Yu Hanjiang's words startled his teammates, and a chill ran through them.
The clone and the real person are indistinguishable from each other in appearance.
The card holder can be given to someone else. For example, Xiao Lou once entrusted his card holder to his teammates for safekeeping. What if No. 5 controls Liu Qiao and takes the card holder off her and puts it on clone?
The identity of a cardholder cannot be confirmed solely by their cardholder information.
To confirm whether Liu Qiao is the real person, we need to verify some secrets with her that only everyone knows and that Hunter won't find out. However, Liu Qiao is currently unconscious, so it's impossible to confirm whether she is the real person.
Yu Hanjiang asked, "Where did you find her?"
Recalling his experience at Mermaid Royal Palace, Gui Yuanzhang frowned: "The process of rescuing Liu Qiao was indeed relatively smooth. We first went to Liu Qiao's residence but did not find her. We deduced that Clone might have taken Liu Qiao to his palace, so we went to Prince Xiao Lou's palace to look for her. We found the unconscious Liu Qiao in the fifth side hall."
Old Mo added, "At that time, ' Xiao Lou ' happened to return. We could hear him talking to the guards outside the door. Old Gui and I were pressed for time and didn't think too much about it. We just carried Liu Qiao and fled the palace."
Although the whole process was thrilling, the two did not encounter any obstacles.
Yu Hanjiang asked, "Just now, Senior Gui and CEO Shao connected via Telepathic Connection. CEO Shao said that the clone went to your place, drugged you, and took you away. Is that true?"
Gui Yuanzhang nodded: "Yes, what he took away was a dummy that I drew using the magic paintbrush of Ma Liang."
Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang exchanged a glance, feeling that something was amiss—why did Number 5 bring Liu Qiao to his palace? Or was this Liu Qiao actually a pre-made replica that had been kept in his palace all along?
Until Liu Qiao wakes up, nothing can be concluded.
Xiao Lou suggested, "Let's be cautious and control Xiao Liu first. In case she's a clone or a Hunter and tries to make a move while everyone's asleep, we can take precautions in advance."
Shao Qingge suggested, " After I was infected by the Zerg, didn't you shrink me to the size of a thumb and put me in a Mineral Water bottle? I think we could use that method to shrink Liu Qiao first, put her in the bottle, and then release her after she wakes up and her identity is verified. It would be safer for us this way, and Xiao Liu should understand."
spade 8 After CEO Shao was infected by the Zerg, everyone worried he would attack his teammates, so they shrunk him and put him in a bottle. The situation is similar now; if Liu Qiao were a clone or a Hunter, he could very well harm his teammates from behind.
Once she shrinks to the size of a thumb, she becomes much less dangerous, which is safer for both her and her teammates.
Gui Yuanzhang took the [ Thumbelina ] card from Liu Qiao's card holder and shrunk her. Thus, Mermaid Princess lay on the reef... Liu Qiao then turned into a small fish the size of a thumb.
Ye Qi took out the [ supply card ], poured out the water from a bottle of Mineral Water, then went to the beach to fill a bottle with seawater and put Liu Qiao in it.
Because Liu Qiao was unconscious, she quickly sank to the bottom of the Mineral Water bottle.
Everyone looked at the small fish in the bottle with complicated expressions.
The identities of everyone else have been verified. Xiao Lou found a piece of...
Stone sat down, moved the obstructing blue fishtail aside, and said, "Let's think about our next plan. Senior Gui, show me Liu Qiao's cards."
Gui Yuanzhang handed Liu Qiao's card holder to Xiao Lou. Xiao Lou noticed that the duration of the Mermaid Princess skill on this card had changed from the initial 2 hours to 8 hours. He said, "Xiao Liu may have used this Mermaid Princess card a few times before. Its growth level is now at the maximum, and the duration is as long as 8 hours."
Ye Qi asked in confusion, "When did she use it? I've never seen her turn into a mermaid."
Old Mo said, " Liu Qiao is a very meticulous girl. She probably realized that this card's duration was too short, so she used it a few times to max out its level. We haven't seen her use it because we didn't need this card in the later dungeons. I guess she might be experimenting on it herself in the bathtub, turning into a mermaid..."
Thinking back to the cruise ship's Weekly Routine Liu Qiao has even transformed into a shark, and Ye Qi thinks this is very likely. Liu Qiao is a girl who loves adventure, and it's quite in line with her personality for her to transform into a mermaid when she's bored.
This is precisely why her max-level card provides immense convenience to everyone. Otherwise, if the card were still in its initial state, the mermaid transformation would only last for 2 hours, a very short time, making it impossible for them to infiltrate the palace to investigate.
Xiao Lou thought for a moment and said, "Each transformation lasts for 8 hours. We can sneak into Mermaid Royal Palace every night to scout and leave before dawn?"
Gui Yuanzhang shook his head and said, " The Merfolk Clan are active after dark, more energetic at night, and sleep during the day. It should be the other way around."
Xiao Lou understood: "Then let's wait until dawn before diving into the deep sea. Senior Gui, Lao Mo, why don't you introduce the Merfolk Clan to everyone first?"
Gui Yuanzhang sat beside him and said in a low voice, " The Merfolk Clan's system is very simple. Minor matters are decided by the king, while major matters must be approved by the elders in a meeting. Including myself, the Merfolk Clan currently has seven elders. Because mermaids live in the deep sea and do not interact with other races, the people of the clan live together like family. If you look closely, there is a lot of close kinship in the Merfolk Clan, and all the people of the clan are related by blood."
Mo Xuemin added: " The palace in Merfolk Clan is actually a large maze. I've only explored half of it in the past few days. I haven't had time to explore a large area in the east yet, but from the outside, there are several large palaces there, and there may be clone labs in them."
Gui Yuanzhang asked, "Is the key to investigating this locked room mystery ' cloning '?"
Xiao Lou nodded: "Yes, we escaped from Capital Star in the Luoke Empire to the Azure Empire, and investigated step by step. The root of all this is the Noahs Ark Project from more than 20 years ago. Judging from all the clues, we can only pass the game by completely terminating the clone project."
Old Mo looked at Xiao Lou with a complicated expression: " That Xiao Lou from Merfolk Clan is quite capable. These past few days he's been leading us in investigating the shipwreck case, and his analysis is incredibly insightful, just like Professor Xiao himself..."
Yu Hanjiang asked, "Where exactly is that shipwreck? We need to go take a look too."
Old Mo said, "It's very close to the Mermaid Royal Palace. There are 10 human skeletons on the shipwreck, 8 men and 2 women. The oldest is over 50 years old and the youngest is only 5 years old, a girl."
"5 years old?" Xiao Lou paused for a moment, then said, "The clones from 20 years ago were catalyzed into 5-year-old children... Are you sure the girl who died was 5 years old?"
Gui Yuanzhang nodded: "That ' Xiao Lou ' said that based on the pelvis and bone age, it was a girl around 5 years old. I also examined the child's remains, and judging from the height, it also seemed to be a girl around 5 years old."
Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou exchanged a glance, and simultaneously thought of a name: " Lin Yan?"
Ye Qi's eyes widened: " Professor Xiao's fiancée?"
Shao Qingge narrowed his eyes and said, "Don't forget, Lin Yan's mother, Professor Zhang Shaohua, also participated in the Noahs Ark Project, so it's normal for Miss Lin to have a clone. The group that escaped from Capital Star back then took Lin Yan's clone with them, or perhaps they took Lin Yan herself, and the Lin Yan who stayed in Capital Star is the clone?"
Xiao Lou's face turned pale: "If Lin Yan, who stayed in Capital Star, is a clone, then that explains why His Majesty didn't even let me attend the important engagement banquet, but instead sent Number 2 Xiao Lou... No one knows what kind of offspring a clone and a clone will have when they get married. His Majesty might want to bring those two clones together for another experiment?"
Ye Qi got goosebumps all over: "Does that mean we'll have to see version 3.0 and version 4.0 again?!"
Old Mo was completely confused: "What version 3.0?"
Ye Qi explained simply: " Cloning version 1.0 is the first generation, which is a fusion of human genes and Zerg genes. Version 2.0 is based on version 1.0 and further incorporates Merfolk Clan genes. Versions 3.0 and 4.0 have not yet appeared!"
Old Mo's head was throbbing: "Is this treating human genes like code to study and modify? To create different system versions? Does that mean the organization researching clones also possesses the technology to destroy clones?"
Tang Ci nodded seriously: "Just like how companies that make operating systems know about system bugs and antivirus software, if they want to destroy a system, they must also have special methods."
Lu Jiuchuan stroked his chin and concluded, "There are many clones in this world. We need to find all of them and completely end the Noahs Ark Project. Xiao Lou is a prince, and the Luoke Empire should be ruled by Xiao Lou. On the Merfolk Clan side, the prince is a clone, and we need to support Liu Qiao, this Mermaid Princess, to ascend the throne. Only in this way will the world get back on track?"
After careful consideration, everyone agreed that Brother Jiu's summary was quite correct. Eliminating the interference of cloning was everyone's goal for clearing the game.
Yu Hanjiang said, "Since we're here, let's resolve this first."
The problem with Merfolk Clan is that we need to find the clone lab in the deep sea and uncover the mastermind behind all these years of clone research.
Xiao Lou said, "Everyone, take a rest for a while. We'll go to the Mermaid Royal Palace as soon as it's light."
A group of people sat on the rocks by the sea, their tails draped neatly beside them. The moonlight, as clear as water, made the scales on their tails reflect a soft glow.
Yu Hanjiang turned to look at Xiao Lou's beautiful blue tail, then at his own black tail, and asked in confusion, "The tails are different colors? Is there any significance to it?"
Gui Yuanzhang said, "The different colored tails belong to different mermaid tribes. Silver is the symbol of royal blood, while blue, green, and black come from the three major mermaid races."
Xiao Lou said knowingly, "The distinguishing feature of different races is their tails. What is the relationship between the three major races?"
Gui Yuanzhang: "The current Merfolk Emperor is very prestigious. To my recollection, there has been no war in the Merfolk Clan in recent decades."
Just then, Liu Qiao in the bottle suddenly opened her eyes.
She looked around, swam around in the bottle, and found herself unable to get out. She asked in bewilderment, " Professor Xiao? Why are you locking me up?"