Hearing Liu Qiao's words, a chill ran down Xiao Lou's spine. Thinking of the adult versions of Xiao Lou in his dreams, so identical to himself, he suddenly realized that the Xiao Lou Liu Qiao had seen was very likely—
clone.
Whether it's number 4 Xiao Lou, or numbers 5 and 6 that were copied from number 4...
In short, Xiao Lou is certain that he has never met Liu Qiao, while Liu Qiao is very certain that he has met Professor Xiao. This means that the clone next to Liu Qiao is extremely similar to Xiao Lou, and can even be mistaken for the real person, thus deceiving Liu Qiao's eyes.
Xiao Lou's pupils contracted, and he hurriedly asked in his mind, "Xiao Liu, where did you see him? What did he say to you?"
Liu Qiao was puzzled and was about to answer when there was a knock on the door.
She got up and opened the door.
The moment Liu Qiao opened the door, she was met with a pair of dark, clear eyes, eyes full of smiles, looking at her with extremely kind and gentle eyes.
Xiao Lou stood before her and asked gently, "Aren't you asleep yet?"
Liu Qiao: "...Yeah, I can't sleep."
Xiao Lou walked into the room, placed a plate of snacks on her table, and said, "I just came from Old Gui's place and brought some of your favorite snacks."
Liu Qiao stared at the snacks on the table and said, "Thank you... I'm not hungry."
She was a little confused and tried to communicate with Xiao Lou using telepathic connection: " Professor Xiao? Aren't you sitting right across from me? Why are you talking to me using telepathic connection?"
Sitting across from me?
The thought of someone who looked exactly like him standing face to face with Liu Qiao sent chills down Xiao Lou's spine. He hurriedly said, "Xiao Lou, be careful! The Xiao Lou you're seeing isn't the real one; he's a clone!"
The situation was too complicated, so Xiao Lou quickly summarized: "My identity is that of a prince of the Luoke Empire. My father launched the Noahs Ark Project twenty years ago to select the best successor, creating hundreds of Xiao Lou clones. Currently, four Xiao Lou clones are known to be alive. The one you encountered is likely number four, but it's uncertain whether there will be more clones in the future."
Liu Qiao: "..."
Just then, Xiao Lou, who was sitting in front of him, sighed softly, his tone full of helplessness: "If my card holder hadn't been stolen, we wouldn't still be unable to contact Hanjiang and the others. Xiao Liu, why don't you go out to sea as soon as possible, find the others, and bring them back to Mermaid Royal Palace? Once everyone is gathered, we can think of another way."
Whom should we believe?!
Liu Qiao's heart clenched. She clenched her fists under the table to keep herself calm.
She heard herself calmly say, "Let's discuss this with Senior Gui and the others. I don't know where to look for them on my own. If I get lost too, wouldn't that be even more troublesome?"
Xiao Lou smiled slightly: "That's true, let's discuss it again tomorrow."
Liu Qiao's mind was in complete disarray. The Xiao Lou in front of her was exactly the same as Professor Xiao in her memory —his movements, voice, even his smile and tone of voice... How could it be fake?
If it weren't for a Xiao Lou suddenly contacting her today using " Telepathic Connection," she would never have doubted the authenticity of the Xiao Lou in front of her.
On her first day in the secret room, she met Xiao Lou.
According to the setting, Xiao Lou is her older brother and the heir to the Mermaid Kingdom, while Liu Qiao is the Mermaid Princess.
An investigation has been launched following the discovery of human skeletons on a shipwreck deep in the ocean. However, the investigation has stalled, with the only findings indicating that the shipwreck does not belong to the Azure Empire …
But now, another Xiao Lou is telling her that clones exist in this world?
Liu Qiao was in a daze. She continued to communicate with Xiao Lou via Telepathic Connection: "How can I trust you?"
Xiao Lou said, "I have the Qin Guan talisman, which allows me to establish a telepathic connection with you. Isn't that enough proof?"
Liu Qiao calmly said, " Professor Xiao, whom I know, said that on his first day in the escape room, when he went to investigate the shipwreck, the cardholder was stolen, so he has been unable to contact Captain Yu."
Xiao Lou: "..."
Liu Qiao's words made Xiao Lou feel as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.
This clone actually knows the card holder and even Yu Hanjiang's name? It's impossible for the people at Secret Room World to know so much about their team. The only explanation is—
Xiao Lou, who is next to Liu Qiao, is most likely Hunter!
Seeing Xiao Lou's face suddenly turn pale, Yu Hanjiang quickly grasped his hand and asked in a low voice, "What's wrong?"
Xiao Lou said, "I got through to Liu Qiao, but she said that Professor Xiao was sitting right across from her. That person knows our teammates' situation very well, and even made up an excuse that the card holder was stolen so that we couldn't contact Hanjiang."
Ye Qi's mouth dropped open, his jaw almost dropping: "You mean, Liu Qiao has another Xiao Lou by her side?! She trusts that Xiao Lou, but not you?"
Xiao Lou shook his head: "No, she's starting to suspect both of them. After all, the excuse Xiao Lou made up is plausible— the card holder was stolen, and it's possible I stole it… More importantly, that person knows everything about our team. I suspect that number 4 Xiao Lou is Hunter."
Lu Jiuchuan's face was grim. He clenched his fists tightly and gritted his teeth, saying, " Has Hunter already found out about our team's situation?!"
Tang Ci said: "Last week's diamonds" Weekly Routine Tomb of the Headless General, they sent people to follow us all the way. Although Xiao Liu and I were reduced to the size of a thumb at that time, Long Sen and Qu Wanyue used Chameleon.
The cards blended in with the environment... but before that, perhaps they had already figured out our team's composition in ways we didn't know?
Lu Jiuchuan added, "They even know most of our cards?"
Tang Ci's eyes were like ice. He stared at the dark sea in the distance and said, word by word, " The Intelligence Bureau's data has most likely been leaked."
Everyone gasped.
Tang Ci's Intelligence Bureau database contains information on all Challengers, including their teammates.
In the beginning, Lu Jiuchuan found Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou by using the Intelligence Bureau's information network— Tang Ci was able to hack into Card World's official household registration information, find all the " outsiders '" ID numbers, and follow the clues to find Challenger.
Tang Ci said expressionlessly, "In order to rebuild the team and challenge the S-level secret chamber again to return to the real world, after seeing the news that ' Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou broke the Heart 3 world record,' he asked me to closely track the two of them. So, on the day you two arrived in Moon City, Old Gui sent someone to pick you up at the airport."
Xiao Lou naturally remembered this incident. At the time, they suspected Old Gui of having problems, only to later learn that Senior Gui was Ninth Brother's teammate. Xiao Lou turned to Tang Ci and asked, "Mr. Tang, do you mean you have detailed information about me, Hanjiang, and all the teammates on our contract book?"
Tang Ci nodded: "Yes."
Otherwise, Lu Jiuchuan wouldn't have felt comfortable teaming up with them.
Lu Jiuchuan said with a wry smile, "I'm sorry, this isn't Xiao Tang's fault; it was all my idea. Hanjiang and Xiao Lou have broken world records multiple times, so I naturally trust your abilities. But I'm not familiar with the other teammates, so I've thoroughly checked the information on the other people on your contract book..."
Ye Qi said, "Brother Jiu's idea is not wrong, right? Checking the situation of other teammates before forming a team is also a responsibility to the team. If you just form a team to go through the level casually, what if there is a bad guy in the team? He might drag everyone down and cause the whole team to be wiped out."
Lu Jiuchuan patted Xiao Ye on the shoulder: "It's good that you understand. Last time we almost got wiped out in Plum Blossom J. This time, I have to be more careful with the reorganized team, so I had Xiao Tang compile your detailed information... including the cards you drew, as well as your real-life identities and jobs."
Shao Qingge narrowed his eyes: "So, Mr. Tang suspects that Hunter got his hands on this information?"
Tang Ci said, "I was worried about the data being leaked, so I deleted it after looking at it with Brother Jiu. But since I'm a hacker and can break into other people's computers, my computer could also be infected with viruses by others." He lowered his head and said softly, "I'm sorry, this was my oversight."
Lu Jiuchuan gently put his arm around his shoulder without saying a word.
Tang Ci experienced the most terrifying Nightmare Secret Room, watching helplessly as his legs were severed, and was confined to a wheelchair for six months with limited mobility. His suffering is difficult for those who have not personally experienced it to understand.
He was demanding of his teammates in the new team and wanted to find out everyone's background, which is only natural.
As for the data leak, that was not the outcome he wanted.
Lu Jiuchuan certainly wouldn't blame Tang Ci, but he was worried that his other teammates might have a problem with Tang Ci, since the information was very likely leaked from Tang Ci...
Yu Hanjiang said in a low voice, "Now is not the time to assign blame. Even if the data on Mr. Tang's computer wasn't stolen by Hunter, the Hunter Organization has other ways to find our information. In this world, you're not the only hacker. What you can find, others can find too. Don't blame yourself; no one will blame you."
Tang Ci felt a warmth in her heart and looked up at Yu Hanjiang: "Thank you."
Lu Jiuchuan gave his younger brother an approving look and said, "You're right, Hunter always finds a way to get our information. Let's think about how to solve the current problem."
" If Liu Qiao doesn't believe Professor Xiao and believes the clone, then we're in big trouble!" Ye Qi anxiously scratched his head, then his eyes lit up. He turned to Shao Qingge and said, "That's right, don't we still have a security card? Let's connect to Liu Qiao and use the mental channel to tell her that the Professor Xiao who's with us is the real one!"
Shao Qingge nodded, took out the Qin Guan card he had copied earlier, and established a mental connection with Liu Qiao.
However, a notification suddenly appeared in his pop-up window: " Card skill release failed. A Card Skill Shielding magnetic field has appeared within a 10-kilometer radius." Almost at the same time, Xiao Lou also received a notification: " Telepathic Connection interrupted. A Card Skill Shielding magnetic field has appeared within a 10-kilometer radius."
Xiao Lou's expression changed: " It's very likely that the other side has discovered our connection with Liu Qiao. The ' Xiao Lou ' next to Liu Qiao has a very powerful card that can block the skills of other cards over a wide area."
Everyone: "..."
Back when they were in the Imperial Palace, Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang could still connect to the Telepathic Connection outside the palace —the palace only prohibited the use of new cards, while skills that had already been used remained active.
But now, the card's magnetic field shielding has actually rendered the already activated skills ineffective?
This is the strongest Hunter they've ever encountered, and the worst part is, it has a ridiculously ugly face...
Ye Qi said worriedly, "Oh no, the other side has noticed that we're using cards. Will Liu Qiao be in trouble?"
Xiao Lou calmly said, "The stronger the skill, the more restrictions it will have. The duration of a large-area Card Magnetic Field Shielding will definitely not be very long. Otherwise, if the Hunter had this card, he could have rendered all our cards useless, and we would have no chance of winning."
Lu Jiuchuan agreed: "Skills with a wide range and strong effects should last for less than 10 minutes."
Shao Qingge looked at the qin guan card, which had turned gray.
Telepathic Connection regretfully stated, "Unfortunately, Telepathic Connection failed to release and has a 24-hour cooldown period. It won't be usable again until tomorrow morning..."
Xiao Lou said, "Me too. This skill can only be used once every 24 hours. If it's interrupted, I'll have to wait until tomorrow morning to use it again."
What should we do if " Xiao Lou " attacks Liu Qiao and the others within 24 hours?
Liu Qiao should be wary of Xiao Lou now, but after all, he has Xiao Lou's face, making it impossible to guard against him completely. Besides, if Senior Gui and Lao Mo are also in Merfolk Clan, and they don't yet know Xiao Lou is a clone, what if this Xiao Lou, who has already gained their trust, stabs them in the back? Wouldn't Gui Yuanzhang and Mo Xuemin be completely at their mercy?
Xiao Lou became increasingly anxious as she thought about it.
Every second of delay increases the danger to teammates.
what to do?
Xiao Lou lowered his head and thought carefully for a moment, then his eyes suddenly lit up: "I almost forgot that I also have Historical Figure Summon."
Ye Qi said, " Historical Figure Summon? I remember he had a skill called dongpo pork, and the dongpo pork he made was especially delicious?"
Aside from the dongpo pork, Historical Figure Summon's strongest abilities are actually its first and second skills.
The first skill, "When Will the Moon Be Bright?", turns the current scene into a full moon night, forcing everyone in the scene to enjoy the moonlight for 1 hour. The full moon night will last for 8 hours before dawn. This is currently the only scene-changing card.
Skill 2: A Hero of the Ages - Immediately resets the skill cooldown of all character cards within 100 meters of the player.
Historical Figure Summon is like the captain of the character cards, allowing all character cards to refresh their skills.
Qin Guan's Telepathic Connection has now cooled down, making it impossible for him to establish mental communication with Liu Qiao. However, Historic Figure Summon can immediately refresh Qin Guan's skill cooldown.
Historical Figure Summon's two limited abilities can only be used once per room, and now the most crucial moment has arrived.
Xiao Lou decisively said, "Once the Card Magnetic Field Shielding is finished, I will summon the Historical Figure Summon."
******