After lunch, everyone instinctively felt extremely sleepy, having only slept for an hour or two the night before and suffering from severe sleep deprivation. Seeing his teammates yawning from sleepiness, Xiao Lou said to Lao Mo, "Lao Mo, can we use the beanbag chair?"
Mo Xuemin took out a beanbag chair from the card holder and said, "Come on, let's take turns sitting here."
A beanbag chair can instantly eliminate fatigue and restore energy. Xiao Lou also used this method to force herself to stay awake because of time constraints, as she had already arranged tasks for the afternoon.
Everyone took turns sitting on the beanbag chairs, and soon felt refreshed.
"We need to go back to the Azure Empire palace and ask my sister for help." Xiao Lou pulled some bone fragments out of his pocket and said, "I took a small piece from each of the 10 skeletons from the shipwreck. I want to go to the identification center to extract DNA from the remains and identify these ten people by testing their genetic fragments."
"These people have been dead for 20 years. Can DNA still be extracted from their bones?" Ye Qi asked curiously.
"Yes, you can. The half-life of DNA is 521 years. Every 521 years, half of the chemical bonds between DNA molecules will break. DNA can be extracted from bones that have been stored in ancient tombs for hundreds of years, so 20 years is nothing," Xiao Lou explained.
"That's great. If we can extract DNA to confirm the deceased's identity, we'll be able to uncover a large part of the secrets about the Noahs Ark Project in the Luoke Empire." Lu Jiuchuan smiled at Xiao Lou. "Having a Forensic Doctor here is really convenient."
"I hope the Empire's gene bank preserves everyone's genetic data," Xiao Lou said. "If Mr. Tang can hack into the Empire's gene bank and retrieve the data, he can compare and find out the identities of these ten dead people."
Tang Ci nodded and said, "I don't know the encryption level of the gene bank, but I'll try my best."
"Get ready to go." Xiao Lou looked at Liu Qiao and the other two. "You guys should come too. You can meet up with Hua Ying and see if you can get any clues from her."
"Okay." Liu Qiao and the other two followed.
They could jump directly into the sea and swim to the shore, but Xiao Lou and the others could only move forward by using Lightness Skill Cards and Teleportation Cards.
These cards also had excellent movement abilities, and soon the group arrived at the small fishing village. Liu Qiao and the other two immediately put away their tails and walked on two legs like normal humans.
The hovercar Shao Qingge had previously bought had been sucked into the vortex and destroyed. Fortunately, CEO Shao was rich and bought another one. He drove the car, flying through the air. When he passed near the palace, Xiao Lou pressed the earpiece and whispered, "Sister, can you hear me?"
The team's voice headset had an effective range of 10 kilometers. At the time, Xiao Lou had left one headset for his sister to use for communication. Xiao Rou was having a meal in the palace. After hearing the voice in the headset, she pretended to rub her ear, subtly pressed the protrusion on the headset, and said to the maid next to her, "What do you think we should eat tonight?"
Xiao Lou knew she had heard him, so he quickly said, "Sister, I'd like to ask you to ask Dr. Edwin for a favor. Their hospital should have genetic testing equipment, right? I need to extract some DNA from the remains to identify the genetic sequence."
Inside the palace, a maid brought out a menu and said, "Your Highness, the doctor said you need to supplement your vitamins. This dinner menu is nutritionally balanced. Do you see if there's anything you need to change?"
Xiao Rou smiled and said, "That's fine then. You can leave now. I'm a little tired and want to take a shower and sleep for a while."
The maid replied, "Yes, Your Highness. Please call me if you need anything."
A few seconds later, Xiao Rou entered the bathroom. A loud shower blared through her earpiece; clearly, she had turned the shower on full blast to disrupt the eavesdropping device. She pressed the button on her earpiece and whispered, " Xiao Rou, what's going on? Where did these bones come from? Has someone died?"
The sound of the showerhead was chaotic, but Xiao Lou could still hear it clearly.
She explained, "The deceased were likely escaped from the Empire. I found some skeletons on the seabed and need to identify them. Could you contact Dr. Edwin and ask him for help?"
Xiao Rou said softly, "Okay, Dr. Edwin is on duty this afternoon. He's an obstetrics specialist. Find someone to pretend to be a pregnant woman and go see him. Just say that I sent you. He'll find a way to help."
Xiao Lou said, "Thank you, sister."
Xiao Rou paused for a moment and said, " Father didn't mention anything about your escape from Capital Star to me, and there's been no word from Prince Herman either. I don't know what Father means... Anyway, you must be careful and take good care of yourself."
Xiao Lou said, "I know, sister, take care too."
After ending the call, Xiao Lou looked at Liu Qiao and said, "Xiao Liu, you're the only girl here. You'll have to pretend to be pregnant later. We need to go to the hospital to see an obstetrician."
Liu Qiao nodded: "Okay."
Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang used Mask again Card disguised himself as two ordinary-looking passersby, posing as Liu Qiao's family members. Liu Qiao pretended to be a patient, while the others waited nearby.
The three of them went to St. Paul's Hospital to register for a doctor's appointment, and it was soon their turn.
Liu Qiao walked into the consultation room. Dr. Edwin glanced at the young woman and said gently, "Are you pregnant? Is this your first time seeing a doctor?"
Liu Qiao remained calm: "Yes, I'm here for a prenatal checkup."
The doctor looked at the two men behind her and was about to ask the family members to leave when Xiao Lou suddenly walked behind the doctor and lowered his voice, saying, " Princess Xiao Rou sent us. We are the two interns from last time. We need your help."
Edwin quickly realized what was going on and said with a smile, "Okay, patient and family, come with me for a moment."
He led the three into the adjacent examination room, telling all the interns to leave. Once everyone was clear, Xiao Lou explained his purpose: "Professor, I'd like to borrow the equipment at the genetic testing center."
Edwin frowned and said, "We can't get into the testing center right now... By the way, they'll be closing at 5:30 this afternoon. I'll figure out a way to get you in then. You can wear your intern uniforms like last time."
Yu Hanjiang said, "Thank you, Professor."
***
At 5:30 p.m., Professor Edwin's outpatient hours ended. He arrived at the testing center with three "interns" in white coats, quickly entered the laboratory, and locked the door behind him.
The identification equipment in the future world was different from what Xiao Lou had used. Fortunately, with Professor Edwin's help, Xiao Lou successfully extracted DNA from the ten skeletons and analyzed the gene sequence using instruments.
The high-tech equipment was incredibly fast; in the blink of an eye, ten detailed gene sequences appeared on the LCD screen. The densely packed nucleic acid data made Xiao Lou's eyes light up. He copied the data, destroyed all the records in the system, and whispered, "Thank you, Professor."
Edwin waved his hand: "Let's go quickly, lest we be discovered."
After leaving the hospital, Xiao Lou, Yu Hanjiang, and Liu Qiao quickly returned to the coffee shop near the hospital where they had agreed to meet.
In a small private room on the second floor, Tang Ci, Lao Mo, and Gui Yuanzhang were drinking coffee. Opposite the three men sat a woman dressed in a black leather jacket, her hair neatly tied in a ponytail, looking dashing and heroic.
Liu Qiao was stunned: " Sister Huaying?"
Chu Huaying gave a faint "hmm": "I have limited time, so I'll get to the point."
Xiao Lou entered the private room, sat down, and asked, "Did you find anything during your investigation of my sister?"
Chu Huaying said, " Princess Xiao Rou doesn't know much about the Noahs Ark Project. She married Prince Herman 20 years ago. Although she had seen Xiao Lou's clone before she got married, she couldn't find out any more information on her own. After she got married, her actions were always monitored by her husband Herman. I suspect that Your Majesty had some kind of agreement with Prince Herman back then."
Xiao Lou nodded: "What about Hermann's side?"
Chu Huaying frowned and said, "This prince is very wary, and it's difficult for me to get close to him. But based on my investigation over the past few days, he is unaware of the Noahs Ark Project. The Luoke Empire is secretly researching clones, and this information cannot be known to too many people. As for the Azure Empire, Princess Xiao Rou only knows the basics, and Prince Herman doesn't even know the basics. Our current focus should still be on the Merfolk Clan."
After thinking it over carefully, Xiao Lou said, "After midnight tonight, Xiao Liu will go to Merfolk Clan with Lao Mo and Senior Gui to scout ahead. If we find the clone lab successfully, I'll use Peach Blossom Spring to pull you up, and we'll go to Mermaid Royal Palace together to take care of the mastermind behind it all—and those Hunters who look exactly like us."
Chu Huaying readily agreed, saying, "Fine, I'll wait for your summons."
She stood up and walked out, but turned back at the door and glanced at Liu Qiao: "Xiao Liu, you must be extra careful. I heard you are the Mermaid Princess. Xiao Lou might want to get rid of you the most, since you threaten his right to succession."
Liu Qiao nodded seriously: "I know, Sister Huaying, you should also be careful."
Chu Huaying said, "I'm leaving now. See you later."
She wore high-heeled leather boots and quickly disappeared from everyone's sight.
Xiao Lou looked at Tang Ci and asked, "Where's Ninth Brother?"
Tang Ci said, " CEO Shao and Ye Qi just checked out of the hotel. They checked into the Ferris Wheel Hotel, and not returning to their rooms for several days will definitely arouse suspicion. Brother Jiu is secretly following them to protect them in case anything happens to them."
Xiao Lou nodded: "It's better to be cautious. Mr. Tang, is it possible to hack into the Imperial Gene Bank?"
Tang Ci took out his portable optical computer: "Don't worry, it's all taken care of. Get your things checked."
Let's use the sequence we measured for comparison.