Hmm?" Qin Shuman was startled momentarily, sensing something was amiss.

She quickly stepped back and studied Qiu Tu's entire body, only to discover that every organ, every cell in Qiu Tu's body was filled with Catastrophe Power!

Qin Shuman stood shocked, somewhat dazed!

'How could there be so much!?'

The next second, Qin Shuman realized!

This wasn't the effect of Resentment Entanglement! This was... Catastrophic ability enhancing the entire body!

Qiu Tu was actually a Cataclysmic!

With that thought, Qin Shuman became entirely enlightened.

She watched Qiu Tu with some disbelief. When had it happened? When had Qiu Tu become a Cataclysmic?

She thought back but had no recollection.

And... wasn't Qiu Tu, like herself, in possession of this body?

Could one still undergo Cataclysm Awakening after possession?

Does this awakened Cataclysmic ability belong to the soul, the original body, or the current body?

If I, Qin Shuman, were to take over Su Xiaowan's body and then drink the Cataclysmic Potion, would it be I or Su Xiaowan who awakens?

Qin Shuman felt question upon question piling up in her mind, overwhelming her thoughts.

Fortunately, at this time, she hadn't forgotten the reason she used the 'Mist Index Book' on Qiu Tu.

She forced herself to come back to her senses and then observed Qiu Tu's left chest area for a while.

This time, disregarding the disturbance from Qiu Tu's own Cataclysmic abilities, she finally saw that smidgen of 'Resentment Entanglement' enveloping Qiu Tu's heart.

The bad news was, Qiu Tu had indeed been targeted.

The good news, however... was that the amount of 'Resentment Entanglement' was much smaller than the traces left on Yin Caimei's body.

Qin Shuman breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that even if the curse erupted, it would at most cause Qiu Tu discomfort for a few days without threatening his life.

But after relaxing, Qin Shuman also felt a tinge of self-reproach for worrying unnecessarily on his behalf.

Although she was unclear about what Qiu Tu's former identity was,

the fact that he could so quickly obtain the Cataclysm Prop that allowed her to recover and that he could experience Cataclysm Awakening while in possession clearly indicated... he was someone significant in the past.

Very likely, a High Order Catastrophist.

Therefore, Qiu Tu might be out of his depth when it comes to investigating cases, but dealing with these Cataclysmic abilities, Cataclysm curses was likely not a big problem for him.

With that thought, Qin Shuman once again lifted the effect of the 'Mist Index Book' and said somewhat lacklusterly, "You were indeed targeted, but it's not a major problem."

Having said that, she gave Qiu Tu another complicated look and added, "But you weren't really worried about this Catastrophe Curse, were you?"

Actually... when Qin Shuman used the 'Mist Index Book' on him, Qiu Tu's heart had skipped a beat.

Having lived two lives, he had grown accustomed to keeping his guard up against anyone.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

So even though his relationship with Qin Shuman had grown quite close, he had never told her about his own Cataclysm Awakening.

He had even intentionally used the 'Nightmare Crystal Vial' to conceal this from her while treating Qin Shuman.

Who would have thought that Qin Shuman, worried about him, would use the 'Mist Index Book' on him.

Qiu Tu had indeed witnessed the effect of the "Mist Index Book" a moment ago, which essentially outlined a person's entire Catastrophe Power.

Therefore, the moment Qin Shuman used it on him, he knew he was in trouble: Qin Shuman would definitely discover the fact that he was a Catastrophic.

As expected, it was not beyond his expectations; after inspecting his body, Qin Shuman's expression seemed a bit off.

Furthermore, with that hint of sarcasm in her speech now… it was clear she was angry.

So, after pondering for half a second, Qiu Tu still chose to tell the truth, "Yes, I have a way to lift the curse."

What Qiu Tu actually meant was that his Catastrophic ability was a bit special and could lift such Catastrophe Curses.

But to Qin Shuman's ears, it turned into an acknowledgment that Qiu Tu's former identity was not trivial, and that such a low-level curse was nothing in his eyes.

So, Qin Shuman confirmed her speculation once again: Qiu Tu must have indeed been a High Order Catastrophic in the past.

Only... thinking about this, she was a bit puzzled again:

If Qiu Tu's true form was a High Order Catastrophic and he also had a way to lift possession, then why hadn't he returned to his original form all this time?

Why had he been possessing "Qiu Tu" all along? Was it for Yan Chen?

After all, the highest-ranking person that the identity "Qiu Tu" could get close to was Yan Chen.

Thinking of this, Qin Shuman followed this line of thought and continued to ponder…

Who, and what force, would need to investigate Yan Chen?

Moreover, recalling Qiu Tu's actions during this period: he was neither close to the Investigation Bureau nor familiar with the Anti-government Armed Forces, and was even disinterested in those big businessmen...

On the contrary, he was very close to her and the Security Department.

With this realization, Qin Shuman suddenly had a bright idea...

'Could he be a private soldier of some big shot from the military, or an investigator dispatched to the Planning Area from the Sanctuary?'

'But then... I haven't heard of such a person coming to Xinjie City on a secret mission...'

Guessing and guessing, due to the scarcity of information, Qin Shuman felt that the mist surrounding Qiu Tu was growing thicker.

Therefore, she could only temporarily suppress her speculations about Qiu Tu's identity:

She knew all too well that those working on the secret front despise others probing into their true identities.

Up until now, Qiu Tu had never harmed her, nor had he damaged the interests of the Security Department or the military. Thus, there was no need to clarify his identity. It was better to just interact with him over time.

Especially since... with the current case potentially involving the Anti-government Armed Forces, helping Qiu Tu was also helping herself; there was a chance to gain merit, so there was no loss!

With this in mind, Qin Shuman adjusted her mood, then said to Qiu Tu, "Since you can lift that curse, I don't need to worry."

"Let's continue to analyze the case."

She paused for a moment, then said, "We can confirm now that Yin Caimei was indeed a victim of homicide."

"And the likely culprit is the Anti-government Armed Forces she was part of: the United Front."

"As for the murder weapon, considering the curse inflicted on you, there's a 90% chance it was that Banned Book she always carried with her."

While saying that, Qin Shuman tapped the "Mist Index Book" in her hand and added, "So, what we need to do now is to confirm the murder weapon."

"After all, although 'Brave New World' is 90% likely to be the murder weapon, investigation requires not 90%, not 99%, but 100% certainty!"

"Besides the Banned Book being the weapon: you and Yin Caimei might have seen the same thing, drunk the same water source, or eaten the same food that could have led to you both suffering the same curse."

"Even..."

"We can't rule out the tiny possibility that someone crazily afflicted random individuals or a large area in the Investigation Bureau with a curse."

Pausing, Qin Shuman became serious, "Investigations must be meticulous."

"So, let us first confirm the murder weapon before moving on to the next step in reasoning."

Upon hearing this, Qiu Tu nodded his head.

He knew he was a novice detective, far less experienced than Qin Shuman. But his strength was that he took advice well. So he immediately replied, "That copy of 'Brave New World' is still in the temporary office of the investigation team."

"I will go get it now, then compare it with the Catastrophe Curse on Yin Caimei's body."

Having said that, he turned towards the door.

However, just as he reached the door and his hand touched the doorknob,

suddenly, from outside the door came the steady sound of boots: "Tap... tap... tap..."

Qiu Tu was startled for a moment, and his movements paused.

"Tap... tap... tap..." The footsteps continued to approach, and finally... stopped right outside the morgue door.

Qiu Tu's brow furrowed slightly, and he let go of the doorknob.

Then, at this moment, the doorknob which he had released turned a few times, making a "clicking" sound.

But since Qiu Tu had locked the morgue door upon entering, it didn't open.

This clearly took the person outside by surprise.

After a half-second of silence, the person outside asked in a deep voice, "Who's in there?"

At the sound of the person's voice, Qiu Tu was taken aback, then his heart suddenly leapt.

It was the voice of Zheng Tao, a confidant of Yan Chen and Jia Shu, his superior and head of the Interrogation Section.

'Why has he come?' Qiu Tu wondered.

At this thought, Qiu Tu's brow knitted slightly, sensing something was amiss.