Ye Qi suddenly thought of an even more terrifying outcome. He looked at Xiao Lou and said, " Professor Xiao, if it's as you say, and the Merfolk Clan is still researching clones, since they were able to obtain cells from Ninth Brother and Mr. Tang and make those cells grow into adults in a short period of time, then they could also clone Liu Qiao and return him to Senior and Old Mo!"
Xiao Lou also thought of this, and his face became even more unpleasant: "You're right. After all, Xiao Liu, Lao Mo, and Senior Gui are all in Merfolk Clan. It's not difficult to obtain their cells for replication."
Tang Ci frowned and asked, "Who in our team hasn't been copied yet?"
Yu Hanjiang said, "My memories from childhood to adulthood are very clear. Except for when I was eighteen and went to military school, I have never left Capital Star or gone to the hospital for examinations. Theoretically speaking, they should not be able to get my cells."
Lu Jiuchuan said, "And then there's Hua Ying. She's been a Space Pirate since she was a child, always traveling around the universe with the Dark Night Starship. She's never landed on any human planet, so she's very difficult to replicate."
Xiao Lou said, " Long Sen and Qu Wanyue have been living in Capital Star since they were young. Their parents are ordinary people who have no connection with the Noahs Ark Project. They probably weren't copied either."
Shao Qingge joked, "Our team has 12 people in total. Only 4 of us weren't copied. The remaining 8 could all become pirated copies. So, this escape room is actually a 'fight against piracy,' right?"
Everyone: "..."
Even at a time like this, CEO Shao still has the leisure to joke around, everyone believes this is definitely the real CEO Shao.
Xiao Lou opened the contract book, checked his teammates' names again, breathed a slight sigh of relief, and said, "Fortunately, all 12 names are on the contract book. Whether or not they've been copied, at least everyone is alive."
Yu Hanjiang frowned and said, " Long Sen and Qu Wanyue are safe for now. Hua Ying is the head of Space Pirate, so she should be fine. What's worrying is Liu Qiao, Senior Gui, and Lao Mo. Liu Qiao has lost consciousness. We need to confirm her identity with Senior Gui as soon as possible, and also plan our next steps."
Lu Jiuchuan thought for a moment and then suddenly said, "That's right. Hunters can find our information, but they can't possibly know what we've talked about in private. The only way to make Old Gui believe us is to reveal a secret that only we know and that can't be found out through any other means."
Lu Jiuchuan and Tang Ci exchanged a glance and quickly reached an understanding.
Tang Ci approached Shao Qingge and whispered to CEO Shao, "Once when we were trapped in a maze and chatting, Old Gui told me and Ninth Brother that he was nominally a calligrapher, but in private he loved traditional Chinese painting more. When he was in the third grade of elementary school, he sold his practice paintings online and earned 400 yuan. That was his first income. The paintings he made were in the style of ink painting, depicting plum blossoms, orchids, bamboo, and chrysanthemums."
Shao Qingge spoke to Old Gui via Telepathic Connection: "Senior Gui, Tang Ci told me that a drawing you did in third grade sold for 300 yuan online. Do you remember what it was about?"
Gui Yuanzhang's deep voice echoed in my mind: "It's 400 yuan, for plum blossoms, orchids, bamboo, and chrysanthemums."
Shao Qingge nodded to Tang Ci: "That matches."
Tang Ci breathed a sigh of relief: "It's true, even his parents don't know about this."
Gui Yuanzhang asked in confusion, " Was Tang Ci next to you? Then who was it that I saw today?"
Shao Qingge said, "The Ninth Brother, Tang Ci, Xiao Lou, Shao Qingge, and Ye Qi you saw were all clones cultured from cells. Senior Gui, didn't you notice anything amiss?"
Gui Yuanzhang thought about it carefully and said, " Professor Xiao said from the beginning that his card holder was stolen, CEO Shao and Ye Qi are also unable to use the card, and Lu Jiuchuan and Tang Ci are still lying in the treatment room, unconscious. Xiao Lou explained that the S-level secret chamber is very difficult, and this must be the Guardian's arrangement."
Shao Qingge frowned as he relayed Old Gui's words to Xiao Lou.
Xiao Lou said helplessly, "This clone is very clever. Back in the Tenth Stage, one of our teammates was unconscious for several days. He used ' Guardian's arrangement' to explain that the card holder was stolen and the teammate was unconscious, which is indeed easy to believe."
At the tenth stage Shao Qingge was unconscious for three days before waking up, and some of the secret rooms were forbidden. If all of this is understood as " a plot deliberately set up by Guardian to increase the difficulty", what reason do the teammates have to doubt it when they have no idea that " clones exist"?
As long as they don't reveal too many clues, Liu Qiao and his two companions will soon follow their lead and trust them.
Xiao Lou asked, "Could you ask the seniors what they've been doing these past few days?"
Shao Qingge asked in his mind, "Seniors, what have you been doing these past few days in the secret chamber? Apart from Ninth Brother and Tang Ci being unconscious, have Xiao Lou, Shao Qingge, and Ye Qi shown any unusual behavior?"
Gui Yuanzhang said, "On the surface, nothing seems out of the ordinary. Everyone has been investigating the human remains on the shipwreck. Xiao Lou, using his knowledge from Forensic Doctor, deduced that the remains belonged to 8 men and 2 women, who died about 20 years ago, all from drowning in the shipwreck. Since the ship was a military spaceship and the pattern on it doesn't resemble the Azure Empire's emblem, our current conclusion is that the ship came from another country. We are investigating other leads."
Shao Qingge glanced at Xiao Lou with a complicated expression and said in a low voice, "Your clone actually knows about Forensic Doctor anatomy. No wonder Liu Qiao and the others trust that Xiao Lou so much."
Xiao Lou: "..."
Imagine someone who is 99% identical to Xiao Lou in appearance, voice, expression, and movements. When leading the investigation, they can quickly analyze the characteristics of human bones and the cause of death, just like before.
This led to the deduction of the shipwreck's origin...
He said the card holder was stolen, would his teammates still suspect anything?
Yu Hanjiang, however, keenly sensed something was amiss. He said, " Xiao Lou may not be familiar with Forensic Doctor autopsies. More likely, he knows the people on the sunken ship and knows how they died. Of course, he can tell you their gender, cause of death, time of death, and the origin of the sunken ship. He can also make Liu Qiao and the others trust his ability to investigate the case and mistakenly believe that he is Xiao Lou."
Xiao Lou suddenly realized: "The Gu-breeding plan 20 years ago killed most of the cloned children, and the few who survived were all elites. No one has ever seen Xiao Lou No. 4. Maybe someone helped him escape from the palace and to Azure Planet? The ship sank at sea and everyone else died, but the clone survived?"
Shao Qingge said, "Humans are afraid of water, but the Zerg are not. The clones have Zerg genes, so perhaps they have inherited this advantage? They can go without breathing for a long time on the seabed."
This statement gave Xiao Lou a jolt: "So the three clones, Xiao Lou, Shao Qingge, and Ye Qi, can stay on the seabed forever!"
Yu Hanjiang carefully sorted out his thoughts and said, "Let's assume that someone from the military secretly took Xiao Lou out of the palace, along with clones of Shao Qingge and Ye Qi, and escaped to Azure Planet. Their spaceship accidentally arrived here and encountered a whirlpool at sea. The spaceship crashed into the deep sea, and everyone else drowned, but Xiao Lou, Shao Qingge, and Ye Qi, who had Zerg genes in their bodies, survived."
Xiao Lou added, "When this group fled, they took all the clone- related data with them. The shipwreck incident just happened to give the Zerg access to the Noahs Ark Project data, allowing them to continue their research in the deep sea?"
If this hypothesis is correct, all the current clues can be connected.
The shipwreck and human bones Old Gui and his group encountered in the deep sea were the remains of researchers and some military officers from the Luoke Empire who had fled with clones. They had hastily fled the empire, likely realizing His Majesty's plan was too ruthless and that he would surely eliminate them to silence them, so they escaped with several clones and all the data…
As a result, they encountered a sea whirlpool, and all the humans died, but the three clones survived.
At the time, Xiao Lou, Shao Qingge, and Ye Qi theoretically had the bodies of five-year-olds but the intelligence of infants. Merfolk Clan may have been interested in the clone data they brought and thus raised the three clones to adulthood. Otherwise, how could these three outsiders have lived in Merfolk Clan's deep-sea territory for so long?
Xiao Lou looked at Shao Qingge: "Could you ask them about their status in the Merfolk Clan?"
Shao Qingge immediately asked, "Senior, what roles were the teammates you met assigned to?"
Gui Yuanzhang said, " Xiao Lou is a prince of the Merfolk Clan, and Liu Qiao is his sister, Mermaid Princess. Shao Qingge and Ye Qi are Xiao Lou's friends. Lu Jiuchuan and Tang Ci are humans that Xiao Lou rescued when he went out half a year ago. Lao Mo is the architect of the Merfolk Clan, and I am an elder of the Merfolk Clan."
Shao Qingge listened and relayed the information to his teammates simultaneously.
Upon hearing the final words, Lu Jiuchuan couldn't help but say, "So, the one who saved us on Zerg Planet was Xiao Lou?" clone?
Tang Ci nodded and said, "He has lived in Merfolk Clan for over twenty years and has learned the mind-altering Mermaid Song. At the same time, he also has Zerg genes in his body, can understand the Zerg language, and can communicate with the Zerg Queen?"
At that time, the Zerg Queen was furious and vowed to make Lu Jiuchuan's entire legion pay with their lives. If someone hadn't been able to communicate with her and calm her anger, how could she have easily let him go?
She can sing mermaid songs, speak human language, and even the language of the Zerg...
Xiao Lou sighed and rubbed his forehead: "This clone is much better than me."
The clone is more powerful than the original, which is probably what His Majesty wants to see most, right? According to the principle of survival of the fittest, this Xiao Lou is the best candidate to inherit the throne - his body cannot be injured, not to mention his skin, even his internal organs can be automatically repaired; he is not afraid of water and can walk on the deep sea as if it were flat ground; he can sing mermaid songs and can bewitch people's minds; he also has extremely high intelligence.
Ye Qi couldn't help but complain: "This clone is practically a protagonist in a sci-fi wish-fulfillment novel. Not only can he inherit the throne of the Luoke Empire, but he can also inherit the throne of the Merfolk Clan, destroy the Azure Empire, befriend the Zerg, and unify the interstellar space is not a dream."
Shao Qingge chuckled and touched his nose: "Unfortunately, the one who got the male lead role is our nemesis— Hunter."
Everyone: "..."
This is really frustrating!
How can the genuine Xiao Lou compete with this Hunter who seems to be living the life of a protagonist in a sci-fi fantasy novel?
Xiao Lou can't even swim, let alone go to the deep sea; he'd drown in five minutes. He also lacks the body's ability to heal; minor injuries hurt, while serious ones are fatal.
Xiao Lou pressed his temples in exasperation: "To deal with this Xiao Lou of Merfolk Clan, we first need to find out who in Merfolk Clan is helping him forge his identity. How did a clone become a prince of Merfolk Clan?"
Ye Qi asked curiously, "Does he have a mermaid tail? Wouldn't it give him away if he didn't have a tail?"
Shao Qingge bluntly asked Old Gui, "Senior, did Xiao Lou, Shao Qingge, and Ye Qi you saw have any tails?"
Gui Yuanzhang said, " The Merfolk Clan has long since evolved to have two legs that can walk. When they were at the Mermaid Royal Palace, they would walk on two legs like humans. But when they went out to sea, they would grow the Merfolk Clan's signature tail. Merfolk with tails could swim at speeds of almost 200 kilometers per hour in the sea."
That's faster than a sports car!
Shao Qingge looked at everyone with a complicated expression: " Old Gui said that Xiao, Shao, and Ye all have tails."
Ye Qi felt a chill run down his spine.
He couldn't help but reach out and touch the back of his tailbone... cough cough, he found it hard to imagine what he would be like with a fish tail. He really wanted to meet the cloned mermaid, Ye Qi.
Tang Ci pondered, "They have tails? Does that mean these are likely clone 2.0 versions?"
******