That evening, everyone split up and took action.
Shao Qingge and Ye Qi rushed back to the orphanage that night and, sure enough, found a large tree at the entrance. After so many years, the tree was lush and its trunk was thicker than an adult's waist. Ye Qi and Shao Qingge exchanged a glance and immediately started digging down the roots. Before long, they unearthed a wishing bottle.
Ye Qi opened the wishing bottle, and inside lay a smart chip used for storing data.
At the same time, Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang, wearing Invisibility Cloaks, infiltrated the rooftop laboratory of the Royal Hospital that Zhang Shaohua had mentioned.
The laboratory door was tightly closed, and in front of it was a long corridor lined with infrared detectors on both sides. There was a strict verification system at the entrance, scanning pupils and verifying fingerprints. If a verification error occurred, it would trigger an alarm throughout the corridor... They simply couldn't get in.
How do I open this door?
After a moment of contemplation, Yu Hanjiang used Telepathic Connection to say to Xiao Lou, "If we can't get in through the door, we can try entering from the roof. There must be air conditioning vents in the lab on the top floor."
Xiao Lou understood: "Use Thumbelina to shrink, then crawl into the air conditioner vent?"
Yu Hanjiang nodded and said decisively, "Let's go!"
That's pretty ingenious. The two immediately left the main entrance, climbed to the rooftop from the side using their Lightness Skill Cards, then used Liu Qiao's [ Thumbelina ] to shrink themselves, found the air conditioner vent, and quickly slipped inside.
The two insect-sized creatures easily passed through the air conditioning vents, entered the internal pipes of the experimental building, and then jumped from the central air conditioning system into the rooftop laboratory.
There isn't much evidence left in this lab.
Clearly, someone has cleaned this place.
The laboratory was spotless and tidy, with a large number of common scientific instruments on display. There was no trace of nutrient solution, glassware, cells, or clones.
When outsiders enter this place, their first reaction is that it is a very ordinary scientific laboratory.
Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang toured the laboratory but found no relevant evidence.
Yu Hanjiang used Telepathic Connection to ask, "Could it be that they abandoned this place and moved the clone lab elsewhere?"
Xiao Lou looked around, feeling something was off: "The most dangerous place is the safest place. When The Lover came here and found the lab completely changed, their first reaction would be, 'They must have moved,' and they wouldn't investigate further... Maybe they've hidden the truth beneath the surface, and all we're seeing is the calm water?"
Yu Hanjiang thought for a moment and agreed, "That makes sense. Let's search more carefully. Maybe there are other hidden rooms in the laboratory."
The two continued searching the walls and floor for any suspicious mechanisms, but still found nothing.
Suddenly, Xiao Lou stood in the middle of the laboratory, his gaze sweeping around: "Don't you think this laboratory is a bit small?"
Yu Hanjiang paused for a moment, then asked, "Has the area become smaller?"
Xiao Lou said, "When we entered the hospital just now, the lobby on the first floor was very large. This building is a standard cubic building, so theoretically, the area of the top floor should be the same as that of the first floor. But this laboratory… is only about 80% the size of the first floor. There are a lot of instruments and equipment here, which can easily make people's vision misjudge and think that the narrow space is due to the crowding effect caused by too many instruments."
Xiao Lou ran quickly from one end of the laboratory to the other, saying, "But distance doesn't lie. I just roughly measured it with my footsteps. The length and width of the first-floor lobby are 40 meters and 10 meters respectively, while the length and width of the top-floor lobby are 35 meters and 10 meters."
Perhaps because he spends so much time in the Forensic Identification Center lab, Xiao Lou is so sensitive to the lab's space. Upon hearing this, Yu Hanjiang immediately realized: "Five meters of length have been lost! There's a hidden door in the room!"
Xiao Lou said, "Let's search carefully at the easternmost and westernmost points."
The width of 10 meters remains unchanged, but the length of the space has been shortened from 40 meters to 35 meters. Where did the remaining 5 meters by 10 meters go? There must be a hidden secret room.
Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou headed east and west, respectively.
Soon, Yu Hanjiang heard Xiao Lou's voice coming from the Telepathic Connection channel: "Found it!"
The westernmost wall, which looks like a wall, is actually a huge hidden door, with the switch on a nearby instrument. This instrument happens to be an optical computer for gene sequencing. After Xiao Lou turned on the instrument, he entered the password "Noah's ark," which was also the first line of Morse code left to CEO Shao by his father.
Sure enough, the entire wall slowly opened.
Xiao Lou witnessed a shocking scene—
In a space of nearly 50 square meters, there are two petri dishes. The glass petri dishes are like two transparent "coffins" filled with blue nutrient solution.
Xiao Lou was all too familiar with the person lying quietly in the petri dish.
One was his father, the king.
There was another one, his older sister.
***
Ye Qi and Shao Qingge rushed to the orphanage overnight and returned overnight to bring the information to Tang Ci.
Tang Ci quickly compared the three sets of data, identified the differences, and sent the results to Xiao Lou.
As expected, the document that Zhang Shaohua had Madam Ye take away and that Madam Ye buried under the tree was the most comprehensive original Noahs Ark Project data, which included His Majesty and Princess Xiao Rou's genetic samples, as well as the detailed process of cell culture.
The information discovered by Merfolk Clan omitted the parts about His Majesty and Xiao Rou.
The data discovered by the Zerg was based on the Merfolk Clan data, and added a plan for chip implantation and Zerg gene modification. Some clones have acquired the cloning ability of the Merfolk Clan and have been mass-produced.
The Invisible Man, it turns out, comes from version 3.0.
This is a product artificially created after optimizing the genes of the three major races.
The invisible man who infiltrated Gemini Palace was clearly a chip-controlled tool by Rhode Bell, the leader of Space Pirate. He left Xiao Lou the message that "the one who survives to the end is the winner," in order to lure Xiao Lou away from the palace to investigate Azure Planet —so that he could carry out the hunting plan against Xiao Lou's team.
On Merfolk Clan's side, if it weren't for Liu Qiao's quick thinking and Xiao Lou's caution, they would have been wiped out in the deep sea. After the first hunt failed, Hunter used a clone of Chu Huaying to lure Xiao Lou and the others onto the starship, nearly causing it to crash!
From the very beginning, the invisible man who infiltrated Gemini Palace was a trap.
The truth has finally come out.
***
There is only one day left until the wedding of His Highness the Prince and Lin Yan.
Xiao Lou gathered his teammates again and finalized the action plan for the wedding day.
On August 1st, the weather was sunny and cloudless.
Prince Xiao Lou and Miss Lin Yan departed from the palace. The prince, dressed in a luxurious suit, was dashing and debonair; the princess, in a pristine white wedding gown, was radiant and beautiful. Hand in hand, they walked down the long red carpet, a perfect match in terms of looks and talent.
Amidst the blessings of the people, they boarded a luxurious carriage that departed from the Imperial Palace.
The carriage carried the two of them all the way to the Garland Castle and into its most sacred chapel.
Lin Yan's father, General Lin Zecheng, and mother, Professor Zhang Shaohua, were also among the accompanying relatives and friends.
Zhang Shaohua has been feigning amnesia for years, appearing dazed. Therefore, General Lin specially made her wear a hat with a half-veil to cover her face, so as not to cause her to lose her composure at the wedding.
Lu Jiuchuan and Tang Ci disguised themselves as bodyguards and followed General Lin and his wife.
To their surprise, Xiao Rou actually arrived.
The princess of the Azure Empire somehow persuaded Prince Herman to come to his brother's wedding, and she walked beside His Majesty.
The group of guests entered the church and took their seats in turn.
Chu Huaying sneaked into the church beforehand, secretly kidnapped the priest, and took his place.
She was quite convincingly dressed as a man, wearing a priest's hat and loudly reciting the vows: "Today, we gather here under the watchful eye of God to witness the wedding of Mr. Xiao Lou and Ms. Lin Yan. This is a sacred, devout, and solemn moment. If anyone has a valid reason to oppose their union, please stand up now, or remain silent forever..."
When the priest asked "Does anyone object?" during the oath-taking ceremony in the church, it was just a routine procedure, and Xiao Lou and Lin Yan, standing in front of the priest, didn't take it seriously.
But no sooner had Chu Huaying finished speaking than a clear voice suddenly rang out in the church: "I object."
Everyone in the room turned around to look—
Xiao Lou, dressed in the same white royal attire, walked calmly down the red carpet, accompanied by Yu Hanjiang, the Royal Guard captain in a handsome military uniform.
The entire audience was stunned.
How... how come there are two princes?!
The two looked exactly alike, with no difference in their facial features. However, the prince who walked out of the church walked with a calm and composed demeanor. His innate noble air was highlighted by his well-tailored formal attire.
He walked through the sunlight, his whole body seemingly coated with a golden halo.
Conversely, Xiao Lou, standing in the shadows inside the church, suddenly became somewhat gloomy.
.
Their eyes met in mid-air. Xiao Lou smiled slightly and said, "A copy can never replace the original. The order of the human world should not be broken by scientific experiments that have no ethical bottom line."
His words were completely nonsensical, leaving the guests at the scene utterly bewildered.
His Majesty, who was sitting in the front row, suddenly stood up: "Guards, seize this fellow who dares to impersonate a prince!"
Before His Majesty could even finish speaking and before the guards could react, Yu Hanjiang, quick as lightning, raised his gun in a flash, teleported to his side, placed one arm across his chest to restrain him, and pressed the gun against his head with the other, saying calmly, "Who dares to move?"
Lu Jiuchuan and Tang Ci, who were standing next to General Lin, acted simultaneously and quickly subdued Lin Zecheng!
Chu Huaying, who had just been reciting the oath, appeared behind the fake Xiao Lou without anyone noticing, pressed the spider dagger against his neck, and whispered, "Don't move."
Lin Yan was terrified: "You, who are you people? Are you plotting a rebellion?!"
Xiao Lou waved calmly, and Tang Ci used his portable optical computer to zoom in on the LCD projection screen, clearly displaying two video conferences from the Noahs Ark Project from over twenty years ago.
" Cloning is like copying data; we're just creating our own data backup!" "But can these clones really be considered human?" "We can guarantee they won't enter human society..."
In the meeting room 20 years ago, the young His Majesty, General Lin, and many familiar faces, the clear voices of their debate echoed in the church.
The faces of the high-ranking military officers, government officials, and business tycoons present were deathly pale.
Xiao Lou looked at Princess Xiao Rou sitting in the first row and said gently, "Sister, when Mother was seriously ill, you raised me yourself. Only you can prove who the real prince is and who is the copy, right?"
Xiao Rou calmly stood up. She looked at Xiao Lou, then at Xiao Lou who was being held hostage by Chu Huaying. After a moment, she took a deep breath and pointed at Xiao Lou, who was being held hostage by Chu Huaying, and said, "He is my brother. My brother has never had a scar on his forehead, while you, this copy of mine, had a scar on your forehead because you accidentally bumped your head."
Xiao Lou touched his scarred forehead, his smile still on his face.
Just as I expected.
If Xiao Lou hadn't suspected Xiao Rou's ulterior motives beforehand, her sudden betrayal at the last minute would have caught him completely off guard and allowed her to turn the tables on him. But now, looking at her earnest performance, Xiao Lou only found it laughable.
Xiao Lou asked, " Where is Rhode Bell?"
Xiao Rou was taken aback: "What are you saying?!"
Xiao Lou said, "Is he controlling you through the chip? The cloned sister."
Before Xiao Rou could react, Xiao Lou gave a signal, and Chu Huaying suddenly made her move—
The Spider Queen's speed is unmatched. Hua Ying is most adept at appearing and disappearing unpredictably. Before anyone in the church could even see what was happening, Chu Hua Ying teleported behind Xiao Rou and severed her right hand with a sharp spider dagger!
As a slender hand fell to the ground and rolled along the red carpet to Xiao Lou's feet, a piercing scream suddenly erupted from the scene.
"Ahhh—"
The guests were stunned by the unexpected turn of events at the wedding.
Many people instinctively tried to escape, but Tang Ci suddenly used mechanical spiders to forcibly pull them back. Long Sen, who was in charge of guarding the church today, stood at the door and used Old Mo's [ Marble Bricks ] to seal the door shut.
Not one of them will escape!
Xiao Rou's face turned ashen, and she screamed, "What are you trying to do, you imposter?!"
Xiao Lou looked at her severed hand: "You'll find out soon enough."
Within seconds, the blood on Xiao Rou's severed hand completely congealed, and the wound suddenly began to heal. At the site of the severed limb, new fingers gradually... grew out.
Those slender, white fingers sprouted from the cut surfaces like plant buds, their skin smooth as if newly born.
Those who witnessed this scene gasped in shock.
"My God, how did her hand grow back?!" "Am I hallucinating?" "Her...her severed hand was still on the ground, and then a new one grew out?"
The guests present could not believe this bizarre scene.
Xiao Lou said, " The biggest difference between clones and humans is that their bodies can heal automatically after being injured. No matter how well you act, you can't hide this instinct—it's your advantage, but it's also the mark that identifies you."
No sooner had he finished speaking than Lu Jiuchuan fired a shot into General Lin Zecheng's head. Chu Huaying appeared behind the newlyweds Xiao Lou and Lin Yan like the wind, severing their fingers with two swift strokes. Yu Hanjiang even shot His Majesty through the shoulder in full view of everyone!
The situation is completely out of control.
Long Sen had a marble wall built around the entrance to block the guards from supporting His Majesty. Since only a few guests could enter the wedding venue to begin with, this sudden change shocked all the guests.
His Majesty, General Lin, Prince Xiao Lou, Lin Yan, and others were seen to be healing rapidly.
The emperor, whose head was smashed open, not only didn't die, but the wound on his head actually healed completely?!
His Majesty's eyes instantly turned crimson. He glared fiercely at Xiao Lou and whispered, "Kill him."
At this point, there was no need for acting anymore. The clones, as if suddenly activated, pounced fiercely on Xiao Lou—
Yu Hanjiang immediately flew to Xiao Lou's side, grabbed him, and leaped into the air, narrowly dodging the attacks from Xiao Rou and His Majesty.
Suddenly, a soft piano melody drifted out from outside the church.
It was Ye Qi. He estimated the distance to be 100 meters and started playing the piano outside the church. This way, all the targets inside the church could no longer move, while Xiao Lou and his teammates could not use cards but could continue to move.
Xiao Lou walked to where the priest had been, glanced across the church, and said calmly, " The Noahs Ark Project. As you all saw from the video conference recording, you should already know who proposed it and what they are researching."
"My father suffered the pain of losing his son and decided to clone the prince as a backup. He never expected that this plan would be used by someone with ulterior motives. Now, clones have become humanoid weapons. Some people want clones with evolutionary abilities to replace humans and rule the world. We must stop this crazy plan."
"From this day forward, I will inherit the throne of the Luoke Empire. It is time for these counterfeit replicas to disappear from our sight completely."
He winked at Yu Hanjiang, who then informed Ye Qi via Telepathic Connection.
Almost the instant Ye Qi's piano music stopped, Yu Hanjiang, Lu Jiuchuan, Chu Huaying, and Tang Ci acted simultaneously. They poured the alcohol and flames they had prepared earlier onto the clones. Five flames suddenly erupted in the church, and as the flames swept through, several clones began to scream in agony!
The scream sounded extremely eerie, a human voice mixed with the roars of the Zerg.
People around them quickly moved away, their faces extremely grim.
Prince Xiao Lou actually burned His Majesty to death and usurped the throne in public?! The empire has existed for many years, and there have been royal struggles, but a prince like Xiao Lou is unprecedented…
However, the shocking truth was laid bare before them, and it was difficult for everyone to accept and process it all at once.
Your Majesty, Prince, Princess, Princess Consort, General Lin...
As these people gradually turned into charred remains, the guests at the scene dared not even breathe.
Xiao Lou's gaze swept across the church as he said, "The whole story will be explained to everyone by General Yu, the captain of the Royal Guard, and Major General Lu Jiuchuan, the legion commander of the Imperial Arrow Legion. The media won't report a single word about what happened at today's wedding, and those of you here probably won't remember much either, right?"
Standing on the stage, Xiao Lou's gaze was calm, but the authority implied in his words made many people tremble.
The young prince has now naturally become the sole heir to the throne.
Although the real emperor single-handedly spearheaded the Noahs Ark Project and thought he was very clever in creating a replica of himself, he never expected that one day he would be devoured by his own replica.
But he could only lie in the cold culture medium, falling into a deep sleep without any awareness.
Those who challenge the bottom line will eventually reap what they sow.