If, as the two speculate, His Majesty did indeed create many clones of Xiao Lou back then, then how many clones are actually in the palace?
The Xiao Lou that Yu Hanjiang saw beside His Majesty that day appeared very obedient and submissive, with a somewhat dull gaze, so Yu Hanjiang recognized him at a glance as not being Xiao Lou. However, the Xiao Lou attending the birthday banquet tonight was composed and refined; his words, actions, and demeanor truly resembled those of a noble prince. Could they not be the same person?
Xiao Lou noticed Yu Hanjiang's thoughts and said, " The appearance and voice of a clone will not be different, but the eyes and temperament are cultivated later in life, and it is impossible to make them exactly the same. Therefore, the Xiao Lou you saw that day and the Xiao Lou you saw tonight are very likely two different people."
Yu Hanjiang frowned: "So, including you, there are already three Xiao Lou in the palace?"
Xiao Lou was also puzzled. It was logically understandable that His Majesty, fearing the pain of losing a son again, might create many genetically identical Xiao Lous. However, the bond between father and son needed to be nurtured; only princes raised by His Majesty's side would develop a genuine affection for him.
If successfully replicated cells are placed directly in a petri dish and cultured until adulthood, wouldn't such a person be in a dangerous position to inherit the throne, as they wouldn't be close to His Majesty or understand various theoretical knowledge?
But if you keep all the clones around you, wouldn't it be chaotic if there were too many?
After careful consideration, Xiao Lou came to a conclusion: "Suppose there are three Xiao Lou in the palace. I have lived in Gemini Palace since I was a child and am the 'prince' that His Majesty has made public. The second one is the very obedient and well-behaved Xiao Lou that you met the other day, who can be pushed out to take the blame in an emergency. The third one is the real prince that His Majesty has hidden away?"
Yu Hanjiang said, "In other words, His Majesty only invites the real prince out on important occasions like engagement parties and birthday banquets. But what if His Majesty makes a mistake and the real prince gets killed instead?"
Xiao Lou said, "Then let me make it look real?"
In Xiao Lou's memory, he received an excellent education from a young age. His Majesty personally selected teachers for him, and the courses he studied included astronomy, geography, history, politics, economics and trade, military command, mecha operation, and so on, covering all aspects and laying a solid foundation for his succession to the throne.
If you're just raising a clone, there's no need to go to such lengths.
Yu Hanjiang agreed, saying, "His Majesty has put so much effort into you and has always made you believe that you are the real prince, just in case one day the prince is killed and you can replace him at any time? Of course, if you are killed, the other prince he has raised will be just as outstanding."
Xiao Lou nodded: "That's double insurance. His Majesty makes me believe I'm a prince, and makes the other Xiao Lou believe he's a prince too. We both feel we're the real ones, so there's no need to pretend, and we won't think about betraying His Majesty. If one of us gets into trouble, there's the other. Anyway, to His Majesty, we share the same genes, so we're both considered his descendants."
Which one is the real prince?
Or perhaps the three Xiao Lou in the palace are actually replicas? And how does His Majesty distinguish them?
Xiao Lou became increasingly confused, and his head began to throb violently, as if some long-buried memory was about to break through the soil, only to be blocked by an electric grid. Yu Hanjiang gently held his hand: "Don't force yourself if you can't remember. Let's wait and see what CEO Shao and Teacher Qu's investigation results are."
Xiao Lou stopped reminiscing, took a deep breath to ease the sharp pain in his mind, and looked at Yu Hanjiang, saying, "There's another question I can't figure out."
Yu Hanjiang asked, "Is it about the guards at the entrance of Gemini Palace?"
Xiao Lou nodded, then asked in confusion, " Teacher Qu witnessed someone infiltrating Gemini Palace, but when you returned just now, the two guards were adamant that 'no one entered.' Clearly, they were drugged and didn't know what happened. If the two guards at the gate didn't know and assumed I hadn't left Gemini Palace, how did His Majesty know that someone went to Gemini Palace to assassinate me?"
The only people who knew Xiao Lou wasn't in Gemini Palace, besides his teammates, were the invisible man who had once infiltrated Gemini Palace.
Thinking of this, Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou exchanged a glance, and Xiao Lou lowered his voice: "His Majesty doesn't need to go through all this trouble to send someone to kill me. He could have just killed me directly. Besides, he has spent so much effort on me, there is no reason for him to suddenly get rid of me."
Yu Hanjiang said, "There's another possibility. Did he plant surveillance cameras in Gemini Palace?"
At this point, Yu Hanjiang suddenly raised his hand.
He wore an exquisite silver-white ring on his thumb, a gift from His Majesty that day, said to activate the spirit fragments of the S-class intelligent mecha, Spirit Fox. Xiao Lou saw the ring and asked softly, " Spirit Fox? Could this S-class intelligent mecha have the ability to monitor the entire Gemini Palace?"
Yu Hanjiang said, "Let's give it a try."
He gently pressed the button on the ring, summoning the intelligent robot Spirit Fox.
The next moment, the robot, resembling a young boy, appeared before the two, a large, silvery-white tail suddenly appearing behind him. The tail shot skyward, reaching a height of over three meters. Fortunately, the ceiling height of the Gemini Palace's living room exceeded three meters; otherwise, the spirit fox's tail would have definitely pierced through the roof.
The tail rose and then instantly split in two, one on the left and one on the right, forming the sharp wings of the intelligent mecha. The boy's body also began to transform rapidly. In the blink of an eye, a five-meter-long, three-meter-wide combat mecha appeared in front of the two.
The mecha was entirely covered in silvery-white high-tech synthetic metal, with a lustrous sheen.
Its body lines were sleek, and its two eyes emitted dazzling white light. A clear, youthful voice rang in my ears: "Master, the Spirit Fox AI has been activated."
The intelligent mecha that could transform instantly opened the eyes of Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang.
Xiao Lou stepped forward, reached out and touched the mecha's beautiful metal wings, and asked softly, " Spirit Fox, are you monitoring Gemini Palace?"
The spirit fox replied honestly, "Yes, Master. The entire Gemini Palace is equipped with an electronic defense network and hidden surveillance cameras that I have set up to ensure your safety at all times."
Upon hearing this, Yu Hanjiang immediately said, "Retrieve the video recordings from 9 PM to 10 PM tonight."
A liquid crystal screen appeared in front of Spirit Fox, displaying a 360-degree panoramic view of the entire Gemini Palace, leaving no blind spots. The two saw that around 9:10 PM that evening, someone had indeed taken down the guards at the entrance, the door was opened, and the dark figure slipped into Gemini Palace, making his way to Xiao Lou's bedroom. He opened the door, found no one there, and then jumped out the window to escape.
The entire incident was recorded, but unfortunately, only the assassin's shadow was captured on camera. Judging from the shadow, the person was likely male and over 180cm tall. But why was the assassin invisible? Did they have an invisibility card?
Xiao Lou looked thoughtfully at the surveillance camera. The two guards at the door woke up around 9:30. They looked at each other and asked, "Why did you fall asleep?" "I don't know..." They looked back at the door of Gemini Palace and found it closed. There seemed to be nothing unusual. Fearing being held accountable, they insisted that nothing had happened when Yu Hanjiang questioned them.
Yu Hanjiang asked in a low voice, " Spirit Fox, did His Majesty order you to transmit the surveillance data to him?"
The spirit fox said, "Yes, Your Majesty can also control me remotely."
Xiao Lou understood: "It seems he knew someone had infiltrated Gemini Palace because he could have Spirit Fox monitor Gemini Palace's movements at any time. Then..." Thinking of the intimate moments with Yu Hanjiang in bed the night before last, Xiao Lou's ears turned slightly red as he looked at Spirit Fox: "Did you also send the video from the night before last to His Majesty?"
Spirit Fox's voice carried a hint of confusion: "The night before last, I was in hibernation mode and didn't record anything."
Yu Hanjiang raised an eyebrow: "Not recording while in hibernation? What if someone breaks into Gemini Palace while you're in hibernation?"
The spirit fox explained, "Once an outsider approaches Gemini Palace, my infrared detector will automatically sense it and immediately activate the hidden surveillance network to monitor their movements. If anyone poses a threat to His Highness the Prince, I will immediately issue an alarm."
Yu Hanjiang understood and looked at Xiao Lou, saying, "Just like a dashcam, it will automatically start recording when someone passes by the vehicle. However, Spirit Fox is much more advanced than that."
Xiao Lou said, "After all, it's an S-class intelligent mecha that can transform. Maybe it can take us on interstellar journeys?"
The spirit fox was bewildered: "Master, what are you talking about?"
"It's nothing, go into hibernation." Yu Hanjiang pressed the ring, and the mecha in front of him quickly transformed back into an ordinary intelligent robot, obediently retreating.
Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou prepared to take a shower and rest.
Xiao Lou told Yu Hanjiang to shower first. Yu Hanjiang went into the bathroom and turned on the shower. Xiao Lou turned around and sat on the sofa. He was about to turn on the optical computer to check the news when he suddenly felt a cold wind blowing behind him. Xiao Lou turned around alertly, and the next moment, a cold hand swiftly grabbed his neck. A deep voice sounded in his ear: "Don't move."
A gun was pressed against Xiao Lou's lower back, and his spine stiffened slightly.
He told Yu Hanjiang about his current situation via Telepathic Connection: "Someone ambushed me, but I can't see him. There's no image of him in the mirror either, so he must be invisible."
In the bathroom, Yu Hanjiang turned the shower on full blast, pretending to take a bath, but actually quickly dressed and hid behind the door, using Telepathic Connection to ask Xiao Lou: "Is it that assassin? Could it be that he's been staying in Gemini Palace all along and hasn't escaped?"
Whether it's Qu Wanyue or Spirit Fox's surveillance footage, all they see is a window being opened and a dark figure stepping out...
No one was seen going out.
This person was actually hiding in Xiao Lou's bedroom all along?
***